Armored Cavalry, survive in a world full of mods

The girl sniffed hard, her nose turning bright red. She couldn't bear to look at the horrific pile of heads anymore. With a stubborn expression, she tried to turn away, but was tripped by a severed hand that reached out from under her feet. She staggered forward two steps, and Tersolis reached out and grabbed her skirt, preventing her from falling into the pile of corpses.

Tarina turned pale with fright, especially with the mangled corpse right beneath her feet. She couldn't imagine how horrific it would be if she fell in...

"Marcus, find a docile horse for our doctor, preferably a pony under two years old."

The man turned to look at her:

"You're going to have to endure some tough times with us for a while, so you'd better learn to ride a horse as soon as possible, or you won't be able to keep up..."

The girl sniffed, and suddenly had a bad feeling...

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This is an extremely fast-moving unit. Every single one of them rides a horse. These horses are not necessarily warhorses; many are inexpensive packhorses. But they are still faster than people, greatly increasing the overall speed of the unit.

They were few in number, but almost every one of them wore heavy chainmail, and some officers even wore an additional layer of exquisite scale armor.

This was a well-equipped and highly trained army of Renhols. They marched swiftly along the wide road, the deep, resonant sound of their horses' hooves striking the ground making one's heart race and breath catch in their throat.

A Holstein general with narrow eyes was riding his warhorse, a snow-white horse with only its mane being golden. The snow-white coat was covered with dust and mud, indicating that it had been traveling for a long time, but it was still full of energy, showing its extraordinary nature.

The column was moving at a very fast pace, and in the blink of an eye it was about to reach the end of the road, but an order was suddenly given, and the army slowly stopped at this place with a slight commotion, waiting for the next instructions.

The Holstein general, who looked no younger than himself, squinted at the distance. His vanguard hadn't sent any messages back for a long time, and he wondered what those fools were up to...

Those were truly a bunch of idiots. Just by raiding a village, dozens of fools fell into the mud and drowned themselves... They hadn't even caught up with their real enemy yet, and they had already suffered heavy losses.

Such misfits were not suitable for the vanguard, but he simply had no other usable light cavalry... After the great battle, the elite light cavalry in the army had been almost entirely wiped out. As for the specific reasons... all the Holstein generals knew, but none of them would reveal them...

Worried about his upcoming mission, Karl Torres Pent's face was so dark it was almost dripping with gloom, making his officers extremely cautious, afraid of angering their general at this moment.

A scout who had been exploring ahead suddenly galloped back in a panic. His whole body was trembling, his face was as pale as a dead man, and his lips were quivering. When he arrived in front of Toris, he couldn't speak for a long time, and his eyes showed a look of panic.

Torris frowned and lashed the man's face a few times before he came to his senses. Then a sharp scream escaped his lips:

"Dead!!...They're all dead!"

"what?"

34 Trick (2)

What are the most despised things on the battlefield? There are many, such as stupidity, incompetence, and being unworthy of one's position... These kinds of things are not welcomed by anyone.

Because soldiers and officers on the battlefield know better than anyone how deadly these things are, there is no room for negligence here; it is a place where one risks their life in pursuit of glory and wealth. If someone makes a foolish mistake here, not only will he suffer, but all his comrades around him will be implicated.

The scout's incoherent and comical manner drew snickers from the surrounding soldiers. If the general hadn't been there, they might have burst out laughing. Only a few experienced veterans realized something was amiss...

There were no complete greenhorns among them. This scout, who could be considered experienced, would not have returned looking so foolish unless he had been scared to the point of madness. This made some of them secretly grip their weapons and become wary of their surroundings.

Sure enough, a new order was issued shortly afterward...

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

Everyone's face turned ashen. Those who were secretly laughing just moments ago now looked exactly like servants. They weren't unfamiliar with mountains of corpses, but if those corpses were their own comrades, the impression would be completely different.

Torres was deathly pale, not from fear, but from rage. He went to the pile of heads, gripped his whip tightly, and then suddenly kicked out…

The kick was incredibly powerful. The pale, twisted heads were sent flying like balls. One head even rolled to the soldiers behind it. As if they had seen a demon, the neat ranks parted like a tide, and everyone tried to avoid it.

Seeing his soldiers' cowardly behavior, Toris became even angrier. He grabbed his whip and charged into the ranks, lashing out at anyone he saw. The sound of whips whistling through the air and the screams and howls of the soldiers filled the air.

After smoking for a while, until his hands ached, Toris finally stopped. The Holstein general coldly swept his narrow eyes over the road strewn with corpses.

"Drag all this trash away, don't let them block our way anymore..."

…………

Large numbers of corpses were dragged from the middle of the road to the side, and pairs of green eyes wandered back and forth in the jungle.

Those were carnivores that had been attracted, waiting to pounce on them and feast after the people left. Foul-smelling saliva dripped from their mouths. This lavish feast had attracted all the carnivorous creatures within several kilometers.

Large numbers of black crows had filled the treetops, their bright red eyes fixed intently on the pool of rotting flesh. Every now and then, they would let out a sharp screech, as if urging the Hols to leave quickly so that they could fill their bellies...

The land, thoroughly soaked by a large amount of blood, had become a blood-red swamp. Leather boots would make a sticky sound when stepped into it, and the overwhelming stench of blood was almost enough to destroy one's nose.

The passing soldiers were all timid and hesitant. They couldn't imagine how a force of several hundred men could be wiped out in such a short time... This meant that if they left the main force, they would be very likely to suffer the same fate.

Torres's face was ashen. He looked at the soldiers and knew that his enemy had achieved his goal... As long as his army saw this scene, their morale would be greatly weakened... They would be filled with fear even before they saw the enemy.

But this was an unavoidable, open scheme. It was the only route they could take on their march, and they couldn't possibly keep it from their soldiers... In fact, if they tried to cover it up, it would only create more terrible rumors. It was better to let the soldiers see it for themselves.

He couldn't imagine what kind of opponent he was facing. All Toris knew was that he was definitely not a hunter who could win easily, and it was even very likely that... he was now the prey, and the one he was hunting was lurking in the shadows, grinding its teeth and sucking blood, ready to tear his throat apart at any moment.

Torres knew very well that he no longer had enough confidence. There were still some troops stationed in the nearest town, Hols; if he were to bring them over…

General Hols shook his head. That town belonged to the Tokas family, and they had always been at odds with his family. Even if they were transferred here, they wouldn't obey his orders. In that case, the lack of unified command would make it easier for them to be defeated one by one...

Torres hesitated for a moment, then reached into his saddlebag, pulled out a piece of scrap paper, dipped a pen in the blood on the ground, and quickly began to write on it...

A moment later, he rolled up the note in his hand and put it into a small metal tube. Then, with a slight wave of his hand, a guard took a cage and pulled out a slender bird of prey.

He tied the small metal tube in his hand to the bird of prey's foot, then took out a dagger, dug out a piece of flesh from the neck of the dead warhorse, and fed it to the bloodthirsty beast.

Before long, the raptor had eaten and drunk its fill. With a strong flap of Toris's wings, the bird spread its broad wings, vigorously flapping them to create a breeze, and soon flew to a high place.

Watching the black dot gradually disappear into the distance, the Holstein man breathed a sigh of relief...

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Sharp, deep, bright eyes were fixed on the receding black dot in the sky. It was a clear moonlit night, and the bright moon in the sky was frighteningly large, as if it could be touched. The small black dot appeared exceptionally clear.

Tersolius gave his horse a light kick to the belly, and the massive black horse silently began to trot, with two cavalrymen immediately following.

As he rode, Tersolius took the large bow from beside his saddle, gently stroking the black leather-wrapped handle with his left hand, and drew a light arrow from his quiver with his right hand. After nocking the bowstring, he spurred his horse and charged up a hill.

The small black dot in the sky kept flapping its wings, and with each flap it would travel a little further. Teresolus just kept a close eye on it silently, never losing sight of his target for a moment.

With a soft neigh, the warhorse leaped onto a towering cliff atop the mountain. In the instant the horse soared into the air, he steadily drew back his great bow, his fingers lightly releasing the string. A long black arrow, like a thin shadow, flew into the sky…

His bright, sharp eyes were fixed on the small black dot flapping its wings. As the dot suddenly stopped and then fell downwards as if it had lost all its strength, he nodded slightly and hung the great bow back on the saddle.

Under the bright moonlight, three cavalrymen sped towards the spot where the shadow had fallen. The clatter of their horses' hooves silenced the beasts of the jungle city, who lowered their heads, daring not to reveal a trace of their presence…

35 Trick (3)

The strange raptor in my hand has long tail feathers, and three particularly long feathers at the tips of its wings, like three sharp daggers. There are also long feathers on the back of its head, forming a unique crest. The whole bird looks quite swift.

This raptor was quite lucky. By the time the arrow reached it, it had lost its strength and fell, but it didn't die. However, it also didn't have the strength to escape. It was tightly entangled by a bunch of thin vines that grew from parasitic plants. Tersolius easily caught it and then took it all the way back to the camp.

After carefully reading the note inside the copper tube, Thesolius fell into deep thought. A bold idea suddenly popped into his head, and he was weighing the pros and cons of whether or not to do it...

"Marcus, bring me the map."

The parchment map was durable and carefully protected inside a cowhide tube, so that no one would have thought of leaving it behind when it came out of the battlefield.

The map slowly unfolded before him, revealing terrain outlined in fine black ink and towns marked with red icons and text. The map was surprisingly detailed, even showing villages and streams.

This was just a partial map, showing a limited area, so it was impossible to understand the state of the world from it. He was only slightly disappointed for a moment before carefully examining the map.

After a long pause, he silently straightened up:

"doctor."

"Huh? I'm here, I'm here."

The girl who was huddled by the campfire quickly came over, wiped the grease from her mouth, and placed the bowl of meat in her hand on the tree stump next to her.

"You should answer either 'or' or... never mind, it's not that important..."

Thesolius seized the bird of prey by its wing and lifted it up:

"Can you heal this bird's wound?"

Tarina pursed her lips slightly, peering over to see what was happening, but the ferocious beast suddenly extended its hook-like mouth and pecked at her eyes with lightning speed. Even the girl could only let out a scream; she had no time to dodge…

A large hand encircled the girl's eyes, its horny beak scraping against the steel gauntlets with a squeaking sound.

Pinch its head with two fingers, and the intense pain made the large bird struggle. But as the pain intensified, at one point it suddenly stopped moving. After the fingers were released, it trembled and fell silent.

"Marcus, get me a rope and tie this beast's feet and mouth together."

………………

"It's nothing serious, just a dislocated bone in his leg... Did you really shoot this down with an arrow?! A peregrine falcon can touch the clouds; even the best hunter couldn't hit it..."

Thesolius fiddled with the long, razor-sharp feathers on the bird's wing, watching the girl break the bones in the bird's foot with her hands:

"I'm just taking a gamble; I'm not even sure I'll hit the target."

"No one else even had a chance to gamble..."

The girl shook her head stubbornly. As she pressed down hard with her two slender fingers, the large bird struggled desperately, but was powerless because its wings and beak were firmly bound...

click!

The previously limp feet suddenly regained their mobility and began to kick forcefully, but since both feet were also bound with thin ropes, they stopped moving after struggling for a while.

"You beast, this letter still needs you to deliver it."

The large bird dared not harm Tersolius any longer, allowing him to tie the copper tube back to its foot. As the rope was untied, Tersolius threw it into the air, and the bird of prey frantically flapped its wings as if fleeing, disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye.

“Alpert…”

Only Thesolius, looking up, muttered a name, or rather, a place name.

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The falcon's sharp eyes spotted a conspicuous target: a copper pipe extending from a tall tower, wrapped in thick leather, with a basket hanging beside it, emanating the bloody smell of fresh meat.

This bird of prey had no idea what mission it was tasked with. It only knew that when it was released, it could return to a specific place where it would always be provided with the freshest meat, covered with uncoagulated blood.

Without hesitation, it flapped its wings to slow down and landed on the copper tube. It stretched out its long, sharp claws, stood firmly on it, and began to tear apart the fresh meat that was stained with blood.

A servant dressed in a green short coat came to its side, reached out and removed the copper tube from its foot. The large bird, however, was focused on its food and showed no intention of attacking the servant who approached.

The delicate little copper tube was carried down from the tower by a servant, and a fully armed cavalryman took it from him, then spurred his warhorse and galloped swiftly along the city's cobblestone streets.

The city was not bustling with activity, and ordinary people could not afford the luxury of lighting lamps at night. However, under the bright moonlight, the cavalrymen made their way to a hill without any obstacles.

The roads here are paved with exquisite marble, and every three meters there is a roaring brazier. Servants constantly add fuel to the braziers to keep the whole hill brightly lit until dawn.

At the top of the hill, a colossal building stands. This exquisite structure, constructed of milky-white marble, is the residence of the city's master, the protector of Alperth, the lord of Stantry, Lord KA Hills Lute. Located at the city's highest point, it offers a panoramic view of every corner of the city.

The cavalryman charged up the hill unimpeded. Seeing the red ribbon on his shoulder, no one stopped him. He dismounted and passed through the heavily guarded gate without hindrance. In the spacious hall, he handed the copper tube in his hand to an old man named Hols with white hair and beard.

The old man turned and walked up the steps until he reached a door on the second floor from which music, cheers, and laughter were coming from. The hot air that rushed out after he pushed open the door made his skin feel refreshed.

The aroma of fine wine and food, the energetic sounds of a band playing, and the loud laughter and singing of people filled the spacious hall. Walking along the smooth oak floors, one came to a Holstein man standing by a window, draped in a dark green robe.

"My lord, a letter from Lord Torres..."

The Holstein man turned his head, revealing high cheekbones and sharp, long eyes. A thin mustache covered his upper lip, and his long, golden-white hair was tied into a large braid that hung down his back. His thin lips were slightly pursed, then revealed a mocking curve:

"Torris? That guy is asking me for help so soon... What a piece of trash."

The old man didn't dare to answer, and just kept his head down.

…………

36 Encirclement (1)

The horses were grazing on their feed, and each cavalryman carried a sack filled with grain and salt, letting his horse stick its head in and chew loudly. This was an important way to replenish the horses' energy.

It is early spring now, and although it is still a bit chilly, the warhorses are not very fat and have lost a lot of weight after these few days of travel. They need a good amount of food to ensure they have enough energy and speed every day.

The 200-plus horses they captured were just ordinary warhorses, far inferior to the superior breeds used by armored cavalry. These warhorses had undergone specialized breeding, and it took ten generations to produce offspring with such excellent traits. Each one was incredibly precious, and could not even be bought with money.

They could carry heavy horse armor and fully armored cavalry, galloping at extremely high speeds for two whole hours without exhausting themselves... This was beyond what he knew horses could do; it was as if an engine had been installed inside these massive flesh-and-blood bodies...

But considering the little doctor's amazing magic and his own healed forehead wound, perhaps some supernatural force was involved in the breeding process, which is why such an outrageous warhorse exists.

These magnificent horses, each with a shoulder height of at least 1.7 meters, were priceless. No matter how much gold a wealthy merchant offered, he could never acquire them, and ordinary people would never have the chance to see these divine creatures in their entire lives… Thinking of the cavalry and warhorses that died in that tragic battlefield, Tersolius’s expression darkened once again.

A slight sense of confusion still lingered in his heart, but only a little, because he had found a suitable goal for himself...

Those elite cavalrymen followed him into the deadly abyss without hesitation. They were so brave and powerful that they should never have met such an end... Someone had to pay the price, and this was the perfect opportunity for him to do it.

Perhaps it was the anger of being murdered, perhaps it was the injustice felt for those excellent cavalrymen, or perhaps it was simply because he wanted to do it... Tersolius made his decision about what to do next without hesitation.

Fear seems to have faded from his life. He rarely feels worried or afraid now, and he seems to be able to face any situation calmly. This change is so abrupt, yet so natural, as if he was born to be this way, born to be a strong person.

The creaking of the chainmail's links echoed all around, like silkworms nibbling at leaves—subtle yet continuous.