The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Just as Burken was picking his teeth, the scout suddenly spoke up again: "Boss, something bad has happened! Another group of people has appeared from another direction!"

Burken put away the rib he used for picking his teeth and asked, "Another professional leading the team?"

“That’s right, boss, and this professional seems to be even weaker. And they’re using horse-drawn carriages to pull the army.”

Bulken wasn't stupid. After a quick thought, he stood up and said to the soldiers around him, "Mount up, quick!"

The two groups of men not only attacked in a pincer formation, but they were also fully armed. Even the arrogant Bulken could tell that the newcomers were hostile.

Moreover, although there was no concept of a pincer attack, Bulken knew that there must be one team responsible for separating the demons and refugees, while another team was responsible for the main attack. Under the attack from both sides, the demon soldiers would be in a situation where they could neither fight nor retreat.

Of course, all of this was based on the premise that the two sides were evenly matched. The arrogance that remained in Bulken's heart made him think that human soldiers were as fragile as paper and would break at the slightest touch. So, although he mounted his horse, Bulken did not immediately go to defend the area where the refugees were located. Instead, he prepared to directly confront the main attacking force of the other side.

This would be the greatest blow to human confidence. Bulken’s greatest pleasure during the war was seeing the despair and terror on people’s faces and hearing their cries of surrender.

Moreover, this was the first human force that Bulken had encountered since entering the Snowbreak Territory that dared to fight him. He hadn't enjoyed the feeling of killing for a long time, and now, his desire to kill was rising.

Even if we take a step back and assume that these human soldiers actually won using some despicable methods, if even one demon soldier escapes, it will be a catastrophic disaster for these humans. The territory they attacked will then have to wait to face the wrath of the Demon King.

Bulken's squad consisted entirely of cavalry. How could a group of infantry possibly capture a cavalry unit? After all, horses were the norm in this world.

Therefore, Burken's arrogance was entirely justified. This arrogance even made Burken gradually lazy to think, and he directly issued the order to take the initiative to engage in battle and start charging from a distance.

Laurie was completely stunned when she saw Burken charging towards her from a distance.

Are they not planning to conserve their horses' energy at all? They're charging from such a distance.

This was completely different from the demons that Laurie had seen on the front lines, who were adept at both advancing and retreating.

For a moment, the experienced Laurie even suspected that the other party was treacherous!

There was nothing that could be done about it. Laurie had no idea that the demons who had taken over the territories outside of Broken Snow Territory were degenerating at an unimaginable speed, and Bulken was one of the slower ones to become corrupt.

But before he could think, Laurie immediately ordered, "Get out of the vehicles! Everyone get out and prepare to engage!"

Soon, the soldiers on the carriages quickly and orderly disembarked to meet the enemy, and quickly formed battle formations. Using movements that had been trained countless times and had become muscle memory, they pulled out grenades, ready to give these mindless demons a big blow at any time.

Burken, who was not far away, was not blind. He noticed something was wrong from the orderly formation of these humans and immediately began to direct the tactics most effective against them.

That is to use bloodline magic to pull.

Most of the demon bloodline magic is ranged attack, with very few functional attacks. These bloodline spells, which are only equivalent to low-level spells, have a long range, but their actual effective killing distance is only about seventy meters, similar to that of a bow and arrow.

While bows and arrows may have a longer maximum range, bloodline magic is not only used by all demons, but also does not require extensive practice like mounted archery, and it heavily relies on the physical fitness of cavalrymen.

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. The overwhelming bloodline magic is no less lethal than arrows, and even more visually exaggerated. This is one of the reasons why the demons have been able to win one battle after another on the frontier.

However, Bulken's squad consisted of only twenty men, all of whom were cavalry, but many of them possessed reconnaissance-type bloodline magic.

Moreover, upon contact with Bulken, they realized that his equipment was far too extravagant.

It's important to understand that most human soldiers on the frontier don't even have armor. They only have a kind of cotton armor that can't really be called armor, and most of their weapons are pitchforks. Their equipment is similar to that of the civilians that Bulken usually slaughters. When bloodline magic hits them, it causes real damage.

But now, Bulken is facing a human army clad in enchanted plate armor. The wind blades and fireballs from a distance do little damage to their armor, and these soldiers are completely unafraid of the demons' fancy bloodline magic. Their battle formation has not been disrupted, and they haven't even retreated a single step.

A sudden fear rose in Burken's heart. His arrogance prevented him from retreating, but his long combat experience gave him a new idea: if he couldn't break through the defenses from a distance, he would get closer.

Like ordinary magic, bloodline magic's power decreases with distance. It can unleash its full power at around 20 to 30 meters. Even if the opponent's plate armor is enchanted, it is not full plate armor. It seems that some defense has been sacrificed for mobility, so bloodline magic may still be able to cause some damage.

The demons were all cavalry, and even at a distance of twenty or thirty meters, Bulken believed that with his mobility, he could easily kite them.

So Bulken ordered the soldiers around him to immediately stop casting spells and continue their charge.

The maximum effective throwing distance of a grenade is about 40 to 50 meters, but Laurie was not in a hurry. He knew very well that the enemy was cavalry, and his soldiers had almost no mobility, so it would be difficult to keep the enemy at bay.

Although even if the enemy escapes, the knights of the Lars family will be responsible for pursuing them, Laurie is unwilling to accept defeat. He cannot swallow the humiliation of losing the frontier war without a direct victory over these demons.

At fifty meters, Laurie clenched his fist but did not give the order, and none of the soldiers present threw grenades out of nervousness.

Such qualities were unimaginable for Laurie when he was on the frontier, but now Laurie truly has an army with terrifying obedience.

Perhaps it was the lord's training methods that were truly effective, or perhaps it was the ideological education taught by Teacher Isa that had an effect, but Laurie felt that perhaps it was a combination of both that could produce such an effect.

When they were forty meters away, Laurie thought that if it were the soldiers he led himself, who were all ordinary people, they would probably have already fled in defeat at this point when faced with the demon cavalry charge. Those who remained in place would be considered elites, not to mention those who obeyed orders and did not fight.

But it's still not enough.

At 30 meters, Laurie felt the time was right. There was a slight delay in the throwing time, and by the time he threw it, the enemy cavalry had probably already charged to within 20 meters. Laurie planned that this attack would either kill them or at least give them a severe beating; he had to achieve some result.

"Throw a grenade!"

At Laurie's command, the soldiers pulled out the fuses and threw the grenades in unison.