This Time, There Was No Choice

Mounted on Alice, bow on his back, Li Ang jogged to the camp entrance.

"Sarah, lead the crossbowmen and hold the camp."

"Charge Squad! Are you ready?!"

But before the Charge Squad had fully assembled, Sammer atop the watchtower finally seemed to get a clear look and shouted, "Enemy attack! South!"

Then he jumped straight down from the watchtower and ran toward the Charge Squad's formation. "Gatu people! They're here!"

Kloze and Li Ang spun around.

Lesley collapsed weakly at the camp entrance, tears finally rolling down her face.

Since the Gatu people had left the battlefield where they attacked the caravan and come here, everyone, including Lesley herself, could guess the fate of her caravan and her younger brother.

That shy young man was not coming back.

Neither were those two Meitengheim people...

Li Ang looked toward Sarah, only to find that Sarah had turned to look at him as well.

Sarah pulled the grieving Lesley into her arms, gently rubbed her chest, patted her back, and led her back into the camp.

Then the exceedingly clever fox spirit asked what Li Ang had wanted to ask as well.

"Lesley, you left Long River Town... Did something happen inside Long River Town too?"

Sarah possessed an affinity far beyond that of ordinary people. Her gentle voice eased some of Lesley's grief.

Lesley wiped haphazardly at her face, but tears instantly welled up again. "Yes... Fighting broke out in Long River Town, so I brought the caravan here with Karn and the others... Lord Li Ang! Please give me a sword!"

Li Ang shook his head. "You should rest, Lesley. Until we fall, it will not be your turn to fight."

His words sounded heroic, but Li Ang felt utterly miserable inside. He knew what was going on.

Apart from the Tongtian River west of Long River Town, Gatu cavalry units were probably present in every direction around the town. Since Sarah and he had encountered Gatu people five hundred miles from the border, more than one hundred-man unit had likely entered the Long River Town region.

Li Ang and Sarah had both realized this, which was why they had been so desperate to rush back and warn the others.

The Horn Summon Ranger Corps used a dynamic, chain-linked defense system—one that affected the whole body when a single part was moved.

This defense network, using horns as summons and responding rapidly to provide aid, was highly efficient and had few gaps. The mounted rangers and Rangers had always successfully intercepted foreign enemies quickly along the dangerous borderlands.

But the problem was, once enemies appeared deep within the kingdom, and several scattered Gatu guerrilla units emerged in every direction at once, the Horn Summon Rangers would be tied down around Long River Town, running back and forth in pursuit until they dropped!

Because they had no choice but to save every single village!

And when horns sounded everywhere, the chain defense would inevitably fail to cover everything. They would have to dispatch troops in every direction and adopt conventional regional defenses.

That was why Ralph had to ask Li Ang to hold the riverside camp. This really was the entrance through which those Gatu hundred-man units had slipped into Long River Town's interior. Before the roaming invaders in the interior were cleared out, they could not allow more Gatu people to enter.

At the same time, to prevent Li Ang's "prophecy" from coming true, this camp had to fall into the hands of the Horn Summon Ranger Corps and become a mounted ranger garrison. Only then would the people of Long River Town feel at ease.

And the three beacon fires from Brave Shield Fortress, along with the news of the Gatu army gathering, had forced Ralph to clear out the enemies within as quickly as possible. Only then could he free the mounted rangers stationed throughout the region and send them to reinforce the border.

That was why he had first sent Sarah to ask Li Ang to hold fast, rather than bringing troops here to garrison the camp himself. At the time, Ralph had needed to send all his men out to hunt down the wandering Gatu people in the interior and wipe them out quickly.

According to Li Ang's original expectations, the Horn Summon Rangers had plenty of mounted rangers and knew the terrain well. Since they had mobilized their entire force, they should have been able to quickly deal with a few wandering Gatu detachments, then come take over the camp's defense.

After all, there could not possibly be too many Gatu people who had infiltrated the interior to cause trouble.

That was why he had agreed so readily—he thought he only needed to hold the Tongtian River bank for a day or two.

He was still confident that he could hold off the enemies across the river for a while.

Judging from Ralph's request, Ralph had probably thought so too.

But the problem was...

Neither Li Ang nor Ralph had expected an accident to occur inside Long River Town.

Lesley said fighting had broken out inside Long River Town, and there was only one explanation—while Ralph had sent out all his troops and left the town's garrison depleted, someone had launched an attack from within to seize Long River Town!

Who was it?

Who the fuck else could it be...

But this was utterly outrageous! It was blatant opportunism amid disaster!

Once the Gatu army withdrew, the Horn Summon Ranger Corps would definitely tear whoever seized Long River Town into pieces too small to leave scraps behind!

But the question was, what was he supposed to do now?

With two hundred Gatu cavalrymen approaching from behind, and no defensible terrain around the camp, how was he supposed to fight?

Li Ang drew his sword.

"Bring that guy down here!"

It looked like he still had to risk his life charging into battle... This time, there truly was no choice.

He might have underestimated the Gatu people's tactical execution, and he had also underestimated the schemes of these "Pendor native nobles"!

Their plotting was far more complicated than it had been in the game!

"My lord, are we breaking out?"

Kloze looked ready to fight to the death.

"No. I can't let you enter a battle where death is certain..."

Li Ang did not act rashly or lead the Charge Squad in an attempted breakout. Instead, he had everyone retreat into the camp—nearly all of his men were infantry now, and there was no way they could outrun Gatu horses.

"Quickly! Get inside! Up on the walls!"

Li Ang waved everyone into the barracks or onto the earthen ramparts. He even led the horses into a corner of the camp and tied them beneath that "rampart."

The wooden rampart was hollow underneath and could hide quite a few people.

But seeing that Li Ang himself had not moved, Kloze did not move either. "My lord, I do not fear death. Following a brave captain into a charge is not a battle where death is certain..."

"Kloze, obey orders. Go hide!"

The Gatu people came quickly.

Just two minutes later, the cavalrymen had trotted over and gradually surrounded the tiny camp.

Just as Li Ang and Sarah had seen before, these Gatu people had all manner of messy daily necessities strapped to their horses' backs.

Li Ang even spotted several familiar jars of Coconut Wine.

The more than two hundred riders stopped about a hundred meters outside the camp and did not charge recklessly.

Rain had been falling continuously, and the Gatu nomad bows would become damp. Mounted archery would be greatly weakened in this weather.

The ground was extremely muddy, which was unfavorable for lance cavalry charges.

The camp stood by the riverbank, where the terrain was uneven and the nearby valley slopes were gentle. Horses could not maneuver well in such an environment.

So they did not attack immediately.

Of course, Li Ang's current posture might also have had something to do with it...

Li Ang stood in the middle of the camp, striking a pose with the Gatu warlord in hand as a human shield.

He was neither on horseback nor holding a spear. One hand gripped the warlord's throat, while the other held the man's sword.

Three sides of the camp had no outer walls. The low fences were only meant to enclose the area and keep the horses from wandering off. Wooden fencing just over a meter tall could not stop anyone.

Everything inside was visible at a glance. The empty camp was littered with miscellaneous items, and there was no sign of anyone else.

The Gatu warlord was clearly a real tough man. Seeing his tribesmen, he seemed to be trying to shout something.

But he could no longer make any meaningful sound. He could only struggle and produce indistinct buzzing noises like a fly.

Li Ang had already gagged him.

Although he was still dressed much like a Gatu war rider, there was no chance of fooling the Gatu people this time, nor did he intend to fool anyone.

Buying time—this was the only result Li Ang wanted right now.

Watching this strange scene, the Gatu cavalry outside seemed to be intimidated. They even sent out two small squads of around ten men each to search and scout the surrounding area.