Chapter 51: Assault on the Hunting Village!

Half an hour later, six knights and fifty guards had assembled.

This time, Gervas also brought longbowmen.

After several days of rest, the combat strength of the ten archer slaves had recovered.

Through hard training plus the Golden Eyes, Evlan had also made astonishing progress.

Today was finally the time to put them into action.

"Set out!"

Under Gervas's command, a force of about seventy people marched toward the southeast side of Storm Domain.

Although the exact location of the Hunter Village had not yet been confirmed, this was not difficult.

Upon reaching the area where Mi Gen and the others had lost track of their targets, Gervas ordered his subordinates to wait on the spot while he rode Zuiyue up into the high sky.

After circling for several minutes at an altitude of over a thousand meters, a hidden valley surrounded by mountains on all four sides came into view.

The valley had only one road for entry and exit, and inside stood more than a dozen thatched cottages.

No need to think much; this was absolutely the settlement of those hunters.

Gervas also discovered that the sole entrance to this Hunting Village had a stone wall built at it, allowing one to hold the high ground, where a single man could block ten thousand!

"They really know how to pick a place!"

This Hunter Village lay within the dangerous Storm Domain, where the lord had changed three times, yet they remained unharmed; there was a reason for that.

Just for this strategic advantage, unless they encountered high-tier demonic beasts, there was no need to worry at all.

Of course, now that Gervas with his Pegasus had arrived, the village's defenses were no longer impregnable.

Returning outside the forest, he informed his subordinates of the situation.

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

Because today they had exchanged a large amount of supplies, the entire Hunting Village was in a state of joy, completely unaware that the Lord had already set his sights on them.

Sneaking quietly to a position outside the valley, Gervas once again rode Zuiyue up into the high sky.

At this moment, three villagers were on guard at the stone wall by the village entrance ahead.

Beside them stood an alarm bell; if it were struck, the entire village could be summoned for support very quickly.

But these three fellows never imagined that this time the enemy would come first from the air to their side, rather than from the narrow mountain path ahead.

"My lord Village Chief, you summoned us; is there something you need?"

"Captain Pike, today when we went out to exchange supplies, I believe you also heard that a new lord has arrived in Storm Domain!"

"My lord Village Chief, I heard, but so what? Haven't many lords come to Storm Domain? In ten years, three have come, and in the end, none lived long before dying!" Pike was utterly unconcerned.

As captain of the hunting team, he possessed the best hunting skills in the village and was also the strongest.

Perhaps in a few years, when the Village Chief grew too old to walk, he could become the new Village Chief.

"Pike, I heard this lord is different from the previous ones; this time he seems to have sold over a thousand wild beast pelts to the Tulip Merchant Caravan!"

"This shows that this newly appointed lord, who has only been in office for a few days, is very capable; perhaps this time we must be cautious when considering whether to submit to this new lord!" The Village Chief's face showed worry.

The previous lords had not discovered them because their reigns were too short.

But once time passed, they would likely discover the existence of the Hunting Village.

And if the lord truly learned of it, stealing the lord's wealth was a capital offense.

"My lord Village Chief, I think you are worrying too much; this is Storm Domain. Even if this lord is more capable than the previous ones, sooner or later he will die from monsters or other dangers."

"Our Hunting Village has been able to eat our fill for so many years precisely because there has been no exploitation by nobles."

"If we now choose to submit to the nobles, we will be squeezed by them; from now on, I fear we will never be able to eat our fill again!"

"Do you not think I am right!"

Captain Pike looked at the other villagers.

The villagers nodded slightly; they had not paid taxes for so many years, and suddenly asking them to voluntarily submit to noble exploitation was something no one would want.

"Pike, I understand the concerns you have raised, but what if the lord finds out..."

"My lord Village Chief, if the new lord truly finds out, then we will fight them. Our Hunting Village is easy to defend and hard to attack; everyone knows how to shoot arrows; without a hundred elite soldiers, they cannot hope to break in."

"Moreover, if we cannot win, at worst we can simply flee through the back mountain to the Chaos Wasteland..."

"Kill!"

Before Pike's words had even finished, a cry of battle suddenly erupted outside the house.

Pike and the others were stunned, unable to react immediately.

"My lord Village Chief, Captain Pike, it's bad! Noble guards are attacking us!" A panicked villager rushed into the room.

"Noble guards?" The villagers at the meeting looked at one another, their faces beginning to turn pale.

"What is there to fear? We have a sturdy stone wall; even if a hundred noble guards come, we can hold them..." Pike was not panicked.

"No, Captain Pike, the stone wall has already been breached; those noble guards have already broken through the stone wall gate!"

Pike shuddered all over, incredulous. "How is this possible? Were not Ladi and Kari on guard?"

"Captain Pike, I do not know; Ladi and the others have likely already been killed by the guards. In any case, a large group of noble guards has already rushed into the village. My lord Village Chief, Captain Pike, what should we do?"

"Go, quickly notify everyone; we must flee immediately through the back mountain!"

Although the Village Chief had previously proposed submission,

that was based on the nobles not knowing of their existence beforehand; they would have been voluntarily surrendering.

But now that the nobles had already attacked the village, how could they possibly spare them!

Thus, at this moment, the Village Chief also chose to abandon the village and flee.

Unfortunately, Gervas and his party attacked too suddenly; the villagers of the entire village had no preparation.

So, by the time the women and children were gathered at the back mountain, the guards had already followed close behind.

"People of Hunting Village, listen up! Lay down your weapons and surrender at once. My lord can be merciful and spare your lives!"

Lei Meng and the other knights led the way, with Lawrence and the other guards following behind.

Although most of the guards wore no armor, they held up door panels in their hands, which could effectively block arrow fire.

Seeing this formation, the villagers of Hunting Village grew even more panicked.

Close-quarters combat was not their strength, and as for the longbows... the noble guards had made preparations for that too.

"We cannot trust them. Nobles never honor their word. If we choose to surrender, the nobles will surely hang us all in the end!"

"So we have no choice but to fight them to the death, while the women and children continue to flee!"

Captain Pike shouted to the crowd, and the villagers' expressions gradually grew resolute.

What a guy! Gervas exclaimed, "What a guy!"

The reputation of the nobles is indeed known to everyone.

Of course, while they understood, they were resisting their own lord, so the iron fist was certainly going to come down.

"Evelyn, help me aim at that shouting fellow. Pierce his arm. Can you do it?!"

"Yes, my lord!"