The Amber Sword

The mountain range was covered with the radiant glow of the sun as it set by the sea, basking the ocean surface with a golden light. The skies began to darken, and the moon slowly became visible.

Just as the sergeants expected, a line of troops appeared behind them.

Brendel received news that it was the patrol party on the outer perimeter that met the enemies first. They were the same light cavalry which had appeared earlier, and according to the reports made by a girl named Bessie, after a little skirmish, the enemies left behind their allies and fallen teammates as they scrambled to escape and notify their superiors.

Upon further interrogation, Brendel realized that they belonged to the Finn division of the Black Blade Squad. The Black Blade Squad’s composition was fairly different from the White Lion Legion from back in King Erik’s days, and they closely resembled the Roman armies back in his previous life except larger in scale.

The Black Blade Squad was composed of divisions of 4500 men per column which were then divided into teams of hundreds and tens. Supposedly, there were about twenty divisions in the Black Blade Squad, each named after the commander they were affiliated under.

Finn’s division naturally meant the commander belonged to the Finn family from Narik.

Brendel’s knowledge about these divisions was nothing to scoff at. Although the Black Blade Squad was a secret army of the Royal Family, the Royal Family only took direct command of one or two commanders. Even the princess could not explain in as much detail as Brendel in regard to the composition of the Black Blade Squad.

An arrow shot from 100 meters away was practically no different from an arrow shot at point-blank range. Its flight was so quick that it made it past the shield before it fully manifested.

“Watch out, my lord!” the knight next to Baron Wallen, a Silver ranker shrieked as he yanked out his sword to cut the arrow. But before he could bring his blade down, it exploded with a ‘bang’.

A flash of white light surrounded everyone close by, shocking them all. There were loud screams, and when it was over, the people closest to it had been turned to stone, including the knight who had attempted to cut the arrow down and his steed.

Seven knights and two mages as well as Baron Wallen.

Only one mage managed to escape. But even he wasn’t unscathed, having had one of his arms turned to stone, the rock continuing to grow onto his neck as he stumbled away. He immediately placed his right palm onto his left arm, and with a flash, the petrified area shattered.

“Enemy attack!” he yelled as he scrambled for the staff next to him.

But it was too late. In an instant, the forest was filled with sounds of arrows flying through the air.

Brendel stowed away his bow. It was a Bronze leveled magic weapon. Although incapable of dealing with Elemental Awakeners, or even some Gold rankers, it was overkill to use it against these pawns.

“Ah! A magic bow?!” Someone’s shocked whisper could be heard from behind him.

Brendel looked back to see the girl names Bessie looking at his bow. “You want it?” he asked. A good bow important to any scout, and Brendel did not need it. To him, a weapon at that grade was trash.

“Ah! I- It’s No- Nothing.” Bessie blushed a little. Although she was born a tomboy and was often a little rude, she could not just ask for something that belonged to her commander. Her squeal just now was no more than an accident.

“Haha. My lord, of course she wants it. She’s just embarrassed to say so.” A sergeant nearby chuckled. Brendel did not have a commanding air to him. They acted respectfully towards him, but they did not fear him.

Brendel looked at the person who spoke and was surprised to recognize him.

I believe he was called Holland. Back when Carglise rescued him from the White Lion Legion, he seemed to be interested in this girl, Bessie. Hmmm… I think they might have been married back in the game.

Brendel smirked with amusement and tossed the bow to him, “I’ll give it to you then. As to how you want to pass it on to this lady here, it’ll depend on your abilities.”

“Ah!” he looked away with a blush decorating his cheeks. He did not expect his intentions to be exposed. When he looked back, he realized that Bessie had turned to join the fight without even looking at him.

“My lord, this…” Holland revealed a downcast face.

“Aiyaya…” Brendel thought in his heart, I can only help you this much, my friend. It’s a Bronze tier magic weapon, you know! It was worth around 200 Taels back in the game!

The only reason he could laugh in this situation was because he did not care about this ambush’s outcome from the beginning. As long as Maynild and Count Audine were in charge of the situation here, there was no way they could lose.

In reality, although Finn’s Highland Infantry was a subdivision known for their mobility, their fame came mainly from their efforts back when Anson the Sixth rebelled and during the previous Holy War. But after the Eleven Months War, there were less courageous additions from the Black Blade Squad into their ranks. Although they were persistent people, they did not have the undying bravery the White Lion Legion had in the face of a sneak attack.

According to their system, which was even older than the White Lion Legion’s, there were three main groups under the subdivision, with ten smaller groups under each of those three. Each of those smaller groups was led by a commander. And many of those powerful people were turned to stone with that arrow just now!

Without their leaders, they were a mess.

Due to the effectiveness of the surprise attack, the twenty Naga mages did not need to maintain their illusion spells anymore. They summoned hail and ice struck their enemies at high speeds. The hailstones were not pebbles that could be blocked with mere shields. They were fist-sized, magically reinforced icebergs and each could penetrate normal armors.

Obviously the Highland Infantry could not withstand the attack  any longer. After one round of bombardment, all that was left was a pile of corpses and fleeing soldiers.

Lacking their commanders, everyone capable of running fled, and those that couldn’t did their best to hide.

And how could a separated army have any combat power?

All that awaited the Highland Infantry were the private armies and the Royal Cavalry who allied with the princess, whose soldiers already outmatched the infantry individually. Even if they wanted to regroup, they would be assaulted by hailstones again. They had nowhere to go.

In ten minutes, they broke down comletely. Some surrendered while others ran away.

Brendel did not want to chase those who ran as it was too much of a hassle for him.

From the beginning till the end, it took less than half an hour to annihilate them. The skies were not even dark yet!

Brendel was looking at his watch while they battled. We still have a quarter of an hour before the Dragon Cavalry returns. Everything is turning out surprisingly smoothly this time!

He looked at the enemy soldiers who were running away and heaved a sigh of relief. His worries were gone and all uncertainties regarding his plan had been dealt with. As for the enemies who were running away-

They were bait for a bigger fish.