Alien Knights

On the sandy beach not far from the west coast in the evening, a tall warrior wrapped in animal skins and carrying a wooden cross shield, holding a rope in his hand, was pulling a dragon-headed warship to the ground.

Turning over the oilcloth on the bow, the leader standing at the front, turned the heavy double-edged battle ax with his elbows, and lightly held it in his hand. He stepped on the soft ground under his feet with his felt leather boots, and heard the conversations of the tribal warriors behind him.

"There is less and less food. Last year's harvest was not good and the fish have migrated to warmer places."

"The rations for women and children have been reduced one after another. During the "Sacred Fire Festival" in the gang, even a glass of beer is half a cup per person."

"The Talon tribe has been encroaching on our territory, and less than half the number of people going south this year than last year."

The leader inserted the battle ax into the slot of the shield behind him, and looked at the sky above the land ahead, dark clouds were pressing down on the land, and the sound of thunder was faint.

"By the way, do you know? Just the day before yesterday, Vaughan of the family was possessed by the "violent god", killed his wife and daughter, and was finally beheaded by his father."

"My gods! I'd rather die on the way to the charge than have the blood of the 'Berserker'!"

The leader put his hands on his chest, patted his heart, and closed his eyes in pain.

After packing up the longboat and oars, and taking dry food and weapons, the team of sixteen warriors began to march inland.

The first village to arrive is just three kilometers from the coast.

The firewood in the stove is still warm, but there is no one in the village. The chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep in the livestock pen, the valuables in the house, and the dried meat and fish on the drying rack were all taken away. For the "guests" who came from the ocean, there were only empty rooms and debris blown up by the wind.

A plume of black smoke behind the big house in the village attracted the attention of the pirates.

The leader walked to the open space behind the house, looked at the remains of a pile of burned plants on the ground, knelt down and stretched out his hand, picked up a little and tasted it on the tip of his tongue, his complexion darkened.

"Abandon the search for coastal villages."

Hearing the leader's order, someone questioned loudly: "Give up the search? This is just the first village!"

Holding the burnt black ash in his hand, the leader said to his soldiers: "This is the red willow. Someone raised the beacon smoke before we arrived and searched the coastal villages. We will still find nothing."

"Sakru, what should we do? Go back empty-handed?"

"No." Turning his head to the east, Sakru's eyes were full of desire for war and wealth: "We will continue eastward, heading inland."

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A forest trail on the east side of the Twilight West Coast.

A group of people lurked quietly on both sides of the road.

Walton tightened the crossbow on his back, checked his quiver, looked at Todd who was hiding in the grass not far away, and said to the armored knight beside him, "Boss, why did we agree to this errand?"

Alfonso didn't speak, but looked at the man next to Todd, and moved his eyes thoughtfully.

The boy with the red mark on his forehead glanced at the short and fat man, his mouth was merciless: "How can I remember, there are always people shouting boredom in my ear these days."

Walton glared at him, then turned back angrily.

After getting the news about the pirates from Huggins, Todd came to the church camp immediately, avoiding Paul, found a priest he knew well, and offered to borrow the strength of the escort regiment. The reason given was to destroy the pirates in Muxi Harbor.

Although it is not clear why the other party is interested in repelling the pirates, based on the good friendship accumulated daily, several priests of the church visiting group agreed to Todd's request after discussion.

The loaned troops included several Holy See knights directly under the church and their retinues, the militia sent by the Yinhuan Diocese, and the cathedral's believers, totaling about 140 people.

Todd heard that the number of pirates who invaded each time was usually about 30 people. He had no intention of seconding so many troops, but Huggins' insistence made him change his mind.

With the troops, the next step is to formulate the combat policy.

Todd, who knew nothing about this, simply handed over the command to Huggins.

After some consideration, the man did not choose to fight head-on, but used an ambush method.

The ambush site was placed about 17 kilometers away from Muxi Harbor, on a trail at the entrance of the forest.

In this regard, Todd once again expressed his puzzlement.

According to intelligence, the active range of pirates used to be limited to within 15 kilometers of the coast. If they set up an ambush at such a distance, will they return for nothing in the end? Moreover, the Moon Creek Plain is so huge, why choose this forest as the ambush location?

Huggins gave a simple explanation, based on the introduction of the "acquaintance" who often went to sea. The pirates who invaded this time belonged to a tribe named "Blackhead", which has been in a state of food shortage and famine for a long time. If they go south this time and return empty-handed, it will be a disastrous consequence for the survival of the tribe and the prestige of the leader.

Therefore, the pirates who could not bear the failure of this robbery had a high probability of choosing to put all their eggs in one basket, leave the safe range, and go deep into the inland.

As for why this forest entrance was used as an ambush location.

There are two reasons. First, this is one of the shortest routes leading to inland villages. Second, the coastal area of ​​Yuexi Plain is flat and has a wide view. There are not many places where you can hide your whereabouts. This forest is just one of them.

The man also made a plan. If the pirates did not pass through this place, the ambush would be turned into a pursuit. According to the black smoke from the attacked village, lead the troops to block the retreat of the pirates.

Todd listened to the other party's explanation and nodded from time to time. In his opinion, this arrangement was not only correct, but also clear in thinking and clear in tactics.

Taking another deep look at the man with the pigtail on his chin, he recalled that after spending so long with Hudgens, it seemed that he had never heard this man take the initiative to talk about the past. The story of his wife and daughter, without Edgar's big mouth, I'm afraid I would never have the chance to know.

Todd suddenly noticed that Huggins paused, as if he had discovered something, and followed the other's line of sight to look back.

A conspicuous figure entered his field of vision.

The whole body of the knight hidden under Anglo's chain armor, with a pair of eyes behind the full-face helmet, was fixed on Huggins' body.

The latter turned his head away, shrank his body back, and twisted his body uncomfortably.

Todd turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

The man sighed helplessly: "It's nothing, I seem to have met an acquaintance."

"Really? You have quite a lot of 'acquaintances'..."

Huggins lowered his head and smiled wryly.

Less than an hour after the ambush was set up, several tall figures appeared on the edge of the forest.

Huggins pressed Todd, who was still watching, into the grass, put his fingers on his mouth, and made a silent gesture.

Todd's eyes widened, realizing suddenly that a battle was about to begin.