Splash!
A red arc of blood sprayed in the air and onto Griffin’s face.
He was dumbfounded.
He had been joking around with Bruce just a few seconds ago, but what in the world just happened?
His mind kept buzzing as if he were about to go insane.
“Griffin, what are you doing?!”
A soldier yelled.
Griffin was like a statue insulated from the outside world.
“John, stop him!”
Another man shouted at the top of his lungs.
John left the man he had just killed at his feet. He gripped his sword with both hands, lunged forward, fiercely swung his blade.
The bloody knife was instantly stained with even more blood.
“Hey, pull yourself together!”
John punched Griffin in the face.
Griffin didn’t have any defense at all. The stout man crumbled to the ground and finally returned to his senses.
He immediately stood up, picked up the sword he dropped on the ground, and charged ahead.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Griffin continuously brandished the sword at the unconscious bandit lying on the ground. The badly mangled bandit was instantly soaked in a pool of his own blood. One could no longer recognize him as a person.
“Bast*rd, damn you! Damn you!”
Griffin cried out with snot hanging from his nose.
“Griffin, pull yourself together!”
John didn’t have time to say anything more.
“He was going to be a private!” Griffin broke down.
“Bruce has succeeded! He was a brave soldier! If you don’t want to hurt him again, lift that sword in your hand and hack the bandits that are hurting our brothers!”
John rushed out and re-entered the fight.
Griffin turned to look at Bruce who lay unconscious on the ground. “You rascal. Who needs your protection?”
But despite what he said, Bruce could no longer hear him.
Griffin stayed by Bruce’s side until the end of the battle. This time, the bandits took a huge hit, while most of the soldiers led by Hallmark were only wounded. There were less than 10 dead.
Meanwhile, on the other side, an army appeared in the near distance from Yale City.
Through the binoculars, Wang Lun found them to be rather familiar. “The same baron’s army as before?”
The sergeant beside Wang Lun also looked into the distance using a pair of binoculars, “Yes. I still remember their banner. Looks like this defeated army is back to attack Yale City again.”
Besides Hallmark, who was the general in Yale City, the highest ranking soldier was this sergeant named Clive. He had also served as a soldier in other cities and participated in wars.
“We don’t have many soldiers in the city right now. These guys sure know how to pick their timing.”
“Clive, I’ll leave command here to you. I’ll lead the catapults.”
There weren’t many soldiers in the city now. The only advantage they had was that they were well-equipped. Since that was their advantage, then they should make full use of it.
“Soldier, keep me informed of the enemy’s distance.”
Wang Lun arrived at the catapults and spoke to the soldier beside him.
The soldier nodded. No matter who was controlling the catapults, he would constantly report the position and distance of the enemy army.
This was supposed to be his duty.
“My lord, leave it to me!”
Soon after, as the enemy troops outside the city wall closely approached Yale City, the crossbows above the city wall started firing.
“Directly ahead. At a distance of 500 steps.”
The soldier shouted, looking at the direction where the largest number of people had gathered.
Wang Lun heard the report and adjusted the direction and height of the catapults.
Swish! Swish!
Boulders blazing with flames were blasted into the sky. It was at a height that the rain of arrows couldn’t reach.
Boom! Boom!
The boulders smashed onto the land and flames spread on the battlefield, igniting the enemy troops.
The enemy formation scattered and was completely out of shape.
“Well done, soldiers!” Wang Lun praised after seeing the results.
The soldiers replenished the boulders in the catapults and ignited the oil on them.
But even with the catapults, it was still a struggle without many soldiers left in the city.
The enemy army came prepared this time with a large number of ladders set up on the city wall. Due to their numerical advantage, there were constantly soldiers climbing over the ladders, one after another.
“Soldiers, prepare to fight the enemy to the death!” Clive growled.
“Sergeant Clive, General Hallmark is back! Our reinforcements have arrived!”
A soldier on the wall pointed at the army on the other side of the city and shouted.
“General Hallmark is back! The crisis in Yale City has been averted!” the soldier standing beside Wang Lun cheered.
Hallmark led his army into Yale City at a rapid pace. Not only did the soldiers on the city wall see them, but the enemy army outside the city wall did too.
At that moment, the enemy’s aggression instantly weakened, and they also began to retreat.
Finally, the battle ended. Wang Lun and Hallmark analyzed the battle in the study.
“You mean the bandits set up an ambush beforehand?” Wang Lun asked.
Hallmark lifted his cup of tea and took a sip, saying, “Yes, my lord. It’s like they already knew that our soldiers would appear from that direction.”
Wang Lun frowned, clicked his tongue, and said, “When you were fighting with the bandits, Yale City was also under attack. These two events may seem unrelated, but they are inseparably linked.”
“So you suspect that this matter is related to those merchants, my lord?” Hallmark asked.
The start of the war originated from the merchants, and it wasn’t unreasonable for Hallmark to think of the merchants in the first place.
Wang Lun nodded. After connecting the two situations, the merchants were indeed the most suspicious parties involved, though he knew that it was just a minority of the merchants.
Most of the merchants were truly robbed; just a few of them had ulterior motives.
Moreover, only some merchants were banished from Yale City earlier, so no one could guarantee that there weren’t any moles left in the city.
“I think this definitely has something to do with the merchants. Although it will take a lot of time to find the individuals, it is certainly necessary. Otherwise, Yale City will not be in peace, I’m afraid.”
Hallmark said, “So shall we arrange some people to secretly investigate this matter?”
Wang Lun nodded and said, “Yes. Not only do we have to do this, but we also have to plant eyes among the merchants, so it’s easier to investigate who has been causing trouble.”
Hallmark stood up and saluted, “I’ll make the arrangements now.”
“Oh. One more thing, my lord. I’ve brought back the soldiers who died in battle. May I grant them the rank they deserve?”
Wang Lun immediately nodded and said, “That is a must. The city hall will send monetary compensation to their families. After all, they fought bravely for Yale City.”
Hallmark received his answer and left the study.