Bloodstained Hands

Thirty li outside Blackrock City.

The sound of hooves thundered as a human cavalry unit of about a hundred men galloped out from the sparse woods.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi led the way. Beside Bai Xiaowen was a tall, slender troll hunter riding Raptor —he was the target Bai Xiaowen had controlled with the Heart-Confounding Talisman, and his loyalty was beyond question.

Among the knights following behind, apart from Elite Tier members of the White Stone Army such as Bonita and Kitz, most were dressed in white armor, with Cecilia's family crest on their armor.

This cavalry unit was composed of Elite Tier carefully selected from the White Stone Army and Cecilia's Army.

It is worth mentioning that Cecilia did not accompany them. She led the remaining infantry and archers of the White Stone Army and Cecilia's Army, remaining on the city walls for defense.

As a Boss Tier skilled in long-range shooting, Cecilia's [Snipe] ability allows her to eliminate the Rare Elite targets that pose the greatest threat to the Remnants Army, while her [Inspire] skill can significantly increase the damage output of her archers.

Given that Cecilia would be more useful in defending the City Defense, Bai Xiaowen tried his best to persuade her.

Perhaps if he's not by her side, the growth of her Infatuation Level will stagnate. However, before Bai Xiaowen understands the significance of Infatuation Level, she is unlikely to let something with unknown benefits affect the completion of her main quest.

Just last night, after reporting the intelligence to Prince Nicholas, Bai Xiaowen volunteered to start an Elite Tier side quest, which was then shared with Li Shuyi.

[Raid Behind Enemy Lines]

[Mission Objective: Destroy at least four rear supply outposts of the Remnant Allied Army and destroy all war materials within them.]

[Task deadline: 24 hours]

[Task Difficulty: A]

[Task Reward: Unknown]

It should be noted that this kind of mission would not have occurred if Bai Xiaowen hadn't actively sought it out. It was he who provided the relevant intelligence to Nicholas and made the suggestion that fulfilled the conditions for triggering the mission.

Don't underestimate the A-Tier difficulty of this mission, because it has the "Elite Tier" prefix! It's just as difficult as the S-Tier mission "Assault Le'an" that Bai Xiaowen unearthed in the Three Kingdoms Plane World.

Last night, after returning to Blackrock Fortress and avoiding the gaze of characters like Cecilia, Bai Xiaowen also opened the Golden Treasure Chest of the green-haired Mohawk troll Tedius.

After defeating the level 6 Boss Tier Tedius, Bai Xiaowen and his companion only received a B-Tier rating, with two chances to draw items. This was because both of them had leveled up to level 4, becoming Intermediate Awakened.

The two draws went fairly well; they each drew a piece of Gold Equipment, the Bloodspear used by Tedius, which has extremely high attack power. Unfortunately, neither of them could use it, so it was temporarily given to Li Shuyi.

Another special item drawn was a nameplate with crooked characters engraved on it. After identification, Bai Xiaowen confirmed the origin of this green-haired Mohican troll—he came from the Bloodspear Tribe and was the son of "Bloodspear Warlord" Kaerhan.

Li Shuyi even joked about it, saying that Bai Xiaowen had essentially killed his own brother (or younger brother?) – after all, one of the two identities he had chosen before entering the Kane Plane was "Son of the Bloodspear Warlord".

Bai Xiaowen didn't care about this small coincidence. After the battle of Blackrock City began, he led his cavalry straight to the first supply point of the Remnant Allied Army.

Based on accurate intelligence, Bai Xiaowen's army quickly located the target location, where rows of animal-hide tents came into view.

"Kill everyone! Burn all the food and animal hides, and if you have enough time, destroy all the equipment you can find!"

Bai Xiaowen shouted the order. Led by four knights including Kitz, the cavalry quickly surrounded the stronghold with their superior speed and charged into the camp.

Screams and cries of alarm filled the air, accompanied by curses in the Remnant Tongue. Weapons clashed, blood splattered, and the once peaceful stronghold of the Remnants army instantly became a living Hell.

Five burly Orcs charged out, brandishing their battle axes in a counter-charge. However, Bai Xiaowen's Intimidation skill froze them all in place, and then his cavalry, along with his summoned creatures, swarmed forward, hacking the five Orcs to death.

After the resistance at the stronghold was broken, groups of the elderly, women, and children among the Remnants were driven to an open area, numbering about two or three hundred.

Just as the pre-war intelligence indicated, among the logistics troops at these supply outposts were children of the Remnants were not even as tall as a cartwheel. Although their eyes held fear, they were filled with even more intense hatred and brutal killing intent, and they were muttering something incoherently.

"What are they saying?" Li Shuyi asked.

Bai Xiaowen understood the Remnant Tongue. He couldn't help but shake his head. "There's a reason why humans call the Remnants of the Northern Sinlands 'beasts.' Even children this age are shouting things like 'I'll kill you all and eat you'..."

"Your Lordship, all the enemies in the stronghold have been eliminated. What should we do with these prisoners?" A white-armored knight rode up to Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen recognized this person; he was Tim, one of Cecilia's three main knights.

"My order is to kill them all. If your hearing is fine, then carry out the order immediately!" Bai Xiaowen said.

"But they are all old, weak, women and children!" Behind Tim, two other white-armored knights, Marco and Phil, also rushed over and raised their questions.

"That's right. When we were knighted, we swore an oath to treat the weak kindly, to face the strong bravely, and to be upright and compassionate..." the three knights said one after another.

"Gentlemen, I am not discussing chivalric doctrines with you,"

Bai Xiaowen said coldly, "There is no justice in war; mercy and compassion are the privileges of the strong!"

"Remember our current situation—we are harassing the entire rear of the Remnant Allied Army with a mere hundred cavalrymen!"

"Not only are we the weaker party, but the Human Allied Forces in Blackrock City is also the weaker party! Do you still want to offer your excessive pity at this time?"

"If Blackrock Fortress falls, all humanity will become Remnants of the remnants' swords, or even food!"

"But these things have nothing to do with killing the old, weak, women and children; they don't have much fighting power," Bonita said.

"The old, weak, women, and children you mentioned, every single one of them would eat people," Bai Xiaowen said coldly. "Do you know what they did as they traveled south, passing through human villages?"

Bai Xiaowen obtained fragments of memories from this controlled troll warrior, including scenes of the Sinlands Coalition razing human villages and using humans as food.

"For our small force to survive and complete our mission behind the lines of the Remnant Allied Army, secrecy is the most important principle!" Bai Xiaowen said, looking at the silent knights.

"You are unwilling to stain your hands with blood, and so am I! But gentlemen, I must make it clear that this is war, and a war between races, a life-or-death struggle where only one side can survive! If soiling my hands can increase humanity's chances of victory by even the slightest bit, I will do it without hesitation!"

Bai Xiaowen raised his gun and fired a bullet, striking an elderly Orcs the eyebrows, who fell backward to the ground.

A series of wild screams erupted as more than two hundred Remnants, the elderly, women, and children, their wild instincts ignited, their eyes bloodshot, and they charged at the knights like madmen. Even the youngest child picked up a short spear taller than himself and charged desperately.

"Kill!"

Bai Xiaowen's loud command gave the bewildered human cavalry a signal, and they raised their weapons and instinctively spurred their horses to fight.

Soon, blood was everywhere in the camp.

The atmosphere in the arena was somewhat silent. Despite their victory, the knights remained expressionless, like statues. Their long-held beliefs had been Trample, and the pain and torment they felt at that moment were unimaginable.

However, Bai Xiaowen went further and ordered that every fallen Remnants be stabbed once more, with no one allowed to live!

"Let Kitz and the others come." Li Shuyi glanced at the knights with some reluctance. She and Bai Xiaowen treated the Spirit Realm Plane as a dungeon in a game, so they felt less psychological pressure—of course, there was still some pressure.

As for Kitz and his men, they were originally bandits, so they probably wouldn't care about such things.

Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "All troops, execute the order!"

The silent knights laid down their lances, dismounted, drew their swords, and methodically searched the scene littered with corpses. Those still alive were struck with a final blow, killing them completely.

Bai Xiaowen took a deep breath and ordered Kitz and the others to pour the prepared grease onto the piles of corpses, tents, and grain, and then set them on fire.

A massive fire, accompanied by plumes of black smoke, shot into the sky.

Bai Xiaowen didn't assign the finishing blows to Kitz, but instead ordered Tim, Marco, and Phil, the legitimate knights, to do it together. There was a reason for this. Behind this dangerous rear of the Remnant Allied Army, the slightest carelessness could lead to total annihilation. There was no time to slowly work on the knights' morale; they had to overcome their moral guilt in the very first battle.

The clatter of hooves rang out, and the human cavalry galloped away, leaving behind only a field of corpses and burnt ruins.

The main battlefield.

The main force of the Remnant Allied Army, Orcs wolf riders and Harpy Archers, has joined the battle.

The Harpy Archers caused considerable trouble for the Human Allied Army. These bird-like beings, flying in the sky, could only fly at low altitudes, but were still much taller than the city walls. The advantages of shooting from above were obvious, while the human archers had to fire at an upward angle to retaliate, which proved largely ineffective.

Fortunately, the Harpy Archers were relatively weak, and their short bows were much less powerful than standard bows. Cecilia's Snipe, which took down several Elite Tier harpies, made these previously unbridled birdmen wary and dare not get too close.

Surrounded by groups of Remnants soldiers, the Thunder Beast slowly crawled to within a hundred meters of the city wall, and lightning began to gather on its single horn.

Bolts of lightning, as thick as buckets, exploded on the city walls and arrow towers like powerful bombs. Where the Lightning Strike, the soldiers of the Human Allied Army were turned into charred remains, and even the city walls and arrow towers built of black rock crumbled and collapsed.

The good news is that while the Thunder Beast's lightning attacks are terrifying, the frequency of its attacks is relatively slow. After each Lightning Strike, it needs a short period of time to recover before it can launch the next attack.

The Human Allied Army was not idle either. The large catapults deployed on the city walls began to operate, and the rumbling sound rang out continuously. The stones, as big as washbasins, carrying tremendous kinetic energy, were smashed towards the giant beasts.

Both sides suffered casualties, but the Remnant Allied Army, as the attacking side, suffered even heavier losses.

The Orcs chieftain and commander of the allied forces, Absolon, remained unmoved. The vast majority of those who died were Orcs, merely cannon fodder.

After suffering casualties, the Remnant Allied Army achieved considerable success. By the afternoon, they had destroyed all twenty-four arrow towers outside Blackrock City. Countless Orcs corpses filled the trenches and piled up into small hills at the foot of the city walls.

"Charge! Charge!" Absolon roared, urging his giant wolf to lead the charge.

The Remnant Allied Army charged towards the many damaged sections of the city wall as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Redleaf City, Underground Research Lab.

"Oh dear, looks like we won't be able to hold out..." A Zombie with an unusually large head, short stature, and bluish skin strolled through the backyard of the Lord's Manor, watching a huge projection screen. He clicked his tongue in amazement, "It's already like this on the first day. The boss wants to hold out for 10 days... Hmm, only six days left. That's going to be quite difficult. No wonder he came up with that crazy idea."

The projection screen displayed the scene of the defensive battle at Blackrock Fortress.

It was Zombie Doctor who emerged.

The person responsible for protecting the Zombie Doctor was Harvey, Bai Xiaowen's newly promoted butler; both of them were terrible at fighting.

"Scholar, it's time for your break. You should get back to work," Harvey said.

"What? I've only been out for less than a minute..." Zombie Doctor exclaimed indignantly.

"My lord says you don't need to rest," Harvey said respectfully, but his tone was firm.

"What do you know! Scientists... scholars need inspiration for their work, inspiration, do you understand?" Zombie Doctor shouted.

"But, Lord Harvey said that all the research work has been completed. What you've been doing now is supervising and guiding production... which doesn't require inspiration." Harvey wasn't so easily fooled.

"That guy... I've already completed all three orders for this month! And he's still ordering me around like this! Saying he'll advance the number of orders for next month... Shameless! Cheapskate! Hypocrite!" Zombie Doctor complained angrily.

Despite his complaints, Zombie Doctor was able to face reality. After venting his frustrations, he rubbed his head and said, "Let's go back to the factory... Without me, those pig-like workers will mess everything up!"