Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

As he fell to the ground, the seasoned bandit realized his dangerous situation. In the blink of an eye, he discarded the useless scimitar in his hand, reached into his waist and drew a sharp dagger. With a twist of the blade, he stabbed at Baria, who was clinging to him tightly.

Bandits who live in the mountains year-round will naturally not be complacent about their means of survival. The blade of this dagger has been sharpened to be thin and razor-sharp, making it as easy as cutting through tofu to slice through flesh. It is usually carefully protected in a scabbard made of birch bark, precisely for a single, decisive strike in such a situation.

Moreover, this attack was swift and precise; the experienced thief aimed for the most vulnerable part of the side of the neck, and the reckless and inexperienced young man was no match for him.

At this critical moment, as he watched the sharp dagger hurtling towards his face, Baria, in a moment of quick thinking, suddenly pulled his head back and turned his face, causing the dagger, which was supposed to pierce his neck, to pass through his cheek. Then, he instinctively bit down on it with his teeth, rendering him unable to move.

The dagger pierced his cheek, and blood immediately streamed down his face, soaking the young man's brown robe. But he fought back fiercely, as if he didn't care about his life, letting the other man relentlessly pound his head, his hands never letting up.

The thief panicked completely. He frantically groped around and grabbed the scimitar he had just dropped. He slammed the hilt down on the thief's head, the heavy, hard brass weight about to shatter the bone...

*Pfft!*

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was muffled and sticky. The tip of the spear pierced through the black cloth and emerged from the thief's chest. With a ferocious expression, Calido twisted the long handle in his hand, making the sharp spear blade rotate and scrape inside the opponent's flesh, turning the soft organs into fragments.

The thief's arm, which was about to smash down the knife hilt, went limp and collapsed to the ground. Large clumps of blood and foam gushed from his mouth, soaking the mask covering his face.

Pfft!

Another spear thrust forward, high above, piercing the thief's shoulder blade and collarbone, penetrating deep into his heart and lungs. The young man gripping the spear, though pale, showed no sign of flinching. He pressed his entire body against the spear, allowing it to emerge directly from under the thief's ribs.

More and more spears and swords came thrusting in, tearing through cloth and flesh without resistance, bringing out a sticky, dripping substance. The blood stained the clothes of everyone around, but no one cared. The seven or eight young men huddled together only remembered to extend their weapons and stab and stab... until all that was left in front of them was a mangled mass of flesh mixed with black and gray cloth. Only then did they stop, panting heavily, and drag their wounded companion back.

Although the sudden situation disrupted their movements, the young men did not fall into chaos—after all, they were military-trained. They were able to prioritize in emergencies and make sound judgments with clear minds.

The woman who escaped was immediately put on the carriage, and the injured Baria received the same treatment. A clean white cloth was stuffed into his mouth, and white cloths were wrapped around his mouth to prevent him from bleeding too much.

Maris lashed his whip across the livestock, and the three carriages sped away from the woods, the young men flanking the procession with shields. Though tense, they remained calm, eager to escape this dangerous place as quickly as possible.

A sharp whistle suddenly came from the high mountain, startling Kalido. Baria also instinctively looked in that direction, and the two of them widened their eyes in panic at almost the same time, realizing what was about to happen.

"Raise your shields!!"

"Waaaaah!!..."

Caledo's exclamation and Balia's indistinct grumble rang out simultaneously. The young men instinctively raised their shields to their upper bodies—the next moment, a dense barrage of arrows flew down, accompanied by heart-stopping screams, piercing their shields one after another.

Although Calido shouted in time, several people didn't react in time and were shot through the chest by arrows, struggling to fall to the ground. Four or five others were shot in the arms and shoulders, letting out shrill screams as they fell to the ground, blood soaking their clothes and staining their cheeks. Their piercing screams immediately caused chaos to spread among the young people.

The rain of arrows only lasted a short while before stopping, it seems the bandits didn't have many arrows to waste... or perhaps they thought they didn't need to waste any more arrows now...

Although these young men had received some training, they were unarmored and numbered only about 20. They had already suffered considerable losses. Based on past experience, a bluffing attack would be enough to send them scattering, allowing them to easily rob the young men of their possessions and perhaps even capture a few strong slaves.

As expected, just as the thieves had predicted, the young people, who were encountering this kind of thing for the first time, panicked immediately. Even their formation began to break down, and some people were already cowering and showing signs of wanting to escape. Once one person started running, the others would follow suit, and it would soon turn into a chaotic escape where everyone was running around like headless flies.

Especially the wounded and the dead among them, watching helplessly as their fellow villagers and peers, with whom they spent every day, died before their very eyes. Many were gripped by fear, unsure of what to do. One moment they wanted to continue holding their shields, the next they wanted to check on the wounded. Ultimately, cowardice quickly took hold, many their steps faltering, hesitant, constantly glancing at the expressions of others. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would scatter in panic.

Without further hesitation, the bandits emerged from the nearby forests. Roaring and shouting menacingly, they gathered and charged down the mountain, brandishing long axes and knives, eager to wreak havoc and plunder.

A pale-faced young man finally couldn't hold on any longer. The vicious thieves were all filthy and ruthless, their long swords and heavy axes gleaming, looking as if they could cleave a person in two with a single blow. The will to survive and the fear of death finally compelled him to drop his spear, clutching only a shield, and turn to flee.

As a gust of wind blew, a sturdy spear struck his face hard, causing the young man's nose to cave in. Blood splattered onto the carriage, and he collapsed to the ground, dazed and disoriented. His limbs thrashed about like a frog being stepped on, but he couldn't get up. Clearly, the blow had seriously injured him.

Calido struck his fleeing companion with his spear, knocking him down, then roared with a ferocious expression:

"Don't you dare run away! Have you all lost your minds? Running away is suicide! The only way to survive is to fight them to the death! Turn your heads back and raise your spears. Anyone who dares to turn and run away again, I'll kill him first!"

The young people were all taken aback; the Kalido before them seemed completely unfamiliar. It was as if a howling wolf had unhesitatingly bared its sharp teeth, driving them to face the enemy and causing those who had considered retreating to hesitate once again.

A foot clad in a cloth shoe kicked out heavily, knocking the screaming deserter on the ground unconscious. Baria, who had been sitting in the carriage, raised his spear, gripped his shield in his other hand, and turned to face the charging bandits. Without a word, he held his shield up in front of him, ready to meet the onslaught.

After finishing his tirade, Caledo picked up his spear and stepped forward, standing beside Barea without hesitation. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, intently watching the thieves who were making their way offline, showing no fear whatsoever.

Some people were still hesitating. In their panic, these young people instinctively wanted to find an elder to take charge... Then they were horrified to find that Uncle Maris had somehow ended up lying on the carriage, with two arrows stuck in his back and blood soaking through his robe.

They finally realized they had no other choice, and with a shout from a burly young man, several men turned back and stood beside Kalido… People tend to follow those who have more opinions, and in the end, almost everyone returned to their positions, raising their spears in readiness to face the ferocious bandits.

The bandits rushing down the mountain also noticed something was wrong. Although these hotheads were initially flustered, they quickly regained their composure under the guidance of a blond-haired boy, and resumed their previous formation, making them a formidable opponent.

But now that things had come to this, they couldn't just turn back. So these audacious thugs gritted their teeth and continued their charge, hoping to kill a few people on the other side and make them retreat in fear, at which point they could act with impunity.

The number of bandits rushing down was twice theirs. Five or six of them had already lost their fighting ability, and now only 15 people were still standing here. Although everyone had a tense look on their faces, no one retreated at this last moment. They regarded themselves as a component of the machine, simply following the orders of their leader.

As the bandits charged closer and closer, just a dozen paces from the formation, a loud shout suddenly rang out from within:

"Throw the ball!"

Ten shields were opened in unison, and sharp javelins were pulled backward by the strong arms of the young men before being hurled with tremendous force. They flew with astonishing kinetic energy towards the unsuspecting bandits.

The thugs, who never expected these guys to have the guts to use this move, suffered heavy losses immediately. The powerful javelins that hit them were either dead or crippled, and several of them were immediately pinned to the ground.

"cast!"

Before they could react, another volley of javelins came flying down like hail, leaving no room to dodge. In the blink of an eye, five or six more fell to the ground. The dead were one thing, but the cries of the wounded made these once hot-blooded bandits falter, their steps faltering, and their hearts filled with hesitation.

Hesitation at this moment is the worst decision, because another round of javelins is flying over... Every healthy young man in the empire, as long as he is not disabled or blind, must undergo unified military training. Although the training lasts for a year, it adds up to at most one or two months, but it is enough to distinguish them from the dull-witted ordinary conscripts of other countries.

In addition to their skills with spears and short swords, each of them had to learn at least one of the following: javelin throwing or archery. While their skills weren't particularly advanced, they still had a high probability of hitting targets within 10 paces, inflicting heavy losses on these villains who thought they had the upper hand.

The phrase "a thief's nature is hard to change" certainly includes the audacity to commit heinous acts, but it also implies a willingness to flee at the first sign of trouble... After all, one can't expect bandits to have any morale. Seeing that the situation was daunting, almost all the bandits considered retreating. They were only seven or eight steps away from their opponents, but none of them dared to charge forward. After all, those sharp spears were pointed at them, and being the first to charge would be suicide.

But they were timid, and the young men, whose morale had been rekindled, were not about to let them go...

"Charge! Kill all these bastards!"

The young men threw down their shields, gripped the shafts of their spears with both hands, and charged forward with a battle cry...

The villains could no longer hold out and turned to flee in all directions.

Chapter 166 New Blood (3)

Human emotions possess a unique power, especially felt by soldiers engaged in battle. In exciting or extremely critical moments, they feel their hearts pounding as if they're about to burst from their mouths. The heat from their blood makes their skin feel like it's on fire, and even their thinking becomes simpler, focusing entirely on the task at hand.

This will make them fearless of any threat during this period. As long as someone leads them, they can quickly coalesce into a massive force and launch a reckless attack.

These naive and impetuous young men were all in the same boat. Seeing that they had gained the upper hand, after the ferocious thieves turned and ran away, almost everyone's face turned red, their legs moved like the wind, and they rushed forward with their spears. When they got close to their opponents, they thrust their spears fiercely into their chests and abdomens.

With their momentum shifting, the bandits, who had just been excitedly jumping for joy, scattered like birds and beasts. They slipped away faster than four-legged animals, deliberately disappearing into bushes and thickets where movement was difficult. Relying on their years of experience, they were more cunning and agile than foxes.

Despite the youths' imposing momentum and swift movements, they managed to kill only four or five people before the others disappeared into the thickets of bushes. The thieves, dressed in greyish-black clothing, darted about in the shadowy undergrowth before becoming indistinct, on the verge of escaping their grasp.

Almost everyone was furious. The thought of their dead comrades made them grit their teeth in hatred. They recklessly pushed through the bushes and rushed in, trying to catch up with the fleeing bandits, completely ignoring the sharp thorns that scratched their skin and drew blood.

Just as these villains were about to leave with their loot, a roar suddenly erupted from the hillside:

"The general said not to spare a single one, kill them all!"

Several figures dressed in green robes suddenly emerged from the woods, like spirits rising from the deep forest, startling everyone. Heavy arrows, already drawn in their bows, flew from the strings, piercing flesh, organs, and bones, pinning the leading bandits to the ground...

At the same time, several men dressed in green robes leaped out of the nearby bushes. Wielding long swords, they charged into the unsuspecting thieves in an instant, cutting them down one by one with each strike. It was as clean and efficient as chopping corn stalks in a cornfield, leaving behind trails of thick blood and gooey entrails.

The leader, sporting a large beard, raised his greatsword and cleaved a burly bandit in two from shoulder to waist. Internal organs mixed with blood and gore spilled onto the ground. The half-bodied man lay sprawled on the ground, his muscles twitching instinctively. A blood-stained hand gripped the bandit's shoe, but the leader didn't even glance at it, thrusting his greatsword downwards, plunging it into the wrist and ripping open the bone. Then, calmly, he pulled off his own boot, cursing as he flicked away the blood and gore.

These newly emerged men were extremely fierce and agile. The thieves, who were originally fleeing in panic, were mostly killed in a single encounter. The remaining few knelt down and begged for mercy when they saw that things were not going well, but they were also beheaded one by one, with no intention of leaving any survivors.

After clearing out all the bandits, they gathered together and walked towards the young people, chatting and laughing.

Meanwhile, the young men of Solidtuo village, led by Kalido and Baria, were incredibly tense. They instinctively mistook these fierce men for new bandits—the brief but brutal fight unfolding before them was a blatant case of double-crossing. They, the ordinary people who had witnessed it, were certainly in for trouble…

Some have even begun to despair... Are even bandits this powerful outside? With their skill level, can they really become honorable soldiers of the Legion?

Instinctively, they raised their spears at the approaching figures. After the fierce battle just now, no one was thinking of running away; everyone was prepared to fight to the death.

As the leader of everyone, Caledo could not back down. Even though the enemy in front of him was as terrifying as a demon, the young man just gritted his teeth and pointed his spear at the other party. Meanwhile, Barea, whose face was still covered with a thick white cloth, still stood beside him with his spear, never wavering from beginning to end.

As the blood-soaked greatswords drew ever closer, everyone braced themselves for a desperate fight… but then the bearded leader reached into his robes and pulled out a hardwood plaque inlaid with gold:

“By order of Lord Tersolius, we are the second bandit suppression squad of the third archer battalion of the Golden Legion. What are you fools doing here? This road is not allowed to pass until all the bandits here are eliminated. Didn’t you get notified? We posted notices on that hill over there.”

“?!…………”

The young people were bewildered by the sudden turn of events. They instinctively focused their attention on Kalido and Barea. After this battle, these two had become the undisputed leaders among them, and they instinctively wanted to ask each other for help when faced with problems.

The two of them were equally confused, unsure whether what the other was saying was true. The more perceptive Kalidodo examined the wooden plaque, noting its hard, fine-grained wood and intricate carvings. Ordinary bandits wouldn't use something like this to deceive them. Furthermore, upon closer inspection, although the men wore only green robes, they were made of high-quality cotton with fine, neat stitches. Their fine leather boots gleamed, and their belts had brass fittings.

Even the quiver for the arrows was made of carved cowhide, and he wore soft leather gauntlets… Aside from not wearing armor, it was nothing short of extravagant. Such luxury was beyond the reach of bandits. Those who spent their days hiding in the mountains didn't have the leisure to afford such fine attire…

After reluctantly accepting the other person's identity, Calido began to ponder the matter, and then he was surprised to discover that his group had indeed received no warning whatsoever—not only them, but the other two caravans traveling with them had also received no relevant information. And judging from the situation just now, those two caravans were certainly in grave danger.

They saw no notices posted on the other side of the mountain pass, nor did they receive a single word from officials in nearby towns. Subconsciously, they assumed the road through the forest was still safe, so they entered with peace of mind.

But now these soldiers, who call themselves the Golden Legion, say they have posted notices and issued orders to block the road. Their intrusion was completely unexpected and not something they anticipated.

Realizing he might be in serious trouble, Kalido didn't dare hide anything. He quickly told them everything he knew. After he finished speaking, the 10-person team opposite him fell into an eerie silence, then quietly distanced themselves and began to discuss things in hushed tones.

The young people are still on high alert, but at least they can catch their breath a little...

“Parkinson, something seems off. We saw the messenger go by with our own eyes, so how come this kid says they didn’t see the notice at all?”

A mountain man with messy hair scratched his curly hair and asked his captain in confusion. His captain, however, hadn't figured anything out either and remained silently squatting on the ground.

"Was it done by these bandits we're hunting? Maybe they sensed something and are trying to escape from the other side of the pass?"

"They must have a death wish! They dare to expose the proclamation issued in the name of the magistrate, as if they don't want to die fast or miserably enough? They're determined to attract more people to deal with them."

"But this brat said that the officials in the town over there didn't say anything to them... Could it be that the news hasn't reached them yet? That shouldn't be the case. They should have arrived by now, even on foot, let alone on a fast horse, with such a good road."

"Alright, everyone shut up."

The bearded mountain leader, his eyes deep in thought, scratched his chin.

“There’s definitely something fishy going on here. It’s something we can’t figure out. Let’s report it to those ‘Black Crows’ and let them handle it. Those guys can get even a mute to open their mouth and confess to their crimes.”

"Yes, that's what we should do. Those guys are the best at this kind of thing."

"Anyway, we can't figure it out with our own brains, so it's best to let the professionals handle it."

"As expected, Captain, you're the smartest!"

…………

Ignoring the rambling flattery from his men, the bearded mountain man turned to look at the still somewhat wary young men:

"You're lucky today. We're going back anyway, so we can give you a ride. Hurry up and pack your things, we'll leave right away."

————————————————————————————————————————————

The carriage was traveling on the road again. The three draft horses were very lucky and were not hit by arrows. It was also possible that the bandits deliberately did not want to harm these precious animals, so that they would not have to use their own manpower to pull these large carts.

Another piece of good news is that Uncle Maris was not killed by the arrows. As a seasoned driver who often transports goods, he had deliberately worn a leather armor made of hard cowhide under his clothes before setting off. Although he was caught off guard and hit by several arrows, he was not seriously injured. He was just unable to move because of his injuries.

The bodies of five companions were piled on the wagon, their blood dripping onto the ground, leaving long red streaks. The sorrow emanating from those pale, familiar faces cast a somber shadow over the entire procession. They simply walked forward with their heads down.

Before even reaching their destination, a quarter of them had already been lost, a devastating blow and a painful lesson for these young people. The deaths of their peers, with whom they had spent so much time, also deeply saddened them, with some even weeping in secret.

But now that things have come to this, no one is willing to back down. After all, they have already paid such a high price, and they cannot go back empty-handed. Those who can make up their minds are not too confused; they can all understand this point.