The first thing he heard that made him surprised was that the Wheatfield Village had been occupied, not by them but by someone else. Someone? That was the second thing that confused him the most. A man was able to occupy it single handedly? What was going on? How was that possible?
“What do you mean by someone? What kind of logic is that?” Alvred asked in a grim tone. His face became solemn and, as if he just heard something that did not make sense and was utterly ridiculous. But looking at how serious Arin was, he could not even take the slightest chance of it being a joke, a stupid and unfunny joke one at that.
‘I have dispatched that man to guard the situation over there because I know his skill and competence. He is a skilled man, a leader that can look into the situation clearly even if the odds are against him.
Especially with how he was able to stay low key and act only when the timing is right and such. He was a meticulous man to boot. How could it be possible for that village to fall into another’s hand in a timing like this? This is ridiculous!’ Alvred exclaimed in disbelief inside of his heart.
He thought of a bald man that always acted so subtly and carefully, one of his most trusted men to guard that village. He absolutely knew just how capable he was as a coordinator, not only his skills in being the leader but also skills in fighting. That was why he could not accept the reality that was happening in front of him.
The bald man that was the real leader of the Wheatfield Village had a name called Blaid, with the nickname Blaid the Bald. He had known him for a long time, and had been together with him in many fights and wars. Naturally, he understood what kind of power that Blaid had.
If that man was defeated, then the threat was not a joke at all, he thought. He did not need to see the village for himself to know what kind of a threat the man that could subdue that village alone. But as far as he could see, if the man was truly alone, then he could somehow deal with it.
He had a whole lot of men, fighters that had many experiences on the battlefield. He himself was a man that could conjure energies, a man that was able to make Blaid the bald man as his aides. He was not that worried about the man that now controlled the Wheatfield Village, but he needed to know just what was the reason behind the man’s ability to be able to enter the village, the reason behind Enjar’s actions on why he entered the village, and the ability to defeat them.
“How could someone pass through our barricade? We had already blocked the entrance to enter that village except through the passages that we controlled. How could it be possible?” He could not make some sense of how a man was able to slip through their tight surveillance.
The boss continued with an obvious question mark above his head. The situation seemed more ridiculous and funny the more he thought about it. Worse than that, he could not even laugh at that.
Placing Blaid the bald into that village was one of his ideas to control that village and stop mishaps from happening if somehow a rat happened to pass through their circlement. There were only so many of his men placed in Wheatfield Village, most of his men were inside this village that Alvred an Arin stayed at.
There was a possibility that a rat had infiltrated their ranks, and that rat let Enjar enter the village. Who could do it other than a traitor among his men? Alvred quickly come to that conclusion because it was the most likely reason
“Then do you know who could be the traitor?” Alvred asked with certainty, sharp glints appeared inside of his eyes. His killing intent could not be more obvious. Death was almost a guarantee for one who dared to commit betrayal in the eyes of the boss. Defying an order or breaking a law was like challenging his authority and power, what kind of a ruler could let this kind of thing happen?
Arin seemed as if he understood his boss’ thoughts and sayings. He proceeded to say the things that he had been doing for a while now.
“The biggest probability was that there is a person or some that truly have betrayed us and let a rat pass through our surveillance. But it could not be that many rats, because our surveillance is pretty tight, and honestly a very tight one at that. Hence, a single person that was able to pass through our surveillance was reasonable, but a traitor must be there.” Arin said while narrowing his eyebrows. Alvred nodded his head, seemingly in the same way of thinking as Arin too.
“The second probability is that that person could arrive there by passing through the jungle and mountains.” Arin said with a complex face. He seemed uncertain when he mentioned this piece of information to the man in front of him.
“Passing through the mountains and jungle, what kind of notion was that? Firstly, passing those kind of ways was like asking for a suicide. If that person is surrounded and chased, then death is like a guarantee. There is no way for us to not be able to catch up to them when they decide to walk back through the mountain. It just seems more ridiculous the more I hear your sayings.”
Alvred let out a big sigh as he massaged his temple. Finding a traitor could be an easier task than having a chance to find someone who dared to use the mountains as a way to escape in his opinion.
“Wait first of all, where did you get this information from? Did a scout arrive just now and convey the message to you?” Alvred just remembered how this crucial information was being put aside ever since he wanted to know the situations better.
“A scout? Nah, it’s the whole squad.” Arin said with a more complex expression drawn on his face. He wanted to facepalm his face when he remembered the things that just unfolded a few moments ago.
“Hmm? What do you mean by that?” Alvred had a bad premonition inside of his heart. He prepared for the worst to come so he braced himself for the news that was going to be delivered onto him.
“You heard it right. All of our men located in that Wheatfield Village had been kicked out from there. They are now here, all of them.” Arin continued while sighing a mouthful of air. He was perplexed about the whole situation that was happening right now.
Just when they were about to commence onto the next plan and move, they suddenly got smacked right behind their heads from out of nowhere. How could they not be frustrated?
They had prepared for all sorts of things, blockade the entrances, barricade the village, employ men to protect it, but still they were thrown off guard and left to alter their plan to deal with the more concerning matter.
“You know the value of the village without even me saying anything right? Without a second doubt, we will need to change our plan and go to that village to reclaim it again.” Alfred ordered without a hint of hesitation. He gritted his teeth when he thought about the things that should have been smooth and all, but now a hurdle finally came onto their way.
He was not that naive thinking that there was not going to be a hurdle in the things that he had to face. It was just that the enemy came out of nowhere and somehow was able to take away their foothold from Wheatfield Village.
Especially remembering when he was finally about to get some fortunes, how could he not be furious? How could he not be annoyed?
And as if he remembered something crucial yet again, he asked Arin with a piqued interest.
“....Wait, all? Here? You mean no one got killed?” Alfred asked with a surprised expression, realizing that something was quite different from what he thought.
