Move 18: The Calm Before The Storm

"Any changes?" Oli asks Zack.

Zack shook his head and then said, "There are no changes and movements on the other side of the river, My Lord. Luckily, we have this thing, so it's much easier to see what's happening on the other side of the Aklas river." Zack said while looking at the strange device in his hands.

"Oh? Do you mean the binoculars? Yeah. We should thank this one for making our scouting easier." Oli replied.

The devices' on Zack hand's were binoculars. Oli bought it online so that they could scout and see the other side of the Aklas river.

Aklas river was the one that separated the Credia Empire and the Vedrain Kingdom. It's the boundary between the two territories.

It is a broad and deep river that if one wanted to cross to the other side, boats would be needed. And if the current was strong or fast, it was impossible to cross to the other side.

Before Oli came, Michael and the guards under his command were having a hard time scouting because their eyes were not like the hawk eyes that could see in the far distance.

They needed to come closer to the river bank if they needed to check if the soldiers from the Credia Empire were preparing to cross the Aklas river.

Now that Oli was here and brought the binoculars, Michael and the others could now check if the soldiers were preparing or coming without getting closer to the riverbank.

And if they saw anything suspicious, they just needed to travel back to the Leefside by horse riding to notify Oli and the others.

Because according to Michael's estimation, it's either now or tomorrow the soldiers from the Credia Empire will start preparing to cross the Aklas river.

And after they cross, using their horses, they would travel to Leefside at a fast pace and attack the village. Not giving the villagers to prepare or evacuate.

But now, everything has changed. Because after Michael voices out his thoughts, Oli immediately orders everyone to prepare.

The moment Michael said that the attacker would attack a few days from now, luckily, the walls were now finished.

That's why Oli's attention was now focused on placing some traps around the village and, at the same time, securing an escape route if the attackers' numbers exceeded their numbers.

Oli doesn't know if the goddess of luck was on his side because of all the traps he mentioned and wanted to implement, but Eli knows how to make it. That's why Oli doesn't need to explain how it is done because Eli took that role.

Also, Oli remembers that the first time he set his foot here on Chronos, he witnessed that the Leefside were getting attacked by the soldiers riding a horse. Additionally, Oli gets chased by the attacker, which causes the attacker to lose his hands.

And to ensure everything, he asks for Michael's confirmation regarding this matter. And Michael confirms that every time the soldiers from the Credia Empire attacked their village, they were on horseback.

That's why the traps Oli searched and ordered to make were the anti-cavalry, cheval de frise, and punji stake, which they put around the village. Oli also added a few trou de loup as backup traps.

"I do all the things I am supposed to do. Now it comes to the others on how they would perform their roles. Kill or be killed. Now then. Who would be the predator and the prey?" Oli said.

***

The Credia Empire is the largest Human Empire on Chronos and ruled by one of the oldest families on Chronos, the Tai Imperial Family.

As a descendant of the first Human, the Tai Imperial Family believed that they were superior to any other Human. The same goes for the Elves and Demon races.

They believed that the only qualified to rule Chronos was them, creating a belief that they should rule the world of Chronos.

And due to the size of the Empire, the Emperor bestowed numerous peerage titles on individuals who would rule the territories that the Emperor couldn't govern.

In the Southern part of the Credia Empire is located the Ashur village. The Ashur village was the border village of the Credia Empire to the Vedrain Kingdom.

Currently, inside the large and luxurious room, a black-haired man wearing noble attire was sitting at a chair while drinking. The man only has one arm–his right arm.

"What did you say?" The one-armed man asked, and it was clear that he was about to erupt.

"My Lord, the current of the Aklas river suddenly became strong and fast. Due to that, boats would be late to arrive, and it's dangerous to ride one. So I advise you, My Lord, to postpone the attack today." A Knight wearing silver armor politely said.

"All of you were a bunch of useless fools! So want me to wait longer?! Are you preventing me from destroying that fucking village?! To that man who cut off my arm?! Me?! The son of General Zheng Lin, Heng Lin?!" Heng Ling said, then he threw the golden cup he was holding to the silver armor Knight.

The Knight took a deep breath. He then took his white handkerchief and wiped the wine that had splattered on his face. Then the Knight remembered the reason why this fool became like this.

It happened a few months ago. Tin just finished his bandit subjugating task near the Ashur village when Heng came back from pillaging the villages of the Vedrain Kingdom. He was on the verge of death because he lost too much blood due to his decapitated arm.

He didn't know why his Lord son suffered such a mortal wound, but Tin only knew one thing. If someone died, specifically a Noble, and the cause of the death was not a common illness but due to external factors, everyone one the village would be executed, including him.

Luckily, there's a doctor in the village, and Heng was saved.

Heng spent months recovering. And every time Tin asks Heng what happened. Heng only answers him with, "He uses black magic! I saw it! He used black magic to cut off my whole arm!" After Heng says that, he repeats these words, "I swear on my name that I will kill you, black-haired man!"

'Why do I have to stick with this crazy fool? Now that the war between the Literra Empire is around the corner, here I am. Babysitting this crazy useless fool. If not because he is the son of My Lord and ordered me to be the guardian of this fool I have long since left here.' The Knight thought while looking at Heng, that was currently throwing all the decorations inside the room.

Before Heng was completely lost in rage, the Knight calmed him down.

"My Lord, I'm not preventing you from destroying or burning down that village. Whatever you do in that village, not a single soul would care.

I am only advising you that you should postpone the attack due to the current situation of the river.

And My Lord, if you insist on attacking the village, I will immediately order the men to prepare to march. But expect that the moment we rode the boat to cross to the other side, the boat would sink because of the strong current, and all of us would die in a meaningless way.

So, even if you, My Lord, threw all the decorations on me and cursed me to death, I will take all of it because your life was far more important and precious than those living in that village." The silver armor Knight, Tin said in a convincing tone.

When Heng heard that, he calmed down a little bit, and it was clear that he was suppressing his anger.

"Tch! Get away! You useless fool! If not for my father, you would not be in your current position! Get out!" Heng shouted, and he threw another bottle of wine at Tin.

'I pray to all the gods out there. Please kill these crazy bastards.' Tin thought as he walked into the corridor after he left the room.

"AHHHHHH!!! I SWEAR! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!" Heng shouted at the top of his lungs.

***

Earth. The Philippines. 4:00 PM

"So? What do you think? This house was still new. Though there are some renovations made by the previous owner, it's not a big deal. The only changes they made were the bedroom and bathroom. I don't why, but they change it into something bigger than normal." The real estate agent explained.

Oli only nodded his head and kept looking at the condo unit. Oli was now back on Earth. As much as he wanted to stay at Leefside, Michael urged him to take a rest because, as Michael said, "They were not going to attack today or even in the evening. They were going to postpone their attack and attack tomorrow. So, My Lord, use this chance to take a rest. Because tomorrow you will have no time to rest."

And Oli was not tired. And to kill time, Oli uses this time to look for a better home.

'Everything was good. I don't need to change anything on this unit. But the only problem was the bedroom and the bathroom. It was so large that ten or more people could easily fit.' Oli thought.

"What do you say, Sir?" The agent asked.

"I'll take it," Oli replied, still looking at his new home.