Only two light cavalrymen were guarding the camp gates. When they spotted a rider galloping toward them from a distance, they paid it no mind at first — the camp had already been taken, and everyone inside was one of their own. They were merely curious that someone else was heading out, wondering what orders they might have received. Only when the rider drew close did they realize something was wrong. This was no comrade. They scrambled to pick up two spears from the ground and moved to block the path, but the Silver-rank enemy on the galloping mount slashed the spear tips clean off. Had this Silver-rank expert not been in such a desperate hurry to flee, the two gate guards might have fared far worse.
The Silver-rank expert, now riding one of the light cavalrymen's mounts, swept past the two guards as they tumbled to the ground and burst through the camp gates, galloping off into the distance. The two disheveled light cavalrymen cursed as they picked themselves up. One dashed for a mount to grab a crossbow, the other snatched a javelin from nearby — but the range was already too great to throw…
His galloping mount suddenly stumbled, staggered forward another dozen steps, and then collapsed straight toward the ground. Lorist was startled. He flung himself out of the saddle, flipped twice through the air, and landed on his feet, narrowly avoiding being crushed beneath his horse. Looking back at the fallen mount, he cursed under his breath and hurled the javelin to the ground in frustration. How could his luck be this terrible? The mount he had randomly grabbed and ridden happened to be one of the horses belonging to the cavalrymen who had ambushed the convoy and fled back — its stamina had been completely spent long ago. No wonder the gap between himself and the rider ahead had only widened from the command tent all the way to the camp gates.
It seemed the Silver-rank scum was going to get away. Lorist was seething. The rider ahead was now a hundred meters away, reduced to a tiny black speck. Behind him, hoofbeats thundered as the light cavalrymen who had finally reacted mounted up to give chase — but it was too late.
At that moment, Lorist faintly heard the twang of a bowstring. A streak of cyan light blazed from the wasteland some hundred meters from the camp, flashing like lightning. It caught the fleeing Silver-rank expert, ripped him from his saddle, sent him flying five or six meters through the air, and smashed him into the ground. The light cavalry mount, now riderless, continued forward for a distance before slowing to a halt, then turned and trotted back toward the camp.
Lorist stopped several light cavalrymen who were about to search the wasteland. He pointed toward the spot where the Silver-rank expert had fallen. "Go check on him. Bring him back. Be careful — don't let this son of a bitch play dead on you. We've already lost a brother to him."
Lorist continued staring at the place in the wasteland where the cyan streak had appeared. A figure stood there, draped in a disguise of branches and wild grass, holding a large cyan longbow. Lorist could sense that the figure was watching his every move.
Lorist waved to the stranger and made a beckoning gesture. But the figure showed no reaction. After a while, the stranger slowly backed away and gradually vanished into the wasteland.
Lorist let out a breath of relief. That bow was formidable — to hit a rider on a galloping horse from seventy or eighty meters away and send the body flying five or six meters spoke to tremendous force behind the arrow. Moreover, the arrow's speed was extraordinary; even with his focused dynamic vision, he had barely been able to glimpse its trajectory.
If that person had attacked the camp, Lorist himself would not have feared it, but he wondered how many of the light cavalry behind him would have paid the price. Perhaps that person was the gold-rank archer named
Several light cavalrymen had loaded the corpse of the fleeing Silver-rank expert onto the mount that had returned and brought it back. When Lorist saw this, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry — they were nearly turning themselves into targets and they were still bringing back a corpse? These light cavalrymen had clearly taken his warning too literally. Upon reaching the spot, they had first fired two rounds of crossbow bolts at the Silver-rank expert lying on the ground, turning him into a pincushion, before cautiously approaching to retrieve the body.
The cause of the Silver-rank expert's death was obvious: a long green arrow had entered through his right ribs and exited through his left chest. Lorist pulled the arrow free, tore a large strip of cloth from the corpse, wiped away the blood, and found a crookedly carved character "Joss" on the arrow's tail. Sure enough, the archer with the cyan longbow was the gold-rank marksman Jossk.
Glancing at the crossbow bolts jutting haphazardly from the corpse, Lorist's temper flared. "Are none of you blind? The man was already dead and you still wasted all these crossbow bolts — you've ruined his chain mail! Go, chop his head off and stick it on a post by the road outside the camp gates. Strip the rest of the body and leave it outside. We'll burn it along with the other corpses in the camp later."
Back at the command tent in the central camp,
However, Yuri hesitated for a moment before adding that during the sweep of the camp, they had discovered many women who had been violated and left on the brink of death in numerous tents — over thirty in total. In the tent from which the Silver-rank expert had just fled, they had found two naked women with their necks wrung.
"Find out who these women are and where they came from. Gather all thirty-some women together, including the two from the command tent. Send people from among the prisoners to look after them. When
"Also, cut off the heads of all those cavalrymen and plant them on posts outside the camp. Strip the bodies and burn them outside. Tally up exactly how many we killed. There are four more in the command tent — same treatment. Bring the surviving prisoners to me. I want to interrogate them personally," Lorist told Yuri.
Lorist's method of interrogation was simple. He had the prisoners brought in and stripped, then ordered Reidi to fetch a hammer. For each one who refused to talk, he crushed their toes one by one. After the first stubborn prisoner served as a demonstration, the remaining five were so terrified they nearly soiled themselves, answering every question eagerly and laying out everything they knew in complete detail.
Just as Lorist had suspected, the force that had attacked his convoy was Count Corbili's men — specifically, his elite lance cavalry. This time Count Corbili had dispatched two lance cavalry squadrons and a full garrison battalion, roughly a third of the forces under his command. Their objective was to sweep and crush all resistance in this vast region and capture at least two thousand able-bodied laborers to serve as conscript workers and slaves. The force was led by eleven of his illegitimate sons — three gold-rank and eight silver-rank. But three of them were now dead at Lorist's hands.
The prisoners identified them as the brown-haired brute Lorist had killed in the command tent, the chain-mail-clad middle-aged man, and the last Silver-rank expert who had tried to flee on horseback. They attributed all three deaths to Lorist.
As for the camp itself, the prisoners confirmed it was indeed Count Corbili's permanent forward base in this region, garrisoned at all times by a garrison company. The provisions for the raiding force's operations were stockpiled here. Since the target area lay in the mountainous terrain to the west, requiring traversing mountain passes, one lance cavalry squadron had been left behind to guard the camp, while the garrison company that had originally been stationed here had been taken along on the expedition.
On the Galentea Continent, the military structure of the various kingdoms was organized primarily around legions, each of which contained regiments of different branches — heavy armor regiments, heavy cavalry regiments, spear regiments, and so on. Each regiment was further divided into battalions, companies, and squads. Generally, a squad comprised eighty to one hundred twenty men. Four to five squads formed a company, four to five companies formed a battalion, and four to five battalions formed a regiment. The White Lion Legion in which Bodinger had once served, for instance, was one of the three main legions of the former Krisen Empire, with a full complement of roughly eighty thousand men.
Count Corbili had made his lance cavalry the backbone of his family's military forces and had expanded them aggressively. He now had five lance cavalry squadrons, each containing four squads, each at a full strength of one hundred twenty men. Committing two full squadrons to this sweeping operation was a significant investment.
The prisoners revealed that the main raiding force sent to the western mountains would likely return within two days, as they had set out with only fifteen days' worth of supplies, and thirteen of those had already passed. That very morning, the brown-haired brute who had been left in charge of the camp had dispatched a small squad of lance cavalry to the west to rendezvous with the returning force. Only three squads of lance cavalry remained in camp. In the afternoon, two additional squads had grown restless from idleness in the camp and gone out hunting — by which they meant roaming the countryside and capturing whatever stray subjects they could find in the territory. Those four hundred-odd people locked in the pen in the middle of the camp were the fruits of the lance cavalry's recent hunting expeditions.
What they had not anticipated was that their hunting had attracted Lorist, a dire threat. The lance cavalry squad that had ambushed the convoy and the squad garrisoning the camp had both been annihilated to the last man, and the camp itself had been seized.
Lorist's questions were exhaustive. In the end, he asked the prisoners why the lance cavalry squad that had attacked the convoy had launched their assault so recklessly, without even learning the nature of their target.
Only then did the prisoners understand why Lorist had stormed the camp and started killing. They cursed roundly at that lance cavalry squad for bringing disaster upon them all. However, one prisoner in his thirties was studying the family knight's insignia on the armor of Yuri, who stood nearby, his expression thoughtful.
Lorist noticed the prisoner's reaction and called him over. "You've seen this insignia?"
The prisoner shook his head. "I haven't seen the insignia itself, but once when I went to report something to the Count, I saw two chests in his room. The patterns engraved on those chests looked very similar to this insignia. And…"
The prisoner trailed off, hesitating.
Lorist pressed, "And what? Speak freely. Say it, and I guarantee your life will be spared. As for those others…" He made a gesture indicating the other prisoners should be dragged away and given a quick end.
The prisoner kneeling in front heard his companions' pleas for mercy cut short and trembled violently. He explained that he had joined the lance cavalry relatively late. He had been a mercenary before, and it was on Count Corbili's return journey to his territory that he had encountered a former acquaintance who had already become a lance cavalryman. It was this friend's persuasion that had led him to enlist.
At that time, the First Prince had written to the ailing old emperor requesting that the defenses of Bordorg Province be strengthened to guard against raids by the Red Beard bandits — a reference to none other than Count Corbili. Every time the Count went on a raid, he wore a fake red beard to conceal his identity. The two lance cavalry squads that had gone out hunting today were both led by old cavalrymen who had followed Count Corbili on raids of merchant caravans in Bordorg Province in the past. They had undoubtedly seen the convoy, been reminded of those days, and mistaken it for an ordinary merchant caravan — which was why they had attacked without a moment's hesitation.
Lorist then asked the prisoner about the size and style of those two chests he had seen in Count Corbili's room. He had paper and pen brought over, sketched the chests, and showed them to the prisoner, who nodded and confirmed they were the ones.
Lorist ordered the prisoner to be taken away and locked up. Then he began pacing back and forth in the command tent, growing angrier with every step. Finally, he drew his sword and hacked the bed that had been in the tent to splinters.
Yuri and Reidi were startled by Lorist's outburst. When he had finally calmed down, they cautiously approached and asked what had happened to make him so furious.
Lorist was silent for a moment before speaking. "Those two chests were custom-made by my Third Uncle in
Lorist's voice was filled with venom, and Yuri and Reidi standing beside him felt a chill run down their spines.
Although after transmigrating into this body, Lorist had only met that Third Uncle once a year, the uncle's genuine care and affection had truly warmed his heart. To learn seven years later that his uncle was dead — and now to know who was responsible. How could he possibly let it go? Lorist had already tossed the convoy and the return to his estate to the back of his mind. First, he would settle accounts with Count Corbili. Everything else could wait.
Just then, a light cavalryman came to report that the convoy led by Knight Shrade was about to arrive — the convoy's banners were already visible from the camp.
Yuri and Reidi breathed a relief. They hurriedly followed Lorist out of the command tent and mounted up, riding toward the camp gates.
Fatty Shi arrived and brought yet another piece of bad news: since Yuri's light cavalry scout squad had all gone with Lorist to assault the camp, the spear company at the forward camp had been attacked by another small lance cavalry squad. Fortunately, the veteran instructor leading the spear company recognized that they could not match the cavalry's mobility and used the wagons to form a defensive encampment, holding out until
The convoy's arrival instantly filled the entire camp with noise — men shouting, horses neighing. Lorist handed off all the miscellaneous arrangements to Fatty Shi and then asked Reidi and Pat to heat some water for him. He wanted a proper bath in the command tent; the dried blood caked on his body was making him profoundly uncomfortable.
After dinner, the command tent was brightly lit and packed with people.
"The families of the troops suffered forty-seven dead and over a hundred thirty wounded. The twenty-one spearmen guarding the convoy section were all killed, along with Zivos…" Fatty Shi's voice was heavy. Zivos was the old student who had charged toward the lance cavalry only to be dragged from his horse and trampled into a pulp.
"Adding in the second attack, a total of forty-three spearmen were killed in action, fifty-eight seriously wounded — seven of them permanently disabled — and eighty-six with minor injuries. Yuri's report: three light cavalrymen killed, seven seriously wounded, thirteen with minor injuries, no permanent disabilities. Terman's knight company: six with minor injuries, no combat losses. This is the overall casualty situation."
Lorist also briefed everyone on the intelligence gathered from the prisoners, and explained that Count Corbili was very likely the one responsible for the destruction of the
"Now that everyone understands — our original plan to pass peacefully through this region is not going to work. Given Count Corbili's character and the way his family's lance cavalry have always operated, this is an army with nothing but bestiality and no humanity. They don't reason. They have no mercy. There is nothing in their heads but slaughter. Zivos's fate proves that. For Zivos, for the innocent families who were killed, and for the brave family soldiers who fell in battle — I will have my revenge. Either our warhorses trample Count Corbili's banner, or Count Corbili's family army pins us down here with no way forward and no way back." Lorist's voice was iron.
The command tent fell silent, then murmurs rippled through it. Some supported Lorist's decision; others were hesitant. After all, from the prisoners' testimony, Count Corbili's family forces far outstripped the convoy's fighting strength. Could they really win this battle?
While the heated discussion was still ongoing, a light cavalryman entered the tent and reported to Lorist that a knight named Jossk was at the camp gates requesting an audience. He said he had come in response to an invitation from the camp's new master and wanted to know if Lorist was aware of this.
Lorist slapped his thigh. "Show him in at once! Wait — I'll go to the gates to receive him myself…"