"My lord, there is someone in the woods ahead!" To the west of the dense forest, Baron Balian's attendants hurriedly drove their horses back.
Baron Balian stopped the small marching team and said slowly to the attendant: "How many people are there? Are there any weapons?"
The attendant swallowed and replied nervously: "I'm afraid there are more than a dozen people. They hold some wooden forks and iron bars and a small number of knives and axes in their hands."
The Baron became slightly nervous when he heard that there were more than a dozen people in the dense forest. Although the opponent might just be an ordinary bandit without any sophisticated weapons, if the "wild dogs" really bite their tails from time to time, the three cavalrymen would be too tired to deal with it.
"Sir, they are not coming for us, they seem to be heading east." The attendant added.
"Anyway, go up and take a look first. The three of you hide the carriage and grain behind the pile of stones." Baron Balian ordered the three serfs responsible for driving the carriage.
After the grain cart was hidden behind the pile of rocks, Baron Balian took out a well-made riding bow from the quiver on the front saddle, and led two attendants to quietly walk into the dense forest...
On the other side of the dense forest, the three people in front of the campfire had just chewed half of the roasted bacon in their hands, when a roar came from the dense forest.
Ron jumped down from the stone with an unsheathed armed sword, "Master, you can see clearly, there are about a dozen guys. They are carrying axes, wooden spears and clubs, but no bows and arrows."
"Ron, prepare your horses and be ready to retreat to the east at any time."
"Jason, find a place on higher ground and shoot five light arrows into the crowd. After shooting, mount your horse and prepare to retreat." Art climbed up the pile of stones beside the road while giving orders to Ron and Jason beside him.
Climb up to the top of the pile of stones and have a clear view of the surroundings. From the edge of the dense forest to the west, more than 300 yards away, a dozen bandits carrying wooden sticks, knives and forks rushed towards us, led by a few strong men who looked like bandits dragging giant axes and holding long knives.
At took out four light arrows from the quiver at his waist and clasped them tightly with his little finger, then took out another one and put it on the bow string. With a slight "creak" sound from the back of the bow, the riding bow began to slowly bend and draw. The arrow shaft made of birch tree pointed straight into the sky. On the other side of the arrow were several black bean-sized heads rushing towards the front less than 200 yards away from At.
Stretch, 恘~
The tension of the ox-horn riding bow was all released to the light birch arrow. The arrow twisted and separated from the bow string, gradually moving away from the bow, away from the pile of rocks, flying towards the sky, and finally turned into a small black dot in Art's eyes...
As the second leader, the bandit "One Eye" has always been brave. He led three old bandits and strong men to rush to the front of the team. According to the rules set by the bandit leader, the first person to rush forward can take away a pleasant victory. He had already set his sights on the black horse, so he was more fearless than usual.
At first glance, there was only more than a hundred yards away from the three bastards. "One Eye" stopped and waited for the minions behind him to catch up. He accidentally glanced at the sky, and a black dot appeared in his eye. The black dot gradually grew larger and became clearer...
Plop!
The light arrow followed the gap left by "One Eye"'s fall and hit the calf of an old bandit who was following behind him. The old bandit was shot to the ground by a sudden arrow and kept wailing.
"One Eye" turned to look at the minions rolling on the ground behind him, and shouted: "Shut up, I can't kill you even though I flew so far. Don't pretend to be dead. Get up and charge."
The minions stopped rolling after hearing this, picked up their right foot and took a look. The light arrow flew too far, and it didn't have much force at all. It just pierced a layer of skin and hung on the calf.
Just as he stood up, smiling and thankful that he had saved his life, another heavy arrow that came one after another pierced his waist and abdomen. He lowered his head and glanced at "One Eye" who was still lying on the ground, and slowly squatted down while holding his stomach...
"Big leader, they have archers and they can shoot very accurately." He said to the bandit leader who was more than ten steps away with one eye.
"I'm not blind!"
"Tell the guys to spread out and don't crowd into a bunch and use them as arrow targets." As the big leader said, he hunched over and continued to walk quickly forward.
Before he finished speaking, another light arrow was shot. Although it was inserted into the soil and missed, it also caused a huge sense of fear to the charging bandits. Just after running a few steps, another light arrow was shot from the other direction...
The bandits slowed down under the intimidation of several leading bandits and moved towards the place where the black smoke was rising.
The distance was shrinking step by step. The leading bandit was less than a hundred steps closer to Art. Jason on the other rock had already fired all five light arrows in his hand. Although none of the arrows were hit, Jason jumped off the stone and ran to Ron according to Art's order. He took the reins and got on his horse to prepare for retreat.
Yat stared at the guy at the front. He had already shot ten arrows. This guy dodged left and right, without even hurting a single hair. Art turned his head and glanced at Ron and Jason, who were already on horseback and ready to retreat at any time. He picked out a heavy armor-piercing arrow from his quiver. He suddenly turned around and raised his bow to guide the arrow. He stretched the riding bow in his hand to the extreme, holding his breath and aiming at the bandit who was charging at the front. The target is getting bigger and clearer, and Art has even seen the bandit's face with only one eye.
"Wind~" Art thought silently in his heart...
Baron Balian stood at the edge of the dense forest with his riding bow almost fully drawn. His eyes were fixed on a bandit who was rushing towards the archer on the opposite side, and he was looking at the thatch pole in the open space with his peripheral vision.
The breathing became more and more steady, and the arms opened wider and wider. "Whoosh~" Two arrows from the east and west whizzed out at almost the same moment.
In a moment, two people fell down at the same time in the open space outside the dense forest. One had an arrow in his chest that pierced his chest and lungs, and the other had an arrow in his back that injured his spine.
"The second leader is dead!"
"The big leader has fallen!!"
"There are cavalry rushing out from behind!!!"
The charging bandits immediately exploded.
What was originally a dozen people besieging three people suddenly turned into a dozen people being attacked from the front and back by two waves of cavalry.
Before Art could realize who shot the astonishing arrow in the dense forest, he already saw three cavalrymen charging towards the bandits in the open space with spears and swords in hand.
After a moment's hesitation, he saw clearly the brown background Pegasus heraldic flag carried by a rider. Art jumped down from the pile of rocks and shouted to Ron and Jason who were about to escape: "Don't retreat. Reinforcements have arrived. Rush up with me."
After saying that, he jumped on the horse and rushed forward. He drew the knight's sword from his waist and ran towards the crowd in the open space.
Hunters never thought that when they pounced on the plump "rabbit", they would be stared at by "wolves" behind them. Six cavalrymen faced off against a dozen bandits, and the situation became one-sided.
After chasing down the four bandits, the cavalrymen who were chasing them turned their horses and returned to the carriage road to join them. Baron Balian was pointing his knight's heavy sword at the bandit leader who had just woken up.
· The leader was hit by a sudden blow to the back and fainted on the ground. When he woke up, a knight's heavy sword was pressed against his head. Before he could figure out what was going on, an interrogation came from the other end of the heavy sword: "Do you have any accomplices?"
· The voice obviously had a southern accent.
The leader looked around confusedly and saw that his second leader had fallen to the ground without moving at all.
The big leader panicked, swallowed his saliva and asked, "Who are you? Do you know~" The words were still in his throat, and the heavy sword had already scratched the leader's face, and a cold numbness was followed by severe pain that could not be dispelled.
Baron Balian ignored the bandits rolling on the ground and continued to ask sharply: "Are there any other accomplices yet?"
As he spoke, he stabbed the heavy sword into the bandit's thigh and kept twisting the hilt.
"Ah!!~~Sir, there is no more, no more! There is no one else." The bandit screamed and roared.
Baron Balian stopped stirring, and the bandits' screams became quieter.
The baron's interrogation continued: "Going east from here, are there any other bandits?"
The bandits took several breaths of cold air, stopped their teeth trembling from the severe pain, and answered breathlessly: "My lord, there are, there are several groups."
"Do you know where they are?"
“No, I don’t know. They are all robbers everywhere, and they will grab prey wherever there is...” The bandits revealed everything they knew.
Att has returned to the road, dismounted and came to Baron Balian who had finished interrogating the bandits, "Dear Your Excellency, thank you for coming out in time to seek justice."
Baron Balian did not answer in a hurry and asked the waiter. After dragging the bandit leader aside and killing him, he slowly turned around and asked, "Who are you? Which lord's soldiers are you?"
"Sir, I am the southern border patrol officer of the Burgundy County, responsible for patrolling the border in Tyniec County to maintain security."
"Prosecutor? This is the first time I have heard of it. Are you responsible for maintaining security in Tynets County? It seems that you have not done a good job as a patrol officer. When we came all the way, everyone in Tynets was worried because of the rampant bandits. You three men with strong horses and swords are here. However, he was surrounded and beaten by more than a dozen farmers and petty bandits. "
This was the first time that Yat was taught such a lesson. Although he felt a little aggrieved, patrolling the border and maintaining security was indeed his duty, at least in name. He didn't know how to answer the accusation of the noble man in front of him, so he had to change the subject and asked: "You are from the south."
The attendant next to the baron replied: "Standing in front of you is Lord Baron Balian of the Tiberias family, the guardian of Byronburg in the Principality of Provence, the captain of the palace guard."
At didn't answer the attendant's words. Instead, he pointed to the fine bow on the saddle behind the attendant and asked Baron Balian: "You shot that arrow just now, right? You are really a sharpshooter." br/> "This riding bow was captured from the Lombards. Their bows and arrows have always been soft."
"Have you ever fought against the Lombards?"
"It was by chance."
With a common enemy, Baron Balian's high arrogance immediately dropped. The more the two talked, the more they talked.
Att learned about the war situation in the south from Baron Balian, and also learned that the purpose of Baron Balian's trip was to purchase grain and that he had not yet raised a sufficient amount.
Looking at the helpless look on Baron Balian's face, Art turned his head a few times and said to Baron Balian: "Honorable Lord Baron, maybe I can help you..."