Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

His appearance seemed to reflect his fiery, cruel, and vicious temper—not only his hair, but even his beard and eyebrows were a dark scarlet color, his nose was thin and sharp like an eagle's beak, his eyes were small and long, his skin was rough and wrinkled, his teeth were crooked due to his bad eating habits, and the crown he wore on his head was put directly on his forehead in a very crude way, binding his curly, shoulder-length red hair.

When he frowned, even the bravest knights in the kingdom dared not breathe too heavily, and the entire nation's nobility were under his oppression and bullying.

With such a brutal king, the nobles would normally have risen up in rebellion long ago... But in Salanod, under the rule of Jotesero the Redbeard, they could only submit to his rule. The reason was very simple—in the years of war with the empire, Jotesero was the only king who could firmly control most of the country's military power. Based on this alone, the nobles' resistance could only remain verbal condemnations.

During the years of war, the king here learned a great deal from the imperials, such as their military structure. This was both a proactive learning and a forced adaptation... except that Redbeard Yotserro reached the pinnacle in this regard—his army had very few nobles, and most of his officers were trained from commoners, mercenaries, or even bandits, who were directly loyal to the king.

To support this army, he ruthlessly plundered his own territory, while frequently extorting money from other countries. He would even allow his soldiers to raid villages and towns on certain occasions, using the spoils as their wages.

The rainy season in Salanod was almost over, but it was still damp and uncomfortable. Tiny water droplets clung to Yotserro's beard, and his brow twitched as if he had been electrocuted, as some kind of anger was brewing in his heart.

"Therefore, Your Majesty, a total of 5 mercenary groups have failed to arrive as agreed... Even considering the terrible road conditions during the rainy season, they are still quite late. The messengers sent to contact them are still on their way, but we do not know what happened. We cannot rule out the possibility that they have absconded with the funds."

"...These damned cowards, these untrustworthy bastards! Once we catch them, skin them alive!! How dare they run away with my money!..."

Redbeard Yotserro's face twitched as he cursed loudly, while the other nobles and mercenary leaders who had brought their armies exchanged glances, unsure whether to speak in this awkward atmosphere.

“Once we’re absolutely certain these guys ran off with my money, then we’ll have Duster lead a group to chase after them… No, we need to be careful they don’t turn on us; we still have to deal with the Imperials…”

After a string of curses, the king abruptly calmed down, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured into a hot pit, leaving only cold, sticky ashes. He began calmly devising a vicious plan, completely leaving the others to wait awkwardly... Only after he had finalized his decision did he turn around, his expression already unconsciously carrying a smile, completely devoid of the previous emotions, the switch was perfectly natural and thorough.

"Haha, I've been delayed quite a bit by some lowly fellows. I hope my cook and servants haven't let me down during this time. If they haven't, I'll hang them from the pillars outside, for they dared to neglect my distinguished guests."

The nobles and mercenary leaders all expressed their satisfaction... even though no servants had brought out the food and wine during that time.

The other party's unpredictable temper surprised and frightened some mercenary leaders who were visiting for the first time, while the nobles generally expected it to some extent. Thus, the awkward atmosphere just now turned into a pleasant one between the host and guests.

Then the fine wines from the cellar were finally brought out, still carrying the aromas of water droplets and the unique scent of damp oak, along with large chunks of honey-glazed roasted meat fresh from the grill, and crispy chicken marinated with onions and cilantro...

Traditionally, there should be no unpalatable vegetables or fruits on the table; the more delicious meat, the better, to show the host's wealth and generosity. Ideally, plates should be stacked on top of each other, so crowded that the entire table is almost collapsing under the weight of the food, until everyone is thoroughly satisfied and their mouths are greasy and they reek of alcohol.

And Redbeard Yotsero quickly proved himself to be generous, at least as a host, providing an lavish supply of all kinds of meat. The grand finale was a huge, fat wild boar that could almost crush a person, carried to the table by four strong servants, its mouth stuffed with a large apple, its tusks still intact.

Such a large piece of meat is difficult to roast, which means that a huge oven, almost half the size of a house, is needed to fill it with a lot of charcoal and slowly roast it to allow the heat to penetrate into the meat while preserving its rich juices.

What's even more wonderful is the precious spices sprinkled on top, which, propelled by the heat, release wave after wave of enticing aromas that whet the appetite. Cutting open the golden-brown, crispy skin reveals the juicy meat underneath. If you get too greasy, a sip of chilled wine will instantly refresh your palate and give you a new appetite.

They indulged in lavish feasting, and even the troops they brought were treated to food. Meat and ale were delivered to the tents in the drizzling rain, though the quantity was not ideal; they mostly relied on pickled beans and similar items.

After the banquet, everyone was in high spirits. Whether it was the king, the lord, or the mercenary captain, they were all optimistic about what they were going to do next... Only people at their level knew what they relied on for this and had enough confidence in it.

Their future is bright; they are destined to acquire countless riches, power, and land, and be recorded in history... Compared to all this, what are a few mercenaries who deserted their posts? They are nothing but a festering sore.

........................

The carriage rumbled along the road. The wheels were deformed from years of use but had not been repaired in time. The heavy load was obviously exacerbating the distortion. It was foreseeable that if no one repaired them, the wheels would not last much longer.

Ludos pursed his dry lips, trying to ignore the tempting sounds coming from the water tank behind him, and urged his legs onward. To lighten the load on the two mules pulling the cart, he didn't even want to ride on it, just so he could pull a little more.

The young man who always hung out with him was also absent from the carriage today—the water shortage was becoming increasingly severe, and the town's residents had to find several dilapidated carriages again to organize the men to take turns going out to fetch water. In order to increase efficiency, they almost all acted alone.

In the past, doing things this way would definitely not have worked. The bandits and robbers on the road were no kind men or women. Going alone was just courting death and gambling with one's life... But now, after the Imperial army has swept through the entire south, it is difficult to find those mountain kings who do business without any capital.

This once promising profession is now extremely risky. The Imperial cavalry patrolling the roads are all eagerly anticipating these guys to emerge and claim military merit, harvesting the rampant bandits in the south like weeds, wave after wave, leaving them terrified.

Even their town has recently seen a few outsiders, all looking terrified, doing any dirty or strenuous work just to find a way to survive in the village. Lydos could tell what these guys were like in the past, but now they've been killed so many times they can't take it anymore, so they just want to hide in the town to survive...

Once the heat died down, these guys who had gotten used to making money without any investment would definitely not behave themselves, so he arrested them all without hesitation. After a brief interrogation, not one of them made a mistake, and they were all sent to the city prison. Those who deserved to be killed were killed, and those who deserved to be locked up were locked up.

In short, the road was indeed quite safe now. Moreover, he had not forgotten the swordsmanship he had honed on the battlefield, so he was even less worried. He calmly and slowly pulled on the mule's reins, leading the cart along the road.

The sun was as scorching as ever today, making him parched. He had almost finished the light beer he brought with him that morning, and the craving for alcohol and thirst surged up together, making him irritable and causing him to breathe heavily and restlessly. The yellow dust from the road choked him, making it hard for him to breathe. Only the liquid constantly bubbling in the water tank could cheer him up.

The empire has sent professionals to deal with the water problem—this was the news he heard in the city a couple of days ago. The residents there have begun to return one after another, and the water has returned to its former clarity and safety. After the most densely populated cities are dealt with, it will be the turn of villages and towns like theirs. Then there will be no need to work so hard to haul water, and he will be able to rest for a couple of days.

He just didn't know when the scholars who would handle the water source would arrive... His old bones really couldn't handle such hard work anymore.

Ludos would occasionally drift into a daze, but his movements never slowed down. He continued forward at a slow but determined pace, mostly ignoring the vehicles and pedestrians passing by on the roadside. He could tell from the corner of his eye whether someone was a bad guy or not, but it was unlikely that he would run into anyone he knew here... After all, his acquaintances, apart from the residents of the town, were only the dead from the battlefield.

He continued onward, and when he was still more than a quarter of the way from his final destination, Lydos suddenly stopped, turned his head as if he had been electrocuted, and frowned as he stared at a few footprints on the ground.

It wasn't unusual to find footprints in this place, after all, with the end of the war in the South, various commercial activities were resuming, and there were more and more pedestrians on the road. But he felt for some reason that those few footprints were a bit unusual, but he couldn't figure it out for the time being, so he could only stand there and frown and observe carefully.

Just as his eyes were starting to hurt from looking at the water, a sudden gust of wind blew in, and the footprints remaining on the loose soil faded considerably in an instant. He was stunned for a moment, but ultimately shook his head... Why bother with all that? Getting the water back was what he should be doing.

Chapter 400 Misguided Intent (6)

Two thick stone slabs sealed the entire well completely, not to prevent others from polluting the well water, but to prevent the well water from polluting others. Since the last time they learned their lesson, two young men from the security team were specially assigned to guard this place to ensure that no one who was too thirsty would dare to drink water here.

Every other day, the few horse-drawn carriages in the town would be driven out to transport water from dozens of miles away. The townspeople would then gather in the square to distribute the water according to the number of people in their households. Because the water was becoming increasingly scarce and precious, they dared not wash their clothes or take baths. Even the wastewater that had been used a few times would be put to good use.

Such a life was unbearable. Residents of water-scarce areas might have gotten used to it. But for the residents of this place, who never had to worry about water and lived in the mild and humid southern plains, it was truly like being skinned alive, and the whole town became lifeless.

Even recently, in order to solve the drinking water problem here, the residents pooled their money to dig a new well. They painstakingly dug dozens of meters down before they finally found water, but it still contained a deadly poison... This only means one thing: not just that well, but the groundwater of their entire town has been completely polluted.

Although no one has died of thirst yet, the dire situation has caused widespread anxiety. However, thanks to the efforts of Lydos's security forces, no major disturbances have occurred. Furthermore, news recently spread that the Empire is preparing to send professionals to clean the water source, greatly encouraging the town's residents.

Today was another difficult day filled with hope. Carts carrying water returned one after another, but apart from those with sealed water tanks, the other carts that used wooden buckets to transport water inevitably lost a lot of water. Every remaining drop was extremely precious, and some people even argued over a small layer at the bottom of the bucket.

It was under these circumstances that Ludos returned to town. The other wagons had returned earlier than him and had already begun distributing the water they had brought back. He also slowly pulled his mule over, and a group of people who were originally queuing behind the other wagons immediately gathered around.

"It's the same as before. Adults get more and children get less, calculated according to the number of people in each family. Everyone knows what's going on. Don't try to cheat or shirk your responsibilities. If someone is caught cheating, they won't get any water next time. They'll have to walk dozens of miles to fetch water themselves and see if they have time to do their own work."

After saying that, he jumped off the carriage and walked to the water tank at the back—there was a curved copper pipe at the bottom of the tank, plugged with a cork stopper. Once opened, it would flow uncontrollably, and it would take a little skill to avoid wasting this precious clean water.

The task of distributing water to this carriage has always been done by Lydos. With his current prestige, this can effectively avoid a lot of trouble and gossip. Moreover, he knows the population and situation here like the back of his hand, and he can tell how much water to give away with his eyes closed.

The sun grew hotter and hotter, making him parched. Any water droplets he accidentally spilled on the ground dried up completely in the blink of an eye. Only after distributing the water to the last person did he take out a wooden bucket and fill it with all the remaining water from the water tank... filling the bucket to exactly one-third full. That was all the water he had for the day.

He hurried home carrying the wooden bucket, eager to pour the contents into the water vat, otherwise it would be a sin to let even a single drop evaporate under the sun... However, as he passed the tavern, his steps involuntarily slowed, a hesitant expression appearing on his face, and he became uncertain.

The cellar below the tavern still holds the ale they bought before, but the owner has raised the price arbitrarily in the current situation, and it's no longer the kind of drink that can be used to quench thirst directly. Even if he drinks it every day, it still hurts his wallet.

But his hesitation lasted only a moment. He quickly continued walking forward. It wasn't that he had given up on coming here to drink, but rather that he planned to pour the water into the water tank before coming back to sell the wine. Otherwise, he was afraid that once he started drinking, he would be delayed.

Next to the town is a low hill where the residents have planted some fruit trees, but there are not many and they are sparse. Rabbits can often be seen there. In the past two days, no one has taken the time to take care of them, and they have become overgrown with weeds. Some low grass and shrubs have buried the lower half of the fruit trees.

Lydos crossed the street, passing right at the foot of the hill, his aroused craving for alcohol and a dry cough making him restless. He kept glancing around, trying to distract himself. His gaze initially didn't linger as it passed the orchard on the hill, but after turning his head, he suddenly jerked it back—

The orchard looked very quiet, with hardly any treetops swaying and no birds flying around, like a vivid oil painting. But here's the problem—this grove couldn't possibly be this quiet, it's the breeding season for birds, how could there not be a single one?

"It might just be a coincidence..."

As Ludos spoke, he didn't look away, his brow still furrowed, staring intently at the woods. He stood frozen in place like a statue.

Time passed by, and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. The small black shadow he had hoped for did not fly out of the woods. The forest began to reveal an eeriness and gloom in his eyes.

An ordinary town resident might overlook this phenomenon, but he wouldn't. He was a man who had survived three battles, so he knew exactly what was going on—someone had startled the birds in the woods beforehand, which was why it was so quiet there.

If he discovered this forest while marching, he would never go in before he had thoroughly investigated it. He would rather flee from the lord's army than foolishly walk into a forest with an ambush and be riddled with arrows.

Could it be someone from the town? ...No, that shouldn't be the case. There are no fruits or water sources there, and he doesn't think the town's residents would have the leisure to go to that grassy hillside. So who could it be?

He put down the wooden bucket in his hand, his fingers unconsciously gripping the long sword at his waist. After a slight hesitation, he decided to go and see... to find out who went there. Maybe he would find a wild boar there.

Just as he was about to set off, a cheer suddenly came from afar, filled with undisguised joy, and more and more voices joined in, soon spreading throughout half of the town, with noisy cheers everywhere.

Ludos was confused again, wondering what was wrong with the guys in town. They were so thirsty just a moment ago that they didn't even want to talk, so why were they making such a fuss now?

After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to go to the square first and ask someone. He would look for the fruit trees on the mountain later. Anyway, whatever it was, there would definitely be some traces there. He could just look for it slowly later.

So he returned the way he came, making sure not to forget to pour his half-full bucket of water into the water vat and put the bucket away properly before returning to the square. He then reached out and grabbed Cato, with whom he had become quite familiar.

"What's going on? Everyone's making such a fuss, like something good is happening."

"Ah, boss, didn't you know!"

Cato, beaming with joy, explained to Lydos:

"A messenger just arrived, saying that the scholars who are working on solving the water problem will be here soon. We won't have to go through the trouble of hauling water anymore! We can drink to our hearts' content without worry."

A smile immediately appeared on Ludos's face, and he instantly forgot about what had just happened... He was also fed up with the exhaustion and toil of traveling dozens of miles every day to fetch water, so it would be great if the matter could be resolved.

Soon, several prominent figures in the town were waiting at the gate. Even Ludos was pulled over by them, and under the scorching sun, he looked longingly at the road in the distance, hoping that a procession and entourage would arrive at the next moment.

The team arrived very quickly, so quickly that the sun didn't even have time to make him sweat... The Imperials seem to be very efficient at everything they do, whether on the battlefield or in daily administration, a fact he had long since come to understand quite deeply.

But he was still taken aback by the sheer size of the group. In fact, when they first came into view, he almost reached for his sword. Few people could see countless armored soldiers remaining calm as they marched toward their village. In this era, this was a harbinger of disaster. Those cold steel pieces were not meant for chopping wood or building; they were forged from the anvil to be stained with blood.

The first to appear was a group of elite knights draped in lion skins. They rode tall, powerful warhorses that resembled giant beasts, wielding gleaming halberds. They spurred their horses forward at breakneck speed toward the gate, then, in a moment of close approach, skillfully parted to the sides, dismounted, and drove the onlookers back.

Even the most confused person can calm down in front of them. The onlookers hurriedly stepped back, quickly making way for the doorway. The group then calmly entered the gate. The scholars in robes and the soldiers in armor were clearly separated, but they were all surrounding a girl in a purple dress.

Ludos couldn't see the girl clearly. She was wearing a wide sun hat, and he could only see her long, light blue hair hanging down from the brim like silk. But from her every move, he could tell that she was definitely a beautiful girl, enough to make the girls in town feel ashamed.

They couldn't interfere with what happened next, and could only watch with anticipation as the imperial scholars busied themselves around their well. Lydos, too, was all smiles, determined to go to the tavern for a big celebration later.

Just as he was happily anticipating the upcoming alcoholic feast, a cool breeze suddenly swept over him, instantly cooling his sun-heated skin. Only then did he realize that he was standing in a position where he could see the well in the center of the square... and the hill covered with fruit trees in the distance directly opposite the well.

Ludos suddenly froze. Something was roaring wildly in his consciousness, struggling to break free, yet always separated by a hazy barrier, leaving him both confused and terrified.

His heart pounded, faster and faster. He looked up frantically, almost frantically, wondering why he was so anxious… until one moment, his gaze fell on the girl standing by the well. His mind exploded, and he shouted almost recklessly:

"Get out of the way!!"

Whoosh! Ding!

Her cotton dress was torn open, revealing the shiny, neat armor plates underneath. The tip of the arrow was bent and deformed, and it was flung far away. The impact also made the girl take two steps back and fall to the ground. She was immediately helped up by the guards next to her and dragged into the steel wall made of armored soldiers.

The next moment, the iron cavalry outside immediately split into two groups, kicking up clouds of dust as they galloped toward the hill. One of them even took down a horn and blew it loudly—

Waaah————~

The residents had no idea what was happening; they only saw in horror that the dust and smoke from the distant road began to rise again. Countless armored vehicles weaved through the dust, and mighty warhorses trampled the surrounding land with their iron hooves. The war drums thundered, as if this remote town had instantly transformed into a battlefield of swords and spears, a place of fierce fighting and life-or-death struggle.

In the center of the armored soldiers' circle, the girl, panting, took off her hat. Along with the hat, her light blue wig fell off, revealing Yelia's face covered in cold sweat. Alka turned his head and nodded slightly to her. Yelia smiled faintly, her face pale. The two then looked up together at the hill that had been turned upside down.

He glanced at Alka, then shifted his attention, took two steps forward, crouched down, picked up the crossbow bolt from the ground, and looked at the end bent by the steel armor plates:

"...Fortunately, it wasn't a military device, and the distance was far enough, otherwise it would have been quite dangerous."

Ye Liya, still somewhat shaken, looked at the bent armor plate on her chest and felt the heavy pressure the double armor placed on her shoulders.

"Is this what it feels like to be hit by an arrow? Like being punched in the face..."

"Without armor, you'd only feel like you've been poked with red-hot iron pliers, and then you'd be in excruciating pain."

Alka reached out and pulled her up from the ground, just as the sun was passing overhead...

Chapter 401 Exposure (1)

With a ding, fine ripples spread across the well water, continuously propagating along this medium, pulverizing the tiny, venomous creatures in the water into invisible particles, and signifying that the well water has been restored to cleanliness and safety.

Tarina took a breath, stood up from beside the well, shook her neck, and a relieved expression appeared on her face.