Lord of Rot

They traveled until afternoon, when the sun began to dip toward the west.

Visibility in the canyon was dropping. The journey had been oppressive; the path ahead was a hazy blur, and looking back, the entrance to Bonta Canyon was no longer visible.

It was as if they had been swallowed into the belly of a giant beast, losing all sense of direction.

They lit the torches they had prepared and continued on their way.

The group had rested well before entering the canyon. This place was narrow and cramped, completely unsuitable for stopping; it would make them easy targets, like fish in a barrel.

Of course, that was assuming someone dared to try. In a clash, they would soon find out who was the predator and who was the prey.

Suddenly, a sharp bird cry echoed through the air.

Leech snapped his head up to look ahead, raised his right hand, and clenched it into a fist.

”Halt!”

Someone shouted the command, another blew a whistle, and the column, disciplined and responsive, came to a neat stop.

The merchant caravan at the rear also received the order and quickly halted.

The canyon was constricting, flanked by mountains as impassable as natural moats. It was a place even birds found difficult to cross, so how could there be one here?

Therefore, it had to be an ambush.

...

Jelu lay on the ground, his face turned to the side.

”They’re here!”

A flicker of delight crossed his face as he heard the sound of hooves.

He had heard there was a war going on over by the eastern canyon recently. They didn’t know the specifics; stories and rumors couldn’t cross the canyon, and even if they did, they wouldn’t find their way into the ears of bandits.

As desert bandits, Jelu’s band numbered over thirty men, strong and well-equipped.

They usually made a living by robbing passing caravans, though some caravans would proactively offer money to buy safe passage.

But for the past month, almost no caravans had come through, and his own band had been forced to tighten their belts.

His comrades lying in ambush behind him heard Jelu’s signal and quickly readied the cheval de frise to block the road and their protective shields.

The crossbows they had spent a fortune to acquire were nocked with bolts.

No matter who was coming, this setup was guaranteed to make them hand over their money.

Before long, the ”fat sheep” of a caravan appeared.

’A rich one, at that!’ Jelu celebrated inwardly.

He had almost never seen a caravan protected by thirty or forty cavalrymen.

Moreover, the one in the lead, with his magnificent attire, had to be a noble.

Kidnap a noble, and any random ransom would cover expenses for months. With a bit of luck, they could live in luxury until the new year.

There was just one oddity: a strange man with four arms in the group. The sight made Jelu uncomfortable. ’How can someone so disgusting exist? He deserves to be killed!’

The cheval de frise completely blocked the road, forcing the column to stop.

Jelu had already returned to his group and shouted loudly, ”We are—”

BANG!

The narrow, constricting Bonta Canyon acted as a natural echo chamber, carrying the massive report far into the distance.

”What was that?” Jelu had no idea what had just happened.

It was only when he heard a cry of pain beside him that Jelu reacted. He turned his head to see the young man hiding next to him, blood gushing from his right chest.

”What kind of arrow was that?”

”Could it be... Magic?”

Jelu’s heart pounded wildly. He was panicking.

He had never seen anything like this in his life. Why was there a sudden crack like spring thunder, immediately followed by his comrade suffering a grievous wound?

Unfortunately, he was given no time to think.

The young noble at the very front swung his right hand forward, and a group of Cavalry holding strange gun barrels charged.

Without a single word, they charged in for the kill!

’How can anyone be so fierce and decisive?’

Jelu suppressed the terror in his heart and yelled, ”Fire! Counterattack!”

The unknown was terrifying, but the cheval de frise gave him confidence.

If they had encountered such a group of Cavalry on an open plain, even if the riders were bare-handed, Jelu would have had no choice but to turn and run. Just being trampled by a horse could be fatal.

But here, where the Cavalry could only charge straight ahead, they had run into an impassable cheval de frise. They were just waiting to die!

A bolt flew toward a cavalryman, striking his chest armor with precision. With a CLANG, the bolt knocked off a single metal scale before glancing away.

The light cavalrymen wore reinforced, modified Scale Armor on their upper bodies, primarily protecting vital areas like the chest, abdomen, and head. Their lower bodies, however, were lightly armored for ease of firing from horseback. In a head-on clash with heavy cavalry, they faced certain death, but against ordinary infantry, it was a completely different story. They were highly mobile, able to both fight and flee.

That cavalryman raised the strange weapon in his hands.

Although Jelu didn’t know what kind of weapon it was, he guessed it was something like a bow or crossbow.

’What level of master archer does it take to shoot someone from horseback?’ Jelu refused to believe this entire group consisted of master marksmen.

’Besides, once they charge up and realize they can’t get past the cheval de frise, their retreat will be the perfect opportunity for our crossbowmen to press the attack.’

BANG!

The sound like cracking spring thunder came again, shaking the bandits to their core.

The sounds came in a continuous volley, truly like the furious roar of thunder during a storm.

Several crossbowmen screamed and collapsed on the spot.

”Take cover!” Jelu shouted hastily. ”They can’t get over! Wait for them to retreat, then shoot them down as they flee!”

The men hid behind their shields, hoping the wooden barriers could block those invisible arrows.

But this was merely wishful thinking. They were just ordinary hide-covered Wood Shields; how could they possibly block shots from firearms?

The projectiles flew in, easily piercing the shields and even scoring direct headshots on the men crouching behind them.

Jelu watched in terror, but he didn’t know what to do. He could only curl up into a ball.

The sound of hooves grew closer and closer.

’Here they come!’

’Stop!’

Jelu waited, but the sound of hooves didn’t stop. Instead, the charge grew more ferocious, drawing ever closer!

Suddenly, a shadow fell over him. Jelu subconsciously looked up.

A horse had actually leaped over the cheval de frise, soaring through the air to land right in front of him.

”AHH!”

One man couldn’t help but scream and try to run, only for the cavalryman on horseback to draw his sword and take off his head with a single slash.

Jelu scrambled to beg for his life. ”Lord! Lord, this is a misunderstanding! Don’t kill me! I’m the leader of this group!”

Some were captured, others were killed. A portion of the bandits, upon realizing the cheval de frise was useless against this Cavalry, had turned to flee.

But how could two legs possibly outrun four?

Besides, their pursuers had guns.

After a few scattered gunshots and screams, everything was settled by the time the firearm Cavalry returned.

They moved the cheval de frise aside, clearing the road ahead once more.

The two Mercenaries following at the rear, however, swallowed hard. They knew how strong Leech’s Soldiers were, but they had never heard of Cavalry that could leap over a cheval de frise on horseback.

If it could be jumped over, it wouldn’t be called a cheval de frise.

Or was it that the horses the firearm Cavalry rode were of no ordinary breed? Were they like wingless Horse-headed Eagles, able to fly low to the ground?

”Lord, they were a band of bandits,” a Soldier reported after investigating.

Leech said, ”Loot them, then burn the bodies.”

”Yes, sir!”

The captured Jelu was brought before Leech.

The cavalryman who dragged him over said, ”Lord, he says he’s the leader of this band of bandits!”

Leech frowned. ”If he’s the bandit leader, just kill him. Why bring him to me?”

He had no sympathy for these bandits. The cheval de frise, the shields, the crossbows...

It was more than enough to show that this was how they made their living. Killing all of them wouldn’t be an injustice to a single one.

”Yes, sir!” The Soldier was a bit embarrassed; he had actually thought Jelu might be of some use.

Who would have thought that his Lord wouldn’t even deign to give the man a proper look?

Jelu tried to say something more, but his head was lopped off with a single sword stroke.

They didn’t find much of value. What little there was, Leech gave directly to the firearm Cavalry as a reward.

Another Soldier returned. ”Lord, there’s a cave up ahead! It looks like it was the bandits’ resting place!”

Leech immediately replied, ”Perfect. We’ll rest there as well. We set out again at dawn tomorrow.”