Dark Moon Second Arc (His Art of War) -121. Ecrin Village I (Patreon)

Second Arc (His Art of War) -121. Ecrin Village I

The night was getting late, the rebels in the Ecrin village waited anxiously for their friend's news. Previously, they had received news that a Fiend Bear broke their traps and attacked their friends. That's why the rebel leader sent a platoon of reinforcement troops to them. Now an hour had passed after the troops were dispatched, but there was no news about them, nor any news about the princess' arrival.

The rebel leader walked restlessly around the hostages in the centre of the village square. They made the hostages sit on the ground regardless of the cold night. Other rebels were seen standing guard around them. A man in his 30s was tied to a big pole near them and several rebels took turns whipping him. His screams of pain echoed throughout the village. In front of him, his 7 years old son tied to a shorter pole screamed and begged for his father's life. But of course, it was in vain, they instead tied him there on purpose so the boy would watch how the rebels tortured his father to the death.

Previously, both of them were trying to escape when the rebels got word that their traps were broken by that Fiend Bear and after a short search the rebels finally caught them. That's why the leader decided to torture them as a warning to the others.

Between the screams of pain, two rebels approached the leader.
"Sir, since there is still no sign of the princess' arrival. Can we ---" Both of them turned to the most beautiful woman in the hostage crowd with  lecherous smiles.

The leader quickly realized their lecherous thoughts and turned to them.
"No, the princess could come at any time. Besides, I haven't received any news about our troops," he said with a glare. This was his chance to shine. If he succeeded in killing the princess, their supreme leader would give him a higher rank.

"But, look at her. It will be such a waste," said one of them as he pointed to the woman he was referring to. Knowing they were targeting her, the woman curled up even more in fear.

"No," replied the leader in a firm tone, this was a crucial time he couldn't let his guard down. If he let one of them do it, then the others would follow it. Eventually, their formation and plans would mess up. He returned his gaze to the village gate which was made of large strong woods.
"You are only allowed to do it after our mission is complete." Well, he understood, even though his members were trained to fight but they were different from the military which had ethics and discipline. So he could not avoid something like this, for him as long as their work was done. He would allow his members to do anything. After all, the villagers had nothing to do with them.

"Thank you, sir," said the two men with a smile. Then they returned to their original positions.

The leader sighed once again in annoyance. His eyes swept along the village wall, with two towers beside the main gate. There were only about ten small houses here, therefore they could take over this place easily. Besides this was a suitable place to capture the princess since this was a small village so they could keep an eye on the entire village wall easily. The princess wouldn't be able to sneak through the walls as she did at Slyhelm Town.
'Come to me, Your Highness ...' he thought as he clenched his fists impatiently.

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Meanwhile, outside the village wall, Angel and Rose ducked down among the bushes, their hands splitting the leaves in front of them, their eyes watched the village from the darkness of the forest. They could faintly hear screams of pain coming from the small village. They had observed the village beforehand and couldn't find any other way than the main gate since it was a small village. So they decided to attack from the front.

Unlike before, Angel wore one of the rebels' clothes though his hood and mask still covered his face. While Rose still wore the same dress and a horse that they managed to snatch from the rebels was behind them. They had succeeded in defeating all the rebel forces they encountered along the way, including the reinforcement troops and walking here through the forest path instead of using the main path to avoid the rebels' surveillance.

"Your Highness, are you serious about this?" Angel asked in doubt as he turned to Rose.

"Of course. Your plan is brilliant, even better than mine," said Rose. Previously, Angel had given her the idea of how they could enter the village easily and be able to save the hostages without giving the rebels a chance to use them as shields. She turned to Angel and looked at him with a serious gaze.
"You know if I'm your king. I won't hesitate to raise your rank to lieutenant or even commander. How could he waste a talented person like you and make you do a suicide mission like this?"

Her words surprised him also made him have to hold back his laughter.
"I'm sure the king has his own reasons. Thank you for your compliment, Your Highness."

"All right, let's take care of them," said Rose.