Rust-scented blood splattered in the dim moonlight, and the Sivalier light infantry in chainmail turbans widened his eyes and reached for his slitted throat, but before he could do so, Ivan grabbed him by the back of the head and pinned him to the waterlogged grass.

"Whoa-" The blood of the severed arteries of the fallen soldier gradually flooded in the water under the dim light of the early moon, and Ivan lowered his body, "What man!" The sound of the water caught the attention of the other infantryman, who turned to look left and right. The soldier who was exposed to the moonlight became the second victim, and the short angular bow allowed Ivan to shoot in a crouching position with ease, and the explosive arrow hit him in the left eye accurately, and the soldier rolled backwards and fell to the ground.

"Goo-goo-goo-" The older archer, mimicking the sound of the nocturnal pheasant common on the West Coast, signaled to the men behind him, and Henry took the signal and pulled the horses out. The warhorses that know human nature have their heads down, and the half-human-tall weeds are not enough to hide their paths, but the sentinels here have been dealt with beforehand, so there is not much to worry about.

Rigal's first moon, Perefensi, was the smallest of all the moons, and everyone set out as soon as night fell to take advantage of the dim moonlight.

The clouds, which were still present after the heavy rain today, provided more concealment, and the group did their best not to make too much noise. Not far away, the smooth façade of Fort Ellen looked so dazzling in the dim moonlight that the light of the fire flickered, and everyone could tell what kind of banquet was being held there.

- It was Henry's idea to get to Vavasika from here.

Common sense thought was of course to get as far away as possible from enemy territory such as Fort Ellen Sentinel, so it was not surprising that Henry's proposal was seriously protested by some, such as Rodney and Rodney, that it was an unnecessary risk. Even the other mercenaries who didn't open their mouths to refute looked at our sage with suspicion, but this suspicion was easily dispelled in his calm explanation.

Regions that have already been occupied are often the most lax in their defenses.

Henry chose to cross the road near Fort Ellen Sentinel for three reasons: one was that it was the closest and best way to go, and the relatively strong and smooth road had a very good effect on the acceleration of the horses. If a group of people can walk up to 10 kilometers a day in a rugged and muddy forest, this figure can increase at least five to six times when they are on a real "road".

The soldiers are very fast, and it is most important to be able to get to Vavasika as soon as possible in this situation.

The second is because of the strategic deployment of the West Waliers.

As mentioned earlier, they attacked and captured Fort Ellen in order to use it as a base of advance - in other words, there were now 10,000 or 20,000 Sivalier troops stationed near Fort Ellen Fort, which had already been captured.

With such a dozen troops stacked here, the Vivaliers were naturally less vigilant, as evidenced by the exuberant lights in the distance, ordinary torches could only illuminate the walkways and gates, and the bright light of the sentry fort that could be seen from so far away was evident from the large bonfires used for celebration.

And the last and most important reason is the military system of the West Waliers.

The country of knights, the birthplace of knightly jousting, this plain country with these good names pays great attention to all kinds of infantry and scouts. In the military structure of the West Valiers, archers and other infantry units also took care of the role of miscellaneous duties, and naturally they could not be elite if they were not taken seriously. The poor treatment and chaotic chain of command make these soldiers just as bad as the armies of the other countries on the West Coast, and you certainly don't expect to be able to execute them efficiently when given the task of "culling any caravans and travelers that come near here".

Irregular scattered patrols, scattered and unstaffed, ordinary soldiers who just act with their acquaintances. No one would be aware of the fact that even a few of them were missing, and they had little awareness of warning their allies when attacked.

The main force of hoplites drank and enjoyed themselves in the fort, while the infantry sent out to do hard work were half-hearted and unsuspecting.

Henry made the bold decision to sneak through an army of 20,000 men on the basis of these conditions—and once again he proved right.

The two scurrying soldiers who were killed by Ivan collided with them like dead rats, and the group was nervous at the moment, but then they found that these two people were just standing and drinking in the field, and their hearts were put down again.

The defenseless soldiers were easily dealt with, the weeds on the empty plains were blown by the cold night wind, the clouds swam slowly, and the moonlight shone on the group that quietly walked forward.

Henry's greatsword was hidden under the cloak, as were the others. Anything that might reflect the moonlight was hidden by them, and even Jericho and Evan's arrows were painted black with the sap of the black pine of Ekka.

The cold wind blew across the unsheltered half-slope, and the night breeze after the autumn rain was very biting. The white-haired girl of the Luoan people was a little trembling, her young strength was not comparable to that of others, and this day of rushing in the rain had already made Mira a little unable to open her eyes.

Henry reached out and touched her little head, and the stubborn girl was not to be left behind, taking a deep breath of cold air to cheer herself up. In order to avoid increasing the risk of detection, the group led the horses to keep their heads down, but even so, these eight-hundred-kilogram beasts still made a dull sound when they moved.

Fortunately, this did not attract anyone's attention, and as Henry had expected, there were very few sentry posts here.

Any travelers and caravans that came close to the periphery were slaughtered equally by the army of Sivalier, and the army of 10,000 men stationed on the inner flanks emboldened them, and the vacuum in the middle made it necessary to send no patrols in this situation.

But even so, Henry, they still have something to worry about.

"Stop!"

Ivan in front of him said.

Built on the highest point of the hill and backed by a forest, Fort Ellen has a wide view of the entire area, and even if the people there are having dinner now, there is still a risk of being seen by the sentry.

This is no joke, and if they are discovered by the sentry over there, they will be pursued by a whole army of heavy cavalry.

Even Henry would never want to see that happen.

The line stopped.

The brightly lit Ellen Sentinel stood out in the darkness, with a few black dots on the walls dangling back and forth, the mercenaries all hiding, and Bernie wittily letting the team drive the horses apart - there was no shortage of wild herbivores in the Arcasta Plains, and the unridden and scattered horses looked like elk or wild horses at this distance.

"Whew-" Mira deliberately controlled her breathing, and as soon as she crouched down, she felt a sore pain in the muscles of her calves. The girl was uncomfortable with the long walk, and there was a sound of grass shaking, and she turned her head, and Henry came to the side. The black-haired sage crouched to her right, looking intently through the half-human-tall gap in the weeds at the sentry fort in the distance.

"It's still there. Ivan's words were simple and clear, Henry frowned, and more black dots appeared in the light of the sentry fort's fire, and they scurried back and forth, and the sage began to have a bad premonition.

"Are they suspicious?" a female voice rang out next to her, but it wasn't Mira, it was Minna. Henry turned his head, and the blonde girl's eyes reflected the moonlight blue.

"I don't know. He shook his head, the distance so far that Henry could barely see that there was a crowd there.

Once again, the time to make a decision came, and Henry looked back at Bernie, the squad leader's expression quite serious.

Whether or not they have found them is a very crucial factor - if they do, or if they are suspicious and decide to send a patrol, then staying here is tantamount to waiting for death.

But if you rush out like this, the risk of exposure will also increase greatly.

Stay here and wait to see if someone will send in a scout, or gamble your luck and sprint to the other side at full speed - either one is betting with their lives, and if they make one wrong step at this critical juncture, they will lose it all.

Henry left the decision to Bernie, and the team leader gritted his teeth and thought for a moment, and was about to make a decision when Evan spoke again.

"We've got company!" said the older archer, and Henry followed the prestige, danger coming from the other side, and several infantrymen who seemed to have just finished patrolling came from the woods.

“...... Damn," Bernie cursed, pulling out his dagger, undetectable from a distance, but if they were walking this way, the infantry would surely be able to spot that these horses were no ordinary wild horses.

The bridles, stirrups, and saddles were exposed, and if they were approached by the group of eight, whether they chose to engage or not, they would surely attract the attention of the man in the distance.

It had to be solved the moment they walked out of the forest.

"Evan, Jericho, you settle the sidelines. Bernie said this, and Bjorn next to him knelt down and slowly approached under the cover of the horse, Henry untied the belt of the greatsword and handed it to Minna next to him, the weight of which made the girl stumble and almost sit on the ground, and then the sage also drew the short knife.

The horses that suddenly appeared in the clearing attracted the attention of the soldiers, who walked from the edge of the forest towards the periphery. Bernie, Bjorn, and Henry slowly approached, and Evan pulled the bow but only held it, while Jericho on the side let go of the bowstring with his hands shaking with nervousness.

"Huh-grab-" A careless lone soldier was directly hit in the forehead by this arrow and fell to the ground, Henry, they didn't have time to get close enough to shoot this arrow can be said to be a great failure, but now is not the time to blame Jericho, the fall of his companion made these soldiers stunned for a moment, and then they drew their respective weapons, and one of them grabbed the horn on his waist and was about to blow.

"Boom-boom-" But the old archer had already taken aim at him, and an arrow pierced the heart, causing the sentry to slam his back into the trunk of a tree and collapse to the ground.

"Liam!Liam!" the remaining soldiers panicked and shouted in Sivalier that there was an enemy nearby, but thankfully the words could not reach the location of Fort Ellen in the distance, and the shouting soldier was immediately choked by Evan's arrow.

The soldier who knelt on his knees with the pitch-black arrow widened his eyes and received another arrow from Jericho, killing him in the chest completely, and the remaining five soldiers did not dare to make a sound when they saw this scene, but just clinged to the trunk of the tree and looked out in a panic.

"It's difficult......" Bernie, who was lying on the ground, was drenched in cold sweat on his forehead, and the opponent didn't even know where they were in a round of confrontation, but they killed three people, which seemed to have an advantage, but in fact it was a missed opportunity.

The ideal plan was to use horses to lure the soldiers over, and then several men worked together to kill them all in an instant, but all of this was completely destroyed by Jericho's impatient arrow. The soldiers, who were now vigilant, were just hiding in the woods and consuming them, and as time passed, the chances of the group being found gradually increased.

"What do you have—" Bernie turned his head, and was about to ask Henry what he had in mind, only to find that the sage behind him was long gone.

'What's going on' The mercenary squad leader frowned and looked ahead, and just as this time, a Sivalier infantryman hiding behind a tree glanced out slightly.

This glance became the last sight he saw in his life.

Like a poisonous tail that a scorpion is about to stab, and like a falcon swooping in the air, Heng used his legs to hang upside down on a branch, and his upper body fell down with a "boom", and then he held the knife in his backhand and directly pierced the soldier's face, blood splashed everywhere, and the black-haired sage then let go of the short knife in his hand, twisted his waist, and the whole person spun around in mid-air and landed steadily.

Before the soldier next to him could react, he was directly hit by his powerful punch and the bridge of his nose was not over, Henry's other hand grabbed the soldier's spear at the same time and threw it towards the other soldier without looking.

"Poof-grab-" The spear in the middle of the chest pinned the soldier to the tree behind him, and then the sage dodged the sword of another soldier to the right, and then he turned around on tiptoe as if dancing, grabbed the wrist of the other man holding the sword with one hand, lifted and twisted it, and then turned around and grabbed the soldier's neck with the crook of his arm, and then lifted him up and sank him again.

"Click-" The crack of the neck bone made a crisp sound, and the soldier, whose neck was as soft as mud, was thrown to the ground by Henry.

"Boom-boom-" The sage's fighting nerves were like lightning without gaps, and another soldier holding his wounded nose with one hand slashed at him with a long sword to buy time for his companion behind him, while the other soldier who was not injured grabbed the horn of his fallen companion and was about to blow it.

Henry couldn't take out two people at the same time, but thankfully he wasn't fighting alone.

The soldier who ran out from behind the safety of the trunk with the horn was silenced by an arrow piercing his temple before he could blow it, and the soldier wielding his sword in one hand slashed nothing as he staggered past Henry.

"Poof-huh-"

He fell to the ground with a large wound on his neck, and Henry turned around with a blank face, wiped the bloodied dagger on the soldier, and then put it back into its sheath.

"You ......"

Henry, who returned to the crowd, received a complicated look, Bernie looked at him solemnly, and Minna uttered a short but meaningful word.

The blonde girl had seen Henry's battle before, but it was very different from what she was doing now.

His movements were as smooth and concise as ever, without a hint of showmanship or muddy, which made Minna feel that killing people was the same as killing beasts for him. The thought made her look at Henry more complicated, but the deep eyes of the sage on the other side had only calm, like an ocean with no bottom in sight, making it difficult to look directly, and Minna looked away.

"......" Henry didn't say anything, and Rodney, who had been making fault with him before, also closed his mouth after seeing the extremely cold and efficient killing. The short and fat mercenary recalled some of the unhappiness in front of him, and began to pray in a cold sweat that the sage would not hold grudges.

"They left. Evan's voice broke the somewhat awkward air, and the crowd once again turned their attention to Fort Ellen Sentinel, where the previously dense crowd of human heads was no longer there, and only the black outline of the flat walls could be seen in the flickering firelight.

"Let's go. Bernie beckoned, and the group began cautiously moving forward again.