Chapter 63: Deserters (2)

Chapter 63: Deserters (2)

More often than not, ominous premonitions tended to come true and unwanted events were bound to happen.

Such was the law of the world.

After five days of travel, what Dale encountered was a group of hundreds of bandits waiting in the distance.

It seemed the bandits had not learned their lesson from their previous defeat as they now boldly initiated a confrontation.

Rebecca muttered in disbelief,

How audacious. One would think they were a regular army.

Instead of opting for a surprise attack under the cover of night, they were brazenly waiting in the plains.

Whats more, despite being mere bandits, they were flaunting an elegant flag adorned with a silver shield.

Could it be that they didnt see themselves as bandits?

Dale quickly assessed the strength of their opponents.

There are no ambushes, and their number exceeds two hundred. At a glance, it seems slightly less than a hundred of them are well-armed. The remaining 150 or so appear to be new recruits, and theres also a small contingent of cavalry.

You can see all that from this distance?

Rebecca looked surprised and Dale nodded his head.

Having lost all other senses, Dales sight and hearing were far superior to those of an ordinary person.

He had managed to discern both the weapons of the bandits waiting in the distant plains and the quality of their troops.

It seems theyve come out prepared for a serious fight.

Did they believe they could win?

As Dale scrutinized the enemy lines, he noticed people in shabby clothes being held captive.

They were mostly elderly people and children. Dale realized what they were intended for.

Are those the villagers theyve captured? Looks like they plan to use them as human shields.

Young women and men could be useful in their own ways.

But the elderly and children were not as useful Yet, it seemed they had found a way to exploit them nonetheless.

Rebecca too must have spotted the captured villagers as she let out a deep sigh.

To stand against the army of demons, soldiers had to fight with utmost efficiency and cruelty. It seems those deserters are keen on applying what theyve learned.

She turned her gaze to Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded his head and issued an order.

Everyone! Form up for battle!

It is disadvantageous to line up the carriages and move forward. Gabriel reorganized the carriages into five columns before advancing slowly forward.

The carriages would also serve as cover during the battle.

It was now clear that a battle was imminent. Both the mercenaries and the private soldiers were abuzz.

Are all those bandits?

What a number

No one said anything about fighting these many.

Harkin in particular was making a fuss.

Look at that formation Could they be soldiers?

Theyre said to be deserters.

!!

Harkins eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly scanned his surroundings and slowed his pace.

Esther looked at Harkin with half-narrowed eyes.

Im saying this just in case, but if you run away during the mission, Harkin, youll be expelled from the mercenary guild.

Ah, run away? That would be serious. Im just, you know, scouting for any ambush that might be lurking behind us.

Ah, I see.

As they talked, the distance between the enemy and their own forces steadily decreased until they were within range of arrows.

Stop!

Their forces came to a unified halt at Gabriels command.

Both sides stared at each other for a moment.

The new recruits among the bandits fidgeted with agitation for the impending battle.

On the other hand, the deserters stood calmly and were eyeing them with a steady gaze.

Then, the formation of the bandits split in half, moving aside to create a path.

And a dwarf with unusually bloodshot eyes emerged through the newly formed path.

The man was similar to or slightly shorter than an ordinary human male but was extremely tall by dwarf standards.

The dwarf looked over with displeasure and he bellowed loudly.

I am Lapin, the captain of the Silver Shield bandits! I believe you know why we are standing here today!

Hah, hardly a name befitting a band of thieves.

Rebecca remarked and without waiting for a reply, she gestured to Gabriel.

Understanding her signal, Gabriel quietly began preparations for the battle.

But Lapin continued to shout as if he didnt care about their actions.

You have killed my men! Now is the time to pay the price!

Ignoring Lapin, Gabriel gave the command.

Prepare to fire.

The private soldiers armed with bows and crossbows readied themselves to shoot.

Lapin scoffed at the sight and bellowed a command.

Charge in, you bastards!

Only then did the bandits turn towards the captured villagers before raising their weapons and yelling.

Run!

If you want to live, run!

The bandits mercilessly stabbed the hesitating captives without hesitation.

The terrified elders and children started running towards their allies, flailing their arms in desperation.

Dont, dont shoot!

We are not bandits!

The private soldiers were taken aback. They turned to Gabriel for guidance.

Wh-What do we do?

And without a moments hesitation, Gabriel responded.

Theyre playing dirty. We have no choice. Just shoot.

But what? What if

How can we know if theyre truly captives or thieves in disguise? Fire now!

The soldiers closed their eyes and released their grip on the bowstrings with heavy hearts.

Swiiiiiiish!

Aaaargh!

Uuuugh!

The captives fell helplessly as the arrows rained down upon them.

Only then did the bandits start closing the distance towards this side with the shieldmen at the forefront.

It was hard to find any sign of guilt on their faces for sacrificing the captured villagers.

They seemed only pleased that they themselves had not been struck by arrows.

Without any hesitation, they trampled over the bodies of the elderly and children as they advanced towards the enemy lines.

Dale saw it all.

From the moment Gabriel ordered to shoot the bandits stepping over the corpses to advance.

His impassive eyes captured the entire scene.

And he thought as he held his sword.

Kristen.

Could it be that their swordsmanship shared the same origin? There were many similarities in their movements. But compared to Kristen

Its too lousy.

The path of the attack was blatantly obvious.

Kristen would never have attacked in such a manner.

Anticipating the direction of the incoming attack, Dale extended his sword in preparation.

In the next moment, his opponent acted exactly as Dale had predicted.

!

The shock in the enemys eyes was clear but it was already too late.

Dale smoothly raised his sword and sliced through the exposed neck of his opponent.

The cavalryman instinctively clutched at his throat as a thin red line appeared which was soon followed by a gush of blood.

He then collapsed on the spot.

Immediately, Dale seized the fallen cavalrymans body and turned around.

Another cavalryman charging from behind was about to bring down a large double-edged axe in a vertical swing.

Dale thrust the dead cavalrymans body forward.

The double-edged axe buried itself into the dead body but didnt completely pierce through.

The cavalryman who was dressed in chainmail armor served as an effective shield.

You bastard!

The other cavalryman erupted in rage at the sight of Dale using his comrade as a shield.

However, the moment the first attack failed, the outcome was already determined.

Dale pressed his relic gauntlet against the waist of the cavalryman and released a shockwave.

Bang! With a loud crash, the cavalryman was sent rolling across the ground before eventually coming to a halt.

It was a clean victory.

Dale quickly absorbed the life force from the two fallen cavalrymen.

And as he did so, he started thinking.

. Have my skills improved?

It wasnt just a feeling of becoming faster or more robust physically.

It was the art of combat.

More precisely, his skill in wielding the sword had improved.

Was it the fight with Kristen that led to this enlightenment? Even so, the growth seemed substantial

Dale didnt make much of it. It wasnt surprising that real combat could enhance ones abilities.

He was simply satisfied.

It was then that the cavalrymen realized this dark knight was a more formidable opponent than they had anticipated.

They hesitated for a moment before attempting to flee.

But Dale was not one to just watch.

He skillfully threw his grappling hook.

Ah!

The hook caught on the chainmail of the cavalryman at the back.

Dale pulled the rope and started dragging the cavalryman on the ground.

Without hesitation, he slit the cavalrymans throat and immediately sought his next prey.

What caught his eye was a hesitating horse without a rider.

Without a second thought, Dale mounted the horse.

Neigh!

The horse reared up as it was startled by the dark knights sinister and cold aura and was trying to shake Dale off in fright.

Yet, Dale maintained his balance and gave the horse a light smack on the bottom.

Calm down. Run.

The horse didnt exactly calm down, but it did start to run.

Driven by fear, the horse ran faster than expected.

And the distance between them and the other cavalrymen slowly began to close. The fleeing cavalrymen were astonished.

What in the world

Someone had taken over one of their horses!

Instead of responding, Dale threw his grappling hook once again.

A terrified cavalryman raised his spear to deflect the hook.

Its something Ive practiced before.

When Dale was practicing hook throwing on Fraud in the past, the latter would always try to knock the hook away with his weapon.

As a result, Dale had no choice but to practice countering this move as well.

Dale gave the rope attached to the hook a slight tug, causing the twisted hook and rope to wrap around the spear.

Eeeek!

The cavalryman struggled desperately to keep his weapon but it was futile.

The cavalryman was far too weak compared to the unruly Fraud.

He was immediately pulled off his horse by Dales forceful tug.

Six people were killed in an instant.

Only after losing half their number did the cavalrymen realize that Dale was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

Zod has fallen!

Scatter, scatter!

They dispersed in all directions.

But Dale was determined to pursue and eliminate each of them, no matter how long it took.

Dale spurred his horse forward.

On the other hand, the private soldiers and the mercenaries could only watch in stunned silence as Dale single-handedly decimated the enemys cavalry.

***

Lapin surveyed the battlefield. The situation was, as expected, not good.

Their forces were gradually being pushed back.

The one advantage they had was in their cavalry, but even that was being thwarted by some dark knight.

If one flank were to break, the entire formation would collapse.

But Lapin was unfazed.

He harbored no fear of defeat since he possessed a special weapon.

Lapin caressed a cylindrical tool made of dark-colored metal.

It resembled a cannon in appearance.

However, it was smaller than a typical cannon, small enough to be carried and moved with both hands.

Lapin gently stroked the surface of this relic cannon.

Bizarre inscriptions were etched on the surface of the cannon.

Lapin could not decipher these characters.

Yet, deep in his heart, he thought they were beautiful.

A strong urge welled up inside him.

He was eager to test this weapon.

Lapin lifted the relic cannon.

He aimed the cannon at the entangled soldiers as if he was entranced.

Show them your beauty too.

He stroked the cannon one last time and in the next moment,

The relic cannon began to spew green flames towards the sky.