Eritrea led them some kilometers away from the camp, and they began to climb the mountain, heading for the wooden wall about 30 feet above the ground.
Eritrea was the first to reach the top, and she leaned against the wall so as to avoid being seen by the bandit watchmen on the wall with torches that had fierce orange flames billowing off them.
Her agility was higher than the others, which was why she was able to get to the top before them.
Asher and Alex arrived second and pulled Nero up.
Asher looked up. He saw the shadows of men chatting with low voices at the top of the wall.
“Have you gone inside before?”
He questioned Eritrea.
She shook her head. “Look there.”
Asher looked below, toward the far east, and he saw a bonfire below the mountain, right in the middle of the Ash Mountain Pass, and some figures were seated around the bonfire.
“Those are the ones that collect the fees.”
“Find a route inside and do not alert any watchmen.” Asher ordered.
Before Eritrea could go search for a route, they saw carts being pushed toward the gates, and a gleam flashed through Asher’s eyes.
They closed the gap and moved beside the carts while making little to no noise at all so as not to alert the man controlling the horse that pushed the cart.
When they were close to the gate, Alex picked up a stone and flung it over the 6-meter-tall wall.
Bam!
It hit something, most probably a barrel filled with water, causing the bandits to look toward that direction.
This gave Asher and the others the advantage to sneak into the fortress and hide behind straws meant for the horses at the stable a few meters to their left.
Asher looked around. “I’ve counted 67 men.”
He said after a short while.
“I counted 79.”
While the adults spoke, Nero closed his eyes tightly. He expanded his scope and perceived the ripples coming from every living creature in the fortress, including those asleep and those awake.
“We should check the—”
“371.” Nero interrupted Eritrea.
“371?” His father cocked his head. Nero’s talent was still odd and not easy to understand, no matter how much the boy explained it, so he was stunned to see his son call out a number higher than their assumption.
Even though Nero could see around him, was it that good that he could know how many people were inside the fortress with his eyes closed?
Alex had no idea that Nero didn’t only have knowledge about the number of bandits, but their locations, their faces, and even the map of some parts of the fortress!
“Two men leads this bandit group, and they’re both in there drinking and eating with five women attending to them. Two are massaging their shoulders, and the last one is feeding them.”
Nero tilted his head as if he were hearing something. “They’re happy about some raid.”
Asher, Alex, and Eritrea looked at the young lad with impressed expressions.
“371 people. Good, let’s go.”
As they turned back to move, Nero suddenly paused. “Captives. I can see them.”
“We’ll come rescue them later!” Alex almost raised his voice, but it rose up a bit.
“What’s their situation?” Eritrea asked.
“They’re from clans. I can hear the name Bashan from an old woman…” Nero’s eyes widened.
“She and the others are from the desolatelands! From a small village affiliated to a large clan called the Bashan Clan.”
Upon hearing where they were from, Eritrea looked at Asher. These people would offer them better knowledge about the desolatelands, and by saving them, they might gain favor in the eyes of their village chief.
“I’ve spoken with my brother. He’ll lead the troops here.” Alex said, grabbed the hilt of his sword, and brandished it.
Shing!
Asher slowly unsheathed his sword.
“Change of plans. The troop will be here shortly. Our plan is to rile up enough commotion and make sure those captives see us before the main army comes.”
“You want to make them see us risking our lives, and then the army would appear if things get critical.” Eritrea was gasping. Her Lord was truly shrewd.
This plan would make him gain the loyalty and gratitude of the barbarian captives.
Swoosh!
Alex leaped several feet high and landed heavily in an open space.
Boom!
His force billowed out of him, forming what seemed to be a cloak with tendrils caressing the ground.
Before a bandit could exclaim, Alex swung his sword. Killing the man and leaving a deep scorch mark on the ground. The bundles of straws behind him were set ablaze. Attracting more bandits toward Alex.
Swoosh!
An arrow coursing with electricity pierced through three bandits and also released shockwaves that paralyzed 10!
At this moment, Asher suddenly realized how foolish he was to hide diamond-ranked warriors from mere iron, bronze, silver- and gold-ranked men. And throughout the camp, there were only two gold-ranked knights.
They were the reason why he was careful.
How could just two knights subdue all the tribes that once dominated the mountains?
He had been careful concerning their backers, but the captives were worth taking the risk.
While swinging his sword with ease, he walked through the camp but paused when the gold-ranked knights came out of their tents.
One of them had a bear-like frame. His beard was the biggest and the most unkempt Asher had ever seen, and the man firmly gripped a thick, strangely shaped cleaver, probably gotten from a large abyssal creature since humans did not forge such weapons.
Beside him was his twin brother. He had the frame of a cheetah. He was slim and had long limbs, but Asher could sense explosive bursts of power in that seemingly ordinary, weak body. He held a long spear.
Eritrea launched six arrows toward them. The big one deflected it, though he slid backward while the thin one evaded the arrows.
Eritrea dashed past Asher, launching three more arrows, which the brothers deflected, fighting as one.
Asher frowned as he examined the brothers.
There was something off about them. Something really off that made him feel uneasy.
Was this the reason why they were feared?
