Chapter 120

Roko's gaze narrowed slightly.

"The Light Temple and the Poison Scorpion Society—these two troubles are truly lingering."

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Have Bake keep a close eye on them."

"Especially the Light Temple; I always feel they won't let it go."

"Vanguard Valley's development momentum is too strong now, making it easy to become a thorn in the side of certain forces."

Martina nodded.

"I will remind Bake to be careful."

"Our foundation is still too shallow."

Although Vanguard Valley was full of vitality, Roko always maintained a hint of vigilance in his heart.

This world was never as peaceful as it looked on the surface.

However, he didn't expect the storm to arrive so quickly and so violently.

A few days later.

On the outskirts of Vanguard Valley, in a dense jungle.

Scout Captain Bake was leading a ten-man scout team, sneaking forward cautiously.

They had been patrolling outside for nearly half a month, with the main task of scouting the movements of the Light Temple.

The air was filled with the smell of damp rotting leaves, the light in the forest was dim, and only dappled sunlight filtered through the dense branches and leaves. "Everyone, stay alert!"

Bake lowered his voice and said to the team members behind him.

"We are already approaching the area where we discovered the traces of Temple Knights last time."

The scouts nodded one after another, gripped their weapons tightly, and scanned their surroundings vigilantly.

Suddenly, a scout walking at the very front stopped and raised his hand abruptly.

"Captain, there's a situation!"

His voice carried a hint of nervousness.

Bake immediately gave a hand signal, and everyone dispersed quickly, each finding cover.

Bake crawled behind a bush and looked forward through the gaps in the branches.

Not far away in the forest clearing, a team of soldiers wearing silver-white armor with sun and cross emblems engraved on their chests appeared.

There were about twenty of them, their formation neat, their steps steady, and they exuded an aura of murderous intent.

The leader was tall and rode a spirited white warhorse.

He wore a helmet that covered his entire face, revealing only a pair of cold eyes, and the knight longsword in his hand shimmered with cold light.

That powerful Battle Qi fluctuation made Bake's heart sink.

Bronze Mid-stage!

And they were the most elite Judgment Knights of the Light Temple!

"It's the Light Temple's Judgment Knights!"

An old scout beside Bake said, his voice trembling.

"Why would they appear here? And in such large numbers!"

Bake's heart was also filled with doubt.

This place was dozens of miles away from the nearest town and was uninhabited.

What were these Temple Knights doing here?

"Observe first, don't act rashly."

Bake ordered in a low voice.

He hoped to figure out the other party's purpose.

However, things went against his wishes.

Just as they were observing carefully, the Judgment Knight seemed to have sensed something, turned his head abruptly, and his gaze shot toward the direction where Bake and the others were hiding like a sharp sword.

"There are rats!"

The Judgment Knight's cold voice rang out.

"Search!"

The Temple warriors behind him immediately drew their weapons and surrounded the jungle in a fan shape.

"We've been discovered! Prepare for battle!"

Bake's face changed, and he made a decisive decision.

He knew that facing a Bronze Mid-stage Judgment Knight and nearly twenty well-trained Temple warriors, their small scout team was in grave danger.

But running away might not work either.

"Kill!"

Bake roared, rushed out from the bushes first, his longsword bringing up a gust of wind, slashing at a Temple warrior rushing at the front.

"For Vanguard Valley!"

The remaining scouts also roared and fought with the enemies.

The battle broke out instantly.

The strength of the Temple warriors was generally at the level of Quasi-Knight to Knight Initial Stage, and they were well-coordinated, attacking and defending in an orderly manner.

Although the scouts were fearless, they soon fell into a disadvantage in the face of the absolute strength gap.

"Pfft!"

A young scout was pierced through the chest by a Temple warrior's longsword, and blood sprayed out.

He opened his eyes wide, filled with unwillingness, and slowly fell down.

"Little Six!"

Bake was heartbroken; he forced back the enemy in front of him with a slash, wanting to rescue him, but was entangled by another Temple warrior.

The Bronze Mid-stage Judgment Knight did not join the battle immediately.

He just sat coldly on his horse, like a god high above, watching this massacre indifferently.

His gaze was mainly locked on Bake.

"Stubborn resistance."

The Judgment Knight's tone was filled with disdain.

The battle was extremely tragic.

The scouts fell one after another, and blood stained the forest floor.

Bake also had several wounds on his body, and blood soaked his leather armor.

But he was still fighting in a bloodbath, his longsword dancing tightly.

He knew he had to break out.

He had to bring this important intelligence back to Vanguard Valley!

"Ah!"

Bake roared, ignited the Battle Qi in his body, the sword light soared, and he forced back the two Temple warriors in front of him.

He seized this gap, turned around, and fled into the depths of the jungle.

"Want to run?"

The Judgment Knight snorted coldly and finally moved.

He clamped his legs on the horse's belly, and the white warhorse darted out like an arrow from a bow.

The knight longsword in his hand turned into a silver lightning bolt, stabbing straight at Bake's back.

Bake felt the fatal crisis coming from behind, his scalp tingling.

He didn't even think and threw himself to the side.

"Swish!"

The knight longsword brushed past his back, bringing up a piece of flesh and leaving a deep wound that reached the bone.

The intense pain made Bake's vision go black, and he almost fainted.

But he gritted his teeth, endured the intense pain, and used the force of the roll to continue fleeing into the dense forest.

"Interesting."

A hint of surprise flashed in the Judgment Knight's eyes.

He didn't expect this seemingly unremarkable scout captain to be able to dodge his fatal blow.

"Chase!"

The Judgment Knight ordered.

He chased after him, and several Temple warriors followed closely.

Bake fled frantically in the jungle.

He didn't dare to look back and could only flee desperately toward the direction of Vanguard Valley, relying on his familiarity with the terrain.

Blood kept gushing from the wound on his back, and his consciousness began to blur.

But he had only one thought in his heart.

Go back! Must go back!

Vanguard Valley, Lord's Mansion.

Roko was discussing the allocation plan for the next batch of Obsidian Gold equipment with Martina and Hart.

Fula sat quietly to the side, holding a cup of hot tea, her heterochromatic eyes, intertwined with deep blue and broken gold, looking at Roko from time to time,

carrying a hint of imperceptible tenderness.

Suddenly, the door of the council hall was pushed open violently.

A guard ran in with a panicked expression.

"Roko-sama! Not good!"

The guard's voice carried a tremor.

"Scout Captain Bake is back!"

"But he is seriously injured! He's dying!"

Roko's face changed instantly.

"Bake?"

He stood up abruptly.

"Where is he?"

"Take me there quickly!"

A sense of foreboding rose in Roko's heart.

Bake was an experienced veteran scout with the strength of a Great Knight Initial Stage; ordinary danger could never have put him in such a situation.

The group hurried to the medical room of the Lord's Mansion.

Bake was lying on the bed covered in blood, his face as pale as paper, his breathing weak.

Several doctors were nervously treating his wounds, but his vital signs were still fading rapidly.

"Bake!"

Roko walked quickly to the bedside, looking at Bake's miserable appearance, his gaze turning cold instantly.

Bake seemed to hear Roko's voice, struggled to open his eyes, and a hint of anxiety flashed in his bloodshot pupils.

"Ma, Master..."

His voice was like a candle in the wind.

"Light Temple, they, they have come..."

"It's an army, a powerful army."

"They call themselves the 'Purification Army'."

After saying these few words intermittently, Bake tilted his head and fell into a deep coma.

"Doctor! How is his condition?"

Roko suppressed the anger in his heart and asked in a deep voice.

An elderly doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a grave face, "Roko-sama, Captain Bake's injuries are too severe, especially the penetrating wound on his back, which almost damaged his internal organs, and he has lost too much blood."

"We have done our best, but..."

Roko's heart sank bit by bit.

"At all costs, you must save him!"

Roko's voice carried an unquestionable order.

"Yes, Master!"

The doctors felt a chill in their hearts and didn't dare to say more, immediately starting to save him with all their might.

The atmosphere in the council hall became oppressively heavy.

Light Temple!

Purification Army!

"Martina, immediately summon all core members to the council hall for a meeting!"

Roko's voice was cold.

"Hart, strengthen the territory's vigilance, all Storm Knights enter combat readiness!"

"Fula, come with me."

Roko turned and walked toward the council hall; his back carried a heavy weight of a coming storm.

Just then, another burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the council hall.

A messenger responsible for communication at the Northern Pass rushed in, his face filled with horror and despair.

"Roko-sama! Martina-sama!"

The messenger knelt on the ground with a thud, his voice hoarse.

"North, Northern Heifeng Aikou, urgent report!"

"Beacons are burning!"

"A large number of orcs, at least three large tribes united, over 30,000 orc warriors are frantically attacking the pass!"

"The pass, the pass is about to fall! Requesting emergency reinforcements!"

Boom!

This news was like a bolt from the blue, striking everyone's heads fiercely again.

Orc invasion!

And it was a scale of three tribes united, over 30,000 orc warriors!

In the council hall, there was a deathly silence.

Everyone's face showed expressions of disbelief.

The Light Temple's army was pressing on the border.

The Northern orcs were invading frantically.

Two fronts, both in emergency!

Vanguard Valley, this emerging territory that had just seen a glimmer of dawn.

At this moment, it seemed to be strangled by two invisible giant hands.

Mike stood in the corner, his face pale, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He had never thought that war would descend upon him in such a terrifying way.

Hart's face also became incomparably grave.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Fula's cat ears were pressed tightly against her scalp, and her heterochromatic eyes were filled with worry.

But her hand gripped Roko's clothes tightly.

Martina's white eyes also lost their usual coldness, flashing with a hint of rare panic.

She quickly calculated the strength comparison between the two sides in her heart.

The Storm Knights had 300 men, plus the Lord's Mansion guards and the newly trained militia; the total force that could be put into battle was probably less than 10,000.

Moreover, most of them were new recruits lacking combat experience.

And the enemy?

The Light Temple's "Purification Army," the number was unknown, but judging from Bake's description, it was at least hundreds of elites.

The Northern orcs had directly dispatched over 30,000 warriors!

What a disparity in strength!

Vanguard Valley was in imminent danger!

Just then, Roko, who had been silent, spoke slowly.

His voice was unusually calm, but beneath the calm, it suppressed a chilling coldness that made one's heart tremble.

"Bake, is he awake?"

A servant reported, "Master, Captain Bake just woke up for a moment and fainted again; the doctor said he is temporarily out of danger but needs rest."

Roko nodded.

"Repeat the intelligence he just said about the Light Temple's 'Purification Army' in detail."

The servant didn't dare to delay and repeated the intelligence Bake had described intermittently as completely as possible.

With the servant's repetition, the atmosphere in the council hall became even more grave.

500 elites of the Light Temple!

Led personally by a Bishop and a Judgment Knight Captain!

Judging from the aura Bake described, the strength of that Bishop and Judgment Knight Captain was at least Bronze Late-stage, or even Bronze Peak!

This force was enough to easily crush any Baron territory in New Wind Province, or even an Earl territory!

"Roko..."

+

Martina's voice carried a hint of dryness.

"With our current strength, we simply cannot withstand the pincer attack from two sides."

"Especially the Light Temple; their goal is likely our Vanguard Valley."

"They probably found clues about the deaths of Father Chris and Knight Sierluo."

Roko's gaze was deep as a pool.

He walked to the military map hanging in the center of the council hall, his gaze moving back and forth between Vanguard Valley, Heifeng Aikou, and the surrounding areas.

"The Northern orcs, why would they choose to invade on such a large scale at this time?"

Roko's voice carried a hint of inquiry.

"Although orcs would raid the south in previous years, such a large scale, and the union of multiple tribes, is rare."

"More importantly..."

Roko's fingertip pointed to the red arrow on the map representing the Light Temple's possible advance route.

"The Light Temple's 'Purification Army' is moving south."

His fingertip moved to the black arrow representing the direction of the orc invasion.

"The Northern orcs are attacking Heifeng Aikou on a large scale at the same time."

"The timing of these two events is just too coincidental."

Martina's white eyes shrank abruptly.

"Roko, you mean..."