Chapter 177: Those who offend my Vanguard Valley shall be executed without mercy!

"How many of them are there?"

"According to scout observations, at least three thousand! Furthermore, our informant embedded within the bandits has sent word that their leader, 'Black Wolf,' is leading the team personally this time!"

The dagger was finally revealed from the map!

After so many days of harassment, the true killing blow had finally arrived.

Martina's mind raced at high speed.

The garrison at Harvest Town consisted of only one battalion, five hundred men.

They could not possibly withstand a fierce assault from three thousand elite bandits.

She had to send reinforcements immediately.

However, the mobile forces she had at her disposal were already running thin.

She had dispatched most of her troops, scattering them along the long border line to mop up those small, harassing units.

It was impossible to pull them together on such short notice.

The only force that could arrive in time was the First Regiment of the "Xin Feng Legion" stationed at the main city.

But that was the final barrier protecting the main city of Vanguard Valley.

If she moved them away, what would happen if the enemy used a feint to the east while attacking the west, leaving the main city empty?

This was a difficult choice.

"Master Martina!"

The messenger urged her anxiously.

"If you don't decide now, it will be too late!"

Martina took a deep breath, a flash of resolve crossing her eyes.

She would gamble!

She did not believe the enemy still had the capability to threaten the main city.

"Pass on my order!"

Her voice echoed through the empty hall.

"Order the commander of the First Regiment of the Xin Feng Legion to assemble the troops immediately and rush to Harvest Town at full speed!"

"Tell him, at all costs, he must hold the Fertile Granary!"

"Before the Lord returns, not a single grain of rice in Vanguard Valley's granary can be lost!"

The night wind was like a knife, scraping painfully against their faces.

Roko and his twenty-three riders had been galloping continuously for over a dozen hours.

The warhorses beneath them were already overwhelmed, foaming at the mouth, their speed slowing more and more.

"Master, the horses can't hold on much longer."

Hart's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"If we keep running them like this, I'm afraid they'll be worked to death."

Roko did not speak, only turning his head to glance at the knights behind him, who were equally exhausted.

He knew that both men and horses had reached their limits.

But the anxiety in his heart was like a fire, burning brighter and brighter.

Too much time had passed since he left the main force.

He dared not imagine what Vanguard Valley looked like now.

How was Martina?

And what of the people he had sworn to protect?

Just then, Fula, who had been following Roko the whole time, suddenly reined in her horse.

"Master, there are people ahead."

Her heterochromatic eyes looked vigilantly toward the dark road ahead.

The group stopped immediately, gripping their weapons tightly.

Soon, several dark shadows came running out from the woods by the roadside, stumbling and falling.

Their clothes were tattered, their faces full of terror, looking like refugees.

Seeing the fine armor on Roko and his men, the old man leading them seemed to see a savior, dropping to his knees with a thud.

"Soldier! Help us! Soldier!"

Roko dismounted and reached out to help the old man up.

"Old man, don't be afraid. We are the army of Vanguard Valley. What happened?"

"Bandits! It's the Black Wolf Bandit Group!"

The old man wept, pointing in the direction behind them.

"They rushed into our village, killing everyone they saw and looting everything! They burned all the houses!"

"My son, my daughter-in-law—they—they were all killed by them!"

As the old man spoke, he was unable to continue through his sobs.

The young people and women and children behind him were also crying in a heap.

Roko's heart gave a fierce jolt.

Looking at this miserable scene before him, the killing intent in his eyes nearly solidified.

"Black Wolf—"

He enunciated the name word by word, his voice as cold as ice.

"How many of them are there? Which direction did they go?"

"So many people, they covered the mountains and plains!"

A young man answered, trembling.

"After they finished looting our village, they headed toward Harvest Town! I heard their leader say they were going to rob—rob the Fertile Granary!"

The Fertile Granary!

Roko's pupils shrank violently.

That was the lifeblood of Vanguard Valley!

Archibald, Poison Scorpion Society, you truly have a good scheme!

"Master!"

Hart had heard it too, his face instantly turning incredibly ugly.

"Harvest Town only has one battalion of defenders; they can't stop them!"

"We must rush over there immediately!"

Roko did not give the order immediately; he forced himself to calm down.

If they rushed over like this, exhausted and worn out, what good would they be?

He needed more accurate intelligence and a more efficient plan.

Just then, a flurry of hoofbeats came from the direction they had come from.

Several riders were approaching at an astonishing speed.

Roko's gaze sharpened as he recognized their attire.

They were messengers from the Commercial Alliance!

The lead messenger saw Roko and revealed a look of joy, quickly dismounting.

"Master Roko! We finally found you!"

"Master Silas sent us!"

The messenger took a wax-sealed scroll from his chest and handed it over respectfully.

"Master Silas said you are the Commercial Alliance's most esteemed partner. Your territory is in trouble, and we cannot sit idly by."

"This is the latest movement and troop deployment map of the Black Wolf Bandit Group, scouted overnight by our Alliance!"

"Master Silas also said he has prepared the best fast horses and supplies for you in several towns along the way; as long as you show this emblem, you can use them at any time!"

The messenger handed over a golden emblem engraved with a scale and coin pattern.

Roko took the map and the emblem, a warmth flowing through his heart.

That fat man Silas was truly a shrewd merchant.

This favor was delivered at the perfect time!

He quickly unfolded the map.

It was a military map drawn with special ink, clearly marking the terrain around Harvest Town.

Red arrows represented the bandits' march routes.

And in a valley called "Stone Slope," a huge red skull mark appeared particularly glaring.

Next to the mark was a line of small text.

"Black Wolf Command Post, force of about three hundred, all elites."

"Well done!"

A cold arc curled at the corner of Roko's mouth.

His previous plan had been to rush to Harvest Town to assist the defenders.

But now, he had a bolder and even crazier idea.

Capture the bandits by capturing their leader!

Instead of clashing head-on with those three thousand bandits, it would be better to wipe out their lair directly!

As long as "Black Wolf" was killed, this rabble would inevitably collapse!

"Hart!"

"Present!"

"Take ten knights immediately, take this emblem, go to the nearest town to swap horses, and then rush to Harvest Town at the fastest speed!"

"Once you arrive, don't rush into battle; patrol the outskirts of the town, harass their rear, and put pressure on them!"

"Remember, your mission is to delay, not to fight a decisive battle!"

Although Hart was a bit puzzled, he accepted the order without hesitation.

"Yes! I guarantee the mission will be completed!"

"Fula, you and I, along with the remaining nine knights, will take another route!"

Roko's finger pointed heavily at the location of the red skull on the map.

"Tonight, I will turn this so-called 'Black Wolf' into a dead wolf!"

In his eyes, golden Holy Sun Battle Qi danced like flames.

A terrifying pressure radiated from him, causing the surrounding air to freeze.

The few refugee villagers were so frightened by this aura that they trembled, their eyes filled with awe as they looked at Roko.

It was as if they were not looking at a young lord.

But a god of slaughter about to descend divine punishment!

"Let's go!"

Roko did not linger, taking Fula and the remaining nine knights, turning their horses around, and charging into the dark mountain forest nearby.

Their target was pointed straight at Stone Slope!

Harvest Town, West City Wall.

The battle had already entered a white-hot stage.

Amidst the earth-shaking shouts of battle, countless Black Wolf bandits, like mad dogs, carried crude siege ladders and charged the city wall in wave after wave.

On the wall, the soldiers of the Xin Feng Legion fought to the death.

Rolling logs, stones, fire oil—everything that could be used was used.

Blood stained the battlements, and severed limbs could be seen everywhere.

The air was filled with a thick smell of blood and burning, like a living hell.

The commander of the First Regiment, an experienced veteran, was shouting hoarsely to direct the battle.

"Archers! Don't stop! Keep shooting!"

"Spearmen, hold the battlements! Stab down every piece of trash that climbs up!"

"Steady! Everyone stay steady! Reinforcements will be here soon!"

However, his encouragement seemed somewhat pale and powerless.

There were simply too many enemies.

Over three thousand fearless bandits against their mere five hundred defenders—the disparity in strength was stark.

Even more terrifying was that many experts were hidden among the enemies.

From time to time, tricky cold arrows would shoot out from the darkness, accurately reaping the lives of the defending commanders.

"Ah!"

With a scream, a centurion beside the commander had his throat pierced by an arrow and fell straight down.

"Damn it!"

The commander's eyes were red; he grabbed a shield from a soldier nearby and held it in front of him.

"Snipe their archers! Quickly!"

However, before he could finish speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out below the city wall.

Dozens of exceptionally burly bandits holding giant axes were seen pushing a massive battering ram, beginning to strike the city gate violently.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Each impact made the entire city wall tremble.

The city gate, which was not very sturdy to begin with, already had cracks appearing under the fierce assault of the battering ram.

"Oh no! The city gate is about to break!"

"Quick! Throw stones! Use fire oil!"

The defenders were panicked, desperately throwing things down at the city.

But the battering ram was wrapped in thick, wet cowhide and was not afraid of fire at all.

And those giant-axe bandits pushing the ram used huge shields to protect their heads, so ordinary rolling logs and stones couldn't hurt them.

"It's over—everything is over—"

A young soldier looked at the crumbling city gate, a look of despair appearing on his face.

His hand holding the spear was trembling uncontrollably.

Fear, like a plague, spread among the defenders.

Just then, a shrill scream suddenly came from the rear of the bandits.

The bandits who were attacking the city were all stunned, subconsciously looking back.

They saw that their rear camp had somehow ignited into a raging fire.

A small cavalry unit, like a black whirlwind, was rampaging through their camp.

The lead knight waved his spear, and every thrust took the lives of several bandits.

It was none other than Hart and the ten Storm Knights he led, who had been ordered to harass them!

"It's reinforcements! Our reinforcements have arrived!"

The defenders on the city wall instantly erupted into earth-shaking cheers.

The desperate morale was reignited in an instant!

"Brothers! The Lord has sent reinforcements! Fight these bastards to the death!"

The commander seized the opportunity and roared again.

"Kill!"

However, the bandit commander was clearly no ordinary person.

After a brief panic, he immediately split off a unit of nearly a thousand men to surround Hart and his men.

Although Hart and his men were brave, there were only eleven of them after all.

Facing an enemy nearly a hundred times their number, they soon fell into a bitter struggle.

"Damn it, these guys are like madmen!"

Hart skewered a bandit with his spear and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

They were like tigers trapped in a quagmire; although they kept tearing at the enemy, their movements were becoming increasingly sluggish.

The cheers on the city wall gradually died down.

Everyone's heart sank to the bottom once again.

These few reinforcements were simply a drop in the bucket.

Seeing that Hart and his men were about to be drowned by the sea of bandits, and the city gate was about to be smashed open in the next moment.

It was at this most desperate moment.

A golden radiance, like the first ray of dawn, pierced through the pitch-black night sky.

It was a sword light.

A terrifying sword light, dozens of meters long, burning with golden flames!

It spanned a distance of several thousand meters from the direction of the rocky slope east of Harvest Town, and with a speed that surpassed everyone's comprehension, it struck down ferociously!

The target was precisely that group of bandits who were fiercely attacking Hart!

Boom!

The sword light landed, and the earth roared!

A bottomless chasm appeared in the center of the bandits' formation.

Wherever the chasm passed, hundreds of bandits were instantly evaporated into nothingness by the golden flames before they could even let out a scream!

The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silence at this moment.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the terrifying chasm that was still burning with golden flames.

Whether they were the defenders or the bandits, all were scared out of their wits by this god-like scene.

W-what kind of power is this?

Is this something humanly achievable?

This is divine punishment!

It is a punishment sent down by the gods!

"It—it's the Lord!"

Hart looked at those familiar golden flames, trembling with excitement.

"The Lord has returned!"

His voice, amplified by Battle Qi, spread across the entire battlefield.

The Lord?

That young Lord of Vanguard Valley, Roko Raymond?

Isn't he in Sunset City?

How could he—before everyone could recover from the shock.

A sound like thunderous hoofbeats erupted from the mountain forest to the east.

Ten riders!

Only ten riders!

The leader, dressed in black armor, holding a longsword burning with golden flames, his black hair dancing wildly in the night wind, looked like a demon god who had slaughtered his way out of hell!

It was Roko!

He had returned!

Before the people who needed him most, he had returned ferociously, like a divine soldier descending from heaven!

"Those who offend my Vanguard Valley—

Roko's voice was cold and grand, like an oracle from the nine heavens, ringing in everyone's ears.

"Kill! Without! Mercy!"