Chasing Horus

Even when they hit, most of the arrows only struck limbs.

"I fucking knew it. Militia crossbows really can't be trusted."

Ergons was having a mental breakdown. Did they really have to stick so closely to the game's settings? Apart from Old Adam, it seemed no one could kill an enemy with their first shot.

Still, the sudden attack had a major impact on the pirates trying to flee.

Never mind that the three or five pirates who were hit instantly became burdens. The others turned around and saw a dense crowd of archers standing atop the large granary.

Anyone would panic in that situation!

"Run!"

The large drying yard backed onto the main fortress, with the granary to the east and the dirt road outside the fortress's main gate to the west. The pirates instinctively ran toward the fortress's main gate.

They were practically offering their backs to the crossbowmen.

Old Adam led the militia crossbowmen, and they truly did their best. Over that short stretch of road, the pirates ran for six or seven seconds, yet the militia failed to kill a single one. Old Adam, on the other hand, killed two.

The pirates who had luckily escaped with their lives laughed wildly.

Big Beard, the Second Mate, sneered and shouted threats. "Grandpa made it out! Not a single man, woman, or child in this village will be spared! And those broads who can't hit anything with their arrows especially won't be getting away!"

Just as they reached the end of one of the drying yard's weighing sheds and were about to escape, two armored knights emerged from the fortress's narrow gate passage. Having just accelerated from inside to outside, they charged straight at the pirates with two gleaming lances.

The delight and savagery on Big Beard's face instantly turned into shock and despair.

"Pfft!"

William Adena forcefully levered up the lance with the impaled pirate. With his right hand, he drew his longsword, adjusted its angle, and let another pirate running in front send his own neck onto the blade.

He barely had to exert any effort to cut them down. By the time he flung the corpse from his lance at the last pirate blocking his path, he had already pierced through the pirates' chaotic formation.

Looking back, Ergons was also hacking at the pirates with a massive war sword. He had not charged out.

After skewering two pirates with a thrust, he drew the greatsword strapped to his back and, as if playing in custom mode, used his horse to ram them and his sword to hack them apart.

At the gap between the two weighing sheds, barely four or five meters wide, the fewer than ten remaining pirates were beaten into complete disarray.

The light infantry led by Adamson had already dealt with the pirates bringing up the rear and was chasing after them.

There was no chance to surrender, only cold blades.

This band of pirates, perhaps sent out to die from the very beginning, perished without even knowing what had happened.

You reached Level 26.

Some warriors in your army can level up.

The system's prompt came at an extremely appropriate time. Ergons was delighted and shouted orders. "Cut off their heads, preserve them, and arrange for someone to send them to Tevalinburg. Have them prepare food. Once everyone's eaten and drunk their fill, pursue them through the night!"

Horus had used his keen sense of smell to escape disaster, and he was wise enough to abandon everything when necessary. So that was exactly what he did.

He did not follow the road toward Tevalinburg. Instead, he turned into the lofty mountains and headed deeper into Newbury Province, beyond Tevalinburg.

Newbury Province bordered Count Anduin's county and the territory of another viscount. Apart from the frontier stronghold of Tevalinburg, several baronial nobles were scattered throughout the region, serving as vassals to either the county or the viscounty.

As a result, private wars constantly broke out between the two major forces along Newbury Province's frontier.

Horus had learned all of this before coming here, and he had already memorized the map.

What he had to do now was cut diagonally through Tevalinburg's territory and head for the domain of another baron bordering Tevalinburg: Baron Newinte's territory.

Baron Newinte belonged to another major power in the North. Old Sir Tervain and Sir Davis's fathers had both died in private wars against Baron Newinte!

Once they reached that territory, the worst-case scenario was that they could be hired as mercenaries. Ideally, they could pass through directly. If not, they could still sell the Church's plan involving County Tervain in exchange for wealth and glory.

That was why they traveled so hurriedly. Their luggage was the foundation of their survival and their essential supplies, so they had no choice but to force it onto a handcart and take it with them.

This left extremely obvious signs for Ergons to follow.

Tracking was not difficult.

From the footprints and wheel tracks left on the ground, Ergons could tell how many people there were, where they were headed, and how long ago they had passed through.

Thus, when Ergons pursued them with William, Old Adam, Adamson, and the other nine heavy cavalrymen, along with thirteen light infantrymen capable of riding horses, he could still remain on their trail despite being three hours behind.

Upgrading the heavy cavalry and light infantry had cost very little, but outfitting all thirteen light infantrymen with horses had completely emptied his coffers.

After crossing three mountain passes, the traces on the map grew clearer and clearer. At last, the figures of Horus's band of pirates appeared on the map.

Pirate Duke Horus Bandit Group (14)

Speed: 4.1. Currently heading for Baron Newinte's territory.

Ergons zoomed in on the map and discovered that they were actually about to leave Tevalinburg's sphere of control.

He glanced at the one Level 2 Command authorization he had left. He really could not bear to use it on a band of thieves.

Fortunately, their speed was 6.5. If they continued pursuing them, they would probably catch up within roughly six miles.

Even if the thieves abandoned their luggage, they could raise their speed to at most 5.0. That would only lengthen the pursuit a little.

"Catch them! We can recover the supplies, and we can exchange their heads for reward money from the baron and the Church!

"With that money, we can build a mill at the manor. In the future, the refined flour we deliver to Tevalinburg will earn us more than wheat.

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

Old Adam's words were particularly tempting to these soldiers, who had still been farmers only a few days ago. Who wouldn't want a few hired hands working at home while they enjoyed the feeling of being a landowner?

Because of this, the energy Old Adam's words gave them was more tangible than the sense of honor they gained from following the Divine Favor.

Horus had actually been wary of pursuit, but in his view, unless the Northern Knights sent out knights, no one could catch them. He certainly did not fear being pursued by anyone else.

However, that notion lasted only half an hour. The trembling earth and the cavalry raising clouds of dust beneath the moonlight behind them shattered their final hopes.

Judging by appearances, there were at least twenty or thirty armored riders. The fact that they could travel so efficiently showed that they were nothing like the peasants they had seen during the day, who could barely remain on horseback.

"Abandon the luggage and run into the woods!"