Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

Unbeknownst to him, the man with the ferocious expression began to linger on Donna, who was soaking wet, his gaze greedily lingering on the beautiful curves of her body clung to her wet linen shirt. The flames of desire began to burn in his heart.

Normally, he would never have dared to do that... In this area close to the capital, the prison guards are incredibly powerful. Anyone who wants to commit a crime here needs to carefully consider their own strength and whether they can bear the consequences of being caught.

But at this very moment, the opportunity he encountered was absolutely perfect... Two young men who had secretly left the village had come to this desolate mountain area, and in the pouring rain that could conceal all traces, they were hiding in this cramped shed... Moreover, the situation in the capital was becoming somewhat chaotic, and it had been a long time since the patrolling jailers had been seen; things that were almost untouchable in the past now seemed to be able to be challenged...

He lowered his head and slowly closed his eyes. The fire in his heart burned even more intensely. A strong thirst made him swallow constantly. It felt like a fire was burning in his throat, searing his internal organs and making his heart pound. He was almost about to take action, but some kind of constraint was still vaguely hindering him.

He was ultimately terrified of the country's laws. Countless bloody examples had shown him the price to pay for crossing the line: the heads hanging on the flagpole, the cases touted by the tribunals, the gruesome mutilated corpses... The fear and dread these things almost extinguished his desires.

So he opened his eyes, trying to calm himself down... but what he saw instantly shattered the little rationality he had just regained—a girl named Donna was crouching by the fire, her full breasts pressed into a dangerous shape, and a glimpse of dazzling white skin could be seen through the gap in her shirt...

A surge of burning desire rushed into his mind, and the reasons he had just constructed were rapidly crumbling. He realized that even if he did something, it was almost impossible for him to be caught... Who could know what had happened in the deep mountains and forests after a rainstorm? All he had to do was indulge in pleasure.

But first, he needs to overcome an obstacle...

A gentle smile appeared on his lips. Seeing that the boy had finished a piece of dry rations, he reached into his backpack again, took out a dry biscuit, and handed it to him.

"There's still some here, no need to rush. It'll rain for a while longer, we can eat our fill before we set off."

The boy reached out his hand without any suspicion, even smiling a little shyly:

"I'm so sorry, sir, I've eaten so much of your food. I'll definitely pay you back when we get back—"

boom!

The two hands, about to be handed over, suddenly changed. He grabbed the boy's wrist hard and pulled him directly from the side of the fire. In an instant, he slammed the boy's face into his knee. In just one moment, the tall, thin boy passed out and lay motionless on the ground. The girl next to him hadn't even reacted yet, staring blankly at the scene before her.

His burning desire was completely uncontrollable, making his head spin. The man, his face contorted in rage, suddenly jumped up and, before the girl could react, pinned her to the ground and began to roughly try to tear off her soaked linen shirt.

Donna finally came to her senses, her face instantly filled with despair and fear. She struggled desperately, pushing and shoving the lustful thug, crying out and calling for help, and reaching out to grope around, hoping to find anything she could use as a weapon.

Such resistance was doomed to failure. A strong and healthy man was far beyond what a girl like her could resist. Amid the cacophony of the relentless downpour, Donna's resistance became increasingly difficult. Her linen shirt was torn open, revealing her smooth shoulders.

This sight further fueled the fire within him, and Thorne immediately increased the force in his hands, eager to achieve his goal. He had forgotten everything else, his entire being driven by instinct, breathing heavily through his nose, his eyes bloodshot, and he was filled with intense excitement.

*Crack—* *Pfft—*

A strange sound suddenly rang in his ears, and Thorne froze, his cloak revealing a sense of confusion... But then he couldn't help but scream, desperately turning around—and saw a fierce-looking boy holding a machete.

That was the knife he had just placed on the ground. At this moment, the boy's nose was crooked to one side, the blade in his hand was covered in blood, and his shoulder had lost all strength, hanging limply—the sharp knife had severed the tendon of the trapezius muscle at the junction of his neck and shoulder, and stopped only when it reached the scapula!

He finally realized his mistake—the kid hadn't been knocked unconscious at all; instead, he had pretended to be knocked out because he knew he was no match for him. His mind was completely consumed by desire, and he hadn't noticed this. He was so eager to collect his so-called spoils that the kid seized the opportunity.

He stared in astonishment, almost thinking he was dreaming—how could this usually timid shepherd boy possess such cunning and courage?! The constant sharp pain in his shoulder and the gushing blood made him immediately consider retreating.

"Go to hell, you scum!"

Suddenly, a tough piece of fabric tightened around his neck from behind. He almost instantly realized it was the girl's headscarf! But before he could break free, the boy in front of him lunged forward viciously, plunging the cleaver deep into his stomach... halfway in, viciously twisting his intestines...

Chapter 472 Hunting and Being Hunted (5)

What does it feel like to stab a sharp blade into a human body? This young man believed he would never forget it. It was like puncturing a bulging water bag filled with slippery loaches, which were now wriggling weakly, their movements vaguely transmitted through the blade in his hand.

After his blood boiled, he stabbed without hesitation, even subconsciously stirring the blade after it went in. However, due to insufficient strength, he only managed to insert the blade halfway in. Moreover, after truly experiencing the chilling sensation and hearing the other party's shrill screams, his heart trembled, and his movements slowed down.

After all, he was just a young man who had never even killed a sheep, so how could he remain indifferent when it came to killing a person? ... But after only a moment of hesitation, his face immediately turned fierce—he knew he had to kill the guy in front of him, otherwise the other party's retaliation would be something the two young men could not bear. Since he couldn't stab him in, he would cut downwards and rip him open!

But he was a moment too slow. That moment of hesitation gave Thorne, who was sensing the life-or-death crisis, the opportunity. The old hunter, who had spent years in the mountains and forests, kicked the boy hard in the stomach and then, with precision and malice, used the tip of his shoe to strike the boy's diaphragm at the junction of his chest and abdomen.

This was enough to render a heavy adult powerless, but before the young man was kicked away, he instinctively gripped the machete and slid it downwards—with a hiss, he cut a five- or six-inch-long gash, exposing his sticky intestines.

Thorne, who had been trying to give chase, was now terrified. The feeling of his internal organs flowing out was too horrible and completely shattered his will to continue his sadistic acts. He realized that he might really die here today, so he decided almost instinctively to run away. He dragged the girl who was still strangling him and turned to struggle into the rain, trying to leave this narrow and dangerous space.

Donna tried her best to hold the man back, but she was no match for Thorne, who was in a life-or-death situation. After a brief shove, she was thrown to the ground. Meanwhile, the swaying Thorne had already stuck his head into the pouring rain outside and, fueled by adrenaline, hurried out.

He needed to figure out a way to sew up the wound on his stomach and push his intestines back in, otherwise the protruding internal organs would eventually kill him, and might even attract flies and rot and stink... He never thought of risking his life for a moment of lust!

The wound on his shoulder was equally serious; the severed tendon and cut bone meant that one of his arms would never be as strong as before... Even if he survived, he would never be able to draw a bow and shoot arrows again, and he would practically become a cripple.

He had to escape, he had to get away from those two vicious brats as soon as possible! — At this moment, he was filled with regret for his impulsiveness, so much so that his intestines were practically turning green from the regret, and he wished he could slap himself hard twice, sincerely regretting his behavior of thinking with his lower body.

Of course, he didn't regret doing such a thing, but rather regretted messing things up... If he hadn't been so overcome by lust that he hadn't checked the kid's condition, he probably would have succeeded by now! And he wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

The torrential rain lashed his body, causing the wound on his shoulder to bleed continuously, which then mixed with the rainwater on the ground. In an instant, the rain began to obscure his world, making it extremely difficult for him to move forward, but he dared not stop... At this moment, the pain and weakness in his body began to rage more and more. If he did not run quickly, he might not be able to move later.

Meanwhile, the boy who had been struggling on the ground in the basin behind him had managed to get up. Although he was covered in cold sweat and his face was pale, the fierce and determined look on his face remained unchanged. He grabbed the elm wood hunting bow on the ground, but couldn't get up for a long time—the blow had injured his internal organs, and he wouldn't be able to walk freely for a while.

But there was one other person who could move freely. The young man looked up at the girl who had just gotten up from the ground and threw her the elm hunting bow and the quiver of arrows.

"Dona!...Dona—kill him quickly, kill him with a bow!"

Without hesitation, the girl reached out and grabbed the longbow, then pulled a broadsword from the quiver, nocked the bowstring, and tried to draw it—but after gritting her teeth and turning red in the face, she could only manage to draw it about four or five inches... After all, this was a hunting bow used by a strong man, and she didn't have enough strength.

But now the die is cast, and there's no turning back! If they hesitate any longer, that guy will disappear completely into the torrential rain. Such heavy rain is not only an obstacle for travelers, but it will also erase all traces, making him impossible to find.

The arrow flew out, but due to insufficient power, it dropped rapidly. The arrow, originally aimed at the chest, pierced the waist instead, causing the fugitive to stagger again. However, he did not fall down. Instead, stimulated by the pain, he ran even faster and was about to disappear completely into the vast rain.

The boy gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet, grabbing his machete and preparing to give chase—he couldn't let Donna go after them; the girl was powerless against them and far less cunning and ruthless than the old hunter Thorne.

As a man, he had to do what he was supposed to do, and the boy never lacked determination in this regard.

The pain from the heavy blow to his stomach still made him grit his teeth, but he forced his legs to push, forced his arms to assist, and forced himself to rush into the pouring rain outside, to catch up with that wicked scumbag, slit his throat, and smash his head!

With trembling legs, he stepped into the rain, but then his eyes widened in surprise... What he saw made him almost doubt that he was dreaming—Thorne, who had just escaped into the rain, was actually backing away step by step, and his whole body was shaking like a dog that had just been pulled out of a frozen river.

The boy froze, wondering if he was still unconscious on the ground, but his confusion was soon resolved...

In the pouring rain, the gleaming iron armor gradually emerged, its shimmering brass-plated components shining like the sun. The white lion's fur shielded the armor from most of the rain, and the flamboyant winged helmets pierced the dim sky. The imposing armored warriors pressed down like a wall, instantly dominating their field of vision.

Not only the boy, but even Thorne was stunned by the scene before him... Even if they had eaten poisonous mushrooms growing from tree roots, they probably wouldn't have imagined such a sight. Who would have thought they would encounter such a majestic soldier in this godforsaken place?!

The other person walked through the muddy ground in the rain, and the boy who had been holding the machete trembled as he hid it behind his back. He almost instinctively realized that this was an important person and wanted to cover up his intention to commit a crime.

At this moment, Thorne was so frightened that his courage was about to burst—he really didn't expect that he would be punished so soon after he had just started to make his move! Thinking of the miserable fate that awaited him in the hands of the jailers, he did not hesitate to squeeze out the last of his body's potential and try to escape from the left side of the other party... But in this moment of panic, he did not realize that his behavior was like that of an assassin with malicious intentions.

As he took his fifth step, just as he was about to reach the person in front of him, a long halberd emerged from the rain, piercing his chest and suspending him in its grip. It then snapped back in, rising diagonally upwards before crashing down again.

*Smash!*

The chilling sounds of bones breaking and muscles tearing echoed as a powerful halberd sliced ​​the man from one shoulder to the other's armpit, leaving half of his shoulder, still bearing his head, to fall onto the muddy ground. The lungs, still writhing in his severed chest cavity, were rapidly losing their vitality, and the gushing blood stained everything around him with a glaring crimson. The severed limbs writhed on the ground like snakes.

The brutal killing left the boy speechless... Although he had just intended to kill the other party, this gruesome death far exceeded his comprehension. The other party acted as swiftly as a butcher slaughtering pigs and sheep, cutting a living person in two pieces in just two breaths, as casually as chopping a tree branch.

The blood-stained halberd quickly regained its gleam in the rain. Its owner finally descended the hillside, his armor less impressive than the previous man's. More halberds emerged from behind, surrounding the most ornately armored figure. The armored warrior who had slaughtered Thorne like a dog was just one of them…

The golden winged helmet turned slightly, and he exchanged a few words with the guard beside him. The corpse on the ground was dragged aside, and only the soil, soaked in blood, became even more wretched.

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

The campfire burned ever brighter, while the makeshift shed was quickly expanded. Fresh tree trunks were cut and buried in the ground, new branches were propped up, and large plant leaves nearby were rapidly piled up to shield the area from the rain, soon creating a spacious area large enough to accommodate everyone and undisturbed by the rain.

"...Oh, how interesting. So you're residents near the town of Tosme? You were forced to hide here because of the large army stationed there, and then you ran into a familiar neighbor, but you never expected him to have such ill intentions. He tried to rape this girl, but you two managed to beat him up and get away..."

Tesorus dried his hair and hands by the campfire, letting the rainwater dry off his body. The rest of his body was protected by the cloak, so he didn't have to worry too much. The two young men, on the other hand, huddled cautiously in a corner like quails, not daring to lift their heads. They only answered his questions in a cautious and weak voice.

To his surprise, the young couple were not from nearby villages or towns, but from the other side of the mountain... This distance was not short, especially considering that mountain roads are much more difficult to travel than normal roads, it would probably take a whole day to go back and forth.

This area was already under the control of his legion. His swift scouts had already thoroughly explored the surrounding forests, clearing out many dangerous wild animals. His reason for coming here was simple: to find a girl who was acting foolishly and had lost her mind. He even brought Kochkin and a few others with him, but they were searching in another direction. Only he and his personal guards came here.

The heavy rain caught them somewhat off guard, but the mountain people who met up with them quickly found a path in the forest—and following such a path, they were almost certain to find shelter from the wind and rain… Their judgment proved to be accurate as always, but the shelter was still too small, and it would take some effort to find one.

Even Thesolius hadn't expected such a chance outing to yield such an unexpected gain. He narrowed his eyes with interest and continued questioning the pale-faced boy:

"You mean some of them don't look like Imperials?..."

"Yes, sir, these people have thick eyebrows, small eyes, and they walk with bowlegs. Sometimes they even speak in a language we can't understand."

"Can you imitate that pronunciation?"

"It should be possible. I remember there's a phrase like that... 'Koso,' and also 'Kota.'"

Tersolius nodded slightly, completely confirming his guess—it was the language of the Kiel, meaning "brother, friend." The former was much more intimate than the latter, referring to friends who could hunt together and share food, while the latter was a more general term used for casual acquaintances or strangers.

He had fought against this people in the north for many years and knew a lot about them... and now he was basically certain that the Kiel people in the north had also become restless and had joined forces with the rebels... and had been put into the heart of the empire, which they had been unable to covet for hundreds of years.

A chilling rage was burning within him, making his resolve even stronger—he had underestimated the rebels' limits; they had even betrayed the blood shed by the nation's soldiers over the past hundreds and thousands of years, letting the enemy into the empire's soil… and he had to resolve this matter quickly.

Chapter 473 Hunting and Being Hunted (6)

The heavy rain poured down, and the dense rainwater instantly submerged everything around her, which was completely unexpected by Colin... or rather, she had been so immersed in self-pity that she had completely lost her sensitivity to the environment and climate that she only realized it when the rain soaked her hair, but by then it was too late to find a place to move.

Fortunately, the tree's branches and leaves were dense enough to block most of the rain, so she wasn't in immediate danger of getting soaked. She could take shelter here. The only worry was that she had planned to take shelter for a while and then return to the military camp, where she still had duties to perform, but now the heavy rain was preventing her from doing so...

The areas on the trees splashed by the rain quickly became slippery, and the surrounding soil gradually turned into a sticky slurry. Some of it mixed with the rainwater and flowed away along the low-lying areas and ditches, while the rest accumulated in the plant roots, making the ground look increasingly messy.

Colin frowned, then stepped back further, clearing the area from which water was constantly dripping. He sat down on a branch fork in the ground, where the branches were still relatively dry. He raised his arms and stacked the branches and leaves together to form a thicker layer that protected him from the rain. The rainwater would then flow down the sides without wetting his clothes.

Peeking out at the gloomy, dark clouds in the sky, she realized that the rain probably wouldn't stop anytime soon... This tree was her best refuge at the moment. Although it had disrupted her original plans, it wasn't all bad for her—at least she could steal a little more time to feel down.

A bitter, mocking smile appeared on his face. Colin curled up in his knees again, burying his face in them, becoming as silent as a fruit growing on a tree, waiting for the storm around him to subside.

The sound of the torrential rain was extremely noisy, yet at this moment it was also extremely quiet. Everything seemed to be isolated by those few tree branches. Her heart felt as lonely as if it were floating in the ocean, drifting endlessly, yet there was also a strange sense of peace.

If things continued like this, she might even fall asleep on the tree trunk... After all, sleep breakdown is a way to relieve stress and relax—but an uninvited guest just happened to come and disturb her at this moment.

If it weren't for the sound of claws scratching the bark, Colin might not have noticed this creature until it was several meters away... The thick fat pads in its soft claws were enough to muffle most of the sound, and its sharp teeth were enough to kill its target like the sharpest dagger. Its long and tough tail allowed it to maintain its balance nimbly even on the treetops, making it undoubtedly a apex predator.

So when Colin looked up, she saw this creature—robust and supple, with damp fur covered in coin-sized spots, golden hair clinging tightly to its flesh, a streamlined and powerful head, and at that moment, its long-bearded upper lip was slightly upturned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth like ice crystals.

The girl's first reaction was confusion, but the next moment she felt her hair stand on end, a layer of cold sweat instantly soaking her vest. She jumped up suddenly, and her right hand instinctively drew the short sword from her waist. The bright, cold light of the steel flashed in the darkness under the tree.

This was a strong leopard, which had quietly crept up the tree sometime earlier... If she had noticed it any later, its sharp jaws might already be biting the back of her neck.

Realizing she had almost died without knowing why, after a moment of fear and horror, a surge of anger welled up inside her. She gritted her teeth and pointed her short sword at the beast, already thinking about how to skin it.

Of course, for an ordinary person, a leopard is no easy task. These agile creatures' sharp claws and teeth can easily inflict serious injury, and without spears, crossbows, and hunting dogs, killing one is practically a pipe dream. But for Colin, this wasn't the first time she had killed such a creature.

She still remembers the feeling of strangling the leopard with her bare hands—it was a starving female leopard, its body as thin as a snake, trying to drag a cub away from their village. She had pressed the beast's neck against the stone steps, squeezing its trachea with the hard stone until the frenzied body stopped breathing.

At this moment, the predator was on high alert. Its instincts told it that the prey before it was extremely dangerous. Continuing the hunt seemed to be a losing proposition... A kind of pricking intuition was sounding an alarm in the creature's mind, even causing it to subconsciously begin to retreat. Its four paws moved back and forth, carefully withdrawing into the leaves.

These big cats are always very good at assessing situations. If a hunt might result in injury, they will wisely give it up until they are no longer threatened by absolute hunger. This is the key to their long-term survival.

Unfortunately, it wanted to retreat, but the prey didn't want to let it go... or rather, it was now the prey.

Colin planted his feet firmly on the roughest spot on the bark, and just as the big cat was about to retreat, his eyes flashed coldly as he pounced... And just as he had expected, faced with the sudden attack, the ferocious carnivore opened its mouth wide, ready to roar—a powerful warning under normal circumstances that would make even a hunter as strong and agile as Colin carefully stop its movements!

That momentary pause would give it a chance to counterattack or escape... but it probably would never realize what the act of opening its mouth at this moment truly meant—the girl's prepared hand suddenly shoved into its throat! The movement was incredibly swift, like a knight piercing an enemy with a lance. The soft throat was fiercely pried open, and even this beast with its astonishing bite force was momentarily overwhelmed by the urge to vomit, unable to close its sharp teeth. It could only helplessly let its head be lifted up by the sudden increase in the force of the other party, exposing the vital area under its neck.

Almost simultaneously with his left hand, the right-hand short sword easily pierced through the soft, fluffy white hair, as easily as piercing a human body. The sharp, refined steel instantly pierced through the barriers of bone and flesh, deeply penetrating the heart in the center of the chest.

The struggling beast suddenly went limp, its entire body falling downwards like a tattered leather belt. Colin pulled it back up with continued force from his right hand, hanging it on the tree trunk like a strip of cloth.

Hot blood gushed out, falling into the damp soil beneath the tree, staining the originally wet brown with a touch of new red. Colin frowned and clutched her calf—it bore four deep wounds, the result of the beast's final, desperate struggle. In the end, she had acted too impulsively.