Chapter 64: War in White Mountain Territory
"Adema, how are the preparations?"
"All observation posts have been eliminated," replied a young man with a grim scar running down his face.
"The traps we've set along the enemy's patrol routes have successfully intercepted three patrol squads. Now, the eyes of the Plain Village in White Mountain Territory are shut."
"A seasoned border defense setup by the kingdom's frontier troops. I didn't expect the lord of White Mountain Territory to have such veteran border soldiers," said a middle-aged man on horseback in a deep voice.
"According to the plan, Eastern Mountain Territory should have invaded two days ago, but there's been no news from Plain Village. It seems the plan has succeeded. ... Relay the order to everyone: full-scale attack. We must capture Plain Village before tomorrow to complete the blockade of White Mountain Territory's border. Western Wind Territory will also officially dispatch troops tomorrow. If we fail to block the enemy's routes, Western Wind Territory will mock us from Spring Breeze Territory as incompetents."
"Yes, sir!"
Adema, the young man with a scar running from his right brow to the corner of his mouth, responded loudly and immediately began relaying orders.
Soon, this long-prepared force, under the leadership of the middle-aged man, set off.
They easily crossed the border between White Mountain Territory and Spring Breeze Territory.
Originally, there was an observation post on a mountain about a kilometer from this border.
With a force of nearly four hundred from Spring Breeze Territory, there was no need to cross the border.
As soon as they began assembling at the border, the beacon tower at this observation post would have signaled with smoke, indicating that enemy troops from Spring Breeze Territory had gathered.
Subsequently, all observation post beacon towers within White Mountain Territory that saw the smoke would light up in succession, and the entire White Mountain Territory would immediately enter a state of total war.
But at this moment, the troops from Spring Breeze Territory had all entered White Mountain Territory, and the observation post still hadn't signaled with smoke.
The lord of Spring Breeze Territory couldn't help but show a trace of contempt on his face.
'A fool.'
'Using such observation post beacon towers for border defense is viable only because there are plenty of Bloodline Knights at the border. Each beacon tower can be manned by several Bloodline Users to prevent the enemy from removing them.'
'You, White Mountain Territory, don't even have five Bloodline Knights, and you dare to do this?'
The lord of Spring Breeze Territory waved his large hand forward and shouted in a deep voice, "Our enemies have become deaf and blind! Next, it's time for you to plunder at will! Now, the entire army, advance at full speed towards Plain Village in White Mountain Territory!"
"Oh—!"
All the soldiers from Spring Breeze Territory let out deafening shouts of excitement.
No one would refuse the opportunity to plunder in war.
Especially the soldiers of Spring Breeze Territory.
...
"Lord Ion," a soldier approached Ion from behind.
Ion, with a grim expression, pulled his longsword from the body of a soldier wearing leather armor, blood splattering onto the ground.
He turned his head to look at the person behind him and asked, "Any casualties?"
"None," all the veteran soldiers around Ion grinned. "These fools from Eastern Mountain Territory are no match for us."
Others also laughed in agreement.
"The enemy was simply outnumbered and caught off guard. The real battle hasn't started yet." Although Ion didn't want to dampen the morale of these veterans, he knew he couldn't blindly encourage and praise them.
Otherwise, when the real battle began and the offensive was hindered, their morale would easily collapse. "Everyone, take the time to rest. We're about to leave the mountains, and frequent skirmishes are likely ahead. There won't be time to rest then."
Upon hearing this, the others stopped laughing and began to sit down to recover their strength.
Many took the opportunity to close their eyes and nap after drinking some water.
Since yesterday evening, after urgently evacuating all the residents of Plain Village, they had immediately followed Ion towards Mountain Ridge Village.
Originally, more than ten militiamen from Plain Village wanted to come along, but Ion refused, instructing them to report to Lily in White Mountain City.
He reasoned that the villagers also needed their escort, so the militiamen had no choice but to leave.
In fact, the veterans were well aware.
Plain Village had nearly two thousand people, including the elderly and women, with able-bodied adults making up only a third.
Even if they evacuated separately, those ten or so militiamen couldn't possibly escort and organize them. So, Ion had merely given them a pretext for survival.
However, when Ion proposed going to Mountain Ridge Village to attempt to rescue Baron Ster, none of the thirty veterans following him objected, not out of fear, but because these veterans, ranging from young to middle-aged, genuinely wanted to follow Ion to rescue Baron Ster.
Among them, many had been rescued by the brothers Yam and Akar in the past, so they held sincere respect for the Soderbell Family.
Especially in the past three months, they had witnessed Ion truly living and eating with them, treating everyone equally.
Even when assigning and executing tasks, this Bloodline Knight participated alongside them, never relying on his bloodline status.
The identity of a Bloodline Knight only granted the authority to assign tasks. Therefore, these veterans truly acknowledged Ion from the bottom of their hearts and were willing to follow his orders.
Moreover—
What they were doing now, frankly speaking, was also to protect their own families.
After all, they had all personally witnessed the tragedy when Red River Territory fell.
Ion looked at the thirty soldiers resting, and likewise forced himself to close his eyes to rest.
He knew that the most rational decision at this moment should be to return directly to White Mountain City, especially since his daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild were still there.
Furthermore, with all three lords of the Fertile Plains heading south with their armies, White Mountain Territory alone could never withstand the assault.
So the best course of action would be to return to White Mountain City immediately, fortify and wait for reinforcements, and at the same time dispatch envoys to Red River Territory and Gem Territory for aid before the enemy could fully encircle them.
But Ion’s heart would not allow him to do so.
The scene of abandoning his mercenary comrades at Iron Wolf Mountain five years ago kept replaying in his mind throughout the night.
In the end, he could not bring himself to retreat straight to White Mountain City. Because Ion believed that if Baron Ster had not yet perished and was still waiting for rescue, just like when he was trapped on Red Lion Peak two years ago, then his withdrawal would be the true reason behind Baron Ster’s death in Mountain Ridge Village.
Ion felt that he would lose his sanity if that happened.
So, he decided he had to see the situation in Mountain Ridge Village with his own eyes to find peace of mind.
...
"Swish swish swish—"
Sharp whistling sounds pierced the air.
A rain of arrows, like a swarm of locusts, showered down on Mountain Ridge Village.
Houses built from wood and stone held up better, not easily penetrated by the arrows, but the pounding “thump-thump” of the arrows hitting the walls and rooftops still frightened the villagers into trembling.
These villagers were the lucky ones.
The unlucky ones had either been killed in the night raid by the soldiers of Eastern Mountain Territory or died because they could not afford sturdier homes. Their thatched roofs were pierced by arrows, and they were shot dead inside.
Baron Ster stood by the window on the second floor of a house.
He only opened the window a crack and cautiously observed the situation outside.
His face was especially grim.
He had already deduced the enemy’s strategy: to use the suppressive fire of arrow rain to gradually shrink their movement area, then coordinate with the Bloodline Knights and soldiers to completely wipe them out in Mountain Ridge Village.
At this moment, he understood that if they did not break out soon, they would likely have no chance to escape at all.
"My lord!" Roda rushed up to Baron Ster. "The enemy has broken through from the west! Our defenses there have collapsed completely! They are slaughtering our soldiers, what should we do next?"
Baron Ster glanced back at Roda.
Roda’s right arm was still bandaged, an injury sustained in battle the previous night.
His awakened bloodline was from a Second-Tier magical beast, the Iron Wolf.
This magical beast lived in the Fertile Plains, and when made into Bloodline Potions, it typically granted the Bloodline User the Iron Bones ability.
Upon advancing to the Second Tier, it slightly enhanced speed and physical endurance, leaning towards a defensive type.
Fortunately, Roda had awakened this bloodline ability. When ambushed last night by a Second-Tier Bloodline User, he managed to preserve his right arm.
Had it not been for that, he would have lost it. Even though his arm was saved, he no longer had the ability to fight, and could only stay with Baron Ster as a messenger and battlefield reporter.
"Break out," Baron Ster gave the order without the slightest hesitation.
"We can no longer hold Mountain Ridge Village. So we must break out now. The western defensive line has collapsed, and the enemy has sealed the north. Soldiers on both sides are trapped. ... Order the eastern forces to regroup with us in the south of the village, we’re breaking out immediately."
"What about the villagers of Mountain Ridge Village?"
"Let them surrender," Baron Ster sighed lightly. "They may be plundered and humiliated, but at least they still have a chance to survive."
Roda bit his lip, his expression extremely bitter.
Mountain Ridge Village was the fief he inherited from his sister. Ordering the villagers to surrender and be plundered was tantamount to bleeding his own heart.
But Roda also knew they could not stop this invading force.
They had one hundred private soldiers under the lord’s command, forty serfs, and thirty militiamen conscripted from the village. Defending within the village actually gave them a reasonable combat advantage.
However, they never expected Eastern Mountain Territory to send a force of three hundred, almost all the private troops from its lords.
The enemy not only had their lord, who was also a Third-Tier Bloodline User, but also three Bloodline Knights. Their combat power was two or three times greater.
Had it not been for last night’s raid, whether by luck or misfortune, the first attack point was right where Baron Ster was staying, and the invading Second-Tier Bloodline Knight was killed by him.
By the time the lord of Eastern Mountain Territory and the other Bloodline Knights arrived to besiege him, Baron Ster had already retreated to the safety of his troops. The enemy, ill-prepared and hampered by the night, could not launch a strong assault.
Otherwise, Roda and Baron Ster might have died last night.
"My lord, which direction should we break out?" Roda asked gravely. "Towards White Mountain City?"
"White Mountain City…"
Baron Ster muttered to himself, then slowly shook his head. "No."
"If our observation posts issued no warning of the enemy’s invasion, it means the enemy has already discovered and eliminated all of them. They will definitely block our escape route to White Mountain City. So... we regroup in the south of the village, pretend to break out in that direction, but actually circle westward and try to rendezvous with Knight Ion!"
"Will Knight Ion come to support us? If Spring Breeze Territory also joins the war..."
"I believe in Knight Ion!" Baron Ster nodded heavily. "As long as he hasn’t received confirmation of my death, he will definitely come to Mountain Ridge Village and attempt to meet up with me."