Edis returned in barely half an hour. He ran excitedly up to Allen to report, but the exertion had left him too breathless to speak.
"There's no need to rush. The enemy won't get away. Rest a moment first," he said with a frown.
"Captain, we found where the enemy is staying. There are over sixty of them, and several are wounded. We can attack right away," Edis said impatiently.
"Then what are these Orcs doing? Are they resting? How is their morale? Are they well equipped? What kinds of troops do they have, and how many Professionals are among them?"
Allen's questions left Edis stumped. He really had not noticed any of those things. All he had been thinking about was leading the troops straight in. Unable to answer, he lowered his head.
"Edis, I told you before. Being a competent scout isn't easy. These are all things you need to observe.
"We don't just need to know how many enemies there are. We also need to gather other intelligence about them. That will make our judgments more accurate and keep mistakes out of our decisions.
"But you rushed back here without even a complete report. How am I supposed to feel confident sending out the troops?"
"Sorry, Captain. I was too hasty. This was my mistake. Please give me another chance." Faced with Allen's stern criticism, Edis seemed to realize his mistake.
This was their first battle. Allen did not want these oversights to lead to their eventual defeat, so he decided to go with Edis.
"Ailand, take charge of these soldiers for me. This time, I'll go with Edis."
The two then took a few local soldiers and quietly made their way toward the Orc camp. They finally stopped beside a thicket a little over a hundred