The Amber Sword

Chapter 217 Battle at the riverbank (1)

========== Hadsh’s POV ===========

“In the name of our Lord’s clemency, I will grant you one chance to lay down your weapons and surrender!” A knight stood on an elevated ground, raised a flag, and yelled to the people below.

“Return whence you came from, and carry my greetings to your lord!” Hank pulled out his longsword and roared back to him.

The knight shook his head as though he had already guessed this outcome. He mounted on his horse and disappeared from the highlands.

“Why did you not consider surrendering?” Hadsh could not help but ask.

“Did you only learn how to surrender under Graudin’s command?” The veteran scout peered back with dull brownish eyes. (TL: Hadsh was introduced in chapter 209.)

Hadsh was at a loss for words. He did not know who the old man’s identity was, but he guessed the latter was a direct subordinate of that young lord.

This was someone who fought hundreds of battles, and it was definitely not something that could be imitated.

He suddenly recovered from his surprise and yelled to the people behind him: “Arrows, arrows! Cover him!”

Several riders were already preparing and did not need his reminder. They took down the longbows that were behind their backs and shot arrows to disrupt the knights’ attempt to surround Hank.

The old scout easily charged out of the poor attempt to surround him, and he raised his longsword and pointed to a certain direction.

“Seize this chance and break through the siege!” Hadsh was acting like he was possessed by a divine spirit, understanding Hank’s intention immediately. He felt his body burning up, and the adrenaline forced his eyes to become bloodshot. He directed his sword forward and the riders roared in response. The foot soldiers could no longer hold the riders down.

Count Randner’s knights had trouble controlling their horses that were moving chaotically, while their opponents who had roughly the same skill were charging towards them……

Wilson nearly blacked out from watching this scene unfold. He thought he had grabbed onto a piece of juicy meat, but it was instead a steel plate that smashed onto his hand instead. A hundred-odd men with ten-plus knights were unable to surround less than twenty scouts, and these enemies were even able to escape from them.

“Fuck! A veteran who survived the November War, how are we supposed to fight this battle!?”

Wilson was the best knight under Lord Palas. He had great experience in fighting due to the frequent battles against the highland natives. The rebels should have been nothing to him, and even if it were a formal army of Aouine, he might not even think they were worthy of a match, but this time Wilson believed that it was the most bizarre battle he had ever fought in his life.

He had seen more things than Hadsh did and was absolutely certain that Hank was a soldier who survived the November War.

[At least half of the soldiers who survived the November War were awarded the Candlefire Emblem. They were even given a small plot of land even if they were not knights. Why would someone like that appear amongst the rebels?]

Wilson started shaking, believing that he and his lord had fallen into an insidious scheme.

While the knight was agonizing over the pain from his losses, the reports of the frontline battles were relayed to Lord Palas by scouts. Even though this old knight was working with two other army commanders, he had such a vast experience in battles that these two other commanders were only fit to be his adjutants.

The only person who could fight head-to-head with him was actually the famous commander Tarkas from Madara. The undead officer was considered old by human standards, but he was perceived as young amongst Madara.

There were many talented ‘youths’ in Madara who were appearing in this particular War of the Black Rose. Lord Palas was sighing in his mind even though he was working with Tarkas. Aouine was like a frail old man with an air of death compared to Madara.

For some strange reason, the old knight suddenly recalled that it was a young man who led the rebels. He was starting to have a little interest in his foes, though it was definitely impossible to shake his beliefs.

According to the reports, their vanguard had fought against the watchtower guards. The truth was that it was not an ideal exchange. Most of the reports were victories that had significant casualties, and there were even battles that they lost.

And yet it was his army who had the advantage in numbers.

The combat prowess of the enemies was out of his expectation, but it was not at a level where he found it difficult. Regardless of the losses, at least these watchtower guards were forced to retreat to the north back into River Gris, and the goal in his strategy had been achieved.

The next battle would be taking Port Gris and crossing the river to do battle.