The outpost was brightly lit as always, as if nothing had happened.
When Art opened his eyes again, it was already dark. The arrow wound on his left shoulder was covered with special herbs brought from the valley healers. The most painful intensity had passed, and now all that was left was soreness, numbness, heat, swelling and pain.
"Master, are you awake?" Ron came to Art's bed carrying a bowl of broth thickened with spices.
"Ron, is everything okay outside?" Art supported his body with his right hand and endured the pain as he sat up.
"Sir, Odo and Angus have made arrangements. The prisoners and coachmen during the day were sent to the cave together with the captured materials by Chief Odo. Chief Angus set up cavalry posts five miles north, south and east of the outpost. The materials that have not been taken away from the outpost are all gathered together. Once there is an enemy situation, we can set off a fire and evacuate."
"There is no enemy yet. The soldiers came, and probably no one noticed them."
Matt thought for a moment and said: "Let's just stay here for a few days, maybe we can wait for another batch of luggage. Are Angus and Odo at the outpost?"
"Chief Odo is back, Chief Angus has just gone out to patrol."
"Then go and call Odo in."
Ron put the soup bowl on a wooden stool next to Art's bed and turned around and left the room to look for Odo.
After taking a look at the broth on the wooden bench, Ate felt a rumbling in his stomach and a surge of hunger. He wanted to reach out to pick up the soup bowl, but he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.
"What a fucking unlucky person!!" Art cursed secretly in his heart.
As soon as he endured the severe pain and put the wooden bowl to his mouth, Ron led Odo into the room.
"Odo, have the prisoners and baggage been arranged properly?" Art was a little weak and his voice was not loud.
Otto stepped forward and squatted beside the bed, and replied: "Don't worry, sir, all the captives and supplies were hidden in the cave. I killed an enemy guard who tried to escape on the way, and tied all the rest in the cave. I sent four soldiers to guard it, and then sent people back to Tarburg to organize labor and soldiers to come to the cave to transport the prisoners and supplies back to the military fort."
"Excellent! No one discovered you when you were transporting the supplies, right?"
"Probably not. I sent someone to look out on the way to the cave. Sir, you were injured and didn't wake up during the day. We didn't dare to take the risk of taking you out of here. Should we leave now?" Odo asked.
Matt took a sip of the broth, shook his head and said, "There's no rush, since we're all here, let's not treat ourselves as guests and simply stay for a few more days. If we're lucky, maybe we can get some more food and supplies."
Otto lowered his head and thought about the pros and cons for a while, and said to Art with worry: "Sir, is this a bit risky? This is enemy territory after all. If we are surrounded, none of us can escape." Sentries are sent out to set up secret sentries, and each sentry post must carry dried wolf dung. When encountering a large baggage train or an emergency enemy situation, the wolf dung warning is immediately lit. Except for a few bold and careful soldiers who put on enemy uniforms and act as enemy soldiers in the sentry post, everyone else lurks in the sentry tower. When the prey comes in, horses and vehicles are ready in the sentry tower. Once a large number of enemies come, we will set off a fire and evacuate quickly. "
“You and Angus are responsible for this matter.” Art told Odo.
"Yes, sir!"
Odo did not leave after receiving the order. He looked at Art's bulging shoulders and asked: "Sir, would you like to return to Talburg first? Recuperating? Angus and I can handle it here. "
"My injury is not too serious. Although I can't participate in the battle for the time being, it's okay to escape on horseback." Art replied, looking at his shoulder.
………
On the afternoon of the third day after capturing the enemy outpost, Art, wearing an enemy soldier's burqa with an arrow wound, observed the south side of the road at the gate of the outpost.
During the past two days or so when the anti-customers were stationed at the outpost, two passing beer vendors, a grocer, and six passers-by were already detained in the outpost. As usual, Art confiscated all the belongings they carried. However, these people were only civilians, and Art was not in the habit of killing indiscriminately, so he only temporarily detained this group of people in a broken room at the outpost.
Odo came down from the post, walked to Art and said: "Sir, it has been two days, and there is no enemy baggage convoy coming from the south. If we wait any longer, we will be easily exposed."
Asia. Te glanced at the south side. There was neither smoke nor any sentry riders reporting back. "According to what the prisoners told me, basically every two or three days, a batch of baggage will pass through here and be transported to the north. It is already the third day, and the next batch of baggage should have arrived."
“It’s time to arrive, but the last baggage convoy has not arrived at the next outpost for three days. It is estimated that the enemy at the next outpost will also be suspicious, and they may send someone to check.” Odo replied.
"Your worries are justified. Send the order and let everyone prepare to evacuate. As soon as the order is given, everyone will retreat to the mountainous area to the west."
"Yes." Odo will make arrangements for himself.
At was about to turn around and go back to the outpost to rest, when a sentry rider from the south came galloping towards him...
"Is there any enemy situation? Why wasn't the smoke smoke set off?" Odo grabbed Jason's reins and asked urgently.
Jason jumped off the horse and swallowed, and said to Art and Odo: "Sir, a convoy with a red bird heraldry flag is coming from the south. It has two carriages, seven escorts, and two cavalry among them. It is estimated that it will arrive here in less than an hour."
"Fight, we must fight, what we have been worried about these days is just to wait for them."
"But the enemy has seven people and two cavalry, we can't "Careless."
Matt thought for a while, raised his head and ordered the people around him:
"Jason, go to the east and north quickly to inform Angus and Ron to come back."
"Tuba, let everyone else hide in the outpost and set up an ambush. The soldiers with crossbows will find a good position. The soldiers who can ride horses will hide behind the outpost. After a while, the sentry riders will also ambush behind the outpost. As soon as the battle starts in front, all the cavalry will rush over and kill them."
"Odo, let a few of them go to the open space to light a fire and barbecue. Make the fire stronger for me to roast the meat more fragrantly, and put a few empty wine barrels on it." Art said, pointing to the three soldiers disguised as enemy soldiers at the gate of the outpost.
…..
An hour later, a convoy escorted by seven soldiers slowly walked towards the outpost.
The gate of the outpost was open, and a whole piece of smoked pig leg was roasting on a bonfire in the open space. The wine barrel beside the bonfire was tilted on the ground. Three drunken and disheveled outpost guards lay staggered on the ground.
"A bunch of bastards, let them man the outpost, and they actually dare to look like this drunk." The leader of the convoy looked at the drunken people beside the outpost gate and cursed bitterly.
The rider next to the leader dismounted and walked to the campfire and kicked a drunken soldier who was lying on the ground. The soldier moved but did not wake up. The rider kicked him again and still did not wake up. However, the soldier next to him was woken up. He rubbed his eyes and slowly got up.
"Asshole!! Who told you to drink? Where is your commander?" The rider yelled at the soldiers smelling of alcohol.
The confused soldier raised his hand and pointed at the outpost, and replied vaguely with a southern accent: "Sir, officer, I'm drunk and sleeping inside." After that, he collapsed to the ground.
"Crap!!" The rider spat at the collapsed soldier and turned back to the leader of the horse.
The leader glanced at the outpost with the door open, waved to the convoy behind him, and walked into the outpost.
The rider under the horse led the horse and prepared to follow, but after taking a look at the sizzling and oily barbecue on the bonfire, he couldn't help but salivate, and he let go of the reins and walked towards the bonfire. The rider just bent down to take off the barbecue when he accidentally caught a glimpse of the drunken soldier on the ground holding an unsheathed dagger in his right hand. When he was about to open the drunken soldier to take a look, the soldier's squinted eyes suddenly opened.
"Eh? You..." Before he could say a word, there was a sudden sound of a bowstring being fired from the outpost nearby. Then the dismounted rider was knocked down by the "drunken" soldier who suddenly jumped up. When a short sword pierced the chest, the rider's eye was a group of cavalry rushing out from behind the outpost...
This was the only battle in which Art did not personally participate in the battle. When he pretended to be drunk and pointed into the outpost to the riders who came to question, the winner of this wonderful ambush battle had already been decided.
Four cavalry bows and a crossbow shot the horse leader who entered the outpost first into a hedgehog. The remaining five enemy soldiers were surrounded by cavalry who rushed out from both sides of the outpost. After killing two people, all other enemy soldiers threw away their weapons and knelt on the ground.
The battle was over in just a bowl of soup. The leader of the convoy did not understand until his death why so many arrows suddenly flew at his outpost to claim his life...
"Sir, this trick is really useful." Odo walked out of the outpost and said to Art, who was sitting by the campfire and rubbing his shoulders.
"The enemy was too careless and didn't even send a sentry." Art said with a smile.
"This is their own country, their own outpost, how could they have imagined that it would be openly occupied by a group of enemy troops, haha." Odo was already laughing from ear to ear.
"Let's go and see what good things are in the carriage." Art handed his right hand to Odo, and Odo pulled him up hard.
The two ignored the prisoners who were being guarded by soldiers with long swords and short spears. They went directly to the two carriages and lifted the thick felt cloth. The moment they lifted the felt cloth, their eyes widened - the carriages were neatly stacked with brand-new shields and armor. After counting, they found that there were not only fifteen sets of well-made double-layer leather armor and iron nose helmets, and thirty iron-covered round shields, but also three sets of fine iron mail and one set of iron scale armor.
Lifting the felt cloth of another carriage, the carriage was also filled with sophisticated weapons: twenty sheathed long swords, ten short swords, twenty fine iron spearheads, ten horn-stepping bows, five bundles of light arrows, two bundles of heavy arrows, two bundles of crossbow arrows, and three crossbows wrapped in layers of oilcloth.
Looking at the weapons on the two carriages and the prisoners of war materials inside and outside the outpost, Art ignored the arrow wound on his shoulder and couldn't help laughing loudly...
"Odo, pack your things, we are withdrawing..."
Two hours later, only an outpost with blazing flames was left on this avenue...