Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

"The lines on the mountain are now secure; it's time for us to counterattack!"

Behind the knights who found themselves separated from the main force and were trying to re-enter the passage, the knights and mercenaries of Outer Dole regrouped. Perhaps the rout of the conscripted soldiers was real, but these truly combat-capable groups had always maintained the most basic organization. All the disarray and abandonment of armor were just illusions for Inner Dole's troops, but now, there was no need to put on an act anymore.

Skadi, halberd at her side, sat upright on her horse and looked at the knights on either side of her: "Gentlemen, as you have all seen, we misjudged the strength of Nedole. Their actual military strength is far superior to ours. Fortunately, however, our plan is more than halfway complete. We have successfully trapped them in unfavorable terrain. The peasants are stuck in a tangled mess, and the knights and mercenaries are unable to attend to each other's retreat."

"However, even so, the current situation is merely a stalemate, and as time goes on, the scales of victory will inevitably tip in favor of the enemy. If we want to prevent this from happening, we must complete the remaining work."

"We have sacrificed too much to prepare this battlefield where we have the advantage. We have given up shields, armor, and even many of our people and followers, but I say, it's enough!"

"At this moment, we have no way out, nothing else! All we have left are the swords in our hands and our comrades beside us. I will not abandon you again, I will fight alongside you until the very last moment, until the moment of victory!" Skadi raised her halberd and fixed her gaze on the Nedole knights directly in front of her. "My position is this, and there is no more to say."

"Gentlemen, follow me and charge!"

"charge!"

The knights and mercenaries roared in unison, urging their mounts forward and charging toward the enemy who had just "defeated" them. In this wave of resistance, their mistress was at the forefront, the first to plunge her halberd into her opponent's back, sending the knight flying!

"Mary, protect her!" Angelita, fully armed, couldn't keep up with the knights and could only charge forward with the mercenaries. However, when she saw Mary protecting her, she immediately gave the order, "Scotty's position is too dangerous!"

“But Annie, you…” “I’m safe. We’re surrounded by our companions!”

Mary gave Angrita a deep look, nodded slightly, and then leaped into the air, soaring past the armored soldiers and iron hooves, rushing swiftly to Skadi's side. After watching her leave, Angrita let out a long sigh.

"finally……"

A knight, perhaps noticing that she was much smaller than the other soldiers, spurred his horse and swung his sword at Angelita. However, beneath the iron mask, he caught a hint of mockery.

"Whoosh—" Almost instantly, scorching flames engulfed the knight's entire body, and the emerald green sword light arrived precisely as he fell from his horse, like the death knell, taking his life.

Without a moment to catch his breath, the Guardian's Long Poem transformed into a shield once more, stepping in front of a mercenary as its master moved, blocking the spear that was thrust at him.

"Thank you—" Before the still-shaken mercenary could say anything, he saw his savior charge into the deeper part of the battlefield. Around her, flames, frost, and lightning exploded alternately, as if a divine messenger had descended to earth. Even well-equipped knights could not put up much resistance and could only fall off their horses amidst the roar of magic.

“Uncle Raslaufer, do you see? I’m doing the same thing as you…” Angelita’s heart was not at peace for a moment. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster. Although she could not yet reach the so-called state of being filled with fighting spirit, her perception of danger and agility of movement were becoming stronger and stronger. “Don’t worry, Skuld will be fine. We will all be fine.”

All the details that she had overlooked during her previous adventures and battles with some enemies were now imprinted in her mind. As the number of enemies around her increased, Angelita could no longer pay attention to anything else. Her movements could no longer be calculated as precisely as before. She could only act based on muscle memory and her own intuition. But the more she did this, the sharper her edge became!

Another hammer came crashing down from behind her, but at that moment, Angelita seemed to have grown eyes in the back of her head. She immediately turned to the side, and with a flick of her longsword, the knight whose gauntlets were pierced cried out in pain as his weapon was instantly knocked to the ground!

Even Angelita was unaware that beneath that mask, the corners of her mouth had unconsciously curled into a smile. She opened her other hand, and even more powerful fire magic than before erupted from her palm.

"Goodbye."

Chapter 400 A Grand Waaaagh

Mary continued to calculate her steps, precisely dodging an arrow fired from an ambush by her own troops on the hillside. She gracefully bent down as if picking a flower, "just in time" avoiding a sweeping sword blade. Her shawl billowed high in the next instant, and as the knight's vision was obscured, the missed arrow unexpectedly pierced his throat.

The full armor protected him from the fatal blow, preventing him from dying on the spot, but he had already fallen from the back of the hunting horse that served as his warhorse. After a prepared roll, he immediately got up, but the woman was nowhere to be seen in the spot where he had been.

"She went... uh!"

The gauntlet barely caught the bladeless sword that was thrusting at him, but in the next second, the woman in front of him, expressionless, suddenly raised her left hand, which had just blinded the knight, and slapped it forward again towards the fletching of the arrow stuck in his throat!

The Kolasond swordsmanship claims that a mastered user can rival a powerful mage. That may not be true, but with Mary's current skill, dealing with these ordinary warriors is more than enough. However, this kind of battlefield is ultimately not her place.

Let's go back to Skadi.

Mary turned in another direction, but before she had taken more than a few steps, her pupils suddenly contracted to the size of a pinhead.

Damn it! Raslaw will kill me—even Anne will kill me!

While charging knights inflict immense damage on the enemy, they also place themselves in the most dangerous situations. When Skadi leads the charge, she too must bear the corresponding risks. Although her Amprii heritage may grant her combat prowess beyond that of ordinary soldiers, in such chaotic battle, mistakes are still inevitable.

When the two knights attacked her simultaneously, she was immediately thrown to the ground with a mournful cry from her warhorse.

"Look who I've caught!" one of the knights exclaimed with delight. "Let's capture her and end this!"

"Hey, all of you, stop the hell out of here! Your lord is in my hands now. Anyone who dares to resist, I'll kill her!"

"—You're dreaming!" A cold glint, carrying lingering fear and furious shock, pierced the wind and arrived. The knight tried to use the advantage of his polearm to defend himself, but in his haste, he couldn't find the attacker's location and was immediately killed on his own horse. Meanwhile, Skadi took the opportunity to leap up and grab the spear shaft of another man. Mary immediately followed, freeing up another warhorse for her.

“Mary? What are you doing here!” Skadi was taken aback. “Anne, she…”

"She's alright, the important thing is you, Madam!" Mary said urgently. "Get on the horse quickly! That fellow's shouting just now might have shaken the others, and that could be fatal!"

To kill her! If this gets back to those two, she'll be in deep trouble!

“You’re right,” Skadi didn’t think much of it. She immediately remounted her horse and shouted in a voice louder than the knight’s, “Skadi is right here! You wish to capture me alive! Come at me again if you dare! Knights, continue the attack!”

"Madam is alright!" The crowd, who had hesitated just moments before, became excited again upon hearing her voice and seeing her figure, even more so than before. "Brothers, kill these fools who spread rumors! Slaughter them all!"

Although the militia were all knights, they were outnumbered. When they saw that Skadi, who had fallen off her horse, had remounted and rejoined the battle, their morale was immediately hit hard. The few remaining riders only thought about escaping. They turned their horses around and even began to slaughter the militia behind them, trying to make them clear the way.

However, the knights were already at their last gasp, and how could the farmers in this situation distinguish whose knights they were? In the chaos of battle, these knights were either impaled in the waist and legs by pitchforks and other farm tools, or their mounts were killed, and they were all pulled off their horses. None of them escaped.

On the contrary, Skuld's men, seeing that there was no longer any pressure from the militia, threw down their weapons and rushed past them, just to escape the crossbowmen's range, which resulted in their lord's enemies being almost unharmed.

Having observed the changing situation below, the rain of arrows from the hilltop gradually subsided. However, at this very moment, the final battle had only just begun.

“Well done,” Raslaw stood on the hillside, leaning on his sword, looking over there and easily locating the person he was looking for. He smiled. He turned back. “Brothers, the toughest knights are all done for. These remaining guys, even they could handle themselves. But what the hell are we for?”

"We just fought them off, but could they even see anything? That won't do! Get moving, all of you! Don't let the big shots steal all the credit!"

"Sir, lead us in one last charge!" The fierce battle on the hillside had been the focus of the entire conflict between Raslaufer and the opposing Dopplers. Even those who didn't know him dared not disobey his will and immediately echoed his call. Even the archers drew their daggers and short swords, ready to join the final frenzy.

“Very good! As I wish… Wait a minute, I’ve got it,” a strange smile suddenly appeared on Leslaufer’s face, “There’s someone who’s not here, but we can’t let her just be absent… Perfect.”

"Come on! Like the poets (actually, only Daisy) always say, let's start a grand Waaaagh! Kill them!"

"Waaaagh!" Nobody knows what this word means, but who cares! Just charge!

By this point, the tide of battle had begun to turn in favor of Outer Doule's side, but Count Inner Doule still held a chance. He still had a considerable number of mercenaries with him, and while the enemy's crossbows were becoming increasingly ineffective, their own could be restarted. There was no time to assign blame anymore; any strategy was rendered useless and discarded. Both sides rallied and charged towards each other!

In the chaos of battle, Count Nedoule, though not charging, was forced to confront his opponents, and without the support of his other knights, he was quickly knocked from his horse. Although two mercenary captains rushed to his aid and rescued him, the Count, having survived the ordeal, had lost his last shred of courage. Under the watchful eyes of both armies, he remounted his horse, but without uttering a word, turned and galloped away.

"Your Excellency?! Sir! You damn coward!" The two battle captains stared dumbfounded at Count Nedoule's departure without a trace of regret, their tongues almost slurred.

This is a time of fierce fighting, with both sides betting everything on bravery and courage. However, at this critical juncture, their employer and commander...

He ran away? He ran away!

Chapter 401 Defection and Surrender with Courtesy

"If he hadn't given up, it would have been hard to say who would have won or lost!"

As the sun gradually shifted westward, the two mercenary leaders were finally brought before Skadi. However, one of them was clearly very defiant. Although he was tied up, he kept twisting and turning, expressing his anger.

"Forget it, they didn't even realize they'd been tricked, what else is there to say?" The other seemed quite calm, perhaps because he wasn't the main commander in this battle.

He looked at Skuld: "My esteemed lady, I am convinced of my defeat at your hands. However, please give me a chance. Although I am not a nobleman, I still hope to have the opportunity to exchange gold coins for my life and freedom. You will be satisfied with the price."

"Please also show mercy and give my friend a chance. He may indeed be incompetent, but at least he is right about one thing: if Count Nedoule had not fled, the outcome of this battle would have been very different."

"If possible, we must settle this score with him."

“You are willing to surrender to me?” Skadi nodded upon hearing this. “A wise choice. After all, the bodies of your former employer’s two brothers are right there, and as for his brother-in-law, it seems he escaped with those farmers.”

“We are not loyal to anyone, nor are we anyone’s subjects, so how can there be any talk of ‘surrender’?” Although they are now prisoners, the details are still worth examining. “It’s just that after the last mission ended, we are starting the next one.”

"By the way, we hope this can offset part of the ransom. After all, you see, quite a few of our brothers have been captured. Even if it's less money, it's still a large sum of income for you."

"That's why you have to pay the full amount."

The two commanders looked up at the sound and saw a man covered in blood dragging a greatsword as he walked towards them. It was obvious that this was a Dople.

"Sir, we're all in the same profession, why bother..." The captain who had been negotiating with Skadi earlier frowned, but before he could finish speaking, his colleague opened his mouth wide and shouted.

"Reslaufer! Damn it, I should have recognized you when the uphill attack was repelled!" The former commander exclaimed, finally recognizing the man before him. "I haven't heard from you in so long, I thought you were long dead out there!"

“...It’s like everyone you know is hoping you die, Uncle Raslaufer.” Angelita muttered somewhat unhappily as she stepped forward and cleared a space for Raslaufer so she could bandage his wounds.

In the absence of Druids and poets, this basic form of treatment is the only option.

Raslaufer sat down, but his eyes never left the commander. After staring at him for a long time, he still couldn't recognize who the man was.

"who are you?"

"It's me, damn it, I've hired you four times, four times!" The other person announced his name amidst his heartbroken curses, and only then did Raslaufer finally show a look of realization.

"An acquaintance?" Skadi blinked, not too surprised by this situation.

“Not really. I remember this man, but you look much fatter now than you did back then,” Dobler pointed to the man. “He did hire me four times, but I only remember it being one and a half times, and I even lost the one full time.”

"But isn't it strange? When I was with him, it was probably one of the few times I made the most money—even though I never saw any blood on two of those occasions."

"It's better to avoid bloodshed, you... (East Inas slang), I almost forgot, you're a freak in Doples, you're not here for the money at all!"

“Well, you really are…” Angelita looked the chapter commander up and down. “With Uncle Raslaufer around, you still managed to lose? I really don’t know why you’re in charge of the army—this guy seems like a much more suitable candidate.”

Although the masked "soldier's" face was obscured, the voice alone suggested a pretty young woman behind the iron mask. To be praised so highly by such a person was naturally a pleasant experience. Of course, the other party was far from pleased.

"War isn't just about fighting and killing..." The regimental commander who had hired Raslaufer four times snorted in dissatisfaction. "If it weren't for me, this guy wouldn't even have had the chance to land this job, let alone command an army?"

"There are hundreds of warbands, big and small, in Eastern Inassassins. Why did that Earl of Nedoule choose me? Because I have a nice voice and I'm good-looking? It's because I'm the one he knows best—and then he actually abandoned us and ran away!"

The topic circled back to where it started. And what the group leader said didn't seem to be without merit.

Because of his presence, Raslaufer agreed that they could use the upcoming battle to offset part of their ransom, whereas if there were only the other captain, even if he talked himself hoarse, such a "preferential treatment" would be unattainable.

In this way, the forces of both sides were merged, and Count Nedoule's knights were almost all killed or wounded, and his money was almost gone. Even if he had great ability to reorganize the remaining militia and defeated troops, he would have no way to fight against them.

As for his castle, it might not be easy for the Waidole side to attack it either, but fortunately, they had other options besides siege.

When Angelita's eyes, hidden behind her mask, began to shine again, the two captains finally realized who they had truly lost to.

……

Still no news from them?

Inside the castle, the count looked anxiously at his brother-in-law. The militia led by his brother-in-law had collapsed even before his own, but he couldn't blame him any more—they were just old farmers. The fact that he was able to gather as many as five hundred people back to the castle to hold out was already a remarkable talent.

"Let me remind you, we're all huddled here now, and anything outside our line of sight is completely invisible to us." The countess's husband sighed. He was a knight himself and had some knowledge of tactics, but even he was helpless in this situation.

"Unless they show up outside the castle, we'll never know what happened to them..."

Before they could finish speaking, the two suddenly saw a servant stumble in.

"Outside, outside they're back! They're calling us to open the gate from under the city wall!"

Chapter 402 Wishing you good health

Upon hearing the good news, Count Nedoule almost jumped up from his chair, but just as he was about to go to the castle gate to greet him, he suddenly stopped.

"Wait a minute, they're all back? How many people did they bring back?"

“This…” The attendant looked troubled. “My lord, there aren’t many of them, maybe only twenty or thirty, and half of them are injured. As for the leader… there’s only that regimental commander who just returned from the central border.”

"Neither your two brothers nor the Commander have been seen."

The count swayed slightly, but joy quickly spread across his face.

"Quickly! Line them up and welcome them in!"

Having just been fooled once, even the most naive person would become cautious. If his brothers and all the commanders returned unscathed, the Earl would certainly have serious doubts. But since only the commander he didn't know well was present, it was highly likely that it was true.

The other commander of the battle group, although the count was more familiar with him, it was precisely because of this that he understood the other's character—he was definitely not the kind of person who would fight to the death! He himself had fallen from his horse and was so frightened that he immediately turned around and fled back. Seeing this, that guy would definitely surrender!

In fact, Count Nedoule was judging others by his own standards. If they hadn't been truly outmatched and captured, neither of the two armies would have surrendered.

However, even a count on ordinary days wouldn't have thought of this, let alone under these circumstances. A few minutes later, the castle gates creaked open and then quickly slammed shut behind the fleeing crowd.

Shortly after they entered the castle, Skuld's forces arrived at the city walls. The count and his men immediately organized a defense, and they only had a chance to catch their breath after Dole's troops withdrew at night.

“My lord, they have placed the bodies of your brothers outside. Look, there are torches lit there.” Just as the exhausted count was about to descend the city walls to rest, a servant pointed out the city gates.

Count Nedou looked up and, sure enough, surrounded by thirteen or fourteen torches, about twenty or thirty meters from the castle, his brothers lay there quietly, motionless. The other side hadn't made things too difficult for the two dead men; from this vantage point, there was no sign of any particular damage, and their clothes had even been changed, leaving no trace of blood.

"What kind of trick is this now..." The count's brother-in-law frowned. "That witch from Waidole is really a bit strange. What is she trying to do, send the body back?"

"Do you think we can open the city gates to receive them?" The count shook his head, turned around and beckoned two men over. "Keep an eye on that place. The fact that they lit torches is actually a convenience for us—report to me immediately if there is any unusual activity."

With the arrangements made, the count turned and descended the city wall without any further hesitation. His servants had prepared a sumptuous dinner for him. Although they had lost the battle, they had not been completely wiped out, and the city wall was sturdy. As long as they could hold out for a month or two, the witch of Outer Doule would have to disband her mercenaries because she had no money, without him having to lift a finger.

In a few days, even the conscripted soldiers in her territory will have to go back to farming. As for that king... do you think he'll just stay here obediently and wait for me to come and capture him?

"Come, let us first congratulate ourselves on defeating the enemy!" At the banquet, the count raised his wine glass, looking at his sister and brother-in-law, as well as the mercenary captain who had risked his life to escape back.

Wishing you peace and good health!

"May your castle be as impregnable as a fortress." Seeing the forced smiles of the crowd, the commander was clearly not in high spirits and uttered this remark during the toast.

"Rest assured, my friend, my family's castle survived the division between the inner and outer territories back then, so it is naturally quite sturdy," the count stared at the other man for a moment, then forced a smile. "Come, let's have a drink together first!"