Chapter 51

Half an hour later, six knights and fifty soldiers assembled.

This time, Gervas brought along archers.

The ten slave archers had recovered their combat strength after days of rest.

Evlan had made remarkable progress through rigorous training and her Golden Iris.

Today was finally the day to deploy them.

“Advance!”

A force of about seventy men marched under Gervas’s command toward the southeastern edge of Stormhold.

Though the exact location of the Hunter Village was still unknown, it was no great challenge.

Upon reaching the area where Migen and the others had lost track of their quarry, Gervas ordered his men to wait, then rode Zuiyue into the sky.

After circling for minutes at over a thousand meters altitude, a hidden valley surrounded by mountains appeared in his view.

The valley had only one entrance and exit, with more than a dozen thatched huts inside.

Without further thought, this was undoubtedly the hunters’ settlement.

Gervas also noticed a stone wall built at the village’s sole entrance, allowing defenders to hold the high ground—one man against ten thousand!

“They really picked a good spot!”

The Hunter Village sat deep within the dangerous Stormhold, where three lords had come and gone, yet they remained unharmed—not without reason.

With this terrain advantage, they needn’t fear anything except high-tier beasts.

Of course, now they faced Gervas, who rode flying horses—this village’s defenses were no longer impregnable.

…

Returning to the edge of the forest, Gervas informed his men of the situation.

After deliberation, they abandoned their horses and entered the mountains on foot.

Today, having acquired abundant supplies, the entire Hunter Village was in celebration, utterly unaware their lord had already set his sights on them.

Sneaking to the edge of the valley, Gervas mounted Zuiyue and rose into the sky once more.

At the village gate, three villagers stood guard atop the stone wall.

Beside them hung a warning bell—if rung, the whole village would rally in moments.

But these three never imagined the enemy would strike first from the air beside them, not from the narrow mountain path ahead.

…

“Chief, why have you summoned us?”

“Captain Pike, today we traded for supplies—you’ve surely heard the news? Stormhold has a new lord!”

“Chief, I heard. So what? How many lords have come to Stormhold? Three in ten years—all dead before long!” Pike dismissed it.

As captain of the hunting team, he was the village’s best hunter and strongest man.

In a few years, when the chief grew too old to walk, he would become the new chief.

“Pike, I heard this lord sold over a thousand animal pelts to the Tulip Caravan!”

“That means this new lord, barely installed, is highly capable. Perhaps we must seriously consider submitting to him!” the chief said, worried.

Previous lords never found them because their reigns were too short.

But if a lord stayed long enough, he might discover the Hunter Village.

And if the lord learned of them, stealing his wealth was a capital offense.

“Chief, you worry too much. This is Stormhold—even if this lord is stronger than the last three, he’ll eventually die from beasts or other dangers.”

“For years, our village has eaten well precisely because no nobles have exploited us.”

“If we submit now, we’ll be crushed under noble oppression—we’ll never eat full meals again!”

“Don’t you agree?”

Captain Pike looked at the other villagers.

They nodded slightly. After so many years without paying taxes, none wanted to submit to noble exploitation.

“Pike, I understand your concerns—but what if the lord finds out?”

“Chief, if the new lord discovers us, we fight. Our village is easy to defend, everyone knows archery, and no hundred elite soldiers can break in.”

“And if we lose, we flee through the back mountain into the Chaos Wastes…”

“Kill!”

Before Pike finished speaking, a roar of battle erupted outside.

Pike and the others froze, stunned.

“Chief! Captain Pike! Nobles’ soldiers are attacking us!” a panicked villager burst in.

“Nobles’ soldiers?” The meeting attendees stared at each other, faces paling.

“What’s to fear? We have strong stone walls—even a hundred noble soldiers can’t take us!” Pike remained calm.

“No, Captain Pike—the stone wall is breached! The noble soldiers have already stormed through the gate!”

Pike trembled, disbelieving. “How? Weren’t Ladi and Kari on guard?”

“I don’t know, Captain—Ladi and the others are probably dead. Now a horde of noble soldiers has flooded the village. Chief, Captain Pike—what do we do?”

“Go! Warn everyone—we flee through the back mountain now!”

The chief had previously suggested submission.

But that was only under the assumption the nobles didn’t know they existed—then they could surrender voluntarily.

Now that nobles had stormed the village, they’d never be spared.

So at this moment, the chief chose to abandon the village and flee.

Too bad—Gervas’s assault came too suddenly; no villager was prepared.

By the time women and children were gathered at the back mountain, the soldiers were already closing in.

“Hear me, people of the Hunter Village! Lay down your weapons and surrender! Our lord may spare your lives!”

Lei Meng and the knights led the front; Lawrence and the soldiers followed.

Though most soldiers lacked armor, they carried door panels to shield against arrows.

Seeing this formation, the villagers panicked further.

Close combat was not their strength—and their longbows? The nobles had prepared for them too.

“Don’t trust them! Nobles never keep their word—if we surrender, they’ll hang us all!”

“So we fight! Let the women and children keep running!”

Pike shouted to the crowd, and the villagers’ expressions hardened.

Damn! Gervas muttered in admiration.

The nobles’ reputation for betrayal was indeed well-known.

Of course, he understood—but they were rebelling against him, their lord, so the iron fist must fall.

“Evlan, aim for that shouting man—shoot through his arm. Can you do it?!”

“Yes, Master!”