Fight, Young Man

This camp is clearly not normal. The Gatu people are very experienced in battle formations and naturally wouldn't attack easily.

While sending out scouts to investigate, two war riders resembling centurions emerged from the Gatu ranks. They shouted a few incomprehensible Gatu words from a distance.

Li Ang didn't understand the meaning, but he recognized one word.

That word was "Juan."

Li Ang also understood the intention of the two centurions—if Li Ang hadn't been there, the bridge would have been finished by now. They must have been asking for Juan to come out and ferry them across the river...

It seems Juan didn't tell the whole truth after all. He actually knew the purpose of this camp and recognized the Gatu people. His ability to deceive Li Ang and Sarah with a mix of truth and lies during interrogation was truly exceptional, worthy of an Oscar.

However, Juan is dead, and Li Ang can't use him to fool these two Gatu people anymore.

Sarah, hidden beneath the fortification, looked crestfallen. She must have also heard the word and felt some self-reproach.

The Gatu warlord beside Li Ang began to struggle violently upon hearing these two sentences. But his neck was held by Li Ang, he was bound, his mouth was gagged, and the mask on his head concealed all his expressions—he couldn't convey any useful information.

The two war riders cautiously observed the terrain around the camp and then looked at the struggling warlord before retreating.

They split into two centuries.

One was positioned at the bottom of the gentle slope south of the camp, directly facing the camp's 'entrance'—a gap without a fence, which could be considered an entrance, though there was no gate.

The other moved around the relatively flat eastern side of the camp—the west side was a mountainside, the direction Juan had fled earlier, making it inconvenient for horseback riding.

This was a cautious encirclement.

But Li Ang had no intention of breaking out; he planned to stall for time. The longer he could hold out, the greater the chance of reinforcements arriving.

The Gatu's caution suited his plan perfectly.

Subsequently, the Gatu surrounding the camp lowered their bows, drew their arrows, and all focused on Li Ang, who was posing in the center of the camp. However, no one drew a bowstring.

It was raining, which would affect the accuracy of the Gatu's longbows and composite bows. They likely didn't intend to accidentally kill the warlord in front of Li Ang.

Li Ang was actually quite nervous, fearing that the enemy might unleash a volley of arrows—what if this Gatu cavalry didn't care about the captured minor warlord?

He had been holding onto the warlord precisely to use him as a shield if necessary...

But it seemed the Gatu did care.

This warlord's status was probably just a tiny bit higher than the two centurions outside.

It made sense; he had led three centuries before, so his rank would definitely be above that of a centurion.

The Gatu preparing their bows and arrows was likely just a precaution against him attempting to break out.

After a standoff of more than ten minutes, the Gatu scouts returned—there were no ambushes around.

Thus, the Gatu began a probing attack.

They only sent the group from the southern slope.

The group on the flank continued to stare at Li Ang with their bows.

The attacking Gatu did not use their skilled mounted archery. Instead, they charged towards the camp with lances.

The cry of "Wusa" rang out again.

Clearly, they didn't want to accidentally harm the captured Gatu warlord, but they weren't overly concerned—they probably just didn't want to personally shoot and kill the warlord, but they didn't care at all whether Li Ang killed him.

Perhaps they belonged to different tribes.

The slope in front was not steep, but the ground was muddy and uneven, preventing horses from moving too quickly. Li Ang dragged the Gatu warlord and slowly retreated towards the wooden fortification.

Ahead, amidst the splashing mud, a dozen cavalrymen surged into the camp first.

Leading the charge was one of the two centurions.

There were many obstacles within the camp, not ideal for horseback riding—piles of wood, stone stoves, various messy wooden frames, horse troughs... everything was there.

However, the leading war rider seemed very confident in his horsemanship. He remained mounted, charging directly at Li Ang with his lance.

"Kloze!"

Just as the lance was a few meters away from Li Ang, Li Ang shouted loudly and then pushed the Gatu warlord he was holding forward—placing him in front of himself.

The war rider was indeed skilled. He veered his horse slightly and, with a stylish maneuver, halted his charge—the horse reared and stopped abruptly, letting out a sharp whinny.

But the stylishness lasted less than half a second. The horse's whinny was cut short.

Kloze suddenly leaped out from a nondescript haystack nearby. His greatsword swept through the air, kicking up a storm of flying grass.

The sword light formed a massive crescent, bisecting the confident war rider and his horse into four pieces.

The spraying blood drenched him, turning his plate armor into the color of a deep red gem.

"Charge Squad!"

"Ha!"

Half of the ten Charge Squad members wielded greatswords, while the other half carried a single-handed infantry sword in each hand. They emerged from various corners of the camp, each rushing towards the nearest enemy.

The closest enemy to Li Ang had dismounted and was lunging at him with a shield and a scimitar—these were likely the elite under the centurion, also wearing mask helmets.

But Li Ang brandished the human shield and then, with a single sword strike, cut the Gatu down.

The sword moved with incredible speed, seemingly without any discernible motion, and the sword light was invisible.

This knight's longsword, the one he was most familiar and comfortable with, might struggle to cut through high-quality plate armor, but against lightly armored foes, it was like a divine artifact in Li Ang's hands.

With no arrow storm from above, the camp was deliberately cluttered with haphazardly piled obstacles, preventing the enemy from executing lance charges. In this environment, filled with numerous obstructions, the strong men of Meitengheim could contend with any enemy.

Choose the battlefield yourself whenever possible, making the environment suitable for your side. Ambush if you can, sneak attack if you can. This was Li Ang's consistent operational thinking.

It was also all that could be arranged in the brief minute before facing the enemy.

Encounters like this didn't call for any brilliant strategies; battlefield tactics boiled down to Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Heaven's timing, Earth's advantage, Man...

Cough, the numbers are indeed a bit lacking.

With no enemies left around him and the crossbowmen already firing, Li Ang tossed the Gatu warlord he was holding backward and charged out with his sword.

Sarah took the human shield from behind him, holding her longsword horizontally at the warlord's throat.

And before anyone could react, Lesley darted out from Sarah's side, a short spear inexplicably in her hand, and with unparalleled bravery, pierced a Gatu person who had his back to her.

This Gatu person had been struggling fiercely against Sammer's surprise attack, only to have his flank stabbed by a woman.

Lesley's eyes were bloodshot now, her expression incredibly ferocious. She stepped on the fallen Gatu person, forcefully pulled out her short spear, and a large amount of blood sprayed all over her.

Her blue dress was stained a chilling purplish-brown.

Then, as if possessed, she turned around, searching for other opponents.

But a Gatu person who had dismounted was now charging at her from her rear flank.

Ansen, who had also been hiding beside Sarah, watched Lesley's actions and suddenly pushed over the wooden plank he was hiding behind, gritting his teeth as he charged towards Lesley's back.

Whether it was Ansen's incredible luck or the Gatu person behind Lesley was simply unskilled, this near-random swing of his sword somehow struck the Gatu person's vital spot—half his neck was severed, his head nearly detached, and a large wave of blood once again sprayed onto Lesley's face.

Lesley turned her bloodshot eyes back, saw it was Ansen, then looked at the Gatu person lying at Ansen's feet. The bloodshot color in her eyes seemed to clear a bit.

Ansen grabbed Lesley and dragged her towards the fortification: "Hurry back!"

After throwing the brave female merchant under the fortification, to where he had originally been hiding, Ansen turned back, sword held upright in both hands, and stood guard in front of Lesley.

His hands trembled slightly, but his posture was incredibly firm, showing no fear.

Like a true knight.