Several figures flashed through the woods, and after making sure that there were no traces of any enemies nearby, one of them ran backwards, while the others continued on.

These people who are walking quickly through the forest are none other than the Snapdragon Army led by Ai Wen. In order to conceal their whereabouts, they made their way through the patrols and castles of East Angloria to the core, and it took them several days to make a great circle from the less populated jungle.

"My lord, a squad of scouts said that there was a small village not far away, which didn't seem to have any soldiers, and the population was not large, only a dozen wooden houses."

Led by the scouts, Aven saw a small village in the distance. He looked at the sky, and the sun was already high overhead, and puffs of cooking smoke began to rise from the chimneys of many houses in the village.

"Call the captains in the back." Aven prepared to give the order.

After a while, the five Snapdragon squad leaders all came to Aiwen's side, and Aiwen motioned for them to look at the village not far away.

"We're just entering enemy territory, and we don't know anything, so we're going to attack the village ahead and get information from the locals."

"I have summoned you to tell you that no matter what the situation, knowing the enemy's situation is the most important task, and only when we know the enemy's situation can we respond in a targeted manner. This kind of combat often requires the total annihilation of the enemy, and no enemy can be allowed to escape."

The five captains looked solemn and listened quietly to Evan's teachings, and none of them objected.

"You are all my first captains, and you are the first officers to come. I will teach you personally, and after you learn, the future captains will need to rely on you to teach, understand?"

When the captains heard Aiwen's advice, their faces immediately turned happy and they agreed one after another.

"A team of captains, through the woods, blockaded the north side of the village. The second team blocked the entrance and exit to the east. Three teams to the west. Four teams to the south. Five teams followed me, choosing the right position and using crossbow arrows to assist the other teams in their attacks. When you hear the trumpet, you attack."

The four captains, with their soldiers, quietly walked through the woods, surrounding the small village. Ai Wen looked at the sky, estimated the time in his heart, and thought that it was almost over, so he took the lead in pulling the trigger of the crossbow arrow and blowing the horn.

Before the people of the village could react, they looked around for the sound of the horn and saw a lot of heavily armed soldiers in the surrounding woods. The huge long weapon and murderous appearance frightened many people to flee in a hurry.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The men in the village hurriedly took their pitchforks and hoes, hoping to resist the attack of the Snapdragon army with the wooden walls around the village. All of this was seen by Aven, and he raised his crossbow without hesitation, and with a slight aim, he shot an arrow.

Sharp crossbow arrows, with a whoosh, slashed through the sky and hit a man in the village with a hoe. When the surrounding villagers saw the corpse, they were startled and hurriedly scattered, using houses and various things as shelter, trying to dodge the crossbow arrows flying from the shadows.

With Aiwen's shot, the Snapdragon soldiers of the fifth team no longer hesitated, and rushed to shoot the crossbow arrows in their hands at the village below.

A dozen crossbow arrows swished through the air and hit the fleeing crowd in the village. What caught Aven's attention the most was Winston, a child with a British longbow.

After months of training and improved diet, he can now shoot five arrows in a row without changing his face, and he is very accurate. Evan had done a test that within two hundred steps, Winston could almost hit every shot.

This made Evan even more determined to develop longbowmen in the future.

The battle in the village, Evan lost interest after watching it. This kind of one-sided slaughter will not cause any difficulties for the Snapdragon soldiers at all.

Especially with the cooperation of their own crossbow arrows, the Snapdragon Army quickly broke through the wooden wall and wooden gate and rushed into the village. Inspired by the military merit system, almost all the Snapdragon soldiers were red-eyed, as if every villager was a mobile military merit.

"Captain Five, you also lead people down and remind the others that I still have to ask for information." Evan motioned for the last squad to join the fight.

"Yes, sir. I'll remind the others." Skuk, the leader of the fifth squad, still seems to be calm and does not show any emotional turmoil.

Before, whether it was training or practicing operations, Scook made the most correct judgment and decision with absolute reason, beat the two noble heirs of the same team, won the position of captain of the last squad, and became the only captain of the five squads who was not from a noble background.

It didn't take long for the battle in the village to end. Skuk, with two soldiers, returned to report to Aven.

"My lord, the battle has all ended, more than 30 enemies have been killed, 11 prisoners have been captured, and all of them have been escorted to the open space in the center of the village."

Evan nodded, and followed Scook into the village. As the battle had just ended, there was still a strong smell of blood in the air, and the blood stains on the wooden buildings slowly dripped to the ground.

In some places, bodies of people who have lost their hands and feet can be seen. In the clearing in the center of the village, Evan saw all the Snapdragon soldiers, as well as the villagers who were kneeling on the ground, shivering.

"I ask you to answer, and those who can answer truthfully can get out of here alive. Otherwise, those who lie on the ground will be your fate."

As soon as Evan finished speaking, a woman cursed, her eyes red and shining with hatred. Skuk took the first step, raised the blunt hammer in his hand, and slammed it into the woman's head.

Suddenly, the red and white liquid splashed out, and the woman convulsed, losing her vitality. Skuk raised the blunt-tipped hammer in his hand and looked at the others with a fierce look on his face.

The rest of the captured villagers shrank back in horror, fearing that the madman in front of them would smash their heads with their hammers.

"What kind of place are you here, how many people are there in normal times, and how many are there now."

"Your Excellency, this is the Kingdom of East Angloria. We are just ordinary villagers, there is no army in the village. At our peak, there were less than 100 people. Some time ago, the local nobleman sent a conscription officer to collect a large amount of grain, and also took ten young people from the village, plus those who fled, and now there are only more than fifty people in the village."

"Where is the nearest castle to you, and where is the nearest village?"

"The nearest one is Lord Gibbs, Baron Sika of the North. The nearest village is in the direction of sunrise, and it takes about half a day to get there." The villagers answered honestly.

Evan nodded, glanced at Skuk, and turned to leave the village clearing.

"Kill! Not a single one!"

After a burst of screams and vicious curses, there was no more sound in the village. In the stone church, Evan quickly waited for his men to report that all the captives had been executed, and that no one had escaped from the village.

After hearing this, Aven nodded slowly, and continued to look at the map in front of him, which he still took from Count Morlor.

The map only shows the approximate location and the names of the places, but there is no specific information about each place. As such, the Count of Morol had spent a great deal of effort to complete the map.

Evan soon saw on the map the Barony of Sika, located in the southwest corner of the county of Suffolk. Confirming that the villagers were not lying, made Evan secretly relieved.

The previous days of marching made him very worried that he would go in the wrong direction and strayed into the territory of the Mercia Kingdom, but fortunately, this kind of thing did not happen.

Now all you have to do is continue your march to the northeast, so that you can bypass the enemy forces on the border and penetrate deep into the county of Suffolk, looking for an opportunity to destroy the enemy's living forces.

"Order everyone, light a fire and cook, and move on to the next target."

"Yes, sir."