One week after that meeting, some scouts returned to the town and informed them that they found the fifteen thousand barbarians that had disappeared overnight. They were half a day away from the dungeon town and quickly approaching from the north, and they were setting their camp. A few hours later, some soldiers saw a dust curtain forming east in their location, and then other scouts confirmed that it was a unit made of two thousand tamers and five thousand ordinary soldiers. To complete Billy's prediction, an army of ten thousand soldiers that seemed to be from the former Toles state also appeared south of there. They certainly were playing hard...
"We have thirteen thousand soldiers on our side and they have two and half times more," Kate said. "This will be hard…"
"They probably have two times more soldiers than this, but they left behind to guard their borders," Sarah said.
Both of them were correct, but Billy wasn't thinking about that. He was thinking if he could find the enemy's leaders in a night raid and wipe them out. It was the only thing he could think to make the enemies suffer a massive blow that would make them consider giving up. Otherwise, that battle will last for a while, and thousands will die.
In any case, the enemies showed up at the same time, so Jean's idea to attack one of them with the first opportunity was no longer possible. That was a weird tactic since they could use the walls of the town, but it was better than waiting for the enemies to surround the place like they did it.
In any case, the adventurers and the recruits began to move to the northern side of the town since Jean assumed that they would have an easier time against the barbarians. It was probably a very rude thing to consider. Still, Jean assumed that the barbarians were like monsters with their savagery and brute strength. Aside from those, Jean sent fifteen hundred soldiers to help on defending the walls, which would make a battle of fifteen thousand barbarians, against four thousand on the defenders' side.
"I really hate these odds," Alexander said. "Lily trained a full battalion of archers and they are the only ones aside from the soldiers that are suited to fight on the walls, the rest of us will have to make it beyond the walls. Any ideas, Billy?"
"Focus on defense and wait for the archers to do their job," Billy replied.
"... Anything else?" Alexander asked, hoping for a more miraculous answer.
"Have faith in the guild masters," Billy replied.
In the end, Alexander gave up since he was hoping for an answer that didn't exist. In any case, aside from Natalie, his friends didn't need a crossbow, so Billy only prepared one for her, but he told her to use it in moderation. It would be much better to save her mana to use for Fierce Aura.
"What do you think of leading your friends and their recruits?" Marie asked after she talked with the other guild masters for a while.
"I am not suited for that, aren't you more experienced with it?" Billy asked. "I am not a guild master anymore and they aren't adventurers. Naturally, someone among you would be the best option to lead them since we are planning to make you all a special force on this side."
Billy wasn't a fan of the idea. He didn't even know a single name among the recruits. Apparently, his friends made the recruits practice against each other, and they did some demonstrations while sparring, so they more or less knew them. Still, he couldn't say if either of them was suited to take command of things.
"I can do it, just leave it to me," Natalie declared. "Just cover my sides and then I will be able to lead everyone."
For some reason, Natalie was brimming with confidence, and considering her fighting style, she was probably the best suited for the position. A melee fighter would inspire the recruits more. Alexander gained some confidence lately, but he still was pretty meek, and Billy wasn't the type to let his emotions control him and inspire others with a beautiful speech.
"You heard her, she will be the commander of the unit and we will back her up," Billy said. "What about you?"
"I will do what I do best," Marie said and then threw her daggers in the air. "Cut some necks."
That was a pretty scary thing to say. Nevertheless, she was a reliable ally, and Billy was happy that they weren't enemies. The special unit would stay behind the walls for the most part. Still, they had to move as soon as they ordered to, so Billy could imagine them charging toward some crazy moments on the battlefield. It would be good if they could use bows until they are called, but only Lily's students could take place in the walls, and there was only so much room there.
Without wasting any more time, the archers took their positions in the walls, even though the barbarians didn't show any sign that they were about to attack. Still, Lily went to talk with them to make them Relax.
"There must be… five kilometers between us," Billy said after he climbed one of the watchtowers that had been built inside the town. "It isn't impossible… but it will take a few days."
While Billy was making calculus and plans in his head, he noticed that a detachment of the barbarians began to move. Only a couple of hours had passed since they began to set their camp, so it was hard to imagine that they had finished all the preparations… In which case, he noticed some movements in the eastern and southern wall as well.. The enemies were preparing a coordinated attack right off the bat, even if they weren't going to use all of their resources on the first day.
