Walking in another world – Chapter 240 – Bandit subjugation – Part five

I sense something with my Presence Detection, two days after we began pretending one of our wagons broke down,

I immediately raise my head, and see Hikari looking the same way.

“Is there something wrong, young lady?”

Asks Richard.

“Yes. Bandits are coming.”

Hikari drops her head, and comes this way.

“I see…”

Is all Richard says, before he leaves to inform the other knights.

I think it’s a little strange how he believes Hikari just like that, but I also see reactions from bandits, so I don’t say anything.

There are… Sixty of them? That’s about four times what we have.

They’re gradually making their way over here, but more than half stop before they leave the forest, and a group leaves the others and starts running through the forest. Are they going around to come at us from another side?

“Are they waiting to attack at night?”

“Looks like it.”

We have good enough visibility that if they jumped out of the forest right now, we’d spot them immediately.

They have the numbers advantage, so did they assume we’d run away if we saw them? Or are they waiting to see what happens with the group that went around before attacking?

As I think that, another group leaves, this time in the opposite direction of the other. Is it a pincer attack?

They might be trying to block our escape, but that lowers their numbers advantage.

What exactly are they planning, to purposefully give up their advantage like that?

“I’m going to talk to him.”

Hikari is more active than usual. Did something happen?

“Do you have a moment?”

And not long after, Richard calls me, so we can talk about what to do next.

“They’re most likely bandits, and from the way they’re moving…”

Richard draws a mark on the ground to symbolize our current location, and three more around it.

“They want to go around and block the main road. First they block our escape route, and then they attack. The sun is still high in the sky, so they’re probably waiting for nightfall.”

“So, what are we going to do?”

Asks Sete, speaking for everyone.

“…We’re going to start moving shortly. They even split their numbers for us, so we’ll run in Croix’s direction, and take them down individually.”

“Won’t they run away?”

“There’s always that possibility, but I want to fight before the sun sets, if possible.”

Says Richard, and a few knights nod.

They have experience fighting at night, but apparently only in places with some light. They’ve reached the conclusion that once night falls, they’ll have trouble even if they use magic items for night vision.

I hear that it’s particularly rough for people not used to them to see arrows that are painted black.

Even if you have a shield, it won’t do you much if you can’t block with it in time.

There are plenty of shields in the wagons too, with simple designs so it’s not obvious that they belong to knights.

I was told this was an elite force, but there are also inexperienced knights here, like Sete.

“Let’s just pretend we’re fixing the wagon, and after some time, act like we’re done, and start moving again. If they bite, good. If they don’t, we’ll attack places where it looks like the enemy is hiding.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re moving in the forest. That’s why I think they’re moving towards the main road.”

Says Hikari all of a sudden, and a few knights are surprised to hear her. That doesn’t include Richard, who simply agrees.

“Young lady, can we leave the timing to move out up to you?”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

And so, our plan is quietly set in motion.

The bandits seem slow at first, as we start moving again all of a sudden, but they quickly gather their bearings, and start moving quickly.

That’s the impression I get from what I see on Map.

The group in the direction where we’re heading gathers in the forest, while the one behind us jumps out and charges forward. They’re not even trying to hide anymore.

As for the others standing by in the forest, some jump out, and the others move around in the forest.

Up until this point, the bandits seemed so sloppy that it was actually strange how they eluded the knights for so long, but things were already in motion.

The wagons keep running through the main road without slowing down, and the bandits that came out of the forest have something that looks like a big crossbow, and takes two people to use.

“That’s not good. Ready your shields!”

Richard yells commands. Can the shields even block that thick steel?

I have my questions, but I follow their instructions, and hide with Hikari behind them.

An arrow falls on the ground close to a wagon, and breaks.

If we try to attack from here, we won’t reach them anyway.

We can’t aim with magic either because of the trees. If we use fire to burn the forest, we would catch them, but it could also spread even further.

When I propose that to them, they say no, as I expected.

We keep going while being vigilant, and judging by its trajectory, it looks like one of the arrows is going to hit us.

But just as I think we’re going to be hit, the arrow is repelled.

“Surprised? That’s the commander’s skill.”

Sete says proudly, seeing me look surprised.

Is that a defensive skill that works like a barrier? Its effect looks similar to what the kobold guards were using.

“Move behind us newbies! We’re jumping down!”

One stays to protect the driver, and the others move back.

When we get close to the spot in the forest where we think they’re hiding, the wagon slows down and knights start jumping down one after the other.

Hikari and I follow them. I don’t know if it’s my stats or just because the wagon slowed down, but I land without losing my balance.

The knights hold up their shields and I unsheathe my sword. And then, I hold it against the knights that popped out of the forest.

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