rise of empire total war

Chapter 25 The First War

"Retreat! Retreat!"

Being in the unfamiliar forest on Kuban Island, surrounded by the painful screams of my companions, the wailing before death, and the terrifying sound of crossbows tearing the air, how desperate it all is!

It all started in the morning. As the striker chosen by the "Goddess of Luck", Dupont and his companions were ordered by Grand Master Omar to explore the depths of the island, looking for the poor prince and his subjects from the Kingdom of Winster.

Everyone thought it was a very simple task, and so did Dupont and his fifty companions. With a relaxed mood, they walked along the rough dirt road that the islanders walked into the endless dense forest. , the nightmare begins...

"Du Pont, how many soldiers do you think that poor Winster will have under his command? Maybe the number is less than one-tenth of ours."

Listening to the laughter of his companions behind him, Du Pont, who was wearing a red turban, also grinned his big yellow teeth, and replied: "If old people and women are also considered soldiers, they may be half as good as us."

"Pull it down, what fighting power do old people and women have, are they just standing there screaming and waiting for our sword?"

"I don't know if there will be swords waiting for us, but I know that the spear under my crotch is ready to show its talents at any time, and I don't know if poor Winster will have a tender woman under his command."

"Hahaha……"

Amid the laughter of the pirates, a few black figures approached their team quietly, and through the light of the stars falling from the treetops, one could vaguely see the wooden objects in their hands—that was the loaded crossbow!

"shooting!"

Almost at the same time as all the black shadows were getting ready, a roar full of anger pierced the peace of the forest. In the next second, deadly crossbow bolts were shot from every angle, flying towards the people walking on the dirt road with a sharp sound of piercing through the air. pirate squad!
Next, is the brutal and bloody massacre!

As we all know, the crossbow bolt with armor-piercing effect can shoot through the knight's armor at close range and kill the knight master inside.Here, the crossbow militiamen attacked unarmored pirates. The deadly crossbow bolts easily tore through the pirates' clothes and skin, and penetrated their thin bodies. The powerful kinetic energy even nailed some pirates to tree trunks. Blood gushed out from the wound, and the screams of people almost frightened the pirates who survived the disaster.

Anyone who saw the companion who was chatting and laughing one second, and was nailed to death on the tree trunk by the crossbow arrow the next second, would be frightened and collapsed.

Du Pont was one of the survivors in the team. He looked in panic at his companion who was shot through the throat and fell to the ground struggling continuously. He wanted to shout something, but found in horror that he had lost any language ability. It can only turn into a piercing scream when it reaches the mouth.

It took a few seconds for someone to react and shout out the two words at the beginning of this chapter in the most miserable voice.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

People follow the crowd. When the first person takes the lead and runs backwards, someone will follow immediately. This is the case with the pirate team that was attacked. After the first person shouted to retreat and fled the same way, DuPont Waiting for others to follow his pace and cross the companions who are still wailing in a pool of blood to make a strategic transfer.

However, this was of no use. After loading the second crossbow bolt, the crossbow-bearing militia hiding in the dark raised the hunting crossbow indifferently, aimed at the back of the fleeing pirate, and pulled the trigger.

The sound of the crossbow piercing the air resembling the laughter of the god of death resounded again. Dupont, who was running in the middle of the team, rolled subconsciously to the ground. A crossbow just passed his turban and flew forward, directly piercing through the head of a companion running in front of him. Blood gushed out of his calf in an instant, splashing blood all over his face.

Before he had time to congratulate himself on his good luck, Du Pont hurriedly rolled and crawled past his unlucky companion who was kneeling on the ground and screaming, and continued to run forward. The companions he ran away with fell one by one, and the despair and oppression lingering in his heart made him breathless.

Finally, just when Dupont thought he could escape, a middle-aged man with a wooden crossbow suddenly jumped out from the bushes a few meters in front of him. This middle-aged man was wearing dust-stained leather armor with an expressionless face. , slowly raised the weapon in his hand, aimed at DuPont who was getting closer, and pulled the trigger.

whoosh-

Before he could utter the words of begging for mercy, the crossbow bolt of the iron arrow hit DuPont's face, the body of the arrow sank into his body, and the arrow came out from the back of his head, spilling bits and pieces of viscous liquid.

Looking coldly at Du Pont, whose body was still twitching on the ground, the middle-aged man slowly stepped forward and squatted beside him, groping for the body of Du Pont, who was dying with regret, and took a few moments from his pocket to find some I don't know where the silver coins were, and wiped them on the clothes of the corpse in distaste. The middle-aged man stood up again and carried the hunting crossbow to the depths of the forest to look for his comrades in arms.

In the forest, all the crossbow militiamen came out of their hiding places and began to clean up the bloody battlefield. They held sharp daggers or short swords in their hands. When encountering pirates who were lucky enough not to die on the spot, they directly stabbed each other's heart with a knife, and then Regardless of the blood spurted by the opponent, he began to look for valuables on the pirates.

This is their opportunity to make a fortune. As His Majesty the Emperor, Richard will not order them to hand over the spoils that were recovered from the corpses. What he values ​​more is the large wealth.

After confirming that all the pirates were dead and that they had nothing of value on them, the crossbow militiamen left here.And the war that took place here will not be discovered until Omar, who realizes that something is wrong the next day, sends a second team to check.

……

Looking back to Nuremberg, Richard has transferred back the soldiers stationed in the mines and Lizzie's cemetery. In order to make the soldiers better prepared for the war, all the heavy armored soldiers and the guards have been exempted from patrolling. Tasks, drills, and food levels have also been improved, but it is hard for those town militias who have not been recruited recently, and the auxiliary militias have to take on all the tasks at once.

At the same time, Richard, General Magnus of the Imperial Guard, and Kondra, the captain of the early general Guard, made a preliminary strategic deployment. They first let the crossbow militia harass and ambush the pirates marching inland in the vast forest. , if necessary, Viking raiders can cooperate.The heavily armored sergeants and Janissaries were deployed in the capital Nuremberg, serving as the reserve team. As for the only early cavalry general guard, they could only be used when the main force of the pirates invaded, relying on the powerful charge to attack the pirates. One hit, one battle decides the outcome.

However, even Richard was not sure that the 24 knights could defeat hundreds of pirates with a single charge.

(End of this chapter)