Scouting (part 2)

PRANG!!!

CLANK!!!!

Sounds of metal clashing onto one another can be heard from the vicinity. The voices of war cries coming from both sides were also loud enough to be heard, and the sound of battle continued.

ZRIINGGG!!!!

All of the sudden, light magic appeared from the western side of the battlefield. The light moves incredibly fast and apprehended all of the enemies at once, rendering them unarmed.

The light suddenly stopped, revealing a blonde haired eighteen year old man holding seven weapons in his arms.

CLANK!!!

I dropped all the weapons on my hands to the ground. Axes, swords, even shields, all fell and crashed onto one another to the ground.

The battlefield turned silent as the enemies started to realize the position that they had been rendered into. They are unarmed, even though they outnumber their opponent, my arrival definitely should not be ignored.

So, they did the only logical option they could choose.

All of them lifted their hands up.

"We surrender."

.

By the time my teammates and all of the other teams arrived, everything was already solved.

The seven men that were found attacking Gilbert's team were caught and tied up by the ropes. We had them sit down in the middle of this wide opened crater that I assumed caused by the explosion. Their weapons were placed far from their reach. All of Gilbert's teammates are guarding them while him and I are having a talk.

"Velborn got here first, huh…?"

Gilbert mumbled, and I nodded. I turned my gaze towards the prisoners being tied right now, and I can't help but notice a very distinguishable difference between them and the knights guarding them.

They have horns. Their ears are sharp and long. Their skin might've been similar to ours. Their hairs too, some of them had a gray-ish color.

They are ethelens. Scouts from Velborn Kingdom. A different race than us humans.

"What should we do with them?"

Gilbert asked me, and I turned my gaze towards the ground.

"I… am not quite sure. Did they hurt you?"

I asked Gilbert, but he shook his head.

"That initial explosion was caused by a rune magic, one that they have brought with them. It definitely serves as a way to call others, but it also works for our guys as well. And seeing that only our guys came to the scene, means…"

"They were alone the whole time?"

"Not exactly. It simply means they got ditched."

"… How pitiful."

He isn't wrong. After the battle was over, while the knights are tying the prisoners up, I was keeping a lookout. I checked the surroundings with my magic sense to see if there are anymore ethelens coming to the area, but looks like there isn't.

They were left alone, not because they got captured, but because they were simply ditched.

"Do you think they realized it as well?"

I asked Gilbert, and he began thinking about it.

"Possibly. It's probably one of the reasons why they gave up… because they know backup isn't coming."

"Then… how can we use this?"

Gilbert turned to me with a confused face, but he immediately thought of something brilliant.

"You are smart indeed… I have an idea."

The two of us discussed what the plan was, and afterwards, we returned to everyone. 

From the looks of it, all of our men are already gathering here, all nineteen of us without a single one missing.

"Luke, go to the guarding squad. Tell them the situation here, and tell them that we are bringing back seven prisoners with us to the barracks."

"Yes, sir!"

"Also tell them to send one person to go to the barracks. Notify the captain there about all this, and that we will go to his barracks with seven prisoners."

"Yes, sir!"

The knight named Luke immediately ran towards the north, back to the entrance of the valley where the guarding squad is at. I turned to the prisoners, and they didn't seem like they had a change in expression. 

The emotions that seemed to be leaking from their faces are… regret, and disappointment.

I turned to the commander, and he nodded at me. It's time we execute the plan.

I turned back to the prisoners, and began walking towards them.

I studied their appearances, from their armors, from their faces or even hair styles. 

Their armors looked rather expensive, which means they must be a part of an elite squad. Their weapons too, were quite polished and premium. Even the knights from our squad don't have that good of a gear.

It looks like we just caught ourselves a goldfish.

I found a guy with a really fancy haircut, and immediately realized something. Out of all of them, only this guy is sweating heavily. He is biting his lips from anger, and his eyes are sharp as if he truly wants to kill something.

I see… he is their team leader.

So much one can tell from the outer appearance alone, let alone actually looking inside.

And so, I kneeled right in front of him.

"Are you their leader?"

I said to him so suddenly, and he looked rather shocked.

"How… did you know…?"

It's called assessment. I studied it from books, it's not that difficult.

He had the most worried expression. He had the fanciest haircut out of all the boys. None of the girls are looking fearsome, so the leader has to be a guy. And from his expression alone, I can tell that out of all the guys, he is the one with the most havoc inside his head.

"Well, it's… pretty easy. Some guys just called us out, and they simply want you dead."

"H-Huh!?"

Obviously, that was a lie.

And from the looks of it, he took the bait nicely.

Obviously, this was all a planning made by the commander. We know that these guys got abandoned, so we made up stories that they were sent here to die initially.

So, we acted as if we were the assassins sent to kill them. But for some reason, they became an exception.

We won't kill them.

Instead, we are going to fool them.

"I see… so that's what happened…"

The leader muttered rather silently. From the looks of it, the rest of the team members also understood what happened, and they all turned disappointed quickly.

Wow… to think we guessed perfectly.

It was rather simple if you think about it in the beginning. But now that it was confirmed that we were correct, it kind of surprises me.

"But, we have decided not to kill you."

I suddenly stood up, and the team leader quickly turned his shocked gaze upwards to me. From above, I stared down towards him, and I formed an evil grin.

"We will just torture you so you will give us information."

Hearing that, the team leader looked surprised. But then he immediately looked downwards, and he suddenly stood up as well.

"H-Hey!!"

The knights around me got startled because the guy suddenly stood up, but was immediately stopped by Gilbert. He lifted his hand to stop the knights from moving in, and the knights quickly calmed down.

In front of me, the ethelen leader is already standing up. His hands and legs are indeed tied with ropes, but he could still stand if he forced himself.

He opened his burning sharp eyes and stared at me. And with a courageous tone, he spoke.

"You won't need to torture us or anything… We will tell you anything you wished to know." 

His expression shows a very clear sign of anger, and he seemed like the kind of guy who would never betray me.

"Hoo…?"

Behind me, Gilbert made a surprised sound.

"But in return… please let us live. So that we may take vengeance on those who cursed us today."

Hearing his sharp words, I grinned.

How… simple.

This holy mission might just end faster than I thought.

I swiped my hand towards him, and all the ropes tying him were cut instantly. Everyone was quite shocked seeing this act, including Gilbert. But I continued to do the unthinkable.

The bait… has been completely eaten.

Given the right actions… we will catch the biggest fish of all.

I lifted my right hand forward, requesting a handshake.

"James Berlyne. Son of Viscount Berlyne."

I introduced myself, even though that wasn't my real name.

Every single knight around me who knows who I am got quite surprised hearing that fake identity out of my mouth. But, Gilbert noticed what I was doing, and he chuckled.

The ethelen leader in front of me grinned hearing me suddenly introducing myself, and he grabbed my hand.

"My name is Tyland. Tyland Sylphon, son of… or used to be, son of Duke Sylphon."