Chapter 4: Fatis and Cress

The sunny, pleasant weather didn't know when it had hidden itself, shyly ducking behind the gloomy, dark clouds.

Beneath the heavy, dark clouds, a squad of elite Cavalry appeared from the southern hillside, trampling over the lush green grass as they swiftly returned to the camp.

Meanwhile, Allen was still fast asleep, slumped over the table, with a young girl keeping watch by his side.

The commotion of the Cavalry returning to camp woke the sleeping Allen; as he rose, he instinctively grabbed the clothing that had slipped from his shoulder, and as he turned his head, a young girl with golden hair, fair skin, and bright blue eyes filled with a gentle smile stood beside him.

"Oh, Yamila," Allen nodded, smiling at Yamila as he said, "Thank you." Yamila smiled and shook her head.

"Allen."

The shout of a returning Cavalryman caught Allen's attention; the man had short, brownish hair that was slightly graying and trimmed quite casually, heavy eye bags, a large nose, and a full beard that made him look like he was in his thirties or forties, yet his clear, black-and-white eyes revealed a firm expression that contradicted his decadent appearance.

Allen was certain in his heart that this person must be Fatis.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone. How is the situation outside?"

Allen first thanked the returning Cavalrymen for their hard work, then asked Fatis about the reconnaissance.

"Allen, the situation is terrible. I have never seen this kind of thing in Calradia."

As he spoke, a grave-faced Fatis untied a dark, murky object from his horse and threw it onto the ground.

"Orcs, Goblins, or... Orcish?!"

Allen looked at the head covered in black blood on the ground with some uncertainty, guessing the origin of this thing in his heart.

"Black blood? It seems the Orcs in The Lord of the Rings have black blood. Could it be that I've arrived in Middle-earth?"

Orcs as a fantasy creature are truly too ubiquitous; most fantasy worlds have this species, but the specific details and names vary.

For example, what Allen is most familiar with is from Warhammer Fantasy; a similar species is the Greenskins, and they have a branch called Goblins that look quite like this thing on the ground, though most of them have green skin. They are a kind of... it seems they come from mushrooms, reproducing through spores and photosynthesis. Commonly known as: plant a head in autumn, and thousands of offspring grow next year. Fortunately, it's not this thing, otherwise, Allen would run away no matter what; if he couldn't run, he could only wait to die ┓(′? `)┏.

And the most primitive and common Orcs in The Lord of the Rings, called Orcs, fit this head on the ground better.

Gray-black skin, sparse coarse hair, an ugly face, and jagged, filthy teeth. Of course, the most critical thing is the black blood. Allen kicked the head on the ground to confirm that the little bit of newly flowing blood was also black, and his anxious heart settled down.

If one had to rank fantasy worlds, the place Allen would least want to go in his heart is Warhammer Fantasy; it is a world full of despair, a despair where no matter how hard you struggle, you cannot escape your predetermined fate. Not to mention that he only has a Simulator; even with a Red Alert base vehicle, he might not be able to hold out.

But The Lord of the Rings is different. If it were the Fourth Age, under the protection of King Elessar, as long as he solved the residency issue, he could live the life of a local bigwig relying on the Simulator. Although there is no internet, Allen feels he could make do (¬‿¬).

But what if it were another age? Anyway, as long as it isn't the First Age, he should be able to struggle through with these subordinates and the Simulator.

"Allen, do you recognize this thing?"

Fatis keenly noticed Allen's actions and the change in his expression, confirming in his heart that Allen might recognize this thing. His worry eased by half, and the grave expression on his face diminished quite a bit.

"I know what this is. This is a filthy Orc, also called an Orc. They are servants of darkness, minions of the devil. This is not a species of Calradia."

Allen answered Fatis's question with his mouth, but his mind was thinking about Fatis's information.

Fatis is actually a young man, but he has the face of a middle-aged man and a look of constant sorrow. This is because his appearance changed after suffering a major tragedy. The internet says he is only in his twenties, a proper noble descendant, and was once an officer in a Swadia Cavalry unit.

He was able to give up a bright future to wander because he accidentally killed his own younger brother while competing for a woman.

It should be that this woman was betting on both sides, fooling both Fatis and his brother, until the brother initiated an attack and was accidentally killed by Fatis.

Now he is on a journey of atonement, seeking spiritual salvation. Since he can serve as an officer in this group, the group's actions must have Fatis's approval.

And I must be an upright, kind leader. This is not an easy thing; I will have to pay attention to this in the future, Allen silently speculated on his future role-playing direction.

Hearing that this thing was not a creature of Calradia, Fatis's slightly relieved mind suddenly tightened again, and he hurriedly asked, "Then what are we now?"

Allen did not directly answer Fatis's question; he kicked the head on the ground again and asked back, "Let's not talk about that for now. Tell me about the situation last night and the reconnaissance today. I need some information, and I am also very curious about where this thing on the ground came from?"

Facing Allen's question, Fatis couldn't say much else. He steadied his mind and described in detail what happened from last night to this morning.

The group was indeed stationed in the camp around Veluca yesterday. There was no abnormality in the first half of the night. To guard against retaliatory attacks from Sea Raiders, Fatis specifically requested more Crossbowmen to guard the perimeter of the camp.

Speaking of these camps, they were established by Allen's predecessor to facilitate the long-term pursuit of Sea Raiders near Rivacheg.

Although the local residents also hated these seemingly endless Sea Raiders and had a favorable impression of Allen for clearing out these pests.

Most of the power holders in the region did not welcome elite troops like Allen's to be stationed inside their territories.

Therefore, after Allen's predecessor obtained permission from the highest-ranking noble in the region, Maliga Boyar, he took a considerable reward from his pocket, hired local villagers in various villages, and built camps around the villages where the Mercenary Group could be stationed.

Halfway through his report, Fatis did not hesitate to praise Allen: "Allen, I have to say it again, it's only you. I have never heard of any Mercenary Group leader who would spend so much energy and money to build these camps just so the team members have a safe and comfortable living environment. You are truly too kind to your subordinates."

Hearing the praise unexpectedly, Allen understood what was going on after a moment of thought, and could only respond with an awkward face, "It's only right, it's only right." He didn't know what his predecessor was thinking; wouldn't it be better to recruit more soldiers with that money?

The topic returned to this morning. Fatis was woken up by Desaiwei, and the third person to be woken up was Yamila, because Yamila had long been taking care of Allen's daily life, and Allen had emphasized more than once that no one was allowed to enter his tent unless it was absolutely necessary.

Although what happened in the morning was bizarre, there was no imminent crisis, so Fatis instructed Yamila to wake Allen. After waiting for a while and finding that Allen did not appear, he led the Cavalry out to scout.

But when he got to this point, Fatis mentioned that after Yamila entered Allen's tent, she came out immediately, and he didn't know what had happened inside.

Although Fatis's decadent face became somewhat lively when he mentioned this, full of gossip, Allen had no intention of satisfying Fatis's curiosity and continued to press for information about the Orcs.

Next, Fatis began to talk about their reconnaissance. He led the Cavalry with the camp as the center and scouted the surroundings, discovering that the east side of the camp was an endless forest, while the west side was a mountain range stretching to the horizon, with a large river flowing in the middle separating the wilderness between the two.

The specific situation was that they rode their horses north along the large river for more than an hour without finding any signs of human life. Then they turned back, circled east through the wilderness, and then walked south for more than an hour, eventually catching up with a small squad of Orcs riding black wolves at a ford in the large river.

Allen could imagine such an encounter. As for a species like Orcs, which one could tell at a glance were not of the Order faction, Fatis would definitely treat them like monsters and wipe them out, especially since they were riding wolves.

This was actually mutual; when these Wolf Riders saw Fatis and these Humans, their first reaction certainly wasn't to come up and say hello, "How do you do."

So the battle was definitely imminent. After a brief standoff between the twenty-some riders on both sides, they each brandished their weapons and charged at each other. Although Fatis and his men had been running for nearly two hours, the Swadia Cavalry were quite formidable, and they wiped them out at the cost of only one person being slightly injured.

When Fatis reported this, he paused, looked at Allen's expression, spread his hands, and said, "Just at that moment, I couldn't find Cress."

"Ah?"

Hearing this news, Allen was stunned.

That's right, Cress had slipped away quietly at this time. She felt that these things, which were clearly not good, must be doing something bad, so she used the tracking skills she learned from Desaiwei and slipped away quietly.

She knew that Fatis would definitely stop her unauthorized action, so she acted first and reported later. While Fatis was commanding the army to clean up the battlefield and not paying attention to her, she quietly followed the Orcs' tracks across the ford.

Fatis, who realized Cress had slipped away, even crossed the ford to search for a while, but after finding nothing, he had to carry the heads and spoils of war and return with the Cavalry first.

However, Fatis indicated that he was used to it, and he also believed that Cress could return safely.

Not to mention Cress's fierce throwing skills, just the top-tier white steed she rode could ensure Cress's safety; that horse was full of spirit and exceptionally magnificent.

Fatis indicated that he had been envious for a long time, but unfortunately, Allen had gifted this horse to Cress to thank her for saving his life.

Cress's horsemanship was not particularly good, but the two of them had been together for quite a while and had some tacit understanding.

"Alright then, that will have to do."

After Allen sighed to express his helplessness, he arranged for Fatis to take the cavalry down to rest, and at the same time called for Yamila to prepare lunch.

Poor Yamila, the daughter of a wealthy merchant family, still had to be responsible for cooking for a bunch of rough men, and at this moment, Desaiwei actually came back carrying a strong stag, her dark face covered in sweat, saying with a full smile that she was going to make a whole roasted deer for everyone.

Allen had to sigh; the mentality of these people was truly excellent.

However, Allen was still a bit worried about Cress; this little sister might be the only uncertain factor in the team. He didn't know whether to say she was bold because of her high skill or that her subjective initiative for work was particularly strong, as she had actually left the main force to track the enemy alone.

But in the game, Cress's personality was somewhat reckless and her courage was incomparably huge; she had once complained to the protagonist about Artimenner being a busybody.

She said she had only sliced open an enemy's belly to look for loot, so what was there to make such a fuss about? Allen had been stunned for a long time when he saw that dialogue back then.

She should be a Vaegirs; her father seemed to have died early. Originally, their family had land, but they were forced by relatives, so her mother had to go work as a cook for a noble family, and she followed along.

After growing up a bit, she did some shady things for certain nobles because of her relatively good skills, and after a series of complex events, she regained her freedom.

She should be the youngest person in the team, looking to be only about fifteen or sixteen years old. Although she had experienced all kinds of darkness and lacked awareness of general moral concepts, her personality was cheerful, she sympathized with the weak, valued friendship, and had a particularly good relationship with Desaiwei in the game.

And Desaiwei's scouting and tracking abilities were the strongest in this team; if Cress had learned even a little bit of the basics, she should be able to come back safely, right? Should be, right?

"Enemy attack, due south, prepare for battle!!!"

Just as Allen was struggling with whether or not to take Desaiwei and the cavalry out to look for Cress again, a loud roar from Bandak, who was standing on the wooden watchtower, startled Allen out of his deep thoughts.

Allen took a few quick steps up the wooden platform where Bandak was, and looked toward the south. He saw that under the pitch-black sky, a white dot was sprinting toward the camp along the hillside a few miles away.

And seven or eight black dots were chasing the white dot, flanking from left and right. They were getting closer and closer; it was clearly Cress riding a white horse, with seven or eight Wolf Riders chasing behind her.

"I'm back, help me quickly!!!"

A young girl with short reddish-brown hair was galloping on horseback, grabbing the reins with one hand and holding a ragged child with the other, shouting loudly.

The Rhodok Sharpshooters guarding around the camp had already begun to snipe at the Wolf Riders chasing behind Cress. Fatis, who had just gone down to rest, heard the commotion and immediately led a few people to mount up and charge out again.

Subsequently, all the cavalry charged out one after another, and even the guy who had suffered a minor injury was no exception.

Yamila and Desaiwei, who were preparing food, gripped the weapons beside them and rushed to the camp gate to prepare to defend the camp, and even Artimenner drew the Longsword at his waist and assumed a defensive posture.

All of this was completed within just a few minutes. Allen walked down the platform, and Alayen, who was already fully armed, was waiting with Allen's weapons and horse.

His young, handsome face was full of eagerness; he hadn't expected this young man to be a battle fanatic.

However, there was no need for Allen to do anything at all; the battle was already over. Fatis led the cavalry in a light charge to catch up with the Wolf Riders who were preparing to turn around and retreat, and the rest was nothing more than a massacre.

"Bo... Boss, get ready to save people. A village was attacked by these monsters."

The girl with long reddish-brown hair, covered in sweat, held the child while walking and shouting, rushing toward Allen.

"Acting first and reporting later, are we? Sneaking off without a word, are we? Huh?"

Allen, while cooperating with Alayen to help him put on his armor, glared and scolded the freckled girl who hadn't fully grown up yet.

After a pause, he asked unhappily: "We'll talk about your business later, how many of them are there?"

"There should be fifty or sixty of them, all riding those black wolf monsters. When I came back, the village had just been breached. If we are a bit faster, we should still be able to save many people."

Cress, who had been full of anxiety, saw her expression instantly change to unhappiness. She felt she hadn't done anything wrong, but she didn't dare to openly refute Allen, so she could only turn her head away sullenly, answering Allen's question, and then pouted and kicked an Orc head near Allen's feet.

"Alright, I know."

After receiving the news, Allen thought for a moment and felt that he should go save those villagers. According to his observations, most of the people in the team should hope that he would issue the order to save the villagers, and his predecessor would inevitably have issued the order to save the villagers as well.

Even without talking about the importance of role-playing, just by following his own heart, Allen wanted to save people, and Allen estimated the combat power and felt they should be able to win.

After considering it, Allen looked around at the people gradually gathering around him, and looking at their eager eyes, he loudly announced his decision: "Everyone, ten minutes of preparation time. After ten minutes, everyone who can ride a horse, gather here."

The subordinates who received the order returned to their tents one after another, quickly putting on their respective armor with each other's help.

And Allen, having put on his armor, mounted his horse with extreme naturalness, reached out to take the Heavy Cavalry Lance and Cavalry Kite Shield handed over by Alayen, and then the excited Alayen also mounted his horse and followed Allen out of the camp.

The coordination between the two was incomparably smooth, as if this scene had already appeared between them countless times.

Sitting on the horse and walking out of the camp, Allen felt a bit at a loss. In his memory, he had never ridden a horse; at most, he had seen one.

Yet when things came to a head, he had completed these actions subconsciously, without even using his brain. It was as if his brain was desperately saying, "I can't, I can't, I can't," while his body calmly responded, "It's okay, watch me show you how it's done."

Things were a bit strange, but what made Allen feel even stranger was that several Rhodok Sharpshooters had actually led horses out of the stables, mounted their steeds, and followed behind Allen.

"Since when were there Horse Archers carrying Siege Crossbows? Could this be a new tactic he developed himself? This is too reckless," Allen complained about his predecessor in his heart.

A moment later, Fatis, Desaiwei, Cress, and even Yamila arrived at Allen's side, fully armed. Allen looked strangely at Yamila, this seemingly weak girl, and suddenly realized.

He himself had been training them in the direction of Heavy Cavalry, just with different focuses. Desaiwei was strengthened in horse archery, Cress was focused on throwing, and Yamila was a shock Heavy Cavalry.

Finally, the fully armed Swadian Knights gathered around. They wore bucket helmets, Sleeveless Plate Armor, carried Cavalry Kite Shields on their backs, had Cavalry Swords at their waists, and held Heavy Cavalry Lances, gathering silently behind Allen.

Of course, this was not their true complete form; in their true complete form, the horses would also be covered in heavy armor, but this time it was a pursuit, not a charge, so Horse Armor was not needed.

Allen looked inside the camp, pointed at James, who was leading a mule, and Artimenner, who was shouting "I can ride a horse too, but I don't have a horse," and shouted to Bandak, who couldn't ride a horse, on the high platform: "Take them and guard the camp well, we'll be back soon."

Bandak nodded expressionlessly after hearing the order, letting Allen rest assured.

Then Allen turned his head to look at the twenty-plus people following him, feeling that he should say something in this situation.

Many movies and novels would instill the righteousness of the battle and the nobility of their actions into their underlings before a fight.

Immediately, Allen, with his soul of "chuunibyou" burning fiercely, commanded his Warhorse to turn half a circle, facing the crowd, and said proudly:

"My friends, my soldiers, I have always hoped that we would become a noble and beloved team. I hope that we, filled with conviction, should always do those glorious deeds; I hope that we, holding sharp weapons, should always strike down those damned people; I hope that we, possessing power, should always help those in distress. Now, the people in distress are waiting for us, who hold sharp weapons, to go and save them. Everyone, what should we do?"

"Of course we should go and help them, just like we did before, kill all those bandits, kill all those who hurt others for their own selfish interests."

Fatis, with an excited face, roared in response to Allen's words, driving everyone else to roar along.

Allen raised the Heavy Cavalry Lance in his hand to respond to the crowd's roar, signaled Cress beside him to lead the way, pulled the reins, and shouted "Let's go!" The Warhorse under his crotch followed Cress and galloped toward the south.

This was more than an hour later, near the Old Ferry. Because Desaiwei had discovered a new situation here and tracking the footprints required some time, everyone took advantage of this time to rest and eat something.

Allen chewed on the dried beef handed over by Alayen, looking at the large patches of filthy blood on the ground, and listening to Desaiwei's analysis.

Desaiwei's expression was very grave. She lowered her head to observe the footprints on the ground and reported her analysis results to Allen loudly:

"My lord, I think we need to continue chasing toward the south. Look at these footprints; it should be dozens of Wargs carrying dozens or hundreds of Humans who walked over from the other side of the river, lingered here for a while, and then headed south. The footprints are very fresh, so they shouldn't be too far away."

"The corpses are gone too. At that time, the corpses of those monsters were right here."

Fatis, who was chewing on something, came over and said casually.

"They won't leave any corpses behind; if they are hungry enough, the bodies of their own kind are also a form of food to them, or at the very least, there's no problem with feeding them to the wolves."

Allen said, casually speaking words that made Desaiwei and Fatis feel somewhat horrified.

"Therefore, when facing such evil creatures, you must not show mercy; the two sides of us are inevitably incompatible like fire and water, but that is a matter for later. Desaiwei, you lead the way from here on; Fatis, go notify everyone to set out."

Under Allen's command, the entire troop quickly advanced toward the south.