While Xiao Chen and others were acting as mercenaries, a team was lurking in the darkness outside the town of Alano.
The leader was Baron O'Farrell's eldest son, Matos, who was now a genuine baron except for his lack of fiefdom. He inherited the characteristics of his family, very tall and strong, wearing a chain mail, holding a long sword, hiding behind a big tree, with nearly fifty warriors around him.
These were all the good players he had recruited during this period. In order to obtain the Duke's financial and military support, he also paid a great price. He promised to give away half of his father's property. So this team under his command could be said to be put together by selling everything he had. However, the Duke also knew that if Arano was not taken back, all the benefits would not be realized, so he introduced several strong men to him.
A few days ago, they learned from spies that the mayor, Chen Hansheng, was attacked and seriously injured. Then the Chinese seemed to have found the trace of the murderer. The high-ranking warrior named Kalanda left here with a group of masters and went to an unknown place. This news made Matos eager to make a move. If he could raid the town and capture the mayor alive, he would have a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Chinese.
Matos himself is a mid-level peak warrior. His current team has four mid-level warriors and ten low-level warriors. Among them is his good friend Diokno, who is a mid-level beginner mage. With such a team, as long as the opponent is not high-level, it is still feasible to sneak attack and kidnap someone at night.
However, the spy who sneaked into the town in the afternoon has not come out yet.
"Matos, I wonder if those two guys are dead in there." Dionok was a man in his thirties, also wrapped in a black robe, standing beside Baron Matos.
"Wait a little longer." Matos pointed to the moon in the sky and said, "If the moon rises to the top of the tree and there is still no news, we will retreat."
There were many mosquitoes in the forest at night in early summer. These people hid in the grass under the trees and became a feast for these insects. The recruited mercenaries did not have good discipline. Some people kept slapping mosquitoes and making various noises. Matos had to beat several guys to make the team hide here obediently. If the people in Alano Town were not vigilant and there were no sentinels patrolling nearby, these rabble would have been discovered long ago.
Matos gently crushed a mosquito that flew to his face, and suddenly found a person climbing over a wall in the town. After waiting for a while, the figure really ran towards this side.
When he got closer, the man imitated two bird calls to identify himself, and then quickly came to Matos' side.
Matos saw that it was indeed the spy he had sent out. He was a little annoyed and said, "Faria, what took you so long?"
"Sir, Duco and I disguised ourselves as merchants and got in, and we got a lot of information. But the people in the town were too enthusiastic, so they kept us there for a long time."
Matos listened to him and a strong smell of alcohol hit him in the face. He asked angrily, "Have you been drinking?"
"Sir, please listen to me. We sneaked in disguised as merchants purchasing wood. We thought that if we made a bigger deal, we might run into more important people. So we reported a relatively large order quantity. As expected, several timber merchants came. They thought we were big customers from the south, so they were very attentive. Not only did they take us to see their inventory, they also treated us to dinner and drinks. That's why we've been delayed until now. We didn't dare to refuse casually, for fear of being exposed. Now Du Ke has been settled in the hotel by them, ready to meet you at any time. And I came to report the news first."
Matos looked at the guy doubtfully, and then said, "Then tell me quickly, what's going on in the town?"
"Sir, those masters really left. It is said that they found the traces of the murderer who murdered Chen Hansheng, so they sent troops to take revenge. However, these merchants can't tell the specific situation. We only know that it takes about seven or eight days for those who left to go back and forth. And most of the troops went with them."
"Could it be a trap?"
"I don't think so. We asked around a few times on the road and the situation was basically the same as what the merchants said." Faria burped, and it seemed that he had eaten a lot before. "We also passed by the houses where those people were stationed, and most of them were empty."
"How many troops are left in the city?"
"There are about thirty or forty more people."
Matos looked at Dionok, who nodded and said, "If the number is this high, it will be difficult to protect a whole town. If we gather the troops together, it should be no problem to defeat them."
"Do you know where that Chen Hansheng is?"
"Of course, he is in your fortress. It is said that Chen Hansheng was seriously injured and completely lost his fighting ability. There is a daughter of a timber merchant working as a maid in the castle. She said that Chen Hansheng was poisoned. Since he needed positive energy to drive out the poison, he lived in a room on the third floor of your house and basked in the sun on the rooftop every day."
"Matos, if this Chen Hansheng is just a useless person, is there any need for us to kidnap him? What if the other party simply gives up on this guy?" Dionok said.
"Then we can also humiliate this guy on the battlefield to undermine the enemy's morale." Matos lowered his voice, "You should all know that the Duke must see results. If we fail to do this, the golden shield he throws at my head will become a rope to hang me!"
"My Lords, Chen Hansheng will not be abandoned, because the person in charge of this town is his wife, Kalanda. Everyone says that Kalanda cares about Chen Hansheng very much. She will lead the revenge personally this time, and she will not abandon him easily."
"Very good, in that case I will prepare to act!" Matos decided, "Have you found a way to sneak into the town?"
"Of course, sir."
So Faria led the way, and Matos's men followed him and slowly approached the town. They tried to walk in the shadows and make no sound, and they lined up in a straight line along a path up the hillside and came to a corner of the wall. This position was just out of sight of the guards at the gate and several watchtowers. A wooden stake under the wall had loosened, and Faria gently moved it away, revealing a gap that was only wide enough for one person to pass through.
"How did you find this place?" Matos asked suspiciously.
"Sir, when we entered the town, we found some children playing nearby, and they disappeared after a while. I guessed that there might not be any secret passage or dog hole here. Later, when we were leaving the town, I came here to check it out, and found this passage." Faria said.
"Okay. You lead the way."