Chapter 13: Defend the Camp!

Sparing not even a second, Victor rushed out of the tent commanding that the soldiers get ready to defend the camp. Slightly confused and worried the soldiers dashed around the camp equipping themselves with their gear. 

Concerned, Captain Nowak approached Victor and questioned, "What is happening my Lord?"

Victor was now caught in two minds he couldn't openly admit to having a magical system that alerted him of an impending assault. Yet, at the same time couldn't give a half-baked reason that could easily be proven false.

"Captain I received a messenger pigeon with news of a hostile force approaching our camp from one of my servants. If possible send some men to scout the road and identify who they are and how many of them are there." Victor explained, trying to act confident.

"I shall see it done my lord!" Captain Nowak responded.

20 minutes had passed and the entire camp was on high alert. Soldiers manned the trenches and began to create ammo caches close by to the trenches for easy resupplying. The porters were in charge of running ammunition to trenches that needed them. 

Appearing from the treeline the few soldiers that had been sent out came back with reports of the enemy forces and their position. The enemy was spotted an hour away from the camp with 100 soldiers.

With a short amount of time to prepare, the soldier began to create more places to take cover and solidify their defensive position. The mid-day sun beat down on the soldier's backs as they manned their positions. Ready to annihilate any enemy who entered the clearing.

Confident in his men's abilities Victor composed himself. He did not want a repeat of his battles with the bandits where he couldn't pull the trigger. Today was the day that Victor would most likely take a life.

Soldiers began to slowly appear near the front of the camp using the trees to conceal their movement. They were slightly out of range so the defender could only hold their fire. Without warning or a signal, the rhythmic crackle of musket fire echoed through the trees. The outpost was surrounded. Victor could see the enemy starting to appear from all sides – a ragged band of irregulars, their faces obscured by shadows and the smoke of their own weapons.

Surprised at being fully surrounded, the Polish Line Infantry famed for their defensive tactics, dug in. They weathered the hail of bullets sent in their direction and managed to return fire, managing to notch a few early kills. However, due to the unknown positions of the enemies in the tree line around the camp, it made it hard to suppress them.

Multiple exchanges of bullets ensued around the camp. The serenade of musket and carbine fire could be heard from miles away. An intense battle was underway. But to the attacker's surprise, they hadn't managed to inflict any casualties on the defenders. Trying to put pressure on the defending a group of enemies began to form up and push towards the main entrance of the camp.

The heavily clustered group of enemy soldiers began to advance towards the camp suppressing Victor's men hidden under cover. Seeing this Victor barked orders, directing his bodyguards in reserve to reinforce the entrance and concentrate their fire on the heavily advancing enemy group. 

With the reinforcements of 10 French Imperial Guard soldiers, the once suppressed men at the outpost entrance began to rapidly pick off the advancing enemy. Slowing momentum the attacking enemies began to lose men in droves while Victor's men had only suffered a few injuries with no deaths.

Sensing a swing in the flow of battle, the defenders began pressing their advantage. It was evident that they were the more organised and disciplined group. The enemies who had a solid tactic in encircling the outpost didn't have enough men to make use of the strategy. Being slightly outnumbered and outmatched the attackers began to withdraw having already lost 60 out of the 100 men they brought.

Victor who had been watching and giving orders from the centre of the outpost was thankful that he hadn't had to use his musket, however, he was still disappointed in himself for not being more helpful and fighting alongside his soldiers.

Checking in with both Captain Nowak and Sergeant, there were no fatalities only minor injuries to a dozen or so men. Whereas they inflicted 60 casualties on their enemies. While conversing with his officers, they briefly began to talk about how to improve the defence of the camp. Ideas like cutting down more trees to build proper palisades, or assigning regular patrols to and from the road to help increase security. 

Once the injured were treated the soldiers began to scavenge and dispose of the dead bodies. One person whose corpse wasn't found was Duke Cruyff's adjutant. In the heat of battle, he managed to slither away with the remaining survivors.

With no idea who they were or who they were associated searching for any survivors was a top priority, unfortunately, they were able to track down any of the fleeing enemies. Pursed lips and narrowed eyes plagued Victor's face. He was deeply troubled about the fact he wasn't aware of who ordered this attack. Puzzled by this he went to his tent to contemplate about the battle that had unfolded.

"The soldiers we just fought had no uniforms or crests, meaning they were rather bandits or mercenaries, however, bandits wouldn't have fought as well and as organised as the attacker had. The corpses combined had 30 gold coins on them. If I had to guess I think they were soldiers for hire." Victor thought out loud, trying to put any clues together on who could've sent them.

With no real progress being made Victor had given up, for the time being. A more pressing matter had arrived. A blue screen appeared in front of Victor.

'Congratulations on completing the Dangerous Quest! Tap the screen to collect your rewards.'