"Ready!" I whispered, "Fire!" ”

We pulled the trigger together with the oil bottles, and the two shadows were shot and fell, but the other shadows fired the bullets. I continued to fire two shots and looked to the sides, "Pay attention to what is happening on both sides of us, not just the front!" ”

Just as I was talking, gunshots came from behind us, and it was Kritovic and the others coming. I looked back, and several dark figures jumped into the pit, and soon after seeing me and the oil bottle, they came to us and threw themselves into the fight.

"Sir, there are people moving on either side of us as well." Christovich came to my side and spoke.

When I heard this, my heart immediately tightened, did I really fall into the pit this time. I looked to the sides, and the other side hadn't started attacking yet. I looked at the oil bottle, "Pay attention to the sides." Then I looked back at the front, and the opponent's offensive seemed to be gradually weakening.

What is this for? Waiting for your companion to come into position ready to exert power at the same time? If there are several sieges at this time, the joke of my team will be bigger. And just as I was about to start preparing to distribute my men and prepare to resist, there was a sudden burst of heavy fire, and then I saw a black shadow retreating behind them. Then gunshots rang out from either side of us, and bullets flew towards us, and at that moment the people in front of us retreated faster, and many black shadows quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Is the other party going to retreat? I watched as the shadows were retreating, and soon the gunfire on both sides faded away, and soon there was no movement. At the moment, only the sound of gunfire could be heard from the west, and Milk should still be exchanging fire with the Earl's men.

"They withdrew?" The oil bottle spoke beside me.

I looked at him and said, "I guess." ”

"Withdraw now? Could it be that Milic's gang is really swaggering in the Earl's domain? The oil bottle said with a slight surprise in his tone.

"What else could it be? Otherwise, someone else would have taken the opportunity to attack him. I said as I looked at the pit I was standing in, "But don't let your guard down, wait and see." Let's take a look at the things here and see what the Count has left us. ”

"What's so special about a few mortars?" The oil bottle replied casually.

"That's not bad either. It's better than nothing. "As I spoke, the gardener came running with two men and saw us and said, "The other man has withdrawn."

I nodded and looked at the three of them, "Lost one?" ”

"Yes. Lost one. The gardener replied.

I looked at the others, there were less than ten people standing here at the moment, "Everyone take these mortars away." Let's go back to the station. The rest will wait until dawn and the situation is clear. ”

We quickly returned to the station, and after arranging for a guard, everyone else returned to the tunnel to rest. The gunfire outside was getting farther and weaker. At four o'clock in the morning, the guards came to report that someone was approaching us, but not long after the report was over, before I could go over, Lukovich came to the station, and when he saw us, he said to me happily, "The team is back." ”

The team that came back was, of course, Milk and the old guy Yugovich. Judging by their ranks, the losses do not seem to be significant. Although some people were carried back, it seems that the damage should not be as great as I am, and I mean proportional.

"Count, they're far away?" I asked when I saw Milk.

Milk smiled and said, "Of course. You didn't see it in the end, those people are like arrows. Looks like he doesn't want to stay here for a moment. I saw that they decided to continue walking with them for a while, and made a few attempts to intercept the attack in the middle. As a result, they retreated faster. Milk smiled and then said solemnly, "But the Earl's gang is really good. The attack and retreat were all in order, even the previous retreat was not panicked, and even the things that were discarded were very few. ”

"Then you don't have any seizures?" I asked.

Milk shook his head, "Just some of the guns left on the corpses they didn't have time to take." Nothing special. What about you? ”

"A couple of mortars, and some shells. What about your losses? I asked.

"The loss was okay. Looks a lot better than you have here. Only about a dozen people were killed, but many were slightly wounded. Milk said.

I nodded, "It's good if the loss is not too big." We have a lot to do here. ”

"Of course I do. But now we should celebrate. This time, no matter what, it will be a victory. The damage we inflicted on the Count may not be large, but it has achieved its strategic purpose, has it? Milk said.

"Haha. You're starting to care about strategy, too. I smiled, "I just want to sleep now." Celebrate? We didn't celebrate when we ran out of Chechnya, and now there's nothing to celebrate. Since you are so energetic, I will find a place to sleep for a while, and you will take care of the rest. ”

I was really tired, and now the enemy was retreating, and once my nerves relaxed, I felt very tired. I came to the tunnel, found a place in the tunnel, leaned against it, and soon fell asleep.

And just as I was sleeping, I was woken up. It was the old guy Yugovich who woke me up. When he saw me open his eyes, he immediately said, "Why are you lying here?" I've been looking around. Wake up, there's a big group of people coming towards us. ”

I stood up when I heard a large group of people coming towards us, and when I stood up, I noticed that it was already dawn, and the people around me did not seem to show the current tension of the enemy. I looked at Yugovic strangely, "What time is it?" A large group of people? Where did it come from? ”

"It's half past seven in the morning. The brigade came from the Serbian direction. Jugovic said with a smile as he looked at me.

I was immediately relieved to hear that I was coming from Serbia, and then I felt hungry with my chest pressed against my back. I looked at the old guy and said depressedly: "Uncle, there is a saying in my hometown that people are scared to death." Is there anything to eat right now? I'm hungry. ”

Yugovich continued to smile and looked back at the man, told the man to go and get something to eat, then turned to me and said, "Don't you really want to know who is here?" ”

I stretched and said, "Who else is coming?" Petkovic's forces are already living and can't take care of themselves, so it's definitely not him, and the only ones who can still have a large group of people are Koqiman and those two guys. It can't be Serbian government forces, right? If there is a large-scale movement of government troops, isn't it too much movement? It is estimated that they are not yet in a hurry, and the peacekeepers are coming. ”

"You're right. It's the guy from Kirchiman, and Fastic. These two guys, with about 300 men, stopped two kilometers outside of our station and sent in contact. Jugovic said.

"Contact? I think it's to see who is the Scout who is stationed now, right? "I'm not polite.

The old guy smiled and said, "You're right to say that. It's dawn, so you have to come and have a look, don't you? Maybe there's something to be gained, isn't it? ”

"So what do they say now? Just watch from afar or come and talk to us, and then ready to do it? As I spoke, I took the bread that the old fellow had taken from the other man.

"Of course not. Our relationship with them is not one of friend or foe. They wanted to know about the situation, our situation and the Earl's side. Jugovic said.

I took a bite of my bread, "Where's Milk?" ”

Jugovic pointed to the gate of the station, "He was already there watching." The people who came over have already gone back to report, and Kirchiman and Fastich should be coming soon. ”

"Okay. Then we'll talk to them. See what they want to know? Is there any news from Milic's side? I asked.

"Not yet. However, judging from the fact that the earl's people are gone, they should have made a lot of noise. When it was dawn, if they hadn't been intercepted, they would have retreated here soon. Jugovic said.

I nodded, and suddenly a question occurred to me, "Will the Count come back after they retreat?" ”

Yugovic smiled when he heard this question and shook his head, "It's hard to say. But the possibilities do exist. ”

"Hmm. Looks like we're going to have to talk to Kechiman and Fastic. I looked at Yugovich, "It might be useful to have someone collect the corpse that the Count didn't have time to take." ”

Yugovic gave me a strange look and turned to make arrangements. I sped up, swallowed the dry bread in my hand, got up and walked towards the door.