Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

"Sir, should we kill all these Cumans?"

Tom and Jerry got a little cocky after their strength improved.

"Yes. The Cumans are very vengeful; if we're going to fight, we'll fight them to the death!"

Peter acknowledged their fighting spirit and continued, "But we need strategy. Four armored mercenaries together are too difficult to deal with. We need to separate them and defeat them one by one."

Tom and Jerry both nodded.

Peter pointed to the woods west of the herb hut and said, "You two quietly maneuver to that spot, then shoot arrows to lure the Cumans into pursuit. If only one pursues, lure him away and kill him together; if two pursue, hold them off and wait for my rescue. If three or more pursue, flee far away. After shaking them off, meet up at Devil's Canyon. Understand?"

"clear."

"But what if they don't fall for it and come after them?" Tom asked naively.

"Then use your clever brains!"

Peter slapped Tom on the head in a fit of anger.

"Understood, understood, we'll find a way to provoke them. These pagans are said to not believe in God, not understand our language, and have very bad tempers."

Tom scratched his head sheepishly and walked away with Jerry.

After one hourglass period, Tom and Jerry arrived at their respective positions.

The dense oak and beech trees blocked most of the sunlight, casting only dappled shadows on the ground. The thick bushes in the forest provided excellent cover for the two.

Tom, a stocky man with an honest face, took two deep breaths, drew his thick fingers to draw the bowstring, and aimed at the Cuman mercenaries near the herb hut.

The four Cuman mercenaries were well-equipped, unlike the usual Cuman light cavalry; they were clearly experienced infantry mercenaries. Their scale armor gleamed with a cold, hard metallic sheen in the dim light, covering their chests, abdomens, and shoulders; their left hands gripped leather-covered round shields with iron edges; their signature Cuman scimitars hung at their waists, their fierce design perfect for slashing; and they carried composite recurve bows and quivers on their backs. Unfortunately, their vigilance had been worn down by the kicking down of doors, the cursing, the catching of chickens, and the chasing of pigs.

Perhaps in their minds, this desolate place posed no threat to them whatsoever.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow flew by, and the Kuman mercenary on the far left, who was binding the four hooves of a domestic pig, cried out in pain. Jerry's arrow had precisely pierced through the gap in the armor plate on the outside of his forearm and was deeply embedded in the flesh.

"Pfft! Ah—!"

The excruciating pain made him scream out instantly.

"There's an ambush!" "Over there!"

The other three Cumans, true to their mercenary nature, immediately turned towards the direction from which the arrows came and raised their shields in defense. The wounded Cuman, due to the excruciating pain and the loss of his shield's protection, instinctively took a few steps back, moving out of his teammates' cover, and attempted to draw his scimitar with his other hand.

"Whoosh!"

The lean and clever Jerry had been waiting for his chance, and shot an arrow into the injured Cuman's thigh.

"ah---"

The Cumans' scale armor focused on protecting the upper body, but there was a gap in their legs, which Jerry shot with an arrow, causing them to fall to the ground screaming in pain.

After firing two arrows, Tom and Jerry quickly leaped out of the bushes and fled into the woods.

After exchanging a few words in their native tongue, two Cumans gave chase, while the other held a shield to protect the man struck by the arrow.

The goal of splitting has been achieved.

Peter leaned against the trunk of a huge oak tree on the hillside, breathing slowly, his right hand gripping the one-handed sword tightly, like a tiger or a falcon, scanning the hut below for any movement.

Although he had killed ten robbers before, most of them were killed by traps and ambushes. This was the first time he had faced them head-on.

"Dry!"

Peter moved! Like a spring that had been holding its breath for a long time, he burst out from behind the tree, his target the shield bearer protecting the wounded soldier in front of the herb hut. His charge was swift, making full use of the cover of the trees to close the distance.

When the shield-wielding Cumans saw Peter charging, they raised their shields to block while roaring and swinging their scimitars.

Kuman's scimitar was powerful and heavy, cutting through the air with a whistling sound. Peter did not try to block it head-on!

He displayed superb footwork, executing a nimble side slide in the midst of his charge, allowing the scimitar to glide close to his chest. At the same time, instead of rushing to attack with his one-handed sword, he used the middle of the blade to sharply strike upwards and outwards, precisely hitting the blade of the scimitar.

"when!"

With a crisp sound, the scimitar was thrown outward by the powerful impact. The Kuman scimitar's center of gravity was forward, making it easy to pry open.

The main gate is wide open!

Peter seized this fleeting opening! He instantly closed in, stepping into the inner circle of the Cumans, almost face-to-face with his opponent. His left hand shot out with lightning speed, firmly grasping the wrist of his opponent holding the knife, his strength of 21 points preventing the opponent from reversing the strike.

At the same time, he thrust his one-handed sword upwards, close to his body, piercing deep into the relatively weak connection between his breastplate and armpit!

"Ugh—!"

The Cuman mercenary let out a short scream, his body stiffening abruptly. Peter mercilessly twisted the hilt of his sword, widening the wound, and then yanked it out. Blood gushed instantly from beneath the shattered armor plates.

"die!"

Peter twisted his one-handed sword and executed him.

"Ding! Killed a Kuman Scale Armor Mercenary, experience +30"

"Now it's your turn!"

Peter turned and glared fiercely at the unfortunate man on the ground who had been hit by two arrows.

"Gibberish, gibberish..."

"Pfft!"

Peter didn't understand, nor did he care to know, what the other man was saying. He simply kicked him to the ground and plunged his sword into the unprotected neck. The mercenary's eyes widened, like a fish whose bones had been removed, and he quickly fell silent.

"Ding! Killed a Kuman Scale Armor Mercenary, experience +30"

Alright, if you want to grow quickly, you still need real-world experience!

"Ding! Killed a Kuman Scale Armor Mercenary, experience +15"

A sudden notification sound startled Peter; it must be that Tom and Jerry had teamed up to ambush and kill a pursuer. Half the experience points are awarded for enemies killed by subordinates—not bad!

The facts were pretty much as Peter had guessed.

Tom and Jerry successfully lured the enemy out, causing them to wander through the woods and get further and further away from the cabin.

But when Peter killed the two Cumens who were guarding the hut, their dying screams still reached the ears of the Cumens in the woods.

The two Cuman mercenaries in the woods were both shocked and furious. Realizing they might have fallen into a trap, they immediately raised their shields and retreated, rushing towards the hut to try and rescue their companion.

Just then, Tom "recklessly" leaped out of the bushes and fired an arrow haphazardly at Cuman, who was charging ahead. The arrow thudded into Cuman's round shield, posing no threat whatsoever.

"Over here! You idiot!"

Tom shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to get attention, while awkwardly turning around as if to burrow deeper into the bushes.

"I'm going to kill him!"

This action immediately enraged the Cuman who was charging ahead, and he turned around and chased after Tom.

"Don't chase that archer!"

Another Cuman stopped in his tracks and roared.

One wanted to pursue, the other wanted to retreat; these different choices caused their positions to become disconnected.

Meanwhile, Jerry, who was hiding in the shadows, and Tom, who was fleeing, formed a crossfire. One of them had a shooting skill level of 19 and the other had a shooting skill level of 17. Even if they relaxed for only half a second, it would be enough to kill someone. Soon, the screams of the Ku barbarian could be heard from the forest.

"Damn it, I told you not to chase them, not to chase them!"

The last Cuman cursed under his breath, glanced again in the direction of the silent herb hut, guessing that his companions there were probably doomed as well, and then plunged into the forest to escape.

However, he did not expect Peter to be so fast. After completing two kills, Peter used the cover of the trees to silently circle around to the side and rear of the lone mercenary and suddenly pounced!

"drink!"

Peter let out a low growl and thrust his one-handed sword at a tricky angle towards the back of the Kuman mercenary's knee.

"cunning!"

The Kuman mercenary reacted extremely quickly, his shield slamming downwards to block.

"Bang!"

The sword tip struck the skinned shield but failed to penetrate.

The two instantly engaged in close combat. The experienced Kuman mercenary used his shield to parry flawlessly, concealing his scimitar behind it, ready to unleash a venomous slash.

Peter displayed superb defensive skills, accurately parrying every tricky attack with the blade of his sword. The sounds of sword clashing with the scimitar and the edge of the shield were incessant, and sparks flew everywhere.

Desperate, the Cuman mercenaries charged like mad tigers, launching a relentless assault. Peter remained calm, using the trees to block their advance, parrying, deflecting their force, and dodging. In the instant when a powerful Cuman mercenary's diagonal slash missed and he lost his balance, Peter seized the opportunity and delivered a swift thrust.

The one-handed sword struck with lightning speed, precisely piercing the throat of the Kuman mercenary, which was raised between his scale armor and the edge of his helmet as he attacked! The sword tip emerged from the back of his neck, bringing with it a cloud of blood.

The Kuman mercenary's movements came to an abrupt halt, the madness in his eyes quickly replaced by deathly pallor, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Ding! Killed a Kuman Scale Armor Mercenary, experience +30."

"Congratulations, host, you have reached level 4. Free attribute points +5, skill points +5, talent points +1."

Silence enveloped the blood-stained woodland in an instant, broken only by the babbling brook and Peter's heavy breathing.

"I'm so tired!"

Peter leaned on his sword, breathing heavily, sweat mingling with the blood of his enemies streaming down his face. Several deep cuts and scratches marred his chainmail, and his arm trembled with exhaustion. He hadn't expected direct combat to be so physically demanding! He'd thought 13 stamina points per second would be enough, but he'd almost been defeated.

After another hourglass, Peter's stamina returned to its peak, and his eyes burned with the flame of victory and the determination of a warrior.

Tom and Jerry returned like greedy old landlords, carrying the fish-scale armor, scimitar, shield, and Cuman warrior bow they had taken from the Cuman mercenary.

Seeing the three Cuman mercenary corpses, clad in fish-scale armor, lying in different positions on the ground, their blood staining the damp soil and fallen leaves in dark patterns, I couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for Peter.

"You single-handedly defeated three Cuman warriors! You're truly amazing!"

"No, that is the result of our collective wisdom."

Peter didn't try to take credit for himself; he had them strip the other three Kumans clean as well, so that he could collect the spoils.

When I didn't have any underlings, I had to plunder equipment from the dead myself. Now that I have underlings, why do I still have to plunder? Wouldn't that be a waste of my underlings?