They were troops. The cavalry advanced forward while infantry followed behind them, commanded by knights wearing shiny armor. The army marched past the wide-open gates as if they were going on a battlefield.

“What is happening? Why is the army moving? Did a war break out?”

“Aren’t the bandits causing trouble again?”

“Damn it! Again?”

The citizens murmured in fright, but there were some hopeful voices mixed in.

“What if they found those bandits’ hideouts?”

“You think so?”

“If that’s not the case, there’s no reason for a whole army to move like this. Even when the bandits attacked before, this many soldiers never moved before.”

“I really hope that’s the case!”

Filled with a mix of anxiety and hopefulness, the citizens watched the large group of soldiers leave the castle. Yet, Zich thought differently from them. ‘If such a large army leaves, Bambis would be left even more defenseless.’

That was probably what the bandits wanted. They might have exposed an area that looked like their home base on purpose to lure the army there. However, that wasn’t the important part to Zich. He sensed that the day bandits planned their raid was not too far away.

‘I also have to make...