The caravan, which was moving slowly as if something could happen at any moment, reached a flat road after about two hours. The head guard was at the forefront. He was quite relieved to be rid of the winding roads.
He was getting goosebumps especially when passing under the rocks. Fortunately, there were no problems and they managed to reach this flat road. The roads after this were both wide and flat. They could go faster now. He turned his body while on the horse and signaled Eren to come to him.
- Eren, you checked this road, right?
- Yes, chief. I went back and forth to the end of the road. This was the last place I checked. I didn't see any problems on this road.
- Okay. After passing this place, you will go ahead of the caravan again and check the roads in front of us. Now go back to your place and be careful.
The caravan had gone a little further on the flat road when a strong wind blew. It passed over the caravan, kicking up the dust of the road and the dried leaves on the side. Only Han smelled the smell of boiled venison carried on the wind. He turned his head left and right to see if there was anyone around, but he couldn't see anyone.
To make sure that the smell he smelled was correct, he asked the old driver next to him,
- Uncle, it smells very nice of boiled venison, doesn't it? Can you smell this beautiful scent too? I'm sure someone is stewing venison somewhere.
- (The old man sniffed the air a few times but couldn't smell anything.) What smell? I can't smell anything. It smells like a normal forest.
Just when he thought he was wrong and thought the smell was like venison, another light breeze blew and the stewed venison smell filled his nose again. He was now absolutely certain that there was someone nearby.
This the smell of boiled venison was not far away. There had to be someone nearby, but he had heard Eren telling the head guard that he was checking the place. Eren couldn't be lying. Then he remembered what the head steward had told him.
They had been ambushed in this forest five years ago. The head steward had described this ambush in detail. At the end of a long speech, he had said the following. "Even if what you can see is dangerous, you can take precautions accordingly because you have seen it. What is really dangerous is what you cannot see. You never know where they will attack from…"
He immediately stood up from where he was sitting and calmly called out to the head guard who was slowly walking in front of him.
- Chief! (When the head guard did not hear, he raised his voice a little.) CHIEF! (When the chief turned his head and looked at himself, he added.) Chief, I have something to tell you.
- (The head guard approached the carriage on his horse.) Yes, Han. Are you going to say something?
- Chief, there is a smell of boiled venison in the air. I mean, there is someone ahead of us.
- (The head guard sniffed the air a few times but did not smell anything different.) Are you sure?
- I am absolutely sure. There's someone somewhere nearby.
The head guard could not ignore such a warning. He immediately raised his hand and stopped the caravan. He called the nearest guard to him. This guard, who likes to snack constantly, put a piece of dried beef in his mouth and went to his chief.
- Check the road left and right. Go ahead and see if there is anyone hiding there.
…
During the meal, the gang leader called them. They couldn't just leave this delicious boiled venison and everyone took a piece of venison with them to eat later. Some put it between their bread. Some of them wrapped it in the tissue next to them. But everyone, without exception, took a piece of boiled venison with them.
Everyone smelled of boiled venison, but no one noticed it. Because they all smelled the same. While they were waiting for the caravan, they would occasionally put a piece of deer meat into their mouths and eat it.
When the gang leader looked through the trees and saw that the caravan had stopped, he couldn't understand why. "Do they instinctively realize that there is danger on this road?" he thought. But this was ridiculous.
After a while, when a guard from the caravan came forward and started riding his horse alone on the road, and the gang leader became uneasy. Could it really be possible? He called out to his friends and ordered them to hide well, just in case. He signaled his men on the other side of the road to hide by making hand gestures.
Everyone had hidden perfectly until the guard came to them. The man on the horse rode along the road, looking carefully left and right, but he could not see anything. Finally, he returned to the caravan empty-handed.
- Chief, there's no one around. The road is clear.
- Okay, get in your place...
(The head guard turned to Han.) As you can see, what you said didn't turn out to be true. There's no one there. You did nothing but stall us. I wanted to trust you, but I was left empty handed.
- ...
Han bowed his head as if he were guilty and couldn't say anything. This guard who came also said, like Eren, that there was no one here. Really was there no one around?
The caravan continued to move forward. The head guard in front, the carriages behind. Mounted guards on both sides of the carriages. The smell of boiled venison grew stronger as they moved towards the middle of the road. Han couldn't keep quiet against the increasing smell and warned the head guard one last time.
- Chief, the smell of venison has gotten stronger. We're getting too close. They're definitely around here somewhere.
The head guard turned to look at Han. There was no doubt in Han's eyes. On the contrary, he had a confident look. Could this be true? Could what Han said be true? He could no longer ignore the possibilities. He thought carefully and made a decision.
He turned around while on horseback and signaled his subordinates to get off their horses. All the guards got off their horses and got between their horses and the carriages and continued on their way.
The head guard also got off his horse, took the reins of the horse in his left hand and his sword in his right hand and started to walk slowly...
...
The gang leader was quite surprised by the events that were developing. What was happening? He couldn't understand it, but he was sure of one thing. Capturing this caravan wouldn't be as easy as the last time. But no problem. This time they have archers with them.
As long as they hit the guards with their arrows, the rest is easy. If the archers can't hit their targets, no problem. With the support of the archers on the ground, the archers in the tree would come down and they could all escape from here.
They had a secret shelter about a kilometer away. They were hiding there after every ambush. Unless the surrounding trees were destroyed, the location of the shelter was very difficult for people who did not know about it to find.
As the gang leader thought about the safety of the shelter, his anxiety gave way to confidence. The problem now was how many of his men would die. It was very difficult to capture such a prepared caravan without any losses. But the loss would be worth the women he'd gain.
The gang leader was very happy when he thought about what he would do to the women by catching them. When lust finally blinded him, he slowly drew his sword and raised it into the air. This movement told his men to prepare. Prepare for the attack…
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Note: Unfortunately, things didn't go so well for us. But I'm back as promised. I'll try to write as fast as I can. Thank you very much for waiting patiently. I hope you enjoy reading my book.
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