5.13 - Cornered by Foot Bow

Apart from Lassac's men at the Villa Hagel, the only person who knew firsthand that the incident on Berril Plains was planned by Baron Eslei was only Captain Ureg.

Above the surface, he was sent to the border post with his unit to carry out routine patrols. But all of that was just an excuse, because Baron Eslei secretly placed him as insurance if at the last second Lassac refused to finish off his men.

As Lassac's best friend, Ureg did not expect that his friend at the last second would refuse Baron Eslei's orders. Moreover, not for the sake of his men but for the hostage he only knew for a matter of days.

'Lassac, why are you so stupid?'

Ureg muttered while from the direction of Villa Hagel he saw four flashes, followed by several of his men who fell from their horses, then ended with a loud 'Bang!' four times.

Ureg instantly stuttered, but only for a moment. With a loud voice he then gave orders.

"Retreat and set up a firing base at a distance of 1.5 km."

Initially, Ureg only received orders to eliminate all trails that could link Baron Eslei to the incident on Berril Plains. However, just before he left Baron Eslei's trusted butler contacted him and told him that Viscount Olrig's personal bodyguard had just captured Baron Eslei.

Also, there were rumors that a small number of Amethyst Merchant personnel had just occupied Villa Hagel.

So far Baron Eslei has managed to deny that he doesn't know anything about what happened at Villa Hagel or the incident on Berril Plains. So Ureg was asked to immediately eliminate the hostages and all Amethyst Merchant personnel at Villa Hagel, then go as far as possible from Liqua Region as originally planned.

From the previous conflict, it was known that the effective range of fire sticks used by Amethyst Merchant personnel was in the range of 500-600 meters. The Intel seems to be inaccurate because currently, Ureg found his unit was hit from a distance of 1.3 km.

Even so, Ureg was not panic. Because the unit he leads is a light cavalry equipped with 120 foot-bows with an effective range of 1.5 km.

In an instant the firing base was established, and Ureg grinned broadly before giving an order.

"Ambush Unit, take a position 2 km from the villa. Archer unit, use fire arrows to smoke them out."

Before long, more than a hundred fire arrows shot through the night sky and rained down on Villa Hagel.

Although flash after flash was seen from the roof of Villa Hagel and accurately nailed down its targets. Captain Ureg's men continued to effectively send a salvo of fire arrows towards Vila Hagel.

 - - - - -

"According to the FITA website on October 28, 2008, the farthest record in the world of modern archery is 1222.01 meters for men, 950.39 for women, 817.90 male juniors, 738.66 juniors for women. The four records were recorded using a specially designed flight-bow. For the male class using the foot bow, the record is 1410.87 meters. 

"In the previous conflict with the Northern Coalition, we got a lot of booty foot bows. Most of it was absorbed by Tuscan Guard while a small number was sent to the Weapon Center for internal learning studies. It seems Weapon Center personnel didn't boast when they said that the foot bow used by the Northern Coalition had an effective range up to 1.5 km when fired in salvo."

Sergeant Liam looked at Sergeant Rodriguez with an expression that is difficult to describe before speaking.

"Because we were cornered by an opponent using foot bow, then you talked at length about foot bow."

"Yeah."

Sergeant Rodriguez replied before sipping the cup of coffee in his hand. He and three other AWM .338  shooters were already trying to take out as many opponents as possible. However, due to limited ammunition the number of remaining opponents is still quite large.

Ten minutes after a salvo of fire arrows had rained down on Vila Hagel, the barracks beside the main building had now completely collapsed. Meanwhile, several other buildings were burning violently and it was only a matter of time before they were leveled to the ground.

The barricades around the villa were also blazing violently and the smell of burning human flesh filled the night air.

For the main building, Green Raccoon personnel will take turns extinguishing the fire arrows that hit the building. Especially arrows that pierce tiles or enter through windows.

But over time, it got more and more difficult. Because the increasing temperature of the air would make the main building easier to catch fire. Moreover, even though the fire arrow is successfully extinguished, the splashes of oil from the arrow will continue to accumulate.

Sergeant Rodriguez took another sip of coffee in his hand before speaking.

"I feel so relieved after letting go of my feelings in my heart."

Sergeant Liam immediately pondered for a moment. He did not understand how talking about arrows and bows was such a letting go of feeling in the heart.

But from Sergeant Rodriguez's expression and manner of speaking, he realized that his colleague had just decided to make a bold move.

"I'll lead the third sub-team to scrape them off with a grenade launcher. I'm sure 2-3 salvos of four grenade launchers will neutralize more than half of their foot-bow."

Sergeant Liam let out a deep sigh before saying.

"And after that, they will neutralize your lives along with the third sub-team."

Sergeant Rodriguez casually shrugged his shoulders.

"It's much better than sitting here and got roasted with you."

After pondering for a moment, Sergeant Liam said.

"Good luck."

Sergeant Rodriguez smiled faintly and nodded.

"If we fail, go to the basement with all hostages and burn the building. Hopefully, that will be enough for buying time until help arrives."

"Understood."

With casual steps, Sergeant Rodriguez then walked out of the room. Before long, he and third sub-team personnel sneak out from the main building back door, then using a few wooden planks to make a small gap between the fire barricades.

*****