“There’s no other way around it. The people behind us won’t be able to bypass it,” Angus said, after riding around the area, attempting to find a path for the main force to go around. However, this was a dense forest valley with steep terrain all around. To bypass the Valley Mouth road, they would have to climb mountains and scale rocks like monkeys.
There might have been other bypass routes further east, but Jushi Town was in imminent danger, and they absolutely had no time to slowly explore another path leading to Jushi Town.
Listening to Angus’s report, Art tried his best to calm himself. After all, if the Soldier team behind them couldn’t reinforce Jushi Town, their few cavalrymen rushing to aid wouldn’t be able to put out the fire. The most important thing now was to let the people behind know that there was an ambush at the Valley Mouth, so they wouldn't rush into the trap unprepared.
“Sergeant, you and I will keep an eye on those Bastards at the Valley Mouth to prevent them from charging us.”
“Felix, the three of you go into the dense forest, cut down some pine branches, and light three bonfires. Use the black smoke to warn the approaching team.”
“Alright, brother-in-law!” After his initial panic, Felix quickly led his two attendants and galloped towards the edge of the dense forest a short distance away.
Just as Felix and his men were piling up branches and dry grass nearby, preparing to light them, the bandits on the hilltop at the Valley Mouth perceived their intention. To prevent them from sending a message to the main force behind, seven or eight bandits from the hilltop started rushing down the slope towards them, attempting to drive Art and his men away and prevent them from lighting the fires.
If twenty or so people had come, Art might have retreated, but merely seven or eight bandit henchmen thinking they could drive them away was a severe underestimation.
Art stood on horseback, observing the surroundings, confirming that the enemy had no possibility of a flanking surprise attack. He then took out a finely crafted bow from his saddlebag and drew a few light arrows for backup. “Sergeant, the first three running belong to me; the rest are all yours.”
Angus smiled, took two javelins from his rear saddlebag, tested their feel, and then nodded to Art.
Art drew his bow and aimed an arrow at a leading bandit about a hundred paces from them. He released it sharply; the arrow flew past the bowstring. Just as the light arrow was about to hit its target, the bandit suddenly changed his route, and the arrow grazed past him, embedding itself in the ground.
“Damn it!” Art cursed softly, then nocked a second light arrow.
This time, Art didn't rush to shoot. He estimated the bandit's path and aimed the arrowhead three paces to the bandit's front-left.
“Whoosh~~~~”
“Thud!” The bandit was struck in the stomach by Art’s arrow, falling to the ground, rolling and convulsing.
Art fired three more arrows consecutively but only hit one bandit. Seeing the bandits about to close within fifty paces, Angus didn't wait for Art to shoot down the third man. He gripped a javelin, spurred his horse, and charged towards the oncoming bandits. A javelin flew into the air, slicing through the air and pinning the leading fellow firmly to the ground, who died without even a struggle or convulsion.
Art watched Angus charge forward, put away his bow and arrows, drew the Knight’s sword from his waist, and also charged towards the running bandits.
“Cowards! Bastards! Eight of you can’t even beat two!” The bandit Second Leader cursed the three henchmen who had fled back halfway.
“Second Leader, should we send a few more men down?” a fierce bandit asked.
“Forget it. Anyway, they wouldn’t dare go back to report, and even if the team behind knows there’s an ambush here, there’s nothing they can do. We have sixty-odd men here, and plenty of archers and crossbowmen. We’re not afraid of them, even in a head-on confrontation.” The bandit Second Leader apparently also realized the prowess of those men on the west side of the Valley Mouth. Moreover, their opponents were cavalry; even if they couldn’t win, they could escape. So, he no longer planned to send men down to drive away those who were lighting fires to warn the rear guard.
Thus, the sixty-odd bandits ambushing on the Valley Mouth hillside simply stopped concealing themselves, either standing or sitting, waiting for the main force rushing from the east.
On the west side of the Valley Mouth, three plumes of dark smoke rose into the air.
Seeing that the bandit Soldiers ambushing at the Valley Mouth had no intention of sending more men to drive them away, Art put his bow back into its quiver. He walked over to Angus and analyzed, “Sergeant, those Bastards are clearly waiting for the main force to arrive before they all charge down. They want to use the terrain advantage on both sides of the Valley Mouth to roll boulders and shoot arrows, or launch a high-ground charge to break our marching formation. If we’re worried about our formation being broken, we can only array ourselves outside the Valley Mouth to face the enemy. At that point, if the enemy doesn’t engage us in direct combat, then both sides can only be in a stalemate, allowing them to successfully delay our reinforcements.”
Angus was also somewhat flustered. Jushi Town was still under siege and urgently needed reinforcements, but now the bulk of the reinforcements were about to be trapped at this Valley Mouth. “Damn it, whether dealing with the enemy from Swabia or the fierce bandits gathered in the mountains, we’ve always been the ones using schemes. Today, I didn’t expect to be outsmarted by a bunch of Bastard bandits.” Angus kicked over a rock in front of him.
Art raised his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, clenched his fists, and pondered for a while, then made up his mind.
“Sergeant, there’s no perfect plan now. The team behind can only force their way through the Valley Mouth! If reinforcements can’t reach Jushi Town in time, I’m afraid Odo and his men won’t be able to hold on. Losing Jushi Town is a minor matter; we cannot lose those elite Soldiers and officers. Moreover, if the enemy’s ultimate goal is the Valley Knight Territory, then we will lose everything in one failed move. Also, it now seems that those who knew to attack Jushi Town by exploiting its weakness and set up an ambush here are definitely not ordinary bandits. I’m afraid there’s a greater power behind this.”
Angus also knew that if this sudden crisis couldn’t be resolved, Art would be severely weakened, and all his previous efforts might be in vain. He pondered for a moment, then said firmly, “Tell me, what do you need me to do?”
“Our Soldiers behind are rushing on wagons, so their speed won’t be too slow. I estimate they should reach this Valley Mouth in about two more meals’ time. I need to rush through the Valley Mouth to command the main force to force their way through. You take Felix and the other three, carry my heraldic banner, and rush back to Jushi Town. Let the defenders in Jushi Town see my banner and know that reinforcements are coming, so they might be able to hold on a little longer.”
Angus knew what Art meant. The most important thing for holding a besieged city was the hope of reinforcements. If they knew reinforcements were coming, the defenders of Jushi Town might be able to hold out for another moment.
“Then how will you rush through the Valley Mouth to find the main force? I just saw that those guys ambushing on the hilltop have plenty of bows and crossbows. Moreover, the enemy has already set up roadblocks in the valley, so even on horseback, you simply can’t get through,” Angus thought Art intended to use a galloping horse to break through the Valley Mouth.
“I have my own way. Let’s go!”
Before he finished speaking, Art had already mounted his horse and galloped west. Angus and Felix’s group quickly mounted their horses and chased after him.
After riding half a mile and turning a corner, ensuring that the dense forest on the hillside obscured the view of the ambushing Soldiers on the Valley Mouth hilltop, Art jumped off his horse, took off the bow quiver and arrow bag from his saddle, tied them to his waist, then stopped the approaching Angus, throwing him the reins, and said, “Sergeant, I entrust Jushi Town to you. No matter what, you must hold out until I arrive with reinforcements.”
Before Angus could react, Art had already plunged into the dense forest, intending to climb the steep hillside, sneak around the Valley Mouth ambush, and rendezvous with the main force behind.
On the wagon road three miles east of the canyon, Kazak, at the head of the westward-galloping convoy, constantly shook the reins of his wagon. The draft horses, having run for half an afternoon, were already frothing at the mouth, and their steps were becoming heavier.
“Tuba, hurry up and catch up! If you’re late, you’ll only be able to collect Odo’s corpse!” Kazak turned to look at Tuba, who was lagging at the very end of the procession. The wagon Tuba was on was barely moving, and the mule pulling it was probably on the verge of collapsing, with bloody foam at its mouth.
Tuba was also extremely anxious and could only mercilessly whip the mule pulling the wagon, trying to keep up with the fast-moving convoy.
Kazak saw Tuba slowly catching up, turned his head, and continued to urge his horse forward.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the turn of the wagon road. Kazak instinctively pulled hard on the reins, and the wagon stopped abruptly before hitting the figure. The five Soldiers sitting in the wagon were thrown into a heap.
“Sir? Sir! How could you—”
“Stop all wagons. Call Tuba over.” The scarred Art interrupted Kazak’s question.
Kazak, not understanding, quickly ordered the convoy to stop, then ran to the rear and called Tuba to Art.
“There’s an ambush in the canyon ahead. The convoy can’t pass,” Art directly told them about the fatal danger ahead.
Both of them heard this and knew it was bad.
“Sir, what should we do? There’s an ambush in the canyon ahead, and there are no other roads nearby. Odo and his men must still be holding Jushi Town. If we can’t get there to rescue them, I’m afraid…” Kazak’s voice was tearful, and he dared not continue.
Art summoned a baggage (guard) Soldier who had learned some bandaging skills a few days ago, asking him to stop the bleeding from the wounds he sustained while climbing the mountain. Then he said to the two men, who looked worried but helpless, “There’s no other way. The only plan now is to force our way through the trap at the Valley Mouth. It was my oversight; it seems we’ll have to pay a price this time.” Art’s tone carried deep helplessness.
There was no time for lamenting. Art began to assign combat tasks. “When we force our way through the Valley Mouth later, Kazak will lead the Soldiers of the Second Company to concentrate all their armor on the outer perimeter, resisting regardless of casualties. Tuba will be responsible for clearing the roadblocks in the shortest possible time.”
At this moment, the Soldier bandaging the wound hesitated and interrupted Art, weakly saying, “S-Sir, we don’t need to force our way through…”
The Commanders heard this and focused their gaze on this Soldier, who had only recently been promoted to Soldier.
This Soldier was evidently not good with words on normal days; now, being stared at by several sirs, he was utterly uncomfortable and dared not speak for a moment.
Art saw that the Soldier hadn’t dared to speak for a long time, then regained his composure and said, “Don’t be afraid, speak up.”
Encouraged, the Soldier then looked at his direct superior, Tuba. Tuba glanced at the Soldier and said anxiously, “Why are you looking at me? Sir told you to speak, so hurry up and say it, you’re killing me!”
The Soldier swallowed, then stammered, “Walk back three miles, to that small stream we just passed. Follow the stream south for two miles, then turn west. There’s a small path made by wild animals drinking water in the mountains that can directly bypass the Valley Mouth ahead and lead back to the wagon road.”
Art’s eyes instantly lit up with joy, and he pressed, “Can that road accommodate fully armed Soldiers?”
The Soldier replied, “Yes, although that road is very rugged and has many forks, making it easy to get lost, I’m familiar with that road…”
“How do you know this secret path?” The quick-witted Kazak had just said this when he realized his slip of the tongue. He then remembered that this Soldier, before joining Art’s army, had been a bandit henchman active in Tinietz County.
“Sir Kazak, well, I… I used to make a living in this area with a group of mountain bandits,” the Soldier said awkwardly, his face slightly red.
Like a sudden glimmer of light in the dark night, much of the gloom in Art’s heart was swept away by an inconspicuous ordinary Soldier. He patted the Soldier’s shoulder and said, “Fellow, if you can successfully lead us around the canyon and back to the wagon road, I will credit you with a meritorious deed after the battle!”
A turning point appeared in the crisis, and Art did not hesitate for a moment. He decisively ordered all wagons to turn around and head back. Upon reaching the stream the Soldier had mentioned, he left three baggage Soldiers with the wagons to head east to the place where supplies were hidden, load them onto the wagons, and send them to the nearest village fort for safekeeping. Then, he led the fully armed Soldiers south along the stream bank, which was overgrown with miscellaneous trees and wild grass.
This secret path could probably only be successfully traversed by mountain bandits who had spent years in the towering mountains, constantly evading the official army. Not to mention wading through streams, climbing steep slopes, and pushing through thorns, the dense, sunless forest alone could make anyone who ventured in lose their way.
Led by that Soldier, twenty-odd people, with scraped skin and torn clothes, zigzagged for an unknown amount of time before finally bursting out of the dense forest and seeing the long-awaited wagon road.
Art regulated his breathing, tore off a few strips of cloth from his clothes that had been snagged by thorns, and tied up the reopened wounds. He looked around and found that they were now directly north of Jushi Town, and running another four miles south would bring them to the reinforcement battlefield.
“Everyone, rest where you are, drink some water, eat some food, then organize your armor and weapons. A fierce battle is coming!”