Chapter 9

In the deep autumn, the cold moon hung high in the sky, and dark clouds flowed like water in the ink-black sky. Du Yu crouched in the bushes, carefully observing the makeshift camp by the crescent-shaped lake at the foot of the mountain. The camp was well-chosen, utilizing the higher embankment by the lake to build wooden fences. A small river, two meters wide, flowed outside the camp, making it resemble a simple fortress.

From a higher position on the mountain, one could clearly see that over a hundred soldiers, clad in light leather armor, were gathered around a bonfire, enthusiastically watching two burly men fighting in the middle. Although they were using wooden swords, the sound of the wooden swords clashing could be heard clearly from a distance, indicating the immense strength they were using, as if they were fighting to the death.

One of the burly men finally struck the other's waist with his wooden sword, then used the hilt to knock out his opponent, who was bent over in pain, causing the surrounding soldiers to howl with excitement.

"Sir, this must be the army of the Kaitoka family that attacked Lord Keslato. Look at the eagle-head flag on the tent; it must be the Kaitoka family's vulture war flag," Statuenko, who was lying next to Du Yu, pointed to the most luxurious tent by the bonfire, his face cold as he watched the Kaitoka family's army still howling in excitement from a distance.

This time, Du Yu decided to personally lead the 200 newly trained peasant soldiers to ambush the Kaitoka family's army, which met with strong opposition from Statuenko. Although these 200 peasants had undergone a month of arduous training, the chances of defeating the Kaitoka family, known as the "battle vultures," were very slim.

"The new recruits can't defeat the Kaitoka family's veterans, let alone the 13 battle-hardened knights," Statuenko felt that his lord must have been driven by a surge of blood, planning to use 200 peasants to fight against battle-hardened veterans led by knights.

"Veterans were once new recruits too. Without seeing blood, no matter how well-trained they are, they are still new recruits. What about the knights? Have you forgotten how you were forced into a corner by the shield wall? Do you want your trained army to never see battle, to always be new recruits? If that's what you want, why train them at all? Just let the enemy cut them down!"

Du Yu's harsh words left the tough Statuenko speechless. His lord was always unpredictable, whether it was forming this special attack force or the ever-burning magic rockets, he could never keep up with his lord's pace.

"Prepare everyone," Du Yu said coldly to Statuenko, who was beside him. Everyone was trying to suppress their breathing, not out of deliberate effort, but because all the soldiers were new recruits. The difference between training and real combat was stark, and everyone was so nervous they hardly dared to breathe.

This was Du Yu's first battle, and he was also a new recruit on the battlefield. He felt his fingers gripping the short sword were stiff from the force of his grip.

The dense bushes around the camp provided excellent cover for Du Yu and the peasant soldiers. The entire army had stealthily advanced to within about 100 meters of the Kaitoka camp. Any closer, and the sentries would notice them. Although most of the soldiers were gathered around the bonfire, the sentries on the lookout tower could still be seen moving back and forth.

"Can you take out the sentry on the western lookout tower?" Du Yu turned to look at the hunter leader, Krolisat, whose eyes, shining with a fierce light, startled Krolisat, who was used to hunting in the mountains. "Those are the eyes of a beast."

Du Yu could clearly see a makeshift stable in the upper left corner of the camp, where a dozen warhorses were munching on dry grass in the wooden troughs. Those must be the horses of the 13 knights.

Whenever he thought of Statuenko's smooth and elegant knightly sword techniques in the castle square, Du Yu felt a chill. If these professional killers, the knights, mounted their horses, even if his soldiers cooperated perfectly, most of the new recruits would fall. This was why Du Yu chose to attack at night.

As long as these knights couldn't mount their horses, they were just skilled infantry. If they faced a well-trained shield wall, they would be forced into a corner.

"Sir, the wind is too strong tonight. It's hard to take out the sentry from this distance. I need to get within 40 meters to have a good chance of taking him out," Krolisat shook his head regretfully. Shooting a moving sentry from 50 meters away was possible in calm conditions, but the strong wind from the lake made it difficult to hit a moving target accurately.

"If you can take out the sentry, it will be easier. Statuenko, I'll go in first and take out the horses. When the camp is in chaos, you organize the soldiers to form a shield wall and charge," Du Yu ignored Statuenko's hesitation, turned, and disappeared into the darkness, leaving only a black silhouette moving quickly toward the camp.

Du Yu slid forward on the grass, then leaped like a flying fish over the small river, about two meters wide, outside the camp. A few quick jumps brought him to the fence, and he used his hands to hoist his bulky body over, like a gecko on a wall, easily clearing the three-meter-high wooden fence.

The agile movements of the "foolish lord" left everyone stunned, even the hunter leader Krolisat, who considered himself light as a feather and able to traverse mountains and valleys as if they were flat ground, was thoroughly impressed. "Is this guy even human?"

Du Yu jumped down from the three-meter-high wooden fence, landing softly. His movements were so quick that the sentries didn't notice him. Following his memory from the earlier observation, Du Yu easily found the stable with the warhorses, but then he realized he had overlooked an important problem.

"How do I deal with these horses?" Horses are very resilient. Unless their heads are chopped off, it would be hard to kill them with a single blow. A fallen warhorse would certainly cause the others to neigh in alarm. Du Yu looked at the horses in the stable, which were staring at him with wide eyes, their sensitivity far greater than that of humans.

"Right, set the stable on fire. The horses will panic and run around," Du Yu's eyes suddenly focused on the torch on the stable post. He took the torch, which was burning with pine oil, opened the wooden gate, and set the thatched roof on fire.

The night wind by the lake was strong, and the fire quickly spread throughout the stable. The intense heat made the horses panic and struggle to break free. For a moment, the sounds of the wind, the fire, and the horses' terrified neighs mixed together.

Seeing the commotion at the stable, the Kaitoka family soldiers, led by several knights in chainmail, rushed over in a panic, but they didn't notice that the sentries on the lookout tower had been taken out by arrows from the bushes outside the camp.

"What are you all standing around for? Waiting for the enemy to shoot you? Quickly, a few of you go over the fence and open the camp gate," Statuenko frantically directed the new recruits, who were still standing by the fence, unsure of what to do after reaching the bottom. This made Statuenko, who considered himself a commander, furious.

Hearing Statuenko's words, the peasant soldiers, who were equally panicked and excited, finally reacted. A few of the more agile ones started to climb the fence. At that moment, the camp gate creaked open, and Du Yu's bulky figure appeared.

"What are you all standing around for? Form groups of six and get into the assault formation as we trained! Remember, don't look back until the enemy is defeated. Anyone who looks back will be killed!" Du Yu, seeing the chaos outside, also shouted in anger. By then, the Kaitoka family soldiers had noticed the commotion, and a knight led a dozen soldiers toward the camp gate. The peasant soldiers could even hear the heavy breathing of the approaching Kaitoka soldiers.

"Charge!" With Statuenko's shout, 30 small teams formed a sharp shield wall and moved forward quickly, like a moving mountain in the darkness, pressing down on the stunned enemy.

"Enemy attack! The enemy has breached the camp!" The knight, seeing the dark figures moving in the night, panicked. Although he had already realized that the fire at the stable was a deliberate act, he hadn't expected a night attack. Someone dared to attack the Kaitoka family!

The knight's shrill cry drew the attention of several dozen soldiers who were still putting out the fire. Seeing the approaching shield wall, the veterans drew their weapons and formed two lines, a traditional infantry formation in open battle, which allowed each soldier to face the enemy head-on.

"Bang, bang" The moving shield wall finally collided with the well-prepared Kaitoka soldiers. The sound of weapons hitting shields was like continuous drumbeats. With the occasional "thud, thud," several Kaitoka soldiers were quickly knocked down, their mysterious deaths shocking the others.

"Be careful, their short swords! These despicable bastards!" A knight, retreating in pain, shouted, a short sword still stuck in his bloodied waist. It seemed the peasant soldier's short sword had been caught in the knight's fine chainmail, allowing him to survive.

This shout made many of the Kaitoka soldiers, who had been pushed back by the shield wall, retreat further. However, most of them had already fallen. Following their training, the shield wall had broken through the Kaitoka family's defenses and was now closing in from both sides, like a dumpling being wrapped, trapping the Kaitoka soldiers in the middle.

"This is a massacre, a one-sided massacre," Statuenko felt like he was going mad. From the few soldiers he had fought, these were veterans who had seen battle. Despite the surprise attack, they had calmly formed a defensive formation, but it was no match for this strange shield wall.

Statuenko even saw one of the most timid peasant soldiers close his eyes, push a soldier against the shield, and stab him to death with a short sword.

"Surrender! Or die!" Du Yu waved for the soldiers to stop attacking. In the circular formation formed by the shield wall, only a dozen soldiers were still resisting, including three knights in scale armor. This relieved Du Yu, who had been wary of a knight charge. "It seems most of the knights are not in the camp."

"We surrender! We demand fair treatment. Our family will pay a ransom for us!" The three knights threw down their weapons first. Further resistance was pointless, and a knight's loyalty had its limits.

"Where is your Kaitoka Marquis? Where is he?" Du Yu was particularly upset that he hadn't found the enemy's lord in the camp. The lord was the big fish, and these small fry weren't worth much.

"He and Captain Storri went to Lord Keslato's castle for negotiations," the captives' answer made Du Yu even more puzzled. What was going on? He was fighting a life-and-death battle here, while his future father-in-law was negotiating with the enemy. The feeling of being deceived made Du Yu furious. "This old fox, I'll deal with you."

"Take these people away, clean up the battlefield, and let's go to Lord Keslato's castle," Du Yu shouted to the soldiers who were still clearing the battlefield.