The flustered countess.

"Wait, can this monk really manage to find reinforcements overnight?"

The knight Wagner and his comrades exchanged looks.

Nearby noble families were either supporting the Howard-Scoke brothers or were part of the Inner Court Knight Order.

Where on earth did Damian find reinforcements? From hell?

Wagner gritted his teeth, his face darkening. "If he brings reinforcements, I'll twist my head off and let him kick it like a polo ball."

The knights nodded in agreement.

Though Damian was technically a knight's son, he wasn't exactly a knight. Social interactions among nobles, especially in matters of war, had their protocols.

Normal military aid required diplomacy, treaties, organizing family and subordinates, then mobilizing free men and serfs on the estate, layer by layer, to form an army.

Many people believe that the Middle Ages were mostly characterized by village brawls. Apart from knights, the rest consisted of rogue warfare among impoverished peasants.

But in reality, farmers weren't often on battlefields throughout the entire Middle Ages.

The core of an army consisted mainly of knights with arms, followed by armored soldiers with spears, then skilled hunters, blacksmiths, and such groups adept in shooting and combat. They had professional training.

Farmers were busy tending to fields, not engaging in bloodshed on battlefields.

Joan turned to Conosa, the Countess. Her slender frame trembled slightly, her exquisite and snowy face tensed as she glanced towards the woods, even her armored outfit wasn't fastened properly, revealing her narrow waist.

Clearly, Conosa was at her wit's end.

The sun, seemingly anxious about the outcome of this gamble, rose like a bird, leaping out of the fiery morning clouds, showering the land with vigorous heat.

The bushes rustled continuously, and then a large group of green-skinned beings emerged!

It was one of the green-skinned tribes that had fled yesterday. It seemed they seized the opportunity when Damian left with his men, and daringly returned after observing the lack of reinforcements.

The knights, familiar with the habits of the green-skinned, turned around, but at that moment, hastily forming a defensive formation couldn't protect the spread-out supplies.

A few attendants, carrying spears and bows, ran towards the supply caravan, but suddenly, there were numerous pits on the ground!

Even the knights' most prized warhorses were hindered!

Joan recalled her lessons about the green-skinned at the Knight Academy and exclaimed in shock, "Could they still be tunneling? Even tunneling last night, just for now? Damn it, is another green-skinned warlord emerging?"

However, as she marveled, something even more terrifying occurred.

Countless green-skinned creatures poured out from all directions of the jungle. Like dog-sized goblin, they cruelly wielded blades, and robust beast-like orcs hammered their chests, roaring incessantly.

Thousands of green-skinned enemies surged from all directions!

"If not a green-skinned warlord, then a major warlord; he's been testing us from the start."

Wagner, the knight, couldn't help feeling disheartened. "Could Howard be allying with the green-skinned warlord, even if it means ruining Gothingen County, just to seize the Count's seat?"

The situation became clear.

Wagner believed that yesterday's retreat of the green-skinned army had nothing to do with Damian; it was just a test by the major warlord. Damian was utterly unreliable.

Countess Conosa wanted to argue but seeing the endless horde of green-skinned, she was nearing despair.

Joan couldn't even muster the strength to move her wrists, crying out in despair, "Damn it! Damn it, Damian has taken away most of the peasant soldiers; how are we going to fight this?"

The knights had pinned their hopes on the sun, but the sun replied with a cold, lethal jest!

Are we really going to die on this hill?

Conosa couldn't help but cover her face with both hands.

She swore that this time, she was truly staking her reputation, vowing that if anyone could save her, she would marry them like a princess from a knight's legend.

Anyway, if she lost, she would die, even if she ran back to the principality, she would be forced into an arranged marriage.

Her dreamy eyelashes trembled lightly, her hand already gripping the dagger on her thigh used for ending her own life.

Perhaps, God really could hear her prayers.

"Shoot, shoot! Focus fire on their big orc chieftain." In the forest, Damian's voice, full of killing intent, resounded unexpectedly.

Then, a large group of naked pilgrims and spear soldiers surged from the forest, while peasant archers and a group of well-equipped Crusader longbowmen were like machine guns, mowing down large swathes of goblins.

Their iron arrows could easily pierce through unarmored flesh, turning both goblins and orcs into hedgehogs.

Although the goblins outnumbered them, their strategy of all-around encirclement weakened them in parts, giving Damian the advantage of local surprise attacks.

In fact, Damian had returned three hours ago. But along the way, his longbowmen had detected a large amount of goblin activity, clearly an ambush.

Damian also realized that there was likely a goblin warlord nearby, so he waited until the goblins launched a full assault before appearing.

All previous speculations were overturned. Howard, in his bid for the earldom, had made an almost inhumanly vicious decision.

If it weren't for Damian, Howard might have succeeded.

But reality didn't deal in "ifs."

The berserk pilgrims, interspersed among the defensively capable spear soldiers, were highly effective.

And because Damian's army appeared behind the enemy, the goblins' morale faltered for a moment, and a large group of goblins and imps fled back into the forest in fear.

Breaking a corner of the encirclement, Damian's army of nearly three hundred systematically swept northward, mowing down the frontal goblins. The goblins' poor organization and their cautiousness towards each other made their army extremely susceptible to collapse in unfavorable battles.

The goblins are not incapable of fighting, it's just that none of them are willing to sacrifice themselves.

At the same time, when the goblin warlord in the forest realized that he couldn't completely annihilate this army and might even suffer heavy losses, he ordered the army to retreat backward into the forest.

Damian's heart sank.

This warlord wasn't just exceptionally intelligent; he also understood strategy.

As the goblin army departed, Damian, with Greb by his side, walked to the edge of a high hill and once again met Countess Conosa.

The countess looked at the handsome and tall Damian, her heart racing with excitement.

Although she knew the vast difference in their status, the countess still took a few excited steps forward, nearly tripping herself up with her long legs tied in knots.

She ran towards Damian, her excitement evident: "You're here, just as we agreed..."

The puzzled Joan couldn't help but wonder why the countess, usually calm and wise, was so out of sorts upon seeing Damian?

Damian was about to respond, but the cold snort from Knight Wagner brought him back to reality.

"I found reinforcements in one night and even captured these two." Damian had the son of Howard brought up, saying, "The traitor's son!"

What?!

The knights found it hard to believe. This Damian, a mere monk, where did he get so many resources? To bring reinforcements, find elites, and even capture the traitor's son?

God truly favors him too much.