Act First, Ask Questions Later

Fletcher Village.

This was the most remote village in the Lionheart Kingdom, bar none.

There was no helping it. The village had only existed for thirty years; this was where Earl Oden had started from nothing.

However, Earl Oden's home had long since ceased to be here. His castle was Brave Shield Fortress, dozens of miles east of the village.

The village was quiet, and the scenery was lovely. Since Earl Oden had risen to prominence, quite a few people had gradually moved here, so it was not actually that small.

Of course, most of the households in the village were Earl Oden's tenant farmers.

The village currently had no lord, but it retained a militia patrol responsible for maintaining order.

This was probably the village Earl Oden had mentioned when offering Li Ang a choice, the one he could grant him as a Knight's Territory.

In truth, it would not have been a bad fief.

Li Ang felt a faint ache in his heart, but he knew that he could never swear fealty to an earl. Otherwise, for the rest of his life, he would be nothing more than a double-flowered red pole at someone else's beck and call.

North of Fletcher Village was the Tongtian River, the downstream stretch of the great river that Long River Town backed onto.

That "bandit" Oden had mentioned, Duke Alma's nephew, was now camped beside the Tongtian River. Supposedly, he intended to build a fortress and expand northward.

Their camp could be seen from the village watchtower.

Yet the moment Li Ang and Sarah entered the village, they sensed that something was wrong. The village seemed far too quiet—there were political enemies watching from nearby, and Gatu people had crossed the border. Ralph, commander of Long River Town's garrison, had sent warning letters to every town and village throughout the Eastern Province, yet the village at the center of it all acted as though nothing had happened.

They first found the village chief, intending to learn more.

The village chief was an elderly bald man. When he saw the letter Li Ang had presented from Earl Oden, he became extremely excited and immediately said that the militia of the earl's territory had long wanted to drive those "bandits" away. They simply lacked both the opportunity and the justification—the other side had been obediently carrying out construction work and had shown no other suspicious activity.

As for Gatu people, he had not seen any.

Li Ang stood atop the watchtower at the village entrance and observed for a while. There were around forty or fifty people in the camp, and they did indeed seem to be building something.

But that made it strange—Gatu people had crossed the border. Had the patrols noticed nothing?

There had been more than a hundred Gatu cavalrymen, and their discipline was so poor that it should have been impossible for them to move about without being discovered.

That band of Gatu cavalry had wandered into the completely undefended heartland of the kingdom. Unless something unexpected had happened, they would surely have thrown the entire Eastern Province into a panic. Yet Fletcher Village's chief knew nothing at all?

Could it be that the Gatu people had not passed through here?

But even if the Gatu people truly had not come this way, they should at least have received a warning from Long River Town!

"Are you certain you haven't found any Gatu people? Didn't the patrol hear the sound of a large number of horses? Did Long River Town's garrison not send a warning?"

Li Ang asked the village chief.

Doubts began to rise in his heart. Could those Gatu people have been let in by Brave Shield Fortress itself? Had he judged the situation wrongly?

"Lord Li Ang, I swear, I know absolutely nothing about any Gatu people! No one from Long River Town has come either!"

The village chief glared with his dim yellowed eyes, somewhat angered, as though he felt Li Ang was questioning his character.

After saying that, still worried that Li Ang would not believe him, he summoned the captain of the village militia patrol.

The patrol captain also swore that everything in the village was normal and that they had not discovered any outsiders. Only those shady people by the river often came over to steal chickens and pilfer things—but to avoid causing a conflict, they had endured such minor matters in accordance with Earl Oden's instructions.

Still puzzled, Li Ang was uncertain whether he should simply cross the river and make a move.

Could Oden have deceived him?

But that did not make sense!

Oden had no reason to let a group of Gatu people in himself and ruin his own position in Long River Town!

This village seemed strange in every way...

But the village belonged to Oden's earldom, so Li Ang was not in a position to say much.

He might as well go directly to the people in the riverside camp.

After looking at the gentle current north of the village, Li Ang led his people out of the village. He had the craftsmen guard the supplies by the river, while he personally led the mercenaries to the vicinity of the camp on the opposite bank.

Several men carrying spears and shields immediately emerged from the camp aggressively.

"What are you doing here? This is the Horton Family's Knight's Territory! Leave immediately! We will not give a second warning!"

Because they saw Li Ang's people doing carpentry work and carrying a large amount of materials, these men did not seem particularly wary—Li Ang, with all his construction supplies, looked like he was also here for development.

"Who is Horton?"

Li Ang quietly asked Sarah.

"Horton is Duke Alma's family name. Wait... my lord, these people seem to be Foucher's men—they're from the Crimson Brotherhood!" Sarah had initially answered casually, but halfway through, she sped up in surprise.

The Crimson Brotherhood?

Then there was no need to care whether anyone had been lying to him!

Act first, ask questions later!

After all, the Crimson Brotherhood had hunted him down...

He would solve his own problem first, then consider the strange situation in the village.

Seated on horseback, Li Ang swept his gaze over the camp's fighting force.

There were more than a dozen men in chainmail with shields on their backs, several in leather armor carrying bows, and another dozen or so who looked like laborers.

Several horses were tethered in the camp.

Other than the infantrymen who had come out to question them, all fully armed, the others did not seem to be prepared for battle. They appeared to be getting ready to eat—this was a perfect opportunity!

He then examined the terrain around the camp—the riverside valley was flanked by uneven rolling hills, unfavorable for cavalry and perfectly suited to the Meitengheim people's strengths.

Yes, the advantage was mine!

"Kloze, go! Use the hammers!"

"Charge!"

Li Ang did not respond to the other side at all, nor did he waste any time. Without even arranging tactics, he abruptly announced the assault.

Kloze had been ready for it—after all, Li Ang had said they were here to fight. At the command, he immediately led his men charging into the camp.

More than a dozen burly men charged shoulder to shoulder, swinging war hammers, and they looked remarkably coordinated.

But the more than twenty crossbowmen were somewhat stunned. They had never seen a lord like this—he had charged in without even exchanging greetings? Wasn't this battle a little too hasty...

Still, since the Charge Squad was already at the front hacking people down, the crossbowmen consciously formed a line on their own and began firing.

These mercenaries were all experienced. The burly men hacking away on the front line looked dependable enough, so they followed behind and focused on picking off the enemy's lightly armored archers and cavalrymen.

Ansen sensibly hid at the outskirts, staying with Sarah.

Yet it looked more like Sarah was protecting him—Sarah sat on horseback with her sword in hand, watching the battlefield, while Ansen cowered behind her horse...

The Crimson Brotherhood men truly were no match for them. On top of that, what Li Ang had done barely counted as a surprise attack—it was more like an ambush...

Most of their warriors had not even had time to prepare before they were scattered by a group of burly men.

On the chaotic battlefield, the riverside terrain was also rugged hill country, and the Meitengheim people displayed formidable fighting power in such an environment.

But when facing an organized military formation, those large men without shields could easily be shot full of arrows.

Li Ang had charged directly precisely because his ace fighters excelled at chaotic mountain battles.

He had even specifically told Kloze to use hammers—captives could be sold for quite a bit of money, and he was very poor right now.

This time, Li Ang himself did not charge like a wild boar. Instead, he rode back and forth, intending to harvest any stragglers trying to flee.

Then, he seemed to spot a familiar figure.

That pretty boy with the unforgettable "peerless footwork"!

Still dressed in noble robes, with wind leaking through his mouth, he was mounting a horse and preparing to flee.