Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales It took Lollister five days to reach the lower reaches of the Mitubro River, only to run into a battle between two lords, each with a hundred or two hundred men.
Alright, Lollister admitted that the word 'battle' seemed to be overestimating the two lords. The correct description would be a village level fight. Looking at the equipment on both sides, there were only four or five people riding on horses, and the ones leading them were all peasant soldiers. Not only were they wearing tattered clothes, they were also mostly holding farming tools …
As a neutral party, Lollister was ready to enjoy the fight. Unfortunately, the two lords didn't seem to care about the audience's feelings, and were still cursing at each other for almost an hour.
Lollister was getting impatient. If they wanted to fight, then hurry up and make way for them. What was the point of just cursing at each other when they weren't even fighting? Wasn't this the same as occupying the manger?
"Padt, go ask them if they still want to fight. If not, then make way for us first."
If it wasn't for the five carriages filled with supplies, Lollister would have already led the cavalry archers through the wilderness instead of taking the main road. But there was no other way. The arrows for the cavalry archers, camping supplies and cooking utensils for more than a hundred people, as well as oats and horse feed for their mounts, had all been packed into five carriages by Sadkamp. Lollister sighed. If it was just him and Padt, there would be no need to go through so much trouble. Two small luggage bags could be thrown onto the backs of the horses and they could set off. The more people there were, the more trouble there was. Lollister regretted promising Josk to take the cavalry archers with him.
This time, there were only 97 people in Peter's team of cavalry archers, including himself, which was not the full number of 120 people. However, in order to carry the large carriages with supplies, Laurist brought another 20 guards. Ruhr and Mord insisted on coming with them, so Laurist ordered them to take the guards and take charge of the five large carriages.
Padt came back with a face full of confusion. "Sir, they want us to stay here obediently, and wait for a winner to be decided before collecting the toll …" Padt said.
"What?" Turning back to look at the five carriages, Lollister understood. The two stupid lords in front of him had thought of them as guards for the caravan.
"F * ck, you want to collect my toll?" Laurist laughed.
"Peter, take a team of archers and chase them away in ten minutes. Oh, and capture two of them. Ask them why they're fighting," Laurist ordered calmly.
"Yes, my lord." Peter whistled, and the cavalry archers formed two rows behind him and began to gallop forward.
Seeing that they were only a stone's throw away from the two feudal lords' battle formation, the cavalry archers reined in their horses and picked up the longbows hanging on their saddles. They drew their bows and shot a round of arrows at the two feudal lords' teams under Peter's orders.
The two feudal lords did not expect to be attacked by the Laurist caravan. How could a merchant caravan not watch the show personally? A barrage of arrows threw them into chaos, causing them to wail in pain …
Peter led the cavalry archers and shot three rounds of arrows. Then, he whistled again, and the cavalry archers put away their longbows and drew their swords. They split into two groups and charged at the feudal lords' teams. As expected, the two feudal lords' teams collapsed. Seeing the cavalry archers charging at them, the feudal lords turned their horses around and fled. The soldiers under them ran like wolves, creating a mess.
Padt praised, "Our cavalry archers are so powerful. They defeated hundreds of people without even injuring a single person. No wonder my lord insisted on forming cavalry archers …"
Before he could finish, he heard a "plop" sound. Turning around, he saw Lollister falling from his horse. Padt and the guards were shocked, "My lord, what happened to you …?"
Laurist climbed up from the ground, his face covered in dirt. He waved his hand, "It's nothing. I didn't step on the stirrup and slipped off my horse …"
"F * ck! These are cavalry archers? " Laurist felt as if ten thousand alpacas had trampled over his heart. The scene he had just seen had shocked him so much that he fell off his horse. "These are obviously longbowmen on horseback. How did that idiot Josk train cavalry archers …"
Peter brought a few captives over, "My lord, I've asked around. It's said that many families' caravans have been passing through this ferry for the past half a year. That Viscount Davov set up a checkpoint there, and he's very lenient with collecting taxes. These two feudal lords were envious and wanted to imitate him. They wanted to set up a checkpoint on the main road leading to the ferry to collect taxes. However, this road happened to be at the border of their territory, so they said they should set up a checkpoint themselves. We agreed to fight here today to determine the winner. "
Hmm, sorry to interrupt the two lords' duel. They could only blame themselves for not choosing a good place to block Laurist's path.
"When was the checkpoint at the ferry set up? How many guards are there? How strong are they? " Laurist asked a captive who looked like a captain. He was wearing leather armor, which was much more pleasing to the eye than the other captives who were wearing tattered clothes.
"One and a half months ago, my lord." The captive answered quickly, "There's a small team of garrison soldiers guarding the ferry. They were originally the new town garrison set up by Viscount Davov. The viscount sent them to the ferry to collect taxes. I don't know how strong they are, but they're well-equipped and have a few sets of iron armor … "
Iron armor? Laurist remembered. "Ruhr, Maud, come here for a second," Laurist called out.
"Yes, my lord. The last time we came here, we rested in the small town next to the ferry. Then, the garrison soldiers came to arrest us and said we were horse thieves …" Ruhr said.
"Peter, take your cavalry archers and arrest the garrison soldiers at the ferry. Pat, take Ruhr and Maud to identify them. If they are the garrison soldiers who attacked you, then hang them at the ferry …" Laurist said to Peter and Pat. He did not want to watch the cavalry archers perform again.
"Yes, my lord. We'll go now." Peter paused and asked, "Then, my lord, what about the captives?"
The captives in front of him were trembling. They had heard Laurist's order to hang all the garrison soldiers at the ferry and thought they were going to die.
"My lord, have mercy …" The captives knelt in front of Laurist's horse, crying and begging.
"Let's just leave them. You over there, go get some medicine and bandages from the car and give them to them. Let them bandage up the injured people over there. Let's go, "Laurist said.
They were less than five miles away from the ferry. When Laurist arrived at the ferry with five carriages, he saw dozens of corpses lying on the ground. There were also dozens of captives squatting on the ground with their hands on their heads. Ruhr and Maud were making a wooden frame with some cavalry archers.
Laurist saw a few cavalry archers wrapped in bandages and asked Peter and Pat, "What's wrong? Are there casualties?"
"Six minor injuries. They'll be fine in ten days. Some of the guards were hiding in the house. We were caught off guard when we went in to search, so we got injured, "Peter answered.
"My lord, we've already ordered the ferry from the other side to come here …" Pat said.
Loriste looked around. Ever since he had first set foot on the Northern Lands more than half a year ago, this place had changed greatly. First, there were two more ferries at the ferry on the other side. A group of bare-backed boatmen were desperately pulling four big windlasses to pull the four ferries from the other side. Hmm, it seemed that Baron Seuras had earned a lot of money from the ferry crossing fees, so he had two more ferries.
"When we were killing the garrison soldiers, the boatmen all jumped into the river. It took us a lot of effort to call them back. I promised to give each of them an imperial silver coin …" Pat said.
Laurist nodded. Seeing how hard the boatmen were working, he felt that the small silver coin was worth it.
Last time, this place was barren. Only half a year had passed, and a small town had already been built on a small hill in the distance. However, the town was heavily guarded. There were many people on the walls, pointing at the ferry with swords in their hands. Obviously, the fight at the ferry just now made the garrison soldiers of the town know that Laurist was not a friend. They were now facing a formidable enemy and were ready to fight.
Ruhr and Mord had already set up dozens of wooden frames. They forced the captives to hang them up, but only a few of them were hanged to death. The rest of the captives, knowing that they could not escape death, burst out with the desire to survive. They suddenly jumped up and ran in the direction of the small town. Unfortunately, Peter had already prepared for this. Under his order, the longbowmen on horseback shot them all into hedgehogs.
Cries and curses came from the walls of the town in the distance, but Laurist ignored them. He was now scolding Ruhr and Mord, "… How can I say that? Stupid, huh? First, you didn't tie them up, and second, you didn't lock them in a place where they couldn't see the wooden frames. You hung their companions in front of them. Even pigs would run away! What should we do now that they're all dead? Hang them up even if they're dead. How dare they rob and kill a passing messenger … Peter, write down the evidence of their crimes. Let the passersby know why we hung them! "
"Yes, my lord."
A team of fully-armed guards appeared at the ferry on the opposite side. They had seen what had happened at the ferry, so it was understandable that they had to increase their security to prevent accidents.
"Padt, take some people to cross the river first. Tell Baron Shuras that an old friend is here. Don't be so nervous. I'll visit him after I cross the river."
"My lord, why don't you cross the river first?" Padt said.
"No need." Laurist pointed at the small town in the distance. "There might be some evil plans there. I'm going to teach them a lesson."
It still took more than three hours for more than a hundred men and horses to cross the river with five large carriages. Loriste was the last to board the boat. Just when there were only seven or eight people left at the ferry crossing, nearly a hundred people rushed out of the small town on the other side, brandishing their weapons and aggressively charging toward the ferry.
Laurist's spear and the arrows of Peter and the other cavalry archers turned the twenty or so bravest people at the front into martyrs. Then, Laurist and Peter leapt onto their horses, raised their spears, and killed their way into the crowd. After a series of slashes, the remaining thirty or so lucky people wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves as they fled back to the small town. They shut the gates tightly, looking like they wouldn't come out even if they were beaten to death.
"Awesome!" Peter said as he flung the blood off the tip of his spear.
"Let's go. The ferry is here. Let's get on the boat," Laurist said.
On the ferry.
"Peter, when I was studying in Morant City, I once read a book. It recorded that in the Dark Ages, there was a group of cavalry archers. Each of them could shoot arrows from the back of a galloping horse. They could also shoot backwards from the back of a horse, killing the enemies chasing them one by one. As long as the enemy was targeted by them, not a single one could escape. They never attacked the enemy from the front. Instead, they rode their horses and followed the enemy, harassing and attacking them with arrows until the enemy collapsed and died … "
Loriste was going to take this opportunity to instill in Peter the correct concept of a cavalry archer and create a Mongolian-style cavalry archers. "They can gather and disperse as they please, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. Once, they faced an enemy that was ten times stronger than them, but four months later, they achieved a complete victory and suffered minimal losses. Every time their enemies split up to pursue them, they would always be lured into a trap. They would use arrows to distance themselves from the enemy, but they would still be able to wipe them out. The book said that this tactic was called kiting tactics. It was to attack the enemy from a distance, not close combat … "
"Sir, I understand what you mean. You want to create this kind of cavalry archers, right? "Peter asked.
Laurist nodded happily. Finally, someone was enlightened.
"Unfortunately, we can't do it. The cavalry archers you speak of only exist in legends and books. It's impossible in reality," Peter said regretfully.
"Why?" Laurist was very surprised.
"Sir, we don't have a suitable bow. In fact, although the hunting bows used by the nobles can be shot from the back of a galloping horse, the range is not far and the strength is not strong. At most, it can only shoot thirty to forty meters. It is enough to shoot pheasants and hares. However, it is useless against magical beasts or in battle. Among all the bows, the longbow has the greatest range and power. Within a hundred meters, it can even threaten a Golden Knight. Although it is not as strong as a hunting bow, it is used against magical beasts and uses heavy arrows. Its range is only half that of a longbow. "
Peter began to teach Laurist about bows and arrows. "The longbow is recognized as the fastest and most lethal bow. It is the main long-range force for defense and attack. However, the longbow is not suitable for use on a horse. Even on a stationary horse, it is very difficult to exert strength and maintain balance. Sir Josk has spent a lot of effort to make this cavalry archer team able to shoot arrows from horseback. Of everyone, only Sir Josk can continuously shoot arrows from the back of a galloping horse. I can only shoot three arrows at most before I lose my balance. "
"If we don't use longbows, we won't be able to compete with the enemy's longbowmen in terms of range. If we charge too close, we will be hit by the enemy's longbowmen, and there will be many casualties. So, in order to create the kind of cavalry archers you speak of, the first thing we need to solve is a bow that can be used on horseback. Its range and power cannot be less than that of a longbow. Secondly, we don't have suitable warhorses. All of Galinthea's warhorses are not up to the standard required for the mounted archers. "Peter stated the second difficulty.
"…?" Laurist didn't understand.
Peter explained, "Sir, the cavalry archers you speak of must have a strong body and excellent endurance. It also needs to have a strong ability to recover, be good at running long distances, be agile, and have fast reflexes. Not only must it be able to sprint on plains, but it must also be good at running on mountainous terrain. Only then can it shake off the pursuers. In addition, it must be able to work hard, not afraid of heat or cold, and have a strong resistance to illness. Most importantly, it must have a good appetite. Whether it is coarse fodder or refined grains, it must be able to eat and digest them. This kind of horse cannot be found in our Galinthea continent. "
"Is this guy talking about Mongolian horses? The Mongols rode the Mongolian horses across the Eurasian continent. The Mongolian horses were not a rare breed. There are no horse breeds like Mongolian horses in Galinthea. This breed is too scarce. "Laurist was depressed.
Peter added, "Sir, look at our mounts. These northern horses are relatively average compared to other horse breeds, and they are also very easy to raise. But if you want to use them as the mounts of the archers, they are far from qualified. Three of our five carts are filled with oats and refined grains. We are worried that the northern horses will lose weight if we can't get them outside. Once they lose weight, coupled with the long journey, these northern horses will be useless.
For the cavalry archers you speak of, if they use northern horses as mounts, they will have to bring at least seven or eight horses in rotation. They will also need large amounts of refined grains for horse feed to maintain their condition. Take the example of the cavalry archers you speak of. Even if there are two thousand people in a company, at least ten thousand mounts will be wasted during the four months of war. Whether it is Zino horses or Baligari horses, they are horses that are good at running long distances and have excellent endurance. But their feeding is even more meticulous and harsh than the northern horses. "
Alright, Peter's words were very reasonable. Laurist wanted to form a cavalry archer, not a horse dealer. Not to mention whether one person could take care of seven or eight horses, there would definitely be people on the road who would ask how much the horses were sold for.
Rubbing his nose, Laurist felt very embarrassed. He wanted to form a cavalry archer, but he didn't even know the appropriate bows and mounts. If not for Peter's explanation, he would have wrongly accused Josk of not trying his best. It was all the Dawn Academy's knight training instructors' fault. They said that knights were honorable, that they were the main force that charged and broke through enemy lines, and that using bows and arrows was the behavior of cowards. They caused him to neglect archery training, and now he could only use javelins as a long-range weapon.
Let's leave it at that for now. Once I've settled down, I'll find someone to research whether they can develop a recurve composite bow. It's much shorter than a longbow, so it should be very suitable for use on horseback. I just don't know if its range and lethality can compare to a longbow. Laurist pondered on the ferry.
… …
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