Horse Bandit

Three days later, a group of riders mounted on fine horses, cloaked in hooded capes, arrived at Ravenwood Town. They were entirely concealed within their cloaks, their faces unreadable. Only the green, carved bracers on the hands gripping the reins were visible.

Upon reaching the main gate, they were stopped by Shadow Garrison soldiers who were still serving as temporary guards.

"We are traveling merchants from Sinterland, here to pay a visit to Bishop Dorodamenro." The lead rider removed his hood, revealing shoulder-length black hair and pointed ears.

The Shadow Garrison soldiers recognized their identity and recalled the Knight Commander's instructions.

"Follow me. The Knight Commander is already waiting for you," the soldier said, turning to lead the way.

The lead Elf frowned, sensing that something was amiss. However, he could only pull his hood back up, dismount, and follow the soldier. They proceeded without hindrance to the church. The lead Elf looked at the still-wet bloodstains on the street, his frown deepening.

"We've arrived. The Knight Commander is inside." After guiding the Elves to the room where Raxas was, the soldier departed.

Pushing open the door, the lead Elf's pupils contracted sharply as he saw Laxus sitting in a chair and the twin swords placed on the table before him.

"You have arrived. I am Laxus, Knight Commander of the Shadow Garrison and a disciple of Master Dorodamenro."

"Where is Dorodamenro? What happened here?"

"A few days ago, Moran forces infiltrated and attacked this place. You likely know the reason. My teacher died in the battle that day."

After a moment of silence, the lead Elf spoke:

"I am Sersma Illusionfeather, Captain of the Third Detachment of the Sinterland Royal Guard. I am here on the Queen's orders to escort the princess back. The Queen has executed the traitor. You are Dorodamenro's disciple, so you must know the princess's whereabouts."

"After Dorodamenro caught wind of the Moran plot, he had Daisy infiltrate Belicha's merchant caravan to travel to Sinterland. They departed several days ago and have likely entered the Vizan Plains by now. A contingent of mercenaries is accompanying them; I don't know their origin, but Dorodamenro must have trusted them. If you hurry, you might catch up, but some of the Moran forces are also pursuing them."

"I understand. Since Dorodamenro is dead, I shall take his weapons back to Her Majesty the Queen!"

Laxus nodded and handed the twin swords on the table to Sersma. Sersma took the twin swords and, without further delay, turned and walked out of the church. They had to catch up to Belicha's caravan as quickly as possible.

They rode out of town. Passing the cemetery outside the town, the group stopped to look at Dorodamenro's grave for a moment before continuing on their journey.

Meanwhile, Ronan and his group were setting up camp for a midday rest on the Vizan Plains. Belicha invited Ronan to dine with them every day, and each time he would encounter Daisy, leading to Ronan and Daisy becoming gradually acquainted. Looking at Daisy's pure smile, Ronan's inwardly empty heart since arriving in this world felt a little bit filled.

Since arriving in this world, Ronan had never known what he was supposed to do. At first, he was constantly being chased. Once he had gained some strength and a following, he had planned to settle down in Ravenwood Town, but fate led him away from Ravenwood Town to Sinterland.

Others might come to this world with a system and desire to conquer the world, live like kings with many wives and concubines, or perhaps travel the world, explore everywhere, and enjoy a free and unrestrained life. But Ronan had never had a clear goal. He was passively accepting everything. Whenever he wanted to stop, something unexpected would happen, as if an unseen force was driving him.

After eating their fill, the caravan resumed its journey, but danger was already approaching. The Moran faction, unwilling to accept defeat, no longer placed their hopes on Guldan's remnants. The most ferocious Horse Bandits, active along the borders of various kingdoms, led by "Bloodfang" Belik, the Bloodfang Gang, had secretly entered the Vizan Plains. They were searching for the whereabouts of Ronan and his group.

Belik was originally a minor noble of the Eagle Kingdom. After losing in a power struggle, he was forced to flee to a foreign land. He led his followers, wandering along the borders of various kingdoms, plundering villages, and ambushing merchant caravans. Belik and his horse band committed all sorts of evil deeds, but because they all rode horses like the wind and had no fixed base, they had been ravaging for over a decade without being eradicated.

However, what the world did not know was that their ability to escape pursuit multiple times and their increasing strength were not without the help of Grand Duke Kaivol of the Moran Kingdom. The Bloodfang Gang had long become the Moran Kingdom's trained attack dogs, bringing immense profits to the Moran Kingdom while simultaneously weakening its rivals.

Guldan and his group, knowing they could not catch up to the caravan and were unable to enter any towns, had to resort to their final measures.

Time flowed by. Two more days passed. The caravan traveled peacefully, encountering no bandits or wolves. In another two or three days, the caravan would be able to leave the plains and enter Acorn Hall.

But reality often did not go as planned. Just as they were about to leave the plains, the ground suddenly began to vibrate. The experienced guards immediately understood that this was caused by a large number of cavalry riding.

"My lord, they mean us harm." A Kujit Iron Cavalryman galloped up to Ronan.

"Prepare for battle!" Ronan's expression turned grim. Judging by the vibrations, the approaching force was quite large, but there shouldn't be such a large-scale bandit group on the Vizan Plains.

Hearing Ronan's words, the Kujit Iron Cavalrymen immediately began galloping around the camp. The other soldiers, less skilled in mounted combat, dismounted and drove their horses towards the carriages. They then formed a shield and spear formation with the caravan guards, their backs to the carriages to prevent being flanked. Belicha, Daisy, and other non-combat personnel took shelter in the innermost carriages of the formation.

Ronan also unstrapped the greatsword from his back. His Ape Arm trait allowed him to swing the greatsword effortlessly with one hand. Ronan, wielding a greatsword in one hand and a shield in the other, mounted Carrot, preparing to meet the enemy. To reduce weight, Ronan had removed most of Carrot's horse armor, leaving only the breastplate. There was no time to equip it again now.

Soon, a considerable number of Horse Bandits appeared within Ronan's line of sight. Their formation was disorganized, armed with various weapons like spears, short bows, and curved sabers. They wore only tattered leather armor and felt caps.

Sporadic arrows shot out from the Horse Bandits, but they were all blocked by the soldiers' shields, causing no damage. The counterattack from the caravan guards and Nord archers, however, shot down many Horse Bandits from their mounts.

The two armies clashed, and chaos ensued. The front row of horses was directly pierced by spears and died, their riders falling and being trampled into meat paste by the horses following behind. However, the soldiers in the first row were also thrown back by the powerful impact of the horses' charge. The Horse Bandits' charge came to a halt, and they became entangled with the soldiers on the ground.