"Whenever the king of Ravenstern summoned us to war, every lord except Duke Amara could barely muster an army of around a hundred.
"And when a dozen or so lords gathered, with over a thousand troops between them, they became a force the entire continent could not ignore. Besides, we had the help of sorcerers."
Dick nodded. "I see."
In his previous life, as someone from the Heavenly Kingdom, he had always seen accounts in the history books of the grand scale of his ancestors' wars.
Bai Qi alone had buried four hundred thousand soldiers alive, and Zhuge alone had defeated eight hundred thousand soldiers, so he had not been particularly sensitive to numbers, simply assuming this world was the same.
Thus, after suddenly arriving in the Middle Ages, he found it somewhat difficult to adjust to battles involving only hundreds or thousands of men.
"By the way, Dick, what quest did you take this time?"
"A woodcutter from Odinburg went missing. His son asked me to search for him in the Black Forest."
"Then you'd better be careful. Even we haven't ventured into the depths of the Black Forest. They say monsters abound there."
"Thank you for the warning."
Since they happened to be heading the same way, they left through the city gates together. Dick noticed that, sure enough, several dozen cavalrymen sat on their horses in full armor off to one side outside the gates.
From a distance, there did not seem to be many of them, but up close, the imposing men and horses, combined with their orderly formation, exerted a pressure that was difficult to ignore. No wonder cavalry had been every army's trump card in ancient times.
He believed that, properly commanded, these thirty cavalrymen could easily deal with several hundred or nearly a thousand bandits without horses.
But then again, those Jatu should be cavalry too, shouldn't they?
Dick thought no more of it. It had little to do with him.
The cavalry stood in a square formation. Besides wearing full armor, the man at their head also wore a faceplate, making it impossible to see his face.
He rode a tall, armored horse, with a lance roughly three meters long hanging horizontally from special hooks on its side.
Once charging toward the enemy formation, he only needed to tuck this kind of lance against his waist to inflict extremely lethal damage.
Odin III had already spotted their arrival. He first nodded to Dick, who nodded back.
The baron then turned to the apprentice sorceress, Xiya. "Sorceress, it's wonderful that you've come.
"This time, you won't need to deal with the ordinary Jatu raiders. The main concern is that they may have brought a Jatu priest, who can cast spells to drive those raiders into an even greater frenzy.
"So you'll need to stop him when the time comes."
"I've heard that the Jatu possess a spell called Bloodlust, which makes others lose their reason while becoming more agile. As it happens, I know a silencing spell that can counter him.
"Rest assured, leave this to me."
"Good. Someone!" Odin III smiled in satisfaction, and someone came over leading a pony.
"This horse is for you. Let's set off now. Oh, right, Dick, do you want to come with us to protect Miss Xiya?"
"No, I'm just heading the same way," Dick answered in a low voice.
"I see. Then let's move out!" With that, he was about to order the entire force to depart.
Just then, the cavalry commander at the head of the formation actually dismounted. He walked slowly up to Xiya and lifted his faceplate, revealing a young, thin face. It was Kebi.
Kebi was all smiles. One of his iron-gauntleted hands had been tightly clenched until now, when he opened it to reveal a gleaming gold necklace.
Looking at his full suit of armor, there were no pockets at all in which to put the necklace. He had been waiting specifically for Lady Xiya's arrival, clutching the necklace in his hand all this time.
Kebi said cautiously, "Lady Xiya, I had someone commission this necklace especially for you from the great jeweler Val. It was made by the finest craftsman, and it even has three specially made gems from the Bacchus Empire. I'd like to give it to you."
Then he looked at the apprentice sorceress with hope written all over his face.
"I don't want it," Xiya said firmly.
"What did you say?" Kebi seemed never to have anticipated such an answer.
He had imagined that, even if Xiya was not overjoyed, she would shyly accept his gift.
They had enjoyed their previous conversations, and their positions were equal. He had thought their relationship would develop naturally.
"I said I don't want it." Xiya looked up at the man before her with a serious expression.
"I'm an apprentice sorceress now, and I believe it won't be long before I become a full-fledged sorceress.
"When that happens, I'll have a lifespan of nearly five hundred years, while you... are only a mortal.
"I don't want us both to reach a point of heartbreak one day."
With that, Xiya waved to Dick, then nimbly sprang onto the pony's back and rode over to Odin III.
"Can we leave now?"
"Of course, Miss Xiya."
Odin III showed no anger at Xiya's rejection of his adopted son. Instead, a faint smile curved his lips.
He had long known that these two could never be together.
Although their positions seemed equal, one being a lord's son and the other an apprentice sorceress, there was, in reality, an impassable gulf separating them.
As Lady Xiya had said, she would have a lifespan of five hundred years. Her life would be long and full of unknowns.
His adopted son, meanwhile, would become a full-fledged knight, and with some luck and military achievements, a minor lord. But that was by no means a reason for him to be Lady Xiya's ideal partner.
The difference between their lifespans was simply too great.
Then again, witchers also live for several hundred years, and this young fellow Dick should only be barely twenty, about the same age as Lady Xiya.
Looking at it that way, a witcher and a sorceress make quite a good match.
Could these two have already gotten together in private, and that's why she rejected my son Kebi?
At that thought, he gave Dick a meaningful look. Dick had no idea why and could only give an awkward smile.
Kebi, meanwhile, quickly recovered. Without a word, he lowered his faceplate again, handed the necklace to a soldier behind him, mounted his horse, and led the cavalry forward.
Only after watching them ride away did Dick begin walking toward the Black Forest.
Before long, he reached the edge of the Black Forest.
Then he focused and activated his Witcher Senses.
A witcher's senses were far sharper than an ordinary person's, whether in sight, smell, or hearing.
And when a witcher concentrated, the intensity of those senses increased severalfold.
His gaze swept over the surroundings, and he soon discovered a trail of footprints.
Dick began muttering to himself. "Judging by these footprints, the feet were about the same size as mine. They should belong to an adult.
"And it hasn't rained these past two days. It looks like these should be the tracks that woodcutter left behind."