Chapter 2: The Coarse Fairy

  Under the starry sky of midnight, Austin City was silent, and there was not a single light in the entire city. Except for occasional barks from unknown places, no other sound could be heard, and the silence was terrifying.

  Two people sneaked quietly to the edge of the city, near the beach on this side stood a tall bell tower, which was particularly eye-catching in a group of low-rise houses, and this was where they had agreed with the scout to meet.

  Arriving at the bell tower, Ramon and Barsette hid in the shadow of a house, then Ramon tapped the hilt of his sword against the wall in rhythmic beats. The surroundings remained silent as usual, and after a moment, another series of knocks responded from the other side of the bell tower.

  Raymond gave a signal with his eyes to Bastet, and the cat woman understood, lightly jumping into the darkness around them.

  Before long, Bastet poked her head out from the opposite side and gave Raymond a safe gesture. Only then did Raymond leave his hiding place and rushed over to that side in quick strides.

  Arriving at a secluded corner below the bell tower, there was already a man waiting. He was about 20 years old, not very tall, with an ordinary appearance that was even a bit unkempt, wearing a worn-out linen outer garment, just like the unemployed poor people that could be seen everywhere on the streets, belonging to the type that wouldn't attract anyone's attention.

  That's when Freddy recruited a scout named Olsen who stood out from the rest.

  "Did you run into some trouble when you came here?" Raymond asked in a low voice.

  Seeing Raymond, Austin was visibly nervous but still spoke clearly: "After the enemy took control of Auston, they implemented a curfew. Now as soon as night falls, no one is allowed to stay outdoors except for patrol teams and sentries. But don't worry, sir, I absolutely wasn't discovered."

  It's no wonder Freddy looked at him in a different light, just because he could sneak here alone on a strictly curfewed night.

  "Have you ever been a scout before?" Raymond asked casually.

  Orsen shook his head: "Klein used to be a thief until he was recently recruited by Lord Freddie."

  "Are you with the Thieves' Guild?"

  "Ah, no," said Ao Sen, "I'm just relying on a bit of cleverness, petty thievery and swindling to make a living. I've never received any formal training as a thief."

  Raymond nodded and muttered to himself, "Freddie will definitely find someone." He patted Olsen on the shoulder: "Do a good job, this time if we succeed, we won't treat you unfairly. Now, tell me about the situation in the city."

  Upon hearing this, Olsen's face flushed slightly with excitement. However, he quickly composed himself, showing good mental quality: "As previously detected, the remaining garrison is approximately 500 people, all stationed in the Ostend defense team's barracks."

  "Did they have any defensive measures?"

  Aosen shook his head: "The enemy is very careless, only setting up some sentry posts on the city wall, and inside the city there are only some patrol teams responsible for controlling the residents, otherwise there are no defensive measures."

  "Where is Mayor Dirk being held?" Raymond asked again.

  "The prison in town," Osborn said, "is where the disarmed garrison is also being held."

  "How many people?"

  "About 300 people."

  With 300 people, in a town of this size, the number of guards will not be too many. No wonder the enemy is so careless, to guard prisoners and control the entire town, 500 people are more than enough.

  They obviously all thought that facing the humble Haidinton, the battle would be easy to end, so they wouldn't notice defending the rear, and naturally no one bothered to make those troublesome defensive arrangements, which gave Raymond a great opportunity.

  If they could unite with the 300 guards who were being held captive, their numbers would exceed those of the enemy, and the chances of success for this raid would greatly increase. The question was, how to get in touch with them?

  Just then, Osun spoke up: "Sir, there are a few people you might want to meet."

  "Who?"

  "Auston's defensive team captain, Hillnis."

  "Raymond was taken aback: 'What? Didn't you say that Auston's defending troops had all been captured?'"

  Okusen-dō: "Hirunesu and some others have escaped and are still wanted. After I received the order from Lord Furēdi, I managed to contact them, but they don't believe me and say they want to meet you in person."

  "How did you find them?" Raymund asked, somewhat strangely. These people were able to evade the enemy's search, and Osen had only infiltrated Auston for a few days, how could he have found them?

  Noticing Raymond's questioning, Osborn said: "Mr. Izo, a merchant in the city, is from Haidington, but has been staying in Auston to do business. Lord Freddy had noticed him long ago and developed him into our intermediary in Auston."

  "I've been hiding in his house all this time to gather these intelligence smoothly. It's also through him as an intermediary that I can get in touch with Hillnis."

  Raymond muttered to himself, "So that's how it is. To establish his own intelligence system, Freddy had done so much work in private." It was clear that being able to collect so much information this time was not just the effort of Osen alone, but rather the large amount of preparation Freddy had done beforehand was the crucial point.

  "Alright, let's go." Raymond nodded: "I also happen to want to see them."

  Under Auson's lead, the three of them infiltrated Auston City. For several days, Auson had clearly already figured out the enemy's layout and easily avoided all patrols and sentries along the way, making Raymond feel more and more that Freddy hadn't misjudged him.

  Finally, Olsen led the two of them into a quiet alley and knocked on the door at the end.

  The room was cluttered and sparsely furnished, clearly only a temporary hideout. As Raymond entered, there were already several people waiting inside; when he saw the leader of the group, he couldn't help but be shocked.

  That person had a handsome face, slender and tall figure, with a head of soft, pale green long hair, two pointed ears were particularly eye-catching. He wore a lightweight leather armor that was convenient for movement, with a wooden longbow engraved with intricate patterns on his back, and a thin, long rapier at his waist, standing out in the crowd like a crane among chickens, it's hard not to notice him.

  Such an external characteristic is really too unique, so although it was only the first time they met, Raymond effortlessly recognized the other's identity, Elf!

  Lemmon stared at himself, the elf frowned and suddenly said in a tone that was not suitable for his elegant appearance: "Hey, what are you looking at?"

  "Huh?"

  Austen hastily approached Raymond's ear and whispered: "Sir, this is the captain of the Auston defense team, Hillnis."

  He hesitated for a moment before adding: "Also, he has a bad temper."

  All along, whether from books or word of mouth, the spirits Raymond knew were elegant and noble creatures, so he really couldn't connect the image in his mind with this guy in front of him.

  Moreover, it is also hard to believe that these tribes who live close to nature and are independent of the world would run to human towns to be the head of the guard.

  "So he couldn't help but ask: 'Are you a half-elf?'"

  As soon as the words came out, Olsen's face changed greatly. Sure enough, Hillnis' eyes rolled up and he said provocatively: "I'm a pure-blooded elf, how about it, isn't it strange?"

  "Rumors have it that Hillnis was abandoned as a child and later picked up by an old mercenary, who raised him. So, his personality... uh, anyway, sir, I think it's best if we don't bring this topic up again."

  It seems that more than one person has questioned Hillnis' identity as a spirit.

  But it must be said that, no matter what his temper was like, Hillnis was after all a member of the Elf tribe. In his unintentional movements and expressions, he would naturally reveal the elegant demeanor unique to his kind, which humans could never match.

  Of course, he exposed himself as soon as he opened his mouth: "Listen, no matter what you think, I don't care."

  " If you're interested in my background, just ask around on the streets. I guarantee you'll get a lot of different versions."

  "However, I'm meeting you all tonight to figure out how to get rid of those bastards in town. So if you still want to keep being ambiguous, then scram."

  "Meow, young master, are all spirits so rude?" Bastet, who had been staring at Hillnis, couldn't help but say, before her words were cut off by Raymond covering her mouth.

  Ignoring the protesting meows from the cat-eared girl, Raymond smiled at the angry glint in her eyes and said, "Of course, I came here tonight to seek cooperation with all of you. As for this fool... just pretend you didn't hear that."

  Xier Nis's face was slightly pale: "So, how many people did you bring this time?"

  "Three hundred people."

  "300?" Hillnis frowned: "So little."

  "This is all the manpower Haidington can muster." "Don't forget, we have another batch of enemies to deal with," said Raymond.

  At this time, a man behind Hillnis said: "If it weren't for you Haitington provoking the Lavi Federation, how would we have suffered. The mayor is also because of secretly helping you, and..."

  "Graem, stop being such a woman," Hilniss retorted, turning back. "Whatever the case, the enemy is already on our heads; what we should be thinking about now is how to take them down."

  Although Xier Nisi is of a wicked disposition, he is by no means a narrow-minded man. From what he has just said, it can be seen that he knows how to distinguish between right and wrong.

  Lemon's impression of him also changed: "Questions like whose responsibility can be pursued after victory. As for the number of people, I think as long as we add your people, there will be more than the enemy."

  "But our people are all locked up in prison." Hillnis said in a low voice.

  Raymond smiled and said: "I'm saying, have you guys really never done anything in private?"

  "How did you know..." Grim's eyes widened in surprise.

  On this point, Raymond wasn't being overly cautious, he was completely making an educated guess based on Hillnis' personality. Given the temperament of this spirit, it would never allow its enemy to trample all over it without doing anything, so it must have taken some action in private, and now it seems that's indeed the case.

  Hirnis nodded in agreement with Gleam, and then said: "You guessed right, we have indeed contacted the imprisoned companions, if you want to escape from prison, it's not a difficult thing."

  "There are two concerns now, one is that the enemy is stronger than us, even if we escape, we can't deal with them and may also implicate innocent residents; another is that Mayor Derick is still in their hands, we dare not act rashly, otherwise how could those guys occupy our town."

  Raymond's eyes narrowed slightly: "Since we're here, the first point is no longer a problem. So, you want us to help rescue Mayor Derick of Derry Town?"

  Hillnis was amazed at the clarity of Raymond's mind, he looked at Raymond and nodded: "The companions in prison, I have a way to let them escape, but the mayor is in the hands of the enemy, I really can't act rashly."

  "Now we only have these few people who escaped, and it's really hard to save others, so we can only ask for your help. As long as the mayor escapes, I will immediately cooperate with you and get rid of those bastards!"

  "Done." Raymond Ha smiled and pushed Bastor forward: "You guys are really lucky, because there just so happens to be a first-rate scout around here."

  "Meow, young master, you really think so?" Bastet turned her head in surprise and followed with doubt: "But... didn't you always say I'm useless?"

  "Uh..."

  The room fell silent, and Hillnis and others looked at Raymond, then at Bastar, with a growing look of doubt in their eyes.

  "I'm saying, you didn't just pick someone at random to deceive us, did you?"

  "Cough, cough." Raymond gave an embarrassed cough: "Uh... don't worry about it, just a slight misunderstanding. Mainly because of this guy here..."

  As he spoke, Raymond pointed at Bastet and then drew a few circles around his temples with his finger, with an "you're done for" expression: "But setting that aside, her skills are absolutely guaranteed."

  "Meow, young master, you're too much, I've seen everything."

  "Shut up, it's because you're always saying inappropriate things at the wrong time."

  After saying goodbye to Hillnis and others, a group of people left their hiding place and returned to the beach first.

  When he saw the disciplined subordinates brought by Raymond, and more than 100 war horses, although there were only 300 people, their combat effectiveness was not to be underestimated. Hillnis's confidence in him increased again.

  "Summoning Rutz and Shawn, Raymond expressed their concerns to Hillnis, then said: 'So before we act, we must first rescue the mayor, and then join forces to annihilate the enemy's garrison. Before that, you absolutely cannot make any rash moves.'"

  "Rest assured, before we came here, the mayor of Charlotte had repeatedly entrusted us with this matter and we will definitely ensure his safety," said Sean to Hillnis.

  Luz calmly said: "What do you plan to do?"

  "Since it's a rescue mission, we don't need to make a big fuss. Just the three of us, Bastet, Hillnis and I will be enough. You and Shawn continue to lead the others and stay here, keeping an eye on the movements in the city at all times."

  "Hill Nis's fist clenched: 'As long as the mayor is rescued, I will definitely make those bastards pay for what they have done in these days.'"

  It was the first time Shawn had seen such a rude elf, and he stared at him in surprise. Rutz nodded: "Understood, we will wait for your instructions."

  "Alright, let's move." Raymond clapped his hands and said.

  Leaving behind Hilsnis and the others, Ramon and his two companions returned to Auston City once more, heading towards the prison where Derek was being held.

  As Auston was only a small town, the prison within it wasn't large either. It was just a four-sided courtyard surrounded by high walls with three-storey buildings on both east and west sides where the cells were located. The entrance was at the south side while there were two watchtowers on the north wall that could monitor the entire prison.

  Perched on the roof of a house, looking far away at the prison, Hillnis briefly explained its structure to Raymond: "The mayor is being held in the top floor of that cellblock on the west side. Because they're afraid of rescue, the thieves from the enemy's mercenary group are responsible for guarding it. We just can't deal with those guys, which is why we've been hesitant to make a move."

  "The other brothers of the Guardian Squad are also locked in prison, and it's only because of the mayor that they've been enduring. When we go in to rescue them later, try not to disturb them, so as not to cause any changes, after the mayor is rescued, what follows will be easier."

  "Alright, I'll leave this matter to Bastet." Raymond nodded.

  "But then, when escaping, which route should I take?"

  "Hmm..." After some thought, Hillnis pointed to the north of the prison: "For the convenience of surveillance, the outer wall on the north side of the prison was built against a large ditch, to prevent anyone from approaching. As long as we take out the two sentries in the watchtowers there, no matter what we do outside the wall, no one will notice."

  "This house is impossible to get to," Bast complained. "Because I have no way of climbing up from the water channel. And because of the surveillance of those two watchtowers, I will also be greatly restricted when rescuing people."

  "Don't worry, leave those two guys to me." Hilnis patted the bow and arrow on his back with confidence.

  "As for you, the task is a bit more troublesome." He turned to Raymond and said: "Since Dirick Town is old, he can't do too intense activities when escaping from prison, so he can only leave through the water ditch outside the north wall."

  "You need to find a way to get a boat over here before he and Bastet jump into the canal, so you can pick them up after they fall in."

  "Where am I supposed to find a boat?" Raymond asked in dismay.

  "He pointed to a house on the east side of the prison: 'For the convenience of clearing the waterway, there is a boat for workers over there. The place is easy to recognize, and you can find it by following the waterway.'"

  "But it just so happens that's a resting point for an enemy patrol squad, so you'll probably need to take some measures to get the boat over smoothly."

  "I see." Raymond casually touched the long sword at his waist, and when he touched the unique emblem on the hilt, he couldn't help but think of all sorts of things that this sword had brought him after leaving the Beastman Empire.

  Just thinking that I am now in the place where this sword was made, and cooperating with the Lovell Merchant Guild, gives me a feeling of a mysterious connection.