Ambush

"Watch closely, kids, this is how you use a crossbow!"

In the mercenary camp, old John picked up a crossbow and skillfully operated it.

After hearing about Tankred and Anna's discovery that day, Old John felt it was time to give the recruits extra training.

It's unrealistic to expect new recruits to become elite soldiers in a short time, especially in close combat; they need constant, real-world experience.

Crossbows were different; an ordinary farmer could be trained in them quickly with just a few days of intensive training. Old John hoped these recruits would at least play a role when the fighting started.

The mercenary team couldn't even muster a few crossbows, so Tank Redra had to swallow his pride and borrow them from the guards of a strong team.

As for where to find extra crossbows when a fight breaks out?

"Doesn't Your Excellency's caravan have thirty excellent Milanese crossbows? We can 'borrow' them sometime; I'm sure Your Excellency will understand. After all, Your Excellency wouldn't want all your goods to be stolen by pirates, would you?" This was Old John's excuse last night.

Meanwhile, Old John had already begun to explain the structure and usage of the crossbow to the new recruits in detail.

"This is the bowstring, this is the string, and this is the crossbow arm. When you're cocking it, brace your feet here, straighten your backs, and pull as hard as you can!"

"Remember, this thing isn't a slingshot. You have to pull the string all the way back, or it'll all be for nothing! If you can't shoot through the enemy on the battlefield, the next time you'll get shot through the belly!"

He gave a demonstration, and with a teeth-grinding "creak," the ox-tendon string was steadily fastened into the slot of the suspended blade.

A new recruit tried to imitate him, but no matter how hard he tried, he could only pull the other half apart. The recruit's face turned red, which made several veteran soldiers nearby laugh.

"Hey, you newbie, use your waist! Use your waist strength! And you guys, what are you laughing at!" Old John glared. "Weren't you the same way the first time you touched this metal lump? I remember it all!"

Tankred silently followed the new recruits, picking up another crossbow. He had absolutely no experience with bows, so he had to rely on the crossbow for ranged attacks. However, as a complete novice with only a 12-point crossbow proficiency, he felt he needed to practice more.

"Focus on the target, ignore the wind, keep your finger steady, pull the trigger decisively, don't hesitate..." He silently recited the key points Old John had just shouted, aimed at a target on a tree thirty paces away, and pulled the trigger.

"Boom!"

The crossbow bolt made a short, powerful thud as it left the bowstring, embedding itself deeply into the target, but missing the bullseye by a good half-foot.

「叮！你使用十字弩勉强击中目标，十字弩熟练度+1（12→13），个人经验+1，当前等级 Lv4（8/100）」

"Your arm is too tense, and your shoulders are hunched over," Old John said, walking up to him at some point. He lowered his voice. "Relax, kid. It's not your enemy; it's an extension of your arm."

After more than ten attempts, Tankred's crossbow bolts finally hit the bullseye one after another.

「叮！你使用十字弩精準击中目标，弩熟练度+3（24→27），个人经验+3，当前等级 Lv4（22/100）」

"Ding! You have accurately hit the target with your crossbow. Due to your low control, your crossbow proficiency has reached its current limit."

Have you reached the proficiency cap?

Tankred discovered early on that this system was very similar to Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, meaning that one's attribute points would also affect the speed at which proficiency increases and the proficiency cap of the corresponding skills.

"Ding! Your crossbow proficiency has exceeded 25 points, and you can obtain one of the following feats:"

[Sharpshooter]: Your crossbow's initial aiming speed is increased by 25%, and ranged soldiers have higher morale and are less likely to collapse.

[Unstoppable Force]: Your crossbow bolts can ignore cloth and leather armor. Your team's crossbows wear down less, significantly reducing maintenance costs.

"Add points, and the momentum is unstoppable!"

Without hesitation, Tankred chose "Unstoppable Force." Given his current situation, he was facing lightly armored enemies, and ignoring armor would significantly increase his damage output.

More importantly, this specialty can significantly reduce the daily expenses of crossbow maintenance, saving money, and the more crossbows the mercenary team has in the future, the more money they will save!

Tankred felt like he was desperate for money; he'd do anything to save money!

For the rest of the day, similar extra training became the norm. The new recruits complained bitterly, having already thought marching was a tough chore, but they never expected to have to contend with this lump of iron sooner or later.

The caravan guards initially just watched the spectacle with their arms crossed, but later, seeing the group of peasant boys practicing with such intensity and without slacking off, a subtle hint of approval appeared in their eyes.

"Leader, my lads are really lacking in training and are holding the team back. I was thinking, could we do some forced marches occasionally to let them get used to the pace of wartime? Of course, everything will be based on the safety of the goods and the itinerary." Tankred approached the leader of the caravan's guards, handing him two silver coins along with them.

"Forced march? Hmph, those little brats who can barely walk without shoes on?" The team leader tossed two silver coins in his hand. "Fine, for the sake of the silver coins, as long as you don't break my wagon axle, you can do whatever you want. But don't expect my men to go crazy with me; we're only responsible for watching the cargo."

Next, under Old John's guidance, the overall marching speed of the caravan was gradually increased.

Isaac poked his head out of the carriage a few times, a hint of imperceptible anxiety flashing across his round face, but seeing that the procession was still following the established route and that the overall speed had not changed much, he ultimately said nothing.

"We are outnumbered, and a head-on confrontation would be suicide," Old John said, gesturing on a rough map in the tent late at night. "Our only way out is to disrupt their plans. Since they plan to act during the day, we'll not follow their script."

"We need to arrive before they've fully assembled. Those pirates are definitely afraid we'll escape, so they'll surely launch a surprise attack under cover of night to ensure their success. And that's our chance."

After discussions between John and Tancred, a plan gradually took shape.

On the evening of the fourth day, as the setting sun dyed the distant mountains blood red, the outlines of low, dilapidated stone houses finally appeared ahead of the group.

Several crooked houses surround a stone watchtower from ancient Rome. Alpaya, though called a village, is more like a post station abandoned by time, with only a few houses and dilapidated buildings everywhere.

"We'll camp here tonight; there are plenty of empty rooms!" the leader ordered gruffly.

Isaac stepped down from the carriage, his face somewhat obscured in the twilight.

The guards occupied the highest stone tower and lit a campfire. The mercenaries and recruits were scattered in several relatively intact stone houses.

The atmosphere seemed no different from usual.

But a careful observer would notice that the mercenaries checked their weapons and armor far more frequently. Meanwhile, the new recruits were urged to go to sleep and rest, and their barracks quickly became pitch black.

Night completely swallowed the valley, and the wind whistled mournfully through the ruins. The firelight on the tower flickered lonely in the darkness.

"Sizzle~"

Panting, Anna carefully pushed open Tancred's door.

Her hair was wet with night dew, and bits of grass clung to her leather armor. Her rapid breathing created white mist in the cold air. Meanwhile, seven burly men sat upright in Tankred's room.

"On the south slope, at the edge of the woods, there are more than one spot where metal reflects light. They've crept down the mountain!" Anna exclaimed urgently.

Tancred slowly exhaled, his gaze sweeping over the fully armed mercenaries under the oil lamp:

"Anna, go and quietly bring the new recruits in."

"Bashir, go and inform the caravan guards that we no longer need to worry about alerting them."

"Gentlemen, it's time to welcome our guests!"