Battle of Ravenwood Town (1)

The caravan arrived at Ye Ruige Town before dark. While called a town, Ronan considered it merely a large village. Ye Ruige was only a third of the size of Ravenwood Town, with houses spaced far apart, no walls, and few guards.

Belicha led the caravan members to stay at Ye Ruige's only inn. The inn's conditions were poor, not comparable to the inn in Ravenwood Town, and the food was not as tasty.

There weren't many rooms, so Ronan had to squeeze into one room with his subordinates for the night. The next morning, Ronan put on the armor he had previously purchased at the blacksmith shop in Ravenwood Town. Prompted by a caravan helper, he left his room and went downstairs for breakfast. The selection was limited to bread and sausages.

However, after the arduous life in Ravenwood Forest, Ronan had specifically utilized the system's backpack feature, which prevented items from decaying, to bring many delicious foods and seasonings. He also had plenty of dried rations like jerky, smoked sausage, and salted fish. While not exactly delicious, they were far better than hard, dry flatbread and dark bread.

After checking their supplies, Belicha led the caravan to move again. This time, they would traverse the vast Vizan Plains, and they would have to endure outdoor living for nearly ten days. They would also have to face potential wolf packs and bandits.

As Ronan and his group stepped onto the Vizan Plains, Lase and his forces, hidden in Ravenwood Forest, also made their move. The goblins had already finished crafting a batch of ladders, enough for Lase's troops. The nearby wild non-humans had also been gathered, providing crucial cannon fodder.

Meanwhile, rumors were spreading throughout Ravenwood Town, causing widespread panic. The rumors claimed that a powerful non-human king had appeared in Ravenwood Forest and intended to break out and establish a kingdom, with Ravenwood Town serving as its whetstone.

As a precaution, many mercenary groups and adventurers had left Ravenwood Town. Knight Warren's injuries had not yet healed, and the request for reinforcements sent to Shadow Garrison had gone unanswered. Ravenwood Town's defenses were at an unprecedented low.

Shadow Garrison was not unwilling to support Ravenwood Town, but they had long been surrounded by Lase's subordinates, who had conscripted non-humans from Ravenwood Forest. Although their strength was insufficient to destroy Shadow Garrison's stronghold, they had successfully completed Lase's mission by delaying Shadow Garrison's reinforcement of Ravenwood Town.

On the second day after the caravan and Ronan's group entered the Vizan Plains, Ravenwood Town fell under siege. Lase, leading over a thousand soldiers of various races brought from Moran, had surrounded the main exits of Ravenwood Town. They were scaling the not-so-high walls from all directions using ladders to engage the defenders.

Inside the town, in the church, Dorodamenro instructed the priests beside him, "You few, take people and scatter to gather the townsfolk into the church's basement for shelter. Be quick."

At that moment, Knight Warren, having changed into his armor, walked to Dorodamenro's side. "Bishop, I will go reinforce the city wall."

"Your injuries?"

"It's fine. I had the physician give me a paralytic drug; it won't affect my combat!"

Dorodamenro looked deeply at Knight Warren and then said, "Good. Remember, if you can't hold the line, lead your men to retreat to the church. I will have all the townsfolk gathered in the church for shelter. Although there's an issue with Shadow Garrison, judging by the number of enemies attacking Ravenwood Town, Shadow Garrison should resolve their situation quickly. We just need to hold out for a while. Warren, come back alive!"

Knight Warren nodded, donned his helmet, and turned to lead his guards towards the city wall. When Warren reached the wall, the situation was already grim. Although theRavenwood Town guards fought desperately to protect their home, they were still at a significant disadvantage due to the overwhelming numbers. Half of the wall had already been lost.

Warren was positioned at the main gate of Ravenwood Town, which was also where the enemy was most concentrated. With Warren joining the fray, the battle became fierce again. Warren gripped his sword with both hands, using his skilled swordsmanship to constantly cut down the enemies climbing the wall.

Lase, seeing Warren from below the wall and observing how the Ravenwood Town guards gained the upper hand again under Warren's leadership, could no longer restrain himself. Snatching a greatsword from his adjutant, Lase slung it over his back and began climbing the ladder.

At that moment, Warren used his left gauntlet to deflect a scimitar strike from a gnoll, then used his right hand to grip the blade and thrust it into the gnoll's neck. As blood sprayed onto his armor, a lizardman attacked Warren from behind, striking his back with a sword. However, it only left a scratch and a shower of sparks on his armor. The force of the lizardman's blow staggered Ronan forward. He then roared, gripping his sword with both hands, and spun to decapitate the lizardman.

Just then, Lase climbed onto the wall. He roared at Warren, "Human, I will tear off your head and make it a gift for my youngest son!" With that, he lunged with a downward chop towards Warren. Knowing he couldn't match Lase's strength, Warren could only roll to dodge. Lase's greatsword struck the ground, kicking up debris, but he immediately adjusted his stance and swung horizontally. Warren, having just gotten up, didn't expect Lase to recover so quickly and could only raise his greatsword to block Lase's horizontal slash.

However, due to his unstable stance and the difference in strength, Warren was knocked back four or five steps. Shaking his numb hands, Warren gripped his sword with both hands, lowered his stance, and assumed a fighting posture. Looking at the strong, brown-skinned orc before him, Warren realized that this individual was likely one of the commanders sent by Moran.

"So weak, human. How did you kill Rello? Was that Dragon Person truly killed by his own stupidity?"

Ronan took a deep breath and chose to press the attack. He lunged forward, thrusting his greatsword simultaneously. But Lase reacted swiftly, swinging the heavy greatsword as if it weighed nothing. Lase casually deflected Warren's thrust with one hand while landing a heavy punch on Warren with the other. Warren could only release his sword grip with one hand to block Lase's punch, but was then kicked back several steps by Lase before managing to stabilize himself.

Lase bared his teeth and let out a low growl. He strode forward, raising his sword overhead with both hands and slashing diagonally from the upper right towards Warren. Warren blocked Lase's strike, holding the sword hilt with one hand and bracing the blade with the other. However, his left shoulder, despite being medicated, still affected his ability to exert force, coupled with the inherent difference in their strength.

Warren barely managed to block the blow. Lase's greatsword pressed the blocked sword down by a significant margin before stopping. The blade even hit Warren's helmet, leaving a notch, and a gash on his brow. Blood dripped from his brow down the bottom of his helmet.

Seeing the blood seeping from under Warren's helmet, Lase became excited. His eyes bloodshot, the muscles in his thick arms tensed further as he applied more force, pressing the blade downwards. Warren struggled to maintain his defense, his knees already buckling under the pressure.