Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 122 There is a dragon in its lair (4000 words)
By the rushing river, the reed marsh that looked like a dense forest had been trampled flat. Seven crossbows weighing more than pounds, with a unique metallic luster, were loaded onto the carriage one by one by the giants.

After the first crossbow was equipped with a bowstring, the lord personally fired a test shot, and the effect was much stronger than expected.

The longest range reaches more than 1,600 steps, and it can still penetrate armor within 1,200 steps, while the accuracy reaches a terrifying 800 steps.

That is to say, within a range of eight hundred steps, the trajectory of the arrow shot from the crossbow will basically not deviate too much.

In order to speed up the advance, the lord stored the barbarians' armor into the system space and took them out and put them on when they reached their destination.

As for the bed crossbow, Levi originally wanted to put it into the space, but he didn't expect that this thing was not within the storage range of the system inventory. It was probably either too big or too heavy.

The only option was to let the trolls take the place of the horses and pull the carriage forward by holding the reins.

The convoy was assembled and the wheels began to roll forward.

This time, in addition to the fifty orc guards and seven giant monsters pulling the cart, Levi also brought Zat, Orak and Hogg.

Hogg can act as a scout in the front and investigate the situation at any time. Although the witchcraft that the shaman Orak knows is to bless himself, it may have unexpected effects at the critical moment.

The overgrown weeds in the wilderness grasslands always get stuck on the wheels, and if you use a horse to pull the cart, you have to clean the wheel hub every once in a while.

When the carts were replaced by giants, their tiny bit of giant bloodline made them naturally powerful, so they could continue to drag the cart forward even if the wheels were strangled.

These carriages, which are only about one and a half blades high and three blades long and wide, are no different from toy cars to these giant monsters that are more than four blades tall.

Let them pull the cart, and the speed will increase immediately.

The more time wasted now, the more likely it is that something unexpected will happen, so in order to make things go faster, a piece of meat tied with a rope is hung in front of each giant monster.

Whoever is faster can get the meat, which makes these giants work harder and use their strength to get the meat.

As the giants grunted and pulled, the team's pace suddenly increased.

According to several prisoners who were captured to lead the way, it took them more than ten days to travel south from the location of the dragon.

But this cannot be used as a standard.

Because of their large number, as many as 4,000 people, their advancing speed can naturally be imagined, not to mention that they were not just rushing along the way, but when they encountered some tribes, they would annex them before continuing on their journey.

This made the delay even longer.

The wheels rolled over the grass for a day and a half, and the number of bandits wandering aimlessly around increased visibly. They were already approaching the depths of the wilderness, and any traces of civilization had disappeared.

There was burning, killing, looting, and small-scale battles among several dozen bandits.

Their direction was completely opposite to that of the High Cliff Fort team heading north, they were heading south from the depths of the wilderness.

However, no one is blind and dares to provoke the Gaoyabao convoy, which anyone with a discerning eye can see is a ruthless group of tough guys.

After running non-stop until night, even though the giants were full of energy and powerful, they began to breathe heavily.

The group took a short break by a small river, preparing to rest for a while before setting off again under the moonlight.

After finally getting a rest, the trolls lay down by the stream and swallowed the cold river water in big gulps, as if they wanted to drink up this small river that was only two blades wide.

The orcs skillfully lit a bonfire, set up a support, and threw dried meat and dry food into a big pot to stew it into meat paste.

"Olak, have you heard of the Kexianri tribe?"

The lord drank the meat porridge without any image, and chatted while having time.

Half a month ago, the number of bandits wandering southward gradually increased. We learned from Knight Sikai of the Mithril Chamber of Commerce that a large tribe was moving south, causing all the natives to also move south in order to survive.

However, due to the confrontation between the dragon army and High Cliff Castle, the lord had no time to take care of other things.

Now as we head north, we can more personally experience the impact of a large tribe moving south.

It can be said that after just a few steps, you can encounter some small tribes where the entire population has relocated.

Before dark, they encountered a group of about a hundred goat men head-on. The ferocious barbarians of Gaoyabao scared these goat men with little fighting power so much that they immediately crawled on the ground.

The lord showed them a clear way out, saying that he had a territory in the south called Gaoya Castle, and he was kind enough to provide them with food and lodging, and they only needed to do a little bit of work.

The goats breathed a collective sigh of relief. They had thought that the so-called free food and lodging meant that half of the people would be chopped up and fed to the other half.

If their labor is exchanged for fruits, it may be another kind of luck for them who are desperate.

These goat men are generally only about 1.67 meters tall, thin, and have little fighting power.

They often serve as vassals of some powerful races, doing odd jobs to make a living.

Therefore, when used for farming, there will be no such thing as stealing seeds.

This is also the reason why the lord is willing to accept them, and it has nothing to do with the dozen or so goat girls inside.

Gaoya Castle really cannot afford warriors from races like Lizardmen and Leopard-headed Men, because the number of full-time soldiers that Gaoya Castle can support has now reached the upper limit.

But if they are just working slaves, there is no problem at all.

"Huh, I haven't eaten such a light meal in a long time."

After finishing the meat paste mixed with a few green leaves in the bowl in one gulp, Orlak breathed a sigh of satisfaction. Ever since he came to High Cliff Castle, he had been eating meat and fish every day, and it was not easy for him to have a vegetarian meal.

In the past, the tribe was hungry and it was lucky to have something to eat. It never thought that one day it would be able to be picky.

"I only know a little bit." Orak said after careful consideration: "Although our tribe is also in the depths of the wilderness, it is actually far away from this tribe."

"This tribe is a group of Miluotaus, with a population of more than 2,000, of which there are 700 to 800 young and strong men who can participate in the battle. It is an absolutely large tribe."

"As for why we went south, I'm not sure."

Levi nodded in understanding. No wonder the wilderness was so restless that countless wilderness natives were forced to move south to survive.

The giant dragon army of more than one hundred Minotaur made the natives in this area scream in fear, not to mention the seven or eight hundred berserk minotaurs.

This group of strong men seemed to be vulnerable to him and the barbarians, but the lord who had personally fought with these strong men knew that it was only in comparison with them.

No matter where these minotaurs were, they were a force that could break one's teeth. Their numbers were enough to threaten an earldom. No wonder even Florina couldn't sit still. If she allowed these minotaurs to drive the natives south, it was unknown how many people she could gather.

It is obviously best to nip it in the bud.

After eating and drinking, the carriage began to roll forward again under the guidance of several prisoners of war.

The journey lasted another day and night. It would be a lie for the barbarians to say they were not nervous, but it was also true that they would be laughed at if they said it out loud.

Therefore, everyone pursed their lips, kept silent, and just concentrated on their journey.

They would rather endure this tension alone than be laughed at by their brothers, especially the loud-mouthed leader.

If they really told it, everyone in Gaoyabao would know about their embarrassing story within the next day when they returned.

Fortunately, the scene of being discovered by a dragon halfway as imagined and spitting out a breath of dragon did not occur.

In the early morning, when the sky was just turning pale, they arrived at their destination safely.

"Sir, the dragon lives ahead." A leopard-headed man said respectfully, pointing ahead.

Levi looked up and saw a small hill a hundred feet high. Actually, it would be more appropriate to call it a hillock rather than a small hill.

It’s just that because the wilderness is mostly grassland, the sudden appearance of a hill hundreds of feet high here stands out.

"This dragon has found a good place." Levi smacked his lips.

"This giant dragon built its lair in the basin in the middle of this hill. If you deploy your troops around it, you can easily surround it."

Unexpectedly, this leopard-headed man started to give advice to the lord, and his words were very well-organized.

In fact, the leopard-headed people also think that life is wonderful. They originally became the dragon's followers just because of the legend that if they bathed in the dragon's breath, they would have the opportunity to obtain the dragon vein.

But he didn't expect that before he could even smell a dragon fart, his own dragon army was wiped out, and it seemed that the dragons were in danger.

The law of survival engraved in its bones makes it want to gain the favor of the Lord of Gaoya Castle and join this seemingly more promising force.

"When you go back, there will be a position for you as a coolie in Gaoya Castle." The lord did not look down on such snobbery, but made a promise.

This made the Leopard-Headed Man overjoyed, because he had heard that other members of his tribe would be packaged and sold to slave traders. Although staying in High Cliff Castle would only be a coolie, it was much better than wandering in a foreign land and leading a life of displacement.

If all the armies in the entire Medieval Continent were ranked according to their level of bellicosity, the High Cliff Fort's Royal Guards, with the so-called "gift from the God of War", would undoubtedly be in the top three. But this does not mean that they are emotionless war machines; they still have all the emotions that others should have.

"Are you scared?" Levi simply stood on the carriage and pointed at the top of the mountain in the distance that was immersed in the morning mist, and asked loudly.

"Scared! Scared to death!" The response from the audience was unexpectedly unanimous, and after a moment they burst into laughter.

It is depressing to bear the tension alone, and talking it out fully is a relief for everyone.

"What a bunch of cowards! How can you kill a dragon? Hurry up and pull a few of them back to High Cliff Castle." The lord also laughed and scolded.

"Sir, you don't need to ask us. We are the sword in your hand. As long as you swing it, it can kill the enemy."

Hogg was combing his wolf's hair with a bone comb, not even bothering to raise his head.

"That's right, boss." Zatt opened his mouth wide, his fangs exposed, and his smile was terrifying. "Who? Where? When?"

"This is a giant dragon. Even the dragon slayers in the epic stories only look glorious on the surface. In fact, they all suffered heavy losses." Levi reached out and picked up the ant on his trouser leg.

"Compared to the dragon, we are just the ants in my hand. I can easily crush a large number of them." The lord exerted a little force, and only tiny black fragments remained of the ant between his two fingers.

Levi subconsciously put it to his nose and sniffed it, and a foul odor hit his nose.

"Damn it, this ant is a stinky ant!" The lord looked disgusted and started cursing, greeting the ant's ancestors cordially.

This caused the barbarians to burst into laughter. After all, it was not often that their leader suffered a setback.

"I have wrestled with a northern snow bear and fought an ice tiger with my bare hands, but I have never fought a dragon."

Orak stroked the scarlet battle axe in his hand. This weapon was passed down from generation to generation in the Orc tribe. It had drunk the flesh and blood of countless ferocious beasts. Now it only lacked dragon blood.

"We are your subordinates. We exist because of you. We are fortunate to be gathered here." Hogg's attention finally escaped from the soft hair for a short while, but he soon became careless again. After so many battles, he had grown into a qualified warrior or hero. At this moment, his qualities were clearly revealed: "We will fight whoever you say to fight, whether it's a dragon or an ant. It's the same."

"Ah!" Zat, who had been racking his brains, slapped his thigh, put his arm around Hogg's shoulder and said with a smile: "Hogg said what I wanted to say."

The speeches of the three leaders of Gaoya Castle drew cheers from the other soldiers of the guard. The silly giants saw everyone laughing and started dancing and laughing foolishly.

Seeing this, several prisoners of war also started to smile foolishly in order to blend into the group.

"Damn, do you have to be so sentimental?" The lord was moved and embarrassed, and got goosebumps all over his body.

Then, at Levi's order, he took a few leaders and sneaked up to see the situation.

The giants grunted as they carried the crossbows up the mountain.

Part of Levi's confidence in slaying the dragon came from these crossbows. The arm bows made of mountain copper gave these crossbows unparalleled kinetic energy, allowing them to shoot arrows more than a thousand steps away.

The crossbow arrow was as thick as a fist and three blades long. The arrowhead, which was mixed with mountain copper, was made with sinister intent and had blood grooves on all four sides.

Once you are shot, the blood will bleed like a floodgate and cannot be stopped.

Levi has already tested it. With the power of this upgraded crossbow, even the hardest dragon scales cannot withstand it. As long as it is hit by an arrow, it will definitely suffer the consequences and will not dare to breathe at low altitudes easily.

Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

On top of the hill, there was an entrance to a cave in the basin that was clearly sealed off.

A giant beast was crawling inside, falling into a deep sleep.

At this moment, it was not known whether it was because it had slept enough or something else, but the giant beast's eyelids suddenly opened, revealing pupils as pale as mercury.

However, at this moment, these pupils were obviously still full of confusion, and it took more than ten breaths of time before they woke up slowly.

"Phew, I slept so soundly. I don't know how much time has passed outside. I wonder if Gorgon has collected more treasures for me." The beast stretched out its huge body, speaking pure common language.

　Brothers, this chapter is equivalent to two chapters.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)