Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

He couldn't help but worry, and he couldn't help but fear—the imperial legions were advancing south, the northern defenses, which had become virtually nonexistent without Alpert, had long been abandoned, and the new defenses, lacking their near-perfect natural barrier, were barely better than nothing.

And his territory, that of Duke Fosalis, was so fortunate to be located directly facing the Imperial army... Whenever the Imperial legions set out from Alperth, his land would be the first to be hit.

The Duke was no fool. He realized this as soon as the city fell, so he desperately plundered every bit of his wealth to build more and more castles and fortresses in his territory. But he still didn't expect the Imperials to arrive so quickly, in just six months! Many projects had only just begun. The castles were only foundations and outlines. They couldn't possibly stop or delay the Imperial's elite legions, let alone stop a pack of wild dogs!

Despite having forcibly assembled every man in his territory who could wield a spear into his army, plundered every grain of food he could find, and borrowed countless sums of money from merchants, he remained fearful, worried, restless, and emaciated.

This was not only because of the imperial legions, but also because of that terrifying and illustrious name—Tesolius! Tesolius, who had rendered their tens of thousands of troops helpless and caused them to suffer heavy losses at the gates of Alpert, ultimately forcing them to flee in disarray like a pack of wild dogs!

He led an army of 3000 men from his own territory into battle that time, but only a little over 1800 returned alive after the brutal pursuit. He himself nearly died at the hands of the Imperials. How could he not be afraid?

They were defeated like this with only a few hundred cavalry and a group of slaves. What's more, this time the enemy is marching south with tens of thousands of troops, and they have lost the natural barrier in the north... To be honest, the Duke is now somewhat impressed with his own resilience—he hasn't gone crazy yet, only sometimes talking nonsense to himself.

The appeals for help from the king and the nobles had already begun, and in recent days he had been personally taking charge, writing a letter of appeal to the capital every day. Before the previous messenger even arrived, the next messenger had already caught up with him, but he had not received a reply for a long time, which made him even more uneasy.

Just as he was once again enraged by a group of unruly people in his territory who dared to disobey his orders and hoard grain, an excited minister, his face flushed, pushed open the door to his study and shouted at him in a very poetic manner.

Normally, such behavior would certainly be reprimanded, but at this moment he just wanted to hug the other person and give them a big kiss to vent his ecstatic emotions.

The reinforcements have finally arrived!!

Chapter 239 Actions of All Parties (2)

Generally speaking, it is difficult for a person's emotions to change drastically in a short period of time, unless they encounter some outrageous event or see something incomprehensible, in which case their emotions will be destroyed in an instant, causing them to jump from one extreme to another.

Duke Frosaris had just been basking in the joy of the arrival of reinforcements. Before receiving this news, everything had been depressing, gloomy, and something he wanted to escape from.

The impending, terrifying enemy was so powerful that it filled him with despair. The unruly people in his territory were always dragging their feet, refusing to hand over all their food and wealth… only when he was forced to take decisive action would they settle down. The reinforcements he had been hoping for were always late, and the letters he sent out received no response—this was what troubled him most; the possibility of the king and nobles abandoning him filled him with constant worry.

So when he heard news of reinforcements, he was so excited he almost kicked his boots off, rushed down the castle tower at top speed, ordered the soldiers to open the castle drawbridge, and welcomed His Majesty the King with the utmost sincerity and enthusiasm, inviting him to rest in the castle. Although he was somewhat puzzled by the large, constantly shaking chest in the ranks, he didn't think much of it. Until the chest was placed in the dungeon and opened… and then, things turned out like this.

“My most respected Your Majesty, I do not mean to doubt your wisdom, but this kind of thing…”

The Duke felt his legs trembling, every muscle and tendon shaking violently, his nerves rebelling and urging him to turn and run away immediately, to get as far away from these terrifying things as possible.

What is this thing?! Just looking at it makes me feel like insects have crawled into my eyes, and my heart feels like it's being gripped by something cold and sticky, and is contracting heavily.

His fingers were trembling, and he didn't loosen his grip on the sword for a moment, but he dared not actually draw the blade—after all, King Julius of the Hols was standing right next to him, so how could he dare to be so disrespectful and presumptuous?

But he dared not let his guard down, simply because those wriggling things were far too terrifying...

At first glance, it looks like five or six people are hugging each other, their hands and feet intertwined, forming a comical pose. But upon closer inspection, you can see that their soft, pale skin has a disgusting texture, like the tender white skin of wriggling larvae.

The monster in front of them was two or three times larger than an ordinary person. Its four hands and feet clearly showed signs of being pieced together. Its skin was stitched together with needle and thread, and its bones were spliced ​​together, glued and inlaid... as if a skilled carpenter had used bones as materials to assemble it.

The ends of the hands and feet are protruding black bone blades with sharp serrations. The smooth, uneven lines are clearly something that grows naturally from the organism, not something that was artificially installed by that horrific flesh "craftsman".

On the bald head, where all hair had been shaved off, were three black, shiny eyes on each side. However, these were not the kind of eyes with eyelids and pupils; instead, they were encased in a layer of black, shiny, hard shell, like insects. It was impossible to see what was inside; they looked like three eerie, protruding eyes.

Add to that the dense tentacles hanging from the severed mandible, the disgusting sounds of their constant wriggling, and the clattering of the reversed joints on the ground—all of which were terrifying and made one want to turn and run away immediately.

The Duke, being a border military noble, was not as easily frightened as those pampered good-for-nothings. However, he was still sweating profusely, constantly suppressing his urge to draw his sword in self-defense. At the same time, he subtly made a gesture by putting his left hand behind his back, signaling his trusted ministers who had come down with him to turn away quietly, just in case.

He is now awaiting the king's reply...

Three iron chains were fastened to the neck and arms of the monster, binding it firmly inside a sturdy wooden box with iron bars embedded in its interior. A short man dressed in a black robe stood beside it, occasionally muttering incantations and striking the monster's limbs with a small staff made of intertwined vines.

The scene before one's eyes is undeniably evil, no matter how bold one may be... This is not due to any significant differences in religion, country, or race; a normal person would instinctively feel disgusted by such a thing.

“Vorsaris… my dear brother, my most loyal friend, I have no intention of hiding anything from you about this…”

King Julius looked somewhat listless. This man had always been known throughout the country for his energy and vigor. Now, however, he appeared somewhat withered, and the white hair at his temples was particularly striking.

"This is part of our way of survival... My dear friend, this is our way of survival..."

"With this?! Your Majesty, with this twisted monster! I admit it did startle me, but how can this thing possibly stand against the Empire's army?"

The Duke, already driven mad by the pressure, could no longer contain himself. He stared wide-eyed, shouting about his past in a fit of rage… He wasn’t a fool; he immediately understood His Majesty’s meaning—their greatest threat, their most tangible danger of annihilation, was the tens of thousands of troops under Consul Tersolius! Their country would fall and they would perish in an instant; how could something like that possibly stop them?!

Julius didn't speak, but simply nodded to the short man in black, who immediately bowed to him, then took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the monster's shackles.

As the heavy iron chains hit the ground, the Duke immediately took a step back, lowering his body warily, and drew his sword halfway out of his hand.

"Watch, my friend, there's a reason I made this choice."

Julius said expressionlessly, his fingers stroking the sword at his waist.

Although the shackles had been removed, the terrifying monster remained motionless, standing there stiffly as if it were just a corpse, until the man in black put a whistle in his mouth and blew it forcefully...

A strange, low sound brushed past their ears, like an insect flapping its wings across their faces, sending a chill down their spines and making them instinctively want to shrink their heads.

With the sound, the monster finally began to move... Only then did the Duke see clearly that below the monster's two long arms were two slightly shorter, but thinner arms, making a total of three pairs of legs, making it look more like a large worm.

With its long, slender arms, each with four or five joints, gently extended forward on the ground. The eerie monster before them slipped past them silently, like a feather, until it reached the dungeon wall. Then, it stood up and, relying on its long limbs, dug deep into the cracks in the stone bricks, silently beginning to climb upwards, just like a giant white spider.

The duke was initially bewildered, not understanding what his king meant. Then he saw the soft, white leather suddenly begin to darken… in the blink of an eye, it became the same color as the black stone bricks of the dungeon. After a slight tremor and movement, he was horrified to discover that he could no longer find the strange object!

He immediately became uneasy, just like someone who can't sleep after knowing a venomous snake has crawled into their room. Once he realized the strange monster was out of his sight, he lost all sense of security and was about to yell for soldiers to surround the place.

"Don't panic, look—"

Julius pressed down on his shoulder and pointed to the spot illuminated by the torchlight beside them… A pale white figure was slowly emerging from there, like a fish swimming up from the bottom of the water. A moment later, the eerie, twisted thing reappeared before their eyes…

That's why.

………………

The army has arrived in Alpert!

A vast expanse of red flags, like an ocean, surrounded the city. The dazzling light of the flags was almost blinding, and the thunderous cheers made every tile of the city tremble.

Tens of thousands of elite soldiers are cheering together. This is the formidable military strength of an empire, the sharpest and most invincible weapon of the nation. Armed with superior equipment, rigorous training, and fearless courage, the soldiers are about to conquer more land for their country and defeat more enemies.

Now, a smooth road lies before them, with no more treacherous passes, fortified cities, or continuous mountain ranges to hinder them. They are confident that they will crush all their enemies and claim victory and honor for themselves!

Marcus, the logistics officer that Tersolius had left here, was now flushed with excitement, his dark red beard trembling. He was already fully armed and ready for battle, leading his well-prepared and trained army to join Tersolius's ranks.

"My lord, please allow me to wield my sword for you!"

Thasorius reached out and took the sword from Marcus, who presented it to him with both hands. He then pulled Marcus up from the ground and hung the sword back on his belt.

“You’ve done a great job, to be honest, much better than I had hoped for at best… This land is as fertile as ever…”

The farmland that was destroyed in the last great war has been completely restored, and the wheat in the fields has begun to turn golden. The grain stored in the city warehouses is no longer enough, so new warehouses have to be built to store the grain.

Everything here seemed vibrant and prosperous. A large number of elite troops were gathered under his command. With tens of thousands of troops and ample supplies, he had no worries about the rear. What enemy could possibly stop him?

"Get ready, we're heading south to conquer this land."

In the twilight sunlight, Thesolius's armor plates were gilded with gold as he gazed at the vast southern plains and the low hills... speaking to his confidants in a very casual tone.

“We have been waiting for this for a long time, General.”

Marcus smiled and stroked his mustache, his eyes crinkling with laughter, making him look like an easygoing businessman.

-----------------------

For any lord, having a large forest in his territory is a cause for celebration—it means a steady stream of timber, furs, meat, and other resources, as well as a steady stream of gold coins flowing into his pocket.

The growth of trees cannot keep up with the rate at which people cut them down. No matter how dense the forest is, it will eventually be cut down, and the resources inside are even more limited. It is precisely because he knows this that Viscount Mattearus, like every respectable nobleman, will not allow those ambitious and unruly people to enter his forest to cut wood and hunt. In order to make an example of others, he also hung several audacious people on beech trees that led into the forest, letting them rot into white bones, becoming a bright sign to warn anyone who dares to disobey his orders.

Of course, even so, it was impossible to completely stop these lowly creatures... This annoyed him quite a bit, but there was nothing more he could do, since such a large forest would always give them a chance to sneak in.

As a minor nobleman in the southeast, Mattearus lived a comfortable and easy life—relying on the vast forests in his territory, he could earn a considerable income every year, enough for him to live a comfortable life.

Moreover, because his location was indeed too remote, he was often spared from misfortune—for example, he was not involved in the last war that caused considerable losses to many nobles, which made him secretly rejoice for a long time.

His territory had no minerals, not much suitable farmland, and not even a river with abundant water. The most valuable thing was the forest, which not only produced valuable furs, but also brought in a lot of income from timber and charcoal.

That's why, even though he wasn't exactly a diligent person by nature, he would take his soldiers to patrol the forest and surrounding areas every day. If they encountered any audacious and unruly people, they would hang them on the spot. This was to protect his timber and furs and ensure that no money he could get his hands on would be stolen.

Nothing changed today; the forest was as damp and cold as ever, causing his legs to ache slightly. He had to quicken his patrol pace, all the while muttering complaints and grumbling under his breath.

The leaves were always covered in dew in the early morning, making the soldiers' robes and chainmail damp and cold. Today was not a good day; the sky was gloomy, which made everyone quicken their pace, eager to get back to the castle with the burning campfire as soon as possible.

Just as they were about to leave the forest, a loud, startling sound came from the bushes beside them—the sound of something shaking branches and knocking leaves down. It instantly drew everyone's attention...

Chapter 240 Actions of All Parties (3)

The sound of rustling leaves came from the forest. It was the season when leaves were falling everywhere, so even a slight rustling caused leaves from the bushes and low trees to fall to the ground like rain. This immediately drew everyone's attention. Several experienced veterans immediately raised their spears, guessing that wild animals such as wild boars were roaming through the woods, and they needed to prevent these creatures from being frightened and causing them to charge into the ranks.

The young viscount was pale, unlike his strong and powerful father. He looked weak and listless, his body a flabby layer of flesh from years of indulging in wine and women. He could barely sit still on his horse, let alone draw a bow and arrow. When he saw something amiss, he was so frightened that he backed away, pulling the reins and bit like a bowstring, causing his warhorse to shake its head in pain.

"Hurry up! Go check what's going on, and don't let this thing get any closer."

The two veterans exchanged a glance and immediately began to prepare. One slung his shield behind his back and gripped the boar spear with both hands to deal with the beast's charge. The other took a crossbow from his back, stepped on the ground, nocked an arrow, and carefully aimed.

The two of them slowly approached the bushes from which the noise was coming, one after the other. They kept pushing aside the grass in front of them to avoid stepping into anything and disturbing it. Before long, they had circled around to the back of the bushes and began to carefully search and explore.

"what!……"

A sudden scream made the viscount shudder, his dark circles revealing a sensitive and tense expression. He quickly responded loudly:

"What's wrong? What is that? Fried! Yakari! What's wrong with you two?"

Both veterans were left behind by his father, and the viscount was extremely dependent on them, asking about almost everything. Now, he couldn't help but panic.

"...There was no adult, just a dead person, but...the manner of death was a bit strange."

Fried's voice came from behind the bushes, tinged with surprise, and the sound of the spear shaft rustling through the grass could be heard.

"Sir, would you like to take a look? This guy is really quite strange..."

Hearing what the two of them said, the viscount also became interested. He quickly dismounted and led his soldiers over, and then... everyone froze in place...

Corpses are not uncommon here. Right by the road leading into the forest, there are four or five hanging on that tall beech tree. They are all the unruly people who came in to poach and illegally log. They have been reduced to half-bones by the wind, sun and crows pecking at them. But the corpse in front of everyone sent chills down their spines and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

This was a man, a very strange man. Although he had shaved off all his hair and wore only a tattered cloth around his waist, his gender was still discernible from his obvious physical features. His entire body was covered in wounds. The pale, torn flesh clearly indicated that he had not been treated well.

But a normal human being could not possibly have such long arms and legs! The Viscount compared them briefly and was surprised to find that this guy's arms were half again as long as his own, and the same was true for his legs. The guy looked like an insect like a praying mantis, with disproportionately long limbs, which made people feel strange from the bottom of their hearts.

After a moment of silence, a Holstein man with a large beard chuckled dryly.

"Actually, it's not like it's never happened before... I remember when my cow gave birth to her first litter, there was one of those acrobats with two heads, wasn't there? It really startled me. It even had two necks. This one is probably similar."

"Judging from the wounds on his body, he must have been a clown kept by some noble family. He ran here and died from exhaustion. Although it is rare, it is not a big deal."

The viscount also calmed down and began to comfort everyone:

"He's just a weird-looking guy... Such lowly beings are naturally despised by the gods, which is why he died here. Let's set him on fire and burn him. Let's end it here today."

Upon hearing their master's command, the soldiers sprang into action, gathering fallen dry branches from the forest. With a dozen or so men working together, they quickly piled up a large heap. Then, they grabbed the man on the ground by the arms and legs, lifted him up, and threw him onto the pile. Fortunately, it was late autumn, and such dry firewood was easy to find in the woods. Once lit, it quickly burst into flames.

As their most important source of income, they couldn't afford to be careless. They waited until the firewood had turned to ashes and the strange creature inside was reduced to a few pale bones. The stench of burning filled the entire jungle. They used their helmets to fetch water from the nearby stream and carefully poured it over the ground. Only after confirming that there were no embers left did they turn and leave.