Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

The servants' quarters were where the castle nobles distinguished between the upper and lower classes. Compared to the main area with its exquisite sculptures and garden fountains, this place was filled with foul-smelling livestock pens, stables, and the like, where lowly slaves also resided.

Its location was easily defended and difficult to attack, offering no value for conquest.

That's what Kross thought as he peeled the golden skin off the soft, roasted potato and took a satisfying bite.

Until a messenger rushed in, panic-stricken, saying the city walls had fallen. A wave of uproar swept through the hall of nobles, their faces filled with disbelief.

Those were walls seven or eight spans high, with a drawbridge serving as a natural barrier, and garrisoned by hundreds of elite soldiers.

It shouldn't have been possible so quickly, even if hundreds of pigs were lined up to be slaughtered.

But the faint wails and screams coming from afar dragged them back to reality. The city walls had indeed fallen, and the soldiers seemed to be undergoing inhuman slaughter.

Kross was an old general who had experienced countless battles. He maintained an optimistic attitude even in the face of the current difficult situation, but even he couldn't help but be surprised: "Who breached the city walls?"

He knew he couldn't stay here any longer. Under the protection of his personal guards, he walked outside while asking questions.

He couldn't help but wonder if there was a traitor among them, someone who had informed the other side that the Black Rock Fortress's defense commanders were all gathered in this dilapidated stone house, allowing them to be caught like turtles in a jar.

However, the messenger didn't need to answer. As they stepped out of the house, a squad of heavily armed infantrymen, radiating murderous intent, approached from afar.

Both sides were stunned for a moment, then the little dwarf leading the opposing side roared and charged over, his excitement reminding Kross of a farmer who had stumbled upon cow dung in the countryside.

Please forgive him for thinking this way, but the scene at this moment was simply too fitting.

"My lord, we'll stop him, you go quickly!"

A dozen or so personal knights were the epitome of loyalty and courage. Hundreds of heavily armored orcish brutes, each over two and a half spans tall and weighing a thousand pounds, charging forward was akin to warhorses colliding, capable of crushing everything in their path.

Yet they charged forward without hesitation, attempting to buy time for the noble lords behind them to escape.

This display of unwavering loyalty filled the lord with admiration. To showcase their bravery, he cooperated by swinging his giant sword in a wide arc.

With a flash of silver light, the running knight felt a chill in his lower body and saw his lower half rushing forward a few steps before collapsing to the ground with a thud. Only then did he realize that he had been bisected by the seemingly weakest dwarf upon their first encounter.

These knights had also cultivated battle qi, but unfortunately, it wasn't as profound as that of Skye or Monvert. They couldn't even fully activate their battle qi, only using it to temporarily strengthen their bodies or attach it to their swords.

Therefore, for Levi, they were no more difficult to deal with than those ordinary soldiers.

"Surround them all, don't let a single one escape!" With a wave of his hand, the lord commanded the brutes to immediately change their formation, quickly surrounding the stone house.

This stone house was so ordinary that even the lord wouldn't bother to visit it when he couldn't even afford underwear, but at this moment, it was packed with a dozen or so Southerners, filling the space to the brim.

Some wore exquisite plate armor, others wore high-ranking officer's armor, and there was even one wearing a familiar high priest's robe. Just by looking at their clothing, it was clear that these people were of noble status, and their identities were self-evident.

Levi never dreamed that by simply choosing a location where the enemy was unlikely to pay much attention, he would actually catch the Black Rock Fortress's high command, who had become a headache for the entire Northern Legion, right in the act.

Among them was an old man in worn armor with white hair, holding a half-eaten potato in his hand. Clearly, he was enjoying a leisurely lunch when he was interrupted by this uninvited guest.

Judging by his attire, this man would at most be considered an old man dragged in to fill the ranks by unscrupulous officers, but his aura of suppressed thunder and calm demeanor was far superior to that of Forgeiro, the Thorns Legion's commander. Levi didn't think this was just an ordinary soldier.

These nobles nervously gripped their swords, watching the orcish warriors who were staring at them coldly, not daring to act rashly.

The ten knights in front of them could serve as their personal guards, and their martial skills were undoubtedly top-notch, but now they had been killed like vegetables, their deaths miserable.

They didn't believe they could break through the encirclement of hundreds of fully armed soldiers.

"Levi, we've met at the Cullen banquet." A noble, recognizing the face that the entire Southern Territory wanted to eliminate, forced a smile and tried to strike up a conversation.

"Hold on a moment." Levi wasn't in the mood for small talk. He took out a folded portrait, unfolded it, and carefully examined the old man opposite him.

"Young man, no need to look, I am Kross." Kross sighed and took the initiative to step forward.

"Holy shit!"

The lord was so startled that his hand trembled, then a smile he couldn't suppress spread across his face.

If he had only caught a dozen or so Black Rock Fortress commanders, then it would only be considered a decent military achievement.

But Kross, the famous general who had caused the Ice Warlock's tragic reduction by half and orchestrated an earth-shattering explosion, was definitely the number one person on the Northern Legion's wanted list.

To this end, the Northern Legion had specially commissioned a portrait of him and distributed it to nobles of all sizes.

In fact, even if an ordinary soldier had captured this famous general Kross, he would immediately be ennobled as a baron.

This shows how much the collective Northern nobility hated him.

Although Levi wasn't under the Northern Territory's bureaucratic system, he could definitely exchange this old man for resources from Flynna that would be astonishing.

As for the remaining nobles, they would become prisoners of war, awaiting the day Lilia became duchess and the trial that would legally strip them of their territories and titles.

"My lord, unfortunately, you are now officially under arrest." Levi folded the portrait and put it into his inventory, looking at the old man with a smile. "Duchess Flynna will decide how to deal with you."

"I sincerely suggest that you do not attempt to resist or make any small moves, otherwise, I cannot guarantee the safety of anyone other than you."

Crack!

With a loud crash, the two-span-long giant sword, amplified by immense force, sank halfway into the ground.

The purest display of power brought the most shocking visual impact.

Everyone couldn't help but twitch their eyelids.

The priest who was trying to chant had to retract his staff and stop his actions.

At this distance, he would probably follow in the footsteps of those knights before he could finish chanting.

"I wonder if you can satisfy my last doubt." Kross stared at the young face in front of him, "How did you know we were all here?"

Being inexplicably captured with his entire high command, the war had almost ended in a ridiculous manner, and it had now become Kross's obsession. If he didn't understand, he probably wouldn't be able to rest in peace even in the afterlife.

"You overlooked a key issue."

The lord put his hands behind his back, looked at the sky, and tried to appear calm and collected.

A huge pie had suddenly fallen into his mouth, making the lord feel very good at this moment, and his desire to show off became extremely strong, so he didn't mind wasting a little time.

The old man sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling his throat dry.

He was a famous general who had experienced countless battles, large and small. Even if his arrangements couldn't be called fantastical, they were definitely flawless due to his caution and meticulousness.

But now he was pointed out the problem by a young man who was too young and probably hadn't experienced many battles.

At that moment, he felt that his efforts were worthless in the face of genius.

He didn't expect to encounter such a crushing military genius in his later years, making Kross feel that the saliva he swallowed was bitter, and he felt like this was his destiny.

He was destined to be a stepping stone for others to become famous, ending his life hastily.

"What key issue?" Kross tried to straighten his back, looking at the other's back. The tall and exquisite main building of the castle in the distance became the background, setting him off as majestic and tall.

"Hahaha, the key issue is that pies really do fall from the sky." The lord turned his head and laughed, revealing two rows of neat white teeth.

Even Kross, who had good self-cultivation, almost felt his heart ache at this moment, and he took a few deep breaths to suppress the foul language that he wanted to blurt out.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

At this moment, a sound like a storm came from the north. Pine needles in the mountains rustled in the strong wind, and countless flags were blown and fluttered.

Everyone was disturbed by the movement, and Levi quickly looked up.

"Holy shit, it's griffin riders!" The lord's loud voice made Kross's eardrums ache, and his roar resounded through the open space: "Prepare! Prepare!"

A group of silver-armored knights riding griffins were swooping in from the north. At first glance, there were at least five hundred of them.

The griffins were covered in fine iron armor, their eyes were extremely sharp, and their claws, which flashed with cold light, could easily dissect a highland porcupine.

"You old bastard, you were holding back this move, weren't you?! You've been colluding with the royal court for a long time, just waiting to screw us over."

The lord was so angry that he wanted to give the old man a beating, but he was afraid of killing him with one punch, so he could only grab the old man's collar and throw him into the middle of the brutes, ordering them to guard him closely.

Kross blinked his eyes, looking very innocent.

To be honest, he didn't know why this group of griffin knights had come here.

But he suddenly thought of something, so that's what that sentence meant, but then he became suspicious again. If that sentence was to be believed, this group of griffin knights was unlikely to be their allies.

"Raise shields!"

At an order, the brutes raised their shields in front of them, and with the other hand, they pulled out steel javelins and held them in their hands, their eyes coldly watching the griffin knights circling in the sky.

If they dared to fly at low altitude, they would definitely give this group of griffin knights an unforgettable memory.

But the other side didn't launch the expected attack. Instead, they circled in the air, and the next moment, a transparent ball of air gathered in the air and began to expand continuously, reaching its limit in a moment and then...

Boom!

A loud noise ran through the heavens and the earth, and the air wave spread from the sky to all directions, blowing everyone's hair, and a solemn voice like thunder then exploded, echoing in everyone's ears.

Enough to make the nearly five to six hundred thousand soldiers and civilians in the Black Rock Fortress hear clearly.

"Madam Flynna, Marquis Kross asks your people to stop fighting!"

The lord and Kross looked at each other, eyes wide.

"Um, should you release me first?" Kross took the opportunity to make a request.

"Don't even think about it!" The sneer on the lord's face was enough to make the surrounding temperature drop again.

Although he didn't understand what this group of griffin knights had come to do, it was absolutely impossible to spit out the meat that had reached his mouth.

But the other side's request for a ceasefire clearly didn't mean they were completely siding with the South, but something unknown had happened.

"Have someone you trust tell your soldiers to drop their weapons, and I'll believe that this group of griffin knights isn't here to help you."

The lord also took the opportunity to make a request.

The little calculations in his heart couldn't be hidden from these old foxes.

"That's impossible!" A noble immediately retorted angrily: "Unless we're all dead, you can never let the soldiers put down their weapons!"

"Zart, push him down and chop him up." Levi snapped his fingers, his tone devoid of emotion: "Remember to recognize your position at all times in your next life, lest you get your head chopped off again."

"Ciss, don't be presumptuous."

When Zart began to step forward with a sneer, carrying his battle axe, Kross first scolded the noble, and then said with a helpless expression: "Levi, let me call you that, you should know better than anyone else that letting the soldiers put down the weapons they rely on for survival is impossible even for me as the commander."

"Then let them give up resistance."

"What's the difference between that and letting them put down their weapons?"

The two fell into a stalemate for a while, and finally Kross had to step back.

Because until now, when their group of leaders had been captured, the defeat of the Black Rock Fortress had become a fact, and continuing to resist was meaningless.

They could only hope that this group of suddenly arriving griffin knights could bring about some kind of change.

"Ciss, go and have the soldiers surrender." Kross sighed.

"Lord..." Ciss wanted to say something.

"We've already lost."

When he said this, Kross, looking at the sky, seemed to be ten years older, and his figure suddenly became hunched.

Even if Ciss was unwilling, but the old marquis, as the commander, had admitted defeat, so he was helpless.

Under the lord's gesture, this middle-aged noble moved towards the guards who had come to the opposite side, but were stunned in place by the sudden arrival of the griffin knights.

A moment later, those guards had to drop their weapons on the ground, and then, like dominoes, from here to the inner castle, the guards, although very puzzled, dropped their weapons one by one under the strict orders of the officers.

This made Levi breathe a sigh of relief. It didn't really matter to him whether these soldiers had weapons or not.

It was just that this represented a signal - the suddenly arriving griffin knight order was not a part of the old man's plan in front of him.

The royal court hadn't directly sided with the South either.

He just didn't know what had happened.

Levi looked at the griffin knights in the sky, thinking secretly.