In Duke Vladis's military tent in Aosta, Vice-Chancellor Valis was reporting on his trip north to the Burgundy County: "Duke, Marquis Ivrea refused the request for troop reinforcement, but he also promised not to attack the northern border of Provence. According to our eagle-eyed scouts, there has indeed been no large-scale troop mobilization in the north."
"Ivrea is a cunning old fox; he's waiting for us and Lombardy to fight until both sides are exhausted, then he'll profit from it. However, we don't need to worry about the stability of the northern border for now. As long as we stabilize the situation on the central front, he won't invade the north."
The Vice-Chancellor continued: "Furthermore, on my trip north, I saw many refugees from Provence crossing the border northwards to escape into Burgundy County. Now, from Longleiso to the Tinietz line, there are fleeing refugees from our north, and bandits and brigands in various northern regions have become even more rampant."
"Valis, I know all this, but right now, all our energy must be focused on the central front. We'll deal with it when the war eases a bit. The Court Chancellor has gone north to levy money and grain, so you will temporarily oversee Court affairs."
As soon as the two finished their conversation, an attendant came in to report that Baron Belian requested an audience.
"Bring him in quickly."
Baron Belian, armored and with sword at his side, entered the military tent and, without much preamble, reported the war situation directly to Duke Vladis: "My Lord, after more than ten days of fierce fighting, Kalk Fort has withstood the enemy's assault. That fellow Lumby Feng retreated to Vilno with two hundred remaining troops ten days ago, but we also suffered heavy casualties. Of the one hundred and fifty men I brought, less than a hundred remained after the field battle and siege outside Kalk Fort. After capturing Kalk Fort, I recruited a group of farmers, but nearly half of them were lost in this defensive battle. Two of my knights were also lost in battle. Now, only one knight and less than eighty Soldiers remain in Kalk Fort."
Duke Vladis consoled him: "Belian, you have done very well. Holding Kalk Fort gives us flank cover and strategic depth. Kalk Fort must be held, but I cannot resupply you with troops now. With heavy snow blocking the roads in winter, Lombardy's supply lines are beginning to break. I have already ordered the entire central front to switch to a counter-offensive. In a few days, I will lead half of the army from Aosta to attack Vilno."
"Attack Vilno! My Lord, it's winter now, freezing cold. How can we march and fight?" Belian exclaimed.
"You think it's too cold to march and fight, and the enemy won't expect me to advance at this time. Witold has already moved two thousand troops to reinforce the central front. While Vilno's defenses are weak, I will launch a surprise, pre-emptive strike."
...
"Before those fellows figure out our strength, we must strike first," Art whispered to Odo and Roen, who were gathered around him.
Shortly after the refugee convoy, carrying grain carts, passed Laine Village, shadows began to trail far behind the group, and some unrest was already stirring among the refugees.
"Odo, take Kazak and quietly circle around to see the tail behind us. Be careful not to be discovered by them."
"Roen, ride my horse and scout the surroundings. Don't go too far. Go quickly and come back quickly."
"Bass, keep a close eye on those refugees and tell them not to panic. Go call Lawrence over. In a moment, you two will take a few iron spears from the cart and distribute them to the braver men."
Sensing the approaching danger, Art quickly responded during the group's rest.
The man Art had saved outside Tinietz a month ago hurried over with Bass, anxiously saying, "My Lord, what are your orders?"
"Lawrence, you've performed well all along. Now I need to tell you, we've been targeted by bandits. In a moment, Bass will give each of you brave and strong men a short spear. You'll be responsible for leading them to guard around the crowd, firstly for added protection, and secondly to prevent unrest among our own people. Do you understand what I mean?" Art said to the lean, middle-aged man before him.
"Rest assured, My Lord, my wife's and daughter's lives were saved by you. I will certainly carry out your orders."
"Good, now you go with Bass to get a short sword. Later, you'll give one iron spear to each of the five men you've chosen."
Bass took Lawrence to carry out Art's orders.
A short while later, Odo returned running with Kazak. He said to Art, "My Lord, the tail is gone!"
"My Lord, there's no one in sight around us," Roen also galloped back on his horse.
The situation was beyond Art's expectations; the tail had been following them all morning, and there was no reason for it to suddenly disappear.
Art looked around, sorting through his thoughts, and when his gaze fell to the South, he suddenly understood: "They are going to make their move. The location will be in the forest to the South."
Art made a decisive judgment.
"Then what should we do? We can't bypass the forest, but if we enter it, we'll be ambushed," Roen said anxiously, still fearful from the previous ambush in the forest.
"My Lord, could it be that they are pretending to ambush us ahead to make us divide our forces to clear them out, and then attack the refugee convoy behind us?" Odo, who had been silent for a long time, raised a question.
Art looked up at Odo, surprised that this man, who had long mingled among the lowest laborers, could possess such a clear mind.
"Odo, if they wanted to induce us to divide our forces, they should have deliberately exposed their intention to retreat South and set up an ambush, rather than quietly leaving. However, the situation you're considering might happen, so this is what we'll do."
Snowflakes were still falling, and on the vast white ground, a rider wrapped in a bear-skin coat, accompanied by four strong men carrying spears, escorted a group of refugees carrying large and small bundles along the trade route leading to the Birch Forest South of Laine Manor. The rider on horseback scratched his thigh, which was itching from a healing wound, and turned his head to glance at the gradually blurring footprints to the Southwest, muttering, "Will My Lord's method work?"
The My Lord the rider was muttering about was currently squatting at the edge of the forest, identifying footprints in the snow. At this moment, he had reverted to being the forest hunter who battled wolf packs and wild beasts in the Unnamed Valley.
"My Lord, your judgment was correct. They circled a long way from the West before entering the forest," Kazak said, standing on tiptoe and looking out. A line of messy footprints extended from the West of the treeline all the way to here.
"There are about nine of them, and one horse," Art carefully analyzed the messy footprints on the ground.
"Being able to acquire horses and capable of tracking and setting ambushes, this group is not ordinary refugee bandits. Everyone, be extremely careful in a moment. Remember, our main goal is to drive them away. If it's truly impossible, we must retreat promptly and devise another plan." Art's intuition told him that this group would be difficult to deal with.
"Lawrence, you are not my Soldier. I'm giving you the chance to withdraw. You can go back and guard the other refugees with Roen," Art said to the farmer who had voluntarily joined the sneak attack.
"My Lord, I will not go back. If we don't drive these people away, we won't be able to pass through this forest, and my wife and daughter will have to continue being refugees," Lawrence's tone was firm. At noon, when Art asked if any refugees were willing to go with him to ambush the bandits, only he bravely stepped forward.
Art walked over and patted Lawrence's shoulder, unfastening the leather-covered small round shield from his waist and handing it to Lawrence.
He looked around at everyone. Odo wore a single-layer cowhide gambeson, held a battle-axe, and had a short sword at his waist; Bass carried a large iron hammer brought from Lucerne on his shoulder, and Roen's wooden-handled dagger was tucked into his belt; Kazak held a single-edged long knife with both hands; Lawrence held a short sword in his right hand and a round shield in his left.
He checked everyone's weapons one by one, then put on and fastened the half-round helmet hanging behind his neck, adjusted the leather armor shoulder straps, drew and sheathed the fine steel knight's sword at his waist, touched his dagger and quiver, and took down the riding bow from his back to test the string.
Everything was ready. Art was the first to duck into the forest, followed by the four others in single file.
Following the tracks, when they reached a mound, Art stopped and signaled the others behind him to sit down and rest for a moment, whispering, "Wait here. I'll go ahead and take a look." With that, he drew a light arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and moved stealthily towards the part of the trade route that passed through the forest not far away.
On the trade route in the forest, three strong men were dragging several felled birch and pine trees along with dry branches to the middle of the road to set up a roadblock. On both sides of the road, in the bushes and behind trees, were several big men holding various long and short, light and heavy weapons such as battle-axes, short spears, and broadswords. Under a protruding rock on the opposite side of the road, there was also an archer with a quiver on his back and a short bow in his hand.
Art crouched behind a fallen dead tree, quickly raised his head to observe, then quickly ducked down again. After doing this several times, he had basically figured out the situation of this group of bandits. He then turned and moved along the ground towards the boulder where Odo and the others were hiding.
Returning to the hiding boulder, Art took the water skin Kazak handed him, took a large gulp, put down the water skin, wiped his mouth, and said to the others who were staring at him: "The situation is not good. The enemy is stronger than I imagined. There are eleven of them ambushing on both sides of the road, all armed with heavy weapons and sharp blades, and there's an archer."
Everyone gasped.
"Then our previous plan won't work. There are only five of us. If the other side is all strong Soldiers and tough men, once they stick to us, we won't even be able to run away," Odo analyzed the situation.
"But if we let this continue, even if we avoid the ambush, once this group figures out our true strength, they will still launch a strong assault, and we won't be able to resist. The remaining refugees will all be lambs to the slaughter," Bass offered his thoughts.
The disparity in strength between the enemy and them exceeded Art's expectations. A direct assault would inevitably result in heavy casualties. However, if they allowed them to continue trailing in the open, once they figured out the true strength of the southward moving group, they would still choose to launch a strong assault.
A sense of powerlessness, of the situation spiraling out of control, gradually welled up in Art's heart, just like the encounter with the wolf pack on the wilderness last winter.