Chapter 860: The Comical Battle in the Barber-Tari Valley (Part 4)

The sun hangs high in the sky, unceasingly radiating the natural heat of late spring, or perhaps early summer. As for the people on the ground, they can only passively accept this gift of nature.

In the valley, the Humans and Dwarves chasing Jier are all quite disheveled at this moment.

"Damn it! What is that guy trying to do?"

In the group pursuing Jier, a young Villager drenched in sweat asks loudly toward those around him.

He is panting, and although he is young and strong, the outsider Knight has been leading them all on a merry chase on horseback since just a moment ago.

Yes, he has realized the other party's intention, and clearly, everyone else around has realized this too.

"Say less, don't accidentally lose your breath."

Someone nearby advises.

"No! That guy is toying with us! He's using this method to exhaust everyone's stamina! Anyway, I'm exhausted!"

This young man shouts loudly.

The people around pause their steps, look at each other, and finally all look at this young man: "Who among us doesn't know? But the problem is..."

Speaking of this, everyone turns their heads to look in front and behind; Dwarves are scattered everywhere in the valley chasing the enemy.

The Dwarves' originally orderly formation for chasing Jier has long since scattered and broken apart as Jier rode his horse rapidly around the sides of the valley. At this moment, they can only barely form small squads of three or five people based on each Dwarf's equipment and stamina, gritting their teeth, attempting to catch that outsider.

"The Dwarves are too stubborn, insisting on catching that person right now. Can't someone come and organize them? Find a way to restrict and surround the opponent?"

As the young man says this, several archers in the center of the Villager group look at each other and smile helplessly.

One of them speaks up: "That's just how Dwarves are. Their personalities and ideas are very stubborn. Without a Dwarf commander they respect to give orders, these people will chase until their stamina is completely exhausted."

"Then?"

The young man is just about to say something when he immediately realizes: "Oh, right, I forgot, Old Man 'Iron Fist' was injured by that outsider. Damn it."

"Can't we just persuade them properly? Tell them to stop this, even if it's just to rest, or fight and rest in shifts? Can that person really run away?" A young girl from the village, holding a wooden Nail Rake, loudly voices her suggestion.

The archer responsible for long-term defense on the Stone Wall sighs and smiles bitterly: "Those iron lumps won't listen to a word we Humans say right now. After all, 'Iron Fist' was injured. If it were someone else, it would be fine, the old man could still manage them, but now that he's gone, these people are only thinking about revenge. As for us..."

Shaking his head, the archer doesn't say more, but the slightly older young people who have families of their own all understand the meaning behind what the archer left unsaid.

This is, after all, the land of the Dwarves; it's hard to say how things are outside the valley, but inside the valley, all matters are decided by the Dwarves in the mines.

Of course, old 'Iron Fist' is the leader of the Dwarves, and he himself is quite friendly to Humans. Because he knows that everyone in the valley, whether Dwarf or Human, ultimately relies on the crops grown by Human farmers to survive.

"Then what should we do now? We can't just foolishly chase behind the person on horseback, exhaust our stamina, and then be defeated by that person, right? I don't want that! It's too shameful."

Someone shouts.

"If that person wins, he'll rule over us just like the outside, right? I don't accept the rule of an outsider! We can manage ourselves just fine; we've lived like this before, and we'll live like this in the future!"

One person says this, and the others think the same. Over the years, curious people have entered the valley one after another, and the Human Villagers here are not truly ignorant of the outside world. Thinking about how people live under the rule of those Nobles is terrifying.

An archer takes a deep breath, looks at his two companions, and the companions nod. So, he beckons for everyone to look over and shouts loudly: "Then let's fight! Let us fight to the end!"

The young people immediately become excited: "Fight to the end!"

The archer shouts loudly: "Let us be the ones! To defeat the evil Noble Knight who wants to rule over us!"

"Oh oh oh! Defeat the outsider Knight! We don't accept his rule!"

"Let's go! Defeat that outsider and let the Dwarves see the strength of us Humans!"

"Oh oh oh! Go!"

With this, whether it was their potential being ignited by the slogans or the sufficient rest during this brief discussion and argument, the young Villagers feel their bodies have strength again. They grip the various weapons they brought from home, fix their eyes on the outsider Knight in the distance who is still repeatedly toying with the Dwarves, and charge forward with big strides.

Jier naturally notices the change in the crowd not far away, and his sensitive ears barely catch the slogan shouted in unison by the crowd.

"Ha, defeat me? Do you have the ability? Besides, I'm the protagonist! The main character—"

Jier gives a lopsided smile, looks around, abandons a squad of Dwarves holding Long Spears to his front left, and turns his horse to charge toward the front right. Here is a squad of four straggling Dwarves who have been pursuing him since the Huitou Forest, armed with Throwing Spears.

At this moment, these Dwarves are also exhausted. Although Dwarves always say they can mine for a whole day in the mines, that is just bragging, not to mention that the temperature-controlled mines are far more comfortable than the afternoon with the sun hanging overhead. The Dwarves are covered in sweat, and each one is extremely thirsty.

Running and cursing have consumed too much of their stamina, and the sunlight combined with their lungs feeling like they are about to explode after running makes these guys even more miserable. The armor that didn't feel heavy before now makes every Metal Armor Plate feel heavy.

Although this squad of Dwarves is so hot and tired that they are seeing stars, they still notice the outsider approaching them rapidly on horseback the first moment it happens.

"Huff-huff, watch out, that guy is coming!"

"Aim before you strike!"

"Ready!"

"Throw!"

At the command, the leading Dwarf in the squad turns sideways and flings the Heavy Throwing Spear in his right hand, but his stamina is spent, and the spear is like an old man's urine—it drops as soon as it leaves the spout. Although he didn't 'pee on his shoes,' it didn't really fly very far either.

With a *puchi* sound, it sticks into the ground a few meters in front of the Dwarf.

He is still doing better than the others; the other companions beside this Dwarf didn't even hear what the leading Dwarf said due to fatigue, and only realized they needed to fight after he threw the Heavy Throwing Spear. Only then do they scatteredly throw a few spears with varying ranges.

Of course, the distance is no more than a few meters, while Jier is still more than twenty meters away from them at this moment.

"Hahahaha, a bunch of drunk short-legged kittens, unable to catch a little mouse that just left its nest!"

Jier mocks them, riding his horse in a rush. The Dwarves don't have time to throw a new round of spears, so they have to hold a Shield in one hand and a spear in the other, standing shoulder to shoulder, unafraid as they roar at Jier: "Fight! Die! Our mine does not welcome you!"

Jier does not understand what the Dwarves are shouting.

He charges up on horseback, thrusts his Long Spear, and shatters the Crystal Shield held by a Dwarf for defense. Fragments of the shield fly, leaving white marks on the Dwarves' armor.

After rushing past the Dwarf squad, he swings his hand back and directly knocks down this Dwarf standing at the edge of the formation from behind.

The metal Gun-blade leaves a deep cut on the armor on the Dwarf's back, though it doesn't break the armor's protection. But even so, this Dwarf spits out a mouthful of blood and collapses face-down on the ground, unable to stand up.

The other Dwarves roar and turn around to throw the Heavy Throwing Spears in their hands, but Jier squeezes his horse's belly, letting Tianxuecao accelerate to dodge this wave of counterattacks.

However, when Jier runs a few dozen meters and turns his horse around to look back, he realizes that this group of Dwarves, just like before, had their spears drop to the ground after only a few meters, making it obvious at a glance that the Dwarves are 'lacking energy' and 'lacking vigor.'

Jier's mouth twitches, and he tries hard not to laugh out loud. He didn't expect these Dwarves to be so stubborn and stupid; without anyone to command them, they chase behind his butt like headless flies in a swarm, without a shred of tactical strategy.

No combat waves, no grouping for rotating pursuit and rest, just chasing behind his warhorse's butt like this—it's simply stupid to death.

But this is also good; it increases Jier's understanding of the Dwarves and gives him an excellent opportunity to break these Dwarves.

Charging again, Jier lowers his Long Spear, aiming the spearhead at one of the Dwarves at the edge of the formation. The Dwarves are not afraid; knowing that their stamina is exhausted and they cannot throw the spears well, they don't perform throwing attacks and instead hold them in their hands to fight.

The three uninjured Dwarves, relying on their training and experience, formed a small triangular formation with one in front and two behind; the Dwarf in the front row was the leader of this squad. Holding the Crystal Shield he carried with both hands, he stood before the two behind him, prepared to block the opponent's offensive for his two companions; he was determined to hold the opponent off and pin them down, even at the cost of being injured.

The two Dwarves behind held a Heavy Throwing Spear in each hand, ready to rush up and entangle the enemy in combat at any moment.

These Dwarves were not Human farmers without combat experience; not to mention frequently encountering various subterranean creatures in the mines, they also fought whenever Monsters from the outside world entered the Valley.

The opponent was only one person, while they had the advantage of numbers; it was the perfect time to utilize that numerical superiority.

The leading Dwarf held the shield, his hands still trembling incessantly; it was hard to say if it was due to fear or exhaustion. But soon, as his companions behind him braced their forearms against the Dwarf's back, the leader steeled his spirit, and the shield stopped shaking.

"It's up to you!" he said quickly to the two behind him in a low voice.

Ahead, the foreign Human Knight was accelerating on horseback, the tip of his metal Long Spear reflecting the golden sunlight, looking both beautiful and dangerous.

"Understood, hold on," one of the Dwarves in the back row replied.

Another Dwarf added a final encouragement: "I'm going to chew this guy up like a roasted mole!"

As soon as the words fell, the Human's warhorse galloped up.

Boom! The leading Dwarf's Crystal Shield shattered entirely from the upper half, and the flying fragments left the lower half of the Dwarf's face covered in blood, breaking off much of his beard. At the same time, the three mutually supporting Dwarves were pushed back a distance, their Boots scraping the grass on the ground as they were shoved to the sides.

As soon as the impact ended, the two Dwarves holding Throwing Spears rushed up, taking advantage of the deceleration period after Jier thrust his spear and was blocked, to attack directly.

One held the ends of his two Heavy Throwing Spears to maximize their attack range, thrusting them upward one after another at the Human Knight on horseback. The other used his Throwing Spear as a melee weapon, whipping it toward the warhorse the Knight was riding.

Jier flicked his right hand, knocking aside the Throwing Spear thrust at him, and then the other Throwing Spear in the opponent's hand lunged straight for Jier's waist and abdomen. But Jier opened his left hand, and with a lightning-fast motion, he opened and closed his grip, catching the tip of the incoming Throwing Spear.

"Huh?" the Dwarf let out a sound of surprise.

Jier snorted, pulling back with his left hand; although the Dwarf's strength was great, far exceeding that of an average Human, it was at this moment far weaker than Jier, a Warrior who had undergone Knight Training.

The two wrestled for a moment, and the Heavy Throwing Spear was snatched away by Jier.

With a quick swing of his left hand, the Heavy Throwing Spear held in Jier's hand struck the side of the Dwarf's Helmet.

With a loud "dong," the Dwarf's entire Helmet rang out like a giant metal bell.

The Dwarf swayed and collapsed to the ground, trying to crawl back up, but no matter how he tried, he could not. Not only that, the Dwarf's eyes were bloodshot, and a small stream of blood slowly flowed from his nasal cavity.

Not to mention his ears; one ear was completely mangled, and if not for the Helmet holding it in, it was unclear if this half-ear would have fallen to the ground.

At the same time, the Dwarf wielding the two Throwing Spears happened to strike his weapon against Tianxuecao.

Slap, slap! Two sounds followed one after another, but the Dwarf knew it was bad as soon as he heard the sound; the sound was wrong! The thickness of the Armor draped over the horse exceeded the Dwarf's expectations.

But the Dwarf refused to give up, twisting his body and dragging the two weapons across the warhorse, cutting and slashing heavily.

However, the result greatly disappointed the Dwarf; the tips of the Throwing Spears were sharp enough, but they failed to leave a wound on the warhorse.

Tianxuecao was not without feeling; while slowing down, he turned his head to glare at this short 'Human' who wanted to hurt him, let out a distorted whinny while biting the bit, and lowered his head to ram into the Dwarf in a fit of rage.

But the Dwarf was agile, and relying on the advantage of his low stature, he rolled to the side, dodging the impact and trampling of the Human warhorse.

However, before the Dwarf could get up, Jier's Long Spear thrust over.

Just then, a Crystal Shield, broken by more than half, was thrown horizontally, intercepting Jier's Long Spear in mid-air, causing the spear to deflect and strike empty air.

Jier turned his head to look; it was the Dwarf who had held the shield to block his charge earlier.

The Dwarf shouted something, which Jier did not understand, but he did not care about that; he tossed the Heavy Throwing Spear in his left hand, flipped it, and held it properly.

Then, a smile appeared on the mouth of Jier's Helmet Faceplate, and with a swing of his left arm, he threw the weapon the Dwarves had used against him right back.

Whoosh—

A short, chilling whistling sound of piercing air came from the tip of the thrown spear; just as the sound was heard, at such a close distance, the weapon had already struck the target.

The Dwarf who had been holding the shield and was now empty-handed was struck directly in the right shoulder by Jier, with twisted metal and shattered flesh scattering backward from his shoulder. But the Dwarf did not make a sound, gritting his teeth as he used his left hand to pull a Throwing Spear from behind, attempting to attack Jier.

"Hmph!"

Jier snorted coldly, ignoring the heavily wounded Dwarf, and thrust his Long Spear toward the Dwarf who had previously attacked the warhorse.

The Dwarf retreated a few steps to avoid the strike Jier made from his position, but the next moment, the warhorse surged forward, instantly closing the distance between them.

The Long Spear thrust again, and the Dwarf held his Throwing Spear crosswise in front of him, attempting to block Jier's offensive.

But Jier thrust and flicked, knocking the two weapons in the opponent's hands into the air, leaving the Dwarf empty-handed, looking in despair at Jier, this foreign Human.

Just as the next strike was about to take the Dwarf's life, an Arrow flew from behind, hitting Jier in the back, while two other arrows flew past him and missed.

The Arrow with the long shaft pierced through the cloak and the supply pack Jier carried behind him, and the hard metal arrowhead finally collided with the Armor on Jier's back; it did not pierce through, but the impact still made Jier feel quite uncomfortable.

With a muffled grunt, a metallic taste surged in Jier's mouth, but his hands did not stop, and the Long Spear thrust forward.

But after all, being hit vertically from behind by an arrow caused his hand to waver, and the Long Spear ultimately pierced the Dwarf's abdomen, running him through from front to back; the Armor on the Dwarf did not stop it.

More arrows flew over; Jier pulled the Jiansheng, causing the warhorse to veer and avoid the flight path of the incoming arrows, and without even looking at the situation of these few Dwarves, he accelerated and rode away, rushing out of the encirclement before the many surrounding Dwarves could arrive.

"How is it?" The Dwarf whose shoulder was injured by their own Heavy Throwing Spear, although his own wounds were not light, gritted his teeth and asked about the condition of his companion who had been pierced through the abdomen by the Long Spear.

This Dwarf was also a tough one; he used his hand to plug the wound in his abdomen and stood up directly to respond: "I won't die! It's just like being bitten by a Stone-Armored Blind Mole."

The leading Dwarf with the injured shoulder walked over quickly to check, but his own wounds were not light; after walking two steps, his face turned pale, and his gait became unsteady and weak.

At this moment, the Dwarf who had been knocked down first by Jier ran over, blood still flowing from his mouth, looking like the least injured of them all; he hurriedly tore a large piece from the clothing under his Armor, and without a word, he tore the rough cloth into pieces, pressing one onto the shoulder-injured Dwarf and using the other two to plug the front and back of the abdomen-injured Dwarf, at least stopping the bleeding for now.

At this time, the other Dwarf companions arrived, and upon seeing the condition of these few, some were angry, some were fearful, and they soon began to argue over whether to pursue the enemy or treat their companions.

The shoulder-injured Dwarf pulled up the companion who had been injured in the ear and still could not stand, and said fiercely to the other arriving Dwarves: "What are you arguing about! We were defeated, but we aren't dead! One of you help support this guy, the rest continue the fight! Just avenge 'Iron Fist' and us!"

The abdomen-injured Dwarf hissed and said softly: "Disgrace can only be erased by defeating the enemy; sorry to trouble you all, take care of that person for us."

The Dwarf who had been hit hard in the back supported his companion: "It's best not to think about simply defeating that Human; hiss, he is so strong, he cannot be captured alive."

The Dwarf who had been hit in the ear wanted to say something, but after mumbling a few times, none of the Dwarves present understood what he said. The Dwarf swayed his body, wanting to gesture with his hands, but soon gave up and had to wave his fist shakily at his companions.

Now everyone understood, so they nodded one after another, wiped the sweat from their faces and heads, and chased after Jier with long strides.

The injured Dwarves, with the assistance of a companion, walked dejectedly toward the mine; on the way back, they met 'Shishou' carrying a large two-handed sword, and this silent Dwarf wanted to help support them but was refused.

The shoulder-injured Dwarf said: "Forget it! We were beaten, but we aren't dead yet! If you want to avenge us, then defeat that Human Knight! Be careful, we can't catch up to his horse, we have to find a way to restrict the opponent's horse."

'Shishou' nodded, hoisted the heavy Large Metal Sword, and huffing and puffing with heavy breaths, strode toward the Human Knight galloping in the distance.