Team, Griffins

Horus probably never dreamed that his plan to split his forces and move under the cover of darkness would be watched by a pair of eyes the entire time.

The person watching him was none other than the future master of Tevalinburg, the de facto ruler of Tervain Village, the young master Ergons Tervalin, known by many names: Saiyanzu, Little Zunlong, and Northeast Yan Yikuan.

(Speaking of which, does this add to the immersion? Surely no one doesn't know the striking good looks of Yanzu, Zunlong, and Yan Yikuan!

If you really can't picture it, just look in the mirror. Yes, you!)

Ergons still hadn't met with the three pirates at this moment, merely having his subordinates handle them. After all, not everyone was qualified to meet him; his overt identity was that of a knight with a military rank.

He also had a duty to defend his territory, and now he had even taken on a mission to assist invaders.

Although he didn't know or understand Horus, he could see the pirate group's name: Pirate Duke Horus Bandit Group (14).

The group was moving away from Tervain Village.

The fact that he had earned the title of "Pirate Duke" suggested that this scoundrel had some official standing, yet was also utterly reckless.

Handing him over to the Northern Legion soldiers who were currently rushing from Tevalinburg would be most appropriate.

That bit of guidance and tracking had definitely not been in vain.

Now, on the map, he could clearly see the two groups approaching each other.

One group consisted of Northern Legion soldiers stationed at Tevalinburg, primarily Northern Legion Crossbowmen and Northern Legion Light Infantry. They were led by two sergeants and were escorting a merchant caravan from Tevalinburg to Tervain Village, clearly bringing supplies.

The other group was the band of 14 rogues.

As they drew closer and closer, under the bright moonlight, they inevitably encountered each other at the base of a dust-suppressing slope on a road bend.

Both sides were in a panic!

The Tevalinburg side was delivering supplies and guards for Sir Davis Tervalin, but they were essentially aiding the enemy and feared encountering strangers.

The fourteen rogues, who had removed their armor and were pushing it on carts, were even more nervous. This was already a dishonorable act, and Horus had wanted to lie low and observe.

Both sides intended to leave no survivors.

"Kill him!"

"Leave no survivors!"

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

In unison, the soldiers from Tevalinburg and the hired crossbowmen of the merchant caravan raised their hunting crossbows and fired.

For a moment, throwing axes met crossbow bolts, throwing knives met javelins, arcing through the sky and leaving both groups in disarray.

It had to be said, the pirates were formidable. Even with only fourteen men, six were wounded, but having fought in battles before, they could instantly discern the advantage in the situation.

Horus saw that the enemy had over thirty men, yet the casualties were roughly equal after the first exchange. He knew there was no hope of escape, so he decided to go all out!

"Throw!"

With a shout, the fourteen men launched their fourteen throwing weapons. Reloading the hunting crossbows wasn't that fast, and the soldiers from Tevalinburg were actually being suppressed.

If not for the experienced old sergeants who quickly ordered them to raise their shields after the first volley, the casualties from this second volley of projectiles would have been much higher.

Even so.

Several Tevalinburg crossbowmen and the merchant caravan's hired crossbowmen were impaled by the incoming javelins or had their limbs severed and heads cut off by the throwing axes.

The situation instantly collapsed.

The crossbowmen from Tevalinburg immediately began to retreat. Several light infantrymen, around thirty years old, formed a cluster around the two old sergeants. They had seen combat and could still form a simple shield formation.

But looking at the one-eyed pirate charging like a tiger in the wind, and Horus, who clearly looked like a master fighter.

The two old sergeants exchanged glances. "Forget it, let's run."

The side that clearly held the advantage turned and fled.

Of course, the pirates led by Horus, on foot, couldn't outrun the Tevalinburg soldiers galloping on horseback.

"Woohoo!"

"We won! Those cowards can go home to their mamas!"

Listening to the pirates' unrestrained cheers, the fleeing soldiers and merchants felt no shame.

They even comforted themselves, thinking that escaping with their lives was good enough, after all, they were professional bandits!

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

As for those who sustained critical wounds to their torsos, they were all considered dead.

"Truly, all useless."

He had watched the entire battle from the map, and it was infuriating.

He couldn't fathom how the Northern Legion, with its clear numerical advantage, was beaten so badly by pirates numbering less than half their strength.

Judging by troop numbers, armor, and weaponry, the strength should have been at least equal.

Yet, the army was routed by a single charge.

No wonder they all had at least some horsemanship skill; it turned out it was for escaping so the enemy couldn't catch up.

They lacked the ability for a mounted charge, but had the skill to ride away?

It's better that such a troop didn't show up; otherwise, they might have corrupted the healthy atmosphere here.

Under the governance of Old Adam and William Adena, Tervain Village was like a blank slate. Even in just a few short days, these soldiers were full of vigor.

This was because they were different from ordinary soldiers; they held strong beliefs in their hearts and firmly believed they had participated in and witnessed a living legend.

After both teams had escaped the range of his map, Ergons felt a sense of boredom and frustration.

He had initially wanted to watch the excitement primarily to compare the combat effectiveness of his own inexperienced soldiers against them.

The comparison, however, only made him lose more confidence.

He certainly didn't want to believe that his own subordinates were at the same level even with 25 men.

If that were the case, the dozen or so pirates approaching Tervain Village, combined with the three pirates who entered the manor during the day, could potentially take over this Central Plains stronghold by attacking from both inside and out.

"It shouldn't be like that. I still have two experts under me!"

As he was pondering, two rapidly moving units suddenly appeared on the map.

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

No need to ask, they were Griffin Knights!

Considering the time it would take for that defeated troop to escape back, he guessed these were sent by Pastor Alphons to understand the situation.

However, when the Griffin Knights landed on the platform on the second floor of the main castle, everyone saw clearly that both the totems on the griffins and the crests on the knights' surcoats displayed the family emblem of Tevalinburg.

"Is the main family this wealthy? They can actually afford Griffin Knights?"

Without giving anyone a chance to doubt, the older of the two knights spoke first: "The Baron wishes to see you, Young Master Ergons Tervalin."

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.