Chapter 56

With a mix of indescribable emotions in his heart, Rody couldn't clearly define whether it was anger or regret.

He had long been prepared to cause trouble for the orcs, but after the "Stelro Stream" dungeon, Rody always felt he shouldn't act rashly. He only wanted to make thorough preparations before dealing a heavy blow to the orcs...

However, when he heard the scout's report that Kri Village had been massacred, he found it hard to accept such a fact—Rody had never thought that after Finks Village was burned to the ground, something like this would happen again, because in his memory, Kri Village had always existed after the game's launch...

It seemed that this tragedy was directly related to his altering of history...

What to do? Could he handle over thirty wolf riders?

Rody frowned, first looking up at the sky that was about to turn dark, then turning his head to see the scouts who had just finished training with determined faces. Gradually, he had a plan in mind—opportunities must always be seized by oneself.

With a serious expression, Rody nodded at the scout who had brought the news and said, "Kol, well done."

Turning around, he immediately began issuing orders without a pause—

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

"Kater, go to the armory and get arrows from Dick, at least a dozen for each person!"

"Yes!"

"Equip armor, everyone carry short bows, and change to war horses!"

"Yes!"

The responses were strong and clear. The scouts, with clear division of labor, quickly put on their equipment and mounted their horses, ready for battle in less than three minutes.

This scene drew the attention of many villagers, who felt a strange impact from what they saw.

By this time, Rody had already put on a "Hunter's Set," inserted a horn bow into the saddle, and leaped onto his war horse, saying without any hesitation, "Let's go!"

"Yes!"

The eight-person team instantly rushed out of Nolan Village, galloping towards the distance.

The villagers of Nolan Village looked at each other, usually only seeing the scouts eat well, drink well, and train hard, but never imagining that when something really happened, the aura they exuded was no different from the lord's guard knights...

This was always a novelty for the farmers. However, just as they were discussing, another team... was approaching from the other side of the village.

Soderlor, covered in dust, had thought he would be welcomed by Rody and his team, or at least greeted at the village entrance, but he never expected this possibility—

At the village entrance, apart from a few children playing in the mud, there was not a single scout in sight!

"What is this..."

Soderlor couldn't understand what was going on. Could this be one of the "initial challenges" before integrating into Nolan Village? From what he remembered, Rody didn't have such a habit.

As he was thinking, the scouts behind him began to grumble—

"What does this mean? Do the Nolan Village guys think they're better than us?"

"We're all scouts, do they need to put on such a show? Who are they showing off to?"

The scouts from Finks Village were also proud. Who wanted to travel a long distance only to be cold-shouldered? Soderlor wanted to dissuade them but couldn't find a good way to counter—after all, he himself was also a bit uncomfortable. However, his cautious nature made him patiently dismount and ask a villager about Rody's whereabouts.

"You mean Captain Rody? They were here just a few minutes ago, but suddenly gathered and left, running very fast. I heard it was something about Kri Village being attacked. I don't know the details."

Hearing this information, Soderlor immediately realized that the situation was not as simple as he had imagined. He turned his head to look in the direction of Kri Village—black smoke from the burning village thirty kilometers away was already clearly visible.

Thinking of a possible scenario, Soderlor suddenly leaped onto his horse and turned to his more than ten subordinates, ordering, "Follow me, let's go!"

The scouts looked at each other, puzzled, as they watched the lieutenant charge out. They didn't understand why he was doing this, but due to Soderlor's usual high prestige, they still followed on horseback.

On the horizon, a faint shadow of a team heading northwest could be seen. Soderlor squinted and looked into the distance, adjusting his direction to pursue. A sense of excitement welled up in his heart... What would Rody do? Would he go directly to Kri Village for support, or go straight to deal with the attackers?

Thinking of the ten dead wolf riders and his three consecutive defeats in swordsmanship, Soderlor felt that this was an opportunity to show Rody his "team"—the scouts behind him were not like the slackers in Kri Village. Under his supervision, they had all undergone strict training and were certainly stronger in combat than the scouts from other villages.

If they could find a chance to display their strength today, Rody would surely look at them differently, right?

I may not be as strong as you, but in terms of leading and training troops, I won't be inferior.

With this thought in mind, Soderlor carefully identified the shadow of the distant team and closely followed.

...

As the sky almost completely darkened, Rody and Kater finally found Ruge's figure behind a grass slope.

If it weren't for the scouts Ruge had sent out earlier to guide them, Rody would have found it very difficult to recognize the low-lying figures in the grass. This old soldier had truly integrated and applied the skills he had learned. From the way he handled things along the way, Rody could feel Ruge's steadiness and decisiveness in the face of emergencies.

Leaving a scout at intervals to guide those who followed, Ruge continuously trailed the orcs from a distance without being discovered. This was not an easy task. When Rody and his team dismounted from their war horses and crouched down next to Ruge, the first thing they did was to extend their thumbs, affirming everything Ruge had done.

This seemingly insignificant gesture gave a subtle psychological boost. Ruge's nervousness immediately calmed down with Rody's encouragement. He then reported the situation he had observed over the past hour and analyzed the enemy's strength:

"There are forty-two wolf mounts and thirty-three orcs, clearly a elite unit. They must have traveled a long distance from the other side of the grassland, rested for one or two days, and then launched a surprise attack on Kri Village," Ruge analyzed, "If we don't stop them, I think their next target will be Nolan Village, followed by Wick Village."

Rody raised his head slightly, seeing the camp full of tents through the slightly higher grass slope, and nodded in agreement with Ruge's conclusion.

Ruge's analysis was quite accurate, but Rody's considerations went deeper—he knew very well that these green-skinned beasts were even greedier than humans imagined.

They were like locusts, leaving nothing in their wake, taking what they could and burning what they couldn't, completely ruthless! The only effective way to deal with them was to cut them off at the root!

After the game's launch, some players had tried to intercept the orcs raiding villages. Sometimes they could inflict some damage, but these creatures, with their strong mobility, would immediately launch extremely bloody, even suicidal counterattacks. Only by completely wiping them out could the trend be curbed for a period of time.

"Thirty-three orcs."

Rody looked at the scattered tents and gradually recalled the "Key Points of Ambushing Wolf Riders" and "Studies on Wolf Behavior" articles he had read multiple times online.

He had memorized these materials by heart: the customs of orcs, the temperament of wolf mounts, the vulnerabilities and flaws of the camp were all clear. So when he saw such a camp full of wolf riders, Rody's first thought was not whether there was a possibility of an attack, but how to minimize losses in the attack!

Because in his eyes, the enemy had no secrets left.

He touched the whistle arrows in his quiver, feeling lucky that he had almost everything he needed.

"Thirty-three... not one of them will escape..."

Muttering to himself, Rody noticed that Ruge didn't hear him and gave a questioning look. Rody waved his hand to indicate it was nothing and silently brought up his attribute and skill bars.

His current level 5 attributes were similar to those of the wolf riders, but the "Hunter's Set" gave Rody a significant advantage in ranged combat—this overwhelming superiority was the key to the team's "few against many" strategy.

Rody's gaze fell on the necklace that allowed him to stealth for 30 seconds, giving him even more confidence. He waved to the scouts to come closer and began assigning tasks with simple and effective tactical gestures.

Meanwhile, Captain Hank, who had been forced to guide the way and was now huddled in a corner, was in a state of mind that was hard to describe—

"Damn, they're all crazy. Finding the wolf riders is one thing, but actually planning to attack? What kind of people are these?"

Hank muttered these words, but before he could finish, a scout kicked him— "Shut up, be quiet!"

He closed his mouth in frustration, feeling extremely stifled. As a man, he felt humiliated, unable to speak or even let out a sigh, only able to stare straight ahead at Rody, who was assigning tasks, with a resentful look.

Rody finished his gestures, confirming that the scouts divided into two teams understood their tasks, and was about to stand up when he noticed a stranger staring at him with such a look, giving him goosebumps. He couldn't help but turn to Ruge and ask, "Who is this guy?"

"Kri Village's scout captain, a coward. He's supposed to guide us, but he's so scared he's wet his pants," Ruge shrugged.

Although he was a bit nervous about the upcoming battle, the old soldier naturally tried to appear calm in front of others, so his expression was quite dismissive.

"Damn, just hope he's not a queer."

Rody muttered, then pointed to the side, "Let him stay here and not move. You prepare the horses and wait for my whistle arrow signal."

With that, he alone crossed the grass slope and disappeared from everyone's sight.

Ruge turned and glared at Hank, saying, "Stay here and don't talk," before turning to leave with the other scouts. Kater seemed to not even want to look at him, heading in another direction.

Captain Hank swallowed, feeling utterly abandoned by the world.

...