Gnolls

With Number One and the others doing the hunting, Ronan no longer had to do it himself, and their hunting skills far surpassed his. A simple fire took care of lunch, and Ronan's group continued onward. For some reason, ever since Ronan entered the forest, they had yet to encounter any fierce predators—or even any large animals.

Ten days passed like this. Even when the weekly tasks refreshed, Ronan still had not encountered that Feral Black Bear. However, during those ten days, they ran into a small wolf pack, a Giant Python, and beasts such as lynxes and wild boars. In the end, most of them went into Ronan's group's stomachs, while their fangs and pelts were stored in Ronan's backpack to be sold after they left the forest.

The recruitment shop had not refreshed with any particularly formidable troop types over the past ten days, but Ronan still recruited a group of five Veteran Vigia Soldiers to bolster their melee strength. He numbered them Six through Ten. From then on, he planned to number all newly recruited soldiers in this manner, moving later recruits up whenever those ahead of them died. As for names to use outside, they could choose their own.

The five Veteran Vigia Soldiers wore studded leather armor that reached their legs, iron-bound boots protecting their calves, and pointed leather helmets reinforced with iron. The helmets extended down both sides to protect their cheeks, leaving only a Y-shaped opening at the front for vision. Each of them carried a standard Germanic Sword and an Iron-bound Kite Shield.

Two groups of Veteran Vigia Soldiers had refreshed that day, but considering that food and water might become insufficient, Ronan only recruited one group.

Thanks to them, Ronan had emerged unscathed from the earlier wolf pack attack. He also learned that damaged equipment belonging to recruited soldiers could be directly replaced through the Recruitment System.

Of the three weekly tasks refreshed this week, Ronan had already completed two. He had only received some gold, experience, and a bottle of Wound Salve. Now, he was trying to see whether he could complete the third weekly task.

Enemy of Gnolls

A small Gnoll tribe lives along your required route. The surrounding area is all their territory. Destroy them for generous rewards, or choose to go around them.

Reward: 3000 experience, Starfall Katana (Excellent), Wolf Fang Necklace (Curio)

Ronan's Dianfu Katana had suffered through repeated battles without proper maintenance. Its blade was chipped and dulled in several places. Besides, Ronan wanted to know what effect this newly appeared curio had.

Thus, Ronan had already sent Numbers Three, Four, and Five to locate the Gnoll camp. Since the task said it lay along their required route, they only needed to explore forward carefully. As for everyone else, Ronan sent them hunting for fat to render into oil. He planned to use the same tactic as before: set their homes ablaze with Fire Arrows at night, lead the Vigier Soldiers in while the Gnolls were in chaos, and have the Nordic Archers snipe from behind.

As the sky darkened, Ronan's group made their final preparations not far from the Gnoll camp. Ronan sat on a thick tree root protruding from the ground, wiping the Dianfu Katana in his hand with a scrap of cloth. Looking at the scarred blade, Ronan said,

"After tonight's battle, you'll officially retire. But don't worry. As the weapon that accompanied me through the hardest days after I first came to this world, I won't throw you away. I'll keep you in my backpack as a collection piece. Once I have a permanent home of my own someday, I'll find a blacksmith to repair you and hang you on a display stand in my house. This armor will be the same."

After a while, Number One walked over to Ronan, who was resting with his eyes closed.

"My lord, it's time for the scheduled raid."

Ronan opened his eyes, icy killing intent flashing within them.

"Good. Move out. Follow me and kill every last one of those wolf pups."

The surrounding soldiers said nothing. They merely bowed slightly, clenched their right fists, and struck their chests.

In the pitch-black forest, Ronan led the soldiers silently toward the Gnoll camp. In the quiet night, only insects chirped and branches scraped against armor.

Upon reaching their destination, Ronan pushed aside some branches and looked toward the Gnoll camp. It was not large, truly a small settlement. There were roughly thirty crude thatched huts within it. Perhaps because Gnolls were poor builders, their homes were even more dilapidated than those of the Savages Ronan had encountered before. Perhaps they had not faced any creatures bold enough to challenge them in a long time. The entire camp was silent, with no Gnolls standing watch.

Ronan waved back to signal the soldiers to prepare. Amid the scrape of blades leaving scabbards, the Vigier Soldiers drew their Germanic Swords and removed the shields from their backs, gripping them in hand. Behind them, the Nordic Archers began wrapping cloth around their arrows and soaking it in oil, preparing to ignite them.

At Ronan's command, the Nordic Archers fired several volleys of Fire Arrows, accurately igniting most of the huts. The Gnolls immediately howled as they rushed out. Quite a few were already on fire, their dry fur serving as excellent kindling. They screamed and rolled across the ground to put out the flames, while some of the unburned Gnolls desperately tried to extinguish the fires. One particularly tall Gnoll stood out among them. He was likely two meters tall, a full head taller than the average Gnoll's one meter seventy. He wore a set of worn armor sewn from animal hides and held a rusty Chain Mace with many of its spikes broken off. At that moment, he was calling on the other Gnolls to take up weapons and find the enemy.

Seeing the panicked Gnoll tribe showing signs of stabilizing under that Gnoll's command, Ronan knew he could not miss this chance. Drawing his katana, he charged out at the front, followed closely by the five Vigier Soldiers. The Nordic Archers remained concealed behind the bushes, continuing to fire arrows from the shadows.

Seeing Ronan and the others charge out, the Gnoll leader let out an angry roar and swung his arm. Several Gnolls beside him immediately rushed toward Ronan. Aside from the Gnoll leader, the other Gnolls were even more poorly equipped. They wore virtually no armor and carried only Wooden Spears, Stone Axes, and crude Wolf Fang Clubs.

Ronan sidestepped the thrusting Wooden Spear while pinning the Gnoll's spear arm beneath his left arm. Using his body's momentum, he spun the Gnoll into the path of another Gnoll's descending Stone Axe. Blood sprayed. The Gnoll who had struck his ally let out a somewhat frightened roar, only to have Ronan pierce his heart. Bending down, Ronan picked up the Wooden Spear and hurled it with all his strength at the Gnoll leader.

At the same time, the Vigier Soldiers charged forward. They raised their shields before them and used their momentum to slam the charging Gnolls to the ground, then stabbed them to death with their swords. A Wooden Spear thrust by one Gnoll snapped the instant it struck an iron-bound shield. Only the Gnoll wielding a Wolf Fang Club managed to force a Vigier Soldier back several steps.