After all, mercenaries made their living by fighting wars. Their combat ability and tolerance for casualties were indeed far greater than those of farmers. The mercenaries on both sides mixed together and fought fiercely for a full fifteen minutes without stopping.
However, Zhou Ming's sharp eyes vaguely noticed that although these mercenaries appeared to be fighting with exceptional ferocity, their moves were actually broad and careless, and they were not putting in their full strength. Especially when they spotted old acquaintances among the opposing mercenary force, they merely went through the motions, playing a game of clashing blades.
What kind of war is this? It's clearly a battlefield reunion. Zhou Ming shook his head inwardly.
More than twenty minutes later, perhaps having exhausted their strength, Earl William's mercenaries left behind over thirty corpses and retreated to the rear.
Earl Lautz's mercenaries chased after the retreating troops for a while, but when they suddenly heard a piercing horn and saw Baron William's knightly force launch a charge, they immediately threw down their weapons and fled the battlefield without offering any resistance.
"These money-grubbing mercenaries are completely useless! All knightly forces, prepare to charge!"
Earl Lautz cursed at the fleeing mercenaries, cracked his whip, and gave the order for his vassals' knightly forces to charge.
"Charge!" "Kill!"
The family banners of the various barons were raised high. More than 120 heavily armored knights leveled their long lances, wielded silver-glinting greatswords, swung heavy morningstars, and spurred their accelerating warhorses forward, roaring as they charged toward Earl William's forces.
Earl William had fewer vassals than Earl Lautz, and he had brought only a little over 110 knights. He was clearly outnumbered.
But the northern highlands were bitterly cold, producing tall and powerful warhorses and training fierce knights who feared no death. These 110-odd knights fought Earl Lautz's slightly more numerous vassal knights to a standstill, neither side able to gain the upper hand.
"Kill! Slaughter these southerners!"
Earl William was a sturdy middle-aged man in his forties with extraordinary swordsmanship. Before long, four men had fallen beneath his blade.
"Earl William, let me take you on!"
At only twenty-six, Edward had reached the peak of a knight's physical prowess and skill. His swordsmanship was equally exceptional, and he had already claimed five heads. Seeing Earl William slaughtering people in the center of the battlefield, Edward, eager to prove his martial skill, spurred his horse forward and swung his sword at Earl William's head.
"Where did this little brat come from? You dare show off in front of me?"
Earl William was no pushover either. With a cold sneer, he turned to face Edward. In an instant, their longswords and armor collided with resounding crashes, throwing off dazzling sparks.
More and more men and horses fell across the battlefield. The stench of blood grew heavier, and the sudden screams made people's scalps tingle. At this moment, the knights and nobles fighting on the battlefield were no different from ordinary soldiers. Their eyes were bloodshot; there was no elegance or dignity left, only roars and slaughter.
"Neigh!"
Then something unexpected happened. Baron Connor's warhorse accidentally stepped into a muddy patch of grass and suddenly sank into the mire. Burdened by the immense weight of its rider and armor, the aging horse lost its balance and, whinnying miserably, collapsed to the ground.
Baron Connor was thrown straight from the saddle and slammed heavily into the earth.
"Father!"
Edward, still clashing with Earl William, was startled by the sight. His attacks became disordered, no longer as sharp as before.
Earl William keenly noticed this and smiled. Seizing the opportunity, he said to a nearby knight, "Go kill that dismounted baron. Better yet, kill this brat too!"
With his lumbar spine injured, Baron Connor could no longer rise from the ground. Looking at the chaotic tangle of horse legs before him and the longswords stabbing down from every direction, he could only desperately swing his own sword to block the attacks from above.
"Neigh!"
A tall warhorse reared high on its hind legs, shrieking sharply before stomping viciously onto Baron Connor's chest. The plate armor over his chest caved in at once. He spat out a mouthful of blood and let out an indescribably agonized scream.
"Father!"
Edward panicked! He galloped forward and struck in fury, cutting down the knight who had trampled his father. Just as he was about to dismount and rescue him, a gust of wind swept past his ear. He jerked his head aside, and an ant-biting pain flared across his neck. Baron William had struck, slashing him across the neck. Had he not dodged quickly, he would have lost far more than a layer of skin.
"Knight Morris, hurry and save my father!"
Edward could only turn his attention back to dealing with Earl William and call upon the nearby family knight for aid.
"Baron Connor is in danger?"
Zhou Ming, who had returned to a spot not far from the battle zone, saw Baron Connor lying heavily wounded on the ground, surrounded by a circle of knights who fought repeatedly over him. Seeing him in such extreme danger, Zhou Ming's heart began to pound.
Rescue him?
Or not?
If he rescued him, Baron Connor might still have a sliver of hope of surviving.
If he did not, then unless Earl Lautz led his own thirty-odd elite knights into the battle, his vassal knightly forces, already at a disadvantage, definitely would not be able to protect Baron Connor lying on the ground.
"I have to save him! If Baron Connor dies and Edward becomes lord, Donny and I won't have any place in Glan Territory..."
Just then, a riderless warhorse ran in his direction.
Zhou Ming's eyes lit up. He stepped forward, grabbed hold of the heavily armored warhorse, and brought it to a stop.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Ming unfastened the armor buckles and stripped away all the armor hanging from the horse, which weighed over a hundred kilograms. Leaving only the saddle, he mounted the horse, picked up a javelin stuck in the ground, and charged into the battlefield like a gust of wind.
Lightly equipped, Zhou Ming rode far faster than the heavily armored knights. Moreover, the armored knights on the battlefield had already expended much of their strength in battle and could do nothing about Zhou Ming as he flashed past like the wind.
"Whooo! Whooo! Whooo!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wielding the javelin, Zhou Ming continuously harassed Earl William's knights. He used it to strike their helmets and made strange cries to draw their attention, irritating the knights who had held the advantage and were driving Earl Lautz's vassal knights back step by step.
Even Earl William, who had already inflicted many wounds on Edward, had the beautiful helmet atop his head, adorned with many bright feathers, struck hard by Zhou Ming's javelin.
"Go kill that damned commoner! I'll grind his bones into powder!"
Earl William was both ashamed and enraged, as if he had suffered a tremendous provocation! He let Edward escape, pointed in the direction Zhou Ming had gone, and ordered the knights to make that commoner pay a painful price.
Soon, more than a dozen heavily armored knights intent on killing Zhou Ming followed behind the lone rider.
To deal with these heavily armored knights, Zhou Ming still relied on the same tactic: run. The riders and armor alone weighed two hundred kilograms, and together with a warhorse weighing over half a ton, it was a miracle if they could keep running for five kilometers. Zhou Ming only led them around for two or three laps before their warhorses slowed to a crawl.
The knights atop those horses could only glare at him with cannibalistic eyes.
"Baron, get on this horse quickly! Those knights are about to catch up. I need to go first!"
Zhou Ming rode swiftly back to the center of the battlefield and came to Baron Connor's side. With great effort, he carried him onto the horse's back, lashed the horse's rump to make it run, and before the pursuing knights arrived, he blew another taunting whistle at them. Provoked by him, the pursuers, who had originally intended to intercept Baron Connor, angrily chased after Zhou Ming again.
However, their exhausted warhorses could no longer catch Zhou Ming even when he was running on foot.
"All knights of the main force, launch the final charge!"
Earl Lautz, who had been waiting in the rear for the right moment, watched the entire scene on the battlefield in stunned disbelief. Seeing that Earl William's knightly force was nearly exhausted, he raised his hand and waved. The remaining thirty-odd elite knights on his side, who had yet to enter the battle, launched the decisive blow.
In this battle, Earl Lautz lost eighty-eight knights, killed or wounded ninety-four of Earl William's knights, and captured Earl William himself, achieving an absolute victory in the war of 500 Horses.
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