Panicked Rout

The pike square formed by the Swadian Footmen and Light Footmen was not the kind of hedgehog formation that could only stand in place.

Instead, it was a battle formation similar to the Macedonian Phalanx, capable of leveling its pikes, advancing, and pushing forward!

This required strong organization and training.

As it happened.

Both of these were possessed by the Tier 4 Swadian Footmen and Tier 3 Swadian Light Footmen!

"Kill!"

The Swadian Soldiers advanced steadily.

Shoulder to shoulder, they pressed close together, moving in lockstep as they raised their pikes and thrust forward in an unbroken chain.

In the eyes of the Gnolls and Wild Goblins, a row of tall, powerfully built Human Soldiers held a shield wall before them and leveled long, thick, sharp pikes, crushing forward like a hydraulic press. They were already terrified beyond measure!

Any Gnoll or Wild Goblin standing before those pikes, whether wielding a scimitar or battle axe, could only futilely swing two or three times, knocking aside one or two of the pikes stabbing toward them.

But before they could swing their weapons again to deflect the next thrust, they discovered that their chests, abdomens, necks, or faces had already been struck by sharp spearheads. The points drove viciously into them, lingered for half a second, then were pulled out in an instant—only for other spearheads to stab in immediately afterward!

As long as the Gnolls and Wild Goblins standing before the Swadian Soldiers had not yet fled, a single exchange would leave them riddled with bloody holes. There was no way to stop it!

Nor could they stop it!

Against a pike square, spear phalanx, or even some kind of extra-long pike formation, blocking the first few spearheads was easy enough.

But when faced with continuous thrusts from an entire formation, rolling in like waves.

Could they still block the next several rounds of thrusts, or the pikes of the second and third rows of Swadian Soldiers deliberately stabbing diagonally toward their ribs!?

Ever since the Khergit Empire collapsed several centuries ago, Calradia in the Mount & Blade: Warband World had endured countless wars.

The chaotic wars among the Six Great Kingdoms alone had never ceased.

Not to mention the internal strife between various factions and lords within each kingdom.

There were also the endlessly emerging bandit threats that needed to be cleared out.

This resulted in an extremely high density of warfare in the Mount & Blade: Warband World. As a result, all kinds of tactics and the tactical competence of its soldiers had developed to an exceptionally high level!

A mere group of Gnolls and Wild Goblins from the Desert Border of the Spiritual Realm might have been able to bully serfs and conscripts in ordinary times.

But when they encountered young men from the Mount & Blade World who sought honor and wealth, willingly enlisted as soldiers, and, upon advancing in rank, had truly refined combat techniques instilled into them by the Mount & Blade System—as if they had genuinely experienced four or five years of battlefield fighting within that white light before completing their promotion—they were facing living War Machines.

It was simply a joke of their own making!

"Th-these Human Soldiers..."

"How could they possibly be militia!?"

Even Zhang Caidong and the Sun Family Brothers, who had pushed open the stairwell fire door and entered, wore disbelieving expressions.

According to the intelligence they had received, there were only around ten Spiritual Realm Human Race militia on the seventh floor.

They did not even have leather armor, and the weapons in their hands looked more like crude farming tools!

So how had they encountered a group of fully armed elite soldiers before even reaching the seventh floor, equipped with everything from helmets and armor to leg armor, all clad in chainmail?!

And behind those soldiers, beneath the dim light of the stairwell, stood an entirely stone-built castle...

How could the three of them not be shocked!?

"Wait! That young man the Gnolls mentioned—the lucky one who found a Spiritual Realm Mark—did not receive a dozen or so Human Militia!"

Zhang Caidong suddenly realized it, his voice seeming to squeeze out through clenched teeth. "He received a Lord Inheritance!"

"A Lord... Inheritance!?"

Upon hearing those words, the fat faces of the Sun Family Brothers, covered in fleshy rolls, visibly trembled. Deep greed and jealousy emerged from their narrowed eyes.

Especially when they looked up at the thirty-four Wild Goblins under their command. After just one exchange, fewer than twenty remained.

Their faces filled with pain and hatred.

But they knew what a lord represented.

Even if they had not known before.

Now, faced with such elite soldiers and watching their own side fall into a disadvantage during a direct clash in the narrow corridor.

How could they fail to understand?

"Retreat!"

Sun Family Second Brother immediately roared, ordering the Wild Goblins, whose minds had gone blank after falling into a brutal fight from the start and watching so many companions get stabbed to death within a few exchanges, to fall back.

"Right! Retreat!" Zhang Caidong came to his senses as well and shouted for his Gnolls to retreat.

His eyes were filled with the same anguish.

His Gnolls were as tall as ordinary people, with long legs and fast running speed.

This had caused the thirteen Gnolls under him to suffer the most casualties during the initial volleys of harpoons and the advance of the pike square. Counting them all, only six Gnolls remained, wailing as they retreated.

Zhang Caidong, whose strength had never been particularly great to begin with, felt despair fill his eyes when he saw those six Gnolls, all more or less injured.

In this era, whether one possessed a Spiritual Realm Mark inheritance and whether one had Spiritual Realm Creature Followers were the most important things.

They were symbols of strength.

The stronger the Spiritual Realm inheritance one obtained, allowing one to become a powerful professional, the greater one's strength.

Likewise, the stronger and more numerous one's Spiritual Realm Creature Followers were, the more it proved that one was no weakling.

After all, when one obtained a large number of Spiritual Realm Creature Followers, it could trigger special mutations in the Spiritual Realm Rules, making one more like the creatures one had gained as Followers, granting the traits, powers, and even certain Supernatural Talents of those creatures.

The Sun Family Brothers beside him were the perfect example. They looked bloated and burly, carrying warhammers with fierce expressions.

And that was indeed the case.

Back then, instead of liberating a large number of Wild Goblins, the two brothers had used the power of Space-Time Crystal Core Fragments to transform and mutate their own bodies toward those of Wild Goblins. They became stronger, sturdier, fatter, and shorter, while gradually resembling Wild Goblins more and more.

That was why Zhang Caidong had gone to such lengths to recruit the two brothers. Their combat power truly was formidable!

But none of that had anything to do with Zhang Caidong now.

After one bloody battle.

Seven of his thirteen Gnolls had been wiped out.

And there was no possibility of any gain.

That meant Zhang Caidong had not only suffered a severe loss of strength, but he would likely even lose his position as some deputy captain in Diesel Company!

Zhang Caidong knew perfectly well just how ruthless Diesel Company was, where the strong rose and the weak were cast aside.

Of course, Zhang Caidong was already panicking as he rushed into the stairwell and began fleeing back the way he had come.

The Gnolls, Wild Goblins, and Sun Family Brothers were all the same.

They practically scrambled away on all fours.

They feared that those Elite Human Soldiers, along with the Human lord who had surely obtained a Lord Inheritance, would lead an elite force out to pursue and kill them!

"Damn it! Damn it! That's a Human lord! A Human lord!!!"

"You have to compensate us for our losses, Zhang Caidong!!"

But after escaping the apartment, the Sun Family Brothers were completely enraged.

They looked at the seventeen remaining Wild Goblins who had fled out alongside them. All of them were injured, panting heavily, and wore incomparably terrified expressions. Once the initial panic passed, the brothers looked at Zhang Caidong, who had insisted on dragging them out here, with such hatred that they nearly ground their teeth apart.

If not for Zhang Caidong, how could they have suffered such enormous losses!

"I... I..." Zhang Caidong was even more furious inside.

When there had been meat to eat, they had never thought to share it with him.

But now that they had been caught, they wanted to pin every loss on him. How could there be such a good deal?

Zhang Caidong was just about to curse at them in rage when he saw the obvious killing intent on the bloated faces of the Sun Family Brothers. Thinking of how he only had six Gnolls left, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He could only grit his teeth and slowly explain, "The three of us took a loss this time, but not entirely."

"What do you mean?" Sun Boss glared at him viciously.

"A Human lord, and a newly descended Human Territory at that! Do you understand what that means?"

"As long as we bring this news back!"

"Diesel Company will have to give us a chance to claim credit! You should know that a new wave of the Black Tide is coming soon! Countless Undead Monsters will appear even during the day, attacking every territory they can see!"

"Our Diesel Company is also one of the biggest targets in this region that will face attacks from the Undead Monsters!"

"If, before the Black Tide, Diesel Company can obtain the Territory Core Fragment controlled by that Human lord..."

"Then we can get through the Black Tide more easily!"

"Maybe even..."

"Surpass those Wood Elves from Green Leaf Group!"

The more Zhang Caidong analyzed the situation, the more his face revealed a seductive and excited expression.

Because what he said truly made sense.

Even the Sun Family Brothers were drawn into Zhang Caidong's line of thinking and nodded unconsciously.

"That's right. We should go back and report this to Diesel Company."

"Exactly."

Only then did Zhang Caidong smile. "Then let's go. This is our opportunity!"

But when he turned away, his eyes were filled with cold indifference.

Zhang Caidong.

Was not someone easy to deal with either!