Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 497 The unexpected person
Mikalo was a captain of a Persian warrior from Rosenborg.

Theoretically speaking, as a warrior who has cultivated his blood and qi and possesses superb martial arts skills, he is naturally different from other slaves. He only needs to patrol his lord's territory every day to prevent bandits and goblins from damaging his lord's property. In return, he can live in a warm room, embrace a beautiful Persian woman, drink snow-white camel milk, and live a life of luxury that other slaves could never imagine.

Of course, theory is just theory, and it must eventually return to reality.

Everything changed after my father impulsively decided to go to the distant Debei to make his fortune.

Initially, news came that the other party had been captured by the Debe people. At that time, in order to prevent the group of slaves who grew cotton in the territory from rebelling, only a few people knew about this news, and he was one of them.

Fortunately, the letter stated that their lord had only been captured, and that as long as they paid enough ransom to the lord of Debe's High Cliff Fortress, they could get him back.

Lady Mani sold all her jewelry to raise the ransom, but then news came from the Imperial Noble Hall that her lord had died.

Although they didn't believe it, because the letter that was sent back clearly bore the handwriting of their own lord, they had no choice but to accept the fact in the face of pressure from the imperial nobles.

Fortunately, their lord was considered to have died a heroic death, so the title was not stripped and continued to be inherited by the eldest daughter of Rosenburg.

Micaro originally thought he would slowly watch the heir of Rosenburg grow up until he was able to shoulder all responsibilities.

but!

First came a war involving four countries. The three strongest of the seven countries simultaneously declared war on the Persian Gulf Empire. Given that Rosenborg currently has less than a thousand warriors, joining the war would be like pouring a cup of camel milk into a vast stormy sea.

Even if the Persian men's scimitars were fast enough to easily cut off the enemy's head, he did not believe that the Persian Gulf Empire could deal with three long-established countries at the same time.

This is not cowardice, but self-awareness.

Just as he knew perfectly well that he could easily sleep with three prostitutes, but would inevitably lose with five, that was a fact.

Therefore, at his strong suggestion, Rosenborg finally did not throw the last remaining Persian men into this endless meat grinder.

He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he could once again embrace the Persian beauty and live a life so luxurious it would corrode even steel.

But! But! But!

Their simple dream of a peaceful life was shattered one morning. When they woke up, they found that the castle was surrounded by a group of demons: little demons with pitchforks, horned demons with hoes, and even a bunch of inferior demons that looked like a lump of mud, filling the entire area they could see.

The slaves that had been painstakingly captured and bought outside the castle were all being turned on the fire and boiled in the iron pots. Some had even been eaten by these demons, bones and flesh included. Even livestock such as chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, camels and horses had not been spared.

These demons, like locusts, devoured all living things.

There was no time to ponder why these legendary creatures were here, because if they didn't take action, they would be the next ones to be eaten.

Although a large number of Persian warriors and Unsullied from Rosenburg were taken to Debe and died on the battlefield by the lord, they could still cobble together a force of a thousand men.

Although they couldn't defeat the demons before them, it wouldn't be a problem to simply escape with Miss and Mrs. Mani.

So he gathered his men and the few remaining Unsullied slaves to form a makeshift legion, which escorted the lord's family out of the demons' encirclement and hurriedly headed north.

The further north they went, the closer they got to the capital, Hadda. They subconsciously assumed that the area around Hadda was full of important cities, many military lords, and valiant Persian warriors, so there were definitely no demons there. Moreover, they thought that since they were fighting Debe to the south, it was impossible for them to go south.

But they soon despaired. All they saw on their way north were villages destroyed by demons. Occasionally, they would encounter small groups of wandering demons. Even more desperate, they met a group heading south. The other group had the same experience as them and explained that the situation in the north was worse, which was why they were heading south.

"Could it be that even the capital has been invaded by demons?" Mikalo thought desperately.

The further north they go, the more demons there are, which is certainly not a good situation—if this continues, they will eventually be devoured by these wandering demons.

He decided to follow another group south. Facing the Debe people was better than facing these demons. Besides, even if he was dragged into the war, there was still hope of survival if he faced those Debe people. He thought of the letter his lord had written later.

Thus, this mixed force of defeated soldiers, fleeing nobles, and terrified commoners grew larger and larger like a snowball, stumbling and struggling as it moved southward.

Mikalo's small force of Persian warriors and Immaculates, which were originally quite elite, were like a few jackals mixed into a herd of cattle in this huge and chaotic crowd, and were quickly overwhelmed by the multitude of cattle.

With more people, they seemed to become bolder, and when they encountered small groups of demons, they could even rely on their numerical advantage to disperse or eliminate them.

The brief victory brought false hope, and some in the ranks began to talk about what would happen once they reached the south. Their own commander, Howard, was still fighting the Debe people in the south, and they heard that the situation was not optimistic. They would definitely be happy to join as volunteers.

Although going to the battlefield is dangerous, it's still better than feeding the devil.

But Micaro's brow furrowed even more deeply.

He sensed an unusual danger in the air.

The procession was so large that the movement of tens of thousands of people could not be concealed, and the smoke from the cooking fires resembled beacon fires guiding the way.

The cries of those little brats and the neighing of livestock could be heard far and wide across the open fields.

This isn't escaping at all; it's practically sending a message to demons on all sides.

His premonition soon came true.

The wandering small groups of demons have disappeared, replaced by organized demon legions led by high-ranking demons.

No longer content with sporadic raids, they began to probe and harass, like hyenas that have smelled blood, and even launched a fierce attack at dusk one day.

Although they were eventually repelled, hundreds of people on the edge of the group were dragged into the darkness by the demons, and their shrill screams lingered for a long time.

Panic spread like a plague.

The caravan descended into complete chaos, with every nobleman, every leader, and every slave owner vying for their own opinion and constantly arguing. The caravan moved slower than a pregnant camel and was utterly undisciplined.

"A bunch of idiots!" Micaro cursed inwardly.

Leading this rabble, with its enormous size and slow movement, they will inevitably be caught up and destroyed by the demons sooner or later.

At that point, let alone protecting the young lady and the madam, it will be questionable whether he himself can escape unscathed.

His extravagant dreams had long been shattered; now he only wanted to survive and fulfill his duty—to preserve Lord Kermish's last bloodline.

This further solidified his resolve to slip away. More and more demons were lurking behind this group, and if he wasn't careful, everything would fall apart—run! He had to get rid of this huge burden!

In the stillness of the night, when most people were fast asleep from exhaustion and fear, Mikalo quietly summoned his most trusted Persian warriors and Unsullied slaves. Looking at his brothers, whose faces also bore expressions of worry, he lowered his voice:
"Brothers, if we follow this noisy bunch of fat sheep, we'll all end up as meat soup in the devil's pot sooner or later. We have to leave them and go our own way!"

Someone hesitated: "Captain, with so few of us, where can we go? There's a war going on in the south right now, and I've heard the situation is quite dire. Those Debei people are launching a fierce offensive."

Such a large-scale battle could not be kept secret; fragments of information could be gleaned from the fleeing civilians.

Mikalo recalled Lord Kemish's second letter, in which his master seemed to have mentioned pledging allegiance to the Lord of High Cliff Fortress.

Although it sounds absurd—how could one's own master pledge allegiance to the enemy who captured him?—it was handwritten.

If Commander Howard doesn't accept them, they might as well seek refuge with the Lord of High Cliff Fortress.

He was not a pure Persian; he had half Debe blood. He was simply bought and raised by Lord Khmeish from a young age, who treated him like his own son. Therefore, he did not have much of a sense of belonging to the Persian Gulf Empire; he was only loyal to Lord Khmeish.

His eyes sharpened, and his voice carried a do-or-die determination: "No matter what, let's get to the south first. If those Debe people have already taken the south, we'll take Miss and Madam and go to seek refuge with that Lord of High Cliff Fortress!"

The samurai exchanged bewildered glances. Surrender to the lord of an enemy state? This…

“Think about it!” Mikalo interrupted their hesitation: “Following this group means staying here to feed the demons. Going to find that Lord of High Cliff Fortress, at least Lord Kemish is there. This might be our only way out, and also the young lady and lady’s! It’s better than rotting in the demon’s belly!”

Only a few people know about this, but he can't think too much about it now, so he might as well just say it directly.

No one hesitated any longer.

Taking advantage of the darkest hour before dawn, when the camp was filled with snoring, Mikalo had his elite guards protect Lady Mani and the young lady. They carefully led out the best camels and horses, along with as much water and dry rations as possible, and quietly slipped away from the large caravan.

Not long after they left, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, a terrifying roar and a piercing, desperate cry echoed from the distant horizon behind them.

Mikalo didn't look back, but instead gave the camel a hard lash and led his team south, plunging into the vast, desolate land without looking back.

In the best-case scenario, General Howard is still fighting against De Beers in the south, and unless he has no other choice, he is unwilling to surrender to the lord of the enemy country.

……

Micaro took a big gulp of water, then burped to calm himself down before continuing, "Your Excellency the Dragon Knight, Lord of High Cliff Fortress, we later discovered the High Cliff Fortress contingent and chose to come and negotiate. That's all there is to it."

He cautiously looked up at the handsome young man in front of him, who had no expression. He thought to himself that he was indeed the man who was touted as being able to kill hundreds of thousands of Persian men by himself. Even though he hadn't done anything, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

Of course, he omitted and modified some details of the preceding events, retaining the statements that were beneficial to himself and removing the details that were not so friendly to this official.

Looking at the somewhat embarrassed Kemish beside him, Li Wei suddenly understood.

In fact, this guy had already written to his territory to tell them about his situation, but he didn't let the people in his territory come to him directly, because he wanted to hedge against the risks.

If Livy had defeated the Persian Gulf Empire, he could have easily brought all the people in his territory into High Cliff Fortress.

If the Gulf Empire were to defeat him, although Kermis would also die, at least his wife and daughter would be safe.

"When did you write your second letter?" the lord asked, looking at the man.

“My lord, it was only the second day since we joined your service.” Kemish knew that lying to Levi was pointless, so he simply told the truth: “I originally intended to write to them and have them come directly to High Cliff Fortress, but considering that not everyone in Rosenburg is as loyal as Mikalo, it might cause unnecessary trouble if spies informed the nobles of the Persian Gulf Empire.”

"Moreover, with all sides declaring war, letters could no longer be sent at all."

Li Wei nodded, having made up his mind.

When this guy first joined him, he definitely had ulterior motives.

However, after discovering that staying in Gaoyabao was actually not bad, and due to various reasons, he completely submitted and changed his mind again.

However, at that time, Debe was at war with the Gulf Empire. Not to mention letters, even the diplomats stationed in the Gulf Empire were killed. How could they possibly send letters?

“Your Excellency Levi, Lord Kemish, Lady Mani and Miss Elisa are still in a village not far from here. When shall we bring them here?” Micaro said after the two had finished speaking.

"Kemish, since it's your own troops, you can handle it yourself. You can arrange for them to stay in the castle in the rear. I will inform Bernard to have the officers in the rear clear the roadblocks along the way to let them pass. However, these Persian warriors must hand over their weapons; that's the rule," the lord said, looking at Kemish.

Although they came to join him, they were still enemies fighting against Debe. Even though they were Kermish's men, they could not be given the same status as the Unsullied warriors of Highcliff Fortress. Their weapons had to be surrendered, and they would only be given the right to wield their scimitars again once they were trusted.

“Yes, sir.” Kemish nodded.

Mikalo wanted to say that the scimitar was a Persian warrior's second life, and the only way to put down the scimitar was for the Persian warrior to die.

But when he met Li Wei's eyes, he was speechless.

(End of this chapter)