As the sun gradually set, the sky was painted a brilliant orange-red, and the moon peeked out, its golden and silver rays alternating. Along the forest path, a dozen or so horse-drawn carriages were traveling on the bumpy road.
As the caravan moved along in an orderly fashion, a flag suddenly rose from the lead carriage and began waving it from side to side. This was a signal for the carriages to slow down, stop, and for the riders to disembark for a meal and for the horses to rest and eat. All the carriages slowly came to a stop. The people in the caravan began to whisper among themselves.
The guards began to disperse and maintain vigilance, while some changed shifts and rested in the carriages. The others gathered firewood and leaves to start a fire. Driven by the guards, the carriages found an open space and formed a circular defensive position. The guards even cut down some trees around the carriages to ensure a clear view. Within minutes, flames were burning in the center, and several torches were erected in the open space outside the carriages for illumination and surveillance.
The soldiers stood guard around the convoy, while others began taking food and water out of the wagons, and the camp quickly became lively.
At this moment, using the carriage to conceal their view, the Baron, Os, and Green quietly gathered together. All three were now fully armed. Green wore Old Green's metal armor, carried a longbow on his back, held a longsword in his hand, and had a quiver full of arrows on his right. The Baron and Os were dressed similarly, also fully armed.
"I've been observing their movements. They've been staying at the back of the convoy and haven't changed their formation. They probably think they have us cornered and haven't made any special plans," Green said, directly stating the enemy's location.
"Alright, let's proceed according to Greenley's plan." Baron and Os nodded, indicating that the plan could begin.
Under the Baron's arrangement, more food and water, and even some more precious items, were brought out of the carriage. The others present couldn't help but drool at the sight of the food. Normally, such food would be readily available in the castle, but now, during a time of refuge, it was incredibly valuable, something even the Baron couldn't enjoy often.
The fragrant aroma quickly filled the air, and those following behind the convoy also caught a whiff of it.
"Damn, these guys really know how to enjoy themselves. They've already escaped the territory, and they're still indulging in this decadent lifestyle," White said resentfully. "Captain, I can't take it anymore, let's just attack!"
Not to mention the young White, even their captain was starting to lose his composure. Their five-man pursuit team couldn't carry much supplies; they were only equipped with dry rations to fill their stomachs, which weren't exactly delicious, but downright awful. Having not eaten proper food for a long time, the aroma suddenly made their mouths water.
"Yeah, Captain Karl, it smells amazing. Anyway, according to the intelligence, the other side definitely can't beat us. As long as we're a little careful, we can just slowly approach and launch a surprise attack." The other two members of the team, who hadn't spoken until now, couldn't help but chime in.
Seeing that his men had all agreed to launch the surprise attack ahead of schedule, even the most composed Dis had a look of longing for food in his eyes. Feeling the hunger rumbling in his stomach, the squad's commander, Karl, gritted his teeth.
"A surprise attack must be launched in advance, and the distance must be minimized to avoid exposure."
After Karl gave the order, the eyes of the other four men also lit up. In their eyes, the entire convoy was already theirs.
The team slowly approached the defensive position formed by the convoy. Meanwhile, Baron Green and the other two had already broken away from the convoy and infiltrated the forest. Under the chip's detection, their concealment proved useless.
Seeing the five men, unable to resist the temptation, preparing to launch a surprise attack prematurely, Green smiled. They had indeed fallen for the trap; the first instinct of humankind is survival, and food is naturally the most crucial element. Since the enemy was pursuing in a small squad, they certainly couldn't carry much food.
"They've been fooled. Let's quickly circle around them." Green and his two companions began to quietly circle around.
"Captain, we're at close range now, we can launch the surprise attack." The five pursuers quickly approached the edge of the convoy's defensive position. Beyond that were the guards.
Just as the pursuing group was preparing to launch a surprise attack.
"Enemy! Defend immediately!" one of the guards shouted, and the crowd scattered in disarray, quickly gathering together. The guards also instantly went into battle mode, rapidly retreating to the vicinity of the carriage.
"Damn it, how did we get discovered?" Karl, the team leader, looked around and found that his men were well hidden and there was no possibility of them being exposed.
"Now we have no choice but to go all out. Everyone charge!" The difference between a surprise attack and a direct confrontation is huge.
In pursuit, the five members of the pursuit team wore only thin leather armor, lacking any actual armor. While they might easily overwhelm the guards in a direct confrontation, the guards with bows and arrows could also inflict damage. The presence of shields would only exacerbate the situation. The entire team might suffer losses; while deaths were unlikely, the risk of injury increased dramatically.
The five members of the pursuit team quickly rushed out of the jungle, using the explosive power brought by their breathing techniques to approach the guards as fast as cheetahs.
If it were an ordinary guard, seeing five knight-level powerhouses launching an attack, coupled with the oppressive aura released by the Life Seed, a timid one might even run away.
As the team leader, Karl quickly noticed something was amiss. The enemy guards were far too calm, as if they had known from the start that his side would launch a surprise attack. Especially after the squad rushed out of the jungle, the guards' previously tense expressions even showed a slight relaxation.
[I've been tricked!] Karl couldn't help but tremble with fear and forcibly stopped in his tracks.
"Retreat quickly, there's a trap."
After saying this, Karl immediately prepared to turn and run away. The other four, hearing this, although they didn't know why, still obeyed Karl's order and immediately stopped, preparing to leave.
"Fire!" Karl had barely finished speaking when another voice rang out from the middle of the carriage.
The carriage windows, which had been sealed, were suddenly flung open, and arrows shot out rapidly, heading straight for the five men. These were the guards changing shifts; in Green's plan, these men would carry out the most crucial step.
The five attackers wore expressions of despair. They were at a critical juncture, caught between waning old and rising forces, and utterly incapable of mounting an effective resistance.
"Hiss hiss hiss"
Arrow after arrow pierced through Saladin's five pursuers, but due to the darkness, even with torches providing illumination, the guards' accuracy was low. Only three of the five were struck by arrows: two in the hands and one in the thigh. The two with pierced hands acted decisively, extending their arms to block the arrows as they were about to strike. Otherwise, the arrows would have pierced their bodies.
As the team captain, Karl wasn't hit by the arrow. As the first to notice something was wrong, Karl had more time to adjust and could make a dodging motion.
Without hesitation, Carl charged towards the man whose thigh had been pierced, grabbed him, and hoisted him onto his shoulder. He then ran towards the jungle.
The other three also ran quickly into the jungle. The guards carried bows and arrows, but none were capable of rapid fire. Just before entering the forest, the four encountered no obstacles. Looking back, they breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the guards' bows and arrows. They then turned and continued running with all their might.
Looking at the forest so close at hand, the four men's eyes gleamed with relief. If they could just get into the jungle and regroup, this convoy would be wiped out sooner or later. Just as the five men were viciously plotting how to torture the people in the convoy...
The sound of five arrows piercing the air rang out, and the four people running were inevitably pierced through. Even the person being carried on the shoulder was hit hard in the buttocks by an arrow.
These arrows were completely different from those of the guards; not only were they incredibly fast, but every single one was aimed straight for the target's chest. The pursuers, their attention entirely focused on the guards behind them, had no idea that an ambush awaited them ahead.
"Puff puff puff puff"
"ah"
Four consecutive thuds of people falling to the ground were heard, followed by a scream.
Four men lay on the ground, each with an arrow embedded in their chest, half-buried in their bodies. At that moment, Green and his two companions slowly emerged from the jungle.
The four men who fell to the ground after being shot with arrows pulled the arrows out of their chests, took out some unknown medicinal powder from their pockets, and poured it directly onto the wounds. The heavy bleeding stopped quickly, but looking at the bright red scabs, it was likely that the wounds would reopen if they moved.
As the captain, Karl covered his wound with his hand and looked at Green and the other two. As knights, their vitality was extremely strong, and this kind of injury would not pose a fatal threat to them.
"How did you find us?" Karl asked Green and the other two in an incredulous tone.
"We noticed you as soon as you arrived. So, how was the performance we prepared for you?" Green said with a smile as he looked at the five injured men.
"Haha, I didn't expect our concealment skills to be so bad. We were discovered as soon as we arrived." Upon hearing this, Green seemed to think, "You guys are very good at hiding. Too bad I'm cheating."
After listening to Green finish speaking, Carl lowered his head and fell silent.
"However, do you think you can defeat a knight-level warrior like this?" Karl, who had been clutching his wound, suddenly looked up and charged towards the three people in front of him, increasing his speed by several times, even faster than when he approached the convoy before.
In Karl's view, as long as he dealt with the three people in front of him, the others were not a concern, and even though he was injured, he could handle them.
The other three, after Karl's riot, rushed towards Green and his two companions at the same time.
Seeing Karl and the others rapidly approaching, Green and his two companions didn't make a move, instead watching the scene unfold with smiles on their faces.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump."
The four people who were still sprinting suddenly felt weak in their limbs and collapsed to the ground.
"Poison? Impossible, how could a knight-level body be poisoned?" Karl's eyes were filled with disbelief. A knight's body is extremely strong, and the life seed has a very strong rejection effect, so poison is almost useless. Moreover, a knight-level body has extremely strong resistance, so even if poisoned, it is impossible for a knight-level body to lose its ability to move in a short period of time.
"How does it feel? This is a specially concocted mixed toxin that even a knight-level enemy can't withstand. Although it won't kill you, it can temporarily incapacitate a knight-level enemy." Grimm explained kindly to the enemies lying on the ground.
This poison was created by Grimm, who had his butler Basel collect poisons in the castle. They gathered poisonous mushrooms, snake venom, and other poisonous plants from the forest, then mixed them using a chip to create a potent toxin. It possesses extremely strong neuromuscular paralysis capabilities; once it enters the bloodstream, even a knight-level warrior will collapse and be unable to get up within a short time.
After Green finished speaking, Carl also lowered his head, though he didn't want to, but the poison made it impossible for him to lift it.
The guards quickly surrounded them and chained the five men to a tree. The one with the arrow in his buttocks, however, wasn't chained; he was left hanging. Green glanced at his wound and felt a chill run down his spine.
"That's really bad luck."
Green's arrow struck his buttocks. As the man carrying him fell, the arrow hit the ground first, penetrating deeper until it pierced through his entire genitals, exiting from his testicles. Having endured such immense pain, it's no wonder he cried out once and then remained unresponsive.
After interrogating the five captured men, Os obtained definite information.
As for their stubborn refusal to answer, these five men weren't so stubborn. After hearing Green's suggestions of skinning, slow slicing, and dismemberment, their attitudes had already wavered. When Green suggested castration, their responses came with remarkable speed.
The five men now only wish for a quick death, hoping to avoid further torment.
The five members of the team were named Carl, White, Dis, Hank, and Teres, and belonged to Saladin's First Legion's elite reconnaissance squad.
First of all, this team was indeed there to pursue the fleeing nobles. However, Saladin sent more than just this one team; there were more than a dozen squads in total, each pursuing in different directions. In addition, there were some squads of ordinary soldiers behind them. These ordinary soldiers were mainly responsible for transporting the valuables back. These ordinary soldiers did not participate in the battle, so it was just a normal march.
It's unclear who was unlucky, but most teams consisted of one or two knights leading three or four apprentice knights, while the team chasing Green was comprised of five knights.
What should we do with these five people?
"If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back in the spring breeze." The baron ordered the heads of the five men to be chopped off. After ensuring their deaths, they were buried on the spot. Interestingly, the man named White, whose genitals were severely injured, had seemed to have a sense of relief in his eyes earlier. However, considering that he had been groaning and staring at his genitals since waking up, death might indeed have been a relief for him. After all, in the last few hours of his life, the arrow inside White's body had not been removed, and every breath and movement caused unimaginable pain.
After dealing with the pursuers, the Baron reassured everyone present and immediately began their journey. Under these circumstances, no one was in the mood for rest; they only wanted to continue their journey and escape danger.