TFA1 1.5 - First Rescue

Diez could not understand what had descended on him and his men. Although the slave hunt was a success, he and his men were not relaxed at the slightest. They took a position in a house near the village square, waiting for villagers who might return.

Their position was ideal. It was located next to the village square where bodies of 8 elderly and 14 toddlers that they killed lay. In addition, it was also surrounded by storage house for staple foods and farming equipment.

Diez was very sure the returning villagers would have gone straight to the village square, whether to pick up food, equipment, or buried the bodies they left behind. Like experienced predators, he and his men waited silently and patiently, but what came to them was something that beyond their wildest imagination.

It was started with a loud explosion that made their ears ringing. At the same time, their vision blurred and their body lost balance, followed by a blunt object that repeatedly hit their body until they almost vomited blood.

Diez and his men were utterly helpless when their attacker roughly dragged them outside, then tied them to the horse moorings. Both hands tied above their heads while they sat on the ground with straight legs.

Diez counted that his captors consisted of nine people, and all of them were wearing green clothing. It also didn't take long before Diez realized that apart from uniformity in clothing and gear, his captors also had discipline and hierarchy. All the clues led Diez into one conclusion. His captors were definitely part of a military unit. However, this was the first time he had seen such strange military personnel with insignia that he did not recognize.

The way they wrap the bodies of dead toddlers and the elderly also full of caution. After that, they put the corpses in one of the houses which were used as a funeral home.

Diez believed his captors had no relation with the villagers. So he had a hard time to understand their actions. Moreover, some of them spoke fluently using local language while the rest spoke using broken accents. But they all spoke more often in languages ​​he didn't understand.

Some of them also frequently press a button on their chest before talking to themselves. Meanwhile, the only weapon Diez recognized was a 25 cm long dagger on their left waist.

‘Freaks, talk to themselves and put their dagger to left waist when they are right-handed,' Diez muttered before examining the black sticks hanging at the chests of his captors. Their sticks were no less strange. And they always aimed it forward before striking it in an odd way, but somehow a few of Diez’s ribs broke as the result.

Diez took a deep breath before turning his head towards one of the freaks guarding him. "If you let me go now, I will forget about this incident and you can take the valuables."

Baam!

Without warning, the freak kicked Diez on the chin before casually saying, "When we say do not talk, you better shut your mouth up."

Diez wanted to curse, but immediately held back, realizing that the next hit could kill him. But when Diez decided to keep quiet, one of the freaks who held the highest position knelt before him.

"You're not in a position to making a threat. So tell me, where are your confident come from?"

Diez decided to open the card he kept for emergencies. "Looks like you guys aren't from around here. So, I understand if you don't know the customs in this place."

"Yes, we are not locals."

The Freak who questioned Diez smiled before offering him a bottle of water. He even helped Diez to drink it, and for the first time Diez felt a very refreshing cold water. Not the cloudy water mixed with cheap wine to prevent stomach upset, like the one he used to carry.

Diez then confidently said, "We are not mountain bandits, but cavalry elements from Rowane Region, in charge of waging economic and agricultural disruption on Lionel Region."

"You mean by robbing traders or farmers, and then selling them as slaves."

Diez nodded before adding, "My name is Diez Morallez. I’m a Lieutenant in Rowane Cavalry, 5th son of Morallez Family, one of three noble families in Rowane Region. My family will pay dearly for my release."

The Freak smiled a little before asking again, "Ser Morallez, thank you for the information. Now, can you tell us your comrades' destinations, their routes, and their number?”

Diez did not immediately answer. Instead, he smiled scornfully. For thousands of years, nobles in Amstell Continent held on a tradition to not kill each other if there was no open conflict. So, Diez was sure that even if he didn't answer the question, he would be fine. Moreover, the ransom for a member of a noble family was not a value that could be underestimated.

However, Diez's smile instantly evaporated after he saw the map shown by the freak. The map was not only detailed and precise, but also had a very wide radius. As an officer in the military unit, Diez immediately realize that the map was a result of serious work, and was far much better than the map he had seen at the HQ of Rowane Guard.

The problem was, making a map without permission from the authorities could result in charges of treason and the death penalty. It didn't matter whether it was a general map or a military map, only military officers at the level of brigade commander and above, or nobles with the top three positions in the government were allowed to have them. However, currently, a military unit with only nine members had a super high quality map.

'They are reconnaissance elements from a very advanced military unit. One of them is likely a high-ranking officer who is being guarded by an elite bodyguard.'

Diez quickly concluded, and when he remembered that over the past few months the number of Black Eagles and Gray Wolf that had left Desolate Land was dropping dramatically, half of Diez's life immediately slipped away from his body.

'They are not an opponent we can face.'

Now Diez felt that The Freak's smile no longer looked like a smile. It looked more like the grin of a tiger who was talking to its prey happily.

One thing that Diez had in mind was, he had to warn his comrades that an invasion was approaching their region. A moment later, Diez and his men did manage to get away from the small settlement they attacked this morning, it’s just that their destination was the afterlife.

--- 

By using the guidance from OH-58N, Corporal Twig led two personnel to inspect a horse stable on the eastern end of the village. The heat signature captured by Kiowa was indeed very small, but to make sure there were no hidden surprises, an inspection had to be carried out.

"Corporal, there's nothing here. No humans, no horses, or ghosts. It’s just a big pile of horse dung in one corner."

The first personnel said, followed by the second personnel.

"Maybe this horse shit was the source of heat signature captured by Kiowa's sensors."

Corporal Twig didn't answer. He switched the scope on his HK416A5 to a thermal sensor before examining the pile of horse dung in the corner of the stable. 

"There are two layers of heat signatures. We have to check it."

"Sir, this is just a pile of horse dung, shall we do it?"

Corporal Twig nodded before saying, "Don't you remember that in basic training you were reminded to always check what you need to check, so that later you won't regret it and saying, 'If only I had checked out that place.'"

Corporal Twig's men rolled their eyes, but in the end they grabbed shovels in a corner, and together with Corporal Twig they began to remove the fresh horse shit.

Not long after that, Corporal Twig grinned. "Well well well, what do we find here?"

Under the horse shit, turned out it was a 50x50 cm wooden plank. While pointing his HK416A5 with the flashlight turned on, Corporal Twig opened the wooden plank. However, he immediately shifted his aim, from two toddlers who were sitting side by side and shaking in horror.

"Good Lord, thank goodness we checked this place," said one of Corporal Twig's men while his partner nodded firmly.

*****