Night fell, and the Giant Stone Town Garrison Camp was ablaze with bonfires.
The defense of Jushi Town was victorious, but Art suffered his most severe defeat since he walked out of the valley alone two years ago.
The First Company of Soldiers stationed at Boulder Town Camp was almost annihilated. The Company Commander, Bass, had a bloody hole in his head from a heavy hammer. Although he was still barely clinging to life, his death was almost certain. One of the company's two Quartermaster Corps (escort) Soldiers was killed and one was injured. The First Squad lost two Soldiers and had two seriously injured. The Second Squad lost three Soldiers and had one seriously injured, and the Squad Leader Keliduo's head was cut off by bandit Soldiers.
The Patrol Team stationed at Boulder Town Camp was almost annihilated. Three of the seven Patrol Team Soldiers were killed, one was seriously injured, and one was executed on the spot for attempting to surrender and disrupt morale. Of the entire Patrol Team, only Captain Obert and one injured Soldier remained standing.
The newly formed crossbow team suffered over half casualties. Two crossbowmen were killed, one archer was seriously injured, and Squad Leader Jason broke his right leg.
One Soldier from the Quartermaster Corps was killed, and Quartermaster Spencer was hit in the shoulder by a bandit's arrow and fainted from the intense pain.
Lieutenant Odo suffered four wounds, and the little finger of his axe-wielding right hand was severed at the root.
Lieutenant Angus was hit by three arrows, but fortunately, his armor was good, and the arrows did not penetrate deeply, so his life was not in danger.
Sentry Cavalry Captain Ron's shoulder was struck by a heavy hammer, both of his thighs were pierced by short spears, and he had two cuts on his chest. Fortunately, he wore iron-studded leather armor with iron shoulder guards, so his collarbone was not broken. Sentry Cavalry Soldiers Leide and Felix's attendants sustained injuries. Although Lusignan, a veteran of many battles, did not suffer fatal heavy injuries, the small portion of his ear that was sliced off by a sharp blade would never grow back.
A Most Painful Statistic
Art, sitting in his tent, did not wipe away the blood that covered his hands from bandaging the wounds of several injured officers. With bloodshot eyes, he looked at Kazak, who was organizing the mopping up of the remaining bandits: "Kazak, is the mopping up over? Are there any bandits who escaped?"
Kazak looked at Art's bloodshot eyes and realized for the first time that his lord's face could be so ferocious. "L-Lord... it's over... but a dozen or so bandits escaped... and there's a leader among them..." Kazak's voice was so low he could barely hear himself.
Art stood up abruptly, fuming, and demanded, "What were you doing? How could you let a dozen bandits escape? And a Bastard bandit leader got away!"
Kazak stood rigidly in front of Art, head bowed, not daring to move.
Art glared fiercely at Kazak for a moment, then realized he was being too harsh on this subordinate, who was also injured in the reinforcement battle. He softened his expression slightly, sat down, and asked coldly, "Have the captives been screened and interrogated?"
Kazak also noticed the slight softening in Art's tone and took a breath before replying, "The bandit Soldiers have been interrogated and screened. Among the fifty-odd captured bandits, there are twelve hardened bandits, including four big and small leaders."
"Have you found the bandit leader?"
"Found him. I think you might even know this Bastard."
Art looked up in surprise and said, "I know him?"
Kazak shifted slightly and replied, "Do you remember that desperate chase in the Birch Forest south of Laine Manor?"
Art stood up, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Are you sure it's that hardened bandit who chased us all afternoon?"
"Lord, I'm sure. I still remember those crazy, cold eyes. It's that Bastard, no mistake."
"Damn it, so it was that Bastard. Let's go, take me to see him." Art wiped the blood from his hands on the hem of his armor skirt, then picked up the knight's sword leaning against the wooden stool and followed Kazak out of the tent.
Outside the tent, dozens of bandits were bound hand and foot with rope, kneeling in a huddled mass in the camp's open space, surrounded by a circle of murderous black-robed Soldiers wielding sharp blades.
Art walked up to a fellow whose hamstrings had been severed and hands bound, sprawling on the ground. He kicked the fellow over, took a burning piece of firewood from Kazak, and held it close to the fellow's head. Although defeated and captured, those eyes still seethed with murderous intent.
The bandit leader on the ground stared fixedly at Art, his nostrils flaring, and a chilling murderous intent rose from his bleeding lips.
Art recalled that afternoon of being chased, when the death-god-like figure pursuing Art and his companions had that same ferocious look.
"I didn't expect us to meet again. Do you remember me?" Art's voice was cold.
The fellow on the ground glared at Art, his gaze suddenly faltering for a moment, then a strong murderous intent flared up again. "It's you! I couldn't kill you, you coward who only cared about escaping, that day. I didn't expect to fall into your hands today. Bastard, give me a sword!"
"Still so arrogant even after falling into my hands! Tell me, why did you lead bandits to attack my camp? Were you instigated by someone?"
"If I don't lead my brothers to wipe out you black-robed dogs today, should I wait for you to wipe me out tomorrow? Bastard, if you have the guts, fight me one-on-one!"
All the rage in Art's heart surged. Without a word, he drew the dagger from his waist and thrust it towards the bandit leader's eyes.
"Ah~ Ah! Ah~~~~" The bandit leader screamed in pain, rolling and twitching on the ground.
"Bastard! I will use your head to honor the brave souls of my fallen brothers!" With that, Art threw the dagger, gripped his sword with both hands, raised it high, and brought it down fiercely on the bandit leader's head, cutting off half of his neck. Then, with another swing, the bandit leader's head rolled to the ground~
"Ah~!" The other captured bandits, seeing Art chop off the bandit leader's head without a word, were terrified and scrambled backward, huddling together.
Kazak also didn't expect Art to chop off the bandit leader's head so quickly, but he knew Art was furious and didn't dare to say another word.
Kazak caught up with Art, who was returning to the camp with his sword, and asked, "Lord, how should we deal with these captives?"
Art paused, turned, and glanced at the trembling bandits, then said faintly, "Pry all useful information out of them. I don't need to teach you that, do I?"
Kazak quickly nodded.
Art hadn't finished speaking, "Tomorrow morning, all of them will be beheaded. This time, not a single one will be left alive." His tone was as indifferent as if he were ordering dinner.
Kazak gasped.
In the only wooden house in Boulder Town Camp, Bass, with a severe head injury, lay quietly on a straw mat. His head was wrapped in a thick layer of cotton cloth. The bleeding had stopped, but his complexion had turned from pale to ashen.
Odo, who had woken up from exhaustion-induced sleep, had been staring blankly at Bass lying on the bed.
"Lord, I know Bass can't be saved, but he's still clinging to a faint breath. I can't bear to just give up on him," Odo choked, quietly wiping the corner of his eye with his cotton-wrapped right hand.
Art stood up and patted Odo's shoulder in comfort, saying, "Felix has already ridden back to Wood Fort to bring Thomas and the others over. Don't worry, I'll do my best."
"Lord, our losses this time are too heavy~"
Art sighed and said in a deep voice, "It's all my fault. The bandit suppression in the south went too smoothly, which led me to underestimate the strength of the bandits. This time, I've harmed everyone."
"Lord, it's not your fault alone. None of us expected these Bastards to dare to attack us proactively."
"Never mind, we'll discuss this later. The most important thing now is to treat the wounded and restore the army. You shouldn't be like this anymore; there's a lot you need to do after the war. Come, let's go see the Sergeant and Ron first."
As Art was about to lead Odo out, Tuba, who was in charge of outer patrol and Vigilance with the Third Company, hurried in.
"Tuba, did the bandits ambushing at Valley Mouth attack?" Art stepped forward to ask.
"No, Lord. We caught a young bandit attempting to raid the camp in the north," Tuba reported.
"Do you need to personally report catching a young bandit? Chop him!" Odo said fiercely. If it weren't for the customary need to screen and interrogate captives, Odo would have already had the remaining bandits in the camp cut down with a single stroke.
Tuba knew he hadn't expressed himself clearly and quickly explained, "Lord, Lieutenant Odo, we had just caught that little Bastard when a group of bandits appeared in the north, shouting that they wanted to ransom that little Bastard."
"Ransom? I was just about to pursue them, and now they've delivered themselves to us. Why waste words with them! Lord, I'll lead the Soldiers to kill those Bastards!" Odo said, then prepared to lead his Soldiers out to pursue the self-delivered bandits.
Art stopped Odo, who was in a fit of rage, and asked Tuba, "Why do they want to ransom that young bandit?"
"It seems that little Bastard is the son of the bandit leader outside."
"Leading his son to be a bandit?" Art's low spirits were piqued.
"Come, take me to see."
At the camp gate, two Soldiers were holding down a struggling half-grown boy on the ground. His clothes were torn, his face was bruised, and his nose and mouth were bleeding, evidently from being beaten by the Soldiers in anger just now.
"Let me go, you black-robed dogs! Let me go!" The young bandit on the ground screamed and cursed incessantly.
A nearby Soldier kicked the fellow in the stomach. The fellow winced in pain and finally stopped his cursing.
"Release him," Art commanded.
The Soldier let go, and the young bandit slowly got up from the ground. He suddenly lunged at Art, but Art lifted his leg and powerfully kicked the overconfident half-grown boy to the ground.
Art's kick was too forceful; the fellow on the ground clutched his stomach and curled into a ball.
After a while, Art stepped forward, squatted down, grabbed the young bandit's hair, lifted his head, and asked, "So young, and already daring to be a bandit?"
The young bandit stared fixedly at Art like a young wild wolf caught by a hunter, then spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto Art.
"Little Bastard, you're looking for death!" The two black-robed Soldiers gave the fellow on the ground another round of vicious kicks and stomps.
When the fellow on the ground had been beaten sufficiently, Art raised his hand, signaling the Soldiers to stop.
"Buddy, tell me, since you ran away, why did you come back?" Art developed some interest in this young bandit.
The fellow on the ground was spitting blood foam from the beating, but he remained very defiant. "You black-robed dogs caught our Big Boss. Those cowardly Bastards didn't dare to come, but I'm not afraid of you."
Art chuckled lightly upon hearing this. This young bandit, looking thirteen or fourteen, truly had a certain chivalrous spirit like a wandering knight.
"Someone, bring his Big Boss over and give him back."
A Soldier smirked, walked to where the bandit leader had just been beheaded, picked up the still-dripping head, ran back, and threw the bloody head in front of the young bandit on the ground.
With a thud, the young bandit on the ground shivered with fright, struggling to move away from the ferocious-looking head.
"Here, I've returned your Big Boss to you. You can speak now," Art said softly.
However, the young bandit on the ground was clearly overwhelmed by sudden terror. He stared wide-eyed at the head on the ground for a long moment without moving, then let out a "Wa~" and vomited.
It turned out that in the evening, the bandit Second Leader, with a dozen or so old brothers who were still willing to obey him, had stealthily approached the north of Jushi Town to rescue their Big Boss. However, when everyone saw the grim situation where Jushi Town was impenetrable, they began to retreat.
This bandit Second Leader was originally an ordinary farmer forced into banditry. Because he had once saved the life of the Big Boss Jiali, was older, and was honest and easy to control, he was promoted to bandit Second Leader. However, this farmer-turned-Second Leader was indecisive and lacked courage, so after comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the enemy and themselves, he was unwilling to take risks.
A tiger's cub came from a dog's father.
The Second Leader's half-grown son had a character completely opposite to his father's. He usually followed the bandit Big Boss, wielding a knife and axe with extraordinary courage, and was deeply favored by the bandit leader. He was considered a confidant by the bandit leader Jiali. When he heard his father was going to retreat with his brothers, his stubborn temper flared up. While his father wasn't paying attention, he picked up his weapon and ventured in alone.
Then, as expected, he was caught by the patrolling Soldiers and given a good beating.
"Lord, that old fellow is still shouting from an arrow's distance away, begging us to let him ransom this little Bastard. Should we send people to pursue them?" Tuba asked, leaning towards Art's ear.
"Not yet. Come out with me to see, and be careful to guard the surroundings to prevent the remaining bandits from playing tricks." Anyway, there were already enough people to be buried with them. As long as the price was right, Art didn't mind letting such a small fry go.