Monster Girl Development Master.

Suddenly, a series of urgent bell tolls echoed throughout the city. The more rational residents remembered that this was a bell signaling an enemy attack and summoning the guards; however, they hadn't heard it in time the previous night. But now that the bell was ringing, did that mean…?

A spark of hope ignited, and within days the residents, who had suffered greatly from bullying, came together.

Meanwhile, in the castle that originally belonged to Baron Shatterstone, the leaders of the mercenary groups that had captured the castle gathered together, discussing the urgent message that the raven had just delivered: "The army of Leon's territory is approaching. The scouts say there are at least two thousand men, and if you include the laborers, it may exceed four thousand."

The speaker was a burly man with a shiny bald head and an eyepatch painted with a skull over one eye, making him look extremely fierce, and indeed he was. No one knew his name anymore; everyone called him One-Eyed Bear, the infamous leader of the One-Eyed Bear mercenary group. He had a penchant for torturing children, and once beat a count's five-year-old son to a pulp with his fists, drawing the process and sending it back to the count along with the pulp—and in doing so, he lost an eye and his homeland.

As a third-level bloodline holder, the reason he failed to become a noble was because of his shameless and despicable acts. No one was willing to accept his rule or pledge allegiance. In fact, if he stayed in a place for too long, he would be besieged and driven away by the local lord.

However, at times, he would also serve the nobility. Just now, he was hired by the Falau family and led more than 500 outlaws to conquer the territory of the Shattered Stone Baron. Fortunately or unfortunately, the Shattered Stone Baron's children had all grown up, so they died relatively quickly.

Upon hearing One-Eyed Bear's words, a mercenary captain beside him frowned and said, "More than two thousand people? Is this the main force heading our way? Boss, how do we fight?"

Although the One-Eyed Bear mercenary group only has 500 men, the support from Farau Territory has already arrived. Currently, the Shattered Stone Territory has more than 4,000 soldiers and twice that number of farmers. More soldiers will arrive from Farau Territory later, giving them an absolute advantage in both field battles and city defense.

Of course, it's best to defend the city. If reinforcements are inevitable, using the castle to resist can greatly reduce damage, even if the other side also has bloodline beings. Unless they can fly, they will inevitably... uh.

The thing on the other side looks like it can really fly.

The mercenary leaders were at a loss for ideas. One-Eyed Bear looked at the map on the table and made a decision: "Leave the city and go to Twin Mountains to intercept them."

"Yes, boss."

……

"Marshal, Twin Mountains are just ahead. Once we pass this point, we'll see Shattered Stone Fortress!"

Lydia looked ahead at the road. Two low hills, very close to each other and almost identical in shape and size, blocked the originally wide road ahead. Only a narrow path, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, passed between them. This wouldn't be a big problem for ordinary people, but for an army, it was far too narrow.

But if we don't take this route, we'll either have to go over the mountain or take a detour, neither of which is better than going directly here.

Lydia looked around for a while, then suddenly asked, "Do you think there are enemies behind this canyon?"

The scout scratched his helmet: "Uh, I think so? We're already here, the scouts on the other side should have spotted us by now, but they might also choose to hold out in the castle..."

Lydia interrupted the scout's ambiguous statement and ordered the vengeful female warrior beside her: "Pass down the order to have the Ravenwing Guards prepare for the charge. The Shadow Raven Knights and light cavalry will go to the flanks for protection. All infantry will be armored and follow the drill procedures. The archers will switch to magic iron arrows to hold the line and prepare to suppress the enemies on both sides of the mountain peaks."

The vengeful warrior rode away, and soon the Ravenwing Guards' winged raven banners approached: "Marshal, we are ready."

"Very good." Lydia spurred her horse and turned it around to look at the soldiers behind her. They were tired from the long march, but not to the point of seriously impairing their fighting ability. With the order being given, their morale was clearly boosted.

The morale of the troops is high.

Although she had anticipated this, Lydia felt somewhat relieved after seeing it with her own eyes. She drew the runic longsword that Nia had forged for her, raised it high, and her calm yet icy voice rang out: "This is my first war since I became Minister of War, and also your first war since Lord Zhuangsen ascended the throne. I think I don't need to repeat what needs to be done, so I only hope you remember..."

She paused, took a deep breath, and spoke again, her voice even louder: "The crows are cawing—"

"The feast has begun!!!"

The soldiers shouted in unison, their voices even crossing Twin Mountains and reaching the One-Eyed Bear mercenaries who were lined up at the end of the canyon. The Farau soldiers were somewhat nervous.

Was their ambush discovered?

But no matter what they think, they have no other choice now. If they retreat now, they'll be slaughtered if the other side catches up.

……

"Charge with me!!!"

Lydia, keeping her head close to Zhuang Sen, took the lead, her fine warhorse neighing as it galloped forward. The Ravenwing Guards immediately followed, a hundred men charging side by side in pairs, displaying an almost superhuman level of control.

Normally, this would be impossible. How could a galloping warhorse be so stable on the battlefield? But with the horse-taming secrets inherited from the Durrah bloodline, these warhorses are more than capable of this wall-like charge tactic. In the best-case scenario, they could even launch a charge like an iron wall crushing each other, with a hundred people standing close together. Some lower-level bloodline practitioners probably wouldn't dare to confront them head-on.

Even without that number of people, when Lydia led their enemies behind the canyon, the arrayed spearmen felt a sense of oppression, a premonition of defeat!

"Don't panic! They can't maneuver properly, hold up the spears! Bring the shields together!!"

The mercenary captain in charge of the front line shouted and brandished his longsword, killing a spearman who had been frightened back by Lydia's imposing presence. The dripping blood immediately silenced the soldiers, who huddled together in obedience, their 4.2-meter-long spears pointing diagonally at the charging Lydia.

The next moment, Lydia charged forward—spears like a forest, knights like dragons.

Chapter 204: Field Battle (Part 2)

Long spears like a forest, knights like dragons.

Lydia, riding alone, charged straight into the spear formation. With a swing of her runic longsword, she cleaved through iron spearheads and wooden shafts. Her armored warhorse, bolstered by speed, crashed through the iron-clad round shields, trampling the shield bearers and spearmen in the front ranks under its horseshoes.

In a single exchange, the one-eyed bear's meticulously set-up spear formation was forcibly broken through, and the Ravenwing Guards following closely behind Lydia did not miss this opportunity, immediately rushing into the gap. As they left the canyon, the Ravenwing Guards no longer maintained pairs, but split into two rows, each row consisting of fifty men, forming two iron walls that directly shattered the spear formation into two sections... two smaller sections.

Of the hundreds of spearmen, less than a hundred remained alive on the outermost edge, but they had completely lost their morale, preferring to face the executioner's blades rather than leave Lydia and the Ravenwing Guards who were still charging. After breaking through the spear formation, what appeared before Lydia and the Ravenwing Guards were the crossbowmen who had just nocked their crossbows.

Lydia wasn't surprised. If she were in charge of arranging an ambush, she would have set up the formation in the same way: spearmen and shieldmen to intercept the enemy, archers and crossbowmen in the center to safely inflict ranged damage, and cavalry on both sides to guard against any unexpected events—not every cavalryman could charge into a dense formation like Lydia and the Ravenwing Guards.

Unfortunately, the front lines fell too quickly. The archers didn't even have time to unleash their first attack before Lydia arrived in front of them and mercilessly crushed them.

Several hastily fired arrows struck Lydia, only to be deflected by her superior rune plate armor. Lydia parried the arrows aimed at her helmet, then with a single stroke, beheaded an enemy beside her. Blood splattered onto her armor and mount, a gruesome crimson stain. At that moment, the infantry finally emerged from the canyon, their resounding battle cries echoing across the battlefield once more.

"A flock of crows cawed loudly!"

The resources are from the internet and are for learning and exchange purposes only. The copyright of the novel resources belongs to the original author. The text is for personal study and preview only. If you like the resources, please purchase the original version. Thank you for your cooperation! If this resource inadvertently infringes on your rights, please notify us so we can delete it promptly.

"The feast has begun!!"

Clearly, it wasn't just the archers on this side who were a step too slow, but also those lying in ambush on the mountaintop. They couldn't have imagined that the enemy cavalry would rout their friendly gun emplacements in a single frontal assault. To maximize casualties, they naturally ordered their infantry to cross the canyon and regroup—leading to the current embarrassing situation of watching the enemy die without firing a single arrow.

Moreover, it's too late for them to make amends now, because Lydia's archers have already targeted them as they've exposed themselves.

In an instant, arrows rained down!

The wind-attribute magic iron arrows compensated for the losses from shooting from below. The naturally sharp material pierced through the enemy's rudimentary chainmail and mortise armor, and the trees used as cover were no match for them. In just one round of attacks, the more than 300 archers on the two mountains suffered heavy casualties and resolutely refused to show their faces again.

……

The main force of the French-Lao alliance.

Because the area behind Twin Peaks was flat, and there was no time to build a watchtower, it was only at this moment that One-Eyed Bear, the commander-in-chief, and Baron Jinhe, the commander of the Farao army, learned of the dire situation ahead. Neither One-Eyed Bear, a mercenary, nor the Baron of the Farao family could believe that the situation had suddenly deteriorated to this extent, and all because of just one person!

If she used some extraordinary ability, they could accept it, but the other side was just charging... No, now is not the time to think about these things, they must make a decision quickly, they haven't lost yet!

"Gather all the cavalry! We must stop that heavy cavalry! Otherwise, we're doomed!" Baron Jinhe stood up and looked at One-Eyed Bear. Baron Jinhe was only a Level 1 bloodline user, while One-Eyed Bear was a Level 3 bloodline user. Moreover, Baron Jinhe was a member of the Farau family, while One-Eyed Bear was just a mercenary.

Logically and morally, it should be One-Eyed Bear who risks his life to lead the charge—besides, if they win, it will be a tremendous achievement! Sending a mercenary is already a generous gesture!

One-Eyed Bear did not refuse. He put on his helmet, picked up his level-two magic iron warhammer, and strode towards his warhorse. The cavalrymen of the Pharaoh's allied forces, who were scattered on both flanks, also saw the signal from their main force and rode over. Soon, a light cavalry of six hundred men was assembled behind One-Eyed Bear and concealed behind tents and flags.

"Those guys are heading towards our main force. Have the remaining infantry gather and draw them away, then we'll break through their lines!"

One-Eyed Bear gave a concise order, and the remaining thousand-odd infantry of the Falao Alliance—swordsmen, spearmen, and light infantry—huddled together under the threat of whips and blades. In the chaotic battlefield, such an obvious target indeed caught Lydia's attention. She stroked the mane of her warhorse, glanced back at the Ravenwing Guards who still stood tall, and raised her longsword: "Those who can still move, follow me!!"

"The crows are cawing—the feast has begun!!!"

All one hundred Ravenwing Guards followed Lydia, their formation changed from a wall to a wedge, but their momentum remained undiminished. In fact, their blood-soaked bodies, a result of their previous ferocious killings, made them even more terrifying. Before they even got close, the last group of infantry began to riot. The closer the Ravenwing Guards got, the more pronounced the riot became. And when Lydia, as the arrowhead of the wedge, severed the first head, the infantry scattered completely.

Then, a harvest.

One-Eyed Bear remained unmoved as he watched the infantry's miserable state. He simply calculated the time, and only after all the Ravenwing Guards were trapped among the rout infantry and there was no way they could reorganize their formation in time to launch another charge did he raise his warhammer: "The time has come, charge!!"

The light cavalrymen raised their lances and charged after the one-eyed bear. As cavalrymen, they all possessed a certain battlefield awareness; moreover, as fellow cavalrymen, they understood the vulnerability of cavalry caught in disarray, unable to maintain their mobility. Therefore, although some disapproved of the one-eyed bear's use of friendly forces as bait, no one believed they would lose this round!

After all, they have a level three bloodline user on their side! Even if the general on the other side is strong, he couldn't possibly be a level four bloodline user, right?!

The light cavalry charged with greater speed, swiftly flanking the Ravenwing Guards. Their raised lances, reflecting the brilliant afternoon sun, were dazzling and deadly. The Ravenwing Guards, in turn, failed to react in time. Their slowed horses and the scattered fleeing soldiers prevented them from regrouping or accelerating their charge.

But just like Lydia, they weren't panicked at all.

Were they scared out of their wits? Or were they just exhausted?

As One-Eyed Bear pondered, he suddenly heard the sound of hooves. He instinctively turned his head to look behind him, but his gaze stopped halfway and focused on the Shadow Raven Knights and Black Raven Riders leaping out of the canyon.

Is there more than just one cavalry army on the other side?

Why not just go all in from the start!

Amidst shock and confusion, the Black Crow cavalry had already cut off the Farau cavalry, accomplishing what they had wanted to do but hadn't had time to do yet.

Chapter 205: Battle of Generals - Part 1

The Black Raven Riders' flanking maneuver tore through the Farau cavalry's formation, instantly shattering their hastily assembled morale. When the Shadow Raven Riders, heavy cavalry, followed, the destruction was utterly devastating. Tied up by the Black Raven Riders, the Farau cavalry didn't even have time to escape; they were like hot iron caught in a saddle, crushed and pulverized by the Shadow Raven Riders' steel hammer.

Even the two bloodline members among them didn't have time to react to the sudden attack from behind. Their armor was pierced by the lances during the charge, and they were pinned to the ground. Only the one-eyed bear survived.

The powerful perception and reflexes granted by his level three bloodline allowed him to unleash his ability, [Rock Shield], in time to block the fatal lance charge. However, the impact still sent him tumbling off his horse and onto the battlefield. The departing cavalrymen regrouped in the distance. Those who still had their lances lowered them, while those whose lances were damaged or lost drew their warhammers or sabers and began to accelerate slowly in the distance.

On the other side, the Ravenwing Guards, who had successfully avoided being attacked from the side, regrouped and prepared to charge as well.

Faced with a pincer attack, the one-eyed bear's fighting spirit was fully unleashed. His massive body began to contort, his brownish-gray fur engulfed his plate armor, and his increasingly large fingers tore through his gauntlets, his sharp nails gleaming coldly... This obvious change made the cavalrymen tense up. A bloodline user who could reveal the true form of his bloodline might not necessarily be no match for them.

At that moment, a firm and composed voice rang out: "Archers!!"

The archers who arrived last heard the order and immediately drew their bows and nocked arrows. The sighting of hundreds of magic iron arrows made the one-eyed bear feel even more threatened. The bear head that had already transformed emitted a fierce roar, but anyone could see that he was all bark and no bite. His original bloodthirsty and violent aura had weakened considerably.

Lydia spurred her horse forward at the opportune moment, pointing her rune sword at the one-eyed bear: "Possessor of noble blood, it seems you don't intend to die here in vain, and I don't want my troops to suffer too many losses either, so how about we have a fair duel? Just you and me, in human form. If you win, you can leave freely. If I win, I guarantee you will receive the treatment befitting someone of noble blood."

Lydia's suggestion wasn't a sudden burst of chivalry; she genuinely worried that this level-three bloodline user might severely injure the troops. After all, this guy seemed to be the kind of bloodline user with thick skin and tough flesh, and his dying frenzy would be even more difficult to control. Another point was that Lydia wanted to test whether her second-awakened level-four bloodline, fully armed, could fight against a third-awakened bloodline user.

Anyway, it doesn't matter if she loses, her head is with Zhuang Sen, she won't die.

"Alright, valiant knight, I promise you."

Faced with Lydia's suggestion, One-Eyed Bear readily agreed, as the current situation did not allow him to refuse.

He had no intention of sacrificing his life for the Farau family; he always cherished his own life. The reason he hadn't directly transformed into his true bloodline form to wreak havoc was precisely because he valued his life. First, he was worried about being ambushed by the level three bloodline users on the other side, and second, he was afraid of being subjected to concentrated long-range fire. This wasn't a few dozen or a few hundred people, nor was it some kind of useless army armed with scrap metal; it was the elite army of the Leon Territory!

As it turned out, this army dealt with his mercenary group and Farau army almost without any losses. As for the arrows, the ones that could make him feel so threatened must have been made of magic iron. This volley of arrows probably cost thousands of gold coins... It's practically throwing money at people!

If he had charged into the fray with his Bloodline True Form from the start, his corpse would probably be cold by now. And now, that female knight should be the new Minister of Military Affairs of the Leon family; intelligence indicates she's only just awakened for the second time, so his chances of winning are high—she's quite a good general, using her reputation to protect the lives of her subordinates.

That's right, the one-eyed bear felt that Lydia was just trying to find a way to let him go and avoid losses to the troops! So he stopped his true bloodline form and turned back into the bald, muscular man: "Knight, I need weapons and armor."

Lydia shook her head: "We only have weapons, sir. We don't have armor that would fit you."

A Shadow Raven Knight, roughly the same size as the One-Eyed Bear, rode up and threw his longsword at him. The One-Eyed Bear merely glanced at the ornately patterned sword, then shook his head dismissively, letting it fall to the ground: "I don't use such a sissy weapon. Where's my warhammer?"

When the one-eyed bear was knocked off his horse, his level-two magic iron warhammer fell to the ground and was swallowed up by the cavalry.

“Give it to him.”

Lydia dismounted and walked slowly toward the one-eyed bear, who caught the warhammer flying through the air and revealed a ferocious smile: "Let me make this clear beforehand, knight, my attacks are never easy to control."

Lydia ignored him and assumed a sword stance: "Lydia Lyon, Viscount of Stormlord, the Blade of Johnson—"

The one-eyed bear, having made a fool of himself, spat and raised his warhammer with both hands: "I am the one-eyed bear, come on!"

boom!

boom!

The two launched their attacks almost simultaneously, the sudden stomping sounds blending together, leaving two large craters in the not-so-hard ground. The runic longsword and the magic iron warhammer then collided, producing an even louder sound, and the dust on the ground was also kicked up and fell into the two new craters.