Attack On Bandits*

"That's bland and very predictable." Asher smirked.

"Predictable?" Aaron was confused.

Since they had information on their opponents, it was easy for them to move one step ahead so, there was no need to rush things that much. Even till now, Aaron didn't believe that it was possible for their movements to be tracked as they moved quickly. Apart from that, they didn't leave behind any traces of their next target or direction.

"Yes, predictable, because they already know." Asher smiled cunningly.

"Although things have been going smoothly for us, that exactly is the problem. If I'm correct, they should already be suspicious of a spy by now and taking countermeasures. As long as that suspicion exists, there is a possibility that they are aware that we know of their alliance. If that is so, then they would be ready at all times, especially at night. After all, the alliance is a good thing for them but bad for us, so it would be logical for us to try and ruin it before it consolidates." Asher said.

"If we wait until nightfall, they would be heavily on guard; pulling off a successful mission would be three times harder than attacking in the day. But if we attack in the morning, say 10am, they would be surprised. The element of surprise wouldn't be enough to win the battle, but it would be enough for you to make some impressive progress as well as gain an advantage towards that."

'Unconventional battle tactics.' Asher thought.

This world was a typical backward kingdom that still relied on conventional tactics and strategies despite the existence of a force such as magic. On one hand, these tactics did the job, on the other hand, they were easily predictable and could be countered by one familiar with the opposite.

For example, most assaults and raids usually took place at night because this was the darkest time of the day and when most would feel tired and sleepy. However, if your opponent was expecting a night raid and made appropriate preparations, your strategy would become next to useless.

. . .

A few hours later…

Just as Asher had suspected, Kieran had readied his men for a night raid. He had twice the number of bandits that where usually on patrol in the day prepared to be on standby during the night. In other words, this was currently the period in which the sentries for the hideouts would be at their weakest.

"Let's go." Asher, who led the team of thirty men, communicated to them using his fifth-stage Guardian mental senses.

By using the secret technique of suppressing aura that Asher had taught them, the group was able to approach the hideout without being spotted yet.

The hideout of the Purple Snake gang was located on a small steep mountain some distance away from Panama road, but was however close to a branch road that connected to it. The mountain was rocky and had only one safe route to the peak, which was occupied by Purple Snake sentries all the way from the bottom to the top, at strategic positions. At the mid point of the mountain, there was a huge metal gate that barricaded the road and prevented one from reaching the peak. Unless permission was received from the top figures of the gang, it would usually be impossible to get past the area.

Originally, the gate wasn't here but had been secretly constructed by the Purple Snake gang overtime. Logically, this should have been impossible but when a red organization is added to the mix, then it was the opposite.

Because of the terrain and structure of the mountain as well as the later upgrades like the metal gate, the base of the Purple Snake gang could be described as a fort; impossible to breach and easy to defend. Unless an overbearing character at the fifth-stage or a typical sixth-stage Guardian realm mage appeared, it would be difficult for anyone to pass through the gates of the mountain by force. In fact, the bandit-clearing task-force set-up by Ol' Fang, was led by one such figure named Anger[1], one of the family's fifth-stage Guardian mages who possessed explosive offensive capabilities.

"How do we get past, young master?" Luther asked Asher.

From the journey all the way from the bottom till the mid point, Luther had been astonished, both by Asher's predictions and his scouting skills. It was thanks to the latter that they had managed to avoid being found. Nonetheless, it looked impossible to sneak past the blockade, but for some reason, Luther felt that if it were Asher, then he would have a way.

"Sneak past? Why would we do that?" Asher smiled.

"Look at this mountain as well as the Purple Snake gang's base. What does it look like to you?" Asher suddenly asked.

Luther was confused but didn't ask any question and instead tried to answer Asher's.

Aaron, who was close by, was also stunned by Asher's reaction but just like Luther, turned to the gate to try and find an answer.

"A dead-end." Luther answered.

Asher nodded.

"Well, yes. But I prefer the term, prison. The terrain of this mountain is the Purple Snake gang's greatest asset but also their weakness. As long as an attacking force can seize control of that gate, the bandits are trapped and doomed to die. However, the problem has always remained seizing control of the gates as to do so, one would require a sizeable force as well as the element of surprise, but such a unit can't get past the sentries below. However, we just did that."

"But, isn't that risky?" Aaron said as he glanced at the wall that was surrounded by a force of more than sixty bandits with twenty more who were below the mountain.

The information they had on the remaining bandit groups stated that two of them were small sized; one having twenty five men while the other had nineteen, heads included. As for the third group, it was led by an impressive mid rank third-stage Guardian mage named Tarik, with forty-seven men under his lead. The Purple Snake gang had ninety-two men, including their boss, Kieran, a peak rank third-stage Guardian mage and his vice Viper, who was also a third-stage Guardian mage but of the early rank. In total, there was one hundred and eighty four bandits on this mountain.

Ignoring the other bandit groups, the Purple Snake gang alone had three third-stage Guardian mages, but the third one was said to be a rumoured existence that had yet to be confirmed. There were also five peak rank second-stage Guardian mages; characters at the levels of small bandit group heads. In a way, one could say that the Purple Snake gang had the power of three mid-sized bandit groups. Calling this 'risky' was a compliment especially since Asher had his soldiers suppress their power.

"Risky? It's a bit too late to say that." Asher replied.

Aaron's lips twitched but he couldn't make a comeback.

"Either way, our only best move at the moment is to seize the gate. That way, we can avoid getting surrounded and can prevent the major bulk of their forces from escaping. Even if we can't defeat them, we just need to hold the gate long enough for the actual task-force to arrive. That could anywhere between thirty six to forty eight hours." Asher added.

Luther frowned because he had realized something from Asher's words. From the statement, one could see that Asher would rather have the team wait for reinforcements that for the soldiers to undo the seals on their power and wipeout this bandit group.

One should recall that of the thirty mages, seven of them were at the peak of the first-stage, seventeen were second-stage Guardian mages, four were third-stage Guardian mages and Savia was of the mid rank; on par with Tarik from the bandits' side. Finally, both Luther and Aaron were at the fourth-stage of the Guardian realm. Although they were lacking in numbers, the combined power of the group was enough to decimate this force of bandits so long as they could get past the gate. Luther and Aaron could easily face and take down the third-stage Guardian mages from the enemy side while the four third-stage Guardian mages would attack the enemy forces along with the others. With such a wide gap in power, victory was certain.

However, with their cultivations suppressed down a level, to a minimum of the mid-rank of the first stage, victory was now in doubt. To be honest, death even looked like a possibility, and for this mix of ex-soldiers and military trainees, nothing was more disgraceful than dying at the hands of a bandit.

Even so, Asher was not bothered by this and insisted that they don't take off the talismans no matter what. This made Luther worried; not for himself, but for the men.

"Don't worry. No one will die on my watch." Asher said. It was as if he could read Luther's thoughts.

Asher continued.

"The men need such experience. One should know that magical power isn't everything. Without appropriate control and enough battle experience, even a ninth-stage Guardian mage could lose to a seventh-stage Guardian mage."

Luther was shocked by such a claim and why he felt it was unbelievable, part of him thought the opposite. This was because the person who had told him such was not an ordinary individual, but Asher.

"Get ready. It's about time we move."