Calming the Heart

After the water bandit attack that afternoon, no further incidents occurred over the next hour or more. Under Sean and the others' protection, the transport fleet safely reached the temporary camp. By then, logistics officers and soldiers were already waiting at the makeshift dock. As soon as they saw the fleet return safely, they immediately came forward.

Sean and Senior Anderson handled a simple handover with them, then led the soldiers off the boats to return to camp for rest. The duty of guarding the grain ships was then taken over by soldiers from two other Independent Squadrons.

By now, the entire temporary camp had undergone a massive transformation since Sean and the others had left. The once-spacious center of the camp was now densely packed with rows of soldier tents arranged closely together.

At the very center stood Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's large command tent, surrounded by the single-person tents of other officers and the larger tents for the soldiers of his direct company.

Sean and his group's tent was located just behind and to the side of the command tent. He immediately ordered Sergeant Donnie to take the soldiers and escort the captured water bandits back to the tent to wait. He himself led Thor and Phil, bringing the water bandit leader Vinson along, to Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's command tent. Since he had obtained intelligence on the Gil River Bandit Group, there was no reason not to report it to Lieutenant Colonel Merkel.

"Mr. Vinson, I hope you'll tell the truth when we get inside..." Sean said sternly as he led them forward. After speaking, he looked at Vinson, who seemed nervous and was glancing anxiously at the soldiers moving around them. With a strange smile, he continued, "After all... whether you get to keep living depends on how useful you are..."

"Y-yes, sir, I understand... I'll tell the truth, everything I know..." Vinson's voice trembled as he replied, Sean's odd smile making him even more tense. He understood the implication in Sean's words and was already thinking about how to turn what was "useless" into something "useful"...

"I appreciate your sincerity right now. But I have a little personal advice..." Sean nodded with satisfaction, smiling at Vinson. His gaze turned playful as he finished.

"N-no... sir, please, just tell me. I'll do whatever you say..." Vinson caught the meaning in Sean's playful look and quickly responded. His tone was very sincere, but his words came out a bit jumbled from nervousness.

"If... I mean, if you hadn't kidnapped the Noble Cadet..." Sean said coldly, staring at Vinson. As Vinson's face gradually paled, Sean suddenly smiled and spoke in a gentle tone, "Of course, still if... that 'deeply affectionate' Chief Gil of yours was the one who kidnapped the Noble Cadet... do you think he'd get a chance to come here and confront you face to face?"

"Ah... sir, this... yes... that's right, it was Chief Gil..." Vinson stammered in reply. A surge of immense joy welled up inside him, making his speech tremble uncontrollably.

As the big boss of the bandit group, Chief Gil would naturally bear all the consequences. In the end, whether Gil had kidnapped the noble or not, the only outcome after his arrest was death. No other possibility existed—he might not even get the chance to be "arrested" at all, and would just be...

"Mm." Sean nodded with satisfaction. After that, he fell silent, and the group quietly made their way toward the central tent.

Sean's reason for saying this to Vinson wasn't out of some ridiculous goodwill or anything like that. It was because he was afraid Vinson, losing all hope, would give up and cause a man-made accident that would ruin his plan. Besides, as long as the hostages were safely rescued and Gil and the bandit group were wiped out, the Garrison's mission would be considered a complete success.

Who would bother to argue over which idiot kidnapped the noble and made everyone, including Lieutenant Colonel Merkel, unhappy during this Expedition? Of course, if it later came to light that Vinson was the real culprit, they could just execute him on the spot.

But until the bandit group was completely destroyed and the trapped nobles were rescued, Vinson was still useful. Naturally, he had to be given hope of survival so he would wholeheartedly do his best.

Soon, the group arrived in front of Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's command tent. Sean reported to the guard at the entrance. After a short wait, he was summoned inside. Sean straightened his uniform and led the others into the tent.

Inside, besides Lieutenant Colonel Merkel, only Jason and another major were present. Lieutenant Colonel Merkel smiled warmly at Sean as he entered and praised him, "Sean, I've heard about the fleet. Well done..."

"Sir." Sean and the others saluted with serious expressions. Then they also saluted the other major.

"This is Major Sunny of the 3rd Battalion," Lieutenant Colonel Merkel introduced in a friendly tone.

"Major Sunny, I've long admired your reputation," Sean greeted politely. He had heard that Major Sunny, commander of the Garrison's 3rd Battalion, was not only directly under Lieutenant Colonel Merkel but also an old friend of many years.

"Hello, Second Lieutenant Winchester. I've heard my old friend mention you often—your name is quite familiar to me..." Major Sunny said with a smile, his tone carrying a natural warmth that was very likable.

"You flatter me, Major Sunny. Please, just call me Sean. It's a pleasure to meet you..." Sean replied with a smile. At the same time, he realized that both he and Major Sunny belonged to Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's camp, which naturally made it easier to build a connection.

"Hello, likewise, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sean." Major Sunny greeted back with a smile.

Lieutenant Colonel Merkel watched with satisfaction as the two exchanged polite, slightly warm greetings. After all, one was his old friend and his biggest supporter within the Garrison, while the other was a young man he had great hopes for. He had even mentioned the boy's talent and his own assessment to his backers in the Imperial Capital, and the reply from the capital had been to keep a close eye on him and do everything possible to win him over.

"Haha, you two, stop being so sappy," Lieutenant Colonel Merkel teased with a laugh.

Major Sunny smiled naturally, while Sean looked a bit shy. After a few more pleasantries, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel asked Sean, "Sean, what's the matter?" He looked curiously at the people behind Sean.

"Sir, this is Vinson, the water bandit leader I captured today. I think he'd be very willing to give us a detailed introduction to our target..." Sean said, pointing to Vinson beside him. He also made clear the purpose of his visit.

"Oh? Is that so? Then we really must thank him for his enthusiasm..." Lieutenant Colonel Merkel said with slight surprise, then replied in the same teasing tone.

Sean then gave a brief account of the day's battle to Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and Major Sunny. Finally, he emphasized that Vinson belonged to the Gil River Bandit Group, which was responsible for the noble kidnapping incident, and that he had detailed knowledge of the bandit group.

"Well then, Vinson, is it? Please, give us your introduction," Lieutenant Colonel Merkel said with a smile, turning to Vinson.

So Vinson laid out the detailed situation of the Gil River Bandit Group without holding back, including the purpose of the attack on the grain ships he had been assigned to carry out. He only concealed the fact that he was the unlucky bandit who had actually kidnapped the noble.

After hearing Vinson's detailed intelligence on the bandit group, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel fell silent in thought. Suddenly, he noticed Sean looking at him with a strange expression. After a moment's consideration, he said, "Vinson, thank you for your detailed introduction. It pleases me greatly. If everything goes smoothly this time, I can promise to pardon you from the death penalty..."

After Vinson's flattering words of thanks, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel waved his hand calmly and said to Sean, "Sean, have your men take Vinson away. Don't mistreat him... Mm... Stay for a moment..."

Soon, Thor and Phil led a delighted Vinson out of the command tent, leaving only the four of them. Lieutenant Colonel Merkel then smiled and asked Sean, "Judging by your expression earlier, you clearly had something to say. You can speak now..." He raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

"Sir, your insight is truly sharp..." Sean flattered with a smile. But before he could finish, he saw Lieutenant Colonel Merkel wave his hand dismissively, so Sean got straight to the point. "Sir, how can we both rescue the kidnapped Noble Cadet and annihilate the bandit group?"

"Now that we know the bandit group's location and have a guide who knows the details to lead the way, we could just march the full force in and crush them like powder. But..." Sean continued before Lieutenant Colonel Merkel or the others could answer.

Sean's words made everyone, including Lieutenant Colonel Merkel, frown. Then they fell into silence.

"If we do that directly, there's no ruling out that they might do something desperate," Sean analyzed calmly. He didn't directly say they would kill the kidnapped noble immediately—that would make him seem cold-hearted.

Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and Major Sunny nodded at Sean's words. They both turned their eyes to him, since he had brought up this scenario. Clearly, he must have considered how to avoid it. They were both eager to hear what he would say next.

"Gentlemen, why don't we think from the bandit leader's perspective?" Sean continued, as expected. But his meaning left Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and Major Sunny puzzled, unsure of what he was getting at.

"Suppose I were the bandit leader. Facing a full-scale Garrison expedition, what outcome would I ultimately want?" Sean asked hypothetically, looking at the confused expressions of Lieutenant Colonel Merkel and Major Sunny.

"The best result would be for the Garrison to return empty-handed, and the bandit group not to suffer heavy losses. Otherwise, other bandits might..." Sean gave his own answer without waiting for them to think it through. After a pause, he added, "Clearly, the bandit leader has already tried..."