Under the blessing of the druids, the jungle and mountains were shrouded in the morning mist, veiling the peaks with layers of haze.
A group of over twenty forest bandits emerged in the thick fog. As the saying goes, every industry reaches a certain level of saturation, and recently, this area had been plagued by unidentified northern bandits encroaching on their territory, vying for business.
So, the forest bandits adopted the early bird mentality and began their diligent yet aimless day of work. They planned to squat along the main road, hoping to intercept passing merchant caravans or unlucky villagers.
Of course, the chances of encountering fat prey on a foggy morning like this were slim. However, these guys still wanted to try their luck.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
From within the thick fog, a sound echoed, resembling the beat of war drums.
One of the bandits, with particularly keen ears, remarked, "Boss, listen! It sounds like the beating of war drums."
The bandit leader scoffed, "Nonsense! Where would war drums come from in the forest... Wait, it does seem like it."
He too heard the thumping sound, which grew clearer, denser, and closer.
"Damn it, prepare for battle!"
Suddenly realizing the situation, he understood that it wasn't the sound of drums but rather the pounding of hooves on the earth.
With his shout, figures began to materialize from the mist. Their warhorses moved with agile steps, their large shields adorned with eerie patterns, and their lances emanating chilling air, like ghosts suddenly emerging from the fog.
Although the enemy's charge through the jungle was not particularly fast, the oppressive feeling intensified.
The forest bandits momentarily forgot to raise their bows and arrows. They felt surrounded by enemies from all directions within the mist.
In battle, even a few seconds of hesitation could be fatal. In the blink of an eye, the warhorses were already upon them.
Only then did they react, hurriedly raising their bows and arrows to shoot. But they were too close now; what use was shooting at point-blank range?
Before long, Alexander and his men had a string of prisoners added to their ranks.
"Is this all?"
Alexander looked at the group of forest bandits with disdain. Their combat abilities were truly lacking.
He had forgotten that it was a foggy morning today. The fog had helped conceal the cavalry's movements, making it difficult for the forest bandits to shoot accurately. Otherwise, the battle would not have been so easy.
"There are still two more waves of forest bandits, my esteemed sir. Their influence is equally troublesome to me, but for someone as powerful as you, they are just some insignificant small fry," a clever bandit said with great respect.
Alexander nodded. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could call it a day. After all, his soldiers were paid by the day, and it wasn't cheap. So, he led his army straight to the next forest bandit stronghold, ready to clear out the bandits in this area in the shortest time possible.
"Chief Daniel, I... I saw it with my own eyes. Those guys are definitely not from Barlo. Their armor is in the style of Saint Martin, and their flag bears the image of a crow struck down. They killed our mountain god and slaughtered the villagers who went hunting." A Barlo man groveled on the ground, while a Barlo nobleman with a large beard stood before him.
Daniel slammed the table in anger. "Those bastards dare to come here! Do they really think we Barlo people are defenseless?"
One of his men stepped forward and asked, "Chief, should we report this to the king?"
With disdain in his eyes, Daniel replied, "What's the use of reporting to that coward? He'll just cower behind the city walls and tell everyone to spare the invaders, so as not to give Saint Martin an excuse to start a war."
His subordinate inquired, "Then what should we do?"
Daniel's gaze seemed to pierce through the dense forest as he looked towards Alexander, who was moving through the mountains. "Gather the warriors, oathkeepers, heroes, and others from the tribe. I want those bastards to know that the endless mountains will be their grave!"
As Daniel's territory was closest to the village of Carluce, where Alexander had last hunted, it was natural for him to take action. Due to Barlo Mountain Kingdom's long absence from conflicts with neighboring countries, it had accumulated some strength.
This medium-sized lord, who had only one castle and one village in his domain, commanded two hundred warriors. Apart from the troops stationed for defense, he personally led over a hundred warriors to head towards Alexander's direction.
His forces were equipped as follows:
- Archers: 30 (including 5 Barlo Celtic Champion Warriors, 10 Barlo Heroes, and 15 Barlo Noble Warriors)
- Cavalry: 15 (including 10 Barlo Scouts and 5 Barlo Riders)
- Infantry: 55 (including 5 Barlo Oathkeepers, 10 Barlo Elite Warriors, 10 Barlo Skilled Warriors, 20 Barlo Tribal Warriors, and 10 Barlo Scythemasters)
(Barlo Unit Tree:
Barlo Noble Youth - Barlo Noble Warrior - Barlo Hero - Barlo Celtic Warrior - Barlo Celtic Champion Warrior
Barlo Volunteer - Barlo Tribal Warrior - Barlo Skilled Warrior - Barlo Elite Warrior - Barlo Oathkeeper
Barlo Volunteer - Barlo Tribal Warrior - Barlo Skilled Warrior - Barlo Scout - Barlo Rider
Barlo Volunteer - Barlo Woodland Scout - Barlo Raider - Barlo Scythemaster - Barlo Veteran Scythemaster
Readers can check it out for themselves.)
It's clear that Daniel is pulling out all the stops, as none of the warriors he brings are new recruits; they're all experienced veterans. He even managed to field a handful of cavalry, a luxury item considering Barlo Mountain Kingdom doesn't produce high-quality warhorses. Their local Barlo Mountain Pony is not only in short supply but typically only useful for transportation, making assembling even a dozen cavalry a remarkable feat—even if their primary role is reconnaissance and harassment.
During wartime, only nobles are permitted to wield bows among the Barlo people, as their military tactics are often quite simple: infantry charging as cannon fodder while nobles elegantly pick off enemies with bows and arrows.
After his troops slowly emerge from the castle, Daniel's troops march in a single column, passing through the cheers of the people. When they pass through their village, the people even throw flower petals for him, as if he had already returned in triumph.
Blessed by the druids, Daniel and his army enter the dense forest. Before long, he sees numerous figures emerging from the forest, but he pays them no mind. They are not forest bandits but rather Barlo wildlings who live on the borders of villages, towns, and forests.
Due to Barlo's unique tribal culture and scarce habitable land, countless exiles or defeated fighters who have been driven out of their tribes exist. They cannot live in cities with high walls, nor can they enter villages under the protection of lords; they can only roam in the harsh conditions of the forest.
Daniel looks at these wildlings with disgust, but he doesn't have time to clear them out now, as he has more important things to do. Perhaps defeating Alexander will make him a hero of the entire Barlo, reaching the pinnacle of his reputation. By then, Wilson's position might not be out of reach.
His thoughts drift further away, even imagining himself leading the Barlo Mountain Kingdom to punch Saint Martin Kingdom, kick Veed Kingdom, and make the Empire kneel and sing conquest, thus rebuilding Barlo's glory.
Daniel actually got something right; the current Kingdom of Saint Martin and the Kingdom of Veed are indeed in a sorry state. If Barlo were to declare war, they might actually gain a lot of advantages.
The current Kingdom of Saint Martin is too weak to start a war, and their old adversary, the Kingdom of Veed, is in a similar situation. These two countries can only gnash their teeth at each other.
It's said that King Hadser of Saint Martin has written 50 letters to King Veed within a month, and needless to say, the contents of those letters have nothing to do with "friendliness." Meanwhile, King Veed replied with 51 letters. This big oaf naturally lacks such powerful rhetoric, but he has imperial civil servants to help him with that.
Hadser feels he has encountered his first equally formidable opponent in his life. It's like a well-matched contest, so he's becoming more and more fearless.
Compared to the two of them exchanging verbal barbs, the border between Saint Martin and Veed is surprisingly harmonious, which could be called a long-awaited peace. Even if their patrolling armies accidentally encounter each other, they pretend not to see, then just pass by.
For the people of Saint Martin and Veed, they also long for the long-lost peace—what a joke.
Both sides are just accumulating strength, preparing for a wave to kill each other.
For two natural conquering nations, peace? What's that? Saying those two words is an insult to the glory of their ancestors.
They only understand that launching wars will gain territory, wealth, and population. A brief peace is merely a preparation for the next, even grander conquest.
It's like once the wheels of war start turning, they won't stop.
If they hadn't encountered the empire, this behemoth, the borders of the two nations would have expanded no one knows where.
In addition, there's the empire.
As the war continues, the internal situation of the empire becomes clearer—what a joke.
It becomes more chaotic.
Prince Char of the Northern Empire's military talent is as poor as his male abilities, pressed down by his sister and Duke Andrew.
Fortunately, Prince Char has money; with control of all the major northern commercial towns, once he has the funds, he really gets things done.
The Church of Truth once again captured a castle in the western empire and resumed preaching, educating believers, and organizing and training armies, ready to penetrate Duke Andrew's heartland.
The Holy See is even more exaggerated; they captured a city and are actually reorganizing their army, preparing to attack Queen Laya's headquarters—the imperial capital, Carlon.
Also known as King's Landing, Holy City, and so on.
This is the most prosperous, largest, most populous city on the continent, with the most fertile soil, and can be said to be the true center of the continent.
And the priests from the Holy See actually want to take this place, showing their ambition; they... mean business.