Lord: I can see loyalty.

Chapter 264 Cedric's Army

Golden Horse City, at dawn.

As dawn broke, the sound of bugles echoed throughout the camp.

The army of the Southern Territory arrayed itself outside the city, with the Azure Peak Knights in the center, the Grey Wolf Clan's Giant Wolf Knights on the left flank, the Giant Whale Knights on the right flank, and the militia formations at the rear.

The flags fluttered in the morning breeze, and the soldiers stood silently and attentively.

After several days of rest, with ample provisions and high morale, Vio stood on horseback at the front of the formation, a magic wing sword hanging at his waist and knight's magic gloves on his hands, his gaze steadily fixed on the north.

"Let's go."

The army set off, advancing northward along the main road.

The Black Serpent family's territory is located more than a hundred miles north of Golden Horse City, serving as the last barrier for the royal capital, Emerald City.

With the Black Serpent family captured, the gates of the capital will be completely open.

Cedric will not sit idly by and wait for his doom; he will definitely deploy a large force in the Black Serpent's territory and fight a decisive battle with the Southern Territory.

But Vio was prepared; he would not lose this battle, only Cedric would die.

Around noon, the vanguard reported that enemy troops had been spotted ahead.

Vio rode forward, squinting as he looked north.

On the horizon, a plume of black smoke was rising—it was an army, an elite army.

At the very front was a golden flag with a lifelike griffin baring its fangs and claws, followed by a black flag embroidered with a coiled black snake.

Unlike the golden flag of the Golden Saddle Horse family, the Black Serpent family's flag is pure black, exuding a chilling aura.

"The Griffin and the Black Serpent families, how many people are there?" Vio asked.

The vanguard scout rode back, panting: "It looks like—at least five thousand, mostly cavalry. Their formation is very spread out; it doesn't seem like they're going to have a head-on battle. It's more like—harassment, or to hinder us."

Vio frowned slightly. Cedric wouldn't do something pointless. Sending five thousand men to harass them, just to buy time? Or was there another purpose?

"Send the order: the entire army shall form ranks and prepare for battle."

As the bugle sounded, the army in the southern border quickly deployed into formation.

The black-armored cavalry of the Azure Peak Knights formed a charging formation, the giant wolf knights of the Grey Wolf Clan retreated to the flanks, and the militia phalanx erected a shield wall.

Russell led his cavalry forward, while Glenn led the Gray Hyena mercenary group on the flanks. Everyone was on high alert, awaiting the enemy's arrival.

The black tide drew ever closer, and the Black Serpent Clan's cavalry swarmed in like locusts. However, they did not charge directly into the enemy lines. Instead, they roamed in front of the southern front, constantly firing arrows to harass the southern vanguard.

Knight Captain Russell led his cavalry to meet them, engaging in fierce combat with the Black Serpent Clan's cavalry.

Glenn, along with the Grey Hyena mercenary group, also broke out from the flank and engaged in a melee with the Black Serpent family's infantry, tearing open the battlefield.

The battlefield was in chaos, but the southern army held its ground and was not scattered.

Vio stood on horseback at the rear of the formation, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield, his brow furrowed.

Although the Black Serpent Clan's army was elite, it was small in number, numbering only around five thousand, while the Southern Territory had nearly twenty thousand.

Their harassment is completely ineffective and only wastes their troops.

Cedric wouldn't do something so foolish; he must have another purpose.

"My lord, something's not right." Alec rode closer, his grey eyes also fixed on the battlefield. "Their formation is too scattered, like they're covering something."

"Cover what?" Vio muttered to himself.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud explosion came from the rear of the battlefield.

It wasn't an explosion, nor was it magic; it was a sound Vio hadn't heard in a long time.

Sharp, piercing, like some kind of metal tearing through the air.

Vio's pupils contracted sharply. He had heard a similar sound before, in another world, long, long ago—

m

A gunshot rang out!

"My Lord Earl!" Jimmy rode up, his face filled with terror. "Russell is injured!"

Vio suddenly turned his head.

Russell had just fallen from his horse, with a thumb-sized hole in his breastplate, and blood was gushing from under his armpit, staining his battle robe red.

Several cavalrymen rushed forward and dragged him to the back. Vio spurred his horse forward, dismounted, and knelt beside Russell.

"What happened?" His voice was hoarse.

Russell was deathly pale, his lips trembled, and his eyes were filled with fear.

"I don't know—I heard a sound, and then my chest—it just—"

Vio tore open his armor and saw that the wound was neither an arrow wound nor a sword wound, but a circular, charred, penetrating wound.

It really was a bullet.

The word flashed through Vio's mind: How could the Griffin and the Black Serpent possibly have guns? Had guns already been invented in this world?

"Don't speak yet, call Uncle Valentine to treat him." Vio stood up, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield, trying to find the attacker.

But the battlefield was too chaotic, with Black Serpent's cavalry roaming everywhere, making it impossible to tell who was behind it.

"My lord, what kind of weapon is this? We can't even see the people, yet it has such power—" Alec rode closer, his gray eyes filled with solemnity.

Vio didn't say the name of the gun, he just shook his head.

"It's something similar to magic, capable of attacking from a distance—but the range would never be this far." At this point, Vio became even more certain of his thoughts.

That's right, the technology in this world can't be very advanced, and the range and performance of guns are probably far inferior to magic. I can't be fooled.

"Next, we should concentrate fully. With our combined fourth-level perception, we should be able to detect the attacker."

"Jimmy, pass down the order: the entire army must consolidate its formation and not disperse." Vio's voice had calmed down. "Have the Grey Wolf Clan's giant wolf riders pursue those loitering cavalry; don't let a single one escape."

The order was quickly relayed throughout the entire army.

The southern border's formation began to contract, the Azure Peak Knights retreated to their main camp, and the militia phalanx erected an even higher shield wall.

The Grey Wolf Clan's giant wolf knights charged out from the flanks, chasing the Black Serpent Clan's cavalry all over the battlefield.

But the Black Serpent's cavalry were too fast; they didn't linger in battle, striking and retreating immediately, giving the Gray Wolf's family no chance to encircle and annihilate them.

Vio's eyes swept quickly across the battlefield, trying to find the person who fired the shot.

Even though the battlefield was chaotic, filled with mounted cavalry and running infantry, he quickly unleashed his full perception, his knightly aura spreading like an invisible net across every corner of the battlefield.

Then, he did indeed feel it.

On a small hill to the east, there stood a person—no, more than one—not on horseback, wearing light armor, standing quietly, holding something in his hand.

It is a team.

Vio suddenly turned his head and looked in that direction.

On the hill, a small group of figures stood there. If you looked closely, you could vaguely see that they were holding a thin iron pipe in their hands, with smoke rising from one end of the pipe.

Before I looked closely, I just thought they were an ordinary group of archers.