[VII] Outskirts

Walter counted all the men that Arthur had lent him, and just as what he had guessed when he first saw them, they total a dozen: eight men and four women.

The group seems to be already familiar with each other, only cut in half by their positions as ordinary soldiers and mercenaries. And as it turns out, only five of this group are soldiers while the rest are mercenaries - and the number of women in the team of mercenaries also has a higher number than those in the small team of soldiers.

This should already be expected as being a mercenary is much easier than becoming a soldier which has a bias of only accepting males. The mercenaries, on the other hand, accept females that are strong and skillful enough. Maybe because soldiers are always being assigned as town and city guards as they are more intimidating - which is possibly why this bias exists in the first place.

It's not really hard for Walter to lead both genders as he had already experience leading them many times. The only problem he has is that he's been assigned to them without the chance to know them first, which will probably put him in an awkward position, especially that he doesn't even know some of their names yet.

Either way, confidence is always the key to become a good leader, and Walter has an unlimited amount of it.

[ Zel. ] Walter stops his horse and calls one of the names he already knows.

Zel, he was one of the city gates guards that Walter already have experience working with. He's the kind of man that doesn't really stand out much. His looks are plain, his attitude, and even his gears and skills are all average for as Walter has witnessed so far - and in the group, he's probably also only stands in the middle of usefulness. But for now, he is the only one who he can command properly without problems so he's the one he called.

Furthermore, he was also the one he has trusted his map onto, forcing him to be the one to point out which road will their group take - as a local of the city, he has the knowledge necessary.

[ What is it, Ainzach-sama? ]

[ Do you know any other ways we can get to our destination faster? ]

Passing the gates was no problem, but now, the path they're taking is consuming them a bit of time. And Walter has a huge problem with it.

It's already past noon - and the sun will go down in at least an hour or two if they take any longer, which will make their task at least a few times harder.

They have torches, but Walter wants to sneak to their enemy if possible, and they won't be able to do that if they were traced immediately by the light of their torches in the night. That's why he asked Zel - who is a local soldier in the city. He might have the knowledge of a better path they can take to take them to their destination much faster.

And just as he both expected and wanted, Zel seems to have a positive answer to his question.

[ There's a much faster way, but it's a much risky path... ]

[ It's fine, we already strayed from the main road anyway so it wouldn't be a problem. You can lead the group for now so it would be much faster; just tell me when we're close, we still need to prepare before we attack or we might get ambushed. ]

[ Of course...! ]

[ Okay; let's continue. ] as he commanded, the group began moving again together with their horses, and now, with him and Zel on the front.

And just as what he had given order to Zel, he changes direction to which they followed, leading them to a small woods filled with tall trees blocking the light of the sun.

And Zel didn't lie when he said the path would be much risky...

The road they're now taking is much narrow than the main road. Filled with the trees that are blocking their way, together with the huge rocks and fallen branches on the ground, it's a much harder path to past by. And inside this woods, The neighing sound and footsteps of their speeding horses together with the cries of birds were the only sounds that they can hear, filling them with a little sense of suspense.

But though that was the case, the speed of their horses didn't decrease and they continue with a rush, showing their skills on riding horses.

Especially for Walter, who is riding solo on his own black-colored horse. He most probably has the highest skill in the group when it comes to this thing, as he was the only one who has the proper training of horseback riding. But still, compared to him, no one in their group would be considered bad. Walter could see that Arthur had assembled at least a decent group for him to lead.

Then, for a few more minutes, reaching an hour or so, Zel who is in the front together with Walter lowered his speed and spoke -

[ Ainzach-sama, we've passed the road where those merchants have said they've been attacked... The bandits are probably hiding somewhere in this woods... ]

[ Good... I'll take the lead now... ] Walter said as he positions himself in the middle of the group.

[ We need a plan. ]

To his words, everyone nodded in agreement. They are all skilled people and they know they can't just barge in when they still don't know the location of the enemy. And it's Walter's task to find a solution to that problem.

[ Hmm... For now, we'll have someone survey the area... We need at least two people who are confident in their skills to run away. ]

[ T-To run away, Ainzach-sama...? ] Zel murmurs, seems to be baffled.

[ Of course... from the mercenaries; I'm sure many of you has the skills of a thief, right? ] Walter glances at the group of mercenaries.

Sure enough, almost half of them are wearing light leather armor, which is an advantage in their speed compares to those who are wearing pieces of metallic armor - it's obvious they're the ones Walter will use for efficiency; and he's sure most of them had already understood what he is going on about, especially the mercenaries themselves.

Zel and the other soldiers on the other hand, which are normal soldiers that were mostly on being assigned on guarding the city obviously lack knowledge compared to them.

[ So... Is there anyone? ] as he urges again, two hands finally rise - one of a man and one of a woman.

[ Tell me your names. ]

[ It's Gerald, sir. ]

[ The name's Kira, Ainzach-sama. ]

They both told their names as they relax their hands. And Walter looks at them throughout.

Base on their clothes and the symbol on the straps on their arms, the two of them are mercenaries. Watler guesses that they have experience working together. It makes him feel relieved as he wasn't sure they would work out if they don't have experience with each other.

[ So... Where do you want us to search? ]

[ They're probably on the other side of these woods... Make your work fast, but be sure to be careful and prioritize running away if you were ever found out. ]

[ We have experience tracking enemies before so this would be an easy task. ] Gerald, the male, responded.

[ Good. ] and as soon as Walter replies, the two mercenaries nodded to each other and slowly went away together with their horses, leaving their group.

[ Then, while we wait, we'll plan our attack... Let's rest our horses here. ]

Walter went down on his horse, and as he does, all of the other soon followed.

For now, he will need to come up with a proper plan which he had skipped earlier to conserve time.