owlsbooks Chapter 50 Offensive Deployment and Preparation
Chapter 50 Offensive Deployment and Preparation
Despite his overwhelming killing intent, Stan suppressed the urge to charge forward with all his might!
Having fought countless battles, he knew all too well that there were many variables on the battlefield.
In the shadows of the dense forest, Stan kept the twenty strongest warriors of the Kare tribe by his side.
He decided to send troops to probe the enemy's intentions and launch an attack!
He could have sent out his strongest force to crush the enemy, but he ultimately decided to hold back!
In his judgment, if there were no ambushes in the village in front of him, then it was not worth him using all his troops!
The 130 equally well-equipped tribal members under his command, led by a dozen or so tribal warriors, were more than enough to raze this remote village to the ground!
The Kare tribe has roamed the border for many years, plundering countless villages and towns.
An ordinary small village could be easily penetrated by just thirty pirates.
Even a slightly stronger force of fifty to eighty members would be enough to sweep away any villager resistance!
This deployment of 130 combatants is the highest level Stan has ever prepared!
The night was deep, and shadows crisscrossed in the dense forest.
With the branches of the trees obscuring their view, the villagers had no idea that twenty people were missing!
With this arrangement, he could deploy all his elite troops to crush the entire enemy force, and even if the enemy had an ambush, he could still retreat!
The cold axe blade gleamed with a chilling light as Stan's gaze locked onto the village ahead.
He then quietly led twenty tribal warriors around to the rear...
……
the other side,
On the roof of a stone house at the entrance of Duanpo Village, old Yar stood with his body taut like a bowstring, his face solemn and dignified.
He stared intently at the dark, dense forest to the north, his gaze unwavering.
The pirates were slow to attack, and this unusual hesitation was precisely noticed by old Jarl.
A faint hope quietly began to grow in his heart.
He immediately whispered an order for the villagers to walk around the village, deliberately creating a noisy scene and making it appear as if there were many people and a great deal of activity.
He wanted to use this deliberate defense to intimidate the pirates in the dense forest, hoping that they would back down!
Duanpo Village is their ancestral home, where they have lived and thrived for generations. This land has nurtured the entire village, young and old.
Farmhouses, fields, fishing boats on the lake...
These are the very things they rely on for survival!
No one will easily give up their home, and no one is willing to abandon their stable life.
Old Jarl knew better than anyone what displacement meant!
Once the village is abandoned, and everything that sustains the entire village is lost, the whole village will become rootless vagrants.
In chaotic times, they wandered from place to place, or lived as dependents.
Ultimately, they would either freeze or starve to death, or be driven to desperation and sold into slavery, becoming lowly servants with no hope of ever rising above their circumstances!
As long as there is even the slightest hope, old Yar will never easily give up this village!
The thought of taking a chance to fight back clung tightly to old Jarl's mind like a vine.
He even hoped that Rogge's intelligence was false!
But this fragile hope was completely crushed in the next second!
In the dark forest, the figure that had been hidden began to slowly emerge from the darkness!
The pirates arrived at the open space.
Under the radiant moonlight, figures clad in studded leather armor and chainmail appeared one after another!
The cold, silver-gray and brown armor was particularly glaring in the night.
Each pirate was a burly man, constantly emerging from the forest with steady steps and a chilling aura, without the slightest hint of disorder.
Old Jarl, who witnessed all of this, suddenly froze, his last trace of doubt and hope completely extinguished.
A sudden, uncontrollable commotion arose from the crowd of villagers below, with exclamations rising in unison:
"My God! They're pirates!"
"These bandits from the North Sea are demons!"
They will steal our food, burn our houses! They will sink our fishing boats, and they will kill our families!
"The barbarians of Beihai, they eat human flesh raw..."
Listening to the villagers' panicked words, a strong sense of suffocation enveloped everyone.
Old Yar squatted on the roof, and what made his heart sink even more was that these pirates did not launch a disorderly charge like ordinary mountain bandits!
Their movements were synchronized and coordinated, and they quickly raised their heavy round shields, layer upon layer, forming an impenetrable shield wall formation!
Old Yar knew the terror of the shield wall formation well, and knew that once they got close, they would launch several rounds of ranged attacks with throwing axes and javelins!
Old Yar instinctively felt the urge to retreat. His instinct for self-preservation almost made him order everyone to give up resistance and flee to the back of the mountain with the women and children!
But when he turned and swept his gaze across the entire village,
His gaze swept over the dense crowd below, but he ultimately did not utter the order to retreat.
In the previous conflict with Gangde Village, Duanpo Village only mobilized more than two hundred able-bodied men.
Currently, over a hundred women, children, and other vulnerable individuals have already been evacuated to the back of the mountain.
Nearly four hundred people still remain in the village!
Not a single young or middle-aged man or woman chose to back down!
Behind the barriers on the street, behind the mottled corners of walls, behind the old houses, there are villagers who are sticking to their posts everywhere!
Everyone carried farm tools and spears, and even though their weapons were simple, they still stood guard on their respective lines of defense.
His deep attachment to his homeland put old Jarl in a difficult dilemma.
……
Rogge, Virgil, and Gold stood behind a stone house.
They did not retreat to the back of the mountain with the women and children...
With his eyes fixed on the approaching pirate shield wall forces, a strong sense of anxiety welled up in Rogge's heart.
Of all the people, only he could clearly see the huge gap in combat power between the two sides with his insightful ability!
Here in Duanpo Village:
329 ordinary villagers (untrained)!
Many of them were unarmed, and most of them had pitchforks and wooden sticks!
There were 53 people in total: a first-level militiaman and more than ten skilled militiamen of level 10!
These people possessed basic protective gear, with a small number wearing studded leather armor and wielding relatively suitable weapons.
The second-tier militia consisted of only seven people, making them one of the few remaining mid-level combat forces in the village!
Among those with third-tier strength, there are only two in the entire Duanpo Village: Old Kui and Old Yar!
With such weak combat power, they had no chance against the enemy's pirates, who were all at the second tier and fully armed (at least in studded leather armor).
Even if their numbers are twice that of the pirates, it won't work!
The situation had become extremely dangerous. Without hesitation, Rogge rushed to old Jal's side and tried his best to persuade him:
"Old Jarl, don't hesitate!"
Immediately order a full evacuation!
These pirates are far more powerful than we imagined; the villagers simply can't stop them!
Rogge's voice was loud, and the surrounding young men could hear it clearly.
Upon hearing someone criticize their side for being incompetent, some young and strong immediately retorted loudly:
"We outnumber you! We won't back down!"
Even if they are sirens, we'll knock out all their teeth!
Hearing the villagers' occasional chatter, Old Yar's determination to persevere and his high morale were evident.
In just a few breaths, he had suppressed the urge to retreat in his heart. Standing on the high place, his loud voice resounded throughout the entire arena:
"Listen up, everyone! The women and children have all been safely evacuated! We have nothing to worry about now!"
Now that foreign enemies have invaded! It is time for us to defend our homeland!
"Do not be afraid of the pirates' false reputation! Do not even think of running away!"
Only by facing a powerful enemy head-on can we defend our home!
"Archers, prepare yourselves! Once the pirates are within fifty paces, fire your arrows at will!"
Once the enemy closes within thirty paces, everyone must immediately conceal themselves to avoid their ranged throwing axes!
"Militiamen with shields, once they advance to the village entrance, immediately move forward with your shields to block their shield wall!"
With each order issued, Roger knew that Old Yar was determined to defend Duanpo Village with the full strength of the village!
Looking at the stubborn old man, and at the indignant villagers ahead,
A tremendous crisis has loomed over everyone!
No amount of persuasion would help; the tide had turned, and the pirates had advanced to within a hundred paces!
Without further hesitation, Roger scanned the crowd, eagerly searching for two familiar figures.
Soon, his gaze settled on the low wall at the edge of the alley.
Gis stood tall and conspicuous at the edge of the wall.
Roger quickly walked through the crowd and came to the low wall.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Aunt Slin had been standing in front of Gis the whole time!
There was not a trace of fear on Aunt Slin's face; her eyes were full of determination.
She held a sharp fish-chopping knife in both hands, that old fish-chopping knife.
It was the first item that Rogge and his crew repaired upon arriving in Broken Amber Village.
At this moment, it has become a powerful tool to protect her son!