Chapter 109: Sinuoli's Knightly Epic

(An introduction to the two items in the title; readers who are already familiar may skip this.)

Sinuoli finished listening to the embellished story about himself, and he was impressed by the rich imagination of his Clan and his kinsmen.

He could imagine one fellow merchant after another adding oil and vinegar to the tale at the tavern table; he could also imagine one Dwarf tavern owner after another tossing a few silver coins as a reward to those bards who only knew how to sing knightly epics, encouraging them to make their descriptions even more exaggerated!

Seeing that the time had gone from Twilight to late night, Sinuoli and Viscount Akeman agreed that Maldini would lead a portion of the Human army to support Karak-Azgalaz tomorrow, and then he took his leave.

Early the next morning, the young Knight led his Pegasus and joined Sinuoli's party, accompanied by ten Knight Errant, their ten squires, thirty members of an Infantry Regiment armed with swords and shields, and fifty Peasant Archer.

They were originally helpers that Bartini had brought from several nearby knightly fiefs while riding his Pegasus. When Sinuoli promised a package price of two hundred gold coins, these men immediately stated that saving the Dwarf allies of Fearless Fort was also a mission they were obligated to undertake.

Under Sinuoli's instruction, Bartini mounted his Pegasus and took to the sky. The Pegasus is the relatively cheapest and easiest to obtain among all mounts capable of carrying people, but they are still extremely precious.

Pegasus Knight almost all come from the Duchy of Pala Weng, because only in the Grey Mountains there can one find their noble mounts.

Considering that the Duchy of Pala Weng is the place of origin for Pegasus, Maldini already possessed a Pegasus while he was still a Knight Errant.

But in other duchies, Pegasus Knight are mostly Kingdom Knight who possess fiefs, and they are either exceptionally brave or have illustrious family backgrounds.

Pegasus are difficult to capture and domesticate, and raising them also costs a great deal; it is very difficult to afford them without one's own territory.

Last night, Sinuoli couldn't help but chat with the local Dwarf Ranger about the matter of capturing Pegasus. They told Sinuoli that if raised from a foal, then in the absence of guidance from elder kin, their wings would gradually atrophy as they aged, subsequently losing the ability to fly.

Even a Pegasus that cannot fly has a top running speed that exceeds most mounts in the Old World, only slightly slower than their kin that can fly, but the loss of the ability to fly undoubtedly lowers their value significantly.

In the relatively more mountainous and rugged region of Bretonnia, a Pegasus that is not hindered by mud or thorns can further highlight its advantages.

The Pegasus itself even has decent combat power; they descend from the sky at high speed, and the massive kinetic energy of themselves and the heavily armored Knight on their backs is enough to crush the skulls of the vast majority of enemies! Viscount Akeman's slaying of Troll also relied on this combat method.

Relying on Bartini's aerial reconnaissance, Sinuoli successively wiped out two waves of Greenskin that were looting everywhere.

To ensure total annihilation, Sinuoli always had the local Dwarf Ranger who were familiar with the terrain guide the setting of Artillery positions at key locations in advance, and then forced the Greenskin into the pre-set Artillery attack range by surrounding them on three sides while leaving one open, executing them with cannon fire.

Although this slowed down the marching speed, it also ensured that the Goblin Warboss who might be besieging Karak-Azgalaz remained completely ignorant of the incoming Dwarf reinforcements.

At noon on the third day, Maldini descended from the sky on his Pegasus.

"Prince Sinuoli! I discovered a group of Ogre ahead!" He said, brushing back his golden hair.

For normal Human friends in the Old World, they were still more willing to address Sinuoli by his Prince title.

After all, the faith in the Ancestor Goddess Valaya is limited to among Dwarves, and technical titles like Rune Master seem far less noble to Humans than the son of the High King.

"A group of Ogre?" Sinuoli muttered to himself, thinking of the bartender he had met at Karak-Hern.

"They should be Ogre Mercenaries!" The voice of Fatisi Qishi rang out; he had traveled throughout the entire Old World in search of the Grail and could be considered well-informed.

"Whenever acts of destruction occur, Ogre Mercenaries will appear, whether it is battle, siege, devastation, or the sacking of towns. Where there is looting, it usually means there is meat to eat. The Ogre will rush there, set up camp, and look forward to finding a job."

Fatisi Qishi introduced the information about Ogre Mercenaries.

"Then I can hire them too?" Sinuoli asked. Ogre are essentially a neutral race, and with the number of enemies unknown, Sinuoli was quite willing to increase his own side's strength a little.

"Indeed, but I must warn you, these Ogre usually do not ask for a low price. If you spend all your money and cannot afford to keep them, then them walking away without looking back might be the best outcome."

Fatisi Qishi hesitated to speak further; throughout the Old World, the reputation of Ogre Mercenaries is not exactly good. In his view, considering the love for gold in a Dwarf's bones, perhaps not hiring these fellows was a better choice.

"I have plenty of gold! The entire Mountain Kingdom is not short of those shiny little darlings; by contrast, the life of every one of our kinsmen is a priceless treasure!"

Sinuoli tried to pat this Questing Knight on the shoulder, but due to the difference in height, he patted his butt instead.

"If we don't hire them, what if the Greenskin choose to attack? Those green-skinned fellows have no use for gold; I heard they use their own teeth as currency."

As Sinuoli spoke, he mounted his Rock Sheep. "Let's go, let's go meet those big, burly, drooling hunks of meat!"

"I haven't heard of any cases of Greenskin hiring Ogre in all these years! They think Ogre aren't 'waaagh' enough..." Fatisi Qishi still wanted to persuade him, but Sinuoli had already spurred his Rock Sheep forward, and he could only follow.

Sinuoli walked to the front of the party, followed by the Anvil Guard at a trot. Thanks to Maldini's aerial reconnaissance, he was not worried about being ambushed.

Soon, he smelled a foul stench; without asking, Sinuoli knew that the owners of this smell—the Ogre—were nearby.

"Listen to me, you big guys! My boss wants you to take down the stinking walls of the Dwarfs!" Suddenly, Sinuoli heard a shrill voice, and he couldn't help but grip his Warhammer and ring tightly.

"They, the cowardly shorties, are hiding behind the walls, and we can't get in!"

The shrill voice was still ringing out. Sinuoli made a shushing gesture, jumped off his Rock Sheep, and crept forward. With the help of the Stali Boots on his feet, he ignored the pits and thorns along the way.

"Price! Iron-Head Ahetanmu wants your price!" A dull, rough voice rang out; this undoubtedly belonged to the leader of the Ogre Mercenaries.

Thanks to Babcock324 and the aged Patrick Star for the monthly tickets.