Armored Cavalry, survive in a world full of mods

"In that case, as your king, I demand that you abide by the ancient covenant and fully support my actions... By the Cherros Tablet, you must obey my commands."

All the Holstein nobles bowed their heads, and even the most unruly duke knelt on one knee on the muddy ground outside to show his submission.

"As for the soldiers, you don't need to worry, they won't be afraid... Just follow my orders."

The king regained his composure in the blink of an eye, as if he had been a completely different person just moments before.

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

Thesolius was resting in a chair with a high back that allowed him to rest his head on it. The blood-stained steel still covered his body, now dried scabs.

Several flies were attracted by the smell, flapping their wings and buzzing as they tried to land on him, but as they got closer, a wisp of smoke made them fly away in a hurry.

Its unique herbal aroma is fragrant but slightly pungent, but this level is definitely enough to calm the mind and repel those annoying mosquitoes.

The magnificent winged helmet lay on the table, its empty eye sockets coldly surveying everything in the room.

Tersolius was really tired. Even a champion renowned throughout the empire could not remain unexhausted after charging into enemy territory more than ten times. To keep his mind clear, he needed to find a place to sleep for a while.

He didn't know how many Hols had died at his hands yesterday, only that his sword was completely ruined... Even if he tried to avoid hard bones, the blade was jagged like dog teeth and was beyond repair.

The sun slowly rotated, and the herbs that had been burning slowly in a small jar finally turned to ashes. Without the obstruction of the smoke, a fly wobbled and landed on his face.

But before the slender limbs could even touch his skin, Thesolius suddenly opened his eyes and, with lightning speed, flicked his finger, shattering the fly into pieces in mid-air.

He slowly sat up from the chair, stretched his stiff neck, and then let out a long breath, his eyes regaining their vitality.

A slight pain shot through my arm. Although the armor I was wearing was excellent and heavy, it had suffered damage of various sizes due to prolonged high-intensity use.

The wounds on my arm were from being scraped by a dense barrage of spears. The once neat chainmail rings now have many missing pieces and cracks, and I need to find a craftsman to repair them.

After stretching his shoulders and neck to quickly warm up his stiff areas, Tersolius checked his weapons, put on his helmet, and went out the door.

Only half a day had passed since the last attack ended... He had to admit that his judgment was wrong; the Hols had not been unable to organize an attack despite their morale collapse...

On the contrary, for some reason their morale was high... they were attacking the city walls with almost fanatical attitude, suffering heavy losses themselves but also inflicting considerable casualties on Tersolius.

This is completely illogical. Despite suffering such heavy losses, these soldiers showed no fear whatsoever. With their bloodshot eyes wide open, they launched attack after attack, only to retreat under a hail of arrows and sharp weapons.

Even though they had scattered in fear more than once before, they always managed to regroup and launch the next attack... They were more like a group of bloodthirsty undead than ordinary Hols people...

What was originally thought to be a solid defense became dangerous under such an attack. Ultimately, their numbers were far fewer than those of the attackers, and even relying on the city walls, they suffered considerable losses.

Moreover, the Hols could take turns attacking to maintain their stamina, while the defenders could only hold on by going all out, and before long, all the defenders were exhausted.

This situation was certainly not normal… He knew this very well, and it all started when that king arrived at the camp. What exactly happened there?…

68. Changes (4)

The spear in his left hand swiftly tore through the chainmail, its crimson tip piercing straight through his back; the sword in his right hand pried open the head beneath the helmet, causing a splatter of viscous red and white liquid to erupt.

The spear traced a beautiful arc in his hand, slicing open the throat unprotected by chainmail. The sword, with its hilt of gold and white jade, pierced straight through the cheek, and then, as it was pulled out, cleanly severed the other head.

They can't be eradicated...

This was all Tersolius could think of; it was like fighting a horde of undead who seemed unafraid. This was the ninth attack, and each time they left behind a large number of corpses.

The pressure in the city was mounting. He never expected to encounter such a situation. These Holstein soldiers were acting like madmen, their blood-red eyes wide open, completely disregarding their lives.

Even if they kill many, those who remain still have the courage to stand before them and grip their swords.

…………

Thesolius brandished his spear and sword, swiftly and decisively slaughtering his enemies. In the blink of an eye, he had cleared the entire city wall, leaving no one a match for him.

Everyone cheered and applauded for him, and with their morale boosted, they drove the enemy still standing on the city wall down in one fell swoop. The sounds of swords and spears clashing and piercing flesh were endless.

When the Holsians receded like the tide, exhaustion and numbness overwhelmed them, and the soldiers, who had been in high spirits, sat down on the ground, panting heavily.

Everyone was exhausted, even the strong mountain people and cavalry had reached their physical limits... The Hols could take turns attacking, but their numbers were limited, so they could only go all out each time.

This is not only a great test of physical strength, but also a great torment to the mind... All you can see are bloody corpses and sticky entrails, their unclosed eyes staring straight at the sky... Spending a long time with these horrific things will make a person's mental state very bad.

Even though they have good quality food to enjoy every day, including hot white bread, hot soup made with vegetables and diced meat, and sometimes even large chunks of stewed meat.

But even after eating his fill, the physical fatigue and psychological stress could not be relieved in time, and he had already noticed some ominous signs.

Some soldiers had become somewhat neurotic. At the slightest sound, they would stare wide-eyed, looking left and right. Even when extremely exhausted, they could not fall asleep and could only drag their weary bodies to fight the enemy, only to easily lose their lives.

Some people even lost their appetite, spending all their time with these mangled corpses, which made them lose the excitement they used to have when eating meat.

These soldiers need to get proper rest and relaxation; people aren't machines, they can't stay on edge forever... But now, he was starting to suspect that these Holstein soldiers might be machines; they seemed to have absolutely no fear or morale.

If this continues, the city will be exhausted and eventually collapse; their numbers are simply too small.

If the situation continues like this, he may have to consider conscripting the men in the city and sending them to fight on the city walls.

If this were an imperial city, he would have done so without hesitation, but these citizens had just been conquered and were simply not up to the task.

Of course, everyone knew that the Hols' army had committed massacres in the surrounding area. Logically, the citizens of the city should have fully supported them. At least after entering the city, they did not engage in widespread looting and slaughter, which made them more trustworthy.

But Tersolius couldn't place his bets on it. Expecting someone to remain rational for an extended period is a luxury, especially when there are many people involved, as many emotions are easily swayed.

Moreover, he did not believe that these extravagant and dissolute citizens were capable of such a job; they could not possibly become qualified soldiers, let alone qualified militiamen.

...Reinforcements, when exactly will the planned reinforcements arrive?...

The only way to break this deadlock is to hold out until reinforcements arrive. With the support of elite imperial legions, he can make those Hols outside crash headfirst into the city walls and die.

The mobilization of an army requires a massive plan and time, let alone an army of tens of thousands... Even if, as the rumors say, his brother, who was his only family, did his best to mobilize the army, it would not be able to get here in a short time.

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.

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

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...

69. Changes (5)

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.