Chapter 105.2: Weisshem Defense Battle

Chapter 105.2: Weisshem Defense Battle

While Wagner was lost in thought, his squire, a young Rhine man with perpetual ambition in his eyes, urged his horse forward and came to Wagner's side.

"Wagner, are we going directly to the town of Weisshem?" the young squire asked eagerly.

"That is the commander's order," Wagner replied coldly.

Wagner's favored squire, like himself, was also a foreigner. However, after the commander planned to keep Wagner in the rank of sergeant until his retirement, this Rhine person was forcefully added to his squad.

Wagner could guess the commander's intention. Once Wagner reached the age cap and was forced to retire, the title of Bartalis family knight would be handed over to this young man brought in by the commander.

The Bartalis family hadn't increased the number of their knights for many years, and each knight title of theirs held great value. Besides providing a small piece of land and subjects, it also came with a substantial salary from being an officer of the city defense force.

"Going to town is a great idea! I've been hearing so many rumors about Weisshem lately and I can't wait to see what it looks like now." The haughty young squire dismissed Wagner's attitude, laughing loudly. "I wonder how those women we encountered when I came with the gentlemen from the city hall last time are doing. It would be a pity if those top-notch women died."

Wagner remained expressionless. His other squire, who had served him for many years, frowned in displeasure.

The 49 other cavalrymen accompanying them kept their mouths shut and proceeded forward in silence. These soldiers also understood that offending this arrogant young man could mean trouble for their future under his command.

It was high noon, the sun was scorching, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the town road. Occasionally, there would be some farmers returning home to escape the heat that would catch sight of these fully armed cavalrymen coming down the road. They hastily found places to hide, afraid of doing anything wrong to offend these intimidating soldiers.

The difference between a professional and an ordinary person was more significant than the difference between species. The scorching sun that could dehydrate an ordinary person was nothing to the cavalrymen who had undergone professional training. Even though they were clad in heavy armor, none of them shed a single drop of sweat.

Amid the loud and boisterous laughter of the young haughty squire, Wagner, leading the group, irritably shook the reins and bypassed the low hills close to the town road.

Then, Wagner saw... on the other side of the hill, a group of undead spread out in a long line, loosely scattered all over the road.

Players: "The heck?!"

"Enemies!" Wagner swiftly halted his steed and unsheathed his sword.

The town road, flanked by hills on one side and farmland on the other, offered a relatively broad field of vision.

The scattered undead, forming an undisciplined formation, were approaching the bend in the road—some within a hundred meters, others at least three hundred meters away.

Wagner quickly estimated the number of undead and, realizing that the numerical difference was at least five times more in favor of the dead, made a snap judgment. He couldn't wait for these undead to assemble into formation—they had to seize the initiative!

With a loud shout of "Follow me!" Wagner bravely led the charge.

It was unclear whether the undead shared Wagner's intention to strike first. These disorganized and unstructured undead emitted strange, excited cries of "WAKAKAKA" and "YAWAKAKAKA" as they charged toward the onrushing cavalry.

Seconds later, the two sides clashed.

The undead's "vanguard," lacking any semblance of formation, was instantly trampled by the heavily armored cavalry riding their high horses...

Scenes of bones and equipment thrown into the air didn't even appear; the damage caused by the heavy cavalry in the moment of impact exceeded the players' health bar limits (damage threshold), causing them to instantly vanish in a white light...

Feeling only a slight impact, the shocked soldiers who collided with the disappearing undead couldn't help looking around in confusion.

Players, who found themselves on the teleportation platform in the Weisshem's town hall courtyard in a flash, were equally astonished.

"Wha—f*ck! Did I just die like that?!"

"Whoa, instakill? What the hell?"

"So much for that!" The arrogant squire, seemingly recovering from the initial shock of encountering the large undead army, spoke loudly, perhaps to mask his embarrassment. "I wondered how terrifying the undead army that scared away the previous baron could be, but it turns out they're just a bunch of crappy bones that crumble when touched!"

Wagner paid no mind to this fellow, who seemed to have distantly related with the city defense force's commander. He instead surveyed the hills on the opposite side of the road.

The remaining undead had fled to the hills but were still within their line of sight. They were now gathered on the hill, haughtily locking eyes with them.

They hadn't given up; Wagner could feel their hostility... Their eyes seemed to be burning with rage.

"Not much we can do if it isn't flat ground," Wagner frowned.

These undead were very agile, nearly as fast as wanderers they had encountered before. If they were to battle on terrain that wasn't flat, Wagner wasn't confident of escaping or eliminating them all.

What made Wagner even more uneasy was that despite charging multiple times and seemingly eradicating at least two hundred undead, there weren't any bone fragments on the surface of the road.

"...Were those undead really eliminated by us?" Wagner scrutinized the gravel road marked only by countless overlapping horseshoe prints and furrowed his brow.

As Wagner pondered, he suddenly heard commotion within the ranks.

"What's going on!" Wagner immediately turned around and shouted.

"Sarge! Look there!" a squad member cried out in panic.

Wagner turned to look. Sure enough, on the road coming from the direction of Weisshem, another large group of undead was heading toward them in a snake formation.

"Form up!" Wagner didn't hesitate and shouted loudly. "Prepare to charge!"

This experienced frontline officer knew very well that when facing such eerie enemies as the undead, soldiers mustn't be given extra time to think and instead quickly enter the rhythm of battle. This was also why he immediately led the charge upon seeing the undead.

This round of engagement was more challenging than the previous one. The undead this time were more agile, avoiding the direct frontal charges of the cavalry.

They were relentless, engaging in close combat and fearlessly attacking soldiers clad in full-body armor with various weapons, all while making strange noises.

What was more troublesome was that when the cavalry clashed with the approaching undead, those that were up the hill also came charging down, creating significant problems for the soldiers.

After eliminating some of the undead and driving the rest back up the hill, Wagner was unharmed. However, many soldiers showed signs of fatigue and had to catch their breath.

Wagner observed the morale of his men and then looked up at the undead on the hill.

According to the intelligence received by the city defense force, the number of undead in Weisshem wasn't large, with townspeople having encountered a few hundred at most.

It's about the same number as the ones we dealt with just now, Wagner did some mental calculations and decided to lead his troops further away so that the undead would be lured down the hills and could be eliminated.

Thus, he directed his cavalry unit toward Weisshem.

Sure enough, the undead on the hills followed.

Wagner waited until the undead and the troublesome hills were at a sufficient distance, then raised his sword. "Prepare—"

"Sarge! Look there!" a squad member cried out in panic.

Wagner's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned in the direction being pointed.

Another large group of undead were running from the direction of Weisshem...