Chapter 84: Infiltration from the Rear!

“Charge! Whoever retreats will be executed on the spot, and their families will be reduced to slaves!”

“Kill!”

The first assault team, composed of three hundred serfs and dozens of armored guards, began charging forward under a hail of rolling rocks and arrows, carrying simple ladders!

……

“What’s going on?”

“Boss, a thousand-strong noble force has arrived outside the camp—they’re attacking us!”

“Noble force? Let’s go see.” Scorpion Boss frowned and hurried to the wall.

On the wall, he indeed saw shadows filling the foot of the mountain; among the troops below, several noble banners fluttered.

“The Violet Family’s banner—damn it! Who leaked our location?!” Scorpion Boss immediately recognized the Violet Family’s banner among the nobles below.

Yet he wasn’t afraid of this Violet Family force; he cared more about who had betrayed them.

Could it be the one who ordered him?

Scorpion Boss quickly dismissed the thought.

Unless that man no longer wished to live, he would never betray them—they had received his funding.

“Boss, are these guys from the Violet Family? What do we do?” Sak and the others were far from calm; learning the enemy’s identity, they grew terrified.

Earlier they’d planned to kill everyone after getting the gold, but now their identity was exposed—they’d face the Kingdom’s retaliation.

“What to do? Teach them a brutal lesson. As for the Kingdom, someone else is even more eager than we are—why should you fear?” Scorpion Boss remained utterly calm.

Sak realized it was true—the noble who funded them would be even more panicked than they were, so they had no reason to panic.

“Men, crush these noble soldiers! They want to rescue the Lady Baroness—that means they want to take our gold, which is your very lives! So kill them all!”

“Yes, Boss!”

They already held the defensive advantage, and the massive reward fueled their morale.

Though only two hundred strong, their spirit was higher than the Violet Family’s army below.

Half an hour passed; the Violet Family’s vassal army achieved nothing and lost over a hundred corpses, leaving three vassals questioning their lives.

“Ha! You useless, foolish nobles—this is what happens when you attack the Scorpion Bandits!”

“Here’s my advice: take your remaining men and leave now, or you nobles will die without even a grave!” Scorpion Boss’s cold voice echoed from above.

Mien and the others gritted their teeth. “Damn it! Scorpion Bandits, don’t get cocky! I warn you—release our Baroness, or we might spare you!”

“If you keep holding our Baroness, we’ll fight to the last soldier—we won’t let you live!”

“Won’t let us live? Noble, listen well: get the hell away from here right now, or I’ll kill your Lady Baroness this instant.”

Scorpion Boss wasn’t afraid of these Violet Family vassals.

But he did worry the Kingdom’s army might learn of this and come.

So the camp couldn’t stay— he decided to drive off these nobles and then move his men elsewhere.

After all, with the Lady Baroness in hand, the gold wouldn’t escape!

“Let us leave? Impossible, Scorpion Bandits—unless you release our Baroness!”

Mien continued: “Attack! Whoever retreats—executed!”

The vassal army regrouped and launched a second wave: five hundred men.

“These stubborn fools—looks like I need to show them some real pain before they’ll leave willingly! Bring the Lady Baroness here!”

Scorpion Boss planned to threaten them with the Lady Baroness in person.

He didn’t believe these vassals would dare resist if he cut off a few fingers in front of them.

But Scorpion Boss didn’t know.

At the rear of the lair, a hundred-man force had just assembled.

“My lord, the Magi-Storm Hawk’s baskets are ready—we can move at any moment!”

“Then begin!”

“Yes, my lord!”

At his command, except for Evlan, who needed to monitor from the air, the other ten Magi-Storm Hawks flapped their wings, each dragging a basket upward.

Inside each basket stood Lei Meng, Mi Gen, and other knights.

The Magi-Storm Hawks moved swiftly; though each could carry only one person, rising from ground to a hundred meters took only a dozen seconds.

Each bamboo basket held one rider; the ground knights gave the order.

In just five minutes, the hundred-man force silently scaled the Scorpion Bandits’ camp.

“Ha! This is incredibly convenient—the Scorpion Bandits never dreamed we’d reach the hundred-meter cliff this way!” Once all were in place, Mi Gen couldn’t help whispering excitedly.

“In this border region, few minor nobles possess flying beasts—even within the Kingdom, they’re rare.”

“That’s why the Scorpion Bandits are so unprepared,” Lei Meng, the knight captain, whispered back.

“So our lord is truly amazing! Heh, these damn Scorpion Bandits are finished!” Mi Gen’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.

“Enough. Move out! Remember—no survivors!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Gervas wasted no time—he led his hundred men toward the heart of the Scorpion Bandits’ lair.

The front-line Violet Family vassal army had drawn nearly all the bandits’ attention; the rear had almost no guards.

After all, the bandits never imagined anyone could climb up from the hundred-meter cliff behind them.

Only when they reached the bandits’ meeting hall—the same place he’d eavesdropped on nights ago—did they finally spot two bandit guards.

The bandits stared at Gervas and his men, stunned: “Who are you?”

Lei Meng and Gervas exchanged a glance, then surged forward, aura flaring.

Before the two bandits could react, swords slashed toward them.

Puff! Puff!

“We’re here to send the Scorpion Bandits straight to hell!”

The two bandits collapsed in terror, twitching their final, spastic dance upon the ground.

“Go—rescue the Lady Baroness first!”

The Violet Family still had influence in the borderlands and decent resources.

So Gervas had no objection to doing a favor.

As Gervas and his men arrived near the chamber, they happened to see several bandits escorting the Lady Baroness toward the wall.

“Bitch, behave! If not for your vassals showing up, you’d have had a few more days. Now, cooperate—or I’ll chop your head off!”

The Lady Baroness still resisted, but the bandits were no longer gentle.

Catharine had sunk into despair.

The bandits were using her as a hostage—no matter the outcome, her chance of survival was nearly zero.

But who could she blame?

The vassals?

No!

When she climbed the mountain, she’d seen how easily defensible the terrain was—only a major noble house could sneak in via flying beasts.

But this was the border—there were no major noble houses here.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Puff!

Just as Catharine sank into despair, warm droplets splashed onto her face.

She turned, dazed, and saw the bandit who had just swung his axe and screamed threats at her now clutching his neck, face filled with disbelief.

The warm liquid splashing her—was his blood.