Chapter 42: Strike (Part 2)

When Dean, fully dressed again, appeared once more in the small square of the Military Camp, Ike had already gathered all twelve members of his squad.

“What happened at the outpost, I think you have already heard—those bandits brutally killed our Regiment Commander Potts and many colleagues; we must take revenge; because, they are already testing us, if we cowardly shrink back, their next target will likely be Tier Town, Tier Town where your relatives and friends live!”

Dean knew very well that to ‘avenge’ Potts, he had to exaggerate the facts.

Otherwise, given Potts’s character, no one here would probably be willing to risk their lives.

And fortunately, thanks to his previous groundwork, such a statement was already very easily accepted.

“We cannot let those guys enter Tier Town!”

“Kill these guys!”

“Regiment Commander, I want to kill them!”

…

The emotions of the young people were quickly stirred up, and they shouted loudly one after another.

“Very good!”

Dean nodded with satisfaction, then he turned his head to look at a Militia beside him and said: “Mah, you are responsible for those staying behind, including you, five people… No, I do not doubt your courage and Strength, it is just that we need support—you see, the bandits who could wipe out Regiment Commander Potts and his team are definitely not weak opponents; so, we need support! Of course, this support is not you!”

Looking at his subordinates who went from being somewhat excited to quieting down and listening intently, Dean pointed in the direction of Tier Town and said: “One day, you need to wait for one day, if we do not come back, you need to immediately report to the Lord Baron in Tier Town, understand?”

“Yes, Regiment Commander!”

Auxiliary Soldier Mah nodded.

“Then, let’s go!”

Looking around at the circle of people, seeing the excited or worried expressions of the young people around him, Dean finally withdrew his gaze, swung his arm vigorously, and shouted loudly.

Whether it was hesitation or fear, Dean believed that after experiencing real combat, these emotions would be swept away, and they would be replaced by courage and Toughness.

This was the inevitable process for every recruit to become a veteran.

He had come through the same way back then.

It was just that the person waving the arm in front of him back then was that Grand Duchess, and now, he was doing the same thing as her in front of a group of rookie recruits.

Of course, it was only similar in nature.

He did not perform the feat of five hundred cavalry directly facing forty thousand cavalry; at most, he was just imitating—one thousand five hundred people, facing three legions, not even thirty thousand people, and ultimately they perished together; this was really too far from the Grand Duchess’s victorious return, so much so that Dean thought he was just a clumsy imitation.

Therefore, Dean knew he still had a lot to learn.

Sitting upright on the horse, Dean moved forward at a neither fast nor slow speed, and the Militia behind him did the same—although the heavy snow no longer blocked the road, the snow on the road still existed, and the horses could not run wildly; in fact, if it were not to maintain enough Stamina to cope with the upcoming battle, Dean would have preferred to walk.

After all, the current speed was only a little faster than walking.

However, the Militia behind him did not think so; the moment they got on the horses, they were immediately attracted by these magical animals—although it was not the first time they had ridden horses, usually they were some draft horses pulling carts, which could not be compared with real Warhorses.

Not only were they tall and mighty, but they also had greater endurance and acceleration.

If the snow on the ground were not unsuitable, they would definitely try the speed of these Warhorses.

Seeing the excitement of these subordinates, Dean guessed that during Potts’s reign, apart from feeding the horses, these young people had never really ridden these horses.

However, it was precisely because of feeding, grooming, and shoveling manure that these young people established a real friendship with these horses, even if they only knew some basics of riding, riding on these horses was not strenuous at all—in fact, real Knights needed to feed, groom, and shovel manure personally, in order to deepen the bond with their mounts.

Of course, given the character of that Regiment Commander Potts, that was obviously impossible.

Dean gently strode the mount that belonged to that Regiment Commander Potts under him, and adjusted his sitting posture to make it more comfortable, so that it would not become terrified because of the snow and strangeness.

Undoubtedly, Dean did a very good job.

In the subsequent journey, the coordination between the mount under him and him became more and more tacit, so that when they arrived in front of the outpost, Dean was already able to command the mount under him through some body movements combined with whistling—apart from the adaptability of the Warhorse, it was more due to Dean’s skills.

After all, the horse taming skills obtained from that Grand Duchess were definitely the Secret Technique of the Emerald royal family.

“Regiment Commander, Ike!”

Theron, who had received the news early, had already been waiting for a while, and seeing Dean and his group, he immediately came up to meet them.

“How is the situation?”

Dean asked while dismounting.

“Those guys are triumphant, obviously very pleased with themselves for picking up a bargain!”

The sturdy Militia Captain gave such an evaluation with great disdain.

“Pick up a bargain?”

Dean asked, even though he knew the answer.

“I checked the place where the battle first occurred again, and we can be sure that Regiment Commander Potts encountered a Snow Bear before those guys picked up a bargain… it was entirely luck!”

The information provided by the sturdy Militia Captain settled the nature of Regiment Commander Potts’s ‘accident’ this time.

“Perhaps, they lured Regiment Commander Potts into a trap!”

Another Militia Captain offered a different view. Theron was stunned, then after thinking for a moment, he nodded and said: “That is also very possible!”

“Whichever it is, it cannot be an obstacle for us to wipe them out!”

Dean said decisively.

…

“Hahaha…”

Such loud laughter, mixed with the sound of pouring alcohol, came from one side of the Stockade. As the leader here, Sibul, a bandit leader with half Barbarian blood, was really proud at this moment—if he hadn’t discovered that trace of blood, how could he have the harvest he has now?

Look at the Armor on his body!

It was a product of pure steel, and the Longsword was even sharper.

Although the Armor was damaged and a bit small, under his ‘modification’, it was enough to be worn as Half-Body Armor.

And the Longsword was not as handy as his Wolf Tooth Club, but he liked it very much, especially when one sword strike left a crack on the corner of the Wolf Tooth Club, and the Longsword only had a slight curl, this half-Barbarian bandit leader planned to use this Longsword as his new weapon.

As for the curled edge?

He would find a way to fix it, as long as he brought out two bags of grain, those Barbarian Elders would help him deal with it.

Gulp, gulp…

A whole bag of Strong Liquor, enough to make three strong men drunk on the ground, was poured into the belly of this half-Barbarian bandit leader, and then, without caring at all, he picked up another bag.

Obviously, the Barbarian blood not only made him far taller and stronger than ordinary people, but also gave his internal organs corresponding strength; otherwise, even a similarly tall person would not be able to cope with the invasion of alcohol afterwards.

Similarly, as Sibul’s confidants, those bandits who had shared the leather Armor and weapons of the Ferrchelen Knight Order elites were also celebrating wildly like their leader.

They were not worried about so-called retaliation at all.

After all, this was just a temporary stronghold of theirs, the real lair was deep in the Snowplains Dense Forest—there, it was not a place where mere numbers could win.

So, they just planned to celebrate properly now.

You know, after dawn tomorrow, they would return, bringing the items from this harvest—in addition to the Armor on their bodies and the weapons in their hands, on the other side of this hall dug out of the cave, there were piles of grain, dried meat, and pickles and other supplies.

Of course, there were also bags of Gold Pulton, Silver Horn, and Copper Coin scattered on the ground.

As for how these things came?

As bandits, they naturally used bandit methods to obtain supplies and money.

“Let’s share the money!”

Sibul grabbed the money bag, grabbed the only three or four Gold Pulton in his hand, and immediately threw the remaining money bag to the confidants in front of him.

Suddenly, these bandits pounced on the money bag like hungry wolves.

Compared to others walking in the Darkness, the distribution of loot among bandits and robbers was more direct and effective—whoever had the bigger fist could take more.

Ah!!!

And just when the bandits were fighting for the Silver Horn and Copper Coin on the ground, a scream rang out, followed by the second and third.

Immediately, the bandit leader with Barbarian blood roared, grabbed his Longsword, and rushed outside, and behind him, those bandits followed closely—if they didn’t want to be held accountable later, they had to follow their boss closely at this time.

You know, although the Barbarian blood made their boss tall and strong, it also made their boss grumpy and irritable.

After many people were killed by the angry Sibul, they knew what to do in the future.

However, after following their boss out of the cave, these bandits were stunned, and Sibul was also stunned—because, in front of them, there was only one person!