Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

"They're starting their attack."

Baron Regulo stood on a platform by the window of the Baron's Keep, where he had a clear view of the battlefield ahead.

Infantry in iron armor advanced slowly, while archers in the distance launched suppressive volleys at the guards on the city walls. The tactic had no glaring weaknesses, but it had no particular strengths either.

He recognized the banners in the rear, the family crests of two northern earls.

This meant that at least two earls were leading the vanguard to attack the small town of Kalia.

However, now that the attack was an established fact, his heart had calmed down.

"Father, will we win?"

The speaker was Baron Regulo's squire, also a knight-in-training, his only son, Beck.

The fourteen-year-old boy, wearing an iron helmet that was clearly too large, looked at the city walls where the fighting had already begun, his expression tense. His hand, gripping his sword, had knuckles that were already white, though it was hard to tell if that was from the cold.

Regulo glanced at his only son and patted him on the shoulder: "Beck, you are an adult now, and my only heir. Although you still have many shortcomings, I hope you will remember the family motto—Never give up. When you fear losing, you have already lost."

"The northern barbarians will definitely break through that weak city wall, and then the battle will unfold in the alleys leading to the castle."

"You can arrange for soldiers to be ambushed in the houses on both sides in advance, hide archers on the rooftops, and also have a squadron of cavalry lie in wait in the training grounds behind the castle."

"Go and give the orders."

The latter immediately nodded solemnly.

"Remember, return here immediately after giving the orders."

"Yes, Father," Beck said, with a hint of disappointment on his face.

He wanted to command the warriors against the enemy, to let his father know that he was no longer the little kid who knew nothing, but clearly, that was out of the question.

"Your arrangement doesn't seem to embody the spirit of 'Never give up' at all."

Beside Regulo stood a hunched figure wearing a brown hood. As he removed the hood, he revealed a face with white hair and beard. He held a magic staff in his hand, and his face held a mocking smile.

"Hmph, I only know that when you're dead, you have nothing. When you're alive, you have infinite possibilities. Never give up also means that even if you have nothing, you can regain everything." Regulo snorted and glanced at the old man beside him. "Besides, Damon's so-called support hasn't arrived even now. What kind of undead is he raising?"

"Hehe." The old man laughed twice, without answering.

"Wait a moment, and it will be your time to show your stuff." Regulo was too lazy to ask more questions. Asking now was meaningless; it was better to ask what the tastes of these northern barbarians were.

"As you wish." The old man nodded slightly.

Most of Deberre worshiped the Three Gods of Justice, the North worshiped the Ice Goddess, while the Royal Court and the East worshiped the Holy Light Goddess, and the South naturally worshiped the so-called Earth Mother.

This old man was a member of the Earth Mother Church in the South, and also a spellcaster.

The three people who had come to support them were all spellcasters from the Earth Mother Church, stationed here with the Kalia soldiers. They were also the source of Regulo's confidence.

Magicians were not just ordinary soldiers; apart from those wandering magicians with no background who only knew some tricks, 90% of magicians came from the church.

The Iseli family, as the most powerful and wealthiest nobles in the South, had the main cathedral of the Earth Mother Church built in Corwyn, where the spellcasters could be described as a gathering of heroes.

However, these magicians had considerable freedom, and even the Duke of the South could not claim to mobilize half of the spellcasters.

Their power was beyond doubt. Now that three spellcasters were gathered in the small town of Kalia, they would definitely have an unexpected effect.

It was just that Regulo liked to leave himself a way out.

The North's attack was swift. Infantrymen held shields to form a shield wall, resisting the javelins and arrows from above, protecting a dozen strong men who were chanting slogans.

The thick logs, hastily chopped down, were sharpened to a point. The northern soldiers roared as they carried the logs, slamming them again and again into the seemingly vulnerable small city gate.

If they were facing Corwyn's city gate, which was dozens of fathoms high, made of mithril, and known as impregnable, then their actions would undoubtedly be like ants trying to empty the mountain in front of them.

But now, they were facing only the gate of a small town, made entirely of hardwood, with only a layer of copper skin on the surface.

Therefore, this crude siege method was definitely enough.

However, as the defending side, the Kalia soldiers had a natural advantage. Archers stood in the most advantageous positions, raining down waves of arrows from above, reaping the lives of soldiers without armor.

But even infantry with armor were not unscathed. Positioned under the city walls, they had to endure the constant pouring of cold water from above.

Their shields could resist falling rocks, and their armor could resist arrows, but they could not resist water that could seep into their bodies through the gaps.

In this season of white snow, the icy cold water seeped through the armor, making the close-fitting cotton coat as heavy as lead, greatly slowing their movements.

Even worse, this cold water was like sleeping with an ice cube, so once some unlucky ones were soaked in the armor, they would soon freeze, their faces turning blue and their bodies stiff.

If they did not receive timely warmth, they would definitely die of hypothermia.

However, the stalemate between the two sides did not last long. A team of armored knights quickly joined the battlefield, and the leader was wearing extremely fine and heavy full Milanese plate armor, even his face was completely covered.

This type of plate armor was crafted by the most famous blacksmith master in Gondar of the Royal Court. It was said that orichalcum was also mixed in.

This made the armor not only indestructible but also able to perfectly conduct aura, making its consumption close to zero.

It was rumored that the price of a suit of armor reached two thousand gold coins, and it was still priceless.

This knight was likely one of the attacking earls.

This earl, skilled in martial arts and with a deep aura, held a two-handed greatsword and roared as he slashed at the city gate. Blue aura flew from the greatsword, chopping wood chips and instantly breaking open a gap.

The simple city gate let out its final wail and was smashed open with a bang.

The northern soldiers' morale soared as they roared and pushed forward. The fully armed knight at the head made the Kalia militiamen, who had been temporarily recruited, unable to resist at all and were slaughtered wantonly.

They began to collapse, fleeing in all directions, their pants wetted with urine and feces.

Regulo was not surprised. These city-defending soldiers had been temporarily conscripted from the common people a month ago. It was simply wishful thinking to rely on these militiamen, who didn't even have leather armor, to resist the enemy's elite knights.

"Our knights are definitely not weaker than theirs."

Beck, who had returned after delivering the order, said firmly, as if to cheer himself up, but no one paid attention to him.

"Do you need us to take action now?" The old man, Kramo, looked at the distant fighting with calm eyes, as if he were watching a group of jumping ants.

If aura knights were arrogant, with the pride that their martial skills were the best in the world, then most magicians who had mastered powerful elemental powers regarded these civilians without magic as insects that could be easily exterminated.

Arrogance and self-importance were clearly their bywords.

Kramo was clearly one of them.

Even aura knights, in his eyes, were just stronger ants.

Regulo stared at the enemy's movements. When they entered the alley leading here as expected, he smiled slightly: "No need, it's not time yet. If the birds haven't entered the cage, how can we lower the cage door?"

…

On the other side, Earl Tess, who had advanced unimpeded, broke into the alley with his men. Seeing the soldiers in fine leather armor and holding elite weapons rushing out of the houses on both sides, a look of expectation appeared on his face.

The militiamen outside were clearly just a feint. The enemy's real main force was deployed here to ambush them.

"Hahaha, Baron Regulo probably only knows these little tricks."

He laughed loudly, and the anxiety in his heart finally dissipated. He waved his longsword.

"My warriors, kill these southern hillbillies and show the Lion Hunter Knight the bravery of the northerners!"

Roar!

The two sides collided fiercely. Unlike the slaughter-like pleasure just now, upon contact, they both knew that the other was a tough nut to crack.

Earl Tess still maintained a steady rhythm. The front line was advanced step by step by armored infantry holding shields. Archers exchanged volleys with those on the roofs, trying to suppress each other, with mutual losses.

He didn't care at all about some of the arrows that attacked him. These weak arrows couldn't even leave a mark on his armor.

The enemy was indeed more elite than the militiamen just now, but that was all. Whether in terms of numbers or morale, the enemy was clearly inferior.

The battle line began to advance, and the enemy began to retreat steadily. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't stop them here.

Looking at the increasingly close castle, as if sensing that the fruits of victory were within reach, he couldn't help but let his thoughts run wild.

Now all his soldiers were squeezed into this alley. If the enemy had large catapults or spellcasters, they would definitely cause unimaginable damage to them.

"Unfortunately, how could a small baron have spellcasters?"

Tess shook his head, dismissing this unrealistic idea.

Even he, as an earl, had not recruited a powerful magician.

Let alone an abandoned baron?

That's right, in Tess's view, this baron had definitely been abandoned by Damon, and was still guarding this border town alone in the face of the southward advance of the army.

"But isn't this just making me complete? This baron had better prepare…"

He looked up at the castle, already imagining how much wealth the baron had, and how much ransom the other party had prepared, but the next moment his face was horrified as if he had seen a ghost.

…

Seeing most of the enemy soldiers pouring into the alley completely unprepared, Baron Regulo breathed a sigh of relief. Things were already half done. He turned his head to look at the Earth Mother Church clergy beside him.

"Master Kramo, I'll leave the rest to you."

"They're just a group of ordinary people, they will regret stepping in here."

Kramo turned around and left with two hooded clergymen, leaving a sinister smile as he left.

The magic stone on his wand flowed with a brown light, deep and eye-catching.

It also brought a trace of confidence to Regulo.

…

"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect Earl Tess to have such profound aura cultivation."

Li Wei held a telescope, watching with relish.

To be honest, he thought these nobles were all pleasure-seeking trash.

"Li Wei, this is your prejudice. As long as they are nobles, they basically have aura cultivation, and the greater the power, the deeper the aura cultivation, although it cannot be compared with the guard knights who specialize in aura cultivation."

An Dao, who was on the side, knocked melon seeds leisurely and explained, "Otherwise, why do you think the nobles are nobles?"

"Our Duchess Frilina was able to become a duchess with her extremely profound aura and amazing wisdom."

Li Wei perfunctorily nodded in agreement.

He couldn't refute the fact that Frilina had a high level of aura cultivation, but he completely scoffed at the idea that she had wisdom.

If it wasn't for him, Lord Li, this woman would have been confessed to the wilderness long ago.

An Dao threw the melon seed skin in his hand on the snow, patted his hands, and got up from a wooden stump: "Have you seen enough? When will it be my turn?"

"Don't worry, don't worry, soon." The Lord said so, but he didn't even think about putting down the telescope.

Since Tess led people into Kalia, the city walls have blocked most of the view, and Li Wei can only judge the battle situation through the archers placed on the roof by the other party.

But without a doubt, the archers on the roof were like targets, being shot down one by one, and Tess was clearly advancing in an orderly manner.

But just then…

Boom!

Several loud noises came from inside the town of Kalia, and they could even feel a slight earthquake thousands of steps away.

Looking closely, several tall figures appeared in the town of Kalia, barely seeing the upper half of their rock-like bodies.

"Damn it, I saw the undead, where did these stone giants come from?"

Li Wei slapped the telescope into Earl An Dao's hand, and the volume of the voice shook the snow on the pine needles next to him to the ground. Now you can see the tall stone giants even without a telescope.

The two looked at each other, their expressions becoming serious. The thing they least wanted to see finally happened.

With the appearance of these stone giants of unknown origin, within a hundred heartbeats, the troops that had rushed into Kalia were driven out like stray dogs.

"Gus, go and lead people to meet them." The Lord had no choice but to order the ready-to-go small team to meet them.

He could watch Tess consume his troops, but he couldn't watch the other party being chased after causing a rout and impacting the formation of the main force.

The other party ultimately didn't dare to go out of the city and fight in the wilderness with a force that was clearly superior to their own. Thanks to this, Tess and the soldiers under his command only retreated, without turning into a rout.

"Damn it, I was tricked!"

Earl Tess tore off his helmet. A large piece of the indestructible Milanese plate armor on his chest was dented. He spat out a pool of thick blood and gasped for breath, looking as embarrassed as he could be.