On the beach not far from the western coast, a tall warrior wrapped in animal skins and carrying a wooden cross shield was pulling a dragon-headed warship ashore with a tow rope in his hand.
Unfolding the tarpaulin at the bow, the chieftain, standing at the very front, deftly picked up the heavy double-edged battle axe with a flick of his elbow. He then stomped his felt-hair and animal-hide boots on the soft ground, listening to the conversations of the tribal warriors behind him.
"Food is becoming increasingly scarce. Last year's harvest was poor, and the fish have migrated to warmer areas."
"The food rations for women and children have been reduced again and again. During the recent 'Sacred Fire Festival' in the tribe, even the barley wine was only half a cup per person."
"The Pan Ya tribe has been encroaching on our territory, and this year less than half of the people who came south were from our territory last year."
The leader inserted his battle axe into the slot of his shield behind him, and looked at the sky above the land ahead, where dark clouds loomed and thunder rumbled faintly.
"By the way, did you know? Just the day before yesterday, Vaughn from the clan was possessed by the 'Evil God' and killed his wife and daughter. In the end, his father cut off his head."
"Gods above! I would rather die on the charge than have even a drop of 'Berserker' blood on my hands!"
The leader placed his hand on his chest, patted his heart, and closed his eyes in anguish.
After packing up the longboat and oars, and taking with them rations and weapons, the team of sixteen soldiers began their journey inland.
The first village we arrived at was only three kilometers from the coastline.
The firewood in the stove was still warm, but the village was deserted. The chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep in the livestock pens, the valuables and personal belongings in the houses, and the dried meat and raw fish on the drying racks had all been taken away. All that was left for the "guests" who came from the sea were empty rooms and debris swirling in the wind.
A wisp of black smoke behind a large house in the village caught the pirates' attention.
The leader walked to the open space behind the house, looked at the remnants of burned plants on the ground, squatted down, reached out, picked up a bit and tasted it on his tongue, his face darkening.
"Abandon the search for coastal villages."
Upon hearing the leader's order, someone loudly questioned, "Give up the search? This is only the first village!"
Holding the burnt black ash in his hand, the leader addressed his soldiers, "This is red willow. Someone lit a signal fire before we arrived and searched the coastal villages, but we will still find nothing."
"Sakru, what should we do? Go back empty-handed?"
“No.” Turning his head eastward, Sakru’s eyes were filled with a thirst for war and wealth: “We continue eastward, into the interior.”
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A forest path on the east side of the western coast.
The group quietly lay in ambush on both sides of the road.
Walton tightened the crossbow on his back, checked the quiver, looked at the monk hiding in the grass not far away, and said to the armored knight beside him, "Boss, why did we agree to this job?"
Alfonso didn't speak, but his eyes turned to the man next to Todt, and he moved his eyes thoughtfully.
The boy with the red mark on his forehead glanced at the short, fat man and said without any mercy, "How come I remember someone saying to me that they're bored these past few days?"
Walton glared at him, then turned away angrily.
Having received information from Huggins about the pirates, Todd immediately went to the church camp, avoiding Paul, and found a familiar priest. He asked to borrow the guard's troops, citing the reason that it was to wipe out the pirates in Muxi Harbor.
Although they were unsure why the other party would be interested in repelling pirates, the priests in the church delegation, based on their long-standing friendship, agreed to Todd's request after discussing it.
The loaned troops included several papal knights and their retinues directly under the church, the militia sent by the Silver Ring diocese, and the cathedral's congregation, totaling about 140 men. Todd had heard that each pirate attack usually involved around 30 men, and initially had no intention of borrowing so many troops, but Harkins' insistence made him change his mind.
With troops in place, the next step is to formulate a battle strategy.
Todd, who knew nothing about this, simply handed over all command authority to Huggins.
After some deliberation, the man did not choose to engage in direct combat, but instead opted for an ambush. The ambush site was located approximately seventeen kilometers from Muxi Harbor, on a small path leading to the forest entrance.
The monks were again puzzled. According to intelligence, the pirates' activity range was previously limited to within fifteen kilometers of the coast. Wouldn't setting up an ambush so far away ultimately lead to nothing? Furthermore, given the vastness of Moon Creek Plain, why choose this particular forest as the ambush location?
Harkins offered a simple explanation, based on the account of his "acquaintance" who frequently sailed the seas. The pirates who had launched this raid belonged to a tribe called "Grey Skull," which had been suffering from prolonged famine and food shortages. If they returned empty-handed from this southward expedition, it would be a disastrous consequence for the tribe's survival and the prestige of its leader. Therefore, there was a high probability that the pirates, unable to bear the prospect of a failed raid, would choose to take a desperate gamble and leave the safe zone to venture deep inland.
As for why this forest entrance was chosen as the ambush site, there are two reasons: First, it is one of the shortest routes to inland villages; second, the coastal area of Moon Creek Plain is flat and has a wide field of vision, so there are not many places to hide, and this forest happens to be one of them.
The man had also prepared a contingency plan: if the pirates didn't pass through this area, the ambush would turn into a pursuit. Based on the black smoke rising from the attacked village, he led his troops to block the pirates' retreat.
Todd listened to the explanation, nodding occasionally. In his view, the arrangement was not only correct but also clear in its thinking and tactical approach. Taking another deep look at the man with the braid on his chin, the monk recalled that in all the time he had spent with Huggins, he had never heard him voluntarily talk about his past. He realized that without Edgar's big mouth, he would probably never have known the story of his wife and daughters.
Todd suddenly noticed that Huggins had paused, as if he had discovered something, and followed his gaze to look behind him.
A conspicuous figure came into his field of vision.
The knight, completely concealed beneath the Anglu chainmail, had his eyes fixed intently on Huggins' body from behind his full-face helmet.
The latter turned his head away, shrank back, and shifted his body uncomfortably.
The monk turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"
The man sighed helplessly: "It's nothing, I think I just ran into someone I know."
"Really? You have quite a few 'acquaintances'..."
Huggins lowered his head and gave a bitter smile.
Less than an hour after the ambush was set up, several tall figures appeared at the edge of the forest.
Huggins forcefully pushed the still-looking monk into the bushes, put his finger to his lips, and gestured for him to be quiet.
Todd's eyes widened as he suddenly realized that a war was about to break out.
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