Real Mount and Blade Game

Without the slightest hesitation, Batel turned around and growled at his brothers behind him, whose faces were equally grave: "Let's go! Back to the city immediately!"

Once the order was given, there was no hesitation. The fifteen bandits from the grasslands nimbly mounted their horses, and without regard for the fact that their warhorses had not had a proper rest all night, they spurred their horses and lashed their rumps hard with their whips.

The exhausted steppe horse let out a mournful cry, then unleashed its last potential, its four hooves flying, transforming into fifteen bolts of lightning as it galloped wildly toward New Rivadin in the west.

The journey home was more silent, and more frantic than the journey there.

The terrifying fortress built of bones and yellow sand echoed repeatedly in everyone's mind, along with the chilling gaze cast from the depths of the dark clouds, cold enough to freeze the soul, and the ghostly undead knights shrouded in thick black mist.

These were not the ghostly bone armor cavalry or the skeleton archers of the Black Arrow Tower Dynasty that they had encountered before, who could be outmaneuvered by their superb archery skills. They were a completely new and higher-level creation of death.

Their speed, power, and suffocating aura all proclaimed one fact—before them, their proud elite scout squad was as fragile as a few ants on the sand.

The wind howled mournfully in his ears, and the swirling dust resembled funeral smoke. Bartel lay prone on his horse, feeling his heart sink heavily.

This was no longer a simple reconnaissance mission; what he brought back was a warning from hell that could threaten the very survival of the entire Deherim!

……

New Rivadin, Lord's Hall.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window openings, casting shadows on the polished stone floor and revealing several solemn figures standing there.

Shen Mu sat upright on the lord's throne, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest, his gaze calmly fixed on Batel below, who had just returned from a wild run through the eastern desert, covered in dust and exhausted.

Standing to his left was General Bestur.

At this moment, this usually calm and composed general had his brows furrowed into a deep frown, and his expression was more solemn than ever before.

“You mean, deep in the eastern desert, only three to four hours' ride from here, there has appeared a castle of the dead, entirely constructed of bones and sand? And it is shrouded by a huge, ominous black cloud?” Bestur’s voice was low and hoarse as he repeated Batel’s report word by word, trying to make sense of this incredible information.

“Yes, General! Lord!” Batel knelt on one knee, his body trembling slightly from the extreme exertion of running, but his voice was exceptionally clear, filled with an undeniable certainty: “Absolutely true! We saw it with our own eyes! The castle was enormous, its walls embedded with countless skeletons, so evil it was nauseating!”

He took a deep breath, seemingly recalling the terrifying chase, a flicker of fear in his eyes: "Moreover, there were undead knights in the castle! They were shrouded in thick black fog, their mounts were some kind of mutated skeletal monsters, and their speed... their speed was astonishing! They were even faster than our fastest Khergit warhorse! We only got a little close before they chased us down. If they hadn't given up after a certain distance, none of us fifteen would have made it back!"

“Black Mist Knight…” Shen Mu’s fingertips stopped tapping, and he murmured the word repeatedly, his eyes deep.

He recalled the survivors' descriptions, the war between the Darklight Dynasty and the Black Arrow Tower Dynasty, and this suddenly emerging third-party force. Clearly, this power entrenched within the Bone Castle was the root cause of all the disturbances in this region.

A brand new, more powerful undead faction!
"My lord, this is no small matter!" Bestur stepped forward, his expression extremely serious. "According to Bartel's description, this undead force is far more mobile and aggressive than any enemy we have ever faced. An undead fortress that can serve as a base means they can continuously generate troops. Once they decide to advance westward, our Deherim will be the first to bear the brunt!"

“I understand.” Shen Mu nodded, stood up, and walked to the huge sand table map.

This map was drawn by him personally, and it shows in detail the new Rivadin, the city of Long, and the surrounding explored terrain.

His finger touched the wooden model representing the new Rivadin, and then slowly moved eastward.

A three- to four-hour ride would probably take less than two hours for those Black Mist Knights.

This distance is too close!

It was as close as the Sword of Damocles, hanging high above the head of the new Rivadin, ready to fall at any moment.

“We cannot sit idly by and wait to die.” Shen Mu’s voice was not loud, but it echoed clearly in the hall, carrying an undeniable decisiveness: “Passive defense will only cause us to lose all initiative. I must go and see for myself, to find out the true nature of that castle, and the true strength of those Black Mist Knights.”

"My lord, this is too dangerous!" Bestur immediately objected, his face filled with worry. "You are the core of our forces, how can you risk your life! Please allow me to lead an elite force to investigate!"

“No.” Shen Mu shook his head, looking firmly at the general he trusted. “Bestur, I can only feel at ease when you are in charge of New Rivadin. Besides, there are some things that I can only make the most accurate judgment by seeing them for myself.” A strange light flashed in his eyes: “That black cloud, that power, I need to personally experience the strength of its ‘rules’.”

Upon hearing the word "rules," Bestur fell silent.

He knew that this was a unique and irreplaceable ability possessed by the lord. In this world corrupted by the laws of the spirit realm, insight into the "rules" was far more important than a simple assessment of troop strength.

Shen Mu turned around and looked at Batel, who was still kneeling on the ground: "Batel, you and your brothers have worked hard. Go and rest first, change into your best warhorses, and replenish your supplies. In an hour, you will serve as guides and accompany me on another expedition."

"Yes, my lord!" A burning light flashed in Batel's eyes, his previous fear and exhaustion replaced by a strong fighting spirit and sense of honor.

To be able to follow the lord on his personal campaign is the highest honor for every warrior!

“Bestur.” Shen Mu’s gaze turned to him again, and he began to issue orders in a calm tone, “From the city guard, select thirty fourth-tier Khergit archers and twenty fifth-tier senior Khergit archers. Also, have the Holy Tree Knights prepare; I need ten knights to accompany me.”

Bestur felt a chill run down his spine.

The Khergit veteran horse archers are a Tier 5 elite unit, the backbone of the Deherim cavalry, each one a master capable of taking on ten men.

And the Holy Tree Knight... that is Shen Mu's sharpest sword, his true trump card!
Each of them was clad in finely crafted plate armor infused with mithril and wielded a knight's lance imbued with mithril; they were natural nemesis of evil.

"Yes! I'll arrange it right away!" Bestull said no more, bowed to accept the order, and turned to leave quickly.

The air in the entire lord's hall seemed to ignite at that moment.

A tense yet high-spirited atmosphere of preparation for battle quickly spread from here, permeating the entire New Rivadin.

……

An hour later, the east gate of New Rivadin slowly opened. A cavalry force so elite it was breathtaking, marched out of the city walls, its hooves thundering in unison under the morning sun.

Leading the way were fifteen grassland bandits, their spirits completely renewed.

They donned new, robust steppe horses, their saddles bulging with packs. As they rode forward, they greedily chewed on slices of rich, creamy cheese and wheat-scented black bread, occasionally tearing off a piece of glistening, dried meat and stuffing it into their mouths, followed by a large gulp of water from their water sacks.

The food, imbued with the pure power of "rules," was rapidly restoring the physical and mental strength they had expended during their night of fleeing, making their previously listless eyes sharp as eagles once more.

Behind them was a square formation of fifty Khergit horse archers.

They wore light yet sturdy laminated Khergit armor, carried powerful composite shortbows and quivers full of arrows, and had nomadic daggers hanging at their waists.

The ranks were perfectly aligned, utterly silent, save for the steady rhythm of the horses' hooves, which combined to create a breathtaking torrent. Among them were twenty seasoned mounted archers, their eyes more discerning, their equipment superior, and their fierce aura emanating from them like unsheathed blades.

At the heart of this team, surrounded like stars around the moon, are ten knights with upright postures, as tall as sculptures.

They are the Holy Tree Knights!

They rode the magnificent Sacred Tree Warhorses, a head taller than the Kujit steppe horses, with smooth, powerful muscle lines.

The knights wore full plate armor that shimmered with the unique, soft sheen of mithril. Intricate and elegant runes were engraved at the seams of the armor and on the sacred tree emblem on their chests, shimmering faintly in the sunlight. They held no weapons, but rather a knight's lance, over three meters long, hung steadily on a specially made saddle rack. The lance's tip gleamed with a cold, sharp light, and its shaft was also adorned with golden patterns, exuding a sacred and pure aura.

Their faces were covered with tightly sealed face shields, revealing only pairs of calm and resolute eyes, as if nothing could move them.

Shen Mu rode his horse directly in front of the ten Holy Tree Knights.

He wasn't wearing heavy armor, just a simple, close-fitting outfit, which made him appear calm and confident. His presence was the soul of this unit, the source of everyone's confidence.

This team of seventy-five people, though small in number, exudes an aura of elite skill that would instill fear in any enemy.

They were like a sword honed to perfection, about to be drawn, aiming precisely at that ominous desert in the east.

"Let's go." Shen Mu waved his hand, and the team sped up.

The group moved at a very fast pace, and led by Batel and the others, they soon deviated from the road and stepped back onto the desertified land that was being increasingly eroded by the rules of the spirit world.

More than two hours later, the familiar village ruins came into view.

"My lord, it's right there!" Batel pointed to the ruins ahead and turned back to report, "We met up with Mr. Chen Ping and the others there last night."

At this moment, figures can be seen moving about in the ruins.

Chen Ping, the seven dwarves, and the twenty-odd survivors were busily packing up their meager belongings. They gathered the canned goods, biscuits, and clothing they had salvaged from the warehouse, shredded them into rags, and prepared to embark on their journey to Deherim in their quest for survival.

When Shen Mu's elite cavalry unit appeared outside the ruins like a divine army descending from the sky, everyone was stunned.

Chen Ping and his followers hurriedly stopped what they were doing, their faces filled with shock and awe.

Especially when they saw the Holy Tree Knights in the group, who looked like figures from mythology, clad in mithril armor, they didn't dare to breathe loudly.

"It's...it's Lord Shen Mu!" Chen Ping was the first to react. He quickly stepped forward and, under the wary yet curious gazes of the dwarf warriors, bowed deeply to Shen Mu on horseback.

"Welcome, Lord!"

The survivors behind him also bowed and greeted him, their voices filled with excitement and gratitude.

"No need for formalities." Shen Mu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the things they were packing, the local Blue Star foods that were treasured in the apocalypse—canned goods, compressed biscuits, and bottled water.

He dismounted, took a heavy burlap sack from one of his attendants, and tossed it to Chen Ping.

"Take these with you and eat them on the road."

Chen Ping hurriedly caught it, opened it, and found it filled with golden cheese, thick slices of black bread, and glistening dried meat. The familiar, unique aroma containing the power of "rules" wafted out, causing the seven dwarves behind him to swallow hard and their eyes to gleam with longing.

"As for those things..." Shen Mu glanced casually at the local canned goods and biscuits they had packed, and said in a flat tone, "Without the power of 'rules,' no matter how much these spirit beings eat, it's just filling their stomachs and can't replenish their actual consumption. It's also of no benefit to us humans on Earth. These rootless foods are nothing to worry about. Throw them away; don't take up space."

His words were casual, yet they stirred up a storm in the hearts of Chen Ping and all the survivors.

In their eyes, those canned goods were the foundation of their survival, something more precious than gold. Yet, in the mouth of this powerful lord, they became worthless trash that could be discarded at will.

This stark contrast made them realize even more deeply just how terrifying the power and resources Shen Mu possessed were. This was no longer a simple difference in strength, but a crushing defeat on a level of life itself.

"Thank you... thank you for your generous gift, Lord!" Chen Ping was so excited that he was incoherent. He knew what this bag of food meant to his dwarf followers.

It's not just food, it's power, it's hope!

"Set off as soon as possible, westward to New Rivadin. Once there, give me your name, and General Bestur will settle you in and then take you to Deherim." Shen Mu didn't waste any time on pleasantries; his time was precious.

"Yes! We'll leave right away!"

Shen Mu remounted his horse and didn't stop. He nodded to Batel: "Continue leading the way."

"Yes!" The men turned their horses around, shook the reins, and followed Shen Mu's figure again, rushing swiftly towards the direction shrouded in dark clouds. (End of Chapter)