Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

The reeds along the surging riverbank, once resembling a dense forest, had been trampled flat. Seven ballistae, each weighing over a ton, gleamed with their unique metallic luster as the ogres loaded them one by one onto carriages.

After the first ballista was strung, the lord himself test-fired it, and the effect was much stronger than imagined.

The maximum range reached over sixteen hundred paces, and it could still pierce iron armor at twelve hundred paces, while the accuracy was a terrifying eight hundred paces.

This meant that within a range of eight hundred paces, the trajectory of the arrows fired by the ballista would not deviate much.

To speed up the advance, the barbarians' armor was collected by the lord into the system space, to be taken out and worn again upon arrival at the destination.

As for the ballistae, Li Wei originally wanted to store them in the space as well, but he never expected that these things were not within the storage range of the system's item bar. It seemed that they were either too big or too heavy.

He could only let the ogres replace the horses, pulling the carriages forward with reins.

With the convoy ready, the wheels began to roll forward.

This time, besides the fifty orc bodyguards and seven ogres pulling the carriages, Li Wei also brought Zart, Olak, and Hogg.

Hogg could act as a scout in front, scouting the situation at any time. Although Olak's shamanic witchcraft was all about buffing himself, it might have unexpected effects at critical moments.

The weeds in the wild grasslands would always get caught in the wheels. If horses were used to pull the carriages, the hubs would have to be cleaned every so often.

But after the ogres replaced the horses, their slight giant bloodline made them naturally strong, so they could continue to drag the carriages forward even if the wheels were stuck.

These carriages, which were only one and a half 'ren' tall and no more than three 'ren' long and wide, were no different from toy cars for this group of ogres who were more than four 'ren' tall.

Letting them pull the carriages made the speed increase at once.

The more time wasted now, the more likely changes would occur. Therefore, to make the speed faster, a piece of meat tied with rope was hung in front of each ogre.

Whoever was faster could eat the meat, which made these ogres work even harder, using all their strength.

Along with the ogres' grunting and pulling, the team's speed suddenly increased.

According to several captured prisoners who were brought to lead the way, it took them more than ten days to travel south from the location of the dragon.

But this could not be used as a standard measurement.

Because they were numerous, as many as four thousand people, their speed of advance was naturally conceivable. Moreover, they were not just rushing on the road all the way. When they encountered some tribes, they annexed them before continuing to set off.

This made the delay even longer.

The wheels crushed the green grass for half a day, and the number of robbers wandering aimlessly around visibly increased. They were approaching the depths of the wilderness, and the traces of civilization disappeared.

Looting, arson, and robbery were rampant in small groups of a few or dozens of robbers.

Their direction was completely opposite to that of the Highcliff Hold team heading north. They were heading south from the depths of the wilderness.

However, no one was so blind as to dare to provoke the Highcliff Hold convoy, which even the most discerning eye could see was a ruthless bunch.

They hurried on without stopping until the evening. Even the ogres, with their abundant strength and inexhaustible power, began to pant.

The group rested briefly by a small river, preparing to set off again under the moonlight.

After finally resting, the ogres lay by the small river, gulping down the cool river water as if to drink the small river, which was only two 'ren' wide, dry.

The orcs skillfully lit a bonfire, set up a frame, and threw dried meat and dry food into a large pot to stew into a meat paste.

"Olak, have you heard of the 克弦日 (Kexian Ri) tribe?"

The lord drank the meat paste without any image, chatting idly while he had time.

Half a month ago, the number of robbers wandering south gradually increased. He learned from the mithril merchant, Knight Skye, that a large tribe was heading south, causing all the natives to head south in order to survive.

However, due to the dragon legion confronting Highcliff Hold, the lord had no time to pay attention to other things.

Now, on the way north, he could more personally experience the impact of a large tribe heading south.

It could be said that after walking a few steps, he could encounter some small tribes relocating their entire clans.

Before dark, they had encountered a team of about a hundred goat people head-on. The ferocious Highcliff Hold barbarians frightened the goat people, who had little combat power, and they quickly prostrated themselves on the ground.

The lord gave them a clear path, saying that he had a territory called Highcliff Hold in the south, and he generously offered food and accommodation, and they only needed to pay a little labor.

The goat people collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They thought that the so-called food and accommodation was to chop half of the people into pieces and feed them to the other half.

If they could exchange labor for fruit, it might be another kind of luck for them in their desperate situation.

These goat people were generally only one 'ren' six or seven tall, thin, and had no combat power.

They often acted as vassals of some powerful races, doing odd jobs to make a living.

Therefore, there would be no stealing of seeds when used for farming.

This was also the reason why the lord was willing to accept them, completely unrelated to the ten or so goat girls inside.

Highcliff Hold really could not afford lizardmen and leopardmen warriors, because the number of full-time soldiers in Highcliff Hold had already reached the upper limit that it could support.

But if they were just slaves who worked, there was no problem at all.

"Huff, it's been a long time since I've eaten something so light."

Olak let out a satisfied sigh after drinking the meat paste mixed with a few green vegetable leaves in one gulp. Since coming to Highcliff Hold, he had been eating meat every day, and it was not easy to eat a vegetarian meal.

In the past, the tribe did not have enough to eat, and it was good to have something to eat. He never thought that one day he could be picky.

"I only know a little."