Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

In the snowy field, the soldiers under Count Tessburgh, devoid of their earlier heroic morale, slumped haphazardly on the ground. Their iron helmets and weapons were nowhere to be seen, and they gasped for breath, each a picture of utter disarray.

Tess had led a total of two thousand two hundred elite soldiers in this siege, and a rough estimate suggested that they had left thirty percent of their comrades' corpses in the town of Kalia before retreating due to the casualties. This level of loss was undeniably severe.

After all, despite having over ten thousand soldiers in total, after deducting logistics personnel, cooks, grooms, auxiliary soldiers, and so on, he only had a little over seven thousand actual soldiers.

Of these seven thousand, perhaps only four thousand were truly elite. Losing six or seven hundred so early on made it difficult to expect him to regroup and organize an effective force in the short term.

"Where did they get those stone giants?"

Instead of kicking them when they were down, Li Wei called Sam over to heal the defeated soldiers.

A green light enveloped Tess, and the burning sensation in his chest instantly turned cool, providing significant relief.

"Thanks," he said, expressing his gratitude before adding with a wry smile, "They aren't stone giants, they're spellcasters! The enemy has three highly skilled mages!"

"Just the summoned stone giants alone caused us heavy losses, they were terrifyingly powerful!"

"If it weren't for this Myrian plate armor, which I acquired at great expense, that stone giant's attack would have sent me to reunite with my grandmother who died years ago."

Having just experienced a brush with death, the count no longer possessed any aristocratic airs, barely better than a country ruffian.

"They must be clergy from the Mother Goddess Church in the Southern Border. The entire church has no more than a handful of spellcasters proficient in magic of this level. I never expected them to appear here," Count Andao sighed.

Just like their southward expedition, the Ice and Snow Church had only dispatched about ten spellcasters to accompany the army, all within the main force, serving as crucial strategic assets.

Logically, they shouldn't be appearing in such a small place that's neither an important checkpoint nor a strategic location.

"Who cares why they're here? Capture them all, and give them the tiger bench and a hundred saltwater lashes, and we'll know everything," the lord sneered.

In Li Wei's opinion, these three spellcasters were likely the source of their confidence. Although it was still unclear why their main force hadn't arrived, and instead these esteemed spellcasters had appeared, it didn't stop him from grabbing a few tongues.

"Zat, go get the brothers geared up, it's time for us to shine!" He kicked the orc beside him who was idly poking at the snow with a tree branch.

"Li Wei, let's wait for the main force to arrive," Count Tess earnestly advised the Lion Hunter, a rare occurrence. "I admit your men are definitely elite, one-on-one my soldiers would be utterly crushed, but you don't understand how powerful those three spellcasters proficient in summoning magic are. They're completely beyond what ordinary people like us can handle!"

"Don't be stubborn!"

"Only magic can counter magic, Sir!"

In the end, the count even quoted the classic saying of the magical world, attempting to dissuade someone who didn't know the immensity of the heavens and earth.

He was clearly traumatized by those three stone giants.

"Even at one to ten, I can still beat you and your rabble of soldiers to a pulp, and then throw your own pulp back at you."

Li Wei mentally quipped, but aloud he said:

"First, I'm not being stubborn. I know very well what I'm doing. I never act impulsively. My confidence comes from strength!

Second, I've fought spellcasters before, Your Grace, they're not as formidable as you make them out to be."

As he spoke, with the help of two orcish brutes who carried a gilded heavy plate armor, he quickly donned his gear. Finally, he fastened his iron helmet, becoming encased in an iron can. The lord waved his hand, and hundreds of fully armed orcish brutes lined up behind him, their muffled voices echoing back to Tess: "Third, if you can't do it, just say you can't, don't include us!"

"Hmph, are you relying on that little Holy Light Church lover of yours who came to support you? Even if she's proficient in magic, she definitely can't handle three high-ranking clergy members from the Mother Goddess Church," Count Tess retorted sharply.

"Actually, I wasn't planning on bringing her along. It's just me and these 'ordinary people' you mentioned."

The arrival of Fatir Saint-Delim was known to both counts, but due to the excessive candor of their words, the two counts believed that there must be some unspeakable affair between them.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why a Holy Light Church Saintess would support this completely unrelated Lion Hunter under her personal name.

However, since Saintess Fatir didn't care about such rumors, the lord naturally didn't care either.

Back to the main topic, logically, having Fatir and Heather, these spellcasters, join the battlefield would definitely make it easy to take down this border town.

But Li Wei didn't want to do that.

War is like playing cards, both sides constantly raising the stakes. Whoever plays their trump card first will be at a disadvantage.

Heather and the four Drow priestesses, plus Saintess Fatir, are definitely a powerful spellcasting group that cannot be ignored, and are also the visible trump card of Highcliff.

As for Sophia, a deeper trump card, the lord would definitely not play her unless it was absolutely critical.

The lord took the lead, standing at the forefront, with Gus and Zat rightfully trailing a step behind him.

Behind them was the silent, rock-solid Highcliff force.

An exquisite banner was raised, with a burning black mountain and a dazzling sun flying in the wind.

"Most of my men are cavalry and can't help much, so just add me," Count Andao said, fastening his helmet and drawing his longsword.

This count, whose arm had been perpetually itchy due to his excessive use of qi, was clearly not a coward afraid of death, and his qi cultivation was probably even higher than Tess's.

Seeing that both nobles had stepped up, Tess cursed and put his helmet back on: "Damn it, no one's a coward!"

He wanted to see how this Highcliff lord, the Lion Hunter, would solve the problem of the three spellcasters.

"All troops, charge!"

The lord shouted at the top of his lungs.

There was nothing else to say. The city wall had already been breached, and the enemy didn't have time to block it, so they would just follow the traces of their predecessors and fight their way in.

At the point where the longsword was aimed, the sound of orderly footsteps resounded.

……

"Father, it's those orcs! They're coming up!"

Looking at the black warriors in the distance, Baker said in a panic.

Regulo didn't blame his son for not having the composure to remain calm in the face of an avalanche, because his own heart was heavy at this moment.

Because these heavy armored warriors, whose average height reached nearly three blades, were clad in black heavy armor that reflected the cold light, covering even their faces tightly. Each orderly step felt like a heavy hammer smashing into his heart.

They surged forward like a black torrent.

If he hadn't seen them without their armor beforehand, Regulo would have almost thought they were magical creations of the Holy Sith Empire—the Iron Zealots.

This, of course, was a nonsensical idea born of shock and scattered thoughts. Even if the Holy Sith Empire's wealth was known to all nations, the number of these difficult-to-create magical constructs would definitely not exceed one hundred.

This group of large fellows' formation was so neat that they seemed to be soulless magical constructs.

After joining the front line of the war, the tallest of the Southern Border soldiers only reached the other side's waist, like potatoes mixed into a pile of pumpkins, making the difference in strength clear at a glance.

The other side had less than one-fifth of the number of the last time, only about four hundred, so few that they could be seen at a glance.

But Regulo knew that this was just an illusion.

Just like tigers don't form packs, but their strength is beyond doubt.

"Do you want me to take action?" Clamor's face still had not changed.

He was a powerful spellcaster, and a single spell could wantonly reap lives. The so-called iron armor was no easier to deal with than paper in front of him. The newly arrived team was indeed so elite that even he couldn't help but look at them with new eyes, but that was all.

Unless the other side also had spellcasters, it would be difficult to fight against his magic, which even he was amazed by.

As for whether the other side would have knights with high qi cultivation?

Again, only magic can fight magic.

If qi knights could fight against magicians, then they wouldn't be the ones with the esteemed status.

"Wait a little longer." Regulo's red beard trembled, but he still wanted to have his soldiers consume the other side first.

Undeniably, the other side was indeed elite, but the only role of the soldiers under him was to add heavy war exploits to the other side.

But the next moment, the changes on the battlefield made the baron almost wonder if he was having an unrealistic dream.

With the loud order of the commander, the archers distributed on the roofs of the town of Kalia began to shoot arrows in unison, but they had to give up after only two rounds.

The heavy armor on the other side was so exquisite that it was enviable. Arrows that could usually pierce wild boars landed on it, only making a clanging sound, and finally leaving an imperceptible white mark.

Their efforts seemed to be focused on the 'fierce' part during sex, but not paying attention to the 'lasting' part, resulting in defeat after only five pulses.

It was completely used in the wrong place.

And the other side's archers made people doubt their lives.

This group of lightly armored archers, holding purple fir longbows, stood firmly at one hundred and fifty steps, and it was not only that they shot far, but they were also almost unerring.

In just one hundred pulse beats of free shooting, they shot down all the warriors on the roof who dared to shoot back, and the rest all cowered behind the roof, no matter how the commander roared, they dared not show their heads again.

It seemed that they were determined to be cowards.

If this group of archers was just doubting their lives, then the Kalia infantry regiment facing the Highcliff big and small leaders was completely suffering a nightmare.

This street leading to the Baron Fort was wide, a full twenty steps wide, but compared to the tall centaur, it was like a narrow alley.

The other side was covered in heavy armor, and even the thick hooves were wrapped in thick leg armor.

The waving double-edged broadsword was like a city gate slamming down, and each wave could make several soldiers say goodbye to their inseparable lower body.

Such an exaggerated physique and lethality was an unparalleled blow to the morale of the small soldiers.

The commander of his own side obviously wouldn't sit idly by, and soon several knights who considered themselves skilled in martial arts and with high qi cultivation rushed up to try to intercept.

But in just a few breaths, they paid the price for their recklessness, and before they could get close, they were shot into coke by consecutive lightning arrows containing thunder elements, exuding a burst of meaty fragrance.

The other side also had several dwarves whose lethality was also terrifying. As the orc warriors rushed up and waved the battle axes in their hands, the Kalia infantry defending the front line was simply like straw, being wantonly harvested in batches.

The speed of falling was so fast that the people behind hadn't reacted yet, and had already followed in their footsteps.

The Kalia soldiers seemed to be looking at a group of demons, with no fighting spirit at all, their faces full of fear, and some people even wet their pants in fear, but soon it froze into ice slag in their crotches, making them tremble like sieves.

Regulo realized how foolish his previous thoughts were. The other side was as elite as warriors from ancient times, and the only role of his soldiers was to add heavy war exploits to the other side.

He smiled miserably, not understanding why the other side would attack this weak and helpless agricultural town with such elite warriors.

"Master Clamor, please!"

With several spellcasters leaving.

He turned his head to look behind him, preparing to call his son to leave, but when he looked, where was the other side's figure? He hurriedly ran to the platform and saw a team of knights who had taken the initiative to launch a charge, and his eyes went dark for a moment.

……

With bursts of high-spirited war roars, the orc warriors advanced bravely like a black torrent, without any hesitation.

The spears carefully erected by the opponent were as weak as cotton, and disintegrated in an instant.

"Block them! Block them!" The opponent's commander roared hoarsely, which, apart from making the battlefield more noisy, had no effect at all.

Li Wei took the lead in rushing to the front. This street allowed the density of soldiers to be sufficient, so that with a sudden wave of the giant sword, ten or so good heads flew up from their necks at the same time, as if they were in outer space.

This terrifying performance made the remaining few lucky ones in the front throw down their weapons and kneel on the ground in an instant. The back was full of soldiers squeezed together, and only kneeling and surrendering had a chance of survival.

And this kneeling seemed to have a chain reaction, and the sound of kneeling rang out one after another, instantly revealing the supervisors who were still roaring and waving their swords at the end.

As the lord's gaze looked over, "plop" a sound, the other side's decisiveness even made the lord sigh inferior.

There was no doubt that the other side had been defeated by this massacre-like method.

"Wo ri."

The lord looked around, and the Kalia soldiers in his sight all knelt on the ground, and even the seemingly tenacious officers in front were no more tenacious than the small soldiers.

"The Durant family will never give up!"

Just then, a roar came from afar.