Chapter 74: Fake Bandits

"Didn't expect them to be this strong…" Lucius muttered.

"I didn't either…" John stated.

John and the rest had been able to recognize the gifts that the bandits had, as they were well-known ones. Most of the people in this world would be able to recognize the popular gifts as they were often seen.

In fact, the higher ranked gift someone had, the better the chance of people recognizing it because of how many stories there were about them.

"Iron Edge, Bloody Nails, Bull Might, and Metal Arms… there's no way they are bandits," Kiana said.

Lucius looked at Kiana and nodded at her conjecture. If a person had gifts like these they would very easily be able to find a well paying job. Not only would they have a conformable life but they would also be safe.

It made no sense for them to become two bit bandits and then attack the soldiers of the kingdom. Normal bandits were smart enough to not attack the kingdom's soldiers as that would only spell their doom.

"It's obvious… they are here disguised as bandits…" Lucius said.

"But why would they do something like this?" one of the guards asked.

"Well, if they have been paid by a certain noble to sow chaos I'm sure they would do so with pleasure." Lucius said as he looked in the direction of Viscount Drew's territory.

"That bastard! He and his family never had trouble with the Inanis family and neither did they suffer. Why does he want to do this?" John cursed.

"Wealth… power… control… whatever it may be… we're here to stop it," Lucius said in a cold tone.

Now that Lucius had seen their gifts, he had a baseline for the plan. They waited for a bit more and saw the other 'bandits' that were there as well. They didn't have gifts that were as strong as the six who had demonstrated it, but their numbers could still be a problem.

Even the reason why the bandits had demonstrated their gifts was because they were practicing and sparring. Looking at their methods and practice routines, John realized it was the Grantz Kingdoms Training manual.

"They're no bandits! They're soldiers, too!" John stated.

"Don't worry… we won't let them get away with it. If they are soldiers, they must have been ordered and for orders, they must have documents. As long as we get them, we should have proof that we can show to the king. Perhaps it may even implicate the Viscount and we can get him punished." Lucius said.

"That is unlikely, though. The viscount isn't stupid. There is no way he would leave anything that would link him to these 'bandits' at least not directly. There's a third party involved in this motet likely." Kiana spoke.

Lucius heard Kiana's words and found them to be quite sensible. If he was in the viscount's place, he would do the same. He would hire a broker or a fixer instead of employing his own men for it.

"Alright, now that we know their side, we can plan. Listen to me carefully…" Lucius said before explaining the plan that he had come up with.

Lucius and the team later went back to the carrier and got ready for the attack, which they would be doing at night. There were still six hours till sunset, which gave them plenty of time to practice their plan.

Kiana would be the main offense for them, while the six guards will block the bandits from escaping. They would block their escape route on the other side, and John would defend Lucius and Kiana on the hill.

It was a simple plan, but what was not were the intricacies that Lucius had told everyone. He made scenarios and told them how they would need to act if they happened. While the guards didn't think of this much, Kiana and John were quite shocked by Asher's intellect.

'Such strategies… he truly has the Count's blood running in him.' John thought to himself.

Kiana felt impressed too and couldn't help smile to herself, despite the fact that they would be heading into a bloody battle soon. 

Just like this, minutes turned into hours and it was time to act. Lucius and the rest silently made their way to the camp and split up. The guards positioned themselves around the choke point they had chosen while Lucius, Kiana, and John climbed the Knoll.

Up at the hill, Lucius gazed upon the tents of the bandits, his expression still. He observed for several minutes before taking a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" Lucius questioned.

"Yes, I am ready," Kiana affirmed.

"I am ready, too. If anything happens, leave it to me." John said.

Lucius nodded his head and looked back at the camp. The bandits were still outside, doing their tasks. Some were preparing food, some were polishing their weapons, while others were just chatting around.

They were too far from them and thus couldn't hear what they were talking about, but from their exaggerated expressions of laughter, it was evident they were having a jolly good time.

'Not for long though…' Lucius muttered to himself as his hand gripped around the handle of the Wind Scar sword.

By the time the moon came up, the bandits were done with everything and were getting ready to sleep. There were of course, a couple of them that were on night guard duty and would watch out for animals or any other intruders.

This forest was inhabited by quite a lot of animals, along with rune beasts, so if any of them wandered in the camp, it could become problematic. Lucius lifted his hand up in the sky as a signal to the six guards to take out the night watch.

They split into two groups and swiftly took out the night guards without making a noise. All they needed to do was stab a blade through their throats, and it was done.

"Alright… time for the party to start!"