The forest was still deserted.
The sentinel leaned against a tree, yawning out of boredom as he gazed at the barren and boring scenery.
The chilly wind blew from the depths of the forest and brushed against his face, sending a shiver down his spine.
This damned weather!
And those damned mobs!
The sentinel shrunk his body so that he wouldn't be blown by the cold wind and cursed those damned bastards. In his opinion, if it weren't for those damned rioters who dared to rebel, he wouldn't have come to this godforsaken place on such a cold day. He should have been sleeping comfortably in his warm nest, but now, he had to come to this godforsaken place to suffer from the cold. Everything was the fault of those damned rioters!
The sentinel rubbed his nose, which was red from the cold, and let out a soft snort.
Of course, he was aware of the rioting of the mobs. The situation had been terrible recently and he could hear many people grumbling about it even in the city.
But so what?
That was their own problem. Anyway, as a private soldier, as long as he could work under Master Doante, he could continue his comfortable life.
As for the lives and deaths of others, what did it have to do with him?
Didn't such things happen every day no matter where they were?
Since that was the case, why should he make a fuss about it?
The nobles might be cruel, but what could the commoners do?
Wasn't the outcome the same?
However, the sentinel couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of the huge bounty that Master Doante had promised before he left. He was confident that there wouldn't be any accidents when they surrounded and annihilated the mobs. This also meant that he would receive a generous reward after he returned. With this reward, he could bid farewell to his troublesome life and enjoy a more stable life.
Swoosh!
The bushes rustled and the sound attracted the sentinel's attention. He gripped the dagger by his waist tightly and stared at the source of the sound vigilantly.
What could it be?
Could it be a wild beast?
Come to think of it, it was already winter. The wild beasts were fighting hard to find food. But no matter what, he was a hunter with decent skills back then. To this extent …
The solid arrow silently pierced through the sentry's neck and pinned him to the tree trunk. After a while, Zayen walked out from the shade on the other side. He went to the sentry's corpse, reached out his hand to pull out the arrow stuck in the tree trunk, and put it away again.
At this moment, the Sentinel's corpse fell to the ground with a 'puff' and there were no more movements.
Jenn looked around, then made a gesture to the side, and Nadia came over from the other side.
She looked at Jenn with a complicated expression, and then looked at the dead sentinel on the ground with his eyes wide open.
At this moment, the corpse's expression was still blank, as if he did not know what had happened to him until the moment of his death.
And looking at this face, Nadia could not help but bite her lower lip. She glanced at Zayen, and finally could not help but ask.
"Erm … Mr. James, I have a question …"
"What is it?
Miss Nadia? "
"That … when you killed these people, what were your thoughts?
They were humans like you and had their own families, lovers, and friends. But now, they died just like that … "
Nadia said hesitantly and didn't know how to answer.
But when he heard her question, Zayen quickly gave an answer.
"Oh, about that … I didn't have any thoughts."
"Huh?"
Hearing Zayen's answer, Nadia widened her eyes in astonishment. She gaped at Zayen in bewilderment and didn't know what to say at all.
Upon detecting her gaze, Jenn smiled and shrugged helplessly.
"It's simple, Miss Nadia. We're enemies. It's that simple.
Indeed, perhaps like you said, these soldiers have families and friends like us. Maybe they were threatened to kill their families if they didn't come to encircle us. But so what?
After knowing the truth, would I just nod and say 'Ah, I see. In that case, there's no other way' and allow them to kill our companions and families? "
"No, of course I didn't mean that. But …"
In the face of Zayen's answer, Nadia did not know what to say for a while. Although she felt that Zayen was right, she still felt that something was not quite right …
"This is a war, Miss Nadia."
Gazing at Nadia's conflicted expression, Jenn sighed and shook his head.
"This isn't a village brawl. This is a war, no matter if it's between us and the nobles or countries.
Who do you think will be willing to abandon their wives and children for the sake of the nobles?
How many people die in a war between nobles? And what's the cause?
It might just be a few words of quarrel, an unhonorable duel, or even for some unimportant woman.
However, even if we know that the other party has their difficulties, what can we do?
We can't convince the nobles to stop the war. Just like now, we can't convince the noble from the Soros Family to stop exploiting Karkhalan. Do you think we can send a messenger to him and say, 'Sir, we've been living too hard, so we have no choice but to resist?
If you promise us not to exploit us anymore, then we're willing to lay down our weapons and submit. '
Then, the other party will nod and say, 'Yes, I won't go overboard in the future. You guys can surrender.'
And then it'll end happily? "
"This …"
Hearing this, Nadia was speechless. Of course, she knew that this was impossible and would not show.
As a Paladin of Karkhalan, Nadia had long heard of Doante's notoriety. In fact, the Soros Family was behind the few incidents that she had experienced previously.
Nadia had long detested these powerful and lawless nobles. If he was really so easy to talk to, then things wouldn't have gotten to this stage.
"So that's how it is."
As he spoke, Jenn drew his bow and arrow, and once again aimed at the depths of the forest. Nadia didn't know what he saw, but she only saw Jenn's finger move slightly. The next moment, an almost inaudible sound came from the forest, and then everything fell into silence.
"We can't stop fighting, so we can only continue fighting.
The other party's past, present, and future may have nothing to do with us. If we were in a tavern, we might be able to drink a glass of wine and call each other brothers. However, on the battlefield, we are enemies. Other than killing each other, there is no other possibility.
So, we won't think about those boring questions. Whether he's forced or willing, good or bad, as long as we're on the battlefield, then we are enemies. "
As he spoke, Jenn nocked his bow and arrow again, narrowing his eyes as he looked ahead.
"And there is only one way to deal with the enemy."
As if to prove Jenn's words, the arrow flashed past, and once again disappeared into the forest.
Dead silence.
Nadia stared at the forest without saying a word.
On the other hand, Jenn raised his head and swept a glance at the forest in front of him.
"Alright, the sentries have been cleared. We have to move forward.
If these nobles' private soldiers are a little more stupid, then they may only realize that something is wrong after a long time. If they aren't that stupid, then we don't have much time left. No matter what, we have to move forward. "
As the sentries had been cleared, under Jenn's lead, both of them quickly arrived at the edge of the camp.
At this moment, the sky outside was already covered with dark clouds. Flying snowflakes fell from the sky, obscuring everyone's vision.
The snow howled as it blew past, and the soldiers on sentry duty outside shivered from the cold.
"This …"
Looking at the snow, Nadia was slightly nervous.
Their original plan was to enter the camp and burn the supplies while the other party wasn't paying attention, then leave.
But the snow was so heavy that it was very likely that they wouldn't be able to complete their mission. So, what should they do next?
Thinking of this, Nadia looked at the Half-Elf Ranger beside her.
At this moment, Jenn was also silently thinking.
He had just contacted Tilly, and just as Zayen had expected, the nobles' private army's offensive was very fierce. Although their strength was still a lot weaker than the regular army, they were still an army after all, and they still had the most basic military training.
But on the other hand, Oldman's biggest weakness was also exposed at this time. Perhaps they had won a few battles, or perhaps they had better equipment and weapons than the other side, but an army couldn't be formed just by relying on these things. Strict training and standard military operations, these were the foundations of an army.
Under the attacks of the nobles' private soldiers, Oldman's subordinates were gradually losing their stamina, revealing their true nature as' mobs'.
If this continued, defeat was only a matter of time.
Jenn shook his head. Through the spiritual connection, he ordered Ina and Tilly to pay attention. If necessary, they could make a move, but as long as Oldman's army hadn't completely collapsed, then they shouldn't act rashly.
"Mister James, what should we do next?"
"Wait here."
Hearing Nadia's question, Jenn thought for a moment before replying.
"I will think of a way to sneak in and see if there is a way to deal with these troubles."
After saying this, Jenn's figure flashed and disappeared into the forest covered in snow.