San's answer was concise. His voice was firm and authoritative. His demeanor and being seemed warmer and more inviting than just a moment ago.

“…!”

“We're at war. 'A war for our freedom'… this is why we need your contracts. Didn't Dite mention this to you all earlier?”

The square fell into silence once more. The crew members couldn't believe what they had just heard. It went against their common sense.

“Then… you're saying that we're more important than the treasure we're transporting?” the merchant named Laron asked.

“If someone were to tell you to choose between that treasure and your life, what would you choose?” asked San.

“Of course, I would choose my life.”

“I agree with you. Then, why is what we said weird?”

Thus…

Everything changed. The before and after… became completely different.

The contract was like magic. It was a magical spell that would continue until the thirty-one crewmates returned safely back to their hometown.

Cecil the Bard had experienced it with his own eyes.

'Their war…

Their call…

Their victory…

Their freedom…

And…

The envy of the G.o.ds…'

- Cecil the Bard. Excerpt from “Their Tales: House of Essen” -

Episode 2. Book 3: Infiltration – Chapter 2

As if overtaken by the night's darkness, the half-moon shone its moonlight on the forest below. 

However, the forest was still largely shrouded in darkness. Normally, no one would dare step foot inside the forest under these conditions. If a person were to traverse the forest under darkness, that person probably did not have a normal reason for doing so. There were a few people who were traversing the forest at this moment and at quick speeds.

The man in front looked behind him. Twenty eyes followed his movement. His gloved hands slowly moved. He had a special mark on the palms of his hands and on his back. The mark glowed in the dark as it was tattooed with the phosphorus material that was present in animal bones.

He looked forward again with narrowed eyes. He could see firelight seeping through the trees' branches. Three people stood around the fire. It seemed as though the crew had constructed wooden apparatuses here and there for unknown reasons. A smile appeared on his face. He was excited about today's task.

He felt bad that he'd need to use a heavy hand on these country b.u.mpkins, but he knew they made a grave mistake and deserved what was coming to them.

'Their mistake was carrying cargo that is too priceless for them to possess. The problem is the commissioned captains and the other groups that are eyeing the treasure…'

The man, Sedum, tightened his black hairband. He was the regional leader of a savage a.s.sa.s.sination group called 'The Swords Eye'. Around two weeks ago, he had heard from one of his information sources, which he had placed in every major city and territory, about this caravan and their priceless cargo.

Though the information came from a relatively small impoverished area with nothing to boast of, he couldn't let go of the intriguing information. The treasures described in the information were too tempting. Tempting enough that he didn't want to divide up the spoils with others, so he came himself.

Meanwhile, an opportunity presented itself much sooner than he expected. He planned to execute his plan and return back tonight. However, Sedum wasn't in a rush. His main line of work was in a.s.sa.s.sinations, but the Guild he was a part of, the Dark Guilds, did more than simple a.s.sa.s.sinations. It specialized in infiltration, creating chaos and disturbance, information collection and processing, forgery, extortion, distortion, espionage, counterfeiting, and looting.

The main similarity among their various specializations was that they never fought or conducted their work face-to-face with their target. It was always cleaner and safer to swoop in at the end. It was economical, too. Two other teams would play their hands first tonight. He had already released some juicy piece of information to tempt other groups to act. Of course, these idiots didn't know that they were getting played. 

'All I have to do now is wait. Those who are full of regret and greed will fight each other for the spoils until their death. Hmm? What is that hunk of muscle? Marquis Norian's forces?'

His expression became dark. An unexpectedly large force was entering the game.

Marquis Norian's Inspector General Natin crossed the shallow river on horseback. Beside him on each side were ten soldiers, twenty in total, holding torches to light their way. Behind him were an additional forty soldiers divided into two companies.

The muscular Natin stopped his horse. His eyes were staring at the bonfire in the distance. His thoughts were simple, and his actions were direct. However, his simplistic style had always brought him results. This was because…

'I'm strong!'

Except for Awakeners, there were no other opponents who could contend with him in the northern region. Combining all five territories in the Poran Kingdom's northern region, only three Awakeners existed. Natin maintained his position right below those three. Though Count Essen had also reached the Dark Warrior level, he fell short of Natin in fighting prowess.

Having followed Marquis Norian into various battlefields and wars, Natin learned how to effectively and cruelly get his way. He also learned to cleanly resolve his tasks so that nothing would be able to hit him in the back. Whether it be women, children, or the elderly, he killed without remorse.

Thus, he wanted to effectively wrap up today's task in the same manner. He would directly confront and overpower his enemy. He would kill his opponents and bury them in the ground before they stepped foot on his master's territory. He would also hold their treasure in a secret area until things settled down. How simplistic yet refres.h.i.+ng!

He would think of an appropriate reason for his use of force later. He could just state that he took care of outsiders who were suspiciously circling around the territory borders. Marquis Norian would probably also approve. If this initial idea didn't work, they would just have to attack Count Essen's commissioned captains and state that the captains' cunning and insidious intentions were seen through and taken care of before something larger unfolded on the Marquis' lands.

A smile appeared on his face. One could smell something fishy just from looking at his smile.

“It seems like all the partic.i.p.ants of tonight's battle have gathered. How are our preparations going?” San asked Biyeon.

“We've finished setting up physical wooden barriers to funnel their attacks into specific routes. Since we don't know what relations.h.i.+p or cooperative agreement these separate forces have with each other… shouldn't we just wait and see what happens?”

The convoy's battle preparations looked crude and simple. They moved the cargo holding carriages and horses to the back of the camp. They had cut the trees surrounding each side of the bonfires and had them pointing outward. The sharpened sides of the trees were pointing outward in a natural fas.h.i.+on, blending in with their surroundings.

On all four corners of the camp, they had dug two lines of trenches that were waist-deep. Behind the trenches, the ground was covered in small pebbles and stones. The crew hid behind trees further back. They equipped themselves with bows and arrows and spears. A densely covered forest was behind them, cutting off one potential line of attack.

Therefore, the front had a small entrance while both sides had spiked trees that made it difficult for anyone to approach. It seemed that any attack would need to be done one person at a time.

“The main issue is the force in front. They've even brought along torches to light their way and openly declare their position. I think they're planning to openly plow ahead using brute force. What should we do?”

“There's nothing complicated, right? Just looking at the leader, it doesn't seem like he even knows how to do basic subtraction. We've prepared well, so I'll take over from here. You have some rats to catch in the back, right?”

“Yes, they'll be of some help in answering some of my questions. Then… I'll be leaving for a moment.”

“How many people are you taking with you?”

“Three should be enough.”

Natin wet his lips by swiping his tongue. It was something he did before entering a confrontation. At the same time, he took out a large sword that was carried by his horse. The sword was a large, curved blade, like the ones often seen in Arabia on Earth. Though it was large, it could be used in one hand to stab the enemy. The sword was also light since it didn't use as much heavy metal material to create girth and stability as normal long swords. The effectiveness of this type of sword only came out if the user was strong enough to wield it easily with one hand. 

“I wonder why they're putting all their trust into such simple defenses?”

Natin shook his head. He hesitated for a moment before making the decision to plow full steam ahead. The frontline of defense was comically simple. There was a basic fence made from wood and a trench in front of that.

However, he felt uncomfortable. He couldn't make out a line of attack that would allow his full force to plow through. The bright light from the bonfires was also a problem. The bonfires created darkness behind them. He couldn't tell if there was anything hiding in the darkness.

He couldn't order the cavalry to flank each side of the camp either, as the sharpened, pointy trees created a natural barrier that would be tough to break through. He started feeling annoyed.

He wanted to plow through the area and sweep everything clean… he didn't have any desire to speak with any of his opponents.

“Sergei!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Take some men with you and make a path up front!”

“Yes, sir.”

Sergei took five other soldiers and rushed forward.

Cecil the Bard and Honbi looked downward. Cecil was atop the right tree while Honbi was atop the left tree, across from Cecil.

Both were artists who couldn't provide any combat strength for this upcoming battle. However, Captain Biyeon said that they would play critical roles. They were tasked with observing the developments from above and properly conveying their captains' orders by whistling out loud, making flute sounds, and clanking metal cymbals. 

When they were told to do these things, they were at a loss for words. Why was such a comical thing needed? They would soon find out the depths of their captains' thoughts. They overlooked the entire area, able to see every detail of what was happening below. They'd be able to see their captains' plans unfold.

Cecil's eyes glistened with expectation. He saw the enemy approaching from afar. Captain San swirled his hand in the air twice. It was the sign to start the battle.

Beep-Beep-

Cecil blew sharply on his whistle twice. As soon as the signal was given, a loose line on the ground became taut. He saw the trap trigger. The rus.h.i.+ng Sergei was lost for words. With swords and spears in hand, the four soldiers in front of him gallantly rushed forward only to be swept into a trench. 

Three short bursts of the whistle could be heard. Five crew members ran out from their hiding spots. Two of them splashed dry dirt into the trench. The four soldiers trapped inside the trench started squirming. The trapped soldiers weren't able to properly take any positions nor were they able to block the dirt from entering into their eyes. There also seemed to be something mixed into the dirt, as it stung their eyes.

The waist-high trench reduced their range of movement as well. They couldn't bend their knees or walk out. To get out, one had to use at least one hand to grab the trench's side and bend one's back to get over the hump. It was the worst position to take when defending oneself against incoming attacks.

The other three crew members lowered their long spears and stabbed into the trench. The whistle sounds started blaring at regular intervals.

Based on the whistle sounds, each member conducted a specific action, such as stabbing the enemy inside the trench. Their action was done so calmly that it seemed like they were catching fish inside a fishbowl. Their individually lacking combat strength was combined into one, and their fear of killing an enemy was divided by three.

In an instant, with four coordinated movements from each of the three spear-wielding crewmembers, four of Natin's first-rate soldiers were instantly killed without accomplis.h.i.+ng anything. A whistle rang from another side of the forest.

The crew members who had come out to kill their enemies rolled back into the darkness. Their actions were coordinated like a dance move. As if nothing happened, the forest fell silent once more.

“What… is this!”

Sergei instinctively pulled his head up and looked forward. He heard the sound of wind pa.s.sing by. It was the last thing he heard in this world. His body was falling backward. Next to him was a small stone the size of an infant's fist.

“This… this!”

Natin ground his teeth. He looked around. The other soldiers were quiet with their mouths closed shut. Natin looked back ahead. He was fuming with anger. 'This trickery!'

“These tricky things… Hector! Kill those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!”

Hector, a special-rated warrior, stepped forward. Now, warriors who had reached the Master Warrior level were starting to come out. Twenty soldiers rushed forward in formation.

Beep-Beep-Be-Beep-Beep-

A steady stream of whistle sounds rang out. A loose rope that was connected to a fence became taut, causing the fence to swing into a 45-degree angle, facing the incoming cavalry. The tops of the fence posts had sharpened points.

Three horses were directly impaled onto the fence posts. The soldiers flew off their horses as their momentum carried them forward. As these fallen soldiers were gathering their wits on the ground, the country b.u.mpkin crew members stepped out from the shadows and struck with their long spears.

The cavalry following the first line stopped in front of the impaled horses. The cavalry's formation broke down, causing the soldiers to be at a loss. Another whistle terrifyingly blew out. A fence was quickly erected in front of the bonfires, blocking out the light. The entire area fell into darkness. The enemy commanders were disoriented while the soldiers fell into disarray.

Something moved quickly through the darkness.

s.h.i.+k-s.h.i.+k-s.h.i.+k-

The sound of rus.h.i.+ng wind rang out in various places. Each gooseb.u.mp-inducing sound was followed by a heavy thud of a body collapsing onto the ground. Some were able to scream before they fell.

It was a horrific atmosphere for Natin's forces. The enemy was within their lines. However, they couldn't see their enemy. Without the ability to see, the soldiers started raising their weapons against each other.