Chapter 240

"Stay alert—Parker's men are about to charge down the hill. When the time comes, fall back to the edge of the woods to avoid being caught between Parker's forces and the light cavalry!"

Gervas had stationed his guards at this mountain pass.

Not just to taunt Parker, but to guard against the light cavalry.

Otherwise, once we climb the slope and the path narrows, we'll be trapped between two fronts—and then we'll be crying with no one to hear us!

At the foot of the hill, Parker gains no advantage, so he'll surely choose to attack first—letting me retreat at maximum speed to my pre-planned position.

And Gervas didn't have to wait long.

Because above, Lord Parker had already accepted reality.

Without sufficient ranged attacks to suppress Gervas, even if Gervas moved onto the mountain path, he'd gain no upper hand.

Instead, he was already furious from being hammered by those damned strange longbowmen.

So why not attack proactively? Tie down Gervas's men and give Captain Adani a chance for a flanking strike!

"Kilan, Bell—no more waiting! Lead your men down and crush Gervas!"

Wooooo!

The horn sounded!

"Kill!"

Instantly, shouts of battle erupted from the iron mine peak.

"Retreat!"

Seeing this, Gervas naturally began his planned withdrawal.

"Damn bastard!" Seeing Gervas turn and run without hesitation, Lord Parker gritted his teeth.

But remembering the fool couldn't escape far, he calmed slightly.

Meanwhile, Gervas's group halted at six hundred meters, behind the small grove.

"Form ranks! Prepare to meet the enemy!"

Then, five hundred Storm Legion troops reformed their lines.

The spear phalanx stood in the center, swordsmen on the flanks, archers and crossbowmen providing ranged support from behind.

"Damn bastard, why aren't you running? Think hiding behind trees will let you beat me?" Parker charged up with his army, sneering at Gervas.

Gervas smiled calmly. "Lord Parker, don't act like a nagging woman. If you want to fight, come on! I'm right here waiting for you!"

"Who's being nagging? You cowardly dog—I've taken your iron mine and you still won't attack!" Parker nearly jumped out of his skin.

"But now you'll die too! Gervas, wait— I'll twist your head off and kick it like a ball!"

Damn! Gervas blurted out "Damn!"

"Parker, several men have said the same thing to me before—but now their graves are overgrown with grass!"

Though he didn't understand why "graves overgrown with grass" was emphasized, Parker felt Gervas's arrogance.

So he wasted no more time.

"Charge! Kill every last Storm Lord bastard!"

"Kill!"

Kilan and Bell, the two vassals, led another thousand-man force into battle.

Due to the numerical gap, as the enemy charged, Gervas's formation looked dangerously fragile.

Fortunately, the position he chose was excellent.

To the left lay a hill—no risk of being flanked from that side.

To the right stood a small grove; though two hundred meters behind, there was a gap allowing a detour.

But Gervas still had fifty sword-wielding guards held in reserve.

If the enemy tried to circle around, these fifty guards would intercept them.

Thus, Parker's army never bothered with such a costly maneuver.

More importantly, Parker had clearly left that gap on purpose.

Both sides now silently agreed: focus solely on the front line.

Amid the roar of battle, Parker's thousand-man force finally closed in.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Soldiers from both sides crashed into each other.

Instantly, screams and moans filled the air.

Parker's army was clever—they targeted only the swordsmen on the flanks, leaving the central spear phalanx with only token harassment.

Even so, because Gervas's guards were fully armed elites, Parker's two-to-one numerical advantage gained no ground at all.

"Damn bastard—how are his men so strong?!"

Parker's heart twisted with envy.

After all, the combat prowess of Gervas's men couldn't possibly come from just leather armor.

It required years of rigorous training and cultivation.

He couldn't fathom where Gervas had found so many fierce warriors.

If he could get even a fraction of them, the Parker family's prestige on this border would soar.

But then he remembered he'd soon crush Gervas—and his envy vanished.

"All of you—charge! Today, annihilate every Storm Lord soldier!"

"Yes, my lord!"

With the order, Parker's final five hundred men were thrown into battle.

With fifteen hundred troops now engaged, Parker's army outnumbered the Storm Guards three to one.

Yet Gervas's guards held firm.

After all, they ate meat daily, trained at high intensity, and even received daily rations of lightning eel.

The lightning eel, beyond its taste, was as nourishing as low-tier demonic beast meat.

Who in their right mind fed their regular soldiers demonic beast meat?

Even the Guard Knights couldn't expect such treatment.

Had Gervas's troops not been mostly raw recruits fresh to battle, they could've turned around and crushed Parker's army outright.

After all, threefold numbers meant little when a thousand were peasant conscripts with pitiful skill.

But Gervas was perfectly content—he was using Parker's men to forge his new recruits.

After this battle, his five hundred guards would become true elites.

Time ticked by, the battle stalled in stalemate.

Yet in the stalemate, Parker's numbers were quietly dwindling.

Gervas's men grew fiercer with every clash.

If given time, within hours, it might be Parker's army that lost.

Parker sensed the shift—his face darkened.

Fortunately, at that moment, he spotted a colorful banner flickering in the woods over a mile away.

"They're ready to strike!"

That was his secret signal with Adani.

Adani was now preparing his ambush—Parker needed to hold the front.

"Send word: no mercy! Attack with full force! Anyone who retreats will be executed—his family enslaved!"

"Yes, Lord Parker!"

Instantly, the front line erupted again in battle cries.

Kilan and Bell, aware of the plan, pushed harder: "Fight harder! Whoever hesitates—die!"

Whether peasant conscripts or armored guards, none dared slacken—they pressed forward against the Storm Legion.

Even Gervas's spearmen finally found targets, scoring their first kills.

Just as the Storm Legion soldiers rejoiced, a cavalry unit of fifty riders suddenly emerged from the distant woods.