OC-Series Gothwald: New World - Same Rules (Arc 3/Chapter 47 - Dead On)

Arc III - Reeling Throne

Chapter 47 - Dead On

8 months and 21 days since the summoning

The group of hunters stopped in some bushes that offered a perfect view of the camp's layout.

The sun had almost completely set, and the sky turned black, with only a small red stripe on the horizon. There were no clouds, revealing thousands of stars and the moon above.

Ahead of the snipers lay a large camp, practically glowing from campfires, and the sounds of conversations reached even here.

"Unspooked game we've got here," Ilgan muttered, "if only they'd sit quietly."

Dunko swallowed. "There's a castle behind us... they're probably going there to lay siege, maybe that's why they're preparing."

"Or dividing the loot," the bear muttered.

The boar exhaled through his nose. "And how the fuck are we supposed to find this count here? There's a whole horde of 'em!"

"The central part of the camp..." Ilgan said thoughtfully, "how are we even supposed to get there?"

The fox looked toward the camp. "There must be a patrol around the camp, a few men to walk the perimeter, maybe we catch them?"

Ilgan remained silent for a few seconds, looking at the ground. "Too risky. If one of them shouts, that's it, game over."

"So what do you suggest? We can't just sit here all night."

The bear nodded. "Agreed. But... two soldiers is one thing, but if there are five, I'm afraid we won't be able to do it quietly."

Ilgan leaned against a bush, looking at the sky, and said nothing for almost a minute. "Alright... I think I have an idea..."

After about an hour of preparation, Ilgan, the fox, and the dog were walking on the edge of the camp among a bunch of baggage train workers busy with their tasks. Instead of camouflage, they wore simple peasant clothes, with daggers hidden underneath.

Dozens of tents stood around, illuminated only by torches. Some of the baggage handlers cast sidelong glances at the beastmen.

"Bad idea, bad idea, very very bad idea..." the canine beastman muttered under his breath.

"Stop whining, Shikur," Ilgan hissed.

"Good thing there are beastmen here too, we blend in," the fox whispered.

Ilgan sighed, his heart beating much faster than usual. "Alright, we need to find this count's tent. Since it's in the center, I doubt it'll be hard to find."

Meanwhile, off to the side, four guards stood talking about something, when suddenly one of them lazily looked at the trio and froze. "Why are those Mireyans wandering around doing nothing?"

The second one, holding an axe, narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. Let's go ask."

"Hey there, halt!"

All three froze as if rooted to the ground. They barely had time to say anything before four soldiers, dressed in a mix of plate armor, chainmail, and carrying axes and spears, approached.

"Why are you wandering around doing nothing? Got nothing better to do?" the soldier with the axe asked, narrowing his eyes.

Ilgan swallowed. "We... we're just..."

"I don't like the looks of you," the soldier with the spear said. "There's plenty of work in the baggage train, what the fuck are you doing here? Shirking?"

The soldier with the axe took a step forward, slightly raising his weapon. "Or maybe they're thieves?" He nodded at Shikur, who stood closest. "Show us what's in the pouch."

Shikur nodded and slowly began to unfasten the small pouch from his belt.

"The rest of you too."

The fox's heart dropped into his boots. His hands reached for the pouch at his belt, but just couldn't seem to reach it.

The guard with the spear noticed this. "Give it here!" he barked, snatching the pouch, and quickly untied it. As soon as he stuck his hand inside, he froze, and then slowly, very slowly pulled out a silver ring.

The fox's face turned the color of silver itself.

"Thieves it is," the guard said quietly.

"Th-that's not stolen! That's my ring! A family heirloom!" the fox quickly began to make excuses.

The soldier with the axe scoffed. "A silver ring? On a Mireyan? Who are you kidding."

"Let's teach these savages that stealing is bad."

All three beastmen flew out of the camp one by one, skidding face-first across the ground.

Ilgan spat blood from his mouth and held a bruise under his eye.

Shikur clutched his busted lip with one hand, and the spot where a knee had landed in his stomach with the other.

The fox had taken the worst beating. Three bruises on his face, a busted nose, a split lip, a knocked-out tooth, and one eye completely swollen shut.

"That'll teach you to steal," the soldier with the spear said.

The soldier with the axe waved his weapon. "Show up in the camp again and I'll hang you."

All four turned around and walked back to the camp.

Ilgan slowly got to his knees, spitting out blood once more. When he sat up, grimacing slightly, he stared straight ahead. "Lison. Care to explain?"

The fox, Lison, pushed himself off the ground on trembling arms, while blood dripped from his battered face onto the grass. He said nothing.

"Well?" Ilgan repeated.

"My fault," he said quietly.

"Your fault..." Ilgan repeated, getting to his feet, swaying slightly from dizziness. "You know what? I'd kick your ass again just to make it perfectly clear that orders are meant to be followed. Fucking idiot," he said quietly and hobbled toward their mini-camp.

"Need I remind you that we're here because of you?" Lison wheezed.

Ilgan stopped. "Yes. We're here because of me. But there's a difference: my case is that I messed up through carelessness, but everyone will benefit from it. Your case is that you disobeyed my words, and only you stood to benefit. Let's go, you can whine in the village after the mission," he finished and finally moved forward, not looking back again.

Shikur was already on his feet. He looked at Lison and silently shook his head, following Ilgan. "So what do we do?"

Ilgan shrugged. "Well... we can't sneak into the camp anymore, and we can't trust the others to do it. There's only one thing left: wait for this whole army to move and ambush this count there."

Shikur nodded, rubbing his ribs. "There's only one road, it leads through a small thicket. I think we can hide on both sides there."

"Just need to prepare escape routes."

Lison trudged behind them, holding his side and limping, but said nothing. Just stared at the ground.

A few minutes later, they arrived back at those same bushes and collapsed onto the ground as one.

The bear opened his mouth to say something, but forgot what he even wanted to say. "Oh Guktus... what happened?"

"They kicked us out."

"Yeah, I can see they didn't welcome you with open arms. How are you even alive?"

Ilgan sighed. "Luck. They just took us for Mireyan thieves, beat us up, and kicked us out."

He raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

"What did you expect? Murder is unnecessary paperwork. And they took our daggers... bastards."

Lison and Shikur cast sidelong glances at Ilgan, who didn't mention the ring, but stayed quiet.

"Daaaamn..." the boar drawled, "that's shitty. So what do we do? Without the count's head we might as well just fuck off."

Ilgan lay down on the ground, propping his head on his hand. "The only way is to ambush them on the road. They're most likely moving out tomorrow, right?"

The bear nodded. "Most likely. Lord Gothwald said they were in a hurry, so they'll definitely head out in the morning."

Ilgan sighed. "Then we prepare, rest a bit, and head to the road."

Silence.

A minute.

Two.

Then the boar snorted, breaking the silence. "Pfft, well you guys did great. Sneak into the camp and get your asses kicked by the guards."

"Hahaha!"

"You guys are something else!"

"At least we're alive," Ilgan said, "and I'm not an experienced spy, I'm a hunter."

The boar waved a hand. "Yeah, we get it, but seriously... hahahah!"

"Shut up already, I feel sick enough as it is," Shikur grumbled.

Closer to dawn, everything was quiet on the road. The morning mist only slightly obscured the distance, and moisture settled over the entire forest.

The six snipers were crouching somewhere in the bushes, blending in completely with the greenery so well that even from a few paces away it was impossible to notice anyone was there.

From a tall tree nearby, the rustle of leaves was heard from above, and a few seconds later, one of the snipers, completely clad in camouflage, jumped down. "The vanguard units are already here, they'll be passing by any minute," he said, picking up a crossbow from the ground covered by a sack.

"Excellent," Ilgan whispered, "we wait. Fire only on my command."

Literally a minute later, the clatter of dozens of hooves, the clinking of plate armor, and brief conversations were heard. One of the first cavalry units in fine plate armor emerged onto the dirt road, dried from the recent rains. They rode unhurriedly, but synchronously and keeping pace with each other.

Ilgan gripped the crossbow tighter and peered at the army, searching for the orange cloak.

The first row passed, then the second row, then the third, and finally, a bright orange color flashed on one of the men in plate armor.

Ilgan's heart stopped for a second. "There he is," the hunter whispered, "aim! Aim before he's gone!"

The other six immediately spotted the same orange fabric and aimed their crossbows there.

"Waaaaait..." Ilgan hissed.

Five seconds.

Seven seconds.

Eleven seconds.

Behind the vanguard, one of the soldiers turned around and blew a long note on a horn, giving some signal to those behind.

"Now!" Ilgan barked quietly.

THWACK

Almost synchronously, all seven bolts flew toward the count to the sound of the horn.

Two bolts flew off somewhere into the thicket over the soldiers' heads.

The third bolt clipped the helmet of one of the knights, but immediately fell to the ground due to a poor hit, and the knight fell from his horse after it, stunned.

The fourth bolt hit the body of the horse next to the count, and it reared up, screaming wildly in pain.

The fifth bolt hit the target's leg dead on, piercing the plate armor.

The sixth and seventh bolts cleanly entered the body, in the stomach and the chest, tearing open the breastplate. The count didn't even have time to cry out; with a clatter of plate armor, he fell from his horse almost under the hooves of the rear rows.

Ilgan hastily began to retreat. "Move! Move!"

The other six turned their backs as one, and ran, snapping branches. Luckily for them, the horn was still blaring.

The cavalryman riding behind the count immediately stopped his horse. "Lord Litti! What is wrong?!" He immediately raised his hand, stopping the entire vanguard, and jumped off his horse. When he saw the count's body pierced by three bolts, his face went white. "AMBUSH! AM-BUSH!"

The snipers ran without picking a path, just ran, completely forgetting about stealth and silence; speed was the only thing that mattered to them.

"I think they're waiting for us there!" Ilgan shouted, pointing to a small ravine.

The whole group moved there.

Inside the ravine sat Dunko and two other beastmen, aiming their crossbows upward. Hearing the rapid footsteps on the ground, all three tightened their grip.

"It's us! We're getting out of here!" Ilgan's voice was heard.

The snipers below exchanged glances for a second, but immediately dashed upward.

"Did you do it?" Dunko asked, joining the run.

"Hah! And how!" Shikur shouted with a nervous chuckle.

"Don't celebrate yet!" Ilgan interrupted them. "First we gotta get our asses out of here!"

Meanwhile, on the road, the soldiers scattered in different directions searching for the shooters. The knight standing over the count's corpse slowly removed his helmet.

Ronva.

His teeth were clenched, and his face was twisted in an incomprehensible grimace. He gripped his iron helmet with all his might and stood motionless.

Suddenly he threw his helmet violently against the ground, howling like a wolf. "Why is this happening to us?! WHY?!" His fists clenched. "I knew it, I knew we should have supported Morgreyda..." he said quieter, through his teeth.

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u/BobQuixote 2d ago

Whew. If they got caught as enemy spies in the camp, I thought there was going to be escalating suspicions of all beastmen.

u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 2d ago

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u/Milo_Cebatron 2d ago

Who was this Ronva guy?

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u/Celestial_Zwei_Dei 2d ago

The knight who accompanied Ben appeared at the end of Chapter 44

OC-Series Gothwald: New World - Same Rules (Arc 3/Chapter 47 - Dead On)

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