Battle in the Iron Mine

Battle in the Iron Mine

Thinking that Northwind Province was far less peaceful than it appeared, Ryan finally returned to the main topic and asked Haton,

"Mr. Haton, does Zero Crossing City sell warhorses every year?"

"Of course. Every spring, when the weather is less freezing, merchant guilds from the south bring batches of fine goods to Northwind Province."

"Zero Crossing City is already quite remote, so there aren't many merchant guilds that come, but there are still more than a dozen."

"The most eye-catching one every year is the Imperial Merchant Guild, which belongs exclusively to the royal family. The Highland Warhorses all come from them."

After thinking for a moment, Ryan asked again,

"Only a hundred horses?"

"Yes, only a hundred."

Ryan was speechless. Baron Hatton was even less intelligent than he had imagined.

So he said it directly. "The grasslands where the Empire's southern Highland Warhorses are raised lie even farther south, closer to the Imperial Capital. After going to such trouble to transport them to Northwind Province, how could Zero Crossing Prefecture, one of the seven prefectures, possibly have only a hundred warhorses? Even if that were the case, Viscount Miles, whose family has endured for centuries, would never agree to it."

"With so many nobles and knights in Zero Crossing Prefecture, how could a hundred horses possibly be enough to divide up?"

"Right." Confusion appeared in Haton's eyes. His none-too-bright mind clearly could not think of any further answer.

"So there are definitely more than a hundred warhorses. Before the Imperial Merchant Guild puts them up for sale, the excess horses have already been divided up."

"Those hundred warhorses are merely what remains because they don't dare keep everything for themselves."

Considering that an ordinary Baronial Territory could field four or five hundred soldiers when the serfs were included, a few warhorses really amounted to nothing.

After saying that, Ryan could not help looking at Baron Hatton.

"It seems Mr. Haton's relationship with Viscount Miles and Viscount Dragoon isn't all that good."

His words made Haton's face flush red at once. He nearly lost his temper with Ryan, but considering the purpose of this trip, he still calmed down.

At the same time, he thought that once this was over, he ought to pay those two Viscounts a visit.

Among nobles, there was more than killing and fighting. There were also connections and social graces.

At the same time, though, he developed a slight dislike for Ryan.

Hypocrisy and acting were abilities nobles were born with, yet Ryan had exposed Baron Hatton's shortcomings in front of so many people. He was not a qualified noble at all.

Catching the changing expression on Baron Hatton's face from the corner of his eye, Ryan was finally satisfied.

He was not very willing for his name to spread so quickly through the noble circles of Northwind Province. After this exchange, Baron Hatton probably would not praise him before other nobles.

For Ryan, that was a good thing. With the Planar Gate awakened by spirituality, he could quietly make a fortune in Frozen Earth Territory.

After the somewhat unpleasant exchange ended, their pace quickened considerably. By noon, Ryan saw the iron mine hidden among the hills.

After several clashes and disputes, the iron mine had been completely occupied by Knight Walter. Baron Hatton had not received any income from the mine for several months.

What left Ryan somewhat speechless was that their group of several hundred people had already appeared two or three hundred meters from the mine, yet no one had noticed them.

It seemed Knight Walter was not as clever as Ryan had thought.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, a mine slave carrying ore finally spotted the dark mass of people in the distance. He immediately screamed in terror, throwing the entire mine into panic.

Finally, after some Apprentice Knights roared the crowd into submission, seven or eight hundred people emerged from the mine in complete disorder. At the front stood more than a hundred capable soldiers from Watt Knightdom.

Haton stared in shock at the armored figure standing at the front. "Walter! Why are you here?!"

"Hahaha, Haton, I knew you wouldn't give up, so I've been waiting for you here all along. Your patience is even worse than I expected, but that's fine. This way, I can return to my territory earlier. After sleeping in the mine these past few days, I'm practically growing maggots!"

Walter had clearly anticipated that Haton would be unwilling to give up the mine's profits, and he could not help feeling pleased with his own military strategy. But when he saw Ryan beside Haton, he frowned.

He had never seen Ryan before, but he could tell from Ryan's bearing that he was a noble.

After his brief shock, Haton sneered. "Walter, so what if you're clever? Today, you must hand over this iron mine."

Then he ordered White, "Go."

What left Ryan speechless once again was that after the lords on both sides finished shouting at each other, their serfs charged forward with pitchforks and wooden spears, without any formation or discipline.

Still, the grand scene of over a thousand people was enough to stir the blood. Ryan saw Haton beside him unconsciously tighten his grip on his Knight's Greatsword, his face flushed red.

"Ryan, you have to help me."

Haton looked at Ryan. Having repeatedly suffered defeats against Knight Walter, he still lacked confidence.

"Don't worry, Mr. Haton. We're friends."

Ryan nodded at Brandt. Brandt rode his warhorse toward the battlefield between Knight White and Knight Walter, while behind him, thirty-one Knight Retainers formed two square formations and charged into battle.

Ryan was not a commander. He could not change the way this war was fought, but it was enough that he could control his own soldiers.

Against the soldiers led by a group of Apprentice Knights, a group of sallow and emaciated serfs had no chance of stopping them. The soldiers in formation smashed through the serf battlefield like a hot knife through butter and collided with the soldiers of Watt Knightdom.

With Deer Spirit's Blessing, the soldiers gained the upper hand from the very beginning. Moreover, Knight Walter's soldiers had no real discipline in their fighting style and were no match for them at all.

Of course, the most crucial battlefield was that of the three Formal Knights.

Knight White and Brandt were practically overwhelming Knight Walter. Though Knight Walter wore knight armor forged at great expense, facing two knights at once, he would likely be defeated soon enough.

When Knight Walter was knocked from his warhorse by a sword strike and crashed heavily to the ground, the battle between the three shifted from horseback to the ground.

To put it bluntly, none of the three were skilled at fighting on horseback. The best performer was surprisingly Brandt, who had only been in contact with it for a few hours.

Knight Walter rose slowly after his heavy fall. By the time he got up, Knight White had already reached him and thrust down with his sword.

At that moment, Knight White's eyes were filled with excitement. He wanted to earn merit. Only by accumulating enough contributions could he exchange them for a Pioneer Order from the Hatton Family in the future.

But at that critical moment, Knight Walter, clad in Full Plate Armor, grabbed White's thrusting sword with one hand.

Faintly, both sides could see wisps of black air flowing across the surface of Knight Walter's armor.

"Bronze Knight!"

Knight White's eyes filled with terror as he cried out.