The Lord Of Blood Hill

Chapter 647: Open Hostility

"How is the situation?""My lord viscount, fighting has already broken out over there."

"Knight Lynd has led his men through the defenses. Should we move to the next part of the plan?"

Viscount Lawrence sneers.

"What plan? Today I took all of you out for an excursion, and we happened to encounter a band of bandits."

"In broad daylight, they dared to rob a convoy carrying the banner of a kingdom noble. That is utterly deranged."

"Today, they were simply unlucky enough to run into us. I won't stand by and ignore such evil."

"Pass down my order. Gather the troops. Leave none of the bandits alive. Execute them on the spot and restore peace to the kingdom's people!"

After saying this, he waves behind him, and several hundred cavalry slowly move forward.

Seeing the other knights all stunned, Lawrence frowns.

"What?"

"Are you unwilling to practice noble virtue?"

"Unwilling to protect the kingdom's subjects?"

"Unwilling to protect the kingdom's nobles?"

At this point, Lawrence looks coldly at several knight lords.

"Or are you unwilling to continue serving me, your lord?"

With things said this plainly, what else can the knight lords do? They can only gesture for their own guards to join Lawrence's formation.

A smile returns to Lawrence's face.

"Good. I am your lord, so naturally I won't let you bear the crime of killing a noble without authorization."

"Do not worry. This isn't a private grudge. This truly is Duke Marcus's order. Even His Majesty has issued a secret decree."

"Besides, have you not complained to me all these years that Lynd ignores the rules and plunders the people and resources of your territories?"

"This is our chance to remove that Peace Haven foothold planted beside us."

"After this is done, he will be charged with attempting to ambush Baron of Waterhill."

"The duke will uphold justice for us on this matter, and I can promise you that all of Lynd's wealth will be yours to take."

Only then do the knight lords grow excited. One after another, they declare that they will help Lawrence eliminate Lynd, that ungrateful traitor.

Lawrence is very pleased with the heated atmosphere.

"Once we charge over, strike the convoy directly. Kill everyone from both sides."

"Also, leave no survivors on the official road. Remember to kill anyone passing through who sees the battle."

"Afterward, we can push all these casualties onto Lynd. Dead men can't defend themselves."

Seeing that Lynd has already sent the flag signal, Lawrence sneers, immediately draws his longsword, and leads the attack toward the official road.

From a distance, Lynd sees that Lawrence's six or seven hundred cavalry have no intention of stopping. It seems they mean to sweep away everything here.

Lynd then makes a hand signal, and a personal guard beside him sounds a horn.

The cavalry who receive the order immediately break away from the convoy. They no longer tangle with Pacino's guards and swiftly form a hundred-man unit.

Lawrence and his men, still accelerating, suddenly see the convoy and Lynd's troops split apart. Both sides raise a Peace Haven banner bearing Henwell's personal crest.

All of the cavalry instinctively slow their horses.

If they charge now, this is no longer a simple matter of destroying bandits. This is a direct attack against the forces of the lord of Blood Hill.

A person's reputation casts a long shadow.

Henwell's name is known throughout the kingdom, from children to the elderly. Who has not heard of him?

This is a ruthless man who can contend with kings of many realms. Can they really afford to offend him?

Lawrence sees his men's hesitation. He raises his longsword and shouts sternly.

"Follow me and kill the enemy! I will say it again. Dead men can't defend themselves!"

"Split off two hundred-man units. Circle around both ends of the official road and kill every witness. Then no one will know we attacked the banner of the lord of Blood Hill."

Things have reached this point. They have no choice but to keep following Lawrence.

Very soon, two hundred-man cavalry units split off and begin cutting down everyone on the official road.

Seeing this, Lynd sighs. The matter appears more serious than he imagined.

This isn't someone venting a private grudge while he has the chance. This is an operation backed by someone high above.

The only person who could make Lawrence risk provoking Peace Haven and still insist on killing every witness is Duke Marcus, lord of the Eastern Territory.

What kind of interest could make Duke Marcus turn against Henwell?

Lynd can't imagine it, and he doesn't dare to think too deeply.

The main issue now is still the situation before him.

Seeing the enemy's posture of fighting to the death, Lynd no longer intends to hold back.

He sheathes his longsword, takes down the heavy crossbow hanging from his saddle, loads a bolt, and guides his horse away from the charge line, preparing to use skirmishing cavalry tactics.

Lynd has poured a fortune into his cavalry.

Even though Peace Haven supplied their equipment at cost, Lynd still paid heavily to buy a complete set of high-quality gear.

His cavalry's combat quality may not be better than the direct cavalry of Peace Haven's main legions, but their weapons and equipment are absolutely not much worse.

Lynd's family crest is a damaged shield and a broken sword, symbolizing a veteran of the battlefield.

His men are already elite soldiers tempered in battle, and later they received orthodox military training from Peace Haven.

Lynd and the officers under him are all qualified battlefield commanders.

They handle their horses skillfully, drawing as close as possible to Lawrence's cavalry.

Just before the two sides brush past each other, a volley of crossbow bolts slants into Lawrence's formation.

Dozens of men are struck and fall from their horses in an instant, while Lynd's side loses no one.

Afterward, Lynd uses the advantage of having fewer men and being easier to turn, constantly making tight-radius turns and pulling Lawrence's troops out of position.

After more than ten minutes of stalemate, Lawrence realizes this cannot go on. He must make a change.

He orders the two hundred-man cavalry units still chasing civilians on the road to circle around and block Lynd's maneuvering space.

Once Lynd realizes what the enemy intends, he immediately responds and changes direction, rushing toward Pacino's convoy.

One hundred-man unit under Lawrence happens to be blocking the direction of Lynd's maneuver.

Next comes a head-on clash between the two sides. Once Lynd's speed drops after the charge, the other supporting hundred-man unit beside them will immediately cut him off.

At that point, Lawrence's side, which has an absolute advantage in numbers, can easily crush Lynd's unit.

But at this moment, someone notices that a row of objects has somehow been planted into the ground beside Pacino's convoy.

If they are meant to be a fence, they are far too sparse.

While they are still confused, Lynd leads his cavalry past that "fence."

The cavalry reach out with practiced precision and snatch up part of the "fence."

Finally, someone reacts and shouts for the cavalry unit meeting them head-on to turn.

But it is already too late. Lynd's hundred-plus riders have already leveled their lances and entered a charge formation.

It is too late.

Those aren't fence posts. They are lances stuck into the ground.

It is normal for cavalry to carry lances.

The problem is that Lawrence and his men never planned for a cavalry-on-cavalry charge. They thought the battle would end quickly and that longswords, sabers, and axes would be more convenient.

So they brought no lances.

What happens when cavalry without lances clash head-on with cavalry who have them?

The answer comes immediately.

After the two cavalry units collide, Lynd loses only a few men.

As for the hundred cavalry under Lawrence, only a crowd of horses rushes out the other side.

All the riders above have been stabbed from their saddles, and their chances of survival are slim.

After completing the charge, Lynd turns again and prepares to meet Lawrence's main force.

Then Lynd personally takes up a horn and blows a long, drawn-out call.