"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" The few people left on the Nord side burst into laughter. Laine nodded slightly; the wooden bridge had collapsed, and this group of barbarians would need more time to cross the river again. It would take them at least half a day, which meant that no matter how they calculated it, this Barbarian army had been delayed by these people for an entire day.
The Imperial Army would arrive the day after tomorrow, leaving the Barbarians only one day to siege the city. If the Barbarians could not breach the city within a day, they would face the danger of being attacked from both sides by the Imperial Army— the quality and quantity of the Imperial reinforcements were beyond what these defenders could contend with.
Whether it was a frenzied attack on the city or a hesitant retreat, Laine was confident that he could rely on the city walls to successfully defend.
"Hahaha~ Foolish Nord pigs, do you think this will hold me back?" Bireg seemed unconcerned and laughed heartily. "Let me think, do you believe this will allow you to hold out until the Imperial reinforcements come to your aid?"
"Go back and look at your city, see what's happened to it?" A black raven landed on the Barbarian Chief's hand. The raven, a symbol of evil and wisdom, whispered in the Barbarian Chief's ear, and the Barbarian Chief nodded with satisfaction.
"??!!" The smile on Nikolai's face gradually disappeared, and the remaining few people's faces lost the joy of victory and successfully thwarting the Barbarian army.
"Enough, Bireg. You traded the lives of five hundred men for less than a hundred of our losses. I wonder what your Evil God thinks of you. A foolish coward? Or a lousy leader? Is your ridiculous tactic just sending your soldiers to their deaths? In that case, you'll never have a chance to gain the Evil God's favor in your lifetime." Laine retorted sarcastically, ignoring the alternating expressions of blue and red on Bireg's face, and immediately ordered the remaining few people, "The mission objective has been completed. Let's retreat quickly!"
"Yes!" The horses of the few people were laden with Barbarian heads, some having gained even more. They were delighted with the harvest this time and were even more trusting of Laine's orders. The source of thɪs content is novel·fiɾe·net
The Nord army retreated right before the eyes of the barbarians. Before leaving, Nikolai vengefully fired all the arrows in his quiver, killing about ten Barbarian soldiers.
Riding on horseback, Laine instructed the Walnut Knight: "My plan is to block Bireg here until nightfall. Before reaching the port, we need to hold off Bireg for at least one day. This way, even if we retreat to the port, we only need to hold the line for one night and half a day. The Imperial reinforcements will arrive, and relying on the city walls, we will have the capacity to withstand the assault. Once the Imperial reinforcements arrive, we can reverse the situation and eliminate this tribe."
"The walls of Mijordenhaven City are high and thick, as long as there are no mistakes, holding out for one day should not be a problem. Mr. Laine, your plan has been very successful." Nikolai praised Laine's plan: "Although we didn't hold out until nightfall as imagined, it will be at least tomorrow noon before Bireg can reach beneath the city. So we only need to hold out for one day."
"Let's hope so," Laine said, "as long as there are no accidents."
"Foolish! Weak! Scum!" Seeing the Nord people disappear over the horizon, an unrestrained Bireg finally erupted. With a flash, he chopped off the heads of two incompetents with his mighty axe, then roared, "Kuoloulin! Take your men and immediately make rafts for me! We must cross the Ovrel River as soon as possible! Or the Imperial reinforcements will arrive!"
"But Chief, there's not much wood around here. It will take time for us to all cross this river!"
"Then get to it quickly! We must cross the Ovrel River before it gets dark!"
—Time goes back to two days ago—
The Blood Axe Mercenary Corps was resting in Mijordenhaven, but the once strong and mighty corps had now dwindled to just a few members. There was a deep, unshakeable worry on Vice-Captain Viert's face, but he still forced a smile, encouraging the mercenaries to grit their teeth and make it through the tough times.
However, the subsequent Barbarian invasion was another blow to Viert. As a Mercenary Corps, they would surely be forcibly conscripted by the Lord. Although Albert opened his treasury to hire them with a large sum of money, Viert knew that what the Blood Axe needed now was not income, but to recuperate and recruit new members.
The Lord's orders could not be refused. The officials who came were Albert's subordinates; if they refused, the next visitors would be the Lord's soldiers.
Thus, the mercenaries were scattered and integrated into the city defense army. Under the Count's command, the soldiers collectively laid siege and cleared the fields outside the city, burning houses and felling trees. Only Amelia escaped unscathed—Lady Teresa Trovik, a sudden visitor of Female Member Jialan, took Amelia from the Defense Army officer's hands, citing her need for a "helper."
Banda was assigned to guard the East Gate of Mijordenhaven. This port city had only two city gates, the East Gate and the South Gate.
"What should I do? What should I do?" The Little Mercenary's eyes emitted an eerie glow. His steps were somewhat awkward, especially his left leg, making his gait particularly awkward. Even when integrated into the barracks, he wore a long cloak, shrouding his appearance under it.
His nails were growing longer, as were his fingers. More importantly, he was being increasingly inspired by dreams, gradually devising a method to attract the attention of Lady Trovik.