Chapter 21 21. This is Gaoliang River
The knights of the kingdom arrived in Avignon first. The knights were fully armed, their lances raised to the sky, and they stopped at the place where Dacun had stopped before.
The scene before my eyes was a horrifying one. A huge fire was burning fiercely in the village, thick smoke was billowing, crackling sounds of wood exploding could be heard from time to time, and an unpleasant burnt smell filled the air.
The knight who ruled the kingdom of Avignon had a look of pain on his face, and it was unclear whether it was because he had failed to defend the people and the land, or because he would no longer receive tax revenue.
A knight dismounted and began to examine the two bodies on the ground.
"Hiss, is this Johnny from Valence?"
After saying that, he immediately checked the other body.
"That's right! This is Bassetin. They were guests in my castle a few days ago." The knight began to observe carefully in the pale green moonlight. "Their armor is gone. And this wound? Was he executed? The sharp weapon and its tricky angle cut his heart." After saying that, he checked Johnny's body again.
"It was a firearm from the other side of the mountain! It went straight through the heart."
A knight said, "The gate was opened from the inside. It definitely wasn't done by the Beastmen."
"Vampires? Those filthy things from south Mousillon? But why are they here?"
"There are horse tracks on the ground. What kind of monster's tracks are these? They went south."
The leading knight said, "No matter what, we have an obligation to defend our people and our land with our lives. Chase!"
At this time, the sound of horse hooves came from a distance, the sound was faint and intermittent.
Gondar arrived, and the knights recognized him as soon as they saw him. Lyonnes was adjacent to Le Angoulême in the north, and they had dealt with him many times before. They also heard that he had been active nearby recently.
After understanding the situation, the cavalry joined forces and began to march south.
The Scourge Walker chariot remained stationary in a forest. This location was very tricky; if the enemy pursued from the west or north after Daquus's team passed through, this was the only way to go.
The driver was sitting on a stone beside the chariot with his eyes closed and his chin resting on his hand. Suddenly his pointed ears moved.
"Here they are, twelve half-elf war horses. Their pace is basically the same, so they are well-trained."
This beast tamer is no ordinary beast tamer. He has served the Hell's Disaster Family for nearly two hundred years. He is one of the deputies of the high-level beast tamer Yeager. He usually stays under the Tower of Destruction to tame beasts or leads a team to the Black Spine Mountains to capture beasts.
Last year, under the leadership of Jaeger, they represented Clarkalond and went to the Grand Arena in the capital Naggarond to participate in the Duruchi Centennial Claw Tournament. As a result, in the crucial round, they were crushed by Lakas from the Clarkalond Karl Thousand Family!
The great Majesty Malekith was delighted with such a decisive victory, and he praised it profusely. Furious, Newker, sitting nearby, attempted to sacrifice him to Anes Lema. Jaeger later saved him, but he lost his alias and nobility. Newker then asked him to atone for his sins by participating in the Haxie Trial Voyage to protect Dacus.
Hearing the increasingly close clatter of horses' hooves, he remained poised, unmoved. The two beastmasters holding harpoon crossbows exchanged bewilderment, and one of them couldn't help but ask, "Kalyon, what should we do?"
The sound of horse hooves faded away again. Kaleen stood up, patted his butt, and then adjusted his high braid that was not in the style of a master.
"What can we do? The young master told us to figure it out on our own. What do you say? Catch up with them and play with them in the open space ahead."
"drive!"
Twelve knights, cantering into the open field, suddenly heard the creaking of wheels from the woods to the side and behind them. The knights reined in their horses and turned on the spot. A strangely shaped chariot slowly emerged from the woods. It lacked the legendary imposing presence, for the knights on their horses towered over the chariot.
After emerging from the forest, the Scourgewalker chariot began to accelerate. Driven by Caerleon's masterful control and empathy, the chariot began to maneuver in an arc around the knights. A beastmaster, gathering all his strength, blew a trombone. Enchanted by sorcerers, the trombone's sound was incredibly penetrating. The moment the horn blew, the three beastmasters and the dark steed were overwhelmed.
The leading knight said: "This is holding us back. Divide into three teams and get rid of it for the Lady of the Lake! For the people of Avignon!" Then he pulled down his mask and began to control his horse to speed up.
Twelve knights, divided into three teams, began to attack and block the Scourge Walker's chariot's path. These knights had been trained as nobles from a young age under the strict supervision of their fathers, and as adults, they had experienced countless battles. They knew how to fight efficiently, rather than just chasing after the chariot.
Seeing the knights split up and prepare to outflank them, Kallion's face showed a serious expression. He said, "Oh no! We underestimated these monkeys. Cheer up! We're about to get serious. Anes Lema will protect us!"
The Scourgerunner chariots gained speed, and the three squadrons of knights began to maneuver in arcs. Soon, a beastmaster wielding a harpoon crossbow achieved his second victory of the night. The harpoon pierced the mail behind the bedsheets with pinpoint precision, piercing the warhorse's neck. The Bretonnian horse, still galloping at full speed, stumbled a few paces before collapsing. The knight immediately unswiped his foot from the stirrup and prepared to leap, but he was too slow. One of his legs was pinned beneath the horse, unable to move. The knight behind him used his superb horsemanship to prevent his horse from crushing the knight's head. The pinned knight cursed furiously, but without a squire by his side, he drew his sword and began to dig at the ground, trying to free his leg.
As he was paddling, he suddenly saw something flying backwards. He turned his head and saw a knight from another team, a harpoon stuck in his chest, flying backwards from his horse and falling straight to the ground. If he was not mistaken by the decoration on his helmet, the one flying out was the knight who ruled Avignon.
Repeating crossbows and hand crossbows have quivers, each holding six arrows, which need to be reloaded after firing. The repeating crossbow, called Ulesen or "Rain of Death" by Druki, has two adjustable modes: single-shot at long range and two-shot burst at close range. It is typically used by Black Crossbowmen and City Guards, though some gang members and mercenaries also obtain it through special means. The harpoon crossbow is incredibly powerful, but slow to reload. It's primarily used against wild beasts, such as Chimeras, War Hydras, and Manticores.
The repeating crossbow can be understood as a pistol. The repeating crossbow is an assault rifle equipped with a shotgun launcher. The harpoon crossbow is a large-caliber single-shot anti-material sniper rifle. The Reaper crossbow is a large-caliber direct-fire artillery and howitzer.
On the open ground, a Duruchi Scourgewalker chariot and the Knights of the Kingdom of Bretonnia began to play a game of encirclement and counter-encirclement, cutting in and counter-cutting in. The scene was extremely chaotic, and perhaps a football commentator was needed to explain it.
Gondar's squad had been maneuvering inward, now within ten meters of the Scourgewalker chariot. A little more effort, and they could chop down those three damned pointy-eared beasts. The beastmaster, having secured two victories, loaded his harpoon and aimed at Gondar. The harpoon slid through the air, and Gondar, worthy of being a Half-Grail, slashed with his two-handed sword. Sparks flew, and the sound of metal clashing rang out, as he precisely cleaved the harpoon's head. The beastmaster's eyes widened in disbelief, but then he reacted and unsheathed his barbed net, hurling it at Gondar. Gondar's hands were numb, and as he saw the net coming, he struck again, splitting the net.
The knight to Gondar's right, lance leveled, roared with fury, whether it was his old companion's incompetence or the infuriating speed of the chariot. The beastmaster beside him had already fired two harpoons and was now reloading the third. Kallion glanced back quickly and said, "Take care of the lancer on the right. Hold on tight, I'm turning right." The beastmaster, in a crouching stance, turned and aimed at the knight, who was still a little off.
"careful"
The knight raised his shield to block, but the harpoon still grazed the shield and slid into his helmet. The shield fell helplessly to the ground, and the lance still blocked Gondar's path. Supported by the stirrups and armor, the knight remained in the saddle, but his body leaned back forty-five degrees, as if looking at Morslieb in the sky.
At this moment, the Scourge Walker's chariot suddenly stopped, and then the two dark horses trotted to the right, accelerating in one go! They completed a turn on the spot that violated the laws of physics.
If Dacus had been there to see this, he would have exclaimed, "The donkey cart is drifting!"
PS: The Claw Tournament is a passing mention in the background, and it's held annually. I think that's unreasonable, as it's like holding the finals every week, so I changed it to once every century.
There's another chapter tonight