I, the Knight King, wield my sword for my myriad subjects.

There, Lani had already gathered more than half of the residents of Frostraven Town.

After arranging refuge affairs in and around Frostraven, the most densely populated town in Blackrock Territory.

The butler, Leon, appeared before Arthur.

At this moment, his face appeared slightly pale.

When Arthur returned to Blackrock Fortress, he learned from him the reason for his severe injuries.

His mount, the Tier 3 Frost Raven King, was cursed by some powerful curse due to the death of a messenger Frost Raven offspring.

This curse severely injured the third-tier Frost Raven King from a distance, causing it to weaken and its current strength to almost drop to the level of a third-tier magical beast.

Leon, the butler, is a Silver-rank knight who has formed a soul contract with the Third-Rank Frost Raven King.

Generally speaking, damage taken by a mount will not be reflected to its owner.

However, this curse was so powerful and bizarre that it nearly caused serious injury to the butler, Leon.

Fortunately, thanks to the knowledge he had gained about the power of curses during his time in the royal city, he used a soul technique that could only be learned at the Silver rank to stop the curse that had been cast on the Frost Raven King in time.

Afterwards, he took out a rare ice-attribute artifact that he had treasured for many years and used it to heal the Frost Raven King.

The Frost Raven King is now rapidly recovering its strength.

The butler, Leon, told Arthur the news.

The strange curse Arthur suffered from the Frost Raven King almost confirmed that the enemy invading Blackrock Territory was the Bloodbath Blackwater Territory bandit gang with a "bounty level three".

Presumably, the other side used the same tactic to quickly reduce the number of upper-level combatants in Blackwater Territory.

With this in mind, Arthur asked his butler, Leon:

"How long will it take for the Frost Raven King to return to the battlefield?"

"At most fifteen minutes."

The butler, Leon, confidently gave his answer, and then reported on another important matter:

"Through the surviving messenger ravens, I have made contact with the patrols in the Western Wilderness and the Northern Wilderness."

After receiving news of the crisis in Blackrock Territory, they began directing civilians from surrounding villages to seek refuge in shelters.

"very good!"

Arthur was delighted upon hearing this, and immediately gave his loyal steward the next instructions:

"Butler Leon, please take your squire knight guard and come with me to the main road outside Frostraven Town."

Just now, Lancelot led 120 Black Rock Legion soldiers to set up a defensive line.

At this point, the joy on Arthur's face faded, gradually replaced by a look of sorrow:

"We are about to face a bandit gang with a bounty level of three."

Aside from the curse master who has already shown promise, there must be several other silver-rank bandit knights among them.

We need to…

"This battle to defend the city should also include this old man like me."

Just then, a voice that he and his butler Leon knew all too well came from afar and interrupted him.

Arthur raised an eyebrow; he had already guessed who it was.

So he suddenly looked in the direction of the sound.

Sure enough, it was Lawson, the Thunder Badger Knight.

Chapter 94 The Swaying Torches of Human Heads

It was different from the impression I had of Lani's residence a moment before.

The Thunder Badger Knight Lawson was no longer wearing casual clothes, but instead donned a set of extraordinary knight's armor.

This suit of armor is engraved with intricate and aesthetically pleasing purple rune circuits from top to bottom.

The rune circuit unleashed a powerful aura far surpassing that of the armor Arthur was wearing.

It seemed as if purple lightning would burst forth from the surface of its armor at any moment.

Undoubtedly, this is Lawson's top-tier masterpiece, crafted for himself by a level-two runesmith.

“Mr. Lawson, on behalf of the people of Blackrock Territory, I extend my deepest respect to you.”

Upon seeing another key upper-level combatant of the Silver rank, Arthur's worries about the bandits lessened considerably.

After saying that, he gave Lawson a grateful look.

But Lawson shook his head in front of Arthur.

immediately.

A bitter smile forced across his deeply wrinkled old face:

"My lord, you should thank my granddaughter, who is just as stubborn as you."

I'm just fighting for her.

Having said that, he mounted an ordinary warhorse.

That brings me to this.

Arthur didn't say anything more.

Subsequently.

He took the lead, riding his black-haired horse Nightshade, and leading the two strongest Silver-rank upper-level combatants in Blackrock Territory, along with a group of Iron-rank squire knight guards, to the key defensive line outside Frostraven Town.

en route.

They passed through the central square, which was home to more than half of Frostyrak's residents.

at this time.

Gawain, leading a Blackrock Soldier unit of thirty men under Lani's command, was guiding the residents who had come to this place to evacuate towards the lord's manor.

Arthur could see that it was thanks to Lani's approachable command that there was no disturbance on the scene, and everyone cooperated well in following the Black Rock Legion soldiers.

"It's the Lord!"

"Look! And Mr. Lawson from the tavern earlier?"

"Judging by their fully armed appearance, Blackrock Territory is truly facing a major crisis!"

Soon, the residents of Frostraven Town in the square noticed the passing of this group of elite warriors led by Arthur.

Lani, standing in the middle of the crowd, was drawn in by the residents' commotion and noticed their passing.

"Little lion, you must return safely!"

She didn't know what kind of enemy Arthur and his companions were about to face, but she continued to call out with fervor, expressing her most heartfelt blessings to them:

"And Grandpa Lawson and you all."

Lani's differential treatment caused Lawson, who was following behind Arthur, a sense of unease.

He couldn't help but exclaim:

"Alas, now that the girl has grown up, she thinks of her lover before her grandfather."

After sighing, Lawson cast a resentful glance at Arthur ahead.

"Cough cough!"

Arthur keenly sensed a malevolent force approaching him, and he quickly realized the reason.

He could only quickly respond to Lani's blessing:

"Alright, I'm counting on you to take care of the residents of Frostraven Town!"

After giving the instructions.

Arthur quickly pulled on the reins, speeding up Nightshade and driving it away from the area.

-----------------

Shortly after.

We arrived at the main road that is the only way to enter Frostyrak Town.

As the vice-commander of the Black Rock Legion, Lancelot had already led 120 Black Rock soldiers to this location ahead of time after receiving Arthur's orders.

Now, he is directing eight combat teams composed of 120 Black Rock soldiers, each stationed at a key position along the main road.

After all the pre-war arrangements were completed.

Lancelot swallowed hard, remaining on edge for even a moment.

His gaze was fixed on the end of the main road leading to Frostraven Town behind him.

It is now the long night in the North.

At the end of the main road lay a dark area shrouded in twilight.

But everyone present knew that this unchanging darkness would soon be broken.

At that time, it will be a chaotic and bloody battle.

Just as all the Blackrock soldiers were on high alert, gripping their weapons tightly.

Accompanied by a gradually intensifying tremor in the ground.

Clusters of flames floating in mid-air rose rapidly from the horizon at the edge of their vision, instantly dispelling the darkness shrouded in twilight.

This local bandit gang, which had once annihilated the Blackwater Territory and was a "Level 3 Bounty" force, surged out of the horizon like a fishpond in the firelight, its sheer numbers overwhelming.

Lancelot frowned and quickly scanned the group of bandits.

He estimated the number of bandits to be around a hundred.

At the same time, he quickly noticed that in front of the group of bandits, there were two black-armored knights who made no attempt to conceal their powerful aura.

He had only ever seen this kind of domineering aura in his revered butler, Leon, a mid-level Silver rank knight.

"All Blackrock Legion soldiers, prepare for battle!"

With this in mind, Lancelot drew his fine iron sword from his waist and declared with high spirits.

"That is......."

But at that moment, a Black Rock Legion soldier next to him abruptly interrupted him.

His face was filled with endless terror as he tremblingly raised his hand and pointed to the "torch" that had dispelled the darkness for the bandits.

Lancelot was puzzled and looked closely.

Upon witnessing the true form of the "torch," his pupils trembled violently.

"This is......"

Lancelot witnessed a horrifying scene unlike anything he had ever seen before—one after another, bloody human heads were strung on the bandits' torches.

Each head came from a commoner in Blackrock Territory.

They were all cut off in their most desperate moments, their faces still bearing the tragic image of wide-open eyes as they were burned by flames.

The torches swayed violently in the night wind, the strung heads resembling cursed wind chimes.

Those wide-open eyes reflected the horrific scene of the village being slaughtered in its final moments, as well as the devastated faces of everyone in the Black Rock Legion.

Many of the Black Rock Legion soldiers present grew up in the villages that had just been massacred by these bandits.

So, some of them quickly recognized their relatives and friends among these horrific torches of human heads:

“That’s…my Uncle Webber!”

"No! Mom!"

"..."

The Blackrock Legion soldiers stared in disbelief at the burning torch of human heads, shouting out the names of their loved ones at the top of their lungs.

At this moment, the cold winds of the long northern night began to howl.

The torches bearing the heads of the bandits began to flicker wildly.