Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 404 The storm is rising
The vast ocean is as quiet as a crawling giant beast.

The scorching sun hanging in the sky is bringing the last light to this giant beast. The red skyline reflects the sea into a red sea, as beautiful as fire.

On this boundless sea, ships are dotted like a forest of falling stars, and like silent beasts, they are arrayed in a fierce formation.

The heavy hull cut through the waves, plowing through rolling white waves that stretched endlessly to the vague end of the horizon.

The iron armor flashed a cold light in the sun, and the huge horns were like the fangs of a beast, silently declaring its unrivaled power.

There were shadowy figures on the deck, and soldiers were moving around like ants.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, there was a dense mass of black spots, which, under the reflection of the golden light, moved from far to near from the horizon and gradually flew over the sky above the ships.

This was a group of griffin knights of the kingdom flying griffin flags. After circling twice in the air, they slowly landed on the deck of a huge main ship that was guarded in the middle.

Almost at the moment when the group of griffins landed, the quaint door of the cabin was opened from the inside out, and a group of military nobles surrounded a middle-aged man with a burly figure and a resolute face and walked out.

"Commander De!" The griffin knights jumped off the backs of the griffins one after another and knelt on one knee in front of the governor of the kingdom.

"This is a letter sent by Lord Levi from Sturge Castle." A griffin knight captain took out a letter sealed with beeswax from his arms and handed it over.

"See, I was right." Bernard took the letter, motioned for several knights to stand up, and smiled at the military nobles and officers behind him: "Leave Sterch Castle to this dragon knight. The outcome must have been predetermined."

He raised the letter in his hand.

Although the content is still unclear, since it can be sent to the rear at this critical juncture, it is almost clear what is written.

"Lord Levi is truly worthy of being the eagle of our Debe!"

"With Lord Levi's assistance, we will easily defeat these despicable pirates!"

The officers praised him in unison.

"Governor, please take a look at what is written in the letter?" Some people could not help but want to know the specific situation on the front line.

The content of the letter was concise and to the point, very much in line with the dragon rider's style, and the words were strong and powerful.

"What beautiful words!"

Bernard just glanced at it, couldn't help but praise it, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

In fact, after the two vanguard armies left, he ordered the main army to break camp from another port and board the ships that Debe had prepared long ago, and then began to march towards the sea in front of Sturge Castle.

Because he reviewed the dragon knight's past war cases, he knew that it would be inevitable for the enemy to defend the Sterch Castle and even inflict heavy damage on the Persian Gulf Army. At that time, he could take the opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the Persian Gulf Empire Army that had just suffered a defeat from the side.

But he didn't expect that the dragon knight's victory was so dazzling that it made him think that he could win in one battle. He was so excited that he had to calm down.

Bernard's behavior made the surrounding officers anxious. They looked at each other, thinking that something had happened. However, Bernard's next words completely dispelled their worries.
"Go north at full speed! When night falls, turn off all lights. Griffin Knights go above the clouds and monitor the sea ahead at any time. Have the soldiers be prepared for battle!" After calming down, Bernard quickly and calmly gave the order, then looked at the group of court mages wearing red robes with gold threads beside him:

"Sir Faan, when night falls, I'll trouble you to cast silencer magic on the ships in the front! I'll also need you to take care of the Medusa priests as well."

"We are willing to serve you." A group of court mages nodded slightly.

The huge fleet spanning the sea was sailing at a speed that was visibly increasing, cutting through the waves.

Until this moment, Bernard looked at the Derby officers who had been waiting anxiously for a long time: "Sir Levi not only defended the Sterch Castle, but also severely damaged the Persian army and even killed two legendary warriors of the enemy!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone on the deck dropped their jaws.

The officers had expected that the dragon knight could defend Sterch Castle, but when they heard that he had killed two legends, they almost doubted whether they had heard it wrong.

As the most powerful ones, the number of legends is undoubtedly the most effective way to measure the strength of a country.

Take Debe for example, the number of legendary masters he has can be counted on two hands.

This war between several major powers will most likely be fought with blood flowing and bones strewn all over the field. It would not be an exaggeration to say that some legendary masters will die in the later stages. However, it is definitely not the case that two legendary masters will die so easily at the very beginning.

But looking at their governor's eyes which were as calm as an ancient well, and remembering the shocking deeds that the dragon knight had done in the past, the generals realized that there was a 99% chance that this news was true!

The morale on the main ship suddenly rose at an unimaginable speed, and all the officers could not hide their excitement.

The loss of two legends would be painful enough for any country to miss a meal.

Derby's officers were no fools and realized something terrible.

That is, the vanguard army of the Persian Gulf Empire this time has a total of more than 100,000 people. It is very likely that these two legendary strongmen are their foundation. Now that they are all dead, it means that the Persian Gulf army now lacks top combat power!

Now they not only have the legendary dragon knight Lord Levi, but also the assistance of a giant dragon, and even a golden-robed court wizard.

No matter how you calculate it, their chances of winning are incredibly high!
“Don’t be too complacent, my dear lords.” Governor Bernard of Derby smiled slightly, showing his calm face despite the thunder in his chest. “Although the enemy lost two legends and 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers, they still have 80,000 to 90,000 warriors with sharp blades and hundreds of powerful ships. We don’t even know if they have any legendary warriors, so we still can’t underestimate them.”

"I always tell you that to despise your opponent is to despise yourself. This sentence will never go out of date!"

"Yes, Commander De!" The Derby officers, who had been a little too proud of themselves a second ago, immediately became humble after hearing Bernard's words.

"This war is simpler than we imagined. This is all because of Lord Levi. Otherwise, the two legends alone would be enough to make us suffer. The other side is undoubtedly the main contributor!" Bernard's eyes flashed with a fiery light. "Now we have the possibility to defeat these Persians in one battle. I hope you can do your best and achieve success in one battle right now!"

"These pirate bastards will always remember the name of Derby, and also the good name of Governor Bernard!"

"They'll regret coming to Derby's land!"

"Our warriors will chop these pirate bastards into pieces with their swords!"

The officers were discussing the matter heatedly.

"I'll see."

Bernard turned around and looked at the setting sun. The blood-red sea seemed to foreshadow the bloody scene that was to come. …

Persian Gulf Fleet, Medusa Priest's Cabin.

"Your Highness Yifura, are we really going to do this?" A beautiful Medusa in the cabin said hesitantly, "My faith in the Dark Goddess has not changed in the slightest, and I firmly believe in Her prophecy, but will we be hunted down by the Empire if we do this?"

"Besides, there are still many of our people in our hometown. Will this cause trouble for them?"

Thirty-six Medusa priests gathered in the cabin. This group of beautiful snakes gathered together, like a garden of rare flowers blooming at the same moment, charming and vying for beauty.

The beautiful face and enchanting body were simply dazzling. They cast their charming gazes on an even taller beautiful snake.

The other person was wearing an extremely thin veil, which made her charming face even more alluring. Under her snow-white belly button was an enchanting golden snake tail, as if it were inlaid with pieces of gold.

"Hunting us? Only at this critical moment, they dare to send a large number of strong men at the risk of destroying their country. As for my people in my hometown, I think everything will be fine once I find that person." Eve's red lips under her veil pursed slightly, her eyes calmly: "The prophecy of the respected Dark Goddess has already appeared. This time I took the initiative to come with you just for this matter. It was not until now that I was completely sure of the prophecy."

"Sir, isn't the sacrifice you've made too great?" Medusa asked reluctantly.

"This concerns the future destiny of our Medusa clan. It doesn't matter even if I have to sacrifice everything I have." Evela shook her head slowly, her beautiful eyes did not change.

Hearing this, the group of beautiful snakes couldn't help but shed tears, just like the peach blossoms in early spring that were beaten down into mud by the rain, making people unable to stop wanting to pity them.

"Okay, you don't need to worry too much, just wait quietly."

A group of Medusas wiped away their tears and nodded hurriedly.

……

As the commander-in-chief of the Persian Gulf Empire's vanguard army, Uli was drinking desert camel milk wine in his room, trying to relieve his inexplicable anxiety.

He had always thought that he would become famous among the seven countries and the number one general of the Persian Gulf Empire after this war, but he did not expect that today's battle would instantly send him from his beautiful dream into hell.

This battle resulted in the loss of a legion and two legendary warriors.

The former was fine, as he could get over the pain, but the latter was like cutting his flesh in half. Whenever he thought of this thing that actually happened, his heart would twitch uncontrollably, and he felt so painful that he could only use alcohol to relieve it.

It is well known that every legendary strongman is a treasure held in the palm of a country's hand. No matter whether it is thousands of beauties, endless treasures, or status, they can be taken at will.

It is also the source of all his confidence in this war.

But now it's all lost here.

Uli, who had witnessed the sword strike during the day, knew that the other side had an extremely powerful warrior who could easily kill the legend.

At that time, his heart was not much better than those ordinary soldiers, but as the commander-in-chief, no matter how frightened he was, he could not show it in front of others.

Now back in his room, there was a problem before him.

The question is whether to continue waiting here for reinforcements from the empire, or simply withdraw to the Persian Gulf Empire and give up this attack.

Uli had no intention of continuing to attack Sterch Castle. The dragon in the daytime and the final sword completely shattered his courage.

Knowing that even with the help of the Medusa chieftain, it is hard to say what the chances of winning are.

The opponent's legendary strongman and dragon are stationed in Sterch Castle, and Debe's main force is watching covetously.

How to deal with it? This question has been lingering in Uli's mind.

All his thoughts finally turned into a sigh, and he realized that he had no power to choose at all.

In order to become the commander-in-chief of the vanguard army, he even risked his own pants. If he chose to retreat back to the empire, he would not only lose everything, but would also be brought to a military court for poor decision-making that resulted in the loss of two legendary strongmen.

All they can do is wait here for the empire's assistance and then atone for their sins on the battlefield ahead.

“Ulidar! Ulidar!” An officer rushed in from the door, not even paying attention to etiquette, and said to Uli anxiously: “We have lost contact with a team of horned eagle riders!”

"How long have we lost contact?" Uli stood up from his chair in an instant, knocking over a table of camel milk wine.

"We've been out of touch for a third of an hour."

"Why didn't you inform me earlier?!" Ulidar's rage was visibly evident, his eyes spitting fire.

Being a man from the Persian Gulf, the officer did not make excuses but simply lowered his head in shame.

"Let the men put on their armor and take up their scimitars! Let all the gunners get up and return to their posts! Turn on all the lights on the sea! Go and notify the Medusa priest!" Uli was almost roaring, his tense nerves beating wildly.

As the eyes of the fleet, the horned eagle riders are born with sharp eyes that give them the ability to see at night, so they need to take off in batches to patrol the sea even at night.

It is obviously not normal that they have lost contact for such a long time.

A bad guess arose in Uli's mind, and with a gloomy face, he took his weapon, walked out of the room and came to the deck.

He would rather this team of horned eagle riders were swept to the bottom of the sea by some strong wind, or were eaten by some powerful monster.

But this is obviously unlikely.

……

Derby Fleet.

"Haha...it seems the enemy has noticed us. Order the entire army to advance as quickly as possible!" Bernard stood at the bow of the deck, looking at a small white dot at the end of his sight, and calmly issued orders to the herald next to him.

The herald blew a subtle and rhythmic whistle, and a series of subtle whistles sounded simultaneously on the entire dark sea. Then, in the darkness, a huge fleet began to move forward against the sea breeze.

(End of this chapter)