Raiding (Part Two)

Slashing, sobbing, screaming-everyone was unleashing their primal instincts.

After briefly exchanging blows with Ashina, Gareth heard his companions screaming behind him. Seeing the casual attitude of the masked figure in black before him, he flew into a rage and launched a furious assault on Ashina, while his squires attacked from every direction.

"Boring. I might as well send you back into the Goddess's embrace." Ashina felt bored. Though second-tier Battle Aura Knights could master special techniques, they were still far too weak.

With fierce winds whipping around her, Ashina advanced instead of retreating, thrusting her spear with terrifying speed and density.

In an instant, the spear flashes formed a river of stars.

Ashina usually let the Dragon-Breed Wolf attack because it excelled at striking groups and could clear out corpse ghouls extremely quickly. As a Chosen One, however, her own combat strength was the greatest.

"No!"

Gareth saw countless points of starlight flickering before his eyes in a bewildering display. By the time he realized they were spear flashes, sprays of blood had already burst into the air, like red curtains hanging there, slow to fall.

"So fast... This is the power of a god..."

The squires fell from their horses in disbelief, all dead, their blood splashing across the ground.

Pierced by more than a dozen spear thrusts, Gareth fell into utter despair. His whole body went cold as he tumbled limply from his horse. Before he could hit the ground, the Dragon-Breed Wolf caught him in its jaws, tore open his armor, and devoured him with a series of crunches. A human with battle aura was something of a tonic to it.

Greyhound huddled inside the overturned wagon, frantically pulling cabbages over himself. "Dear Goddess! This is absolutely terrifying. Please don't let them find me. I'll offer you anything."

Squelch!

The caravan's last guard fell into a pool of blood. Few people in the entire caravan remained alive-only workers dressed in coarse cloth and a few maids.

"Stop."

Field rode over at a slow trot and called a halt to the blood-crazed cavalry.

The cavalrymen had lost all semblance of their former appearance. Their once-shining armor was stained red with filthy blood, and each radiated a chilling murderous aura, like a demon.

Soldiers who had tasted blood were entirely different from those who had not.

A tally of their losses revealed that three members of the Raider Cavalry had been injured. Two had fallen from their horses due to poor riding skills and were hurt badly enough to be confined to bed for a while. No one had died. After all, every man wore excellent armor that ordinary weapons struggled to penetrate.

No wonder secretly possessing armor was a capital offense in ancient times, Field thought. Then he nodded to the men. "One silver coin for every head. You did well. The wounded should get some rest. Don't worry about medicine or food. I'll cover it all."

They had acquired quite a few potions when they plundered Ka Mountain Fortress.

"Long live our lord!" The men were deeply moved.

Next came the time to tally their spoils.

"I'm the financial adviser to the Baron of Fulan City! Don't kill me!"

"Shut up!" Silver Claw shot Cooch a vicious glare. Grabbing one in each hand, he hauled Cooch and his son before Field like a pair of dead dogs.

Field also wore a black overrobe. A noble's reputation mattered more than anything. If anyone saw him raiding, doing business would become difficult in the future.

"We meet again," Field said calmly, revealing a dangerous smile.

"It's you! Field!" When the two saw Field's face, their expressions froze. Their mouths opened and closed, but for a moment they could find no words to express their shock.

"Tell me about my younger brother. His military strength, defensive deployments, and Chosen One, for instance."

Hearing the hostility in Field's voice, Cooch shrank back in terror. "What are you planning?"

"Didn't he say he wanted to kill me and the woman I love?" Field clasped his hands together, speaking terrifying words in an unhurried tone. "And I'm someone who believes in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

"You bastard! He's your brother! You both carry the blood of the Ross Family!" Cooch shouted.

Smack! Smack! Silver Claw slapped him hard twice, knocking out three front teeth. "Show some respect."

"How funny. He's allowed to kill me, but I'm not allowed to kill him? Before making an enemy of me, you'd better be prepared to die." Field waved dismissively. "Keep being stubborn if you like. I have plenty of ways to pry your mouths open."

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Lance shouted.

Adrian had one fourth-tier Knight, twelve third-tier Knights, and another five hundred troops in total. In wartime, he could conscript three thousand militia, making him extremely powerful. Most importantly, Adrian had a second-tier Chosen One: Allison, known as the Flamefire Spirit Butterfly. She was also a rapid caster and commanded a unit of supernatural mages, giving her astonishing combat strength.

Of course, in the short term, Adrian could only command a tenth of that strength. The Knights were loyal to the old Count, after all. As a newly arrived lord and an inexperienced youth, Adrian had no way to control them.

With nothing left to lose, the two spilled every secret.

Field nodded. His younger brother was powerful, so defeating him was out of the question for now. Returning to Nightfall Territory to farm took priority.

"I forgive you." Field turned his horse around, then made a throat-slitting gesture to Silver Claw.

Cooch and his son hurried to their feet, but before they could take a step to flee, they were kicked down, and several steel blades hacked down mercilessly.

"I curse you to hell!" the two screamed.

Field shrugged. "I forgave you. I never said my men would. Oh, and don't forget to cut off their heads to make sure they're dead."

The sight left Greyhound and the others dumbfounded. The lofty Master Cooch was actually dragged away by vicious-looking soldiers, stripped of his clothes, and stabbed more than a dozen times.

Damn it, what the hell was wrong with me? Why did I ever think of leaving Mapleleaf City? Greyhound wet himself in despair, wishing he could go back a day and give himself two hard slaps.

Yet the blades they had imagined never fell. From horseback, Field said, "You're being taken into my service. Anyone with a trade, stand on the right. Also, which one of you is Greyhound?"

Almost everyone scrambled to stand on the right, even those who had no skills at all.

"Taken into your service? A trade?"

Greyhound froze for a moment, then was overcome with joy. Did that mean he wouldn't have to die?

"I'm Greyhound. What are your orders, my lord? I'll do anything."

Greyhound hurried forward and knelt before Field, ignoring the large wet patch on his trousers.

"I'm the lord of Nightfall Territory. I hear you're quite a good carpenter. As long as your work satisfies me, your life will be much better than it was in Mapleleaf City. The same goes for the rest of you." Field pointed at the seven others who remained, three of whom were Cooch's maids. That old bastard actually had more maids than I do. He deserved to die.