Chapter 13: Night Cavalry

The sound of galloping hooves racing through the night was definitely unusual in Yorkshire, especially when it was not just a single horse. Through the rapid, continuous sound of hooves, Dean could judge that this was a team of at least five horses. Moreover, to achieve such a frequency and produce such loud hoofbeats, they were definitely warhorses!

Could it be that the matter in Horn Town had been exposed?

Were these pursuers?

Because of the warhorses, Dean subconsciously thought of Ruman Bola, whom he had killed in Horn Town, and the Yorkshire Cavalry, who were quite famous in the Four Northern Counties. Not only did they deal with local bandits and robbers, but these Yorkshire Cavalry would even act as sheriffs to hunt down murderers who had committed major crimes, such as someone like him who had killed a noble.

However, the next moment, Dean denied his guess. Given his extreme efforts to cover his tracks and eliminate clues, if the Yorkshire Cavalry could still find him this quickly, they wouldn’t just be famous in the Four Northern Counties; they would be renowned throughout the entire Goedz.

Although filled with doubt, Dean’s movements were not slow. He patted the horse beside him, driving it into the nearby woods, while Dean grabbed the items from the carriage and slipped into the woods on the other side. When choosing a resting spot, Dean had instinctively looked for a place that allowed for a quick exit or concealment. As it turned out, although this choice required some effort, it was very useful at critical moments.

As for the carriage?

Although smaller than a traditional carriage, it could not just enter these woods with low shrubs. Entering would only expose it completely and alert others, so it was better to leave it where it was. To do this, Dean had to chop the wooden shaft, creating the illusion that it had been abandoned.

Because of this, by the time Dean burrowed into the pre-selected bushes, the loud hoofbeats were already very close. One in front and five behind, a total of six riders appeared in Dean’s vision in the night. The rider in front had to lean down to make the horse run faster, looking somewhat panicked, while the five riders behind him held gleaming weapons in the night, which undoubtedly showed their hostile relationship.

However, the armor of the five riders behind confirmed Dean’s previous guess: the Yorkshire Cavalry.

“Stop!”

With such a furious shout, the leader of the Yorkshire Cavalry threw the longsword in his hand, forcing the panicked rider in front to dodge. But clearly, this rider’s horsemanship was not superb. Therefore, the cost of trying to dodge on a galloping warhorse was falling straight off, revealing the face he had been covering.

Huh?!

When Dean, hiding to the side, saw the face of the person being chased, he was stunned. This face was not unfamiliar to Dean; after all, he had traveled with the other party that morning, and the other party had even spoken to him more than once. That is right, the person being chased was the traveling merchant with the accent of the Three Southern Counties, and one of the merchants Dean considered to be very wealthy.

Clearly, he was not the only one who had chosen to leave that morning mixed in with the merchants; there were others. But Dean’s gaze held doubt; the other party’s figure was clearly not that of a trained warrior, his hands had no calluses from holding weapons, and his pale skin showed he lived a life of comfort. Because of this, Dean had ignored him.

After all, such a person could not possibly be an assassin or a bandit. But being chased by the Yorkshire Cavalry raised some very intriguing questions.

As Dean thought, the scene before him continued.

The chased man, who used a merchant as his disguise, had fallen off his horse, but his reaction was not slow. Before the Yorkshire Cavalry caught up, he scrambled towards the carriage Dean had left behind.

Clearly, on this small clearing, only the damaged carriage could serve as a defensive fortification to rely on. Even if it was simple, it was better than nothing. From his angle, Dean could clearly see the chased man take out a small hand crossbow and a ring set with a gem.

Dean was no stranger to that kind of small hand crossbow; it was a favorite of any assassin, holding a status equal to a dagger. And that gem ring…

When Dean saw the Ruby on it flashing, his whole body tensed—Magic Item.

“Ai!”

With a shout Dean knew well, the flashing Ruby suddenly burst with light, and a fireball the size of a human head leaped out, shooting towards the five cavalrymen behind with a speed no less than an arrow. The first to be hit was the leader who had thrown the longsword, and he was instantly surrounded by flames.

Boom!

Amidst the explosion and waves of fire, the leader of the cavalrymen was blown to pieces, and the cavalrymen beside him were also injured. The warhorses, frightened by the flames, caused them further injury. One of them, under the double attack of the flames and hooves, had his chest armor deeply dented, and it was clear he would not survive.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

Just then, arrows appeared. Although the arrows shot from the hand crossbow were short, their power under the strong spring was not to be underestimated. However… the chased man’s archery was truly terrible. Two of the three arrows missed the target, and while the remaining one hit, it only struck the thigh.

With a sharp scream, the cavalryman who was hit by the arrow fell to the ground. The remaining two cavalrymen, though also injured, still moved towards the carriage where the chased man was hiding. Clearly, these cavalrymen knew very well that a hand crossbow held only three arrows, and they were not willing to give the other party time to reload.

If they really did that, it would simply be joking with their own lives.

Dean watched the continuing battle, especially the corpse blown apart by the fireball, his narrowed eyes flashing with light. “What kind of thing could make these York Cavalry so desperate?”

Faced with a mission, Dead Soldiers who disregarded their lives existed, but they would definitely not be the York Cavalry, who only had some fame in the Four Northern Counties. For these York Cavalry to act so against the norm, something important must have happened, so important that they staked their own lives on it.

“Ike! Ike! Come out and help me!”

A sudden shout came from the mouth of the chased man, causing the two advancing cavalrymen to pause. They quickly lowered their bodies and looked around vigilantly. Dean, hiding to the side, was also stunned. However, a cold look immediately flashed across his face. Although he was surprised that the other party had discovered the carriage was his, one thing was certain: the other party definitely had bad intentions.

Whether it was to distract the two cavalrymen or to buy himself time to reload, he was doing it at the cost of dragging Dean into the mess.

Undoubtedly, this was definitely not good news for Dean.

The things he had done in Horn Town, and the items he carried, would definitely be big trouble if discovered, especially the latter. Crossbows were considered contraband in the Four Northern Counties. Dean even suspected that the other party might have discovered he was carrying such goods, which was why he dared to shout at this moment, wanting to drag Dean down with him.

Dean took a deep breath, picked up the crossbow that had been loaded with an arrow long ago, raised it slightly, aimed, and then pulled the trigger.

Snap!

Whoosh!

With a slight sound, the arrow from the crossbow shot out, piercing the throat of the chased man who was reloading his hand crossbow.

Blood bubbles frothed from his mouth. The chased man wanted to say something, but nothing came out. However, with his eyes wide open even in death, he clearly could not understand why Dean had made him the first target. Even if Dean wanted to deal with him, he should have solved the cavalrymen behind him first.

Not killing a potential helper right now, which increased his own danger against the enemy.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Dean had no time to pay attention to the thoughts of the chased man. After the first arrow from the crossbow was fired, he immediately picked up a second crossbow. Unlike the first one, which was a trophy taken from Basum, the second one was a product from Garendo. Its brand-new frame and springs gave the crossbow great power.

As for why he attacked the York Cavalry?

In a situation where the other party clearly would not make peace with him, Dean always struck first!

Almost the next moment, one of the two cavalrymen had his throat shot through as well, and the remaining two were also killed on the spot by arrows. Compared to using a crossbow, Dean’s archery was equally good, and to some extent, even stronger than his Sword Technique.

After all, in his career as an assassin for several years, Dean was able to escape unscathed entirely thanks to this method of fleeing far away after a single failed strike.

Three small white light balls condensed from the bodies of the three cavalrymen and flew into Dean’s body.

[XP+3]

[XP+3]

[XP+3]

Three consecutive prompts indicated Dean’s harvest this time. Of course, this was only part of the harvest. When Dean walked in front of the chased man and rummaged through the leather bag he carried, he immediately found a harvest besides that hand crossbow and the used magic ring.

Quite an unexpected harvest!