Squad, Griffins

Horus might never have dreamed that his plan to split his forces into two groups under cover of darkness had been watched by a pair of eyes the entire time.

The person watching him was none other than the future lord of Tevalinburg, the actual ruler of Tervain Village, known as Saiyanzu, Little Zunlong, and Northeast Yan Yikuan: young master Ergons Tevalin.

(Incidentally, doesn't this make him feel much more three-dimensional? Surely no one doesn't know the striking looks of Saiyanzu, Zunlong, and Yan Yikuan!

If you really don't get it, go look in a mirror. Yes, you!)

Ergons still hadn't received the three pirates. He had merely left them to his subordinates to deal with. After all, not just anyone was qualified to meet him. On the surface, he was a sir—and one with a military rank at that.

Besides, he was responsible for guarding this land. Yet now, he had accepted a mission to help invaders.

Although he didn't know Horus and had no understanding of him, he could see the pirate group's name: Pirate Duke Horus Bandit Group (14).

The group was moving away from Tervain Village.

To have earned the title of pirate duke meant that the bandit had some official standing, while also being something of a reckless scoundrel.

Handing him over to the Northern Legion soldiers currently coming from Tevalinburg couldn't have been more suitable.

That bit of path-finding and tracking had definitely not been wasted.

On the map, he could clearly see the two groups steadily drawing closer.

One group consisted of Northern Legion soldiers stationed at Tevalinburg, mainly Northern Legion Crossbowmen and Northern Legion Light Infantry. Two soldiers led them, and a caravan from Tevalinburg to Tervain Village followed behind. It was obviously delivering supplies.

The other group was the fourteen bandits.

The two sides drew closer and closer. Under the dazzling moonlight, they inevitably ran into each other beneath a windbreak at a bend in the road.

Both sides panicked!

The Tevalinburg side was delivering supplies and guards to Sir Davis Tevalin, but they were also doing the work of aiding the enemy and feared encountering strangers.

The fourteen bandits, who had removed their armor and placed it on a handcart, were even more on edge. This was already a dishonorable business, and Horus wanted to hide and observe how things developed.

Neither side intended to leave survivors.

"Get 'em!"

"Leave no survivors!"

At the command, Horus and his pirates drew the throwing axes from behind their waists and hurled them.

In perfect unison, the Tevalinburg soldiers and the caravan's Mercenary Crossbowmen raised their hunting crossbows and fired.

For a moment, throwing axes clashed with crossbow bolts, while throwing knives and javelins arced through the sky. The two groups were left sprawled in a bloody mess.

The pirates were still more formidable. Even though only fourteen of them were present and six had been wounded, they were accustomed to battle and could instantly assess the situation.

When Horus saw that the opposing side had more than thirty men, yet the casualties were roughly equal after the first exchange, he knew there was no hope of escape. Then they could only charge head-on!

"Throw!"

With that shout, all fourteen men threw their fourteen weapons again. Hunting crossbows couldn't be reloaded so quickly, and the Tevalinburg soldiers were actually suppressed.

If an experienced old soldier hadn't urgently shouted for everyone to raise their shields after the first volley, it was impossible to say how many more casualties the second volley would have caused.

Even so.

Several Tevalinburg crossbowmen and caravan Mercenary Crossbowmen were pinned to the ground by javelins or had their limbs hacked off and their heads chopped away by flying axes.

The situation collapsed in an instant.

The Tevalinburg crossbowmen actually began running backward at once. Several light infantrymen around thirty years old gathered beside the two old soldiers. They had seen real battles and could still use their shields to form a simple defensive formation.

But when they saw the one-eyed pirate charging like a fierce tiger, along with Horus, who was clearly an expert—

The two old soldiers exchanged a glance. "Forget it. Run."

The side that clearly held the advantage in strength actually turned around and ran.

Of course, the pirates led by Horus had only two legs. They couldn't outrun the Tevalinburg soldiers galloping away on horseback.

"Woohoo!"

"We won! Those cowards are running home to their mothers!"

Hearing the pirates' unrestrained cheers, the fleeing soldiers and caravan actually felt no shame at all.

They even consoled themselves inwardly that escaping with their lives was already fortunate enough. After all, those were professional bandits!

Of course, not everyone managed to escape. Several survivors with hacked arms and legs were left behind, along with five carts of supplies.

As for those who had been struck in the torso and were seriously wounded, they were all finished off.

"Damn, they're all useless."

He had watched the entire battle remotely on the map, and the sight left him thoroughly irritated.

He had never imagined that the Northern Legion, which clearly had the advantage in numbers, would be beaten into such a sorry state by pirates numbering less than half as many.

Whether one considered troop strength, armor, weapons, or any of the other factors, the two sides should have been roughly evenly matched.

Yet the army had been sent running by a single charge.

No wonder they all had at least a little horse-riding skill. It turned out it was so they could escape without being caught by the enemy.

They couldn't ride into battle, but they were good at riding away?

It was better that such a force hadn't come. Otherwise, they might have corrupted the healthy atmosphere here.

Under the governance of Old Adam and William Adena, Tervain Village was like a blank sheet of paper. Even after only a few short days, these soldiers were all brimming with energy.

That was because they differed from ordinary soldiers. They held a powerful faith in their hearts and firmly believed that they had taken part in and witnessed a living legend.

After both groups fled beyond the range his map could clearly reveal, Ergons felt rather bored and stifled.

He had mainly watched the spectacle to make a comparison and see roughly how well his own soldiers, who had never experienced a real battle, could perform.

The result of the comparison only made him less confident.

He naturally refused to believe that the twenty-five men under his command were at the same level.

If that was really the case, then the dozen or so pirates about to reach the gates of Tervain Village, combined with the three pirates who had entered the manor during the day, might be able to take the place directly through an attack from within and without.

"They shouldn't be. I still have two experts under my command!"

As he pondered this, two rapidly moving units suddenly appeared on the map.

They were flying in from the direction of Tevalinburg at a speed of at least 150 miles per hour.

There was no need to ask. Obviously, they were Griffin Knights!

Judging by the time it would take the defeated soldiers to flee back, he guessed that Pastor Alphons had sent them to investigate the situation.

However, it wasn't until the Griffin Knights landed on the platform on the second floor of the main castle that everyone got a clear look. Whether it was the totems on the griffins or the emblems on the knights' surcoats, they all displayed the family crest of Tevalinburg.

"Is the main family really that wealthy? They can actually afford to keep Griffin Knights?"

Before anyone had a chance to grow suspicious, the older of the two knights spoke first. "The Baron wishes to see you, young master Ergons Tevalin."