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Chapter 18: An Attack Approaches!

Chapter 18: An Attack Approaches!

That night, I gathered the chiefs of each tribe that made up the Barbar Mercenary Party to share intel.

Once I finished explaining the situation, the tribal leaders all started speaking at once.

「The Vaffancrow Empire’s troops are a damn joke!」

「Drinking and women!? They should share with us instead!」

「Shouldn’t we be more worried about the siege!?」

「So they’re getting supplies by sea, huh…」

「Hey, what if reinforcements come from the enemy’s homeland?」

「Then we’re screwed for sure!」

As the lively discussion continued, I turned to Uncle Athos and asked about the castle assault earlier that day.

「Uncle Athos, how did the siege go?」

「Ah. We had some injured, but nothing serious.」

「And the Empire’s troops?」

「They’re not even trying. They’re deliberately holding back to avoid getting hurt.」

「So that means… Colon Castle’s not falling anytime soon, huh?」

「Yeah. No way it will…」

The air grew heavy between us. A bad feeling I’d had was starting to become reality.

「Gaia, may I speak with you?」

The Elven chieftain Elranief addressed me in Elven.

「I’ve already heard from Jessica. It doesn’t look good… Shall we withdraw?」

「No, we’re mercenaries under contract to the Vaffancrow Empire. Withdrawing on our own would be a breach of contract.」

「That’s true, but…」

That’s the difficult thing about being mercenaries.

If we were just allied reinforcements, we could act more freely.

But we weren’t allowed to leave the battlefield without our employer’s permission.

「Elranief, starting tomorrow, I’m going to scout out escape routes. Just in case.」

「Very well. Then we Elves will prepare for that possibility as well.」

「Thanks. When we attack the castle, don’t use magic. And conserve your arrows. We’ll need them if we have to flee.」

「Understood.」

After the last battle, Elranief and the Elves had grown to trust me.

It helped that I could speak Elven.

Among the Barbar Mercenary Party, the Elves had the greatest burst firepower. Having them follow orders without hesitation was a huge asset.

As for the rest of the chiefs, Rosso of the Great Lizard Tribe was handling the coordination.

「So, Gaia and I went to the Empire’s command tent and did our part.」

「Right.」

「Then…」

「If you reported it and they didn’t listen, there’s nothing more to be done…」

Rosso, with his large and powerful build, looked strong, and that earned him a lot of trust among the other chiefs.

And he trusted me too, thanks to seeing me command, fight, and for the advice I gave about collecting iron weapons.

He was easy to talk to, and we’d grown close.

This time, my job was to get all of these guys home safely.

Once everyone had spoken, I brought things to a close.

「Be ready for anything at any time! Rotate the watch! Eat well, rest up, and save your strength!」

「「「「「Yeah!」」」」」

We, the Barbar Mercenary Party, began preparing for the worst-case scenario.

—Three days later.

「Here are the donkeys and carts you ordered.」

Karanos, the merchant from the Kingdom of Algeas, bowed to Uncle Athos and me.

He brought two donkeys and two carts.

With this, the Barbar Mercenary Party’ transport capacity was upgraded.

Uncle Athos handed him a leather pouch full of silver coins and responded warmly.

「Good work. Those fresh fruits were excellent. Could you bring more tomorrow?」

「Unfortunately, I’ve sold out. I’ll be heading back to my homeland now.」

「I see, I see. Safe travels, then.」

「Thank you kindly for your thoughtfulness.」

Huh…

So Karanos is pulling out now…

A soldier disguised as a merchant, a spy, is pulling out…

(It’s about to begin.)

I realized the enemy Kingdom of Algeas was about to launch a counterattack.

‘Spies withdraw when they’d get in the way during battle.’

‘If fighting’s about to start, there’s no more need to gather intel.’

That was probably it.

I walked over to Karanos and held out my right hand.

「Karanos. It was a good deal.」

He gave me a big merchant’s smile and shook my hand.

「Lord Gaia, you honor me. Thank you very much.」

「We Barbar live in the Empire’s north. Once this war is over, come visit us sometime.」

「A merchant will go wherever there’s business to be done.」

Karanos kept his reply vague, but I squeezed his hand firmly, putting meaning behind it as I smiled.

「I’ve got business to discuss. But there are other things I want to talk about too…」

「Oh…?」

My suggestive tone made Karanos narrow his eyes for a moment.

The Kingdom of Algeas is at war with the Vaffancrow Empire.

I wanted to build a bridge.

I had no intention of staying under the Empire’s boot forever.

If Karanos could become my contact with Algeas…

That was my hope.

「I can’t promise when, but… I’ll come visit, Lord Gaia.」

「I’ll be waiting.」

That’s good enough.

Now all that’s left is to prepare for the Kingdom of Algeas’s counterattack.

Uncle Athos and I ordered the Barbar Mercenary Party to pack up and be ready to move at a moment’s notice.