"So, did you finally agree?"
"Are you kidding me? How could I possibly agree to something like that?!"
In the forest under the cover of night, Rachel, riding on horseback, slightly raised her head, glanced at Todd beside her from under her hood, and made a drawn-out "Oh" through her nose.
Todd straightened his back and said righteously, "I only promise, and swear in the name of the gods, to provide the necessary protection to Vorgal and his daughter Emeral!"
Rachel chuckled softly and lowered her head, saying nothing more.
Todd breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the winding army behind him.
One hundred gladiators and two hundred barbarian warriors had set out from the camp several days earlier and were marching towards a town in the Kingdom of Ulster. Before leaving, Todd handed over command of the camp's defenses to Alfonso and left the Royal Guard behind as the garrison. The force he himself led comprised almost two-thirds of the Froststone Camp's total strength.
Bound tightly, Vladimir walked at the front of the army, leading the way, surrounded by a dozen soldiers who monitored his every move.
Todd rode up to Vorgal and asked him, "How much further?"
"Once we cross those hills, we'll reach the town of Marochi." Vorgal stopped, looked up at the bright moon in the night sky, and estimated the distance: "It'll be another fifteen minutes before we see the outskirts of the town. Every spring, the kingdom stores the southern army's grain in the castle in the town center, and then the convoys transport it away."
Todd nodded, signaling the troops to halt their advance.
Soon, a barbarian hunter skilled in stealth and reconnaissance returned to the army from afar and reported to Todd: "Chief, I have checked the town and everything is normal. The enemy has not noticed anything."
"Where are the enemy sentries?"
"There's a watchtower facing south with two sentries; they're not difficult to deal with."
"What is the situation with the garrison?"
"I made some inquiries, and it turns out that an enemy force just left the town last week. The garrison in the town now numbers no more than two hundred men."
Vorgal, who was firmly held by several barbarian warriors, spoke up at this moment: "Look, the fate of my daughter and me is already in your hands. I have no reason to lie to you."
Todd stroked his chin for a moment, then gave orders to the troops: "Ackerman, you take all the cavalry, put on your horns, and scout around the town's perimeter; Casper, you take fifty gladiators and stay behind on the hilly highlands ahead; the rest of you, stay put and prepare for battle!"
Fugal curled his lip: "You really are cunning. I really don't understand how you got caught last time?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the barbarian warrior behind Vorgal punched him hard in the back, knocking the foul-mouthed fellow to the ground.
Todd walked over to Fergal, glanced at the pained old man, and said, "Kasper, make sure he doesn't leave your sight. If anything happens to us in town, the first thing you need to do is kill him!"
"I'll go with you."
Todd looked at Rachel, who had spoken, and gently shook his head, saying, "Stay here on the highlands. If anything happens, I need you to guard my escape route."
Having arranged everything, Todd picked up his sword and shield and nodded to the warriors behind him.
A force of two hundred soldiers vanished silently into the night.
A moment later, the tranquility of the night was broken by the clamor of war.
The cries and screams of the residents completely woke up the town's garrison.
On the walls of Marozzi Castle, soldiers covered in grime knelt at their commander's feet, crying out, "My lord, all our brothers in the town have been killed!"
The castle's commander, an elderly royal lord, roared, "Who are the enemies?! How many are there?!"
“I…I don’t know. They didn’t raise any flags. One hundred and fifty? Two hundred? Maybe more! Many of them were wearing the finest armor!”
The commander's eye twitched, and he kicked the wounded soldier hard in the stomach: "You bastard! Do you think I'm an idiot?!"
"My lord, the enemy is approaching the castle!"
Hearing the sentry's warning, the castle commander abandoned the others and went to the city wall to look ahead.
One by one, the metallic figures, like war spirits returning from hell to earth, marched in formation towards the castle through the raging flames.
The commander looked at the armor reflecting the firelight on the enemy in the front row, then at the well-crafted weapons and shields in their hands, and remained stunned for a long time.
"My lord, the enemy is already within range of our arrows!"
The commander finally came to his senses: "Oh...oh, fire the arrows, fire the arrows!"
The arrows struck the heavy armor of the enemy in the front ranks, but apart from the clanging sounds, they failed to cause any real damage.
As the enemy drew ever closer, the commander gritted his teeth and shouted, "Tell the guards at the city gate! Timber, wagons, stone! I don't care what they use, just block the city gate as soon as possible!"
"Also, tell the archers not to waste arrows and to let the enemy get closer! If we can hold out until dawn, the kingdom's reinforcements will come to our rescue!"
To his surprise, the unidentified army suddenly stopped some distance from the castle. Their ranks split into two halves, and all the warriors bowed to a man in the center of the formation who was holding a sword and shield and was not wearing armor. The man then threw down his weapon, stepped out of the infantry ranks, and slowly walked towards the castle.
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