Chapter 385: The Temporary Camp Near to the Village
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Arriving at the village near the castle, at the far west end of the sunset, the huge and magnificent Senwaya Range completely blocked out the last sunset, and the sky was very dark in the shadows.
The horses’ hooves knocked on the rugged dirt road, and the rumbling of the horses interrupted the beautiful evening of the villagers.
Kant rode in front leading the troops, he waited quietly at the entrance of the village.
They did not greet each other, nor did they make any rude moves. They were just like the travelers using the horse’s hooves as a knock on the door to express goodwill to the village and at the same time, to request for communication.
It was just that they never saw a whole troop of “travelers” before.
The villagers also stuck their heads out.
Their eyes were filled with shock and uncertainty.
But they did not have much fear, they were at the famous Avilis Castle. The village was under Viscount Gibran’s rule. When ordinary mercenary groups arrived, they had to be respectful and did not dare to offend them at all.
Even if the bandit group would only request to replenish their supplies and would have any ulterior motives
Very soon, there was a commotion in the village.
Teams of footmen wearing iron-scale armor and holding four-meter-long lance quickly gathered.
They gathered in the middle of the alley in the village and formed a unique lance formation in the East County. Looking at their skilled formation, one could tell that these armed militia guys were not ordinary commoners.
Even Kant nodded to himself, “They are quite well-trained.”
“Indeed.” Rolf shrugged.
Looking at those armed militia, his eyes were filled with curiosity, “Of course, compared to the armed militia in the North County, these guys can be considered the elite footmen of a lord.”
“The East County has its own military training system,” Kant said calmly, “It had been cut off with the Dukedom of Leo ten years ago.”
He was once an apprentice of the academy. In order to avoid suspicion, he did not read or study any books on extraordinary powers. Instead, he learned the most about cultural history and geography.
Naturally, he knew a lot about the changes in the East County, including its military.
Kant explained, “This is the training method of the footmen learned from the Silver Platter Kingdom. They are good at taking on the cavalry.” He looked at Rolf. “In the future, if you lead the light cavalry in battle, be careful. The strength of the footmen of the East County when dealing with the cavalry is not weaker than that of the Rhodok Footmen”
“Oh, of course. I’ve already compared these guys who use long-pole weapons to the Rhodok people.” Rolf nodded.
His eyes narrowed slightly, he muttered, “Although it’s troublesome for the Desert Bandits to deal with these guys, it would be better if we let Mamluke or the Swadian Heavy Cavalry to deal with them. These heavy cavalry troops with better defense can even defeat the Rhodok Spearmen, let alone these ordinary militia.”
Kant said with a slightly solemn tone, “But we still have to be cautious. If we’re using your method, it is still not practical.”
Rolf shook his head helplessly and said, “That’s why I hate long-pole weapons.”
What he said was naturally to rely on the heavy cavalry to forcefully smash into the phalanx of long spears formed by these militia. Using the most violent and most convenient tactic, they would directly crush these militia and break through their formation.
However, using the heavy cavalry to crush their lance formation would be not ideal, because it would cause casualties on Kant’s side too.
Especially when the first line of the charging cavalries towards the phalanx of long lance.
Even if Kant’s heavy cavalries could charge in and break through their phalanx, it would cause a lot of losses.
It would be usable if they were in a decisive battle and force to use the desperate tactics to break through the stalemate. But if it were a conventional probing battle, he would definitely not use it. After all, even if he killed a thousand enemies, he would lose three hundred of his own. It was not worth it.
Therefore, the cost-benefit ratio was not high.
“A four-meter long lance.”
Kant narrowed his eyes slightly and his expression was slightly solemn. “An ordinary footman troop would not be able to use this kind of weapon.”
A lance footman needed to undergo strict training.
Not all footmen could use a lance. This had been proved in history.
Only a more advanced civilization could train the army and the people into a highly organized and highly disciplined team. Only then could they use this kind of weapon smoothly. Otherwise, they would just be a live target on the battlefield that was easily defeated by the enemy, just like a turtle sh.e.l.l that did not move at all.
Moreover, the formation of the untrained lance footmen would be easily penetrated if the enemy attacked from both sides.
However, it was different if the training was well-done.
Looking at history.
The people of ancient Greek city-states in southern Europe were experts in using the phalanx of long lance. Moreover, under the ruling of Alexander the Great of Macedonia, they became the top-notch and unbreakable footmen together with the light cavalry.
They defeated the traditional close-combat footmen on the fertile soil of the Middle East Crescent.
In the Middle Ages, the world was ruled by the lance.
A similar variant, the soldiers with Swiss halberd, putting the lance formation to its pinnacle. Even the fearsome knights of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire did not dare to attack them recklessly.
For example, when the Knights of France fought against the Swiss halberd footmen, they dismounted and formed a corresponding lance phalanx to fight against them.
History recorded it clearly.
Even on the eve of modern times, the Spanish spear formation was still terrifying.
And in the history of China, almost all of the elite troops were long spear soldiers.
Although in Chinese history, the distinction of troop cla.s.s was not very clear, the elite troops could skillfully use different kinds of spears in the battles. In addition, they could coordinate with bows and arrows, and in close combat, they were all-rounder in different kinds of weapon!
Hence, Kant felt a trace of fear towards these East County’s militia.
If they did not undergo advanced footman training, they would not be so skilled and well ordered.
Rolf also noticed the difference, so he did not continue to speak. Instead, he turned his eyes and carefully observed the village in front of him. The long lance soldiers who were on alert also revealed a hostile looks on them.
As an evil general, he was not fool. He also noticed that something was wrong with the East County.
In the midst of silence, more than a dozen people hurried over.
The leader was an old man, followed by a middle-aged man, a strong middle-aged man, and more than a dozen guards. They wore better-quality iron-scale armor, holding round s.h.i.+elds and sharp hand axes.
They were the village chief, the finance officer, and the sheriff.
“h.e.l.lo.”
As an elder, the village chief was naturally well-informed.
Looking at Kant and the Sarleon Lion Knights, Lion Squire behind him, as well as the 500 Elite Desert Bandit in iron-scale armor, his heart could not help but beat faster.
However, he still managed to calm his mind. After giving an eye contact to the sheriff beside him, he said, “It’s already very late. Please forgive us for not being able to receive you.”
His att.i.tude was very humble.
Kant did not act unruly. He got off his horse and walked forward. calmly, he said, “We would like to stay for the night.”
“Stay for the night.” the village chief hesitated slightly.
It was clear that he was somewhat rejecting Kant and the others.
Although there were 50 militia elites behind him who could form a long lance phalanx, as well as more than 200 ordinary conscripted peasant soldiers in the village, it was a little whimsical to think that they could rely on these few footmen to resist Kant’s cavalry unit of more than 500 people.
The sheriff’s face was also slightly pale, and cold sweat was dripping down his temples.
This was not something that he could solve right now.
If anything happened, only Viscount Gibran in the castle could handle it.
After all, with his judgment, he could see that the aura of these unfamiliar cavalry troops, especially the fierce eyes of those cavalrymen, was similar to that of the bandits, or a group of bandits!
“Don’t be nervous, old man. We are mercenaries from the South County.” Kant sensed that they were afraid.
With a slight smile, he calmly said, “When we arrived here, we wanted to ask the n.o.ble lords of the East County whether they would hire us. After all, we are close to the Senwaya Range. Perhaps there are some foreign races or demonized creatures that need to be dealt with.”
“You are mercenaries.” the village chief sighed in relief.
But he was still nervous.
Although Kant had already stated that they were neutral mercenaries, the old village chief understood that sometimes these mercenaries could turn into murderous bandits at any time when they were in need of money or secretly attack them at night.
That was a blur line between the bandits and mercenaries sometimes.
“We’ll pay.”
Kant chuckled, but his next words interrupted their suspicions. “Two great silver coins. I think it’s enough to stay in the drying field outside the village. I think there are only some miscellaneous things piled up there.”
“This…” the village chief glanced at the finance officer and the sheriff behind him.
However, the two people behind him were secretly delighted when they heard the two great silver coins and immediately nodded.
“Alright.” the village chief saw the situation and understood.
He coughed lightly and spoke gently, “Commander, your mercenaries can rest in the grain drying field outside the village. In order to show my respect, you can obtain the well water for free in our village. Of course, if you want some food, you have to pay extra.”
After a pause, he felt that his tone was a bit serious, but he still reminded Kant, “This is the estate of Viscount Gibran. All our income has to be taxed, so we can’t give it to you for free.”
“I understand.” Kant smiled and nodded. “I won’t make things difficult for you.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” seeing that Kant was so easy to talk to, the village chief smiled and stroked his beard. Soon, he left with the financial officer and the sheriff. As for the militia in the village, many of them had also dispersed.
They must have been secretly on guard. The militia were secretly on guard and did not dare to spread out easily.
This was their village.
It was their home.
Cavalry troops of such a scale were camped beside them. If they were not careful, they would most likely be attacked in the middle of the night. They would definitely not be able to hold them off. If they stood firm and waited for reinforcements, they might be able to hold on until reinforcements arrived.
After all, they were close to Avilis Castle. If anything unusual happened, he people in Viscount Gibran’s castle would quickly notice it.
“Set up the temporary camp.” Kant waved his hand and gave the order.
The Desert Bandits quickly headed to the grain drying field not far away and removed all the debris piled up on it. At the same time, they opened up the linen tents that they had brought, quickly forming a temporary camp made up of more than fifty tents.
It was already very dark. The stars and moon had already appeared in the sky, sprinkling thin gauze on the ground.
It was Kant’s first night in the East County.