Chapter 80: Chapter 79: Contact

The bamboo leaves rustled as the troop moved swiftly through the bamboo forest.

If this were the season for digging winter bamboo shoots, they might have encountered a few people, but as it was, they passed through unimpeded.

It was clear the Cyan Bamboo Tribe had invested no manpower or resources in defending against outside invasion. It was hard to say whether this was out of confidence in their own strength or a sense of security regarding Mountain Forest Town.

Soon, the faint sound of voices reached their ears.

Peering through the gaps in the forest, they easily saw a relatively open area at the foot of the bamboo mountain, where dozens of wooden huts were scattered haphazardly.

Ronin also spotted many farmers carrying farming tools on their way home. They seemed even more gaunt and weary than the farmers of Mountain Forest Town.

Elron whispered a reminder, “My Lord, there’s someone in the watchtower over there.”

Ronin followed his gaze. A three-story watchtower stood on a relatively high slope, and he could indeed see figures moving around on it.

This puzzled Ronin. What was the point of a watchtower built inside the stockade?

He had already made it this far without them noticing, so what purpose did it serve?

“My Fireball Skill will be the signal. After I bombard the watchtower, everyone moves out immediately.”

Moving past the bamboo forest, the group arrived in the open. Ronin drew upon his Spiritual Power and Mana, gathering them in his palm to trace the Magic Patterns of the Fireball Skill.

HUMMM—

The instant the Magic Patterns were complete, Fire Elements surged from the surroundings, gradually condensing above his palm into a fireball half a meter in diameter.

“What is that?”

At that same moment, the sentry on the Cyan Bamboo Tribe’s watchtower finally noticed what was happening. It was mainly because dusk was falling, and the sudden flame was far too eye-catching.

The sentry’s eyes widened. He could clearly see a dense crowd of people standing behind the fireball.

“The Black… the Black-collar Tribe is attacking!”

It was an instinctive reaction, but before the sentry had time to shout his realization and warn the others, he saw the fireball hurtling toward his watchtower at incredible speed. He could even feel the scorching wave of heat radiating from it.

BOOM!

The half-meter-diameter fireball slammed into the watchtower, blasting the wooden pillars below into splinters. The platform above lost its support and plummeted from the air.

The sentry fell along with it, his fate unknown.

“Charge!”

Ridder drew his longsword, let out a war cry, and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. Macken and a line of soldiers followed close behind.

Tom and David took the remaining men, split them into two teams, and began a pincer movement from the left and right flanks.

“Invaders…”

A person of unknown status blocked Ridder’s path. His clothes looked slightly better than those of the other Cyan Bamboo Tribe members, though his identity was unclear.

“Out of my way!”

Ridder barely glanced at the man. As he brushed past, he unleashed a burst of Fighting Qi, sending his opponent flying like a kite with a snapped string.

“Everyone, listen up!”

Ridder leaped onto the roof of a nearby house. “You are surrounded by the Baron’s army! Surrender now if you want to live! Kneel, or be killed without mercy!”

In response to his roar, Macken and the other Guards began to chant in unison, “Kneel and surrender! Kneel and surrender!”

The uniform words, the steady cadence, and the roars empowered by Fighting Qi echoed through nearly the entire Cyan Bamboo Tribe settlement.

The Wildmen, who had assumed the Black-collar Tribe was attacking their village, finally realized their mistake. This wasn’t the Black-collar Tribe; it was the legendary army of nobles from beyond the Forest Land!

It had been many years. They had all but forgotten the nobles’ campaigns to annihilate them; some had even begun to believe the nobles would never return.

But now, that terrifying memory flooded back into their minds—the memory of being hunted by the Noble Alliance Army, forced to flee into the Forest Land in a pathetic state.

Back then, they had no base and could flee at will, forcing the Noble Alliance Army to chase them without a clear target. But things were different now. They had their own village, a base of operations, and they were all gathered in one place.

“I… I surrender!”

Someone dropped to their knees in terror. Their courage had been shattered by the enemy’s overwhelming momentum. At that moment, they felt like a lone boat facing a hundred-meter-tall wave, with no will to fight back.

“I… I surrender!”

“I… I surrender!”

In an instant, a great number of the Wildmen on the path dropped to their knees.

Seeing this, Ronin was in high spirits. “This is going even more smoothly than I expected.”

Elron, who had also remained by his side instead of charging, said with a smile, “Your arrival has brought them a glimmer of hope. It’s an opportunity for them to shed their status as Wildmen. They should be thanking you, not resisting.”

“They’re not aware of that.”

Ronin chuckled. “They’re just intimidated by the soldiers’ power.”

As the two of them were speaking, a Flame Slash formed from Fire Attribute Fighting Qi tore through the air, hurtling toward Ridder on the rooftop.

The Commander swung his sword, shattering the Flame Slash. But the exploding Fighting Qi created a shockwave that blew the thatched roof apart.

Ridder landed on the ground. Inside the house, he saw a woman holding a child, huddled and trembling in a corner.

“Stay there and don’t move, ma’am. I won’t harm you.”

He retracted his gaze and looked straight at a group of people charging toward him. They were clearly the Transcendents of the Cyan Bamboo Tribe.

“Who are you to attack the Cyan Bamboo Tribe?”

Seeing the newcomers, some of the people who had knelt in surrender immediately showed expressions of hope. “It’s Lord Willie! It’s Lord Willie!”

“With Lord Willie here, we can’t lose!”

“Death to the invaders!”

“Death to the nobles!”

Although some people stood up, ready to resist, most remained kneeling on the ground in a daze, not daring to make a move.

By this time, the men led by David and Tom had all but completely surrounded the village. Any resistance on their part would be nothing more than the struggle of a cornered beast.

“Before you stands one of the noble Wushan bloodline, master of Mountain Forest Town—the Ronning Baron!”

Ridder said, pointing at the approaching Ronin as he addressed the opposing Knight.

“The Baron of Mountain Forest Town?”

Willie Knight frowned and demanded coldly, “Isn’t the master of Mountain Forest Town Princest? Since when is there a Ronning Baron?”

And yet, as he looked at the silver-haired man before him, he found himself starting to believe Ridder’s words. The commander of the Alliance Army that had pursued them back then had the same silver hair, an image that had left a dark shadow on his young mind.

“Being trapped in these mountain forests for so many years has left you deaf and blind to the outside world, Willie Knight.”

Ronin stepped forward. “The Wubei Forest Land has already shackled you for half your life. Do you really want to live out the second half trapped on this land, branded a ’remnant’?”

Willie tightened his grip on his longsword, his expression wavering. He truly did not want to be trapped here, but to leave with a legitimate identity was an exceedingly difficult thing to achieve.

“What do you want?”

“Pledge your allegiance to me!”

Ronin said with a smile, “I can grant you a legitimate identity and lead you out of this forest.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep