Chapter 65: You're Going to Die
Ion led thirty soldiers to rest for about three hours before waking everyone up to set off again.
Although the sleeping conditions were not ideal, the deep sleep brought on by exhaustion was of sufficient quality to make up for the lack, so when everyone was awakened, they were initially a bit dazed but quickly regained their composure. They silently rose and followed Ion.
Those who needed to drink water drank water, those who needed to eat rations ate rations. Everyone acted relaxed and natural, without any fear or nervousness about the imminent battle.
They were all veterans, after all, they had that much combat experience.
And this was also why Ion did not bring those militia with him.
Whether one had seen blood, experienced an intense battle, or participated in a real war, these were completely different concepts.
The militia of Plain Village were all temporarily conscripted. They had not even felt the tension of war, let alone participated in a proper battle.
So how could Ion dare to bring such recruits to scout Mountain Ridge Village?
The straight-line distance between Plain Village and Mountain Ridge Village was not far, only about twenty kilometers.
But because the two villages were separated by a mountain with an elevation of over seven hundred meters, traveling between them still took almost a full day.
Ion had set out with his men the previous night. Since climbing a mountain at night was more difficult, and to avoid unnecessary non-combat casualties, they moved slowly.
The exertion of stamina and energy was also greater, which was why they rested for three hours on relatively flat terrain on the mountain.
It was nearing noon now. Though it was the hottest time of the midsummer season, it was also when visibility was at its best.
Of course, this was the “best time” for both sides.
Ion was naturally aware of this, but he had no choice.
Because the moment he chose not to immediately lead his men to break out toward White Mountain City, he was already within the hunting perimeter of the three lords of the Fertile Plains.
Soon, under Ion’s command, the thirty soldiers descended the mountain.
Then, without a moment’s pause, the unit continued marching toward Mountain Ridge Village.
However, when they neared Mountain Ridge Village, everyone’s expression turned grim.
Mountain Ridge Village was one of the poorer villages within White Mountain Territory.
Because the resources and specialties produced by this village were neither unique nor valuable, it could barely sustain the villagers' subsistence living.
As a result, the village’s development had always lagged behind, and its population had long remained at around seven hundred households.
Nika and Roda were both villagers born in this village. After pledging allegiance to Baron Ster and becoming Household Knights of his family, they chose this village as their fief.
But now, this impoverished little mountain village had more than half of its buildings engulfed in flames.
Wails and cries echoed throughout the village.
Most of the voices belonged to women.
Ion clenched his fists tightly.
Although he was seething with fury inside, the last shred of rationality kept him from acting rashly.
With just their small group, charging in without knowing the enemy’s exact strength in the village was no different from suicide.
“Find a place to hide first. I’ll scout the area nearby,” Ion turned and said quickly to the soldiers behind him.
“Lord Ion, please allow me to accompany you,” an old soldier said in a deep voice.
The others also voiced their requests one after another.
“You haven’t received the necessary training. If I take you with me, you’ll only slow me down,” Ion replied bluntly.
The situation at hand clearly wasn’t suitable for diplomatic phrasing.
Ion didn’t deny these veterans’ combat capabilities and skills. As long as they didn’t encounter two Bloodline Knights or a Bloodline Knight leading a force of more than a hundred men, he believed his side stood a good chance.
But when it came to frontline reconnaissance, Ion didn’t think this group of untrained old soldiers would be of much use.
So, even though these soldiers felt a bit disheartened upon hearing his words, they understood that everything Ion said was true.
The old soldier who had first volunteered could only beat his chest in salute, offer his blessings to Ion, and then lead the others to find a suitable hiding spot, awaiting Ion’s next command.
Ion didn’t waste any time.
He first made a distant circuit around Mountain Ridge Village to conduct a basic observation.
And then he discovered—
The western and northern sides of Mountain Ridge Village bore extensive signs of combat.
Especially in the northern part of the village, the residential buildings there had suffered the most severe damage; while on the western side of the village, only the areas near the entrance road were heavily damaged, and the further the road extended into the village, the less destruction could be seen.
This made Ion immediately realize that the enemy had launched their main attack from the north and west of the village.
Among them, the resistance in the northern area had been the most intense, very likely a brutal meat grinder-like battle for control had taken place there; whereas on the western side, although there were clear traces of fierce resistance, once that defensive line was broken, the enemy had swiftly advanced deep inside, and Mountain Ridge Village failed to organize a second proper resistance.
Ion speculated that the key turning point of Mountain Ridge Village's fall must have been when the western defensive line was breached.
After a simple observation, Ion began to approach from the weakest observed point.
Mountain Ridge Village had nearly seven hundred households, with an approximate population of around two thousand, so it was by no means a small village.
After discovering that the enemy could not fully control the entire village, Ion dared to take the risk and move in closer.
And soon, he made another discovery.
Most of the villagers of Mountain Ridge Village had been gathered in the central assembly square.
However, these villagers were all elderly and children, so only about a dozen soldiers were needed to guard them all.
Meanwhile, the able-bodied men and women had been bound like livestock, hands and feet tied with hemp rope, and gathered at the large plaza to the east of the village.
The soldiers stationed there to guard them were significantly more numerous, at least over fifty.
Ion also noticed that among the able-bodied prisoners, quite a few were old soldiers of White Mountain Territory and militia from Mountain Ridge Village, he recognized a few of the latter, as he had seen them several times while garrisoned here with Baron Ster previously.
Besides that, he saw no women among those held in the open spaces.
But from the female screams, sobs, and shrieks coming from the surrounding houses, he could roughly guess what was happening.
Ion saw no sign of any Bloodline Knight, but he was certain that a village like this, used as a forward outpost, would definitely have at least one Bloodline Knight stationed, just a matter of which building he was hiding in and enjoying himself.
He glanced once more at the captured able-bodied villagers.
The exact number was hard to determine, but it had to be at least three to four hundred. As for the old and young gathered in the central plaza, the dense crowd was difficult to count, but based on experience, he estimated between five to seven hundred.
After a quick calculation, Ion sighed.
Mountain Ridge Village had likely suffered casualties exceeding half its population.
Soon, Ion returned to his previous position and gathered all the old soldiers once again.
"My lord, how did the scouting go?"
"There is at least one Bloodline Knight in the village. The able-bodied have been gathered in the southern grain-drying yard, guarded by over twenty soldiers. The total number of watchers is around fifty to sixty. With our size, if we can get close enough, we should be able to launch a surprise attack to rescue them," Ion said quickly. "But in the central plaza of the village, there are about a dozen enemy soldiers. The number inside the buildings is hard to say, but it’s unlikely to be fewer than those guarding outside."
"My lord, what do you intend to do?"
"Rescue them," Ion answered without hesitation. "Whether to strengthen our forces, save those villagers, or to learn the direction of Lord Baron Ster’s retreat, we must fight this battle. Luckily, the enemy doesn’t seem too difficult to deal with, and we’re the ones launching the surprise. The overall advantage lies with us."
Ion was well aware that failing to rendezvous with Baron Ster upon arrival and finding Mountain Ridge Village already occupied meant they were in a very dangerous situation, deep within the "hunting circle."
But if they could successfully counterattack and reclaim Mountain Ridge Village, not only would they obtain information about Baron Ster, but also gain a solid supplement of manpower and supplies. Naturally, this was greatly beneficial to him.
Therefore, no matter the reason, this battle had to be fought!
After briefly formulating a combat plan, Ion immediately set off again with the thirty old soldiers.
Following the previously scouted path, they reached the southern edge of the village without incident.
The sixty guarding soldiers stood or sat idly, clearly relaxed and unworried.
They were even discussing which building they would enter to enjoy themselves later. Many of them were chatting about which of their selected targets had been dragged into which room.
These soldiers seemed to intentionally provoke the able-bodied prisoners. Their crude chatter was in no way restrained, filling all the villagers with rage.
Finally, one of the captured old soldiers couldn’t hold back and cursed loudly.
His outburst immediately drew the attention of the guards.
One guard quickly approached, cursed a few times, then kicked the bruised and battered soldier to the ground, following up with several more kicks.
At once, all his comrades burst out in laughter.
"What did you say? Speak up, I didn’t hear you, dumbass!" the soldier from Eastern Mountain Territory mocked as he kicked the downed White Mountain Territory soldier.
"I said… all of you are going to die."
"Hahaha!" the soldier from Eastern Mountain Territory burst out laughing. "Did you all hear that? He said we’re all going to die!"
"Hahahaha!" All the soldiers from Eastern Mountain Territory roared with laughter.
Many even joined in with foul and vulgar curses.
But their laughter and insults quickly faded and then stopped altogether.
Because they suddenly noticed something strange in the eyes of the captured prisoners.
Some of them looked as if they had realized something.
They tightened their grips on their weapons and began to turn around—
But what greeted them were longswords stabbing directly through their bodies.
"He wasn’t wrong. You’re all going to die."
Ion’s voice, low and devil-like, stunned the guards.
But before they could react, Ion had already sliced off the head of the loudest and most aggressive soldier from Eastern Mountain Territory.