Chapter 325: A Small Skirmish Between Militia and Bandit

A squad of ten Militia responsible for melee combat, all of them wearing various Single-handed Weapons and Mudu, with bows and crossbows on their backs that rarely appeared in the city.

From the moment the Militia and the Bandit spotted each other, the Militia held the upper hand.

They split into three small squads, three people per group, with a Squad Leader leading one small squad, totaling exactly ten. Each group hid behind adjacent large trees, taking turns leaning out to aim and fire their crossbows. The remaining two hid behind tree trunks to reload, waiting for their turn to strike.

Jier and his companion saw that after the Bandit had one man shot down by the Militia's crossbows, they were suppressed behind a rock, grumbling and discussing what to do.

On the Militia side, under the command of the Squad Leader, the left and right small squads stopped firing and flanked toward the outer sides. The Squad Leader then had the two men from his squad occupy the position previously held by the small squad, continuing to maintain suppressive fire.

"Well done!" the young Hunter Pengbutuoto praised in a low voice. Jier also saw the strategy and coordination of the Militia below. He felt this was not a tactical arrangement that an ordinary squad of Militia could achieve.

Either these ten people were familiar with each other and had received simple training before participating in the Militia training, or this commanding Squad Leader was not an ordinary farmer's son; perhaps his elders had once served in a regular army or something similar.

The six men in the two flanking squads quietly circled in an arc, the distance between one tree and the next being exactly the short interval after their companions' crossbows fired.

This clever choice of timing allowed them to complete the flanking mission quietly, taking advantage of the limited observation of the Bandit as they scrambled to dodge the crossbow fire.

Once these two groups reached a position where they could attack behind the rock where the Bandit was hiding, one from each group drew their weapons, using the reflection from the bright blades to signal to the Squad Leader behind that they were in position.

Then, the Squad Leader, located in front of the Bandit and the rock, led his three subordinates to shout from behind the tree trunks, creating the false appearance that the Militia were about to launch a full-scale attack.

Sure enough, the Bandit had been unable to bear the suppressive crossbow fire any longer. They carried shields, but the Bandit's shields were crudely made, basically pieced together from wood they had chopped using their own imagination. They were fine for blocking small hunting bows used by civilians for self-defense, but they could not withstand the powerful Crossbow Bolts fired from the double-handed crossbows that required foot-pedal reloading.

Therefore, as soon as these Bandit heard that the Militia opposite them could no longer wait and were about to launch an attack, they were overjoyed. Beaming with joy, they split into two groups, circled out from the left and right of the rock, held up their shields to guard against potential crossbow fire from the front, and ran in small, quick steps toward the open space in the middle.

As long as they crossed this open space and engaged in close-quarters combat with those children of farming families, they, with their rich experience in close-quarters fighting, would be able to gain the upper hand and turn the tide of this battle.

But the Bandit's expectations were dashed.

As they rushed out, they did not encounter Militia rushing out to meet them, but rather a volley of crossbow fire from behind the tree trunks on both sides.

The crude shields held in front had no chance to defend against the fire from the left and right, and three Bandit who were not quick enough to react were shot down immediately.

Then the Bandit immediately cursed about things like "dirt-diggers," moved their flanking teams toward the center, and held their shields to the left and right, back to back.

But the four Militia originally in front, under the command of that Squad Leader, released a wave of crossbow fire they had been aiming for a long time. Four Crossbow Bolts immediately followed the spring of the crossbow bodies and the vibration of the tough bowstrings, hitting the two Bandit closest to them.

From the moment they spotted each other to this point in the battle, the Bandit had already had six men shot down by crossbows. They had only twelve men to begin with, and having half their manpower defeated made the remaining Bandit desperate. Ignoring the other Militia, they rushed headlong toward one direction where a small squad of Militia was located.

Crossbows had good power and were good in every way, but reloading was very troublesome. Especially the kind of crossbows used by the Militia, which required one end to be placed on the ground, the protruding wooden rod on the crossbow body to be stepped on with a foot, and then the bowstring to be pulled with both hands. Only after the bowstring was locked into the trigger mechanism could one lift their foot, pick up the crossbow, and then load a Crossbow Bolt to aim.

Therefore, after all the Militia had fired their bolts just now, they could not use these powerful weapons for a while. Facing the six desperate Bandit rushing over, these three Militia were not afraid. They put their half-reloaded crossbows aside, immediately picked up their shields, gripped their respective Single-handed Weapons, and prepared to entangle these Bandit so their other companions could help defeat them.

The three Militia had good intentions and were very brave, but their Squad Leader did not see it that way. He led his men forward, and while approaching the Bandit, he shouted: "You guys! Retreat! Don't hold them off! We have more people, don't hold them off! You guys retreat!"

After hesitating for a moment, the three Militia obeyed the Squad Leader's command and turned to run backward.

The Bandit, who had been wanting to engage in close-quarters combat with the Militia to avoid crossbow fire, saw their plan fall through, but they still chased closely behind the three Militia, not intending to give up.

But the three Militia on the other side, who had not moved, had already reloaded their second round of crossbows. They aimed and fired nervously; three shots were released, and one Crossbow Bolt still hit a Bandit who was constantly moving.

The remaining five Bandit shouted all sorts of nonsense and ran even faster.

They were not afraid of death—well, some were. Mainly, they didn't think there was anything wrong with dying in a heated battle with an enemy; after all, anyone who went out to be a Bandit and rob would inevitably die at some point. What they were truly afraid of was being shot to death from afar by long-range attacks, without any value, without any passion, and without any dignity.

Just like the other few Bandit in their group who had already been shot down to the ground.

The Bandit hit by the Crossbow Bolts could not die immediately, but the excruciating pain and the gushing blood left these wounded Bandit lying on the ground, waiting to be slaughtered.

If the Bandit had ultimately won the battle, the Bandit with less serious injuries might have been saved. But once the Militia won the engagement, these wounded Bandit lying in the snow could only wait for a more miserable end.

Being tied up by the Militia to be exchanged for merit.

According to the laws of Kendall County and the general laws of the Kingdom, large groups of Bandit like them who formed gangs and built camps were always treated with the death penalty. No one thought there was any good use for such Bandit after they were captured, or that anyone would come to save them.

These fallen Bandit sincerely hoped that their fellow Bandit could ultimately win.

The three Militia closely pursued by the Bandit ran toward Jier and his companion, who were hiding. Behind them were five Bandit running even faster, and further behind were the four pursuing Militia.

Jier and Pengbutuoto looked at each other.

Seeing that Pengbutuoto was a bit nervous, Jier whispered for him to hide well, then took off his Backpack, half-drew the Long Sword at his waist, and quickly moved the Shield fixed on his back to his left hand.

Presumably, their attention was focused on fleeing while running, so the three Militia who ran past Jier and his companion did not notice the two of them lying in the snow.

But Jier did not think those five Bandit would have failed to notice them when they came over.

So, just as the Bandit reached a distance of more than three meters in front of them, Jier leaped up from the snow, suddenly rushed out, and slammed his Shield hard into one of the Bandit, while the Long Sword in his other hand stabbed into the body of the Bandit next to him.

"Ah?" the Bandit were shocked.

The Militia chasing behind were even more surprised. They had not expected that on the battlefield where they were fighting the Bandit, there would be a third force hiding at such a close distance. The Squad Leader leading the Militia, in addition to his surprise, immediately loudly questioned Jier's identity: "Who are you?"

"A Hunter team under Knight Lanisha." Jier's voice came from under his Helmet. Having joined the female Knight's team to suppress the Wolf Pack in the north of the county, this identity naturally had to be used when the time came.

The Militia did not believe Jier's answer, but seeing Jier engaged in a fierce battle with the Bandit, at the very least, this person could be confirmed not to be a Bandit.

After Jier used a surprise attack to stab one Bandit to death, he immediately used his Shield to strike the next Bandit. The previous Bandit had been knocked to the ground by Jier's Shield, and at this moment, one of his arms was broken, and he was struggling to crawl up to fight again.

Jier intended to keep all these Bandit here, using the Militia's numerical advantage to finish off all the Bandit without leaving a single one.

So, he didn't use his Long Sword much afterward, but instead used his Shield to block the weapons of the Bandit one by one, then used his footwork to squeeze in and knock the Bandit over.

The four Militia who arrived later immediately drew their swords and blades, hacking the fallen Bandit to death one by one. The leading Squad Leader even called out to the three Militia who had run far away, telling them to turn back and fight.

Having more people was convenient; in just a few moments, only the last Bandit remained, surrounded by the Militia and Jier's group.

This Bandit had a face full of beard and a fierce look, clearly not intending to surrender.

The leading Militia Squad Leader snorted coldly, called over three Militia who had reloaded their crossbows, and in front of the Bandit, they fired together, shooting the Bandit directly to the ground, after which a Militia wielding an axe chopped off his head.

With the Bandit dealt with, all the Militia gathered around. They vaguely half-surrounded Jier, wary but without much hostility. They had all heard what Jier said; he was a subordinate of a Knight. Although these Militia did not know who that Knight was, or why they would send people to operate in these mountains filled with Bandit.

But Jier was wearing a full set of full-coverage Hard Cowhide Armor that their entire family's wealth couldn't buy, and the Long Sword in his hand was not a cheap piece of ordinary iron like theirs; it was clearly a weapon forged from high-quality steel.

The Shield was also a high-grade shield with metal on the inside and wrapped in leather on the outside, far from the standard Mudu used by the Militia.

Jier was wearing another wolf-fur Cloak he carried; the previous one had been hacked into pieces while attacking the Bandit Yingdi, blocking the Bandit's blades. Although it could be repaired, it wasn't something that could be fixed in the wild.

To show goodwill, Jier first put away his Long Sword and Shield. Opening his Faceplate, Jier said: "I am Qiao-Jier. I was previously a warrior in Kendall City clearing out Monsters, and now I have joined the Hunter team led by the female Knight Lanisha."

The Militia looked at each other. Two Militia who lived in a farm near Kendall City had heard rumors about Jier and immediately shared what they knew with the others.

Seeing that someone in the team knew that there was indeed a person named Qiao-Jier, the leading Militia Squad Leader let his men disperse to clean up the battlefield.

Jier called a halt to the Militia, blew a whistle, and let the hiding Pengbutuoto come out.

Seeing that there was still someone hiding, the Militia were all surprised, but they also knew that Jier and his companion indeed had no ill intentions.

Jier took the backpack and axe handed over by Pengbutuoto, slung them over his back, and looking at the Squad Leader of the Militia who had remained in place with three others, he said, "You are still waiting for us to answer why we appeared here, right?"

"That's right. So why did you two appear in this place? There is a large camp of Bandits nearby, which is very dangerous. This is currently a combat zone; if you have no other business, please withdraw." This Squad Leader of the Militia was not polite either, standing with hands on his hips to make Jier and his companion explain their intentions.

Jier was not flustered; he pointed to Pengbutuoto beside him: "This is the Hunter Pengbutuoto. May I ask your name?"

The Squad Leader of the Militia introduced himself: "My name is Ao Si, and my brothers and I are all Militia from the Kendall River Ferry area."

Nodding, Jier said: "Then do you know about Magic Beasts?"

"Magic Beasts? Before we came, we did hear that a Magic Beast seemed to have appeared in the county. Is this news related to you?" Hearing the news of a Magic Beast, the Militia all became faintly excited. They were all young guys who had only heard about Magic Beasts in stories their parents used to scare them into sleeping; at this moment, hearing this guy Jier talk about Magic Beasts made them look like they were eager to try.

Jier and Pengbutuoto looked at each other, then continued with a bitter smile. These people were just like them before—excited when they hadn't seen a Magic Beast, but after truly seeing one and fighting it, they were now all secretly fearful in their hearts.

Although they had defeated the Magic Beast following Knight Lanisha, the Magic Beast's enormous, tenacious vitality, its mysterious and terrifying abilities, and its powerful Magic had all made them want to back down if they ever had to face a Magic Beast again.

The ignorant are fearless; only those like them who had fought and won against a Magic Beast knew how difficult it was to deal with one.

"It is related. Knight Lanisha is one of the Kendall Knights, and she was ordered by the Kendall Baron to hunt down the Magic Beast that was wreaking havoc on the road from Kendall City to Yinyulin Village," Pengbutuoto said.

Jier continued: "I joined halfway through. Knight Lanisha first ambushed the Magic Beast in the Forest near Yinyulin Village, and after severely wounding it, drove the Magic Beast all the way south. It crossed two snowy high mountains and was driven to a forest further south, which is a distance to the west of where we are now."

Pengbutuoto continued after Jier's words: "But luck was bad; that forest happened to be a forest where the Bandits were specifically hiding to spend the winter to avoid the Militia's cleanup. There were many camps established by Bandit Groups inside, and the Magic Beast attacked those Bandits and recovered its strength after devouring them."

"What?" This news unsurprisingly shocked the Militia. It was already not easy for them to clean up this Bandit Group named the Thieves of Luodai Cave, and they hadn't expected that, according to what these two said, there were even more Bandit Groups hiding from their cleanup deeper to the west of here.

"Is this news of yours true? This is not something to joke about."

"Do you think we look like we are joking? Rest assured, this news will definitely be reported to your leader, Knight Kela," Jier said.

Hearing the name of Knight Kela, the Militia calmed down: "That's right, that's right. Knight Kela must know about this; he will have a way to deal with it."

Jier shrugged, briefly glossing over the subsequent battle with the Bandits and the Magic Beast, and focused on Knight Lanisha's arrangements afterward.

"You mean to tell us that the Militia not only has to deal with the Bandits but also has to go deep into the mountains and forests to haul out the huge Magic Beast you mentioned? Sigh, it sounds like a lot of trouble."

"Haha, don't you want to see with your own eyes what the real Magic Beast from the stories looks like? Maybe you'll only have this one chance in your life?" Jier teased.

The Militia thought about it and realized this was true; Magic Beasts and Knights were frequent guests in all kinds of stories. Knights were common, but Magic Beasts had become increasingly rare with the Human development and expansion on the land.

If possible, they would like to see what a real Magic Beast looked like. And it wasn't a live Magic Beast, but one that had been successfully hunted and was dead. It wasn't dangerous, so it was actually quite good.

Next, the Militia collected the spoils from the Bandits, then chopped down a large tree, gathered the Bandit corpses together, cleared a patch of snow, and ignited the Bandit corpses and the tree chopped into firewood to dispose of the corpses of these Bandits.

The Bandits who died on the spot were dealt with this way; this was a method that had been explained to them by a Priest, a Pastor from the Church of the God of the Dead, before they came.

If possible, one must burn the dead to avoid sloppy handling of the corpses, which could cause some bad things to happen.

As for the living Bandits, they were tied with ropes, their injuries were simply treated, and they were dragged along like that.

Then, this squad of ten Militia and four captured Bandits followed Jier and Pengbutuoto to meet up with the Hunter team behind them.

Seeing the team behind that Jier had mentioned, they believed what Jier said even more. After the two groups merged, they were led by the Militia toward the place where the main force of the Militia was located.

This squad of ten Melee Militia belonged to the forward troops sent out to compress the Bandits' activity space, while the large number of Long Spear Militia, who were the main force of the Militia, were carrying sufficient supplies and were slowly and gradually approaching the road to the lair of the Thieves of Luodai Cave.

Combined with the guidance of the civilians who escaped from the Bandit lair, plus the elite reconnaissance squad of the Thieves of Luodai Cave captured in a surprise attack, the Militia had already mastered the location of the Bandit lair and some mountain paths nearby that could allow vehicles to pass.

As they approached the Bandit lair, Knight Kela also released many Melee Militia squads who had performed excellently in training, letting them compress the Bandits' patrolling and reconnaissance teams, putting some pressure on the Bandits without completely crushing them.

His main force was steadily and surely approaching the Bandit lair.

That Bandit lair was a place the Bandits had operated for a long time. With the stingy and greedy nature of the Bandits, unless overwhelming strength was displayed, the Bandits, who occupied the geographical advantage and defensive supply advantages, would likely want to resist to the end.

They would drag it out until the Militia's supplies were exhausted and they had to retreat in the severe cold of winter. By the coming year, this group of Bandits could use this achievement to invite scattered Bandits to become even larger and more troublesome.