I'm not a lord

Chapter 265 The True God of War, Andrei
"Fellow tribesmen, for honor, for rye porridge, charge up the wall!"

The day after arriving in Shirokuma Prefecture, Augusta actually went to the front line to direct the battle.

However, he valued his life and did not lead the charge. Instead, he led a group of guards to wave flags and shout outside the manor walls.

Then Augusta could also argue, "What is my equipment level? What is the enemy's equipment level? Wouldn't it be suicide to rush the wall?"
Besides, I am the chieftain. If I am not here, do you really expect that woman Karula to lead the tribe?

Augusta did have sons, but his sons lacked prestige; they were barely qualified to inherit the Rift Valley tribe, let alone lead the seven major tribes.

For the sake of the people's bright future, he had no choice but to "reluctantly" play the coward.

His timidity proved to be entirely justified.

When more than two hundred tribal warriors carried wooden ladders made overnight and tried to climb the wall in the most primitive way, they were immediately met with a fierce attack from the manor's guards.

"Hahaha, slaughter all the enemy soldiers, don't let a single one in!"

The fifth brother, Andrei, wore an iron helmet and a custom-made plate armor tunic. He gripped a spear and thrust it downwards wildly, creating a blue-haired corpse with almost every strike.

The posture was like wielding a harpoon to catch fish in a stream teeming with large fish, and every shot was a hit.

He had never felt so good on the battlefield in his entire life.

The barbarians' bone spears and bone arrows were difficult to penetrate, let alone Andrei's plate armor. The barbarians' attacks could only produce sparks when they hit him, and could not harm him in the slightest.

He stood atop the wall, the late autumn sun slowly rising behind him, its golden light bathing him and making him appear like a true god of war amidst his blood-soaked battle.

Inspired by him, the instructors and militiamen on the wall fought bravely. They stabbed with spears, hurled stones, and shot cold crossbow bolts, venting their anger on the swarming civilians who were attacking the city.

Seeing this, Augusta rode his ponies up behind the archers and roared angrily, "Shoot! Shoot! Don't worry about the arrows, suppress the enemy!"

The Rift Valley Tribe was, after all, the number one tribe that had been invincible throughout the wasteland, and the warriors of the tribe naturally knew how to storm the wooden walls.

It was simply a matter of using a hail of arrows to suppress the enemy and cover their comrades as they climbed the wall.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the manor's walls are just simple wooden structures; on top of the walls are thick battlements that provide cover for the defenders.

Long vertical firing holes were specially carved into the battlements, allowing archers and crossbowmen to shoot from behind cover.

The barbarians' bow-making skills were passable; they could produce high-quality composite bows made of sinew and horn, which were superior to the wooden longbows Lynn provided to his archers in terms of portability and close-range penetration.

The problem is that the arrows made by the barbarians are too primitive; the arrowheads are mostly made of bone, which is far inferior to iron arrowheads.

No matter how many arrows they fired, most of them were blocked by the battlements, and the remaining few mostly hit armor or helmets, causing negligible damage to the defenders.

The defenders exposed outside the battlements were mostly fully armed, with at least helmets and full-body chainmail.

These arrows, at most, would cause bruises or barely pierce the keyholes of their chainmail, getting stuck in the armor and giving the barbarians the illusion that they could be wounded.

Historical records often describe a general as being incredibly brave in battle, even after being hit by several arrows, he still managed to kill dozens of enemy soldiers.

The arrow simply got stuck at the joint of the armor, and didn't actually harm the general protected by several layers of armor.

The instructors under Lao Wu, for example, although they were not assigned the best plate armor, had several layers of protection under their chainmail, including leather armor and armored clothing. Even close-range longsword thrusts were difficult to break through their defenses.

Of course, what impressed Augusta the most was the 'True God of War' Andrei, and the gleaming plate armor he wore that reflected a variegated luster in the morning light.

"What on earth is this?"

Augusta stared intently at Andrei, who seemed to be moving through an empty space, his eyes flashing with a mixture of shock, confusion, fear, and even greed.

Before setting out, he had already prepared himself mentally for the Rui people's armor-forging technology. He did not intend to confront Lynn head-on, but rather to take advantage of White Bear County's lax defenses to launch a surprise attack.

But the plate armor on Andrei's body was so shocking to him that it caused him great psychological shock.

If there were fifty fierce warriors in White Bear County wearing such armor, Augusta would immediately turn tail and retreat.

On the bright side, the manor currently only has one set of armor like this, and our crossbows can effectively kill the defenders, so the situation is not yet beyond saving.

Although Karula did not personally charge into battle, she also appeared on the battlefield, standing not far behind Augusta, her gaze also drawn to the dazzling plate armor.

When she first met Lynn, half of the guards in the castle were wearing this kind of armor.

At the time, Karula judged by intuition that plate armor had extraordinary defensive capabilities, but today, seeing it for herself on the battlefield, she found that the plate armor's performance was even stronger than she had expected.

However, even Lynn's personal guards couldn't all be equipped with plate armor, which shows that the production difficulty of this type of armor must be quite high.

Instead of feeling terrified, Augusta was thinking: should she ask Lynn for a set as a reward? It looks pretty cool on!
The fierce fighting on and off the city walls lasted for more than half an hour. The Rift Valley tribe suffered more than 300 casualties, but they couldn't even touch the battlements. The makeshift wooden ladders they made on the spot were also mostly destroyed.

"Retreat, retreat!"

As Augusta gritted his teeth and gave the order, his personal guards sounded the retreat horn, and the thousands of Rift Valley warriors surrounding the manor instantly retreated like a receding tide.

The brave warriors of the barbarians who believe in the god of war can indeed be fearless in the face of death, but they cannot simply throw their lives away in vain!
The Rift Valley tribe is Augusta's base of operations, and he still needs his own troops to suppress the other six tribes. If they were all to perish under this wall, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Upon returning to the temporary command post, Augusta immediately dispatched messengers to contact other tribes.

Besides the northernmost manor, the wilderness people launched attacks on two other manors today, while the remaining manors and castles were mainly besieged, without any strong offensives.

The main reason is that not all 15,000 warriors from the wilderness have arrived; several thousand are still sweeping through the forest.

The messengers quickly brought back the message.

The offensives against the other two manors also failed. The manor defenders were extremely determined to resist and, under the cover of the walls, inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking savages.

The good news is that no plate armor has been seen at these two manors so far; the guards are at most wearing chainmail.

"Go and summon the three tribes in the forest. Be quick, I need to see them this afternoon, and I'm going to attack tonight!"

Augusta was now completely determined. Although the manor's garrison was formidable, their numbers were ultimately limited.

He planned to concentrate his forces to attack the northernmost manor first, while simply surrounding the remaining castles and four manors. If these garrisons were to send troops to their aid, it would play right into Augusta's hands, allowing him to happily besiege the strongholds and attack any reinforcements.

In open field battles, he was not afraid of the defenders of White Bear County at all. The villagers had an absolute numerical advantage, and if they fought in the open, they could just rush up and trample the defenders to death.

While Augusta was calling for help everywhere, Andrei was resting on the wall of the manor.

To guard against a possible attack by the barbarians, he did not remove his plate armor, but ordered his men to carefully wipe the bloodstains off the armor.

The young lieutenant jogged over to Andrei's side, stood at attention, and reported: "Sir, the casualty count is complete. Five dead, three seriously wounded, and twelve lightly wounded."

Aside from minor injuries that can heal, our side suffered a total of eight casualties, a remarkably high kill-to-death ratio compared to the three hundred casualties suffered by the barbarians.

Moreover, all those who died in battle were militiamen wearing leather armor, while none of the twenty instructors equipped with chainmail were injured or killed.

But in Andrei's view, there was nothing to brag about.

With overwhelming military technology and the protection of walls and battlements, it would be abnormal not to achieve this level of casualty ratio.

There are only about 700 people in this manor. Although everyone can stand on the wall to guard the manor, the manor's strength is limited, so they have to be careful with their resources.

Andrei immediately ordered, "Comfort the families of the deceased and give the wounded the best care."

According to the laws enacted by Lynn, the families of militiamen who died or were wounded in the defensive battles were entitled to a pension, and the local government would also distribute some food and cloth during holidays.

With stable compensation and the fact that they were fighting to defend their homes, these militiamen were able to unleash an incredibly powerful fighting spirit.

Then, Andrei issued another order: "Also, light a fire to create smoke, and tell the castle that we don't need reinforcements, and that they should not leave the city easily."

Before long, a thin plume of black smoke rose into the air from the center of the manor, and the same plume of black smoke rose from several other manors as well.

Little Albert was standing on the city wall observing the enemy troops outside the city when he soon noticed five plumes of black smoke rising from within the county.

This means that the Wildlings have already launched an offensive, and the five manors have withstood the pressure without needing reinforcements from the castle.

In fact, Albert couldn't muster any reinforcements. The castle was guarded by local militia, equipped with only about thirty sets of chainmail. The soldiers patrolling the walls had to take turns wearing them, and their weapons were mostly simple spears, plus a small number of crossbow bolts.

At this moment, Lloyd walked up to little Albert and suggested, "Sir, I saw that some of the wastelanders have left the village and headed north. I've calculated that there are only six or seven hundred enemy soldiers left guarding the castle."

Lloyd was appointed by Lynn to head the paper mill, overseeing about a hundred employees.

These valuable skilled workers have been evacuated to Qiantan County, but he insists on staying to protect his homeland.

His eldest son stood behind him, a long sword hanging at his waist. He was burly and looked quite formidable.

The paper mill north of the castle has been occupied by the wastelands, and Lloyd fears they will set fire to it, so he wants to take the initiative to drive away the wastelands around the castle.

Albert replied seriously, "I know what you're trying to do, but we don't need to take that risk. The wastelanders aren't showing any signs of burning down the houses, and they rely on these houses for warmth at night. You don't need to worry too much."

Lynn's task for little Albert was to hold on firmly.

He couldn't afford the responsibility if something went wrong during a rash attack.

The manor can be lost, but this castle in White Bear County must not be lost.

Young Albert took two steps forward and patted Lloyd's eldest son on the shoulder: "The Earl will arrive soon. Just wait quietly for reinforcements."

Meanwhile, Lynn was on his way on horseback and would arrive in White Bear County in two days.

Regardless of whether all the wastelanders join the network, he will only give Augusta two days to perform.

According to Lynn's estimate, the wastelanders would find it difficult to launch a fire attack and tunnel warfare within two days, and a direct assault alone would not be enough to breach the manor and castle.

A number of militiamen may die in the battle in Bai Xiong County, but sometimes a certain price must be paid for a more glorious victory.

How can you get fish to willingly take the bait without any bait?

As he had predicted, in the following two days, Augusta gathered the elite forces of the seven tribes, and nearly 10,000 barbarians surrounded Andrei's manor, launching attacks in shifts from morning to night, a non-stop 24-hour offensive.

The manor's defenders inflicted thousands of casualties on the enemy, while their own casualties reached three digits.

Even eight of Andrei's instructors were killed or wounded.

He barely slept a wink during those two days.

He always wore plate armor, standing like a rock atop the wall, and mercilessly killed any enemy soldiers who tried to climb it.

"Great! Come on, keep going. Let me see just how much guts you have, let me see if you're really not afraid of death!"

When the fighting got heated, Andrei would even use the language of the barbarians to lure the enemy troops to attack the wall where he was located.

No matter how fierce the attacks of the barbarians were, he was always able to stand firm.

The chieftain of one of the vassal tribes, terrified by Andrei's killing spree, advised Augusta in a trembling voice, "Let's change our target; this manor is insurmountable!"

The main problem was that the tribe chief's troops had suffered heavy casualties, all of whom were his own people. He didn't know how to explain this to the women and children living in the salt mine.

Indeed, under Augusta's orders, tens of thousands of women and children from the seven tribes have now moved into the salt mines, relying on the houses left behind by the High Cliff tribe to ward off the cold autumn nights.

"We must take this damned manor first, and we must kill that bastard who understands the language of the Wild People. No retreat is allowed. If anyone dares to retreat, I will wipe out their tribe's name!"

Augusta was already in a bloodthirsty frenzy; how could he swallow this insult if he didn't personally kill Andrei?

Just as he was preparing to continue the all-night assault, several blood-soaked tribal warriors suddenly tumbled and crawled into the makeshift command post, howling:

"Chieftain, a large number of enemies have appeared in the southern forest, and they are all wearing armor! Some of them are even riding tall warhorses!"

(End of this chapter)