Chapter 149: Deeper into the Forest

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In early September, in Bretonnia, at the end of the circular path through Yaden Forest.

Denis held a long spear, dressed in a smelly leather armor, his hands tightly grasping the longsword hanging in front of his chest.

This young serf from Bastonne was only twenty-one years old, considered young among the serfs. He was taller and stronger than other serfs, which naturally caught the eye of the knightly lords during the conscription festival, making him a proud infantryman.

The longsword hanging in front of him had been passed down from his great-grandfather. His family had used it for half a century, and despite being sharpened several times by the blacksmith, it remained sharp.

Besides, Denis carried a short bow on his back, which made many serfs envious. Not only did he have a sword, but also a bow! This lad was indeed well-off!

There was a reason for this; Denis's family were hunters living near Yaden Forest.

Normally, in Bretonnia, serfs were not allowed to hunt, as all animals within a domain belonged to the lord, and any serf caught poaching could be mutilated or even executed on the spot. They were only allowed to kill rabbits and birds.

However, in the Duchy of Bastonne, things were different. The Duke of Red Dragon allowed hunters to enter Yaden Forest to hunt, with the lord and the hunter splitting the game equally.

Although it was a dangerous job, many serfs tried their luck. Denis's family was such a hunter family. Thanks to his father's superb hunting skills, he grew up eating some meat, making him taller and stronger than a typical serf.

Walking in the troop, Denis always tried to stand a bit straighter and make bigger movements.

Or rather, all the serfs in the troop did the same.

They occasionally glanced at the tall and mighty figure walking on the left side of the marching column. He wore a full set of silver-grey knightly plate armor, holding a silver griffon warhammer, walking beside the path.

The golden Grail Knight badge hung on his chest, his blue eyes and handsome face peeking out from his black parted hair. His powerful aura washed over them like waves, his presence illuminating the serfs' hearts like the sun.

It was the Grail Knight Lord! Grail Knight Lord Ryan-Makado was fighting alongside us!

The serfs were fully motivated, hoping to perform well in this war and catch the Grail Knight Lord's eye to be promoted to sergeants or even ranger knights.

Julius and Gabriel walked with Ryan, their voices low as they discussed Marquis Clark's strategic plan.

"Divide and conquer was a military strategy that Marquis Clark spent over a month pondering. Its essence is to ensure that Bretonnian knights can maximize their advantage in numbers and ensure enough combat effectiveness. If the entire army is stuck together, it's very likely they would play hide and seek with the beastmen in Yaden Forest. Keep in mind, Woe Rock can move, and supplying food for an army of over forty thousand is a huge burden. Therefore, Marquis Clark must plan to resolve the battle within forty days," said Duke Gabriel in a rough voice.

Julius also shared his opinion. The kingdom knight, with his hands behind his back, followed Ryan: "By advancing through three routes and clearing the beastmen warbands along the way, it becomes difficult for the beastmen to move Woe Rock around. In this situation, Marquis Clark believes the beastmen will be forced to face Bretonnia's army in battle. Then, through magical messaging, at least two of the three armies can quickly reunite and encircle the beastmen's main force, leading to a natural victory."

Their iron boots pressed into the soft forest soil, leaves and humus crackling underfoot as the army slowly made its way through the forest.

"If the beastmen refuse to battle, then even better. When the knightly army from three directions converges on the beastmen camp near Woe Rock, the beastmen are doomed. Woe Rock is a sacred totem of beastmen's power and faith. Destroying Woe Rock and the nearby beastmen camp means, if not completely eradicating the beastmen from Yaden Forest, at least for the next two to three decades, they won't be able to form a significant threat or beast tide," added Ryan.

"So, Marquis Clark-Desmond is not the spendthrift many think he is. On the contrary, he has some talent, at least this strategic plan shows he has thought it through seriously, and I can't find much fault in it," Duke Gabriel acknowledged the strategic plan but expressed his concerns: "The plan is sound, I'm just worried about Marquis Clark himself. He has never commanded a large army in battle before and is eager to prove himself..."

"By now, we have no choice but to trust him," Ryan concluded.

Duke Connelly-Ascot hurried to catch up, panting: "Gentlemen, don't walk so fast; I can't keep up."

The three legends in front of him could walk for long periods to conserve horse energy, with Ryan, that beast, barely ever removing his plate armor except to sleep.

This was the army's sixth day in Yaden Forest. Due to the rugged terrain, the right-wing army had only covered about a hundred kilometers, still about one hundred and ten kilometers away from their destination.

As the army continued through the forest, the deeper they went, the more twisted and dark the forest became. Many trees turned grey and brown under the influence of Chaos energy, with wildly proliferating trees spreading their tangled roots over the ground, covered in ghastly bumps.

Over the past six days, the beastmen continuously harassed the army. Ryan and Gabriel led the serfs and knights to repel several warbands' attacks.

Ranger Knight Hex approached Ryan, whispering: "The soldiers' morale is holding up well, my lord. We haven't been affected by the beastmen's repeated harassment."

"What worries me, though, Hex, Olivier, don't you think it's been too quiet today?" Ryan looked up.

September still had strong sunlight. Ryan and a few knights stood under the shade of trees. Ryan was fine, but the other knights felt tired. Hex wiped the sweat from his forehead and agreed with the baron's observation: "It has been unusually quiet today."

Olivier also came forward: "Unusually quiet, my lord."

"What do you think, Duke Gabriel?" The forest was too quiet today; the right-wing army hadn't even seen a shadow of the beastmen.

This wasn't like the beastmen.

"...I think the beastmen might have changed their plans regarding us." Duke Gabriel, with the most experience in beastmen warfare, sensed the scent of war: "The beastmen stopping their harassment only has two possibilities. One, they've given up entangling with us. Two, they are looking for an opportunity to battle us decisively."

"Halt the advance! Set up camp here; we rest today!" After pondering for a while and not coming to a conclusion, Ryan decided to have the army rest temporarily under uncertain conditions.

If a decisive battle was indeed coming, it was all the more reason to rest now.

Upon receiving the order, the serfs cheered. After marching for several days, the soldiers were exhausted, and resting was naturally the best option. Thus, they began to set up camp in the forest.

In the vast oak forest, soldiers set up camp under the knights' command, and the warhorses began to eat black beans and various high-quality feeds to replenish their strength. Ryan, Julius, and others' pureblood elf warhorses even ate a small amount of meat, carrots, corn, and pancakes besides black beans and high-quality feeds.

Their diet was worlds apart from the serfs'.

Ryan and Surya stood by the stream. The knightess with delicate features and golden curly hair also seemed tired. She gently panted, sitting on a small stool, her long legs crossed, her longsword hanging by her side: "Lord Ryan, we've covered half the distance. I never imagined knightly warfare would be this exhausting."

Ryan's gaze traveled from her long, straight legs, visible below her boots, up to the end of her tight brown pants, before he smiled kindly: "So it's good to see more of the world. War isn't just about the battlefield; marching and camping are equally important."

As they spoke, Ryan's pureblood elf warhorse, "Grape," dipped its head into the stream to drink. Ryan produced a carrot from somewhere, and Grape neighed happily, munching away.

Surya's bright eyes watched Ryan's composed demeanor, curiously asking: "Aren't you worried, Lord Ryan?"

"Worried about what?" Ryan's smile grew broader: "Worried about our safety? With so many troops, excellent knights like Julius and Duke Gabriel, and a powerful knightess like Miss Surya?"

"Lord Ryan is joking again." Surya shook her head gently, laughing softly: "Please, Mr. Ryan, don't treat me differently. I'm just a knight, not some 'knightess.' In the army, I'm like everyone else, a common knight."

"People always see me as the duke's daughter, but I don't like it." The knightess's words were so soft they were almost inaudible: "Because of my father's strength, it seems we siblings should naturally excel."

"..." Ryan was about to say something when suddenly, frantic howls erupted from the camp: "Alert! Alert! The beastmen are coming!"

"Damn! As expected, it couldn't possibly be peaceful all the way!" Ryan raised his warhammer: "Soldiers, follow me!"

"Oho!" The serf soldiers reacted much faster than the knights, needing only to drop what they were doing and grab their spears to face the enemy, while the knights had to don their armor once again, a futile effort.

"Lord Ryan, the enemy is over there!" A serf shouted, pointing in a direction.

Dozens of minotaurs, wielding crude axes and stomping their sturdy hooves, charged towards the army's campsite.

"Steady! Soldiers! I stand with you!" Ryan raised his warhammer: "Hold your ground! Prepare to meet the enemy!"

"Hurrah!" The serfs formed a tight spear formation.

"Kill! Kill!!!" Following the minotaurs were numerous ungors and chaos hounds. Seeing Ryan had organized a defense, they directly charged towards another part of the formation.

"Bastonne Beast Slayers! Advance!" It was Duke Gabriel, the battle-hardened kingdom knight who had seen many beastmen. He commanded the Bastonne infantry: "Fight! Glory! For the Lady, for Bastonne!"

"For the Lady, for Bastonne!" The Bastonne Beast Slayers, experienced in fighting beastmen, raised their long halberds.

The swarming minotaurs crashed into the halberd formation, suffering heavy casualties, many pierced through by the halberds.

"Kill... Kill!" More beastmen surged from the depths of the forest. A ferocious razorgor, covered in various spines, charged directly at Ryan, its gaping maw revealing sharp fangs.

"Ha!" Ryan swung his hammer, instantly killing the razorgor, which was flung into a tree trunk by the force of the blow, falling silent. Several minotaurs approached and were each smashed by Ryan, their reliance on brute force useless against a Grail Knight.

Then, under the watchful eyes of all, the Grail Knight extended his hand, ablaze with blue flames.

"Psychic Storm!"

Pale blue lightning appeared in the forest, ravaging the beastmen's paths of appearance and advance. The fragile ungors and chaos hounds were charred within seconds, even the tough minotaurs screamed under the psychic storm's assault.

"Advance!" Julius immediately seized the moment of the beastmen's disarray to lead a charge, advancing on three fronts. The beastmen, realizing the situation was dire, immediately retreated, leaving behind some lesser troops as they disappeared into the forest.

The serf soldiers cheered loudly for the victory, unaware of why the Grail Knight Lord could unleash lightning or why he was so powerful, but that didn't matter to them, nor did they wish to know.

They only knew that with the Grail Knight Lord present, they had hope of being promoted, and with the Grail Knight Lord, victory was sure to come.

Only Ryan's face was ashen. He knew this was likely just the beginning.

The beastmen seemed to be testing the army's strength.

Indeed, following this attack, the beastmen began relentless harassment of the army.

Every two to three hours, swarms of beastmen warbands appeared, harassing the right-wing army's camp with axes and javelins.

Despite Ryan leading the army to repel the beastmen's harassment continuously, he couldn't alleviate or recover the army's fatigue. Under the beastmen's harassment, the right-wing army couldn't rest properly, suffering greatly.

Fortunately, Ryan continuously boosted the serfs and knights' morale. This energetic, spirited Grail Knight barely needed rest himself, constantly leading knights and serfs against the beastmen's harassment.

Until late at night, both the Bretonnian army and the beastmen were exhausted.

Far away on a cliff, the beastmen Beastlord "Bloodhorn" Malagor and "Heart-Eater" Ghorros watched the right-wing army's camp, opening their mouths to reveal sharp fangs: "These humans... knights... least in number, great minotaurs... warherd... crush them!"

After several days of scouting, the beastmen "indeed" discovered the knights' troop distribution. They judged that both the left-wing and central armies, with their numerous banners, must have over thirty thousand each, with only the right-wing army having the fewest. After repeated harassment and scouting, the beastmen estimated the right-wing army had just over three thousand combat-ready troops.

The Screaming Shaman signaled the Beastlord to calm down, opening its rotting mouth to expel a green pus, attracting a swarm of flies: "Not... time... Grail!"

"Grail... Grail... disgusting... worm! He won't know... forest... belongs to us... weather... belongs to us!"

"Rainy season is coming... Grail's... doom is near!"

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