On a small clearing on the roadside in the endless Black Forest, the convoy stopped on the side of the road. After leaving Iserburg, Simon's convoy returned to the Black Forest in Hatuaria County in the evening.

"I'll camp here tonight and I'll be back in the village tomorrow morning." Simon said to the soldiers as he looked at the gradually gloomy sky.

The soldiers were breathing a little, tied up horses to pick up firewood, fetched water to prepare ingredients, and were very busy.

"Master, this forest ranger doubts our identity and doesn't let us pick up firewood no matter what he says!" A young guard soldier with big eyebrows and big eyes looked aggrieved, and led a dirty, white-haired old man out of the woods beside the camp.

"You are the respected Lord Simon, are you?" The old man saw Simon in the camp wearing the Dorsten family's heraldic burqa. "Please forgive me for stopping your soldiers from picking up firewood. After all, this is the woods of the Dorsten family. I have an obligation to prevent anyone of unknown origin from illegally occupying the legal property of the Dorsten family!"

"You've done a good job, you have to be cautious when dealing with strangers." Simon nodded in admiration.

"By the way, Sir, I have one more thing to remind you," the old man smiled, and his expression became serious. "A group of robbers have recently flown into the forest, and there are about a dozen people."

"What," Simon frowned and stood up, "I just wiped out a group of bandits last time. How long has it been since then, why did another group of bands escape??"

"That's right, Lord!" The old forest ranger's serious expression didn't seem to be telling lies, and Simon really couldn't think of any motive for the old forest ranger to lie to him.

"Okay, thank you for your reminder, we will strengthen our protection." Simon thought, and waved to Little Klein next to the carriage behind him.

"Thank you very much, my lord!" The old forest ranger took the copper coins he handed over from Klein's hand, rubbed the simple patterns on it as if he had picked up a treasure, and then hurriedly took the copper coins back into the ragged cloth waist bag.

"People should pay attention. After completing their respective work, dig a trench outside the camp and tie a pointed wooden stump!" Simon shouted loudly to the soldiers in and around the camp.

………

It was dark, and soldiers who had completed the simple trench excavation and trap arrangement formed a circle by the campfire, put their weapons at hand, touched their hungry stomachs, and looked at the hodgepodge boiling in the iron pot.

"It'll be home soon." The shy guard soldier with big eyebrows and eyes touched his head. He missed his family very much.

"Yes, I've been out for so long this time, and I don't know how my little Val is doing." An older soldier held a large wooden spoon and stirred the cooking in the pot.

Today, the soldiers' dishes were very simple, which was to cook some chopped onions, wild carrots, peas, cabbage, and a small bag of barley in a pot.

Although the appearance and taste are really unsatisfactory, this is the biggest source of energy for soldiers every day. After walking for a whole day, they could gather around the fire with their companions to eat a bowl of hot chowder. These serf soldiers who had lived without a meal before were already satisfied, even if the soldiers would occasionally complain about the monotony of the food.

It is worth mentioning that every time Simon was repairing the team, he would send one or two soldiers to dig wild carrots between the surrounding grasslands and forests, and use them as the daily meals of the soldiers.

………

"It seems that there is movement there." A guard soldier who was placing a secret whistle behind the grass outside the camp listened to the rustling grass in the distance and touched his ears in confusion.

"Huh? What is that?" In the darkness, the soldiers seemed to vaguely see the grass that had just made a noise, and a black shadow walked quickly in a small open space shining by the moonlight.

"Then, that's..." The soldier vaguely heard a faint whisper, and after seeing another figure passing through the small open space under the moonlight, he decided on his own.

"Enemy attack!" A sharp shout crossed the sky above the camp.

"What!?" Simon, who was wiping the long sword, threw away the rag and stood up.

Several fast-responsive guard soldiers by the campfire quickly threw away the wooden spoon and wooden bowl in their hands, picked up the spears within reach on the ground and stood up.

"Quick, put out the torches and campfires!" Simon made a quick judgment and shouted anxiously at the soldiers.

"hiss!"

A guard soldier kicked over half a pot of soup, and the campfire made a sharp scream, leaving only a few sparks. The darkness enveloped the small camp, accompanied by a strong aroma of food.

"Kill brothers!"

At the same time, a roar of anger came from the woods north of the camp, and then there were dense footsteps and strangers' words coming from the north.

After a brief adaptation from the moment of light to the darkness, the guards in the middle of the camp gradually saw the surrounding dark environment and the vague figures of enemies passing by in the woods not far away.

Because the soldiers' night blindness has improved a lot because they often eat animal livers when building the wood fort and eat carrots every day after traveling with Simon.

"Be careful! Don't stand stupidly, stay away from the center of the camp and spread out!" Listening to the howling of arrows, Miller in the dark gave orders to the soldiers loudly.

"Mr. Lean, you're hiding!" The big-eyed soldier pushed Lean, who rolled and crawled behind a tree behind the camp.

"Ah!" Suddenly, the young man with big eyebrows and eyes was hit by an arrow in the darkness in the leather armor in front of his abdomen. He took a few steps back and sat on the ground.

"Is it okay?" The captain Miller next to him held the armpits of the big-eyed soldier and dragged him to the tree on the left wing of the camp.

Because he lost his bright target, the robber's archer could only shoot arrows in the direction of the campfire that was ripped off. The soldier with big eyes just now was just unlucky.

"Wow, ah, ah, ah, a hysterical scream rang out on the trench north of the camp.

A bandit fell into the trench without seeing the way under his feet. A pointed wooden stake just penetrated his chest, and a disgusting smell of blood instantly spread. Simon's soldiers did not have night blindness, which does not mean that the robbers did not have night blindness.

"Damn it, I can't see anything!" Several lucky bandits who rushed into the camp intact towards the campfire Mars were caught blindly. They knew that there were people not far away, but all they could do was passively defend against sharp blades from the darkness, sharp spears stabbed, and slashing randomly at places they thought there were people.

"Um!" A bandit only felt something quickly greeting his head. Before he could dodge, he felt a sharp pain in his face instantly, and then he lost consciousness.

"Andrew? Hell!" A robber felt a warm liquid splashing on his face, and tried to call the name of the companion, but received no response.

"My God!" Suddenly, a spear suddenly penetrated into the chest of the robber. In pain, he ignited a raging fire in his heart, and used all his strength to throw the armed axe in his hand towards the direction where the handle of the spear was stabbed.

"Ah! You hateful bitch, I'm going to hammer your head!" The guard soldier who was hit by a flying axe on his left shoulder pulled out the short hammer at his waist with his right hand and swung it towards the slightly proud head.

The attack in the darkness was like the scythe of the god of death, which harvested the lowly and humble lives of the robbers. This was a completely asymmetric battle, and it was almost a one-sided massacre.

"Why can they see so clearly in the darkness where they can't see their hands without seeing their fingers?" Behind the battlefield, the leader of the sloppy long-haired bandit heard the screams and begging for mercy of his companions, and was still puzzled while being angry and unwilling.

"Boss, withdraw?" a bandit asked in surprise.

"The situation is over, let's go..." Before the sloppy long-haired bandit leader could finish his speech, a rosy male voice came from the dark bushes, which scared his legs and feet.

"Let's go, where do you want to go?" Simon looked at the terrified bandit leader in the weak moonlight, held the sword in his hand tightly, and walked slowly.

………

The rising sun shone on this messy camp, and Simon's guards did not say a word, silently cleaning the battlefield or bandaging wounds with the help of others.

"Hold on." Little Klein poured a bowl of strong liquor on the large wound on the left arm of the guard soldier.

"Hiss!" The guard soldier bit a branch in his mouth, enduring the pain of his left arm like stinging insects.

"Yiweng, it doesn't matter. This is the potion for exorcism. It is now cleaning the contaminated flesh and blood in your body." The soldier with big eyebrows comforted his friend. The arrows of last night did not pierce the leather armor, and even the soldier with big eyebrows were able to save his life.

"You can bandage it." Little Klein skillfully took out the hot gauze from the boiling pot, and after the breeze blew and cooled down, he carefully wrapped it around the wounded arm of the guard soldier.

After recuperation from the last territorial war, soldiers have gradually accepted this new method of wound treatment.

"Are you killed it all?" Simon rubbed his swollen temples and asked Miller.

"Don't worry, Master, you're dead." Miller smiled with his big dark circles and his dry lips.

"That's good." Simon breathed a sigh of relief when he looked at the long-haired head in the open space next to him.

If the old forest ranger hadn't kept a move in advance, he might have been plotted against by these young thieves this time.
Chapter completed!