Infiltration

On the afternoon of April 3rd, Sean led his squad cautiously toward the Water Bandit Camp; within the Swamp Wetland, they used the crisscrossing waterways to carefully avoid the bandits' patrols.

To maintain stealth, Sean had to be extremely careful; he constantly directed the boat to take detours, occasionally lying in wait at concealed spots; finally, as the sun was about to set, they reached a dense patch of reeds less than three kilometers from the Water Bandit Camp.

Before Sean's eyes now lay a stretch of open water, extending all the way to the vicinity of the camp; from a distance, the outlines of the camp's buildings were faintly visible.

But crossing this open water would inevitably expose them to the Water Bandit Patrol. Sean immediately ordered the squad to conceal themselves and rest here, waiting for the sun to fully set; then, using the dim visibility of dusk and Vinson's identity as a bandit leader, they would try to bluff their way through.

"Vinson, describe the terrain and layout around the Water Bandit Camp to me again..." Sean said in a low voice, turning to Vinson beside him.

"Yes, sir; look, beyond this stretch of water is the camp... There's a small hill by the camp where we can hide; and it's not far from the Water Bandit Prison..." Vinson replied promptly, pointing as he spoke; finally, he gestured at the hill by the camp and offered his own suggestion.

Then Vinson added, "Sir, there's a lookout post on that hill manned by bandits, watching the entire waterway. But if we take a slight detour, we can approach by land..."

"Excellent, Vinson... Also, how far is it from the Granary?" Sean praised Vinson first, then pressed further.

"The Granary is on the other side of the camp; if possible... sir, we could sneak into the woods on the hill first, then send someone to circle around to the Granary..." Vinson said with a faint smile, answering quickly in a low voice; as he spoke, he pointed to the approximate location of the Granary so Sean could understand.

"Hmm... Do all three of you know the layout inside the Water Bandit Camp well?" Sean paused briefly, a thought of splitting his forces crossing his mind; he then confirmed with Vinson and his two men.

"Yes, sir, both of them and I have lived in the camp for many years... We're very familiar with the camp's layout..." Vinson replied immediately. The two loyal followers nodded vigorously, eagerly agreeing with Vinson.

"Good... Go get some rest; we'll discuss the specific plan once the squad reaches the small hill..." After a moment's consideration, Sean sent them off to rest.

Time passed gradually, and finally the last trace of the sun's afterglow vanished from the sky. Sean didn't immediately give the order to move; instead, he watched the distant lights flickering to life.

After nearly another half hour of waiting, having eaten a simple dry ration, Sean finally timed the shift change of the Water Bandit Patrol; he then ordered the boats to set out, and soon four Water Bandit Speedboats emerged from their hiding spot, heading toward the camp.

"Who goes there?" Sean's group had sailed about halfway across the open water when their good luck finally ran out; they inevitably encountered two small boats from the Water Bandit Patrol. A wary voice called out from a distance.

"Damn it, it's me, Vinson... Which bastard's in charge of you lot..." At Sean's signal, Vinson stepped forward to answer; he used his usual rough tone, replying arrogantly to the patrol.

"Vinson..." The bandits' small boat drew closer, raising a torch to try and see Sean and the others' faces. But when they spotted Vinson standing at the bow, with his trademark arrogance and impatience, someone immediately spoke ingratiatingly, "Boss Vinson, you're back..."

"Damn it, it's you, kid. What, you think your Uncle Vinson should've died at the army's hands?" Vinson recognized the man and cursed harshly. He also waved his bandaged hand, showing he'd just escaped the army's siege.

"No... no, Boss Vinson, why are you back at this hour?" The man sounded a bit weak but still asked suspiciously. He also glanced at the boats behind Vinson, spotting two familiar faces looking just as ragged.

"Damn it, you think I wanted this? That cursed army had me cornered everywhere. Hah... but in the end, I still got away!" Vinson laughed loudly. Gradually, he slipped into character, as if he'd truly reverted to his old self, the crude bandit leader; then he cursed again, "Damn it, you got any food? Hand it over to fill my stomach..." His matter-of-fact demand only made the patrol less suspicious.

"Boss Vinson, the brothers... didn't bring any food. Maybe... you should head back to camp..." The man was fully convinced now; Vinson's constant cursing made the patrol's small leader want to get as far away as possible.

"Damn it, useless trash. All of you, get lost!" Vinson roared in anger at the reply.

The man silently turned to leave, as if afraid Vinson might suddenly take a liking to chewing them out further.

"Damn it, keep your eyes peeled and patrol the outer perimeter thoroughly!" Vinson suddenly remembered Sean's earlier instruction; he sent the patrol away from the camp to prevent them from leaking news of his return. Then he added, "If I catch any of you slacking off, I'll make you pay!" He finished with his characteristic crude threat.

"Yes... yes, we'll patrol carefully... we will!" Without giving Vinson a chance to say more, the two patrol boats sped off toward the outer waters.

"Good work, Vinson." Sean praised him quietly once they were gone. Then he said, "Keep moving..."

"Thank you, sir, that was... nerve-wracking..." Vinson leaned in and said. After speaking, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Sean patted Vinson's shoulder, gave him a smile, and said nothing more. The group's boats then smoothly rounded to the riverbank near the small hill; after carefully hiding the Water Bandit Speedboats, Sean led the soldiers, armed with weapons and bows, stealthily advancing toward the woods in front of the hill.

Under Vinson's guidance, Sean and the others found a concealed spot in the woods to rest. He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time and whispered to Sergeant Donnie, who had come closer, "Three hours until the scheduled time. Send a few sharp soldiers to keep watch around us; remind them to use bird calls to signal if they spot anything." He watched as Sergeant Donnie acknowledged and left.

Earlier, during adaptation training, Sean had drilled the squad to use different numbers of bird calls to convey various information when spotting enemies. He'd picked this up from movies in his past life, and in this world, it was clearly not a common tactic.

"Rest here, stay alert." Sean quietly ordered the surrounding soldiers.

A few soldiers, after Donnie relayed Sean's command, slipped away from the squad and quickly vanished into the woods.

Then Sean called Vinson and Donnie over and said, "Donnie, take Vinson and the others and prepare to set fire to the Granary; be extra careful... If you can't get close to the Granary, just torch any building to cause chaos..."

Donnie and Vinson nodded immediately, indicating they understood.

"Whether you succeed or not, once I start the rescue here, you must retreat and rendezvous at the boat hiding spot. If anything goes wrong—on either side—set sail immediately after midnight." Sean ordered in a grave tone.

Both men nodded firmly, and then the woods fell into dead silence.

Time quickly passed to around 10 PM; Sergeant Donnie, after reporting to Sean, led Vinson and ten soldiers out of their hiding spot; they would disguise themselves as a patrol and cautiously approach the Water Bandit Granary.

Sean ordered the remaining soldiers to change into black night gear; they were to infiltrate the Water Bandit Prison and rescue the trapped Noble Cadets. They also wrapped their weapons in cloth to prevent reflections under the moonlight.

Twenty minutes later, the soldiers were ready for the assault, and Sean led them, slowly creeping to the edge of the Water Bandit Camp.

The camp was quiet, with only the occasional light footsteps of passing bandit patrols; under the dim moonlight, Sean and his men silently reached the outer wall of the prison courtyard.

Sean signaled to the soldiers, and two immediately turned to guard the intersections on either side. Then one soldier backed against the wall, crouching slightly, ready to boost Sean up.

Sean lightly stepped on the soldier's hands and climbed the wall without a sound; he carefully peered over, saw the courtyard was empty, then waved to the soldiers below, signaling them to come up in pairs.

With the help of ropes, the soldiers smoothly infiltrated the prison courtyard. Sean gestured for them to split into three groups as planned; he would personally lead the assault on the cells, one group would secure and guard the gate, and another would head to the bandit guards' quarters. Two of Vinson's men would guide Sean and the group heading to the guards' room.

Everything went according to plan; Sean led his men, stealthily advancing toward the cell area; on the way, he silently and cleanly took out two groups of four bandit guards. They only stopped at the main entrance to the cells.

Sean signaled the soldiers to prepare. Then he had Vinson's man knock on the door.

"Knock, knock." After two light knocks, some faint stirring came from inside; then a grumbling voice asked, "Who is it..." As he spoke, footsteps slowly approached the door.

"It's me." Vinson's former subordinate replied calmly.

The bandit on duty tonight, Water Bandit A, shook his still-drowsy head; he glanced at Water Bandit B, who was still sound asleep on the table, and reluctantly got up from his chair to head to the door; no one likes being woken up, and he heard a voice from outside that was unfamiliar yet slightly familiar.

Still, his foggy mind didn't raise any alarm; he casually unlocked the door. The moment it swung open, before his complaint could leave his lips, a dim sword flash crossed his vision; then, in a dizzying spin, he saw a headless body—strangely familiar—slowly collapsing to the ground.

Sean, clad in black, had beheaded Water Bandit A the instant the door opened; he then swiftly stepped around the body and lunged at Water Bandit B, who was just waking up; before B could fully rouse, Sean finished him with another strike.

Sean was a bit exasperated; when he'd killed Water Bandit A, he'd made no sound at all, yet Water Bandit B still woke up. Though the man couldn't react, it still annoyed him. Maybe it was that so-called deathbed instinct.

The soldiers following Sean quickly entered, locking the door behind them; then, under Sean's direction, aside from those guarding the entrance, the rest followed him to search the entire cell block.

The bandits' prison wasn't large, only about twenty cells. Soon, through the gaps in the cell bars, Sean spotted a youth in a filthy, tattered knight training uniform, curled up and trembling slightly in a dark, damp cell.

Young Master was trapped in a nightmare, his whole body quivering faintly. Sean directly slashed through the iron lock with his sword; the clatter echoed through the cell block, waking the bandit prisoners who heard it; their eyes held fear, but also hope.