Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 422 First Signs of Fangs
Inside the Lord's Hall of Fog-Covered City, the stench of blood and smoke had not yet completely dissipated. Only a few high-ranking officers and a few scribes handling documents remained in the hall.

The setting sun slanted in through the high window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air and also Ansuna's pretty face.

"Legend?" The Muslim subconsciously raised an eyebrow.

His face, which always carried a hint of cynicism, was now filled with solemnity and a barely perceptible trace of lingering fear.

If it weren't for Lord Li Wei leading troops to aid them, their exhausted army would have been trapped outside the city by a fresh force led by a legendary expert. Without a legendary figure to support them, the consequences would have been unimaginable; it would have been a true catastrophe.

"Wait a minute, Kemish used to work in the Gulf Empire. We can ask him if he knows which legendary figures the Gulf Empire can mobilize." The lord suddenly remembered this.
In fact, the beautiful snake Ifra probably knows more, after all, as a fellow legend, she must know other powerful figures of similar value.

Unfortunately, the lord has always been one to put his eggs in two baskets. He was afraid that the commander of the Persian Gulf Empire was a cunning old fox who would turn his attention to Stone Ridge Fortress. So he left the legendary snake chieftain there to help Lia.

Soon, Kemish was summoned by the hopping rabbit-man guards. Without any pleasantries, he went straight to the point: "My lord, apart from some legendary powerhouses like Lady Ifra who live in seclusion and are unknown to the world, there are only three who have been active in the Persian Gulf Empire."

"You've already met the two people in front of you."

At this point, Kemish glanced furtively at the Lord of High Cliff Fortress. To this day, he was still terrified by that sword strike that ripped through the sky, and also grateful that he hadn't fought to the death in the wilderness back then.

"The last one is called Pahlavi, the 'Iron Wall of the North' of the Persian Gulf Empire. If the Sword Saint Tedar was the one whose swordsmanship was the pinnacle, then this Iron Wall of the North once fought hand-to-hand with a group of Behemoth descendants without being at a disadvantage."

"Behemoth?" The lord finally sat up straight and raised an eyebrow.

The Behemoths, as the royal family of the once-glorious orc empire, held a status similar to dragon knights among humans, thunder giants among giants, and orca warriors among sea creatures—all were powerful leaders and invincible beings.

To avoid being scorned as an illiterate leader by his group of illiterate subordinates, Li Wei once spent countless nights studying historical allusions and racial secrets. While he may not be an expert on these long-lost historical events, he certainly knew quite a bit about them.

Generally speaking, adult Behemoths are over ten meters tall, making them true behemoths. Legend has it that a golden Behemoth, hundreds of meters tall, can even be born within the race, capable of tearing apart dragons with its bare hands.

“But sir, I’m not sure it’s him who came this time.” Kemish left himself an escape route.

Li Wei didn't care much; he only hoped that this legend could help him stretch his muscles and bones.

During this period, he was constantly being invigorated by the beautiful snake woman and the beauties of the Persian Gulf Empire, and his body was almost falling apart.

Kermish didn't say a word: this legendary figure's strength was even inferior to the previous two, but at this moment he dared not disturb the tyrant's interest.

"Master! Master!" Just then, a rabbit-man guard rushed in, kneeling down and pointing outside: "A large number of enemies have appeared outside the city!!"

"Let's go take a look." Li Wei smiled, casually picked up his sword and hung it on his waist, leading the group of leaders toward the city wall of Fog-shrouded City.

Mist-shrouded City is built on a cliff, and looking down, all around are endless plains, filled with woodlands and rocky hills. Therefore, the movement of a large army is difficult to hide unless it is concealed by magic.

First came the dull, rumbling sound of horses' hooves, followed by the scraping of armor, the sound of feet measuring the earth, all merging into a suppressed roar that surged forth.

Countless slave flags of the Persian Gulf Empire fluttered in the twilight, stretching out from the horizon like a flock of bloodthirsty vultures.

Beneath the banners stretched an endless torrent of armored cavalry, their scale armor reflecting a cold, icy light in the setting sun, like a moving steel forest.

The infantry phalanx was densely packed with spears and halberds, and their orderly footsteps made the ground tremble slightly.

This fresh force, carrying the dust of a long journey and an aura of unwavering determination, is rolling towards Fog-shrouded City.

"Wow, these punks have quite the entourage." Zart licked the dried blood from the axe blade, grinning to reveal his gleaming white fangs, his eyes flashing with a warlike light. "They'll keep me busy for a while!"

Ansuna stood to the side and behind Li Wei, her brows slightly furrowed as she gazed at the disciplined and massive army formation. In particular, she sensed several unusually powerful auras within it and said in a deep voice, "My lord, judging from the military bearing and the chilling aura emanating from them, this is undoubtedly the elite main force of the Persian Gulf Empire. That legendary aura... is near the central army."

As an epic mage, her five senses were naturally incredibly sharp, and she could clearly sense a dangerous aura within the army.

Li Wei's gaze seemed to pierce through the distance of space, landing precisely on the most magnificent and eye-catching banner.

There, a figure stood like a mountain atop the exceptionally magnificent giant wolf.

He was an extremely imposing man, clad in a heavy plate armor that was as dark as black iron. The armor was not decorated with any intricate patterns, but only bore deep scratches and dents left by time and countless battles, exuding a pure sense of power and weight.

He wasn't wearing a helmet, revealing a angular, weathered face with a thick beard like steel needles. His eyes were calm yet sharp, like an unchanging rock, as he calmly surveyed the fog-shrouded city.

He held in his hand a massive bone club, commensurate with his size. It was not made of iron, but rather the hind leg bone of some kind of behemoth, exuding a chilling sense of heaviness.

Just standing there, it was like an insurmountable steel barrier, making the surrounding air seem to freeze.

"Wow, this is a tough one."

This air of power couldn't help but please the lord.

……

Pahlavi Ide's arrogant expression drew everyone's attention. He was the "Iron Wall of the North," a legendary powerhouse at the top, whose every word and action could determine the life and death of tens of thousands of people.

But no one knows that in the early part of his life, he was just like most ordinary people, no, even worse off than them.

His birth was not unusual.

During a military campaign, a nobleman from the Persian Gulf Empire passed through a small village and forced himself on a village woman who was considered quite beautiful. Ten months later, a peasant was born.

Unfortunately, Pahlavi was the woman's child, born out of incestuous relationship with her.

To make matters worse, in the Persian Gulf Empire, illegitimate children born to mothers of low social standing were not recognized at all, and their status was no different from that of a lowly child born to a group of bandits.

Therefore, he and the woman suffered endless scorn and humiliation in the village. In order to support him, the frail woman naturally became a prostitute.

At first, Pahlavi was both indignant and moved by this, but later all that remained was hatred.

He once thought that woman was his "mother," which is why she was willing to become a prostitute to support him.

But he later realized that the woman only wanted to use her status as the illegitimate son of a nobleman to climb the social ladder. Seeing no hope, she immediately drove him away, leaving him destitute at the tender age of five or six. He began to fight with vultures for meat and roam alone with wolves. From that moment on, he vowed to live only for himself.

As for how he later became the renowned "Iron Wall of the North," he couldn't quite remember, or perhaps didn't want to recall, because only the memories of hardship are the most unforgettable, and they always make him involuntarily think back.

Anyway, not long ago, he received a message from Howard, an old friend who wanted him to participate in the war and help the Empire win.

He had few friends in his life, Howard was only half one. In his opinion, the Debe people were all cowardly two-legged sheep, and none of them could match him, so he agreed.

However, not long ago, a knight named Levi Deberon caught his attention.

News came from the forwards that the old man Rudian and the idiot Teidar had been killed by this one man on Debei's soil. These seemingly dreamlike messages seemed so unreal.

However, the Persian Gulf soldiers who subsequently escaped proved that all of this was true.

Pahlavi immediately came to a chilling conclusion: Debe's dragon knight was incredibly powerful.

While legendary powerhouses are all legendary, their lower limit is generally finite, but their upper limit is terrifyingly high.

The difference is even greater than that between an ant and an elephant.

His strength is not even comparable to Tedar's; if the opponent can kill Tedar instantly, he can also kill him instantly.

Therefore, Pahlavi categorized this dragon knight as an unconventional powerhouse!
He had initially considered returning to the northern provinces to await further support from the Empire's legendary figures, but ultimately, at Howard's urging, he decided to stay.

The reason I was able to come with the army this time was because I received accurate information that the dragon knight was being held at Stone Ridge Fortress and would not be able to get here in a short time.

He had never seen the dragon knight in person, but just now he felt as if he had seen him.

This feeling is not unfounded. If a soldier can attract attention when he appears among a group of peasants, then a nobleman suddenly emerging is just as eye-catching as a dragon hiding among a group of lizards!
Pahlavi hesitated, and his eyes began to flicker.

"Lord Pahlavi, those damned Debe bastards actually captured Mist-Covered City!" Harry, the captain of the Divine Wind Falcon Knights, exclaimed in disbelief. "This is completely different from the intelligence. Didn't that fellow Marne say they could hold out until we arrived?!"

It's important to understand that siege warfare and open field battles are completely different concepts. The former is undoubtedly a meat grinder, where only human lives can be sacrificed.

More importantly, Harry was slightly uneasy about how the enemy had managed to take Fogwall City.

As a result, the 80,000 elite soldiers from the Persian Gulf who had come with great momentum actually stopped about five miles away from Wulong City and began to observe.

The knights of the Divine Wind Falcon began to circle above Mist-Covered City, preparing to gather more intelligence on how the city had been breached.

They circled freely above the city of Mist, their Divine Wind Falcons long and slender with astonishing wingspans, their feathers gleaming with a metallic bluish-gray luster. Their flight path was unpredictable, and their speed was as fast as lightning.

In comparison, the Debe Griffin Knights, who took off to intercept, looked rather clumsy.

The griffin is a large, muscular creature with a golden-brown mane that flutters in the wind, and its broad wings make a deep, whistling sound when they flap.

One of the falcon riders looked disdainful as he maneuvered his kamikaze falcon in a nimble dive, seemingly trying to tease the griffin riders.

But he soon paid the price for it.

A griffin rider suddenly pulled upwards, its speed instantly soaring to an unimaginable level with the aid of wind elements.

"Kacha!"

A golden horizon flashed across the sky.

The lance in the griffin rider's hand was impaled on a corpse with an incredulous expression. The falcon struggled and cried out in agony on the griffin's talons, but the sharp claws ruthlessly tore through the opponent's body, feathers flew everywhere, and blood stained the sky.

The battle in the sky was one-sided, with the knights of the Divine Wind Falcon being slaughtered at will by the Griffin Knights of High Cliff Fortress.

Their speed, which they were so proud of, was slightly inferior, and their strength was completely overwhelmed. Moreover, their opponent also controlled powerful elemental forces.

The entire Kamikaze Falcon Knight was like an old farmer selling vegetables being mercilessly beaten by a plate-armored knight.

With just a few hundred pulses, the once arrogant Kamikaze Falcon Knights suffered a severe blow.

More than a third of the falcon riders, along with their mounts, fell to the ground as a rain of blood and debris, paying a heavy price before they broke free of the griffin riders' interception net like frightened birds, fleeing frantically towards their own army without looking back, no longer possessing any of their previous elegance and composure.

As Harry watched the corpses of the Falcon Knights fall from the sky, his lips trembled. The Empire's invincible Divine Wind Falcon Knights were being crushed like this?

Why is the situation so different today when the griffin riders were usually just mercilessly toyed with by them?
If it weren't for the lingering smell of blood, Harry would have thought it was all a dream, an impossible dream.

Pahlavi felt a fine layer of cold sweat seeping from his back, beneath his heavy armor.

Such an illogical army, and the illogical fall of Mist-Covered City, could only have been accomplished by that illogical dragon knight.

Is he really here?

……

“Those are the heavy cavalry of the Persian Gulf Empire, the ‘Camel Sandstorm.’ Each soldier is equipped with a layer of chainmail and a layer of cavalry armor, and their lances and scimitars are the finest weapons in the military,” Kemish said, pointing to a group of camel riders at the end of his line of sight, their entire bodies encased in armor, with only their eyes visible.

"It's all money!" The lord looked on with envy, the more elite the enemy, the more he liked them.

This is because it often means that the other party has excellent equipment, and excellent equipment costs money!
Unlike those poor demons back then, who gained massive amounts of experience points but no loot after a single battle, this one is different.

The barbarians' shoes were worn out from running, revealing their big toes, and their axes had chopped gaps in them.

If it weren't for the system, that battle would have been a complete loss.

(End of this chapter)