Chapter 67: Battle of the Abandoned Fishing Village (Part 2)
Despite having made up his mind, Ian still clicked the "Change" button under Main Quest 2, deciding to check all the possibilities.
[Main Quest 2: Become Wealthy.
Quest Description: Hayek believed that money is the greatest instrument of freedom ever invented by mankind. Only money is available to the poor, while power never is. You want to prove that money itself is a form of power.
Quest Objective: Total wealth exceeds 10,000 gold dragons.
Quest Reward: 20 points, 6 attribute points, 3 skill points.]
[Accept] [Change]
"Oh, this! Can I claim all three versions of Main Quest 2?" He already had over 3,000 gold dragons (including the plunder he would soon receive from the Whitewalls ghosts). If he received the 5,000 gold dragons reward from [Lord], earning the full 10,000 gold dragons or purchasing 1,000 slave soldiers would be simple.
"No," Annie said mercilessly.
"All right," Ian chuckled. He hadn't held out much hope to begin with.
Finally, Ian switched back to the second main quest, "Lord," and clicked "Accept."
After scrolling back and confirming the reward hadn't been updated, Ian, already drowsy, quickly fell asleep.
Over the next two days, Ian's trap at the crossroads inn yielded another kill.
[A subordinate successfully killed a player, earning 2 points, 1 point from loot, and an additional 1 point in Strength.]
The updated profile card read:
[Ian: Strength 27, Agility 24, Spirit 3.
Skills: Basic Etiquette, Basic Common Tongue Literacy, Advanced Swordsmanship, Advanced Riding, Intermediate Lance.
Attribute Points: 0,
Skill Points: 0,
Points: 22.]
During this time, the Whitewalls ghost caravan hadn't arrived, so Ian simply found an abandoned courtyard to continue learning swordsmanship from Roll.
At midnight on the tenth day, the report arrived in Ian's notifications, and he discovered that the number of remaining players had reached seventy-five.
The rate of player elimination was roughly in line with Ian's predictions. Unable to complete the main quest, many players had opted to hunt down their fellow players to escape the threat of assassination from the leaderboard.
It was three days after Ian and his party captured the abandoned fishing village. Ser Wilder's scouts, stationed near the Kingsroad, had spotted the eight-wagon caravan early on and rushed back to the village to report the situation.
Upon receiving the news, Wilder immediately deployed all his cavalry to a hill south of the village, concealing them there for a flanking attack.
Archers were deployed on the rooftops of the village buildings, while the foot soldiers were hidden inside.
According to Ser Simon, the first to surrender, the remaining garrison in the village had used hand signals to communicate with the caravan in advance. Therefore, Wilder used a combination of threats and promises to turn the village's signal sentry, "Weevil," to his own side.
According to Wilder's plan, if they could successfully lure the enemy into the fishing village, that would be perfect. That would completely negate their cavalry advantage and draw them into street fighting.
Even if that wasn't possible, as long as they could lure them onto this makeshift path carved through the reeds and cattails in the wetlands, they would be able to minimize their movement space.
Three hours after Wilder's scouts reported, Ser Daeron Grafton's "caravan" appeared within the sight of the ambushers in the fishing village.
Everything went just as Wilder had planned. A single horseman—actually "Weevil" with three bows pointed at him from behind—exchanged signals. Then, all dismounted and set off onto the path leading to the fishing village.
For unknown reasons, the caravan leader suddenly became wary upon reaching the village entrance and sent three men in to investigate, but it was too late.
The ambush came suddenly. First, a dense hail of arrows erupted from the fishing village, followed by a massive surge of spearmen forming a shield wall.
Despite the ghost caravan's hastily organized defense, their superior combat prowess and sophisticated equipment allowed them to barely hold off the enemy's shield wall.
The caravan's guards either took refuge in the center of the convoy, compressing the enemy's space and reducing the number of foes they faced at once, or scattered among the nearby reeds, circling the enemy shield wall and attacking it from the flanks.
In just a few minutes, the aggressive Wilder infantry began to waver.
Seeing this, Ser Willy Ward led the charge into the Whitewalls ghosts' caravan. This assault was led by him and Ser Wilder's son, Ser Roger.
Although they outnumbered the enemy by nearly two-to-one, and the enemy caravan was trapped in the marshes, preventing cavalry deployment, such a surprise attack was still a dangerous undertaking.
The levies behind them were unreliable, and even the slightest setback could lead to rout. Therefore, the leader of the attack needed to demonstrate inspiring courage and strength.
As Ser Willy broke through the shield wall, the enemy immediately spotted him. A knight, recognizing his leadership in the assault, charged directly at him.
The knight, slicing through the gap between two wagons, thrust his sword toward Ser Willy's chest.
Facing the incoming blow, Ser Willy didn't dodge, but swung his morning star directly at the enemy's head.
Unwilling to trade blows, the knight shifted his angle and dodged to the side, allowing Ser Willy to seize the opportunity and deliver a powerful kick.
Due to the muddy and slippery ground, the knight fell.
Ser Willy gave the knight no time to recover, raising his morning star once again and smashing it down toward his head.
This time, Ser Willy's morning star struck the knight squarely in the face. The knight's visor couldn't save him, as the spike of Ser Willy's morning star pierced through the slit in his visor, puncturing one of his eyes.
The excruciating pain left the knight no chance to fight back, and Ser Willy's dagger pierced his throat.
The next moment, Ian, who was secretly observing the battle from a high point behind the fishing village, heard a system notification ring in his head.
[Complete Optional Mission 1, 'The Truth Behind the Black Falcon's Death'
Difficulty Rating: Medium
Mission Reward: After you tell Dorian everything, you will receive his loyalty.
Bonus: 3 points and 3 attribute points.]
That was Ser Ryon Shett? Ian thought to himself.
He didn't rush to deal with the reward allocation, but instead cast his eyes toward a wetland covered with tall reeds.
That was Ian's area of responsibility, and his men were deployed there to intercept any enemy attempting to escape through the wetlands.
(End of Chapter)
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