Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

So, in order to hold on, he has been sleeping on the city wall for the past two days, just to be ready to deal with any attacks launched by the Hols. Now he is feeling a bit tired.

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

This is a dimly lit tent. It's not that the owner can't afford oil lamps or campfires; if he could, he could fill the entire area with expensive whale oil candles and keep them burning until dawn.

The reason this place remains dark is because darkness is necessary... even indispensable.

"If you don't mind, I'll be the one to start this."

Torres raised his head in the darkness, and since each corner of the tent was crammed with a person, none of them raised any objections, he continued:

"My family guard has lost two-thirds of its men in this damned city. They were all good lads loyal to me, and here they are being torn to shreds..."

"You have all suffered considerable losses as well. The corpses under the city walls are almost burying the base of the walls. We have lost too much strength here."

"Stop with the unnecessary nonsense, Lord Torris. Did you contact us just to say things that everyone already knows? Then I'll have to take my leave. I have countless things to deal with."

The dark figure in the corner of the tent suddenly spoke, his tone rather aggressive, and he actually got up to leave.

"Please be patient, Lord Congreve. What I am about to say is the important part, so please be a little more patient."

The shadowy figure sat down silently...

“Our soldiers are not in a good state, everyone knows that. No one can keep the soldiers courageous after such heavy losses. Something was wrong from the beginning…”

"Lord Torres, are you doubting something?"

"My lords, don't you have any doubts? Who wouldn't have doubts in the face of this situation?... This is not a normal war at all; there is definitely something wrong with it!"

“Our soldiers are like madmen, completely disregarding their own lives. They will even charge forward into the crossbow bolts and then be shot down like wooden stakes! This is not courage at all!”

Torres suddenly became excited and paced back and forth in the middle of the tent:

"This cannot be explained by courage, my lords. Even if His Majesty bestows generous rewards, it is not enough to make our soldiers take such risks. They would even defy our orders and go to the battlefield!"

"Don't you know what your soldiers are like on a normal day? It's like they're completely different people; that's not how a normal person should react!"

"But what's the point of saying this!"

The man called Congreve stood up, still displaying his impatient and irritable attitude:

“We cannot disobey His Majesty’s orders; he has even brought out that item! We cannot break the covenant! It is a vow our family has made for generations, at the cost of our souls!”

"So what if things are strange? So what if His Majesty wants to annihilate all our soldiers beneath this city? This is a war against the Empire. As long as it's for the survival of the nation, we have no right to resist!"

Towards the end, Congreve's voice suddenly became weak and listless, clearly indicating that he had reached the extreme of frustration:

"Go back, gentlemen, go back and make preparations... This time we really have to fight to the death. Perhaps after this war, some of us will never appear in His Majesty's palace again."

Torres was speechless, or rather, he was forced into this awkward situation, but Congreve just kept contradicting him.

Everything happened so suddenly and unexpectedly...

When he was first driven off the city wall, he already had plans to escape. After the catapults were destroyed, all the soldiers were terrified by the invincible armored cavalry, and their morale plummeted.

At that time, if he had held such a rally and stirred things up a little, he could have easily found a way to escape.

But now everything is different. Since His Majesty the King arrived, all the soldiers have become strange. They have become impulsive and irritable, and fearless of death, making their original plans completely unworkable.

He was unwilling to exhaust all his family's resources in this city... Given the current losses, if things continued like this, it wouldn't be long before he himself had to climb the city wall.

At least half of the kingdom's other lords haven't even arrived yet... Once their families suffer heavy losses, it's obvious what those guys will do...

Even if they manage to conquer the city, what awaits them will be no honor or wealth, but rather, in their weakened state, they will be exploited and plundered by other greedy lords through various means.

Even if they take over the city, what will they gain? There might be some compensation, but it will certainly not make up for the losses they have suffered.

As the head of the family, he absolutely cannot allow such a thing to happen...

The nobles left one after another. Like Toris, they had only come here with a sliver of hope. But now that someone had ruthlessly ripped away this last veil of pretense, there was no longer any need for them to stay.

As Congreve said, it would be better to use this time to do other preparations...

Once everyone had left, Toris's eyes gleamed in the darkness... A dangerous plan suddenly popped into his mind... There must be a reason for the soldiers' current state, and if he could find that reason, or even destroy it...

The thought sent a chill down his spine. If this plan came true, it would mean they would have no chance to take over the city... and it would also be a betrayal of their oath.

The oath passed down through generations of a family is one that cannot be disobeyed, unless one did not do it oneself...

He shivered violently again, but his fingers clenched involuntarily.

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This was a large bundle of dry hay, and there Teresolus was sleeping, with bloodstained swords and various weapons lying beside him, ready to be wielded deadly at any moment.

The blood-soaked scale armor skirt lay spread out on the haystack, and the helmet was not even taken off. Low breathing could be heard from inside.

The sun shone through the window, and countless dust particles danced and collided in the path of the light. The weather was perfect, but unfortunately, the place was already covered in blood.

The wooden door was quietly pushed open, and a doctor with long, dark blue hair walked in with the lightest of steps, followed by a curious mountain girl...

P.S.: There will be another chapter later, which will be posted a bit late.

Chapter 69 Changes (5 words)

Colin casually reached for Thesolius's hand; they were there to check his wounds. This man had slaughtered countless enemies along the entire city wall, and everyone was amazed and impressed by his bravery and martial arts.

He is now the absolute backbone of this city, and he cannot fall under any circumstances, otherwise the already precarious defense line will collapse in the blink of an eye.

So Tarina made a special trip here despite her busy schedule, just to prevent the accumulated injuries from suddenly breaking down this invincible general.

Before the mountain girl could even place her hand on Tersolius's plated chainmail gloves, the steel-clad hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. Just as he was about to apply force, the eyes in his helmet opened, revealing her face, and he naturally released her.

"Just call me when you need to. I'm on edge right now, and I might hurt you."

"It's okay, it's okay, you can't kill me, you'll just get hit a couple of times at most..."

Thesolius shook his head helplessly, then sat up:

"What are you two doing here? Especially the doctor, aren't you already overwhelmed? I was just about to organize some more people to help you."

He rubbed his forehead, and a lot of debris fell off his chainmail, which was covered in blood scabs, making his face a mess. He casually put his helmet aside, took off his gloves, and took the towel that Talina handed him before properly wiping his face.

When he put the towel into the basin of water, a layer of red spread out.

“We need to find out if you are injured, sir… To be honest, what you did was very dangerous. If you fall, none of us will be able to support this city.”

"But if I don't take action myself, this city will probably have already been captured by them... In that case, I'll have no choice but to continue running away with you all..."

Neither of them knew what to say. This was the first time they had ever witnessed such a fierce battle. Death accompanied everyone here, and anyone could suddenly fall into His embrace.

The corpses under the city wall were almost buried to the corner of the wall, and the vast fertile fields outside were now being used as temporary cemeteries, with short poplar stumps everywhere.

These are Hols people's tombstones... They must be made from young poplar trees, and sometimes these stumps will sprout new buds and grow into new poplar trees decades later.

"Alright, you don't need to worry. I'm not injured at all... Doctor, if you don't believe me, you can check. My armor protects me very well, and I wouldn't be foolish enough to let unnecessary attacks hit me."

Talina hesitated only slightly, but immediately stepped forward to examine Tersolius. There was nothing to worry about in the undamaged parts of his armor; at most, there were some bruises and abrasions.

What's truly worrying are the areas where the armor has been damaged by too many attacks; only there can real damage be inflicted.

Although Tersolius himself felt it was unnecessary, the doctor still bandaged several wounds on his arm and gave him a bottle of medicine that was said to relax the mind.

After the two men left, Tersolius examined the potion. To his surprise, the bottle containing the potion was a beautiful glass bottle with excellent transparency, allowing him to clearly see the sediment inside.

Glassmaking is a rather complex technology. Before people had accumulated enough skills and experience, the glass produced was often cloudy, crude, and unusable. To produce such crystal clear glass was definitely not an easy task.

And this city actually sells these bottles; although the details are still quite rough, the transparency is truly astonishing.

He pulled out the cork from the medicine and drank it all in one gulp. As expected, it tasted extremely bitter, and even with his willpower, he frowned.

But after the bitter taste slid down his esophagus, it quickly released a cool sensation, which permeated his entire chest cavity and spread rapidly throughout his body as it reached his stomach.

He shivered slightly, and his mind cleared up considerably. Even his aching limbs felt more relaxed, and the effect was immediate.

He immediately felt much more relaxed. He glanced at the empty bottle in his hand, then thought about the exhausted defenders…

Perhaps I should talk to Talina later and have an extra group of people cook a big pot of broth for tonight, so everyone can have a sip... We should also add some strong liquor to it; it would suit the soldiers' tastes even better.

He hung the weapons on the ground on his belt, picked up his helmet, and pushed open the door. The afternoon sun made the ground scorching hot, and a wave of heat would hit you if you walked on it.

The strong stench of blood, amplified by the sunlight, spread rapidly, making it difficult to breathe. Exhausted soldiers, aside from cleaning up the corpses, paid little attention to the bloodstains, leaving them to dry on the ground.

A huge iron pot was being carried up the city wall by strong slaves. This was today's lunch, and only his army could afford such luxury, eating two meals a day...

Most commoners eat only one meal a day. If they are really hungry, they will eat a little less near night. Only the rich and nobles can afford to eat two good meals a day.

Once the iron pot was placed on the ground, the soldiers gathered around to get their food. Although the surroundings still reeked of fishy stench, their hunger made them unwilling to wait any longer.

When the lid was lifted, a bowl of porridge with diced meat and green vegetable-like things was revealed, and it smelled slightly like herbs.

"This is?…………"

Tersolus immediately guessed, and Alka quickly prepared the meal and brought it to him. He tasted it with a spoon and, sure enough, it was that familiar bitter taste, only much milder than the medicine in the bottle. Putting it into the porridge actually neutralized the greasiness.

He was immediately at a loss for words, feeling both amused and exasperated. He had originally planned to tell Talina about this, but he hadn't expected that she also had this idea and had already put it into practice.

Before he could even take his second bite, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the side, and fully armed cavalrymen galloped up the city wall, their iron scales sizzling.

"My lord, a messenger has arrived here. He is a scout from the Southern Province Legion! He brings news of General Natamus!"

Tersolius was stunned for a moment; the news was indeed too sudden… but then he smiled:

"They've finally arrived! My brother has kept me waiting for quite a while..."

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The Holsteins have never lacked excellent scouts; they are naturally more agile and have more acute senses.

Nashtori is an elite handpicked individual; if he so chooses, he can walk through the woods without disturbing a single bird, and even the most wary red deer will pass by him without a second thought.

The task he accepted required extreme vigilance; he absolutely could not leave the slightest trace, otherwise not only him, but even his master would suffer annihilation.

Footprints in the jungle are sparse and difficult to discern; those left on the grass can only be identified by fine dust and mud. This requires rich experience and superb skills, both of which he possessed.

After advancing a certain distance, he would cautiously find a place to hide and check if there were any followers... Only after confirming that it was safe would he continue forward.

He has plenty of time this time, but he needs to be absolutely cautious.

………………

Following the barely discernible footprints in the jungle, he traversed grove after grove of trees, leaving only dew-dampened dark green cloaks and no other traces.

Observing the surrounding terrain, he suddenly realized a problem: he seemed to be going in a big circle...! And this also meant that he was getting closer to his starting point.

The tracker, who knew perfectly well where he had come from, broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that he seemed to have stumbled upon a terrible secret.