On the beach not far from the west coast at dusk, a tall warrior wrapped in animal skins and carrying a wooden cross shield was pulling a dragon-headed warship up to the ground with a rope in his hand.
Opening the oilcloth on the bow of the ship, the leader standing at the front turned the heavy double-edged battle ax with his elbow and took it lightly in his hand. He stepped on the soft earth under his feet with his felt animal skin boots and whispered in his ears.
The tribal warriors were talking behind them.
"There is less and less food. Last year's harvest was not good and the fish have moved to warmer places."
"The rations for women and children have been reduced again and again. During the clan's 'Holy Fire Festival' just now, even ale was only half a cup per person."
"The Talon tribe has been invading our territory. The number of people going south this year is less than half of last year."
The leader inserted the battle ax into the slot of the shield behind him and looked at the sky ahead of the land. Dark clouds were pressing down on the land and there was a faint sound of thunder.
"By the way, do you know? Just the day before yesterday, Vaughn of the tribe was possessed by the "fierce god", killed his wife and daughter, and was finally beheaded by his father."
"By the gods! I would rather die on the way to charge than have any blood of a 'Berserker'!"
The leader put his hand on his chest, patted his heart, and closed his eyes in pain.
After packing up the longboat and sails, bringing dry food and weapons, the team of sixteen warriors began to head inland.
The first village arrived is only three kilometers away from the coastline.
The firewood in the stove was still warm, but there was no one in the village. The chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep in the livestock pens, the valuables in the houses, and the dried meat and fish on the racks were all taken away. They were all left behind to come from the ocean.
The "guests" who came found only empty rooms and debris blown up by the breeze.
A plume of black smoke behind the village house attracted the pirate's attention.
The leader walked to the open space behind the house and looked at the burnt remains of a bunch of plants on the ground. He squatted down and stretched out his hand, picked up a little and tasted it on the tip of his tongue. His face turned gloomy.
"Abandon the search for coastal villages."
After hearing the leader's order, someone loudly questioned: "Give up the search? This is just the first village!"
Holding the burned black ashes in his hand, the leader said to the soldiers under his command: "This is a red willow tree. Someone raised beacon smoke before we arrived and searched the coastal villages, but we still found nothing."
"Sakru, what should we do? Just go back empty-handed?"
"No." Turning his head towards the east, Saklu's eyes were filled with the desire for war and wealth: "We continue to go east and head inland."
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The forest trail on the east side of the west coast.
A group of people lurked quietly on both sides of the road.
Walton tightened the crossbow on his back, checked the quiver, looked at the monk hiding in the grass not far away, and said to the armored knight beside him: "Boss, why do we agree to this job?"
Alfonso said nothing, but looked at the man next to Todd, and moved his eyes thoughtfully.
The boy with the red mark on his forehead glanced at the short and fat man and said without any mercy: "How do I remember, there are always people shouting boredom in my ears these days."
Walton glared at him and turned back angrily.
After receiving information about pirates from Huggins, Todd immediately came to the church camp, avoided Paul, found a familiar priest, and proposed to borrow the troops of the escort group. The reason given was to destroy the pirates in Muxi Port.
Although it was unclear why the other party was interested in repelling the pirates, based on the good friendship accumulated daily, several priests from the church delegation agreed to Todd's request after discussion.
The lent troops included several papal knights directly under the church and their retinues, the militia group sent by the Silver Ring Diocese and the cathedral's believers, a total of about 140 people. Todd heard that every time the pirates invaded, they were generally
There were about thirty people, and he had no intention of seconding so many troops, but Huggins' persistence made him change his mind.
Once the troops are in place, the next step is to formulate combat policies.
Todd, who knew nothing about this, simply handed over all command powers to Huggins.
After some thought, the man did not choose to fight head-on, but adopted an ambush method. The ambush was located on the trail at the entrance of the forest, about 17 kilometers away from Muxi Harbor.
Todd once again expressed his confusion about this. According to intelligence, the active range of pirates was limited to within fifteen kilometers of the coast in the past. If they set up an ambush in such a far place, would they return in vain? Moreover, Yuexi Plain is like this
So big, why did you choose this forest as the ambush location?
Huggins gave a simple explanation, based on the introduction of an "acquaintance" who often went to sea. The pirates who attacked this time belonged to a tribe called the "Black Head", which had been in a state of food shortage and famine for a long time. This time they went south.
If they return empty-handed, it will have disastrous consequences for the survival of the tribe and the prestige of the leader. Therefore, there is a high probability that pirates who cannot bear the failure of this robbery will choose to make a desperate move and leave the safety area and go deep inland.
.
As for why this forest entrance should be used as an ambush location, there are two reasons. First, it is one of the shortest routes to inland villages; second, the coastal area of Yuexi Plain has flat terrain and a wide view, allowing you to hide your whereabouts.
There are not many places, and this forest is just one of them.
The man also made a plan. If the pirates did not pass by, the ambush would be turned into a pursuit. Based on the black smoke rising from the attacked village, he led his troops to block the pirates' retreat.
Todd listened to the other party's explanation and nodded from time to time. In his opinion, this arrangement was not only correct, but also had clear ideas and clear tactics. Taking another deep look at the man with pigtails on his chin, he recalled,
Having been with Huggins for so long, it seems that I have never heard this man take the initiative to talk about the past. If it weren't for Edgar's big mouth, I would never have the chance to know the story of his wife and daughter.
Todd suddenly noticed that Huggins paused, as if he had discovered something, and followed the other person's line of sight and looked back.
A conspicuous figure entered his field of vision.
The knight's whole body was hidden under the armor of Angel, and a pair of eyes behind the full-face helmet were fixed on Huggins' body.
The latter turned his head away, shrank his body back, and twisted his body uncomfortably.
Todd turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"
The man sighed helplessly: "It's nothing, I seem to have met an acquaintance."
"Really? You have quite a few 'acquaintances'..."
Huggins lowered his head and smiled bitterly.
Less than an hour after the ambush was set up, several tall figures appeared at the edge of the forest.
Huggins pushed Todd, who was still looking around, into the grass hard, put his finger on his mouth, and made a silent gesture.
Todd opened his eyes wide and suddenly realized that a battle was about to begin.