Chapter 197: Bandits
Chapter 197: Bandits
Hugh sat right next to the commander of the whole army. The pressure he was feeling was the most immense that anyone had ever felt.
He had to get sued to the pressure early, which was a thing that he could do since he had a strong body. The only thing that he could not numb down was the internal pressure he was feeling.
One wrong move and he could get found out by the commander. There was no other else that could have done this job, and Hugh was ready to take on the mantle.
"Let's head out," the commander said as he stood up from his seat.
The rest of the soldiers inside the large tent stood up and saluted at the commander. Hugh quickly followed their lead and saluted the commander as well.
As the commander walked towards the exit of the tent, he stopped and looked back at Hugh. Hugh was not fazed by the glare and just stood still.
"What are you doing?" the commander asked. "Follow me."
Hugh nodded his head and quickly rushed to the commander's side. He did not walk directly beside the commander but a little bit behind him.
As soon as they walked outward into the plethora of soldiers that were in idle action, they all stood and silted them.
Hugh could see respect in their eyes and how they admired the commander. It was not just fear in their eyes but also a sense of worship.
He would never know why the soldiers went to such trouble in serving a tyrant like the commander. They all must have had the same greedy ideal as their leader.
He could also feel that there were hostile looks towards him. Everyone was finally seeing the newcomer in the group, and they did not believe that Hugh had the prospects to be on the commander's side.
Hugh also had the same idea as the other soldiers. He did not know why the commander had made him advance in ranks so much.
The only thing that he could do was try and become as low-key as possible. He did not have the luxury to investigate the inner workings of the army, which made it very hard.
One of the things that were the advantage of this mission was having information that nobody else had. It was data that would be tremendously advantageous in the war.
Once he was in the middle of the army, the commander started to bark out orders to his minions. Soon enough, everybody started to pack out their things and move.
It was now time to march towards the Cheroque kingdom after a small break. Soon enough, Hugh would be able to go back to his platoon and search for Mia.
He would just have to survive for this small amount of time. Nothing terrible would happen.
The ground started to shake as every soldier marched with their left and right leg. It made the nearby animals escape in fear as they could not stand the intrusions.
Hugh was able to travel by horse and made traveling much more accessible. He had to be near the commander, so he could not go anywhere else.
When he looked back, he could not even see the outline of the platoon. He could not see Serena and the others anywhere.
They all blended into the thousands of soldiers marching together in unison. He could not rely on them for help, so he had to do everything by himself.
Times passed, and the silhouette of the kingdom was getting nearer and nearer. As they traveled, Hugh kept his eye on the commander.
He wanted to know what he was planning, but he could not ask the commander directly. It would be too suspicious, and he still had to ear the trust of the commander.
"Commander, there is trouble with our supply line," a soldier hurriedly said as he reported to the commander.
Hugh looked at the soldier and saw that there were signs of battle on his clothes. His armor was dented, his helmet was gone, and his hair was disheveled.
Most importantly, blood was dripping from his boots. Hugh could tell that the soldier had killed some people but inevitably lost.
Although the soldier seemed distressed, the problem was not too bad that the commander had to move. Hugh realized that this was his opportunity to earn the trust of the commander.
Hugh quickly maneuvered his horse closer to the commander as he sneaks into the situation.
"Help us, commander," the soldier begged.
Hugh arrived just as the soldier kneeled on the floor. He opened his mouth and offered his assistance.
"I can do it, commander," Hugh said.
The commander looked at Hugh with no expression on his face and stayed silent for a moment. Hugh gulped. He started to doubt his decisions.
He may have been too forward, and the commander was now trying to figure him out.
"Sure," the commander uttered.
Hugh was surprised by the agreement. He thought that the commander would refuse his offer, but it seemed that he was wrong.
"Thank you, commander!" Hugh bowed towards the commander.
Once the commander had given his word, the soldier looked towards Hugh and frowned. The soldier did not seem to trust Hugh's talents for this kind of problem.
Hugh was simply a platoon leader back then, and the soldier had a valid reason to doubt Hugh. However, Hugh did not mind this.
He just had to show his abilities this time, and he would know that he was the right person for the task.
"Follow me," the soldier said as he tried around and walked away.
Hugh followed the soldier towards the outskirts of the army and made a detour towards the back. There, he could see the carriages that held the supplies of the military.
*ting* *ting*
Hugh could immediately hear the sounds of swords clashing. Then, with his eagle eyes, he could see that soldiers and bandits were fighting against each other.
From his perspective, he could see that the bandits were winning against the soldiers. The soldiers were being pressed into a corner, and the soldiers were outnumbered.
Anybody could see that the soldiers were going to lose. Hugh tapped his horse and made him go faster. The soldier was surprised at Hugh's actions.
"What are you doing?" the soldier called out to Hugh.
Hugh turned his head back to the soldier and showed a confused expression. He was going to save the soldiers; what was wrong with that?
"I thought you wanted help?" Hugh said.
"Are you an idiot?!" the soldier shook his head. "You cannot defeat them all by yourself!"
For the soldier, he did not expect anything from Hugh. He had thought that Hugh would take one look at the situation and retreat.
The soldier had only wanted to wait until the bandits leave with the carriage. Then, he would bring back the corpses of the soldiers.
In his mind, they were already dead. There was nothing he could do. Now, he saw that Hugh was not only planning to save the soldiers, but he would do it by attacking them from the front.
If Hugh was going to save the soldiers, then he should launch a sneak attack. He was only one person, so that was the only plan of attack that was plausible.
No matter how much the soldier had wanted Hugh, he only kept running towards the bandits. The soldier shook his head and slapped down.
He did not want to die with Hugh. He would just let Hugh fight by himself, and it would not be his fault. If Hugh died, nobody would complain; they would celebrate.
The bandits were immediately alerted of the new arrival. At first, they all braced themselves for the reinforcement. If a whole army came to them, then they would just retreat.
However, when they saw the reinforcement, they almost laughed their bellies off. It was only one guy, and he did not seem at all intimidating.
"Really? You?"
"Hahahaha! What's this stick going to do?"
"They underestimate us, aren't they?"
The bandits began to have relaxed expressions as they saw Hugh disembark from his horse. Even the soldiers who had hoped for salvation were disappointed.
"I'll give you a chance to retreat now," Hugh utter with a severe expression.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA"
The bandits all laughed until their stomachs hurt. They did not take Hugh seriously at all. This was their first mistake.
Hugh picked up a bloodied sword from the ground and started to swing it. At this point, none of the bandits were looking at him.
Hugh took a deep breath and planted his feet to the ground. Then, he accelerated towards the nearest bandit.
From an outsider's perspective, they saw Hugh disappear for a split second and appear right next to the bandit nearest him.
Then, blood splattered all over the ground. The rest of the bandits finally stopped laughing as they saw their comrade have their chest pierced by a sword.
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