Fierce Battle

The archers were extremely sensitive to commands. Twenty-one days were enough for a person to form a habit. Although three months were not enough to carve that habit into their very bones, whenever Reiner issued an order, they would react immediately.

Wearing leather armor lined with thick gambesons, they looked even more robust—no less formidable than the melee infantry. Drawing a bow required tremendous strength; anyone lacking it could not pull back the heavy bowstring. Years of drawing bows had developed their upper bodies and arms to an extraordinary degree.

Through the viewing slit in his helmet, Reiner silently estimated the enemy's distance. "Two hundred meters... one hundred eighty meters..."

"One hundred twenty meters!" Reiner estimated the number of enemy troops. At one hundred twenty meters, they had just entered the range of the fine Recurve Bows in the archers' hands.

Reiner immediately drew the Longsword at his waist, pointed it at the enemy ahead, and shouted, "Fire!"

"Twung, twung, twung..." A series of bowstrings snapping back rang out, and arrow after arrow flew toward the enemy with sharp cries like falcons.

A wave of screams rose up. More than a dozen Krad People collapsed to the ground. Very little blood sprayed out, as their thick fur clothing absorbed it. Only a small amount of blood dotted the heavy snow, beautiful like delicate plum blossoms in winter.

No one wanted to admire those beautiful flowers that represented death. Their warm fur clothing could not stop arrows fired from fine Recurve Bows, and weakened by a lack of food, the Krad People could not withstand such injuries. One after another, they were struck by arrows and fell, unable to rise.

However, because Reiner had only a small number of archers, even with the enemy formation packed tightly together, they had caused only a dozen or so casualties.

The deaths of a dozen people did not dispel the Krad People's desire to defeat the enemy before them and seize their supplies. They went around the bodies of their fallen comrades and continued forward with the main force.

The deep snow was enough to reach their knees. Hindered by it, they advanced slowly, stumbling as they moved forward.

That gave Reiner's archers an opportunity. The enemy's sluggish movement meant they had more time and chances to shoot.

"Ready!" At Reiner's command, the archers once again picked up arrows from the ground and nocked them. With their current stamina, they could fire the powerful Recurve Bows eight times before becoming exhausted.

"Fire!" He gave the order to shoot once more, and twenty arrows plunged into the advancing enemy forces.

After five volleys, seventy or eighty corpses lay piled across the snow. The Krad People had lost seventy or eighty men before even reaching the enemy, and unease inevitably began to spread through their hearts.

At that moment, Reiner did not have the archers continue firing. They were already tired after five volleys, and the enemy was gradually drawing closer. Now it was time for the melee infantry to show their strength.

"Sir Cord!" Reiner called his name, and Sir Cord, standing beside him, immediately replied, "Yes, I'm here, my lord!"

"Take your force, along with the forces of Sir Melan, Sir Belar, and Sir Brogan, and hold the enemy at the front for ten minutes. When you hear the sound of my copper horn, immediately bring every retainer capable of riding a horse and rendezvous with me. We'll strike the enemy's rear and crush it!"

"Sir Valas! Take all the knights under my command and launch an assault on the enemy's rear. I'll bring my direct troops with me. Once you've broken through their rear, I'll immediately have them widen the rupture in the enemy formation while inflicting casualties on their main force!"

"Yes, Baron! I shall obey your orders!"

The Moreland Family had ten landed knights, in addition to the five Crimson Gryphon Knights, as well as six Squire Knights without fiefs. During the previous purge of the Red Dwarf Bandit Organization, only eleven had been deployed, while five had remained behind to guard the castle.

This time, with the survival of his territory at stake, Reiner did not dare hold anything back. He brought out every knight.

The five Crimson Gryphon Knights surrounded Reiner. They were responsible for ensuring his safety and tearing open the enemy formation during the charge.

After receiving his orders, Sir Cord pressed his right hand to his chest and saluted before saying, "Rest assured, my lord. I'll carry out your orders and hold the enemy back!"

Sir Cord, Sir Melan, and Sir Brogan all nodded heavily. This was indeed a dangerous operation. Four knights' forces, numbering fewer than a hundred men, were facing more than seven hundred enemies. Even if it could not be called a mantis trying to stop a chariot, they were still severely outnumbered.

However, Reiner believed they could hold out for ten minutes. Among their more than eighty men, besides the knights, there were retainers who had undergone combat training and gained battle experience, as well as free peasants with decent physiques and some combat experience.

Compared with the physically frail Krad People, they still held an advantage in individual combat strength.

The Krad People had advanced to within roughly thirty meters of the Moreland Army. Reiner's direct troops had begun slowly retreating behind him.

The Krad leader, Highlander, also noticed the change. Even among the primitive and impoverished Krad People, warfare existed. Although most of it consisted of chaotic brawls without any discipline, he still understood the simple principle that breaking the enemy's retreat would lead to victory.

Moreover, in their past raids, the Krad People had rarely encountered a lord willing to resist. As a result, they had never even known that this world possessed a terrifying and powerful military force called knights, capable of mobilizing with tremendous speed.

"Have the warriors in the rear stay alert! Damn Redka People will definitely launch a sneak attack from behind! They're fewer than us. As long as we remain vigilant, they won't succeed!" Highlander said naively. Little did he know that the greatest strength of the powerful knightly troops was not their killing power, but the intimidation and morale damage they inflicted on the enemy, as well as their ability to split formations. They could even rout infantry ten times their own number.

Yet he naively believed that as long as his side had the numerical advantage, they could hold the enemy back.

"Yes, Chief!" a minor leader replied before swiftly heading toward the rear to relay his order.

Reiner had by then led his troops around to the Krad People's front flank. He estimated that in roughly ten minutes, they would reach the enemy's rear.

At the same time, Sir Cord and the others led their troops into battle against the Krad People.

There was no formation, only the simplest teamwork. Dozens of men crowded together, swinging their weapons at enemies whose equipment was even worse than theirs.

Because of the snow, neither side could charge at speed. Without the force generated by momentum, their first collision resulted in only a few deaths.