"So how many of these are we going to make?" Claire asked while fiddling with a shack of empty bottles.
"We have ten targets according to the information, the goal would be to create a complete commotion without hurting civilians, so about two bottles per person perhaps?" Andrei answered while packing his bag with the homemade smoke bombs he made with the materials.
"I guess we will have to depart at afternoon in order to make two pieces of these for ten people, about that swoke bomb, how many did you make?"
"It's smoke not swoke, smoke bomb, I plan to give two per person too, and also forget about making those here, we will have to carry these as goods, that's why were travelling as merchants" Andrei was finally finished packing his things in an old-fashioned string bag.
They both went to the castle grounds where people dressed in middle-ages version of common clothes gathered. They were the people Andrei requested; combat maids and butlers in the guise of merchants and common folk.
Andrei could see Erneis and Michaela in their golden plated armor standing on the wooden platform, Michaela saw them and waved at them. They both went to the platform, among them in the platform, Andrei was the only one not wearing armor.
Michaela came forward to speak.
"Thank you for answering to my call my dear servants. The mission might be dangerous but it's your skills that are needed in order to execute this rescue mission. The commander for this operation is my… betrothed… Andrei Spia"
Michaela turned red as she announced her betrothal to Andrei in front of her servants. Andrei saw her expression and turned red too turning his face away from her. While Claire s facing the crowd with a calm and normal demeanor.
"As you wish your highness", all the servants responded in chorus and bowed, the men in a butler and the women in maid-like fashion, that it didn't suit what they are wearing at all.
Hearing about what happened to their comrades broke their hearts, thinking that the queen has no business of risking herself for the sake of a few people, moreover for people like them.
But when they heard that the queen's betrothed was willing to take up arms to save their comrades, they were filled with hope
And now that he requested for their help, they are more willing to follow him, also hearing about the man's intelligence in strange weapons, somehow they became more confident.
"If it's this man, he may be able to do it" this is what they thought within their hearts.
Michaela looked at her subordinates, and was delighted at the scene before her.
The lenient-looking servants now have eyes filled with overwhelming determination and passion to rescue their comrades.
Andrei came at the front.
"I am Andrei Spia, I will be taking care of your lives, this is indeed a dangerous mission, however if you follow my instructions as it is, the risk of anyone getting injured or killed will be low- no... I promise, if you follow my instructions carefully no one would have to die, everyone will make it home" Andrei raised his hand on the air. "We will make it home! So please follow me!"
The crowd went wild after hearing the proclamation. The people watching and the ten people who stood before the platform, there were almost at least fifty to sixty people combined.
"Long live the future king!"
"Long live the future king!"
"Long live the future king!
Claire extended her hand to command "Silence" which made the crowd calm down and listened to Andrei's continuation.
"You seem to be confident speaking to the public like that, are you sure you're not a noble?" Claire whispered.
"Well, I had public speaking experience, back then I had more than a hundred of audience, so this much is alright"
He was used to doing talks and speeches as a student leader and a part of a software developer community which gives talks and seminars to college and senior high school students. However it was a first for him to have such an embarrassing cheer..
"I thought they were just gonna clap or something" he thought.
"Ahemm… Ahem… I think you know why I chose you instead of the knights, but to those who don't, listen. It's because this is the best possible solution in order to obtain the best outcome.
You don't have high honor and pride to defend, you could easily pretend and blend in as common folks and merchants. That's the reason why I had you wear common clothes instead of your maid and butler uniforms.
I will call this mission, Rescue-Demolition, this is a covert operation so details would be only discussed with the ten people coming with me. Thank you for entrusting your lives to me everyone!"
The crowd burst into cheers again, the crowd's cheer intensity was enough to make his legs shake. Andrei preferred not to do this however Michaela insisted that this would greatly increase their morale and for formalities.
Andrei has no choice but to submit, so he wrote a short speech. Memorized and delivered it in front of the people.
He was delighted with the cheers even though it made him very nervous.
"Was this really necessary?" he whispered to Michaela while waving his hand.
"Yes, but that "no one would die" part, it's surprising, but if it's you, then maybe that might come true, but why did you say that?" she tilted her head in question.
"Ahhh that? I just wanted to drive myself in the corner, it's my habit of pushing myself to the limits. I've been entrusted lives after all, lives are precious" he forced a smile, and looked at his ten comrades lined up. "They have people waiting for them to come back after all, I can't let any of them die"
Michaela looked at him with admiration, ever since he rescued her, this man at her side never showed the strength of a powerful person, however when it came to a crisis, he immediately sprung into action by lending them his strange but immense weapon knowledge.
"And now you even promised them that no one would have to die in such a dangerous mission. You really are the man I love after all" she thought but blurted out the next sentence which made Andrei turn red.
She realized her blunder and her soft and white cheeks immediately turned red so she turned around and covered her mouth with her hand. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
After the proclamation exclusive to the servants of the royal family, the rest of the maids and butlers scrammed to attend to their daily duties leaving the ten of them who were selected to join the operation.
The four standing on the platform, Erneis, Michaela, Claire and Andrei went down from the platform and went to the ten people lined up.
Four of butlers and six maids dressed in common-folk and merchant clothes.
"So why did you have them dress before the operation?" Erneis asked, thinking that he might be able to add the knowledge to his knight training.
"Ahhh about that, you see we will be teaching them to make the weapons right? So in order for them to be efficiently create those weapons successfully in the circumstances, they will also have to be accustomed to those clothes which they will be using in the actual operation"
"It's basically the same of practicing to fight in the knight armor right?"
"Yes, you can put it that way"
Andrei then rounded up the people around him.
"From now on this will be called Rescue and Demolition Squad"
"Lord Andrei, what does demolition means?"
"The word itself means, to break something, for our squad it would mean destruction of our enemies" he proudly declared while clenching his fist. "I wanted to say that" he thought.
"But Lord, all we know are simple fighting techniques, we don't have high powered magic or strength"
"I know, but we have these"
Andrei picked up a molotov cocktail from the ground.
"I'm sure Percy and Eve have already seen what this bottle can do" he looked at Eve and Percy who nodded in response.
"But this will be the first time you will be seeing this, this weapon is called a Molotov Cocktail" using his flint match he burned the upper part of the cloth-made fuse. The fire eventually got stronger until it reached the tip of the bottle. And then Andrei threw it to the ground, this time there were no training stakes around so when the bottle landed and broke, the fire only spread to the grass.
The fire spread in a 5 meter diameter. The servants could only open their mouths in amazement.
"The future king really is an impressive man, to think that he could create something that dangerous from household materials we use everyday" Percy shrugged her shoulders, the other maids were listening to her and became more amazed.
"So basically that's what it could do, next"
Andrei picked up the handmade smoke bomb made of sugar, wax, and saltpeter.
"This item will be the key to our escape" he lit the top of the cloth-made fuse and threw it on the ground, in front of him, in a few seconds a large amount of black smoke was released from inside the bottle until the servants couldn't see Andrei anymore.
However they heard someone talk from behind the smoke.
"The smoke that comes from this can is our trump card during our escape, (cough) it creates this large amount of smoke in a short amount of time. (cough)
With the combination of these two weapons we would be able to successfully carry out the plan"
The servants who weren't present at the first testing could only open their mouths in awe. After Andrei was done speaking, he went outside the range of the smoke and instructed Eve and Percy to teach them on the process on how to make the bombs, and after that Andrei briefed them of the plan.
Tomorrow they will be setting off to the settlement and the queen have already received a reply from the culprits. But before that, Andrei requested a new set of ingredients.
"By the way, do you have chilies or any spicy bell papers here?"
In the settlement, in a dusty old abandoned pub, Six women are tied together and all of them were beat-up, bruises and wounds are found around their body, they wore no clothing, and their eyes were dead as if their stole has been broken.
One man was in front of them, he's clearly beaten-up, and blood could be seen flowing from his neck and on his hand were his fingers are cut. His eyes did not show signs of life, the man was clearly dead and not breathing.
"Man! That queen of the small kingdom really sent a response! If this goes well, we will really get our dreams! HAHA, a life of money, women and liquor! This calls for a celebration! Let's rape those women again!" A thin man wearing a bronze plated armor declared, he's one of the bandits a noble have hired in order to crush the and trap the queen of Ethareri.
The abandoned pub had three of the hired bandits inside, including their leader. While the others has been making rounds on the area.
"Forget it, we don't want to break them too much or it may affect our transactions, once we capture the queen, you can have all the fun you want, of course the first one to mount the queen will be me! HAHAHAHA, don't worry you'll get your turns!" The leader of the bandits declared, he has a large sword on his back.
"But will this really succeed? I know we placed some conditions, but what if they seek help from the empire to hunt us here? Or perhaps sent assassins to kill us?" the third bandit guarding the pub asked as he's cleaning the bloodstained knife.
"Don't worry, that small kingdom doesn't even have an assassin troupe, and even if they did hire from the mercenary guilds of Sagrait Federation, there wouldn't be enough time according to the conditions we've put on the letter.
They can't also request help from the empire if they want to save the face of their nation.
Also, according to the info from our client, the queen is a hot blooded woman that deeply cares for her people, that's how I knew that she'll sprung into action if we just dangle the lives of her subordinates in front of her. It seems that it was accurate enough, she'll come alone I'm sure of it, I told her not to inform any of her knights and to come secretly, to think that she would really agree just like that HAHAHAHA our client really is helpful with us this time"
"You're really brilliant brother!"
"But what about her powers? The rumors says that she knows fire and freezing magic, if she decided to come alone, isn't it because she's confident that she'll be able to defeat us?"
"Even if she did have that magic power, in order to cast wide range of that magic, she will need a chant for that, we'll just surround her and make sure she doesn't finish a chant"
"Does that information also comes from the client?"
"Yes"
"It seems that the client really knows the queen huh?"
"Well of course, the client is the prime minister after all"
The three laughed their hearts out in the anticipation of the rewards that they will get from capturing the queen. They are a group of bandits hired by the prime minister of the kingdom of Ethareri who's currently staying on Kydus in the guise of medical treatment.
They were given armor and weapons just like the current issue of the knights of the Kydus Empire in order for them to conduct the mission successfully. They are careful and have set traps everywhere for any possible scenario of how the queen will attack.
But little did they know that an irregularity that the queen have met will turn their ugly ambitions on them.