The next morning, just as dawn began to break, the sentries stationed on the outskirts of Blackstone Town sounded urgent alarms.
On the horizon, a thick cloud of dust billowed up.
A bandit force of around forty horsemen appeared on the open plain to the south of the town.
They did not approach the newly built, crude wooden palisades of the town but instead loitered and prowled at a distance. The bandits on horseback looked arrogant, occasionally letting out boastful cries as they insolently surveyed the feeble little town.
The townsfolk, who had just started to relax, suddenly felt their hearts leap into their throats. Panic spread like wildfire.
They hid behind doors and windows, peering through cracks with terror in their eyes at the cavalry outside exuding a bloody aura, their palms sweating profusely.
However, to everyone's surprise, the bandits did not launch an immediate attack.
"My lord, they... they don't seem to be planning to attack the town?" Ed stood beside Rello, looking out at the wandering horsemen in the distance, his face etched with confusion and unease.
Rello stood atop a temporarily reinforced wooden watchtower, his expression stern.
"They're putting on a show of force," he said.
As Rello had anticipated, the Blood Wolf Gang's cavalry did not launch a direct assault on Blackstone Town, which was somewhat prepared for defense.
Over the next few hours, suffocatingly bad news kept coming.
The Blood Wolf Gang's cavalry, like a swarm of locusts, bypassed Blackstone Town and began to ruthlessly plunder the smaller, more vulnerable villages in the vicinity!
Piercing cries of despair, the crackling of burning houses, and the heart-wrenching messages brought by messengers in distress continuously lashed at the taut nerves of Blackstone Town.
The townsfolk turned pale, their faces drained of color. Although they were temporarily safe themselves, hearing the tragic news from neighboring villages filled them with a sense of fear and anger that one's own safety is intertwined with that of others.
"My lord! We can't just sit by and do nothing! Those villages..."
Old Mayor Buck knelt before Rello, his cloudy old eyes filled with pleading and grief.
Rello remained silent, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
How could he not want to send troops to rescue them immediately?
However, Blackstone Town's own defenses were weak, and the number of knights was limited. Once the main force was dispatched, the town would be left defenseless, and Karl might seize the opportunity to strike.
He couldn't gamble with the fate of the entire town.
The Blood Wolf Gang's cavalry loitering outside Blackstone Town to put on a show of force was precisely for this purpose—to terrify the town and then leisurely loot the surrounding villages in retaliation.
"Mayor Buck, the most important thing now is to defend Blackstone Town," Rello said in a low voice. "If we lose Blackstone Town, we lose everything."
Mayor Buck's lips trembled, finally dissolving into a long sigh.
He knew that the young lord's decision at this moment was the most correct choice.
"Bolin, calm the townsfolk and strengthen the defenses!" Rello ordered.
"Yes, my lord!"
Watching Bolin and the old mayor leave, Rello's gaze turned to Moonlight, who was lazily licking his paws at his feet.
He seemed completely unaffected by the tense atmosphere outside.
"Moonlight."
Rello crouched down, gently patting Moonlight's soft back, then pointed in the direction where the bandit horsemen had disappeared. "Go and see where those fellows on foot are hiding."
Moonlight's pale golden eyes looked at Rello for a moment, as if understanding, let out a light meow, and with a flick of his figure, disappeared into the shadows.
His small size and agile movements made him the perfect scout.
Time dragged on, each minute and second feeling agonizingly long.
Outside Blackstone Town, the bandit horsemen's arrogance was oppressive, leaving no one able to sleep.
At dusk, a white figure darted back into the town like a ghost—it was Moonlight.
He jumped onto the table, rubbed against Rello's arm, tilted his head, let out a few low "meows," and gestured with his paws.
Rello and Moonlight seemed to share a peculiar默契.
He listened intently, his brow gradually relaxing, a glint of determination flashing in his eyes.
"You mean... those on horseback have ridden far away, leaving behind a camp with not many on foot, about... this many?"
Rello held up four fingers, then added another.
Moonlight nodded firmly, then licked his paws again, as if savoring something.
Forty to fifty infantry!
The main force of the cavalry is out pillaging, leaving only some infantry to guard the camp!
This was a golden opportunity!
Rello suddenly stood up, his eyes gleaming with a cold light.
"Ed!"
"My lord!" Ed, who had been standing attentively by, immediately responded.
"Assemble all knights immediately! Prepare for a night raid!"
Rello's voice was resolute, carrying an air of unquestionable authority.
"A night raid?"
Ed hesitated briefly, then his eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes, my lord!"
The night was as dark as ink,伸手不见五指 (shēn shǒu bù jiàn wǔ zhǐ, or "pitch black, fingers invisible").
Over twenty knights, except for Bolin, who stayed behind to oversee the defense, including Ed, silently assembled at the town's rear gate.
The horses' hooves were wrapped in thick cloth, and all metal parts were muffled.
They were like a group of leopards lurking in the darkness, waiting for Rello's command.
Rello mounted his horse, and Moonlight nimbly leaped onto his shoulder, acting as a guide in the darkness.
"March!"
No unnecessary words, only a cold killing intent permeated the air.
Over twenty horsemen merged into the night like ghosts, galloping towards the direction indicated by Moonlight.
After about half an hour, a temporary bandit camp appeared ahead.
The camp was small, with scattered campfires, and the guards seemed somewhat lax, clearly not expecting anyone to dare attack at this hour.
There wasn't even a proper lookout post outside the camp.
"Charge!"
Rello's voice was low and icy, like the whisper of the Grim Reaper.
In the next instant, over twenty knights surged forward like arrows released from a bow, their earth-yellow Battle Qi aura blazing first on Ed!
The Battle Qi of an Earth Knight transformed into a massive hammer as their warhorses charged at full speed.
"Enemy attack!"
Someone in the camp finally noticed the abnormality, and a panicked cry pierced the night sky.
But it was all too late!
Ed led the charge, smashing into the camp gate like a cannonball!
The condensed earth-yellow Battle Qi erupted into a violent shockwave, tearing the crude wooden gate and several bandits behind it into fragments in an instant!
The knights following closely behind were like tigers among sheep, their long swords glinting deadly in the firelight.
They were well-trained and coordinated, each strike precise and efficient.
Most of the bandits in the camp were infantry, almost all of them knight squires or apprentices, with only a few squad leaders being actual knights.
With the main force of the bandit group's knights taken away by Karl for looting, the remaining bandits in the camp were no match for Ed and his men.
Under the knights' storm-like assault, the bandits hardly organized any resistance.
The wails of the dying, the clash of weapons, and the crackling of flames intertwined, composing a bloody symphony of death.
Ed was like a humanoid beast, his Battle Qi-infused blade sweeping through the enemy, unstoppable!
The intimidating aura of an Earth Knight shattered the morale of the ordinary bandits, who wished they had been born with an extra pair of legs.
The battle began abruptly and ended even faster.
In just a quarter of an hour, the entire camp was completely cleared, littered with corpses, the air thick with the smell of blood and burning.
"Count the casualties, check for survivors, and collect all usable supplies!"
到的时候出击