Ambushed in Grey Forest

Suosilan swept a hand through the air, revealing the map behind him to everyone.

He pointed at Autongard on the map and said loudly, "We'll set out from here, pass through Grey Forest, then advance along these mountains before finally reaching the Tian Yin Plains."

"We may encounter some obstacles along the way, but we must strike as swiftly as a gale!"

The nobles responded with great excitement, though no one knew what they truly thought in their hearts.

Henry and Fas exchanged a glance and silently reached an agreement to cooperate in battle.

The horn of war had sounded. That night, all of Autongard was brightly lit as military supplies and wagons were prepared throughout the city.

Early the next morning, the Eighth Army set out first. With ten thousand regular soldiers at full strength and thirty thousand serfs, it was not until eleven o'clock that they had all departed.

The Ninth Army followed close behind with the same number of troops, taking four hours to completely leave Autongard.

Henry and Fas led their respective forces and camped together.

This time, Henry had brought thirteen Heavy Cavalry, nine Veteran Shielded Crossbowmen, a fifty-three-man unit of Elite Veteran Infantry, two forty-man units of Grassland Warriors, three eighty-man units of Imperial archers, and four New Recruit Squads that looked like Skilled Infantry.

Including eight hundred serfs, his force numbered nearly seventeen hundred men. For a Knight, such military strength was enough to sweep through an ordinary Baron's territory.

Mais had brought eight hundred men, six hundred of whom were serfs. Of the remaining two hundred, fifty were crossbowmen, twenty were archers, and the rest were Veteran Spearmen and Skirmishers.

Professionally trained spearmen were rare in the Empire. Only great nobles could afford such a force; most nobles used serfs as frontline spearmen.

The advantage of professional spearmen and pikemen was that they could quickly break through battle formations. Their disadvantage was that every death on the front lines was painful, unlike with serfs.

Fas's force was much simpler: four Heavy Cavalry, sixteen Citizen Cavalry, more than sixty Grassland Warriors, one hundred crossbowmen, and six hundred serfs.

When Fas met Mais, he was somewhat surprised, because Mais had also been one of those involved in fixing matches with them back then.

The three Noble Private Armies gathered together numbered more than thirty-two hundred men. There were over six hundred wagons carrying the Logistics Train alone, though fortunately the grasslands had no shortage of packhorses and Travel Horses.

"There's no legion assignment this time. Looks like the two Legion Commanders don't want us few hundred nobles getting in their way."

Henry nodded. "Then, since our forces are small and move faster than the legions, we'll set out tomorrow and trail far behind them."

Mais naturally had no objections, and neither did Fas.

Some nobles shared Henry's thinking and planned to leave the next day, letting the two legions scout the way ahead.

Some of those with smaller private forces hurried after them. Most were Barons whose professional troops numbered no more than five or six hundred.

Some Knights had only a dozen or so private soldiers, yet eagerly came along with more than a hundred serfs.

This was a kind of "poverty" that wealthy men like Henry and Fas could never imagine. They had no idea just how rich they were as Knights!

Night fell, and the ancient yet prosperous city bathed in moonlight. With the two great legions and a group of Noble Private Armies gone, the city seemed especially quiet.

Henry, Fas, Mais, and their respective Retainers strolled through the streets, enjoying this rare moment of leisure.

Fas breathed out a cloud of white mist and suggested, "Let's go to the baths and warm ourselves up. Once it snows, it'll be winter. In winter, you ought to soak in hot water."

It was hard to refuse such a suggestion. The three went to the royal baths and thoroughly relaxed their weary bodies and minds. Henry had rushed all the way to Autongard, only to be able to rest here for one day.

Steam filled the bathhouse as they freely enjoyed the comfort brought by the warm water.

Henry wrapped himself in a white bath towel and stepped into the pool. Oh~

As the warm current gently caressed his skin, his exhaustion and the cold gradually faded away. He closed his eyes and immersed himself in this momentary peace.

In the end, Mais had to wake the two of them, and only then did everyone return to camp.

Back at the tent, Henry had Ailiya fetch a barrel of wine to share with Fas and Mais.

The three sat around the table, savoring the wine while discussing hypothetical battle plans in advance.

Henry swirled his Wine Cup, watching the liquid rotate within it before slowly taking a sip. Wonderful.

The taste of the wine satisfied him, and he could not help thinking of the Royal Vineyard outside the royal capital. Fond memories of his academy days welled up in his mind.

Without Boman around to laugh and fool about, the three quickly discussed how their armies would be commanded and how they would fight.

Henry even joked, "It's good that Boman didn't come. Without him egging Bain on, Bain practically behaves like a noble."

Late at night, after everyone else had left, Henry lay in bed and felt the drowsiness brought on by alcohol. Anyone who had taken a hot bath knew that kind of sleepiness only grew stronger and stronger.

When the sun rose, Henry awoke from his pleasant dreams, feeling completely refreshed.

Two other groups set out at the same time as Henry's army. Judging from their noble banners, they did not recognize them.

With the legions and a large number of nobles clearing the way ahead, Henry and the others were not worried about safety.

A few days later, they reached the edge of a dense forest. Just as Henry was about to check the map, a roar suddenly rang out.

"Careful!" Henry said alertly.

Vasco immediately raised his battle axe and commanded the New Recruit Squads, "Infantry, form up! Serfs, take up spears and protect the baggage!"

Philip wheeled his horse around and shouted, "Archers, crossbowmen, load and prepare!"

Three units of archers swiftly formed ranks, facing the direction from which the roar had come.

Henry's force stopped at once. Fas and Mais's men were half a beat slower, but fortunately, they did not fall apart.

Then a piercing cry rang out, making everyone's hair stand on end.

"Dammit, Goatmen!" Fas spat and cursed.

A group of creatures with varying forms and horned heads gradually emerged. Baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, they charged at the army, wooden shields in one hand and Spiked Clubs raised in the other. They seemed to be covered by nothing but a layer of skin.

"Good, ordinary Goatmen. More than three hundred... no more than five hundred. No problem! The archers might even take them out themselves.

Bain, take the Cavalry around. Hit those upright livestock from behind and smash them to death!"

"Yes, Master!"

The two sides were only two hundred meters apart. They would clash in less than a minute.

"Archers, ready!"

From atop his horse, Philip could better judge the distance between both sides.

"Archers, fire!"

Two hundred and forty arrows flew at once, the twang of bowstrings making everyone's eardrums ache.

Many arrows were blocked by trees and branches, but dozens of ugly Goatmen were still struck.