Chapter 10

Just beyond the town gate of Baiyang, the battle did not last long. Taking advantage of the surprise attack, the disguised merchants had already rushed through the city walls—the flat carts that blocked the gate were clearly specially made. After blocking the entrance, they were pulled down on both sides to form a passage. The more than ten people who originally pulled the carts turned the horses into mounts, charging forward on horseback, forming a light cavalry. They whistled as they charged through the gate, along the wide avenue, and threw torches along the way, quickly igniting several black fires!

At this moment, the town seemed to finally realize the attack.

Sharp whistles sounded as warnings, and at the end of the street, several people rushed out of the houses... even more people poured out from the simple wooden castle in the center of the town.

They wore a mix of mismatched robes, gathering in a panic at the other end of the street. In contrast to this chaos, the light cavalry of the bandits could be considered well-trained—after charging through the gate, they had already reined in their horses, forming a loose formation. They did not seem to intend to use their speed advantage, but merely watched as the dozens of town guards barely set up a row of tower shields, forming a crooked defense a few hundred feet away.

"Who are you?"

A voice came from the center of the disorganized gathering of the defense team—a young man in black. The short robe made of cotton, with silver braided patterns on the chest, indicated his identity as the local noble lord. His age was clearly not enough to qualify as a lord, so he was obviously a direct descendant of the lord.

His noble attire was not lavish, but it was well-tailored, making him appear tall and elegant. His face could be considered handsome, with neatly combed brown hair, deep-set eyes, and a straight nose. Only his lips were slightly too thin, making him look more refined but also a bit sinister.

"You are the son of that Viscount, right? Nice to meet you. I am Bakara, but my friends call me Black Crow."

Behind the horse team, a man on the only large and strong horse spoke loudly. It was an especially robust horse—about half the size larger than the other horses, with a black mane like smooth silk, clearly a feature of the purest bloodline from the north... Even if it was a hybrid, it was one of the most direct descendants.

Thus, the man sitting on the horse also stood out—his body was as sturdy as a wild bear, his bald head covered in scars, and his lower half hidden in a messy beard. One eye was covered by a black eye patch—indeed, he looked like the quintessential image of a bandit leader. More strikingly, he was fully armored in a rare full-body suit of armor, reflecting a black oily shine in the sunlight.

If he held a black-feathered war helmet in his hand, he would look just as imposing as those legendary kingdom knights.

Moreover, he seemed to enjoy this imposing presence—after his words, the bandits around him struck their weapons against their shields, armor, or the ground, creating a heavy and loud clanging sound.

In this wilderness, it was quite difficult for a bandit group to achieve such a presence... Not to mention the more than thirty horses and their corresponding saddles, which were enough to make any ordinary group envious, let alone the full suits of chainmail and breastplates worn by the leaders, which were as good as any adventurer's gear...

Even if the horses were just ordinary hybrids, with a few long-haired ones indicating they were originally used for pulling carts, they still provided a significant advantage over infantry. With the speed and impact of the horses, a warrior's attack could be greatly enhanced. These thirty-odd horses, even at a normal human running speed, could easily break through the shield and spear formation of a hundred ordinary guards, let alone the fifty or so with only thin shields.

Therefore, the bandits looked very calm.

Their opponents, on the other hand, seemed much more disorganized.

In the remote western border of the kingdom, a small town would not have more than two thousand people. To ensure farming, it was impossible to have many soldiers. Therefore, the fifty or so people following the young noble were probably the limit. Their opponents not only outnumbered them but were also of equal quality—adventurers might not have systematic training, but their默契程度并不逊色于真正的士兵，武技上说不定还具有充分的优势。

事实上，数量较多的冒险者袭击这样的小型村镇，甚至杀死领主占领村镇的事情，在西疆早已不是什么新闻——这也是许多偏远地区的小领主贵族宁愿将领地托管给当地的一些所谓管家，而自己只定期收取部分税金，躲在大城市中过着平静生活的原因。

“我知道你，詹姆斯士爵。传闻中，你是个很有野心的家伙，这几年来把领地发展得不错……只不过脑子看来并不怎么好。”

强盗头子发出了一串嘶哑的仿佛敲打木头一样的咔咔声，也确实有几分像是乌鸦的嘶叫——虽然那实际上是一阵冷笑：“当然，我应该感谢一下你的愚蠢，如果不是你放开了城门的进出限制，又把道路修得这么宽敞，大爷们这一次还真的不一定能进得这么顺利。看在这份帮助的面子上，我们不会让你和你的老子太过难堪的。子爵阁下只要拿出一半的税金收入，我们这些佣兵就可以无条件地接手您领地的防卫工作，而且保证比你现在的这些手下要强……至少可以保证，不会被人如此轻松地进入到了城镇的中心。”

“听上去似乎……还不错。”年轻的贵族犹豫了一下，或许是在衡量着利益。

而这个态度也让强盗们的士气更加高涨。

“现在看起来，你也还挺识时务嘛！”强盗的首领哈哈大笑。“很好，只要乖乖的，我就安排匹马送你去达科城……另外，我黑鸦巴卡拉可是很慷慨的，如果你的嘴巴够严实，不到处乱说，我说不定可以考虑给你一点税金的分润……嗯，就每年一个王国金币好了……？”

这其实不怎么好笑，但看来是跟首领的独特嗜好相关，于是强盗团也开始跟着凑趣的狂笑起来……

“那还真是谢谢诶……”

青年贵族的声音忽然响亮了起来。“黑鸦巴卡拉阁下，是吗？”

扫视了一眼眼前的盗贼团，他静待着对方的嘈杂结束：“其实，我也有个不错的建议……我很喜欢你身上的这件铠甲，如果你把它贡献给我，我就免除你的一点罪行……我看看，让你不必被吊在木架上涂满柏油，而是痛快地被砍掉脑袋如何？”

“不错的笑话，小鬼，你以为我他妈的……”

对手的反应显然出乎了意料……以至于黑鸦语声一滞……“**的有种！”他怒极反笑，同时发出响亮的咬牙切齿的声音：“你以为我他妈的……是到这里来被你耍着玩的？还是你想给我拖延时间……好啊，我就看看，**的到底是怎么能赦免我的！”

“怎么赦免你？哦，我倒是很想给你详细解释一下，不过，就像爱德华常说的，即使是传奇诗人的乐曲，也无法打动一头公牛。”被称为詹姆斯士爵的年轻人打了个哈哈，举起一只手：“而且我怀疑你还不如一头牛……否则的话，你怎么会没有发现，今天镇子里的村民人数少了很多，而且城墙上的守卫也格外松散呢？”

黑鸦的脸色变了。

他并不是没有注意到这些事情，只是巨大的优势让他并没有过多考虑这个方面。如今心有所动，便很容易注意到，整个城镇之中除了他们这一队人马的喧嚣，几乎已经是鸦雀无声——原本在街上游荡的村民已经不知去向，大街两旁的各个店铺，也已经通通关紧了门窗！

这可不是被强盗团冲破了围墙的城镇应有的姿态……尖叫声呢？哭喊声呢？慌乱地四散奔逃的人群呢？

而且更重要的是，先期以冒险者身份派进村子里的那些兄弟们哪里去了？本来的约定不是四处放火之后，便各自开始掠夺和制造混乱吗？

黑鸦巴卡拉猛地拉紧了马缰，作为一个强盗的首领，他拥有着更多的经验以及良好的直觉——虽然不明白对方究竟是在做些什么，但他的心头却升起了巨大的危机意识，即使是在他人生中最危险的面对一头双足飞龙时，也没有如此强烈的预感……失败的预感。

“匪类！”

轰然的巨响在头顶上绽开……一个光辉灿烂的身影从天而降！

……虽然跃起的高度让人还以为他是要飞向天空。

太阳的光辉似乎在一瞬间被增强了几倍，所有原本跟随那个人影的眼睛都感受到了剧烈的疼痛！当光芒终于消散，强盗们的队列之中已经出现了一个人——一个并不高大的武士，似乎格外得到阳光宠溺着一般，周身散发着煌煌的光泽。

这个不速之客立刻享受到了热烈的欢迎——随着高声的咒骂，一柄伐木斧和两把阔刃刀分别从不同的角度招呼下来，另一边也有一柄短矛阴狠地刺击，一时间竟然也产生了极好的配合效果，将周围的退路封锁得严实……

然而他们大概忘记了，这个对手既然敢于只身冲入战场，便代表着拥有绝对的自信。

低低的叱喝声中，闪烁的光泽在空中连成了耀目的轨迹！在那团光华面前，三柄武器不是折断，而像是冰晶一般被打成粉碎！可怕的力量在空气中压出一道波纹，将为首的三个，甚至他们身后的几个强盗都变成了被抛出的石块……

咚咚的撞击声连带着惨叫，原本稠密的队伍被生生撞出了三道沟壑！而另一边的短矛手只觉得光辉耀眼，当他回过神来，一只冰冷的拳头已经重重砸在了他脸上。嗡地一声，他的白铁头盔像是被铁锤砸中一样，硬生生凹进去老大一块！而巨大的冲击力让他一声不吭地就昏死在了地上。

“别管他！冲上去！抓住那个贵族！”

黑鸦巴卡拉拉住座下因为那光芒而暴跳的马匹，暴躁地吼叫起来。

作为头目，他拥有比一般人多的见识，所以他只一眼认出了那个人的身份！

那华丽的全套铠甲光洁的甲片上，盘绕着波澜一般的金色纹饰，再联系他身周的灼灼光芒，很容易就能得到令人心惊的结论——

一个圣武士！

这就是他们的依仗？这该死的神殿狗腿确实称得上是匪徒们的克星，可一个圣武士怎么会跑到这种荒凉的地方？是那个所谓的子爵大人请来的救兵吗？

原因已经无暇再想了。跟这样的有神力加持的对手作战，根本就是找死！这是每一个强盗——无论是野盗小贼，还是大型强盗团们都认可的真理……

但还是有机会的，对，人质可以让圣武士有所忌惮，只要抓住那个贵族小鬼……自己有三十多名骑兵，足以冲散那个贵族身边的盾阵了！

“去抓那个贵族！”

如斯想道的强盗头子猛地咆哮着，同时催动了马匹……

而这声音，像是拧开了一个嘈杂的开关，

吼叫声，碰撞声，铁器的摩擦声，惨叫和沉闷的撞击……一下子便充盈了整个白杨镇！

第一匹马开始前冲，不足百尺的距离几乎转瞬即逝，子爵的士兵或者看上去并不强悍，只要加些力，那些大盾也不足以挡住马匹，而且他们那个没有长枪的阵势根本……

等等，他们的阵势？

第一个可怜的人似乎注意到，那些大盾后面架起了一些什么，然而还没有反应过来，他就在一个尖利的哨音中翻落在了马下！

嗤嗤！噗噗！

一排黑色的影子划过空气，然后在几个骑士与他们的坐骑身上还原成为狰狞的钢铁！那些短粗的箭矢毫无滞涩地扯开了几个骑在马上的强盗的链甲，就好像那些曾经经过许多战斗考验的护具不过是腐朽的树皮，锋锐的棱刺甚至透过他们整个的身体！

大约应该归功于那箭矢上带着的恐怖的力量吧，每一支箭矢都会将一个正在前冲的人体直接推回，几个并不强壮的家伙甚至被向后抛飞！在地上翻滚出大片尘埃，几乎连在一起的惨嘶之后，大路上就只剩下战马与骑兵四下散落的尸体。侥幸活下来的马慌乱地向前跑过城卫军的阵势，留下他们主人的尸体和几个强壮的还在地上翻滚惨呼着的中箭者。

那些试图挣扎起身的负伤者很快他们就发现自己有些力不从心——那些可怕的箭矢显然带着特异的构造，血液正在以触目惊心的速度向外喷涌，眨眼之间便已经将周围染得一片鲜红！中箭者试图将它们拔除的努力都变成了徒劳，即使离开了身体，可怕的倒刺也拉掉了大片的皮肉，让血液流逝更加剧烈！

———

“连发重十字弓，没想到在这种地方竟然还有人能够……这样奢侈……”

不远处的旅店二楼，站在窗口的中年骑士惊讶地低语。

依靠着钢铁弓臂的弹性，重十字弓拥有着惊人的，甚至短距离内不逊色于复合长弓的杀伤力，普通的锁环甲……甚至一些挂着魔法标签的防具也不能相抗，更别说是那些粗陋的皮甲和脸颊……而依靠工具上弦的特性，又让它对于臂力没有太高的要求，一个成年人根本不需要太多的训练就能够使用……

这种弓弩是快速增强军力的高级军资，也是一些卑鄙阴险的蟊贼们最为垂涎的抢手货物，因此属于极度受限的物资，价格也是不要说是一位三等子爵，即使是二等以下的伯爵领地，也很少会拥有这种武器。

但现在，那位士爵的身边，士兵们使用的全部都是这样的重十字弓！而且显然是特制的，上面拥有排成十字形的四根弓臂，一次上弦，可以激发两次！虽然牺牲了一些攻击力，但连发两次的火力足以弥补任何不足。

这确实已经不是富裕，而是奢侈了。

“很厉害吧……这可是方圆几百里之内最好的铁匠。老约克的手艺！”杰克在一旁得意洋洋地解释道：“可惜，