Perhaps raising Strong Bow had been Ansen's own choice.
He probably knew he truly had no talent for swordsmanship. Seeing Li Ang control the battlefield alone with a single bow, he had likely begun to dream of becoming a master archer himself—becoming a bow knight, just like the Horn Caller Rangers...
My doctor... If you really wanted to be a knight, raising Iron Bones would have been better than Strong Bow...
Li Ang sighed. He had originally planned to quickly raise Ansen by ten levels in healing or something similar, but he had not expected things to be beyond his control.
Li Ang had always valued medical skills greatly. After all, they could directly save lives. Yet none of his own medical skills could be upgraded; they had remained at level 1.
Perhaps that came from the basic medical knowledge of a modern man.
So Li Ang had wanted to train Ansen into a miraculous physician. That way, perhaps the wounded in the party could sleep for a night, then wake up fully healed and fresh as new...
But reality was indeed not as simple as a game.
It seemed he still had to guide Ansen himself...
"Cough, Ansen... It's time to start today's lessons."
"Oh no... My lord... You can't do this!"
"Then practice your medical skills on those prisoners. Train with the sword or treat wounds—pick one. Either counts as today's assignment."
"I... I'll go check on the prisoners... Hopefully Miss Sarah hasn't beaten anyone to death..."
That night, rain poured down in sheets. The stormy darkness was as black as ink, with not a single star in the sky. One could not see a hand before one's face.
The mercenary skilled at diving had felt his way into the river from memory. After searching for a long time, he fished up a noble knight's sword.
It truly was Li Ang's old sword, the one Liwa had stolen.
But how had it ended up in the hands of this Gatu warlord?
Only two days had passed since it had been stolen the night before last and now recovered.
Had Liwa run into the Gatu army while fleeing?
Or had this Gatu force happened to be within Lion Lake City's territory yesterday?
Wait, wait.
Li Ang suddenly remembered what Liwa had said: "My family was once famous in the weapons trade"...
Could it be that Liwa had sold the sword to the Gatu people?
If that was the case...
An idea so unbelievable that even Li Ang found it hard to accept popped into his mind—could everything Liwa had said have been true?
If she really could trade with the Gatu people, and if her surname truly was Fletcher...
Then could Liwa really be, as she claimed, the Earl's daughter—except she was indeed not a noble, but the unrecognized kind...
After all, she really did look a great deal like Count Oden...
Though he could not make sense of it, he still had to thank this crossbowman for helping him recover this "family heirloom."
So Li Ang gave the swimming expert the right to choose a piece of loot freely.
He chose a warhorse seized earlier from the Crimson Brotherhood.
That instantly turned the Mercenary Crossbowman into a rather unqualified mercenary rider—but nothing changed in the party list.
This swimming expert claimed his riding skills were quite good, but he could only guarantee that he would not fall off a horse. Overall, he was only the slightest bit worse than Foucher at riding...
The following morning, the sky was gloomy, and a light rain still drifted through the air.
The signal smoke from Brave Shield Fortress could no longer be seen.
On the wet grass across the river, only muddy pits stamped out by hooves remained.
The Gatu people were gone.
Not a single Gatu cavalryman could be seen on the far bank.
Only several corpses remained—naked bodies, laid out neatly on the grass by the riverbank.
The Gatu people had left very cleanly. They had taken everything from the bodies, taken the riderless horses, and even abandoned the lumber they had cut the day before—a small pile of logs stripped of branches.
On the camp's wooden wall, the Gatu warlord, now awake from his coma, muttered a few incomprehensible words. Then he ignored Li Ang completely, as well as Ansen, who intended to feed him.
Li Ang removed his helmet and tried to speak with him, but the warlord did not utter a word. He even stubbornly refused to open his eyes again.
Lord Li Ang could not understand it—the Gatu people had already gathered materials to build rafts, so why would they suddenly abandon their leader and retreat? They were fully capable of making rafts to cross the river.
Li Ang had already prepared to use the hostage to buy time.
Yet just as Li Ang thought the camp should be safe for the moment, Sammer shouted from the watchtower.
"My lord! A woman is running this way... She looks a little like Miss Lesley!"
"She's alone?"
"Yes, my lord!!"
Had Lesley come to deliver the proceeds from selling the loot?
That did not make sense. Karn and the others could have simply brought back the money after cashing it in...
Li Ang only froze for a moment before swiftly running out of the camp toward the female merchant. His instincts told him something had happened!
Lesley was not on horseback. She clutched a dagger in her hand and sprinted through the rain in a blue dress—completely ignoring the mud and water splashing all over her.
"This way, Lesley!"
Li Ang shouted loudly—Lesley had never been to this camp, and she appeared to be heading toward Fletcher Village.
Hearing Li Ang's voice, Lesley scrambled toward the camp gate with both hands and feet, shouting as she ran:
"Lord Li Ang! We ran into the Gatu people... At least two hundred of them! My brother and Karn's group are doing everything they can to hold them back in the hills behind us. Quickly... My lord, please save them... They're not far south of here..."
Lesley was soaked through by the rain. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face filled with terror, streaked with water and mud. The moment she reached Li Ang, she had more or less explained what had happened.
She had not even caught her breath.
What a strong woman. She had not cried.
Yet her tightly clenched fists and the bloodshot veins in her eyes still made the fear and helplessness in her heart painfully clear.
Kloze had clearly heard Lesley's shouts as well. He ran out of the camp with his greatsword on his back—he had not removed a single piece of equipment since yesterday's battle.
"My lord, I request permission to depart—I must rescue my compatriots."
Li Ang showed no hesitation at all. Nor could he show fear or hesitation now. He nodded, turned, and ran back toward the camp, shouting as he ran:
"Gather your Charge Squad!"
Kloze froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting Li Ang to agree.
There were two hundred Gatu people!
After looking deeply at Li Ang, Kloze turned and shouted, "Charge Squad, assemble!"
Sammer on the watchtower was about to climb down and join them, but he seemed to notice something. He turned back toward the south.
Everyone in the camp had already sprung into action, hurriedly putting on their gear and forming ranks.
But Li Ang, running to retrieve his bow, sighed—two hundred Gatu people appearing behind them!
That meant the force that had entered the depths of Long River Town was not just the hundred-man unit he and Sarah had encountered...
As he thought about it, the party list changed: Meitengheim Infantry, 10/10.
This was bad!
It was already too late to rescue the caravan...
Two Meitengheim people had died!
Since Lesley had managed to run here, the place where the caravan had been attacked was obviously very close—the Gatu force had most likely been heading for this camp from the start!
Because the place he occupied was the only route those Gatu people who had crossed the border could take back to the grasslands!
Their attack on Lesley's caravan to the south was likely only because they had encountered it along the way...
The Gatu people were cavalry. They were probably already nearby!
Now, he would likely have to face the enemy head-on.
He had anticipated most possibilities, but he had never expected the renowned Horn Summon Ranger Corps to fail to deal with those Gatu people who had entered Long River Town several days ago!
After so many days, that useless Ralph had actually let the Gatu people escape?
No wonder Sarah had said Ralph had seemed somewhat hesitant and uneasy at the time...
Before you continue