Armored Cavalry, survive in a world full of mods

Among the spoils they captured were over 200 pieces of chainmail that were still usable. Almost every mountain dweller had one. Only the unfortunate souls who couldn't out-rob others sat there sullenly, regretting their damaged and tattered chainmail.

"I told you to shoot them in the head, but you kept aiming for their chests. How are we supposed to wear these good things now that they're all so tattered?!"

"Are you out of your mind? Who cares about that at that time? Just hitting the target is good enough."

“These kinds of things used to be worn only by elders. I never thought we’d be wearing them one day… Damn it, mine is a bit too tight. Which of you is short? Swap with me.”

“Mine is too wide, let me exchange it with you.”

………………

The mountain people, wearing chainmail over their tattered outer garments, looked somewhat more uniform, but their standing posture remained lazy and casual, resembling a pack of beasts ready to scatter at any moment.

They looted almost everything, even taking a lot of flesh from the dead warhorses. The surviving warhorses were all taken away, and now almost everyone has a horse to ride, greatly improving their mobility.

A few skillful mountain people even made several large flatbed carts from the fallen, dry trees. These were the means of transportation they often used in the woodlands of their hometown. The supplies and grain were loaded onto them, and women and children who could not ride horses mostly rode on these carts.

Although they have gained a lot, they are now facing a big problem... that is, they don't have enough food.

A warhorse needs to eat several times more food than a person in a day. The food they bought from the village has been almost used up, and they must find enough supplies, otherwise they will not be able to complete the long journey ahead.

Interestingly, Alperth is an important grain-producing area, surrounded by vast fertile plains and situated at the intersection of two mountain ranges. Beyond the city lies the territory of the Empire... Therefore, this region has always been an important defensive zone for the Hols, where a large number of troops are concentrated.

Therefore, although this place has abundant resources, it is heavily protected, like a few berries hidden among a thicket of thorns; obtaining them requires taking a great risk...

According to the usual practice of an army, looting a few villages would be enough to gather enough food to take back. After all, it would only be a few days, and the remaining rations of ordinary civilians during this lean season would just be enough to support the consumption of warhorses and soldiers... Tersolius shook his head and gave up on the idea.

Being isolated in enemy territory, engaging in such rampant looting would only expose their position, and because of his own circumstances, he instinctively rejected this approach...

With a keen intuition, he sensed something strange about the mudslide that had destroyed the road the day before. It seemed as if someone was deliberately leading them down another path... another path that looked wide and smooth, but was certainly fraught with danger and countless obstacles.

He didn't have much evidence, but a strong intuition compelled him to lead his troops back the way they came. There, they annihilated a cavalry force of over two hundred men. Now, all he had to do was wait for news from his scouts to confirm his suspicions…

They had cleared away as much of the trail as possible, set up a spacious camp in the jungle, and hid the horses in a secluded ravine. The others were preparing to start a fire and cook, while Tersolius sat quietly on a tree stump, waiting...

In the middle of the night, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and soon Marcus arrived before him:

"General, there are definitely signs of a large number of troops passing through the Kas Pass... and that road is blocked."

Thesolius nodded, feeling much relieved:

"Have you caught anyone?"

"Found someone who was alone... but he was mute, and his tongue had been cut out."

"Imperial?"

"Imperial."

Tersolius unfolded the map again. His sharp eyes scanned Alperth's surroundings, then suddenly his eyes lit up, as if he had discovered something...

37 Encirclement (2)

"It seems someone doesn't want me to go back."

The atmosphere before the massive tree stump gradually turned ominous. The heavily armored cavalrymen all had icy expressions, their ruthless malice undisguised. Some of them had already unconsciously reached for their weapons at their waists. They were all highly trained elites, and naturally, they understood the general's unspoken meaning.

Traitors are often more hateful than enemies, because enemies have their own stance, and it's just a matter of life and death, but traitors often stab themselves in the back, leaving them with no place to bury their bodies.

"General, we can kill all these pursuing Hols first, and then crush them here!"

Arka pointed heavily at a valley. It was a good place to ambush. If the two ends were blocked with ambushes, anyone who went in would be slaughtered like pigs and sheep... Of course, this was just wishful thinking. Anyone could see how dangerous these places were... Any experienced commander would send out a large number of scouts to thoroughly investigate before passing through.

“They can’t be killed off... Their mission was simply to keep us occupied. Alperth is too close to here; all they need to do is slow us down. Now, with traitors from our empire cooperating with them, our escape route is completely blocked.”

Marcus ran his fingers along the road with a grim expression, his red beard trembling with rage, and the chainmail gloves on his hands were so tight they almost tore the paper.

"That's not all. I'm afraid that Gaelius had already planned to do this the moment he left... so even we couldn't catch up."

Everyone's face was extremely gloomy, even Colin, the little girl, who now regretted getting involved in this matter.

They initially thought he was a wealthy boss, but it turns out that while he's rich, he's gotten himself into a lot of trouble. They might be able to handle this kind of trouble, but they're just ordinary people. Getting involved could easily lead to their demise...

But thinking about how she had already accepted the money, and considering the good meals she had enjoyed over the past few days, the young girl, unwilling to give up these benefits, gritted her teeth and continued standing there, determined to go all the way... Moreover, she dared not run away, otherwise she would probably lose her life here today...

Just as everyone was somewhat at a loss, as if by instinct, they all focused their attention on that tall figure...

"Who said there's no road?..."

Tersolius raised his head, his expression remaining calm. Everyone fell silent, waiting for their general to speak next.

Thesolius pointed to a wide road on the map:

"Isn't this a road that can take us home? And it's so easy to walk on."

Marcus peeked in, then froze completely:

"Isn't this the main road of Alperth, a border city of the Hols?!... But sir, there are a large garrison there..."

"There are quite a few... but wouldn't it be better to just bring them out?"

Thesolius burst into laughter, his eyes gleaming with a powerful confidence and will that made one want to believe him...

————————————————————————————————————————

The warm spring sun shines on the earth, and the farmers, dressed in tattered clothes, are working in the fields. They carry rough hemp ropes on their shoulders and drag heavy wooden plows. With the help of their wives, who are also dressed in tattered clothes and are thin, they slowly break through the spring soil and turn the dark, fertile soil to the surface.

Such arduous labor soon left their thin bodies drenched in sweat, but they dared not rest for a moment. All the tools belonged to the city lords, and if they couldn't return them by today, they would be whipped...

They weren't afraid of being whipped; they were just lowly creatures who weren't afraid of being whipped. But if they couldn't finish their work and plant the crops on time, they would go hungry... No one knew the taste of hunger better than them, and no one was more afraid of it than them.

The chest, with its ribs visible, contracted desperately, squeezing out the last bit of strength from its weak body to break apart the slightly hardened clods of earth. After several more rounds of leveling and loosening, the seeds could finally be sown.

This is not their land. The vast majority of the grain they receive each year must be distributed to the city, leaving them with very little, barely enough to survive... After all, they are slaves, and they have lived like this for countless years without anyone finding anything wrong with it.

Waaaaah! ………………

Suddenly, a significant commotion arose from the vast city built of gray stone and marble. The sound of horns was deafening and could be clearly heard even from this distance. Although they knew it had nothing to do with them, the serfs still straightened up and looked towards the city...

Perhaps even people as bleak and humble as them are instinctively hoping for some kind of change...

The city gate, constructed of thick steel beams riveted together, was slowly hoisted up by iron chains. Squads of cavalrymen, clad in silver chainmail and green cloaks, charged out from within. The silver plumes on their smooth helmets fluttered gently in the breeze, and their sharp spears stood tall like a small forest. Long, curved swords inlaid with gold and silver threads hung on the sides of their saddles.

Each cavalryman carried a longbow and two quivers of arrows, and their warhorses were all tall with long legs and moved swiftly, like a gust of wind, blowing across the road in the blink of an eye.

The rose and thorn pennant representing the Alpert family was proudly carried at the head of the procession atop a lance. Each cavalryman carried a small pennant on his lance, bearing the emblem of his family.

The cavalry captains, who wore scale armor vests over their chainmail, not only had their lances marked with their own insignia, but their warhorses were also draped in brightly colored horse coats. The hems of the heavy fabric rippled like waves with each sway of the horse's legs, making them extremely eye-catching.

Like a flock of proud peacocks, each cavalryman dressed himself in flamboyant attire while holding his head almost to the sky, passing by the kneeling serfs by the roadside as if they were invisible. The sharp tips of his spears seemed to leap across their bodies, making these ragged slaves tremble all over.

The mud kicked up by the horses' hooves splattered on them, but no one dared to move an inch, for fear of displeasing the adults...

A cheer erupted atop the city walls as well-dressed citizens bid farewell to their knights. Petals rained down on the cavalrymen who charged out of the city gates, and every now and then a lady's handkerchief would be caught by a passing cavalryman, who would then raise it high above his head and display it behind him, eliciting even more enthusiastic cheers.

The Alperts sent out their troops...

38. Surprise attack (1)

Alpert was a city sustained by slaves, with a large number of serfs cultivating the land and providing a large amount of food to the Hols nation every year.

Slave owners used whips and swords to subdue slaves. Every year, a large number of prisoners of war and free people were enslaved for various reasons, pouring their blood, sweat and even their lives into the land to provide their masters with food to exchange for wealth.

This city is never short of wailing and tears. Even if a slave marries and has children, his children still belong to his master. Even if he has children, he is still a slave. He can never escape this fate. They cannot leave their land and can only live as a tool.

This led to a thriving slave trade in the city, with an extremely strong demand for slaves keeping prices consistently high. It became the best place for slave owners to make their fortunes, and even those from far away would travel thousands of miles to come here specifically to sell their goods for a good price.

This fertile plain bordered the empire's territory, and to guard against enemy invasions, the Hols stationed a large number of troops here, ensuring that the slaves had no chance to rise again.

As soon as any news got out, they would be crushed to pieces by the arriving army. One defeat after another etched a deep-seated servility into their minds, leaving them with no courage to resist.

Watching the cavalrymen swagger away in triumph, the slaves didn't even have the courage to look up. To them, these extraordinary troops were more unshakeable and more eternal than the earth itself.

While it was a novel thing for the city's cavalry to venture out of the city, it wasn't necessarily a good thing for them...

A farmer watched numbly as the cavalrymen brazenly crossed his fields, trampling the freshly turned soil down to a firmer state, even harder than when he first started working on it. He wondered how much more effort it would take to restore it to its previous state...

All of this was just because these cavalrymen wanted to take a shortcut... even if it was only a few dozen meters.

The serf bent down again and began to pull the heavy wooden plow. His wife, with a stiff expression, also held onto the behemoth. The two of them began to loosen the soil again, turning over the hardened earth that had been trampled by the iron hooves with all their might.

The spring sun, which should have been warm, now felt like a venomous snake tearing at his back. The water droplets on his face dripped into the soil beneath his feet, making it impossible to tell whether they were sweat or tears.

.....................

The respectable citizens atop the city walls finally quieted down their cheers, but they still whispered excitedly among themselves. Although there was no definite notification telling them what enemy the city's cavalry was going to deal with, rumors and uncertain gossip were spreading among them.

These reports have been embellished and exaggerated countless times, making their credibility questionable.

But the city's slave owners live a life of luxury. With today's productivity, it's hard for them to find anything they haven't enjoyed, despite the city's strategic location and its history of wars with the Empire, the most recent of which was 52 years ago.

For this group of slave owners, war was just a game that sounded impressive and interesting; they could not truly understand the nature of war.

The news of the fierce battle that took place in the Bone Basin was just a topic of everyday conversation for them.

They didn't know the devastating power of a charge by armored cavalry, nor the dense rain of arrows fired by hordes of mountain archers, nor the terrifying oppressive feeling of the Imperial infantry advancing like a wall...

All they knew was that they could buy more slaves, have them cultivate fertile land for them, and then exchange the grain for countless riches. Killing other people's slaves required compensation, while killing their own was a loss... so their words naturally became ridiculous.

A Holsian man with a round, chubby face was arguing with his companion, his face flushed. They seemed to have a significant disagreement, and it even looked like they were about to come to blows...

But if you take just two steps closer, you can hear what they're saying.

“Carlos! Are you doubting our army? No matter how many of those Imperials come, our army can easily wipe them out on the plains! Their horses are faster than the wind, and even arrows can't catch them!”

"You're talking nonsense again, misinterpreting me. I clearly said that with such a large number of us, those enemies won't have a chance to get close to the city!!"

…………

Such examples are, after all, extremely rare, but the things most people whisper about are just as ridiculous and boring.

The city's ruler stared grimly at the cavalry he had dispatched. The foolish discussions around him made his lips twitch slightly, and he almost turned around to give them a good taunt.

But he held back in the end. This city belonged to him, but it also belonged to these people... There was no need to offend them over such a small matter... After all, it wasn't worth it.

I just hope that good-for-nothing Tokas will be of some use this time... All 500 cavalrymen in the city have been sent out, and they are all our elite troops. If we can really do what he said and surround and kill that elite Imperial cavalry around Alpert...

Thinking of this, his breathing became heavier, and his long, strong fingers gripped the battlements tightly, the fine stone powder and dust covering his palms.

Tokas couldn't possibly convince him with empty words. Even if he failed this time, he wouldn't lose out... Besides, the plan was indeed quite sound, after all, it was just a group of defeated soldiers. Although they were very elite, this level should be about right.

………………

A pair of sharp eyes slowly opened and closed in the jungle, repeating this several times until the dryness in his eyes was finally relieved. The thick fur on his body kept his body warm by shielding him from the dampness of the jungle.

A series of dense and muffled sounds suddenly came from afar. The mountain man immediately focused his attention. After the group of arrogant Holstein cavalry passed by, the mountain man, who had been hiding in the shadow between two rocks without even being disturbed by birds, slowly stood up.

…………

He slowly turned the military knife in his hand, letting the bright blade reflect the sunlight shining through the forest. A dazzling, cold light flashed across the surrounding trees like a swimming fish, then abruptly stopped on the thick cloth of the tent.

After wiping away the excess grease from his longsword one last time, Tersolius stood up and swung his hand to sheath the sword.

The cavalrymen waited silently behind him, their bright, heavy armor concealing them from the sunlight. Their warhorses were well-fed and full of energy.

"start."

………………

39. Surprise Attack (2)

The heavy chain hammer swung down, and the Holsian man, his face filled with panic, tried to block it with his sword. However, the silver chain wrapped around the hilt of his sword, and the heavy hammerhead drew a short arc before striking his wrist. With a muffled thud, the hand that was tightly gripping the sword immediately loosened.

With another forceful pull, the tangled chain dragged the Holstein man to the ground, and the chain with the hammerhead loosened completely in that instant.

The wobbly chain hammer, stained with blood and bits of flesh, was lifted slightly before crashing down heavily.

"I surrender! I surrender! Please spare my life! I am Hills, the lord of Alpert! ...son of Hills! You can use me to exchange for a large ransom. I guarantee my father will give you more money than you can spend in a lifetime!!"

Perhaps when people are facing life and death, they really do unleash their full potential. The Hols man in front of him said all of this in just two seconds, and his sentences were clear and fluent, without a single wrong word.

Alka frowned as he looked at the Hols man. He didn't know what was wrong with the man... He challenged him first, but then surrendered so readily... If he was afraid of dying, why didn't he surrender in the first place?

But after glancing at his opponent's shattered wrist, he realized that since the other party was the city lord's son, he should indeed spare his life.

Alka untied his whip and used the supple leather to tightly bind the other man's injured wrist and arm together. Then, grabbing his arm with one hand, he dragged him towards the end of the valley.

…………

As the bright green cloak was dragged along, it was immediately soaked with fresh blood. The shrill screams and desperate howls never stopped, and the thunderous hoofbeats of the warhorses rang out wave after wave, each time accompanied by even more miserable and chilling screams.

This small valley nestled among the mountains has now been transformed into a horrific slaughterhouse, and the Holstein cavalry, drawn here by the trail, are the prey to be slaughtered...