Battle, Young Man

This camp was clearly abnormal. The Gatu people were highly experienced in battle formations and would not attack rashly.

While sending out scouts to investigate, two war riders who looked like centurions rode out from the Gatu ranks and shouted several sentences in incomprehensible Gatu from afar.

Li Ang did not understand what they meant, but he recognized one word.

That word was "Juan."

Li Ang understood the two centurions' intentions as well—if not for him, that bridge should have been completed by now. They were probably telling Juan to come out and ferry them across the river...

It seemed Juan had not told the whole truth after all. He actually knew the purpose of this camp and knew the Gatu people. He had managed to deceive Li Ang and Sarah during interrogation by mixing nine truths with one lie. His acting skills were truly exceptional—good enough to win an Oscar.

But Juan was dead. There was no way to use him to fool these two Gatu men.

Sarah, hidden beneath the wooden barricade, looked downcast. She must have heard that word too and was probably blaming herself.

The Gatu warlord beside Li Ang began struggling violently after hearing those words, but Li Ang gripped his neck, his body was tied up, his mouth was gagged, and his enclosed helmet hid every trace of expression—he could not convey any useful message.

The two war riders cautiously surveyed the terrain around the camp, then looked at the constantly struggling warlord before retreating.

They split into two companies of a hundred men.

One remained beneath the gentle slope south of the camp, directly facing the camp's "entrance"—a gap without a fence. It could barely be called an entrance, though there was no gate.

The other roamed along the relatively flat eastern side outside the camp—the western side was a hillside, the direction Juan had fled earlier, and it was not very convenient for riding.

It was the posture of a cautious siege.

But Li Ang had never intended to break out. He planned to stall for time. Every extra minute he bought meant a greater chance for reinforcements to arrive.

The Gatu people's caution happened to suit his expectations perfectly.

Then the Gatu surrounding the camp removed their bows and drew arrows, all watching Li Ang posing in the middle of the camp, yet none raised a bow or drew a string.

Rain fell from the sky. The Gatu people's hard bows and composite bows would both be affected, their accuracy greatly reduced. They probably did not intend to accidentally kill the warlord standing before Li Ang.

Li Ang was actually quite nervous, afraid they might truly loose a barrage of arrows—what if this Gatu cavalry force did not care about this captured minor warlord?

He had kept hold of that warlord because he intended to use him as a shield if necessary...

But it seemed the Gatu did care.

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

That was only natural. He had led three companies of a hundred men earlier, so his rank was certainly above a centurion's.

The Gatu had prepared their bows and arrows merely to prevent him from breaking out.

After the two sides faced off for more than ten minutes, the Gatu scouts returned—there was no ambush nearby.

So the Gatu began probing attacks.

They only sent out the company beneath the gentle slope.

The company on the flank still held their bows and watched Li Ang.

The attacking Gatu did not use the mounted archery they excelled at. Instead, they lowered their lances and charged toward the camp.

The cry of "Wusa" rang out once more.

Clearly, they did not want to accidentally hurt the captured Gatu warlord, but neither were they too concerned—they probably just did not want to personally shoot him dead with arrows. They did not 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, making it impossible for horses to run very fast. Li Ang dragged the Gatu warlord back slowly until he reached the wooden barricade.

Ahead, amid splashing mud, more than a dozen cavalrymen surged into the camp first.

At their head was one of the two centurions.

There were many obstacles inside the camp, making it a poor place to ride—piles of lumber, stone stoves, all manner of messy wooden racks, troughs... everything was there.

Yet the leading war rider seemed extremely confident in his horsemanship. He still did not dismount and charged straight at Li Ang with his lance.

"Kloze!"

Only when the lance was a few meters from Li Ang did he shout, pushing the Gatu warlord in his hands forward to block himself.

That war rider truly was skilled. He yanked his horse slightly aside, then struck a dashing pose with his lance held crosswise—the horse reared and stopped abruptly, letting out a clear neigh.

But it did not look dashing for even half a second before the horse's cry came to an abrupt halt.

Kloze burst from an inconspicuous haystack at the side, his greatsword sending scraps of hay flying through the air.

The sweeping blade traced a massive crescent, cutting that confident war rider and his horse into four pieces.

The spraying blood drenched him, dyeing his heavy armor a brilliant ruby red.

"Charge Squad!"

"Ha!"

Ten Charge Squad members sprang out from every corner of the camp. Half wielded greatswords, while the other half held a one-handed infantry sword in each hand. Each pounced on the nearest enemy.

The nearest enemy to Li Ang had already dismounted, charging at him with shield and scimitar in hand—likely an elite under that centurion, wearing an enclosed helmet as well.

But Li Ang swung the human shield in his hands, then cut the Gatu man down with a single one-handed slash.

The sword was impossibly fast. It seemed there had not even been a motion to strike; not even a flash of steel could be seen.

This Knight Commander sword, the weapon he knew best and handled most smoothly, might have struggled to cut through high-quality plate armor, but against lightly armored foes, it was like a divine weapon in Li Ang's hands.

There was no rain of arrows overhead, and the camp had been deliberately cluttered to prevent the enemy from launching lance charges. In an environment full of obstacles like this, Meitengheim's fierce men could stand against any enemy.

Choose the battlefield whenever possible. Make the environment favor your side. Ambush whenever possible, and launch surprise attacks whenever possible. That had always been Li Ang's way of thinking.

It was also everything he could arrange in that brief minute before battle.

In an encounter battle like this, no peerless scheme would be of use. Improvised tactics came down to nothing more than timing, terrain, and men.

Timing, terrain, and men...

Ahem, they really were a little short on men.

There were no enemies left around him, and the crossbowmen had begun firing. Li Ang threw the Gatu warlord behind him, gripped his sword, and charged out.

Sarah took over the human shield from behind him and laid her longsword across the warlord's throat.

Then, in a moment of inattention, Lesley ran out from Sarah's side. Somehow holding a short spear, she bravely pierced a Gatu man's back.

That Gatu man had been desperately fending off Sammer's surprise attack. He never expected a woman to stab him in the kidney.

Lesley's eyes were bloodshot, her face savage. She planted one foot on the fallen Gatu man and yanked out the short spear with all her strength, blood splashing across her body.

Her blue dress was dyed a ghastly purplish brown.

Then she turned as if possessed, searching for another opponent.

But a dismounted Gatu man was charging at her from behind and to the side.

Ansen, who had also been hiding beside Sarah, saw what Lesley was doing and suddenly shoved down the wooden board concealing him. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword and charged toward Lesley's back.

Whether Ansen was incredibly lucky or the Gatu man behind Lesley was terribly unskilled, that nearly wild slash actually struck the Gatu man's vital point—half his neck was sliced through, his head nearly severed, and another great spray of blood splashed across Lesley's face.

Lesley turned with blood-red eyes. Seeing Ansen, then the Gatu man at his feet, the bloody haze in her gaze seemed to clear somewhat.

Ansen grabbed Lesley and dragged her beneath the barricade. "Get back!"

After tossing the brave merchant woman into the place beneath the barricade where he had been hiding, Ansen turned around, held his sword upright in both hands, and stood guard before Lesley.

His hands trembled slightly, but his stance was utterly steadfast, without the slightest fear.

Like a true knight.