I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 306: Soldiers are powerful and fast

Although Ye Ao and his group were a bit stubborn, insisting on crossing the border between the two countries at this time, it didn't mean that the two hundred players were fools.

After leaving the military camp, Ye Ao, Alibaba, and several other player leaders who were quite prestigious among the player community gathered together for a brief meeting.

“Minesian scouts are everywhere, what do we do?”

"What else can we do? The old way, we gather people who are good at riding, three people per group, ride good horses, and hunt around the group, taking turns every two hours, in three shifts."

"What about the marching route? Tavitsky is fifty kilometers from the border, but that's only a straight-line distance. There's a fortress and two towns blocking our way, which makes it impossible for us to march in a straight line..."

Why can't we march in a straight line?

Some people were getting impatient.

"It's only fifty kilometers. If we take it slow, we can cover it in two days at most. If we march quickly, even if the horses are exhausted, it will only take a day... In my opinion, brothers, let's march quickly, charge across the border, kill anyone who gets in our way, and rush all the way to Tavitsky in one go!"

"Wonderful!"

"This is good!"

Most of the players at the meeting were very interested in the proposal, which made the arrogant man on the side, who considered himself resourceful but had not been able to put his talents to use, sigh with regret. He quickly said something.

"But what if we encounter a large army on the way?"

"What can we do? We're all cavalry. The worst that can happen is that we can ride away. The main army definitely can't catch up with us. The only ones who can catch up with us are small groups of cavalry, a hundred or two Miniese cavalry. Do you think we can't beat them?"

"But won't our high-profile advance scare that old man away...?"

"Scare him away my ass! He's just a puppet in the hands of the Minieses. Do you think we can just fire at him if he wants to run away?!"

Stop whining, vote! Let's go all out and get to Tavitsky! If we fail and die halfway there, brothers, revive immediately, share the mission, and gather more players to try again.

"That's right, that's exactly what I think. Let's vote! Raise your hand if you agree, and don't raise your hand if you disagree!"

Now that things have come to this point, is there any chance of a different outcome from the vote?
will not.

All the players who participated in the vote raised their hands, including Ye Aohenai.

……

Horseshoes trod the summer earth, splashing up bits of grass and stalks; twenty hooves struck the dry riverbed, raising fine dust on the cracked earth.

The lead scout suddenly pulled on the reins, and the warhorse snorted restlessly, its front hooves digging deep furrows in the mud.

"It smells of blood."

The captain, who was in the lead, lowered his voice, his right hand already on the saber at his waist, and his left hand drawing a flintlock pistol.

The four Minisian scouts behind the captain immediately dispersed. Three of them advanced slowly in a triangular formation, while the remaining two stayed in place to observe the surroundings.

As if sensing the somber atmosphere, the cicadas in the nearby trees suddenly stopped chirping, leaving only the occasional crisp sound of horseshoes hitting pebbles.

After walking a dozen or so steps, the youngest scout suddenly pointed towards the riverbank.

"Captain! There..."

The captain turned his head and squinted under the blazing sun, carefully observing. He quickly spotted a person wearing a blue Miniese military uniform lying slumped in the reeds. The person was probably dead, as a reddish tinge had spread across the stream.

The captain raised his hand and gestured for the scouts behind him to disperse and be on guard. He then rode his horse slowly across the stream, dismounted beside the corpse, and observed the situation.

Blood seeped from the deceased's chest, staining his blue military uniform red and soaking through the brass buttons on his chest. His shoulder insignia were missing, clearly having been torn off.

"No more than twenty minutes."

The captain bent down and used his fingertip to test the viscosity of the blood on the deceased's throat.

"boom!"

The scout captain's body immediately stiffened. He swayed twice in the stream, barely managing not to fall. He looked down at his breastplate and saw a hole the size of a thumb. There was no blood, but the captain knew he was about to die.

He looked up and gazed in the direction of the gunfire.

"Two hundred meters... damn it..."

He never expected the enemy to be hiding at such a distance, so neither he nor the scouts behind him noticed the subtle anomaly in the distance.

In just a short while, the captain felt his body couldn't hold on any longer. Just before he collapsed, he used his last strength to look back, only to find with sorrow that two of the four scouts behind him were also falling from their horses, while the remaining two were galloping away.

Run, run fast...

Two hundred meters away, under a large tree whose name he didn't know, Barbarossa touched the flintlock pistol in his hand, sticking his fingers inside the barrel to feel the rifling. The barrel still carried the warmth of firing, and the smell of gunpowder mixed with the stench of rust filled his nostrils.

"This rifled gun has pretty good accuracy; it's accurate even at 200 meters."

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of bright white teeth.

"The only problem is loading it; you have to use a hammer to tap the push rod to insert the bullet, and you also need to add an extra cork."

Ten meters to the left, another player who was half-crouching behind a pile of weeds stood up and responded to Barbarossa with a smile.

"That's how muzzle-loading rifled guns are, trading rate of fire for accuracy... Two rabbits have escaped, should we chase them?"

"Don't worry about it. There are other people in charge ahead. Even if they run away, it won't matter. We'll stop here for a bit, and then continue marching towards Tavitsky in ten minutes. Even if they come, they won't be able to catch up with us."

Ah, that's true.

The player thought for a moment, then shrugged, reloaded his ammunition on the spot, and continued to be on guard.

Ten minutes later, Barbarossa and his two companions turned around, mounted their horses, and returned to the main force to change riders and horses to carry out sentry and hunting missions.

More than two hundred players are rushing toward Tavitsky. Apart from weapons and equipment, they have abandoned sleeping bags, tents and other unnecessary supplies, carrying only enough clean water and food for a day for themselves and their horses. Except for avoiding towns and other such places, they are moving straight ahead the rest of the time.

The players are very aggressive; they don't care about anything and just run in a straight line along the map.

The route they chose was also on a large plain, with no insurmountable mountains or impassable rivers. In addition, according to the intelligence provided by Connie's intelligence agency before they set off, there were no military camps blocking their way.

No matter how incompetent Connie's intelligence agents were, they could still easily infiltrate the Tavitsky province and locate the Bohemian military camps.

They didn't even need to go into great depths; they could simply spend a little money to inquire with the Miniese merchants who came to Bagnia to buy goods, and they would get the general information.

The assassination team's wild advance could not escape the eyes of the Minisian scouts, although those scouts who dared to approach the team were shot down by players like Barbarossa.

However, because the team was on a forced march, the players were unable to pursue them, which meant that some lucky ones would survive the battle and escape back with the intelligence.

Letting them escape wasn't a big deal, because the commotion of about two hundred people marching at full speed was considerable. Not to mention anything else, just look at the hoofprints. Most of the two hundred players had two horses each, or one horse and one donkey each. Some players with high military merit even exchanged for an extra horse in the military camp, reaching the point where one person had three horses.

One warhorse, one spare horse, and one inferior horse carrying supplies.

In a way, Chris didn't treat the players unfairly. Although Bagnia was a mountainous country and extremely short of horses, he preferred to make the ten newly formed legions purely infantry and not form any cavalry units. He would leave the warhorses and cavalry he smuggled and bought at high prices for the players to exchange for with military merits.

Good steel is used on the blade.

For Chris, the best steel is now the warhorse, and the blade is naturally the player.

With these horses, the assassination squad's speed increased dramatically, leaving behind very clear hoofprints on the plain.

The Bohemians only needed to get close to know that a cavalry of about two to four hundred men had sped past. Half an hour after Barbarossa's operation to ambush the Bagnian scouts, over five hundred Miniese light cavalrymen arrived and discovered the player's presence.

These Minisian light cavalry followed the hoofprints for half an hour before giving up. They sent a small detachment to continue the pursuit, while the main force returned to the military headquarters to report the situation.

The Minisians dared not pursue any further, and the reason was simple: the players fighting them at the border had once used a diversionary tactic.

The plan is quite simple: the player brings in over a hundred horses, has a dozen players lead these horses deep into Minicia, and then deliberately lets Minicia scouts discover them, attracting a large number of light cavalry to pursue them.

At this moment, the more than two hundred players who had already gathered rushed towards the light cavalry camp. After arriving, they broke through the camp in one go within ten minutes, and the dozens of light cavalrymen and several times their number of auxiliary troops left in the camp were all killed.

The player seized all the thousands of spare warhorses left in the military camp. Before leaving, the player set fire to the camp, burning down the tents, hay, rations, and other miscellaneous items.

Such losses were devastating for the Minisian army. The light cavalry who caught up with the player's bait and returned to their camp with a dozen corpses and a hundred or so nags not only received no reward, but were also disbanded by the Minisian general the next day. The original cavalrymen were scattered and reassigned to other units.

Such a devastating lesson made it impossible for these Minisian light cavalry to continue their reckless pursuit.
Meanwhile, the light cavalry along the way strictly guarded their defensive zones and did not continue the pursuit, thus missing the only opportunity to stop the player.

……

"what……"

Wearing blue leather armor and holding a halberd, Eugene leaned against the city gate, yawning boredly. He looked up at the setting sun and estimated how much longer his shift would last.

Hey, wanna go for drinks tonight?

On the other side of the city gate, a halberdier guarding the gate smiled and asked Eugene a question.

"A new girl has come to the tavern in the west of the city. She has a big butt and a perky chest. It would be a shame not to go and check her out."

"Don't mess around."

Before Eugene could respond, the sergeant guarding the gate came over and shouted at them.

"Don't run around during this time. Don't go home or leave the camp. Something seems to have happened in the city. It's in chaos. Those black dogs have killed quite a few people in the city these past few days. Now Tavitsky is strictly forbidding people from entering but not leaving. Do you still dare to go out drinking?"

Don’t worry about your life! "

Eugene shrank back at the sergeant's scolding. He felt a little wronged. He hadn't even thought about drinking, so why was he being scolded too?
Fortunately, just as the sergeant was venting his anger, someone on the city wall shouted loudly and saved Eugene.

“Sergeant Eric, be careful, a cavalry force is approaching. They stopped at the market two kilometers away. I didn’t see their flags. Quickly drive away the people near the city gate and don’t let them get in the way.”

"Did you hear me? Quickly, get all those vegetable vendors and cart drivers away from here! Don't let them get in the way!"

The sergeant cursed and swore, and Eugene and a dozen other halberdiers also came to their senses. They quickly picked up their weapons and started hawking their wares to the vendors making a living near the city gate.

Today happens to be market day, and many vegetable vendors would normally gather here. However, something happened in Tavitsky recently, resulting in the city being open to entry but not exit. This has forced many residents to gather inside the city gate and trade with the vegetable vendors outside through the barricades.

It was evening, and there were far fewer people inside and outside the city gate. Otherwise, if Eugene and his halberdiers wanted to drive people away, they would have needed to increase the number of people by more than ten times.

The cavalry two kilometers away are likely to be enemies or friendly forces, but regardless of whether they are enemies or friends, the area around the city gate must be cleared. This is not just to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, but a necessary procedure.

If they are the enemy, these vendors will only serve as shields for them if they remain here; conversely, if they are allies, they will hinder the cavalry from entering and create unnecessary chaos.

Therefore, the expulsion process is necessary.

Eugene brandished his halberd, roughly driving away the merchants who refused to leave.

"Get out of here! Get out of here or we'll confiscate all your vegetables!"

An old woman clung tightly to her vegetable basket, pleading.

"Sir, please let me sell for a little longer. My family is counting on this money to buy bread."

“Stop talking nonsense!”

Eugene kicked over the vegetable basket, scattering radishes and potatoes all over the ground. The old woman knelt on the ground, frantically picking them up, but was pushed and shoved out of the city gate by the other soldiers.

As the dust cloud drew ever closer, Eugene instinctively stopped and squinted to look. He saw about two hundred cavalrymen rapidly approaching. Judging from the reflection of the setting sun, these cavalrymen were all clad in armor and fully armed.

"this"

Eugene suddenly had a bad feeling. What kind of friendly forces would approach a city wearing armor? Armor is no small thing.

Aside from wearing armor in battle, even halberdiers like Eugene who guard the city gates only wear leather armor on ordinary days, and sometimes only military uniforms when the weather is hot.

The fact that those cavalrymen are approaching in armor means they are now in a state of combat.

"Something's off about these people."

Before he could finish speaking, the leading cavalryman suddenly raised a strange short gun. Eugene heard a "bang" and Sergeant Eric next to him collapsed, clutching his chest.

"Enemy attack! Close the city gates!"

Eugene shouted at the top of his lungs, but it was too late.

Two hundred players surged in like a tidal wave.

Ye Aohe, who was at the forefront, was the first to dismount his horse when he reached the vicinity of the city gate. He strode forward and rushed into the city gate amidst the rustling sound of his armor plates.

Eugene instinctively raised his halberd and charged forward, but then Ye Ao's longsword flashed with two cold lights, first severing the halberd shaft, and then Eugene felt a chill on his neck, and his vision suddenly spun... The last thing he saw was his headless body slowly falling down.

The alarm bells on the city wall rang loudly, but the players had already jumped off their horses, crossed the barricades at the city gate, and rushed into the city.

"Leave about ten men to take care of the horses. The rest of you, grab your weapons and charge with me!"

Following closely behind, Alibaba, the second to rush out of the city gate, brandished his saber. He kicked aside the wooden crates blocking his way and led more than twenty players up the city wall stairs.

There were quite a few soldiers guarding the city wall, but the players were incredibly fierce, killing people quickly and ruthlessly, one hit for each person. In no time, blood flowed down the stone steps, staining the city wall red, giving it an eerie orange-red hue under the setting sun.

"Control the high ground!"

Barbarossa directed his men to quickly occupy the cannon positions on the city wall, turn the cannons around and aim them at the city, firing three shots without even looking around, to give the upcoming battle a boost.

The city was in complete chaos, and no one could stop Ye Ao from leading his men in a surprise attack on the city center.

Although Tavisky City is a major military stronghold, most of its troops are in camps outside the city, not inside. The players arrived too quickly, and the Minisian troops outside were unaware of what was happening.

Only after the cannons roared in the city did they realize something was wrong and began to assemble their soldiers, attempting to enter the city.

However, the city of Tavitsky was in complete chaos. Because of the assassination of the king at the banquet, the nobles of Tavitsky dared not let the outside world know, for if they did, they would be killed.

There are many things that the nobles of Tavitsky simply cannot explain.

First, why did Albert III appear in Tavitsky?

Secondly, why were there assassins at the banquet? You said they were Bagnians who came for Auckland, but why was it Albert III who was assassinated?
Third, Albert III is dead. Was that something you nobles did?!

These three questions alone were enough to ensure the deaths of the Tavitsky nobles who attended the banquet. In order to survive, they had to find a reason to extricate themselves or to find a scapegoat.

Therefore, the city of Tavitsky was in real chaos during these few days, with nobles sending people everywhere to search for the assassin and turning the city upside down several times.

The Bagnian mercenaries, numbering perhaps three or four thousand, who had been summoned from the city, were the focus of the nobles' searches and interrogations. The rule in Tavitsky City that allowed entry but not exit was specifically aimed at them.

(End of this chapter)