The Verden soldiers on the opposite side didn't take the scout team seriously. But when they saw Lann and the others, they immediately put their hands on their weapons and gradually formed a formation with each other.
The reason they were so nervous was because the four of them stood out from the crowd.
Even Lann's three attendants wore scale armor. It was obvious at a glance that they were advanced pieces designed and reinforced based on his personal combat style.
Swade, who had worked as a blacksmith's apprentice, also wore a layer of mail as a lining under his scale armor, which looked very intimidating.
As for Lann, he was wearing a knight's plate armor, riding Black Wind, which was significantly higher than the other horses around him. On his chest, the golden emblem of a noble lion roared in the sunlight.
"Where do you come from and where are you going?" A short, fat man shouted to Lann from a distance. His face was as dark and wrinkled as a prune, and he wore a green uniform and carried a bow and a quiver with white feather arrows on his back.
Swade urged his horse forward and then shouted: "Before you are Lord Lann Lannister, Lord of Brokilon, Young Lion of Cintra! Who are you?"
Hearing Swade's words, Verden's soldiers became commotion.
"The young lion of Cintra? That boy who became the fencing champion at fifteen for no apparent reason?" Some soldiers exchanged words in a low voice, accompanied by sneers.
"What does this mean that the men in Cintra are no better than a child in wielding a sword?" Although the soldier's voice was low, in the confrontational environment it was audible enough.
"Bold!" Swade's neck turned red with anger, and he and House suddenly pulled out their swords at the same time. Ace also bent his bow and drew an arrow, with a fierce look on his face.
A servant will never allow the lord to whom he is loyal to be insulted in the slightest. Their bounden duty is to defend the honor of their master to the death.
Seeing Lann's side making an attack intention, and Verden's side not to be outdone, they all displayed their weapons, and the atmosphere between the two sides suddenly became tense.
In this tense atmosphere, only Lann's mood and actions remained unchanged.
"I will answer your question. I come from Cintra, in search of our princess, and now I want to go there..." Lann said slowly, raising his hand to point behind the Verden soldiers in the distance. "What happened there?"
Everyone slightly shifted their gaze in the direction of Lan's finger...
Ahead, a large tree with lush branches fell on the road. The tree stump is located in the bushes on the roadside, with long white splinters still left. In front of the broken tree stood a carriage covered with tarpaulin. Some horses lay on the ground, tangled in the reins and handles of the chariot, with arrows stuck in them. One of them was still alive, breathing heavily and pawing.
The ground was soaked with blood and there were also human corpses scattered about, some stuck to the carriage and others stuck in the wheels.
"I didn't know it was the Earl, I'm so rude." Faced with Lann's question, the short and fat man gave a non-standard salute.
Behind the pudgy man, a squinting soldier waved his hand and told all the soldiers to put their weapons away again.
"We are soldiers of Nastrog under the command of King Ervyll. We were also sent to find Princess Cirilla. It is great to meet the Earl here." The short and fat man smiled and spoke. "Actually, we just came here to check the situation. It seems that a group of nymphs of the woods attacked a caravan."
(Nastrog is the capital of Verden.)
The short, fat man pretended to wipe his eyes. "Our commander is Baron Freixenet, and the poor Baron also died in the hands of the nymphs of the woods."
"Your Lordship, this is a caravan from Cintra." Levin rode forward and whispered to Lann. "But the situation is not quite right..."
Lann nodded and waved his hand to signal his soldiers to put away their weapons but put his other hand behind his back and made a few concealed gestures towards the attendants.
Although Levin could not understand this gesture, he was smart and understood Lann's intention immediately. He also secretly gestured to the scouts with a hand behind his back, a secret signal that only they knew.
Seeing Lann put away his weapons, the short and fat man smiled relaxedly and continued: "Was it actually Cintra's caravan that was attacked? That's really too bad."
The squinting soldier turned slightly and said as if to introduce: "The scene is obvious. The caravan was advancing along the road and hit a broken tree."
"This pine tree fell in the middle of the road. It was cut down not long ago, and there are still traces in the bushes. When the merchants came down to remove the trees, the dryads attacked from three directions. The arrows are the work of the nymphs of the woods. They are made with feathers glued with resin, soaked in tree sap..."
The short and fat man nodded and agreed: "These evil nymphs of the woods killed the passing caravan and possibly the poor princess..."
Lann smiled, but of course no one could see his sullen expression inside the helmet.
"But." Lann pointed at the corpses and interrupted the short, fat man. "From what I see, some of them were stabbed to death after being wounded by arrows."
"Yes, yes, these dryads are so cruel." The short and fat man sighed. "Please also report these to Her Majesty the Queen of Cintra. Punishing the Dryads of Brokilon cannot wait."
"But let me tell you, a caravan is not enough for Cintra to send an army here. You will have to try harder..."
Before Lann finished speaking, he suddenly knocked the horse's belly, and the Black Wind rushed out as if it had turned into a real wind.
"For example... kill our princess instead of the 'Dryads', right? Verden scum!"
Ace drew his bow and nocked the arrows at an astonishing speed and shot out three consecutive arrows. The arrows flew towards their horses without the opponent reacting.
Shoot the horse first before shooting the man. This was taught to Ace by Lann. Horses are larger and generally not armored.
Most people would not choose to hurt horses even in battle, because horses are valuable and are good trophies.
But the Lannister family does not have this need.
Behind, chaos broke out as frightened horses overturned the knights and disrupted their formation. An unfortunate man was crushed by a horse, and the nearby soldiers even clearly heard the crisp sound of bones breaking.
Levin was already ready to organize a charge with the scouts, but he did not expect that the Earl, who was supposed to be commanding from the rear, rushed out first.
Following closely behind him were his loyal attendants, Swade and House.
This made him frightened, but also extremely excited.
"For the Earl!" The young man shouted and charged forward. "For Cintra!"
"For the Earl, for Cintra!" No one could resist charging alongside an earl who was leading the attack.
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