The battle in the northwest of Efta quickly made the entire territory nervous. When the beacons lit up along the border, all the villages on the outskirts began to "clear the fields". But while most people's attention was focused on the north, the territory in the southeast of Efta was also burning with black smoke.
"Kill! Kill them all! "
A burly man with a full beard rode on a warhorse and roared at his men who were wantonly plundering the village. As he spoke, he waved the sharp blade in his hand, and a villager who couldn't dodge in time fell to the ground.
"Take as much as you can! As long as you can take it, don't leave it behind! Play with women however you want! Hahahaha! "
His presumptuous laughter echoed in the air, causing a wave of excited howls. There were even people who jumped off their horses and slashed at the men who tried to resist. They dragged the struggling women to the houses on the side. More and more blood splattered on the ground. Gradually, the entire village quieted down. Only the fire under the billowing black smoke was left, destroying all traces.
"That's a lot of loot this time!"
"Haha, the girl you snatched is really good! How about I trade with you for mine? "
"No, I'm keeping her for myself! I'll fight anyone who snatches her! "
More than ten bandits wearing different styles of leather armor gathered together with their war horses or "spoils of war." They were showing off their loot loudly. That's right, they were a group of "Whistling Horses" who roamed the wilderness and made a living by looting.
Speaking of which, "Whistling Horses" appeared more frequently in the northwest of Efta. Their equipment was usually tattered, and many of the bandits' weapons were wooden sticks with a few iron nails. They came and went like the wind. Most of them robbed villages in the name of "borrowing food." They rarely slaughtered the entire village. Once they did that, it meant that they would be on the lord's wanted list. It wouldn't take long for the fortress knights to exchange their heads for titles and rewards.
But now, these twenty bandits were burning, killing, and looting without a care in the world. They didn't care if they were wanted.
Originally, they were just a group of bandits who only dared to block the road and take advantage of others. It wasn't until a month ago that they were gathered together by their "boss" and five powerful assistants. Then, relying on superior equipment that they obtained from god knows where, they quickly became one of the most powerful Whistling Horses in the area. Before today, they had already ransacked three villages and killed more than 130 innocent villagers, including children and the elderly.
At first, they were hesitant about whether they should raise their butcher knives against the innocent, but after they got used to it, killing became as natural as eating and drinking.
Aferta's military forces were mainly hoarded in the northwest. More than half of the nobles in the southeast had been killed by the orcs during the spring hunt. Hence, they could not organize an army to wipe them out. Due to various reasons, these bandits became increasingly arrogant …
At this time, the bandits who had slaughtered the village were all in high spirits. As they drank, they boasted loudly, as if they were invincible in the world. But while his subordinates were enjoying their spoils of war, the strong man who was the leader of the bandits didn't celebrate with them. He squinted his eyes and wrote a short secret letter with a charcoal pen in front of the bonfire. He rolled it up and stuffed it into a letter tube with a magic seal. Then, he casually handed it to his assistant who had been following him all along.
"Tell Sir Mirno that Hans is waiting for further instructions."
His assistant nodded and took the letter tube, stuffed it into the inner pocket of his wallet, and silently passed through the laughing bandits. Then, he mounted a horse and disappeared into the darkening night.
In just two days, the contents of the letter were placed on the table of Charles II, the monarch of the Kingdom of Karen, with Count Mirno's elaborate words.
"This guy has a lot of tricks up his sleeves."
Charles II picked it up and glanced at it with a smile. He was very satisfied with Count Mirno's actions. After Aferta used various means to show its "independence", Mirno's series of economic sanctions had gradually taken effect. Especially after knowing that the Orcs' vanguard had begun their attack, this kind of "trouble in the backyard" would definitely cause Sally to be badly battered and lose her prestige quickly …
In Charles II's opinion, it was only a matter of time before Aferta fell under the Orcs' attack. Using this kind of method to speed up her taste of the failure of going against him … was undoubtedly delightful.
As for the innocent civilians who died unjustly, who cared if their lives were worth anything?
He turned around and his gaze lingered on the map of Aferta on the table for a long time. It was as if he had already seen the scene of the Orcs marching straight in. In his mind, he had even made various plans to negotiate with the Orcs. Yes, it was "negotiate".
After the Orcs took over Aferta, they would definitely not be able to continue their invasion. Charles II thought that he only needed to let the Karen Royal Army push forward, and the exhausted Orcs would have no choice but to accept the armistice agreement …
If it was done properly, Charles II thought that he could easily recover Aferta without even sending his soldiers to fight. There were many such methods in history. All that was needed was the right operation and the perfect timing.
"Then what we need to do now is to sit down and watch a good show."
The corners of Charles II's mouth curled up slightly. He waved his hand at the Chief of Internal Affairs and said, "Tonight's theater should be Cassia singing 'The Fall of Slovini', right? Go and make the arrangements. I want to watch it up close. "
The latter hurriedly agreed and hurried a group of attendants to make preparations. The atmosphere in the gorgeous palace was comfortable and even relaxed. It was the complete opposite of the tense situation in Aferta thousands of miles away.
… …
"Whoosh!"
With the help of two new recruits, David removed the enchanted breastplate embedded with Magic crystal. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and sat down on the haystack beside the drill ground. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright. Go and remove your own."
"Yes! Sir! "
The two new recruits saluted and then helped each other take off the iron armor on their bodies.
This was the territory of Baron Sodelor in the middle of Aferta. Unlike other lords' manors, Sodelor's' manor 'was actually more suitable to be called a' training base '. This was because most of the members of the 'Dragon Lancers' were here, conducting comprehensive training and teaching for the expanded new soldiers and cavalrymen.
The existence of Paar was very special. Apart from the use of the city's army, almost all of the fine equipment made in Elsen City was supplied here. The scene of ordinary soldiers being equipped with iron armor and all the Dragon Lancers being equipped with enchanted breastplates would probably not be seen even in the Kingdom of Karen. Not only that, the most elite cavalrymen had even begun to equip themselves with 'enchanted crossbows' that used 'explosive crossbows'. Even the spearheads had been changed to enchanted weapons strengthened by Thorium, changing from a single 'piercing' damage to an area of effect 'impact' damage.
This made them as powerful as heavy tanks when paired with excellent warhorses. Compared to them, ordinary cavalrymen seemed to be from a different era.
Lying on the haystack, David was one of the scouts who had fought with Roddy the earliest. A young warrior who could not even hold a sword steadily had now become a powerful Dragon Lancer, and was also the captain of the twelve new recruits. He sat on the haystack and summarized the areas that needed to be corrected in the drill for the new recruits. He then waved his hand and said, "Alright, there's no mission this afternoon. Take care of the horses and go rest."
"Yes! Sir! "
The intensity of the drill was actually very high, and there were often serious injuries. If not for the priests of the Rose Cross who were always on standby, no one would dare to risk such a high casualty rate. But the effect of this was very obvious: those new recruits who had never been on the battlefield, after two months of continuous' torture ', already had some of the appearance of' professional soldiers'. In terms of strength and adaptability to war, they were probably several times stronger than the original scout team led by Roddy.
But even so, these new recruits who had never experienced a real battle were still a little nervous.
"Roy? Hansen? Why aren't you guys going back? Are you going to stay and train with those guys from the loser group? "
David took off the gloves weaved from small pieces of dragon scales and carefully put them away. He looked up at the two members of the team who had not left. "Why, do you have something to say?"
The two new recruits were the two who performed the best in the team, and David had already decided on the position of vice-captain. But now, they did not have the confidence they had during the drill. Their eyes flickered a little. "Sir, we heard that the orcs are coming …"
David stood up and stretched his back with his helmet. "What's wrong with the orcs? Do you think our drill formation is against the private soldiers of those nobles? "
He sneered disdainfully. "They're trash. One of you can go up and kill ten of them, understand?"
Although David did not mention the orcs, his words inexplicably boosted the confidence of the two new recruits. When they spoke again, they did not have the fear from before. "But … we have not fought with orcs before. I heard … I heard that they are very strong. "
Instead of answering his question, Davian smiled and turned to another Dragon Lance Knight not far away. "Otto, how many orcs did you kill when we were scouts in Norland Village?" he yelled at the other Dragon Lance Knight.
"I killed fourteen in two months. At that time, Ruger laughed at me for not killing half as many as he did."
Otto was tall and had a scar on his face. When he spoke, there seemed to be some regret. "My skills are not as good as others. Ruger's sword is much better than mine."
David turned to the other side and shouted, "Howl, how many orcs did you kill in March?"
"This can't be compared to Otto. Those wolf riders are not easy to chase. I only killed seven from start to finish."
Howl was using a cloth to clean the rider's long sword that flashed with a faint blue light. He did not even raise his head when he spoke.
"So … you think the orcs are very strong?"
David turned to look at the two new recruits. "So I don't think the orcs are very strong."
The two immediately stood at attention. The new recruits behind them who had not yet left also stopped in their tracks. The uneasiness that had been lingering in their hearts had completely disappeared. They all looked at each other in high spirits.
David smiled. Just as he was about to leave, his gaze suddenly froze. Almost reflexively, he stood at attention and saluted.
Not far away, Sodelor, dressed in thorium armor, appeared in everyone's field of vision with large strides.
There were obvious traces of dragon bone covering the chest area of his armor, and the longsword at his waist radiated a powerful magical aura even though it was sheathed. However, what made the soldiers shiver the most was the powerful aura that Sodelor himself exuded.
His swordsmanship seemed to have improved. With a single glance, they could feel the unparalleled sharpness.
There were more than three hundred human soldiers and barbarian infantrymen in the drill ground. The noise of the drill had disappeared the moment Sodelor stepped into the drill ground. The only thing that could be heard was the clanking of the boots as the soldiers stood at attention.
"At ease."
Sodelor stopped in his tracks. His voice was not loud but was abnormally clear. "I will announce the battle plan in the afternoon. All teams in the plan should prepare for battle tonight. We will depart tomorrow."
He looked around and drew his sword. "Everyone," he said softly, "Prepare to unsheathe Eiferta's sharp blade."
*****
He had been busy these few days. If he had time, he would definitely be writing. If he didn't, he really couldn't write. But the frequency was much faster than before, right?
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