Upon hearing that the punitive expedition led by the deputy count had departed from Anheim, a certain bandit named Dagover moved his gang to a basin far from the road in hopes that the expedition would pass them by.
Dagover had once been the rough and rowdy head of a bandit gang in Triot. However, when the kingdom fell to an onslaught of monsters, he began to attack refugees from his motherland, taking not only treasure and food, but also human lives. Based on his actions alone, he was not so different from a monster.
However, the monsters in Triot only grew more frenzied, and creatures previously unseen in the area grew in numbers. Thus, he escaped to the Kingdom of Wein, where the monsters were weaker, in order to ensure his safety. Now, he carried out his attacks there.
Targeting Triot refugees was a cunning move. They often carried valuables with them, and some in Wein would buy precious metals even from bandits. The Kingdom of Wein was also in no position to counter their actions. With Marquess Kneipp’s knights in ruin, what scant forces remained had deemed the bandit attacks a low priority, given the victims weren’t people of Wein.
For a while, Dagover had been able to act unopposed. He gradually swelled his ranks with other bandits fleeing to Wein and even some refugees who were willing to join. But with his crew so large, their takings couldn’t meet their needs. With his men now numbering in triple digits, he began to lead them on forays to pillage Wein’s villages to make ends meet.
“The deputy’s only been here a month. He doesn’t know the land like we do. I’m sure he’ll either be headin’ for Seghers, who’s easy to find, or Granach, who’s always out and about.” Dagover laughed as he bit into a piece of meat he had stolen from one of the villages. He was the type of man who hoarded all the best spoils for himself. Seghers and Granach were the leaders of other bandit groups who had come to Wein from Triot, just as Dagover had. As far as he was concerned, it’d be best for him if the deputy just got rid of them.
That was especially true of Seghers. He was able to get his hands on a good hideout and had started demanding that the other groups bow down to him. A battle between Segher’s crew and the deputy’s lackeys would leave both sides exhausted, and Dagover could swoop in and claim Segher’s bounty before the deputy could finish the job.
“There’s not a lot of water here. We’ll have to move tomorrow.”
“Just suck it up for—”
“Gwah!”
Just as Dagover was about to finish his sentence, a scream rent the air. He looked around to try to find the source and watched as several more men fell to the ground.
“Boss! Up there!”
One of his henchmen pointed up the hill. Standing along the ridgeline were about ten men throwing rocks down on them from above with slings.
A master of the weapon had an accurate range of up to two-hundred meters, and even a novice could use it to expand their range. The shots were effective against lightly armored foes and could prove fatal to the bandits if they struck the right place. And for an expert shot, striking someone’s head at a hundred meters away was no great challenge.
With countless stones pelting them from above, several bandits had already been incapacitated. While shields were standard issue for soldiers, few bandits carried one. And with the terrain giving their assailants an advantage, the bandits were practically helpless against them. Another few men were hit by rocks and fell to the ground.
“Those bastards!”
“Don’t screw with us!”
The fact that their crew came from a hodgepodge of smaller gangs only spelled disaster. Before Dagover could bark any orders, many of the brigands were already halfway up the slope, swords drawn. And that meant they had nowhere to take cover. Without shields, to say they were reckless was an understatement.
Hit with a new round of rocks, those men fell like dominoes as they screamed. Those who had been hit in the shoulders and rolled down the hill while writhing in pain were the lucky ones; those who had been hit in the face lay lifeless on the ground with their eyes pointed at the sky.
“You idiots!”
“It’s fine, boss. Those guys don’t have any real weapons on them.”
Urged by his underling, Dagover took another look at their assailants. It was true. While they carried slingshots, they had no bows or shields. A careful look revealed there were discrepancies in their armor. One of them wasn’t carrying anything at all.
“You think one of the villages we attacked hired some hunters?”
“Maybe.”
If they were hunters working in this area, it’d make sense that they’d have such a good grasp of the land. Dagover cursed under his breath as he reached a decision. He had always been a hot-blooded man, and not only did he have superior numbers, their opponents couldn’t come hunt them down if they were stuck attacking from up on that hill. He drew his sword and bellowed to those around him, “Let’s slaughter those flies!”
With that, he took the lead, rushing up the hill with his underlings following a step behind. At the same time, the unarmed man atop the hill held up his hand toward the opposite direction. The metal plate he held glinted: two long, two short.
As if to hide themselves from the bandits running up the hill, the group of slingers scurried down the opposite side of the ridge. The next moment, countless spears appeared where they had just been standing, bristling over the ridge like a hedgerow. The bandits had run halfway up the hill, but now, they froze in place.
A voice from Dagover’s right rang out. “There’s cavalry! It’s a knight brigade!”
After hearing that, it was only human nature to turn toward the knights rushing down the hill, kicking up sand in their haste. They began to scream. The group of spearmen who had concealed themselves over the hill’s ledge passed over it in an instant and rushed down the hill with a battle cry.
In a moment, countless cries and screams began to reverberate from the hill’s slope as the men dressed in thin leather armor were beaten, punched, and stabbed, dying the ground below them in red. A spurt of fresh blood had spooked one of the bandits beside Dagover, but when he tried to run, he was ruthlessly run through with a spear. He crumpled to the ground without a single sound.
From atop the hill, foot soldiers with spears ran down, chasing the bandits back into the basin. Right on their heels, cavaliers rushed into the basin like an avalanche, running the brigands down with hooves and weapons. In an instant, the pandemonium gave way to a one-sided rout.
“How could this…”
“You simply lacked focus,” said a cold voice.
A man stood right before Dagover, and while he was not a knight, he had a bearing like a sharpened blade. He felt a shudder run down his spine, but still, he took a battle stance.
“Wh-who are y—”
He cut his words short as he desperately parried an incoming blow. As his men fell one by one with tumultuous cries, it was all he could do stave off the darting blows of his opponent’s sword. As a bandit, he was used to violence, but a mercenary more accustomed to battle was too much for him.
He swung his sword in a frenzy, but when his opponent slashed from below, his sword was forced from his hand. It flew through the air. As soon as he realized he was now weaponless, Dagover turned to flee, but the moment he did, one of the countless flying rocks dug itself into his thigh.
Dagover collapsed to the ground with a throaty groan. With that, Schünzel motioned for the slingers to stop and ordered that Dagover be captured.
“Excellent work, Sir Goecke.”
“It would have been easier to just kill him.”
Had Goecke wanted to, he would have easily been able to slay his opponent. The difference in ability between them just meant he had been able to capture Dagover alive. No matter his origins, Goecke was currently a mercenary. He had no need for pleasantries like stating his name before engaging in battle, and as long as he couldn’t turn in the bandit for a bounty, it was easier to just cut him down.
Goecke looked down at the bandit leader bound and immobilized before him and spoke. “Lord Werner was right to assume we’d be underestimated if we attacked with stones alone.”
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“Though armies still make plenty use of such tactics.”
Still, it was true that most would assume that knights or soldiers working under the crown would fight with bows instead. And for a brute who ruled by strength alone, being bested by a few stones—not even a rain of arrows—would erode his standing in the eyes of his followers. Werner’s plan to first attack with slings had beautifully hit the mark for a multitude of reasons.
“And where is Lord Werner?”
“He’s leading the spearmen, hunting down the stragglers. He’s driving them somewhere with no plans of letting them surrender.”
“Then all is going to plan.”
Goecke commanded his men to prepare their equipment, and Schünzel informed him that he’d follow as soon as he finished finish off the bandits who had lagged behind. Then, the two men departed.