The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Bulken considered many possibilities; he even imagined the enemy would fire arrows to suppress them.

It's important to understand that archers were very difficult to train in that era. At first, Bulken guessed that the enemy didn't fire arrows because they couldn't all be trained archers; they must be some oddballs. So he could only wait until they got close before shooting.

But Burken didn't expect the other party to throw out something strange—a stone? Or something else entirely?

Before he could even think, the scout on the flank was unlucky enough to get hit by a grenade.

boom!

Suddenly, a piercing explosion rang in Bulken's ears, followed by a suffocating cloud of smoke and flying debris. The cavalryman jerked on the reins, and his horse neighed in terror. To his side, the scout's figure was instantly engulfed in a burst of fire and debris.

The fragmentation grenade exploded in mid-air, releasing countless deadly metal fragments, sweeping in like a metal storm.

The scout's armor was torn apart by the force of the explosion, and the armor of the cavalrymen next to him was almost instantly stained with the scout's blood.

The hearts of the cavalrymen, stained with blood, clenched suddenly, as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand. Their faces were filled with undisguised pain and terror, and they could not comprehend what had happened.

Although more grenades were thrown around the cavalry, preventing greater casualties, the continuous explosions and the gruesome corpses of their comrades made it difficult for these demon soldiers to maintain their composure.

The demon cavalry, who hadn't fought a battle against the odds for a long time, immediately panicked, frantically pulling on the reins. Coupled with the fact that their warhorses were already frightened, the entire cavalry formation began to spiral out of control.

Bulken, the team leader, wasn't much better off. He thought they had been ambushed and that the enemy had sent out powerful professionals who used undetectable magic to attack.

Bulken was thinking of waiting until the opponent's magic was exhausted before regrouping, but the terrifying bombardment did not stop at all. Only then did Bulken realize that it was the terrifying explosion caused by the opponent's magical artifact.

Laurie even used a three-stage grenades-throwing method to ensure suppressive force, and because the demon cavalry charged too far ahead, most of these grenades were thrown behind the cavalry.

"Charge! Charge! Get up there!"

Bulken was somewhat deranged. Did these magical items cost nothing? How could the other side throw them away without a care in the world? Bulken even quickly recalled in his mind which lords he had offended since entering the Snowbreak Territory, and why they wanted to put him to death like this.

But it was all too late. Bulken's basic warrior instincts made him realize that the only solution now was to charge. The explosion of the enemy's magical item was so terrifying that it was impossible to use it at close range. Retreating was definitely out of the question. The only solution now was to charge straight at the enemy and engage in close-quarters combat.

Although several demon soldiers were injured by shrapnel from grenades, causing their warhorses to stop in place, the cavalry around Bulken still charged forward with him.

Without hesitation, Laurie drew his sword and shouted, "Hold on with your broadswords! Brothers, killing one is enough, killing two is a huge bonus! Kill them!"

After saying that, he followed the clerk and charged forward.

Although the warhorses were startled and couldn't accelerate enough to launch a renewed charge, greatly reducing Bulken's momentum, the oppressive feeling they brought remained, and the demon cavalry stepped into the battle formation.

Driven by adrenaline, the fully armed soldiers transformed into terrifying upright apes, some chopping off horses' legs, others wielding hammers to break through armor, and the scene quickly descended into chaos.

Bulken quickly realized the gap in equipment between the two sides.

In close combat, he found himself completely outmatched by these inferior humans.

The first wave of cavalry charges inflicted the most damage on these humans; the rest of the humans, like war frenzies, surrounded the cavalry and began to attack.

What's most terrifying is that these attacks are organized, with three people working together in a coordinated manner.

In the chaos of battle, the numerical advantage immediately became apparent, and the Burken squad, with only a dozen or so men left, seemed to be stuck in a quagmire.

What made Burken most desperate was that these soldiers were not only well-equipped, but Burken even saw some fighting with recovery potions in their mouths.

Given the cost, it's completely outrageous that they'd kill their own cavalry unit at any cost.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

Immediately, a demon soldier noticed the difference in strength and raised his hands in protest. But the soldier, already bloodthirsty, paid no heed and smashed a hammer into the demon soldier's head, yelling, "We don't even need you greenskins for mining!"

Generally speaking, refusing to surrender can actually ignite the fighting spirit of the fleeing troops, prompting them to make a final, desperate stand.

However, the demon soldiers did not expect that these humans were fighting with a do-or-die mentality.

Some of the soldiers from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation even cried as they killed, their frenzy only making the demon soldiers more afraid.

Fortunately, the number of human soldiers was not large enough to overwhelm them. Bulken escaped with his only warhorse, which was wearing a cloak, and two loyal servants.

After all, these humans were all infantry, and the horses in the wagons were just slow-moving steeds used for transportation. Once they escaped the quagmire of the melee, Bulken could leave without a care in the world.

"You lowly humans, eat my fart!"

As Burken fled, he continued to mock them, but in his heart he was determined never to set foot in human territory again.

Once we return to the demon realm, we must report to the Demon King that these lowly humans have broken their promise.

All I did was conduct human experiments on people, infecting them with a multitude of plagues and curses, and then send them back to continue spreading the plagues and curses. But these humans actually broke the contract they signed with each other and directly killed me. It's just too much!

"Hmph, humans are nothing but lowly beings!"

Seemingly trying to reclaim some of his demonic superiority, Bulken, while riding his horse, said to his two attendants, "If I were the commander of this army, I would have set up an ambush here, and then..."

Before Burken could finish speaking, the two attendants suddenly saw banners fluttering in the distance, and a troop of fully armed cavalry waiting for them.

If the soldiers' equipment before had seemed exaggerated to Bulken, the cavalry before him was utterly hopeless.

Even without reconnaissance scouts, Bulken could sense that all the cavalrymen ahead were professionals, without exception.

These cavalrymen wore pure white armor, their banners and cloaks emblazoned with the North Wind Bear coat of arms of House Lars, and each was calming their eager warhorses.

Bulken could even sense that even though these cavalrymen were fully armed, their warhorses still allowed them to move swiftly across the battlefield.

This is no ambush; their combat power is even more exaggerated than that of a regular army. Even the main human forces that Bulken saw on the battlefield were no more than this.

With a wave of her hand, the leading female knight spurred her horse forward and charged straight toward Burken.

Bulken and his two attendants tried to resist with bloodline magic, but the magical wind blades dissipated like raindrops when they hit the knights.

Before he could even surrender, Burken felt the world spinning. Only when he saw his own body did he realize that it wasn't the world spinning, but his own head.