The imperial soldiers on alert could not see Patrick and the others in the forest.

It was a little dark in the forest.
You can't see into the forest from an open area.

Patrick walked around and came close to the Kamado.

He saw that one of them was asleep.
It's the higher-ups who can sleep with impunity in such situations.
I guessed that it was a nobleman who was sleeping.

One of the soldiers cooking a rabbit heads toward the stream with it.
He probably gutted it and went to wash its stomach.

His chance had come.
He pulls out a knife from his left hip and throws it at the remaining soldiers.
The knife stuck in the soldier's stomach,
'Guha!
Patrick pulls out the dagger on his left hip and rushes to the sleeping man, who seems to be a nobleman.

At the sound of the soldier's voice, the alert Imperial Guard returned, but Patrick had already placed the dagger to the neck of the sleeping man.

'Don't move!　If you move, I'll cut him down. I'll kill him even if he moves suspiciously. If you do what I say, I'll guarantee his life and yours.'
With that, it took the wary soldier about two minutes to drop his weapon.

After that, the soldier who came back with the rabbit started shouting, and the imperial soldier calmed him down. The sound of the soldier's voice finally woke up the sleeping man and caused him to panic, which was a strange scene.