As darkness fell, the villagers of Tuer, unaware of the crisis that had befallen them, spent another day.
They weren't entirely oblivious; the rising smoke signals and Feren's comings and goings at the village entrance today still sparked widespread discussion and whispers. However, whenever someone mentioned it to Feren, he would laugh and say it was part of the training, and that everyone shouldn't be too nervous. And that was how the matter was glossed over.
Around 8 or 9 p.m., a cavalry unit of a hundred men poured into Tuer Village, completely shattering the village's tranquility.
Leading the troops was Philby, who had selected one hundred cavalry and one hundred infantrymen who galloped non-stop towards the village of Tuer. They finally arrived before midnight. When Philby reached the village entrance, many villagers braved the cold wind and opened their windows, curiously watching the arrival of the troops. These cavalrymen were all dressed in heavy cotton armor and carried long spears; they were clearly elite cavalry. Even the most oblivious villagers realized that something significant had indeed happened that day.
Ferren and Tumani, who had been waiting at the village entrance, quickly went to greet Philby and told him everything they had seen and heard that afternoon.
"Those cavalrymen retreated in two groups along the main road? And you haven't seen any troops approach the village since?"
“Yes, sir, I was in charge of reconnaissance. After those cavalrymen left this afternoon, no one has been seen approaching the village from the south,” Tumani said in a low voice.
Philby gasped; this was not the outcome he wanted. Judging by their speed, Yun Zhe and his men should have already reached the village. It seemed that even with half their forces, these mercenaries could easily crush Yun Zhe if they encountered him.
"Everyone, rest for two hours, then continue on our way," Philby commanded loudly, then saw the puzzled expressions on the faces of the two people in front of him.
"Sir, what is it that requires so many people?" Tumani asked cautiously.
Philby stared at the two men in front of him for a while, considering whether or not to tell them what was going on.
"Don't overthink it. Just guard the village. By the way, who lit the signal fire today?" Philby decided to know as little as possible.
Faced with Philby's question, the two fell silent. They looked at each other, and finally, it was Philon who broke the silence, "My lord, it was actually an elf, a female elf."
Philby narrowed his eyes, seemingly understanding why the two had been hesitant about lighting the signal fire earlier. The female elf might have done more than just light a signal fire, but he wasn't in the mood to find out more at the moment. He nodded and began to arrange for guards to be on guard.
Time flew by, and it was soon time to depart. Philby leaped onto his warhorse and looked at the two men, who were still somewhat nervous. "You two might have a tough night. A squad of spearmen should be arriving soon, and I'll need you to arrange accommodations for them. Don't worry, it's just for one night, I hope so."
Without even glancing at the two men's grimaces, Philby immediately led half of his cavalry towards a main road.
After the cavalrymen left, the two men exchanged a wry smile and shook their heads resignedly. Then they went their separate ways to prepare firewood and blankets, making a place for the arriving soldiers to rest.
"Gentlemen, I just saw torches and cavalry rush out. What exactly happened?" The question came from a tall, thin... elf?
"Elves?" Encountering two elves in one day is extremely rare. The two became wary, staring at the person who asked the question with serious expressions.
"Ah, excuse me, I'm an Aruru, my name is Yun Zhe." After saying that, the man bowed.
"Aruru? What are you doing here so late?" Feren narrowed his eyes, looking at Yun Zhe's leather armor, crossbow, and longsword. His tone was full of threat.
Tumani suddenly tugged at Feren, the Aruru, Yunzhe, who was still wearing leather armor. Wasn't this the legendary Yunzhe?!
"Lord Yun Zhe!" Tumani hurriedly bowed, and Feren, who was standing to the side, also realized that there was indeed an Aruru person named Yun Zhe in the land of Donic.
"No, no, just tell me, who ran out just now?"
"Reporting to you, sir, it was Lord Philby who led the cavalry to... to carry out a mission," Tumani quickly replied.
Yun Zhe's expression was priceless. "Ah, he still has to carry out a mission so late. It's really tough on him." After saying that, Yun Zhe turned to leave, but Tumani called him back.
"My lord, what are you doing here?"
Yun Zhe scratched his head, and in the instant he turned around, he suddenly pounced on Tumani, startling Tumani so much that he froze and was knocked to the ground by Yun Zhe.
Two crossbow bolts were embedded in the stone wall next to Tumani, still trembling, their force particularly strong.
In the distance, two dark figures suddenly approached, their weapons gleaming with a chilling light.
Looking at Yun Zhe lying on the ground and at what had happened that day, everything suddenly seemed normal.
Lord Yun Zhe, we're being hunted down!
Feren drew his short sword and whistled.
The piercing whistle sounded exceptionally mournful in the cold night. A flash of cold light appeared, the whistle stopped abruptly, and Feren slowly collapsed to the ground.
Tumani then snapped out of his shock. Yun Zhe had already drawn his crossbow and fired a shot back.
There were two opponents, and the one who killed Feren was clearly skilled in using throwing knives and other concealed weapons. *Whoosh! Whoosh!* Several more flashes of cold light appeared in the darkness, and Yun Zhe swiftly reversed his stance, barely dodging them. Tumani, however, was not so lucky. A concealed weapon pierced his leg, and the pain quickly transformed into a strange numbness, as if his entire leg had been lost, instantly rendering him unable to move.
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