The Ranger Group’s longhouse was just as Lann had imagined.
Inside, it retained the most combative and organized group of people from the Castle Town.
After Lann returned, the ronins looked at him like he was their parent. Strictly speaking, saving a life is akin to being a rebirth parent.
Before Lann could open his mouth to reintegrate them into the combat ranks, Kotaro stood up and repeated the words he had just spoken outside the manor to the surviving ronins.
The stakes wouldn’t change just because of words; after calming down from the life-and-death panic of the encirclement, the ronins could comprehend the situation.
So, without much trouble, the ronins with fierce glints in their eyes clutched their knives, prepared to follow behind their leader and carve out a path to survival.
Maybe the main force of this raid was intent on a beheading action, so it directly charged towards the Hirata Manor residence.
Those left in the Castle Town were just some insignificant bandits.
Lann didn’t even need to act anymore; he just needed to observe the battlefield and issue commands. The rest was just allocating people to receive victory.
The terrain of Hirata Manor is complex, but to him, such battlefield structures were trivial compared to what was stored in [Memory Deep Dives].
Standing on high ground, after downing a bottle of [Cat] Magic Potion, his superhuman senses could observe the enemy’s numbers clearly, distributing the combat forces like a fish in water.
After rescuing his subordinates from the Ranger Group’s longhouse, he reorganized many scattered Hirate foot soldiers into his ranks along the way.
Amazingly, amidst the fire and bloodshed, he rallied nearly a hundred people!
From the terrified words of these people, Lann learned that lately, the one responsible for the defense of Hirata Manor was that Giant Ninja—Owl.
These foot soldiers, despite their numbers, were scattered presumably because of that guy’s prowess in ’deploying troops’.
Deploying troops and mobilizing warriors to fight... this was a new experience for Lann.
But he seemed innately suited to this state of carrying heavy responsibilities.
Others entrusted their courage and lives to him, and he naturally wanted to apply them perfectly.
Especially on the battlefield.
Lann’s command ability was growing stronger and stronger; scenes in [Memory Deep Dives] surfaced before him, reconstructed in his mind, distilled into knowledge under his control.
Initially, the personnel he dispatched would get entangled and struggle.
But over time, he managed to constrain every battle he arranged to end within three minutes.
After more than an hour, Lann had even cleared out all the bandits in the entire Castle Town!
"The art of command? ... Tch, it’s more brain-consuming than fighting."
Lann lightly patted his forehead.
Relying on Mentos’s reinforcement, he barely kept up with the thought speed of those Sons of the Emperor from his memories.
But their thought speed was normal for them; for him, it was already a kind of ’overclocking’.
Slightly shaking his head, Lann took a sip of [Swallow] to accelerate his recovery.
Then, with a resolute and respectful gaze, he said to Kotaro under the eaves, "The Castle Town is safe enough, with no worries behind us; next, we should advance to the residence."
Although every ronin and foot soldier below was gasping, some even trembling while holding their swords, when Lann’s command came down, they all responded with a blood-pumping shout.
On the battlefield of flesh and blood, a commander that guarantees a one hundred percent victory will be regarded by the warriors as a [God]!
A small bridge connects the Castle Town and the residence. Below this wooden bridge is a small tributary of the Longquan River.
Lann was the first to scout ahead, observing from the bamboo grove on the slope.
At a glance, his brow furrowed unconsciously.
"That fatty... he’s quite robust!"
The small bridge was not wide, and standing in the middle was a massive figure clad in simple armor.
Standing about 2.5 meters tall, his entire body exuded a sense of might in the flesh-encased muscle, not to mention the massive general’s belly.
In his hand was a massive iron wolf fang club about 1.56 meters long, swaying in his hand like a child’s toy, swiping the turf and poking the mud.
If someone of Kotaro’s size were to face him, it might take over thirty people to take him down.
However, such a person, sounding much like an ancient general, had a face showing typical ’Tang’s Disease’ traits.
His eyes were widely spaced, small and vacant, appearing dazed and clueless.
Lann turned back and described the ’Strange Person’ he saw to the local, Kotaro.
By right, a person of such build would be quite famous locally.
Sure enough, after Lann described a bit, Kotaro widened his eyes, face flushed with emotion.
"The Tairou Soldiers!"
"They’re the Tairou Soldiers from the Immortal Peak Temple! The masters of the temple adopted a group of orphans; each has this robust build but not the mental capacity. Out of pity for their lack of future, the masters trained them as monk soldiers, calling them ’Tairou Soldiers’."
The short man exhaled angrily, gritting his teeth.
"These bandits must have lured solitary Tairou Soldiers from the mountains as helpers! They’re like children, easily deceived!"
Lann frowned as he listened.
To adopt a group of kids, all ending up ?! Is it that outrageous?
Lann vaguely felt something was off, but seeing Kotaro’s resolute words as a local, and reflecting on the chickens and fish he’d seen... He decided not to say more.
After all, he was merely a foreigner unfamiliar with this land.
"If that’s the case, then leave him to me. His wolf fang club lacks blood, suggesting a Buddhist origin. Even if coerced to become muscle, he instinctively avoided striking humans... Don’t worry, I won’t kill him."
Kotaro, appearing tense, relaxed at the Demon Hunter’s assurance not to kill the Tairou Soldier.
His recently deceased mother and he were devout believers of the Immortal Peak Temple. Those like Mi Mountain Institute could be killed without regret, but facing a Tairou Soldier from the Immortal Peak Temple posed a genuine psychological barrier.
Those Tairou Soldiers were essentially just... just oversized kids!
And there were quite a few among Lann’s current subordinates sharing this sentiment.
There weren’t many bandits defending the small bridge, aligning with Lann’s assumptions.
The enemy was too eager for beheading, leaving their retreat unattended.
Returning to the bamboo grove on the slope where Lann had observed earlier, he exchanged glances with four foot soldiers holding short bows, confirming they were ready.
Then he nodded lightly.
On the small bridge, two bandits holding large wooden shields were immediately hit by a round of volleys.
Their large wooden shields only protected the front, while their armor lacked even a belly protector, so when struck by short bow arrows, the arrowheads penetrated organs easily.
They screamed and fell.
The Tairou Soldier, appearing dazed, seemed startled, like a child, looking around in fear while clutching the wolf fang club.
"Who? Who is it? What do you want?"
After a round of ranged attacks cleared potential disruptors, Lann walked directly out of the bamboo grove.
Silently approaching the Tairou Soldier’s side.
A childlike mind could hardly withstand such a presence as Lann’s silent, piercing gaze.
The Tairou Soldier’s terror continued to grow until finally, the giant cried out, shutting his eyes, and swung his wolf fang club wildly.
"Begone! Evil spirits be gone! Go... eh?"
A light sensation spread through his swinging hands; the Tairou Soldier opened his eyes, confused.
Before him, the 1.56-meter-long iron club had been snatched by the person opposite him.
Moreover, that person had already assumed a swinging position!
Lann, expressionless, used the handle of the wolf fang club, without spikes, like swinging a baseball bat, directly against the Tairou Soldier’s armored stomach.
At least over two hundred kilograms of flesh momentarily lifted from the ground! Even the acid in his stomach was expelled.
Then, a palm-root embedded glove pushed up against his chin.
Amidst the sound of clattering teeth, this dauntingly robust Tairou Soldier went limp.