Do you have a problem with necromancers?

Chapter 108 Deep into the Mountains
Mobilizing the militia is a very time-consuming task.

The farmers have low military skills, are completely unequipped, and are slow and inefficient. You need to treat them like fools, arrange everything in detail, and assign someone to keep an eye on them throughout the process before they will slowly follow your plan.

Darryl had been quite anxious lately. Eagle Hold had fallen, the gates of Fertile Lands were wide open, and the savage army could cross the Raging Tide River at any moment, or perhaps head east to capture Searock City first... Either way, it meant that the Faher family was about to face a major crisis, and if things went wrong, they would be finished.

The mobilization of Haiyan City was not yet complete, which caused Dai Rui'an to dream several times at night that savages had invaded. He had no choice but to urgently arrange for everyone to take refuge on Salt Island.

When Raine was in High Rock, he wrote back to Darion, saying that he would try to win the support of the Malorne family and the Nightshade Legion, and asked him to preserve his strength as much as possible before reinforcements arrived.

Therefore, Darryl specifically arranged for a large number of scouts to patrol intensively along the coastal plain corridor between Searock and Eaglehold. If the wildlings who had occupied Eaglehold showed even the slightest sign of advancing eastward, they would immediately be engaged in battle.

Because of the savage invasion, the inhabitants of Eagle's Fort Plains had long since fled. The scouts dared not get too close, but instead used the speed of their mounts to patrol and observe from a distance.

They recently discovered that the enemy is constantly moving troops between Fort Eagle and Fort Twin Eagle, seemingly carrying out some kind of military operation.

Daryl considered this good news. If the savages intended to advance eastward, they could simply send troops over if there were no major rivers to obstruct them; only when they planned to head north and cross the Raging Tide River would they need to frequently mobilize shipbuilders and supplies from the rear—after all, the ships belonging to the Faher family on the Raging Tide River had already all gone to the sea and retreated back to Salt Island.

That afternoon, another raven flew back from the front lines, saying it had heard a huge noise inside Eagle Fortress.

A loud bang? Did an earthquake collapse the castle?

Darius's feelings were complicated. Rationally speaking, the collapse of Eagle's Fortress was definitely a good thing, meaning that the savages inside had likely suffered heavy casualties; but emotionally... it was our Fahel's Eagle's Fortress!

Before he could even order the scouts to continue their investigation, he received a message from Raven's raven.

He was ordered to immediately deploy troops to Eagle Fortress.

When Darrian arrived at Eagle Keep with his family knights, he found that the battle had already ended.

The Eagle Knights were sweeping the courtyard, dragging the savages' corpses outside. Meanwhile, Raine sat idly on the ruins, slowly sipping red wine, next to neatly arranged wine chests carried down from the top of the castle.

The once magnificent and imposing main hall of Eagle's Fortress is now in ruins. Half of the arched entrance hall has collapsed, five of the twelve pillars are broken, and all the tables, chairs, cabinets, wall decorations, armor racks, and weapon racks have vanished. Not a single intact floor tile can be found in the entire hall; it is filled with fragments of brick and rubble.

"This...Raine, what happened here?" Dillian asked in surprise.

“It’s obvious, an explosion.” Renn handed him a glass of wine. “The savage chieftains were having a meeting in the hall when they were all killed here, their bodies torn to pieces.”

Daryl took the glass and took a big gulp to calm his wildly beating heart.

"Why did an explosion happen here?" He asked the question that everyone was most concerned about. Even the Eagle Knights carrying the bodies stopped in their tracks and quietly pricked up their ears.

“I don’t know,” Renn said calmly, shaking his head. “It must be the power of the gods.”

A long silence followed.

After what seemed like an eternity, Daryl finally broke the silence with a dry laugh:
"The gods are on our side! Hahaha, that's wonderful..."

I'd be a fool to believe you.

It's obvious that the explosion was deliberate; there's no way it was such a coincidence.
The savage chieftains would never allow anyone or anything of unknown origin to enter the castle hall, so the explosives were likely planted beforehand beneath Eagle's Keep's hall. How Raine managed this is another matter, but he clearly couldn't have foreseen the savage invasion from the Serpent Mountains. So, who were the original inhabitants of Eagle's Keep?

Dolores, the former heir to the Marquis of Fahre.

Having thought this through, Daryl had understood everything.

If Dolores hadn't courted death by instigating a rebellion, he would have been killed in a sudden, mysterious explosion in the castle hall one day, and the Marquis of Fahl would have remained in Renne's hands.

What terrifying long-term strategic planning ability!

As Daryl thought of this, a chill ran through him. But he did not become wary of Ryan because of it; on the contrary, he admired and respected him even more.

Although most of the Fahrenheit people are good-for-nothings who only know how to eat, drink, and have fun, none of the Fahrenheit Marquises throughout history are ordinary people; they are all cunning old foxes who are good at scheming and plotting.

Rather than saying that Raine's methods were chilling, it would be more accurate to say that they were the best demonstration of his ability to be a marquis. Although the family was almost completely destroyed in Dolowell's rebellion, Daryl believed that someone as outstanding as Raine would one day be able to revive the Fachel family—in fact, reviving it would be quite simple: just find more women and have more children.

Look at the number of women around Ryan! What does it mean to have long-term strategic planning ability? This is it! He had already made preparations!
"What should we do next?" Daryl asked, seeking instructions.

“Repair Eagle Keep as soon as possible,” Raine ordered. “Bring the Raging Tide fleet back; the nobles of the Fertile Lands should be arriving on the north bank soon. Bring them to Eagle Keep; it will be the headquarters for the noble alliance against the savage army.”

“Yes.” Dillian immediately accepted the order.

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The Fahre River is Fahre's territory, and the entire Fertile Land knows how powerful the Fahre's navy is, so no one has ever tried to take over the river.

After Fahre's fleet withdrew, how to cross the Raging Tide River to reach the other side became a problem for both the Savages and the Nobles of the Lands.

Some nobles even directed their peasant soldiers to cut down trees nearby in an attempt to build simple wooden boats to help them cross to the other side. Finally, when Fahre's fleet arrived again, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

After crossing the Raging Tide River by boat, the nobles arrived at Eagle Castle one after another, and the coats of arms and flags of the various families of the Land of Abundance were hung on the city walls.

In the empty castle hall, Renn was conducting a guest ceremony with the nobles. Many of them had seen him at the Marquis investiture ceremony in High Rock, and naturally came forward to greet him, quickly engaging in lively conversation with Renn.

The guests keenly noticed that while the wine at the event was quite good, the food was noticeably inferior. Furthermore, the hall was extremely simply furnished, with many signs of damage, making it look like a dilapidated old castle belonging to a fallen noble family… But the Fahre family, who made huge profits through smuggling, shouldn’t be short of money.

When asked about the questions raised by the crowd, Raine simply replied, "Eagle Castle has been captured before," which immediately made the nobles realize the truth.

They're savages, after all; they'll steal anything. They're incredibly lucky to have kept this much wine.

Once most of the people had arrived, a nobleman suddenly raised his glass and shouted:
"Ladies and gentlemen, if we want to eat, drink, and have fun, we can stay here all day. But don't forget why we came here: barbarians from the Serpent Mountains, who intend to set foot on our bountiful land and divide up our possessions and families!"

“If we don’t want our territory to suffer the same fate as Eaglehold, we need to unite as soon as possible! The Marorne family hasn’t arrived yet, so we should elect a temporary leader to command the upcoming war against the savages!”

"I second that." Raine smiled and raised his glass.

There is no doubt that only Marquis Fahel is qualified to be the leader. Firstly, everyone is currently on Fahel's territory, and all supplies depend on the Fahel people; secondly, there are many conflicts of interest and even feuds among the nobles of the Fertile Lands, and anyone who becomes the temporary leader will face opposition. Only the Fahel people, who have always remained outside the Fertile Lands, are acceptable to all factions.

Renn tried to politely decline three more times, but the nobles grew impatient and swarmed around him, pushing him to the head seat in the hall, shouting all at once:
"If we didn't trust the Faher family, we wouldn't have brought troops here to support us. So please take over the command of the allied forces until the Marorne family arrives!"

With everyone agreeing and unable to refuse their kind invitation, Renn had no choice but to agree. He then led the nobles to the command table and had Maiser spread out a map of the area around Eagle Castle on the table.

"There are two entrances to the Serpent Mountains from Eagle Castle, guarded by Great Eagle Castle and Small Eagle Castle respectively. Both castles are currently in the hands of the Fahel family, but I must tell you that these two castles have been in disrepair for many years and are basically unable to withstand the approaching savage army."

"The reason why the savage army has not yet arrived is because our Fahel's Raven Fortress has not yet fallen. It is like a deep nail driven into the savage army's path of advance, threatening their rear and supply lines, preventing them from advancing recklessly."

"But if reinforcements don't arrive in time, Ravenburg will fall sooner or later. I won't go into the differences in the threat level between the savage army that is tied down in the rear and the savage army that is now free to launch a full-scale attack."

“Therefore,” Renn’s finger traced heavily on the map, pointing deep into the Serpent Mountains, “we must rescue Ravenburg!”

“Lord Faher,” a nobleman questioned, “the location of Raven Castle is indeed crucial, but it is ultimately located in the Serpent Mountain Range. We are certainly not as adept at mountain warfare as the savages. Knights can only unleash their full power on the plains.”

“To rashly venture deep into the mountains is tantamount to abandoning our advantages and fighting the enemy with our weaknesses. Is this really a wise move?” The other nobles echoed his sentiments. Rein, now the commander of the allied forces, was met with skepticism from everyone with his very first order.

Renn looked calmly at everyone, not surprised by the result. Although everyone claimed to "revere him as the leader of the alliance," in reality, all the nobles hoped that others would go to the front lines to fight to the death, while they would stay in the rear to preserve their strength, only to gain the title of "having participated in the war."

If we were to venture deep into the Serpent Mountain Range, it would mean that everyone would be at risk of serious injury or death, while there would be no benefits whatsoever... It's quite normal that everyone would object.

"Gentlemen, of course I know that entering the Serpent Mountains means risking attacks from savages," Raine said in a deep voice. "But if we passively hold out here at Eagle's Keep, how long will we have to hold out? If the savage army lies in wait in the mountains for a year, are we just going to be tied down here for a year?"

That's not wrong. Even if the supplies are provided by the Faher people, having so many noble knights here doing nothing is a huge waste of manpower.

Soon enough, several more impatient nobles shouted:
"If the savages don't leave the Snake and Insect Mountains for ten years, are we supposed to stay here and guard for ten years? If you're afraid of the savages and don't dare to fight, then you should obediently go home and drink your mother's milk!"

The crowd argued again, from morning to afternoon, and from evening to midnight. Finally, they managed to reach a consensus: each family would contribute a certain number of troops to be sent by Raine to rescue Ravenburg.

Those with relatively upright personalities sent their knights to serve Renne; while the more stingy or cunning nobles simply sent a large number of militiamen to join in—after all, they were all peasants from their own territories, so it wouldn't matter if they all died.

Soon, Raine assembled a large force and set off for the Serpent Mountain Range.

He took Dia and the heroes, along with the vast majority of the family knights, leaving only Darian and a small number of people to guard Eagle Keep, adopting a "do or die" stance.

"Raine." Before leaving, Daryl hesitated, then finally made up his mind and said in a low voice, "If the savage army is truly too much to handle, perhaps we should..."

He made a trading gesture. Ryan understood his uncle's meaning perfectly well: sell out these allies and prioritize saving his own and his men's lives.

Allies are meant to be betrayed; this is quite normal among nobles.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Ryan said with a smile.

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The Snake and Insect Mountain Range stretches from north to south, its undulating peaks making travel difficult for vehicles and horses. Numerous snakes and insects inhabit the area.

Even more dangerous are the savage tribes, who are adept at hiding in the mountains and forests, launching surprise attacks on travelers and caravans crossing the mountain paths. If they win, they will wipe them out; if they lose, they will scatter and flee. With their familiarity with the surrounding environment and the stamina they have honed from running through the mountains since childhood, they are more than anyone can catch up with.

If the Serpent Mountains are likened to the vast grasslands of the Wildlands Province, then these savages are like the centaurs roaming those grasslands. The First Human Empire in history once sent imperial legions three times to wipe out the Serpent Mountains, hoping to exterminate these remnants of the elves, but all attempts ended in failure.

Strictly speaking, the Savage tribe included Wild Elves (descendants of elves who were unable to leave the continent during the Great Exodus of the Ancestor Elf Empire), Savages (natives who originally lived in the mountains), Free People (who hid in the mountains to escape the oppression and exploitation of nobles), as well as bandits, robbers, wanted criminals, cultists, necromancers, and so on, who were not tolerated by the empire.

After a long period of internal infighting, those who survive here are rarely kind-hearted; they are all ruthless people who can kill the elderly, weak, women, and children without batting an eye.

The noble alliance of the fertile lands advanced along the mountain path. Many knights were so paranoid that they were suspicious of even the sound of the wind rustling through the trees.

“My lord, the terrain here is too disadvantageous for us.” A nobleman approached Renn directly and advised, “The mountain road is too narrow. We have to line up in a single file to get through, but this means we can’t cover both the front and the back. If the enemy launches a surprise attack on the middle of our line, they can easily separate the people in front and behind, and the morale of the militia will collapse instantly.”

Ryan sized him up and asked:
"You're from the Tanfield family?"

“Gavin Tanfield,” the other person introduced himself. “My brother is Dorette Tanfield, the son-in-law of the Duke of Malorne. He often mentions your name in his letters home.”

Martha Malone's gigolo husband's brother...

“Your Excellency,” Gavin continued, “our Tanfor family has lived in Deep Forest City for generations, and no one knows the terrors of the forest better than us. A few unarmored bandits are no match for a knight on the front lines, but they can use the cover of the dense forest to approach the knight and deliver a fatal blow from behind. And we are that knight now. Although we have the advantage in strength and equipment, the unfamiliar environment and terrain will be our greatest enemy.”

“I understand your concerns,” Ryan said slowly, “but there’s no need to worry. I’ve already sent out scouts to scout the area, so the chances of the enemy ambushing us are slim.”

“What scout could know this forest better than a savage?” Gavin didn’t believe it, but since Ryan had said so, he couldn’t just say, “I have serious doubts about what you’re saying.” He could only nod and say, “I understand. Please be careful.”

On a hill not far away, Aurora had already set her sights on a large tree.

She quickly climbed the tree and sat on a thick branch, taking advantage of the height to have a clear view of the situation below.

No one is better at navigating the jungle than the Wood Elf, but Aurora, as the "Eye of Nature," is even more formidable because of her eyesight, which is even stronger than that of an eagle. Her gaze can precisely penetrate the gaps between layers of leaves to see what is moving inside, whether it is branches and leaves swaying in the wind, animals passing by cautiously, or wild men covered in yellow-green paint.

Through the spell of necromancy, Raine was maintaining a spiritual connection and communication with her, just as he had done countless times in the past when he controlled other undead creatures.

"Continue forward for about two minutes, turn the corner ahead, and you'll find a savage force lying in ambush in the woods on your right," Aurora reported, looking down. "They're not many, about 20 people, and they're carrying bows and arrows. They probably plan to shoot and run."

Shoot and run – a classic jungle guerrilla tactic. By the time the unit is suddenly attacked, before they can even react, the archers have already fled. If this kind of sneak attack happens three to five times, most of the unit will start to want to retreat, and the blow to morale is extremely devastating.

After a moment's thought, Raine instructed Fatin:

"Go and deal with that group of savages."

"Okay." Fatin quickly left the line and, to everyone's surprise, plunged into the nearby forest.

Both she and Aurora are skilled assassins. The difference is that Aurora excels at long-range sniping, while Fatin's strength lies in silent assassinations.

When dealing with those ancestral elven magic knights who are proficient in magic and martial arts, a silent assassination from behind is the safest and most efficient method, bar none.

After passing through layers of dense forest, Fatin took a large detour, approaching the savages from behind.

Her movements were as graceful and agile as a cheetah, silently avoiding broken branches and leaves that might make a sound when stepped on, and approaching one of the savages from behind.

The curved blade, passed from behind, cleanly severed the man's throat, precisely destroying his vocal cords. The savage clutched his throat helplessly, trying to grab onto something as he fell, but the experienced Fatin had already dodged his grasp, bracing himself against the man's back to prevent him from making a sound as he hit the ground.

She quietly moved the corpse aside and looked at the savages ahead, who remained completely unaware of what was happening.

The noble alliance of the bountiful lands also advanced in complete ignorance. As time passed, they were surprised to find that they had not encountered any enemy attacks along the way, and the knights, who had been quite tense, gradually calmed down.

The group arrived at a mountain castle and found that the knights of Faher and the militia stationed there had been killed by the savages.

Their heads were brutally chopped off and stuck into the barricades outside the castle. Their headless bodies were then arranged into ridiculous and humiliating poses such as embracing, up and down, and 69, which aroused the righteous indignation of the noble knights.

As night fell and the mountain path became increasingly difficult to traverse, the group decided to rest temporarily in the castle.

The militia cleared the bodies away. Fahl's family knights recognized their former comrades among the heads, solemnly buried them on the spot, and erected simple tombstones.

Inside the castle hall, Renn was making the next tactical arrangements:

"If we set off in the early morning, we should be able to reach the outskirts of Ravenburg by noon."

"It is foreseeable that the closer we get to Ravenburg, the more enemies we will encounter."

“It’s not that I disrespect your families, but since they’ve brought you under my command, I need you to obey my orders completely in this battle.”

"If you believe that my orders violate your chivalry or honor, please tell me before the war, and I will consider your opinions. But if anyone refuses to obey orders during wartime and uses such reasons to justify himself, I will hang him outside immediately!"

The knights were silent for a moment, then quickly declared in unison, "We are willing to obey your command."

(End of this chapter)