Chapter 271: Act 38 – The Knight, the Young Man, and the Hunter (First Update)
……
On the banks of the River Gris, the sky was gradually brightening.
In the forest, Vurn and Husher were hiding quietly beneath the bushes, watching the noble army with banners fluttering as they clamored along the road through the forest—this was unsurprising, as discipline was a standard that even the kingdom’s regular army struggled to maintain.
Of course, the mercenaries were far better; at least they had the awareness of an ambusher. Hundreds of mercenaries were holding their breath, concealed in the forest along the bank of the River Gris, waiting for the last noble soldier to step into the predetermined battlefield.
Over a hundred crossbows and bows, of various lengths, were about to take aim at their prey, which was now entering their firing range.
”Although these guys don’t seem very capable in a fight,” Husher remarked, unable to suppress his thoughts as he looked outside the woods, “the scouts are quite competent; they just lack a bit of practical experience.”
The commander of the Fires of War glanced at the man beside him, knowing that this man had no name, just a nickname.
Husher—he had never heard of such a bird before.
”Just lacking a bit of practical experience? Only you would dare say that!” Vurn thought to himself.
Having been the captain of the Karasu cavalry, Vurn was more experienced than most, and he was well aware that Sir Minate’s scouts would be top-notch even among regular troops, yet this man and the small squad of mercenaries he led were exceptionally formidable.
He had witnessed those Lubis mercenaries charge forward and take out a squad of noble scout cavalry with such precision—leaping, mounting, killing, throwing bodies aside—all in one fluid motion. Even now, the corpses of those noble cavalry lay in the forest, their warmth gradually fading away—dead men couldn’t stand up to accuse the mercenary captain.
The former cavalry captain couldn’t help but feel a chill—such a degree of bravery and coordinated effort made him question whether these guys were truly mercenaries.
And yet, these were merely the servants of that young lord, probably not even knights. Vurn obviously couldn’t guess what kind of person Brendel was, but that didn’t hinder his judgment—being a seasoned cavalry captain, he indeed observed details more keenly than most.
Since the day Brendel took Grudin, he had recognized this young man’s exceptional nature even before Juliette and Crenshia did; he was also the first to suspect Brendel’s intentions—after all, a noble like Brendel had no need to come to such a remote countryside.
So what was his purpose?
Though Vurn appeared to be a boisterous fellow, he had already sensed the well-concealed ambition that Brendel harbored, which was why he had sided with this faction from the very beginning.
After leaving the Karasu cavalry unit, he tirelessly established this mercenary group, and he certainly was not one to settle for mediocrity. Vurn had long been searching among the nobility for someone worth pledging his loyalty to, but most of the time, those he respected looked down on him, while those who valued him were often as despicable as Grudin.
Until Brendel presented the opportunity right before him.
The two had hit it off immediately.
While Vurn was lost in his thoughts, the noble army was gradually entering the forest—
After crossing the River Gris, Sir Minate slowed his pace. Although it appeared that the mob had not lingered, he was a cautious man—better safe than sorry.
However, such caution was not born from a natural sharpness for war and military affairs, but rather a personality trait of being overly careful.
Thus, when his youngest son caught up from behind, Sir Minate resolutely ordered the scattered troops of mercenaries and private soldiers to advance along the riverside forest road, the soldiers making a clattering noise which began to annoy him—
However, his constraints proved meaningless; at most, he could control them for a short while.
He looked at the knights beside him and felt somewhat satisfied—these knights were his old subordinates, real seasoned warriors, who even while fully armored, kept their calm gazes hidden beneath their visors, always watching the surrounding forest—each of them clutched their swords tightly, maintaining necessary vigilance.
True knights were professional soldiers who had honed their skills in warfare over a long duration, naturally different from others. Even their servants, those noble soldiers following behind giant dragon-beast mounts and waving various banners, seemed more trained than the mercenaries.
But it was only an appearance.
As the troop entered the narrow path through the forest, their lord instinctively frowned, contemplating whether they would encounter trouble ahead, when suddenly the sound of hooves rang out from behind.
Only his second son’s contingent followed behind—the fifty men he personally assigned, thinking they would be enough to keep the lad busy for a while. However, he did not expect that the opposition would have them organized so well, which took him by surprise.
”What new trick has that boy come up with?” With such a thought, Sir Minate turned around, only to see that familiar face, which made his eyes twitch, riding up with a few others.
For this son, Samuel felt both love and hate.
Carglis, drawing close to the main force, pulled at the reins to slow his horse. The young man sat upright in the saddle in the most standard knightly posture, resembling a straight dagger as he pushed aside his somewhat disheveled hair and exhaled.
“Father.”
“What is it now?”
The newcomer smiled shyly, the kind that belonged to the young man, and asked, “Father, how long has it been since the scouts returned?”
Sir Minate paused, then realized the gravity of the question. However, he clearly did not want to admit it, frowning as he replied, “Why do you ask that? It’s only been a short while—they might have gone too far; you know these young lads under my command always have excess energy—”
Carglis raised his head and glanced into the forest.
“Perhaps not,” he said casually.
“That little rascal!” Sir Minate cursed inwardly, “What on earth are you trying to imply?”
Carglis couldn’t help but chuckle, looking at his father with a peculiar expression, “People say that the lord is a careful and cautious man, but that’s not entirely true—” He hadn’t finished speaking when he suddenly noticed Sir Minate’s face growing increasingly dark. The young man quickly changed his tone, “But father, you must be quite bold to allow the army to continue entering the forest even after realizing there’s an issue with the scouts?”
Still, despite saying so, he did not appear overly worried. After all, the opponent was just a bunch of rabble; no matter how fierce they were, they were still a disorganized mob.
The young man held himself in high regard and naturally wouldn’t think much of Brendel’s mercenaries.
Of course, if he knew what kind of danger was lurking in the nearby forest, he wouldn’t have thought so.
“When did this old fool come to need your lessons?” Sir Minate interrupted grumpily, “I was at war before you little rascal was even born!”
“Yes, yes, father. In any case, let’s first halt the army,” Carglis replied.
The lord looked around, growing a bit worried. However, he had at least found an excuse to relent. He raised his hand, and the officer immediately conveyed his orders downward.
After a brief commotion, the troop came to a halt.
But stopping, to their surprise, caused Carglis to be the first among the seasoned knights present to notice the issue. He lifted his gaze to the forest, and his brows knitted deeply.
In fact, it wasn’t just him; once the young man caught the unusual scent, some knights present sensed the anomaly as well.
Once the noisy soldiers ceased their clamor, they realized—
The forest was too quiet.
……
Vurn also frowned; that noble was unluckily stopped just outside the ambush circle. Just a little more time, and he could have struck first, but now this matter had suddenly hung in the air, neither here nor there.
He took a deep breath, fixating on every detail outside the forest, thought about it, and decided to wait a little longer. Throughout his cavalry career in Karasu, Vurn had learned that remaining calm on the battlefield was crucial, as it often leads to clarity in the situation and ultimately to victory.
But this time, he was wrong.
Husher also focused on that direction; he had sensed something unusual in the air. As soon as the rider entered the main group, the noble army stopped; that was abnormal, and his first suspicion was whether they had discovered their presence.
However, regardless of whether they had noticed them or not, the mercenary captain knew he had to make a judgment.
The cave-dwellers had already lain in ambush just a hundred meters away from those noble soldiers—they were equipped for the first time with the four-armed crossbows gifted to them by humans—this was something Tagib had long wanted to get his hands on, but Grudin hadn’t been foolish enough to supply these military supplies to his potential enemies.
Of course, given that they had joined Brendel’s group, that was another matter.
A hundred meters was quite a distance for humans; even black-iron tier warriors would take several seconds to cross it, not to mention in a forest.
But for the cave-dwellers, that was sufficient.
In that moment, Husher made his decision.
“Signal—” he commanded in a low voice.
“Wait,” Vurn responded, confused, “That distance is too far. They haven’t entered our ambush yet.”
“We have a decisive numerical and strength advantage; the ambush is just a bonus,” Husher replied decisively, “But if we wait for them to react, the situation could slip beyond our control.”
“Capturing that knight is the focus of this battle for the lord,” the mercenary captain continued.
Vurn was taken aback for a moment, and then he realized.
Indeed.
……
(PS: As per the wishes of the Dragon-Kong classmate.) (To be continued; for more details about what happens next, please log in; for more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)
