Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 250 Scared off
Yuan's finger slammed down on the map, creating a hole in the upper reaches of the Emerald River on the parchment.

Blood dripped from his fingertips, corroding the map and creating wisps of blue smoke.

“Ninety knight apprentices, ten full knights, and that old man Algernon.” Euan’s voice seemed to come from behind the dragon scale mask. “Even if they ran into Lord Wilke’s personal guard, at least a few of them should have escaped.”

The oil lamps inside the tent suddenly began to shake violently.

Yu An abruptly pulled back the tent flap, and on the horizon in the direction of the Emerald River, one could vaguely see eerie black smoke drifting among the clouds.

That was definitely not a natural phenomenon; it looked more like black smoke billowing from some kind of giant furnace.

"Send the order!" Yuan crushed the bronze command arrow with his dragon-scale gloves. "The entire army will break camp and advance upstream on the Emerald River." As he turned, his cloak swept over the sand table. "I want to see with my own eyes what kind of monster the Wilke family has raised."

The centurion hesitated, as if he wanted to speak.

He noticed that the deputy commander said "take a look" instead of "annihilate", and he also noticed the edge of the hole that had been punctured on the map.

This was exactly the encirclement route originally planned by the Knights of Sword and Fire.

Clearly, the Knights of Sword and Fire intended to first achieve a decisive victory by eliminating the strongholds and military camps surrounding Wilke Territory.

The night is getting darker.

As the shadowy figures of the Knights of Sword and Fire moved under the moonlight, no one noticed a few feathers drifting down from the sky.

Those were night owls, contracted beasts from the Viscountess's wizard squad. These night owls were responsible for nighttime surveillance and searches.

Meanwhile, deep within the workshops upstream on the Emerald River, Robin was pushing the last "Rainstorm" ballista to its designated position.

“Notify Andisu.” Robin stroked the still-steaming cannon barrel on the ballista. “I want to see the knights of the territory by tomorrow morning.”

The enemy came with great force, and he wanted to see the fighting strength of the Iron Anchor Knights.

In the dawn mist, Yu'an's dragon scale mask was covered with a layer of frost.

The sight he saw through the reconnaissance crystal made the fingers of this legendary knight, a veteran of countless battles, tremble slightly.

The workshops stretching for miles along both sides of the valley resemble steel behemoths lying beside the river, with twelve giant waterwheels roaring and turning, driving hundreds of forging hammers to rise and fall.

Even more chilling were the soldiers who appeared and disappeared in the morning mist.

“That’s not ordinary heavy armor.” Yuan’s voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

From the reconnaissance crystal's view, three hundred infantrymen were doing their morning exercises.

Their breastplates shimmered with dark ripples in the dim light, and each time they turned around as a group, the curved surfaces of the armor reflected an eerie flow of light. It was composite armor mixed with steel, a luxury item that should have been equipped only by the royal guards of the capital.

"Third row, thrust!"

At the instructor's shout, the battle formation suddenly changed formation.

The first three rows of soldiers crouched down at the same time, while the last three rows raised three-meter-long heavy armor-piercing spears from their comrades' shoulders.

These extra-long weapons, which should have required supports to operate, were used with ease by their heavy armor.

Yu'an's pupils suddenly contracted. He saw that the tips of those spears were all decorated with spiral patterns, the most vicious design of dragon-slaying spears, which would automatically rotate and widen the wound once they pierced the body.

"Deputy Commander, their training methods," the centurion beside him said in a hoarse voice, "are nothing like those of recruits."

It really doesn't look like it.

The soldiers moved with mechanical precision, and the sound of their armor clashing was perfectly synchronized as they marched in unison.

Even more frightening was the constant stream of new equipment being shipped out of the workshop area. Yu'an witnessed firsthand that a set of breastplates could be forged and polished in no more than two hours.

"Retreat." Yuan suddenly put away the crystal. "Report to Lord Nash immediately—" He crushed the communication rune at his waist with his dragon scale gloves. "We are facing an iron legion armed to the teeth."

The last thing Yuan saw was a figure standing with his hands behind his back at the highest point of the workshop. A young knight's cloak fluttered in the wind, and his gaze was fixed on them.

Yu An immediately realized that they had been discovered.

Yuan quickly dropped to the ground, his back pressed against the earth. Two arrows were deeply embedded in the spot where he had just been standing, their fletchings still trembling violently.

He could clearly feel the scorching heat of the wind pressure generated by the arrow as it pierced the air, as it brushed against the dragon scale mask—this kind of archery skill was far beyond the reach of ordinary archers.

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

The moment Yu'an leaped onto his warhorse, the third arrow had already torn through the air.

He swung his sword to parry, and the knight's sword, forged from fine steel, hummed loudly from the impact of the arrow.

The arrow streaked across the blade, sending sparks flying, before finally embedding itself diagonally into the ground. An anchor was clearly engraved on the shaft.

The sound of horses' hooves approached from the direction of the valley like a thunderstorm.

Yu'an looked back and saw a dense torrent of steel suddenly appear on the horizon, with seven hundred fully armed knights charging in a wedge formation.

The knights at the front row held their three-meter-long armor-piercing lances horizontally, the tips of which formed a deadly forest in the morning light.

"This is impossible." The centurion's voice trembled. "Even a duchy wouldn't mobilize so many at once."

Cold sweat seeped out beneath Yu'an's dragon scale mask.

He could clearly see the warhorses, all of them dragon-scale steeds, each clad in composite horse armor with anchor patterns.

Even more terrifying were the emblems on the knights' breastplates: the anchor pattern, the very symbol of the Wilke family.

"Split up!" Yu'an lashed his mount. "We must get the intelligence back!"

As he charged up the hillside, he caught a glimpse of the young knight on the workshop platform slowly lowering his longbow.

The other party didn't seem to be in a hurry to pursue them, but simply watched them escape calmly.

That composure was more chilling than any chase.

Five miles away in the woods, Yu'an finally reined in the horses.

His dragon-scaled steed was foaming at the mouth, clearly exhausted.

What alarmed him even more was that the three villages he passed through had all raised anchor flags, and the villagers were training under the organization of the militia.

The war potential of this viscountry is ten times more terrifying than the capital city had estimated.

Euan Paxson Wolf stood on the hilltop, his gaze fixed on the distance beneath his dragon-scale mask—where the anchor flag of Viscount Wilke's estate fluttered in the twilight.

"Order! The entire army must retreat!"

His voice was like the scraping of steel, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

Just as the adjutant beside him was about to speak, Yu'an raised his hand to stop him: "This isn't a rout, it's a strategic retreat."

The dark golden command arrow exploded in the night sky, transforming into flames of swords and fire.

The Knights of Sword and Fire, scattered throughout the western frontier, began to converge on their designated location. Their original plan was to divide their forces and raid the villages of Wilke's territory, creating chaos.

But at this moment, all the squads silently and swiftly withdrew from the battlefield without the slightest hesitation.

(End of this chapter)