29 Morning of the Attack (2/2)

Nervously, Belinda asked, ”I know that it's kind of hypocritical, since I just asked you not to tell anybody about it, but could you tell if Elric likes me back?”

Kalin tilted his head and put his finger on his chin, ”I think he was happier that Vin was unhappy than the fact that you rejected him. He didn't seem to dislike you, but he didn't particularly like you either.”

Without the smallest amount of sugarcoating, Kalin dropped the bomb. Although she was expecting such an answer, it didn't mean that she had to like it. ”Thanks for telling me.” She sighed.

Giving her a thumbs-up sign, Kalin said, ”Don't worry, I'm cheering for you. If you ever need help, I can make you some clothes to help seduce him.”

Noticing the incongruity of the small Kalin readily talking about seduction so easily made Belinda chuckle at the scene. Although she knew he was a succubus, the fact that a small child talked about seduction so easily made it more humorous than reassuring. Fighting back tears, she eventually said, ”I guess I'll have to count on you if our relationship ever gets that far.”

As the two continued to chat, Rain came back from her journey in the brush. Eventually, one by one, the party member emerged from their tents. After eating breakfast, putting out the fire, and cleaning up the campground, they met up with the other parties to resume their journey. They were only a couple hours from where the Kobold settlement was rumored to be. After the Orc in charge of the expedition sent two of the parties ahead to scout the settlement, the group set out to toward their objective.

Upon entering the forest, the expeditionary force was no longer at ease, chatting among themselves. They continued down a wide game trail while being on high alert. While it was unlikely to see any powerful monsters this shallow into the forest, there are always exceptions. It wasn't uncommon for entire parties to be wiped out by a wandering monster or aggressive demon that got bored enough to leave its territory.

It didn't take long for the scouting parties to follow the numerous tracks that led to the settlement. Reuniting with the rest of the adventurers, they were able to explain the situation to the orc that was in charge.

”Alright,” he said in a voice that was more than a little bit too loud for the tense situation, ”we're only a couple kilometers away from their settlement. From the looks of it, there are anywhere from 70-100 Kobolds. There are signs of variant Kobolds as well. There are about 10 guards right now. As a nocturnal race, they are probably the only battle-ready demons in the settlement. Only half of the settlement is walled off, making it easier for us. The wall is on the north side, so we'll be attacking from the south. The wall will end up blocking their escape route rather than protect them. Team one, I want you…”

It didn't take long for an attack strategy to fall in place. After the meeting ended, Vin lead the party to where they were to attack from. On the west flank of the settlement, they were positioned near what was assumed to be the supply sheds of the settlement. It was their job to seize the supplies and stop any Kobolds from escaping. However, for now they had to wait, and not get caught.

The target buildings were unlike the surrounding buildings. They were made of dry mud and sticks, forming a pseudo concrete. There were four such buildings, varying in size. This type of building was much harder to make than the simple straw huts, but they were better at keeping out the weather. Because of the increase in complexity of the structure, there were only two reasonable explanations for the use of the buildings. It was either for important members of the tribe, or supplies. As the leaders or strongest members most likely lived more toward the center of the settlement, the latter was more likely. It was their current job to clear these buildings of any useful supplies that would make the attack more difficult. With an emphasis on speed, not stealth, their group was the best equipped to perform this task, mostly due to the presence of the centaur Rain.

The biggest obstacle was the thirty-meter opening separating the edge of the forest from the buildings. The noise of them running would be drowned out by the chaos of the first attack, but they needed to not get seen by any Kobolds. Their best chance to close this gap was during the confusion of the initial attack.

Sitting in silence, the eight members of their group could feel the tension building in the air. Waiting for a signal to attack, there was nothing they could do but try to be quiet. Time ticked by slowly, as the tension got thicker and thicker. There were no signs of birds chirping or animals rustling through the bushes, creating an ominous feeling. Thankfully, it didn't take long for them to hear the signal to start the attack.

A giant crack of thunder filled the air, as a couple of the small leaf huts exploded. As the settlement jolted awake, their attention was drawn by source of the explosion. As the main forces of the expedition rushed into the encampment, Kalin's party sprang forward. Like an arrow released from a taut bow, they shot out of the bushes, dashing at their target.

Thankfully to the stupidity of the inhabitants, they had chosen to keep their supplies in the least populated part of the encampment. In the few seconds it took them to reach the cover of the buildings, all eight of them felt the adrenaline pumping through the veins. They had to move quickly to make sure not to get caught and prevent anything from escaping.