Chasing Horus

However, even those that were hit, the vast majority only had their limbs struck.

"Damn it, the militia's crossbows are really unreliable."

Ergons's mentality was breaking. Did they really have to follow the game's settings so closely? Besides Old Adam, it seemed no one else could take an enemy's life with the first shot.

But this sudden attack did have a significant impact on the pirates who were trying to escape.

Not to mention the three to five people who were hit instantly became a burden, the others turned back and saw a dense crowd of archers standing on the large drying ground.

Who wouldn't panic encountering this!

"Run!"

The large drying ground was backed by the main keep, bordered by the granary to the east and the dirt road outside the main gate of the keep to the west. The pirates spontaneously ran towards the main gate of the keep.

They were effectively selling their rear to the crossbowmen.

Old Adam, leading the militia crossbowmen, was truly impressive. In a short distance, the militia hadn't killed a single pirate, but Old Adam had killed two.

The pirates who narrowly escaped let out wild laughter.

The bearded Second Mate even sneered and made threats: "I've escaped, old man! Not a single man, woman, or child in this village will be spared! And none of those women who can't even shoot straight will be let go!"

Just as they reached the end of the drying ground and a weighing station, about to escape, two armored knights emerged from the not-so-wide gate of the main keep at full speed. Two gleaming lances were aimed directly at them.

The joy and brutality on the bearded man's face instantly turned to shock and despair.

"Pfft!"

William Adena forcefully lifted the lance impaling a pirate, drew his war sword with his left hand, and adjusted his angle, causing another pirate running ahead to impale himself on the blade.

Without much effort, as he swung the corpse on the lance towards the last pirate blocking their path, he had already cut through the chaotic formation of pirates.

Looking back, Ergons was also cleaving through pirates with a war greatsword. He hadn't charged out.

After taking down two pirates, he drew the greatsword from his back and, like playing in custom mode, used his horse and sword to attack.

In the gap between the two weighing stations, only four to five meters wide, the remaining less than ten pirates were utterly routed by him.

The light infantry led by Adamson had already dealt with the pirates covering the rear and were now in pursuit.

There was no chance of surrender, only cold steel.

This group of pirates, who might have been sent to their deaths from the start, died inexplicably.

You have leveled up to Level 26.

Some warriors in your troops can now level up.

The system's prompt was perfectly timed. Ergons was delighted and loudly ordered, "Chop off their heads, preserve them, arrange for someone to send them to Tevalinburg, have them cooked, and after they've eaten and drunk their fill, pursue them overnight!"

Horus, with his keen senses, had narrowly escaped a disaster. Moreover, he was wise enough to truly abandon everything and do just that.

He didn't follow the road towards Tevalinburg but instead turned into the mountains and headed towards Newbury Province, deeper than Tevalinburg.

The border of Newbury Province was composed of Count Anduin's county and the territory of another viscount. Besides the outermost Tevalinburg, there were several baronies whose lords were complexly vassals to the county or the viscount.

This resulted in constant private wars between these two major powers on the border of Newbury Province.

This was information Horus had gathered before arriving, and he had already memorized the map.

What he needed to do now was to cut diagonally through Tevalinburg's territory and head towards the territory of another baron bordering Tevalinburg, Baron Newinte.

This Baron Newinte belonged to another major power in the north. Both Old Sir Tervain and Sir Davis's fathers had died in private wars with Baron Newinte!

As long as they went there, at worst, they could be hired as mercenaries. At best, they could pass through directly. If not, they could also try to gain wealth and status by selling out the Holy See's plan with the County of Tervain.

Therefore, they traveled in a hurry. Their heavy baggage was their livelihood and necessary supplies, so they could only load it onto wheelbarrows and force their way through.

This also left very obvious traces for the pursuing Ergons.

Tracking was not in vain.

From the footprints and cart tracks left on the ground, Ergons could tell how many people there were, where they were going, and how long they had been there.

So, when Ergons led William, Old Adam, and Adamson, along with nine heavy cavalry and 13 light infantry who could ride horses, in pursuit, even though they were three hours late, they were still able to follow behind.

Upgrading the heavy cavalry and light infantry hadn't cost much money, but equipping all 13 light infantry with horses had emptied his coffers.

After crossing three mountain passes, the traces on the map became clearer, and the figures of Horus's pirates finally appeared on the map.

Pirate Duke Horus Bandit Group (14)

Speed: 4.1, heading towards Baron Newinte's territory.

Ergons zoomed in and out on the map, discovering that they were indeed about to escape Tevalinburg's jurisdiction.

He glanced at his remaining Level 2 Command permission and really couldn't bear to use it for pursuing a band of thieves.

Fortunately, their speed was 6.5. If they continued to chase like this, they would catch up within six miles.

Moreover, even if those thieves abandoned their heavy baggage, they could at most increase their speed to 5.0, which would only lengthen the pursuit.

"If we catch them, we can reclaim the baggage and also earn bounties from the baron and the Holy See with their heads!

With this money, we can build a mill for the manor. In the future, delivering refined flour to Tevalinburg will be more profitable than paying taxes with wheat.

We can also buy some cattle. With more cattle, we can reclaim more wasteland and attract people to work!"

Old Adam's words held particular appeal for these soldiers, who just days before had been farmers. Who wouldn't want a few helpers at home to do the work, and to enjoy the feeling of being a landlord themselves?

As a result, Old Adam's few sentences instilled more direct motivation in them than any sense of honor from following the Divine Favor.

Horus was indeed guarding against pursuit, but in his opinion, unless the Northern Knights dispatched their own knights, no one could catch them, let alone fear being chased by others.

However, this thought only lasted for half an hour. The earth's tremors and the cavalry kicking up dust and smoke under the moonlight behind them shattered their last illusions.

It looked like there were at least twenty to thirty armored riders. Judging solely by how efficiently they were traveling, it was clear they were nothing like the mud-legged peasants seen earlier that day, who could barely stay on their horses.

"Drop the heavy gear and run for the woods!"