Below the hillside, only scattered Ironborn with fatal wounds remained, struggling weakly on the ground as painful groans echoed across the battlefield.
On the slope itself, three Ironborn still retained enough strength to continue fighting.
Two of them had clearly been intimidated by the terrifying power of the heavy arrows. Their movents beca sluggish and hesitant, allowing Jon to imdiately lead his n forward and surround them.
The last Ironborn was the most ferocious among them all.
He was tall and broad like a bear, his face splattered with the blood of his companions. As he looked around, he instantly recognized the soldiers before him as n of Deepwood Motte.
"Haha!"
"It truly is a narrow road for enemies!"
"I never expected you people to actually find us!"
The Ironborn captain gripped a double-bladed battle axe tightly in his hands while staring fiercely at Garon, who stood nearby calmly observing the battle.
"Fuck!"
"Even if I die today, I'll drag one of you down with !"
With a furious roar, he charged forward like a mad beast, swinging the heavy battle axe directly at Garon.
"Protect Lord Garon!"
Jon's expression changed imdiately. He shouted for the remaining soldiers to move forward while Mihawk simultaneously ordered the archers to aim their heavy arrows at the Ironborn captain.
"Stand back!"
Garon roared coldly, his voice carrying unquestionable authority.
There was no fear whatsoever in his eyes.
He calmly drew the greatsword from his waist and stepped forward to et the charging Ironborn captain head-on.
Everything happened in an instant.
Just as the axe blade descended with trendous force, Garon's greatsword flashed upward like lightning.
Clang!
The two weapons collided violently.
Garon not only blocked the Ironborn captain's strike, but also forced the heavy axe backward with overwhelming strength.
The Ironborn captain's eyes widened in disbelief.
He gritted his teeth desperately while trying to resist Garon's greatsword, but his heart was already filled with shock.
"Who exactly is this monster?"
"How can a man possess such terrifying strength?"
The experienced Ironborn captain instantly realized he could not compete with Garon in a direct clash of power.
Without hesitation, he suddenly twisted his axe sideways, completely ignoring the slash of Garon's greatsword as it cut across his cheek and left behind a deep bloody wound that exposed bone beneath the flesh.
"Hah!"
Blood covered half his face, yet his eyes remained savage and bloodthirsty.
The heavy axe whistled violently through the air as it hacked toward Garon's chest.
However, the mont the Ironborn captain shifted his attack, Garon had already instinctively predicted the trajectory through the subtle intuition granted by his Green Seer bloodline.
He calmly stepped backward.
The axe blade narrowly missed him and smashed heavily into the earth before him.
Boom!
Dirt and grass exploded into the air.
At that exact mont, Garon seized the opportunity.
He stepped forward instantly and swept his greatsword horizontally.
Pfft!
A miserable scream rang out.
The Ironborn captain's right leg was severed cleanly by the blade.
Unable to maintain his balance any longer, his remaining leg slipped beneath him and his heavy body crashed onto the hillside.
But even as he fell, a fierce glint flashed within the captain's eyes.
With a final roar, he hurled the battle axe in his hand directly toward Garon's head.
The spinning axe tore through the air with frightening force.
Yet if the owner of the axe could not defeat Garon, how could the weapon alone possibly succeed?
Garon simply raised his sword casually and knocked the flying axe aside with ease.
Clang!
The battle axe spun wildly before crashing into the dirt nearby.
Garon stood firmly in place and coldly stared at the fallen Ironborn captain.
"Who sent you ashore at Sea Dragon Point?"
However, the captain rely clutched his severed leg and remained silent.
Seeing this, Garon's expression did not change in the slightest.
He raised his greatsword again and, with a single clean slash, severed the man's remaining leg as well.
"Ahhh!"
A shrill scream echoed across the hills.
Garon gazed at him expressionlessly.
Only after the screams weakened slightly did he continue asking,
"Will you speak now?"
The Ironborn captain weakly raised his head and shouted hoarsely,
"What is dead may never die!"
Those words instantly stirred the two Ironborn who were surrounded by Jon's n nearby.
The two exchanged glances before simultaneously roaring,
"What is dead may never die!"
The next mont, both of them suddenly attacked with weapons in hand.
Jon was caught slightly off guard and nearly struck by one of them.
Enraged, he imdiately led his n into a counterattack.
Within only three exchanges, both Ironborn were heavily wounded and forced to the ground.
Seeing this scene, Garon shook his head slightly.
He already understood that no useful information would co from these n.
He looked toward Jon and calmly ordered,
"Give them a quick death."
Jon nodded silently.
With a wave of his hand, his soldiers stepped forward and thrust their swords into the hearts of the three Ironborn.
In an instant, all three stopped breathing.
At this mont, Mihawk once again led the archers over and surrounded Garon protectively.
Garon glanced around the battlefield before calmly issuing another order.
"Search the battlefield carefully."
"See if there are any survivors."
"Yes, my lord!"
Mihawk imdiately led the archers downhill to inspect the corpses.
Jon then walked over beside Garon and grumbled unhappily,
"These Ironborn truly aren't afraid of death."
"Not one of them surrendered."
"Indeed."
Garon also felt so regret.
He still did not know the true purpose behind the Ironborn landing here.
Were they rely a small scouting party?
Or was this the beginning of a larger attack against Deepwood Motte?
As Garon wiped the blood from his greatsword and continued thinking, a hurried shout suddenly rang out nearby.
"My lord!"
"So of them escaped!"
An archer standing on the hillside pointed frantically toward the coastline.
Garon's expression changed instantly and he turned around sharply.
In the distance, several Ironborn dressed similarly to the dead n suddenly erged from behind another hill while hurriedly pulling up their trousers and running desperately toward the coast.
Apparently, they had escaped the earlier massacre purely because they had gone away to relieve themselves after suffering stomach trouble.
Now, after witnessing the deaths of all their companions, terror completely consud them as they fled toward the place where they had landed.
"Stop them!"
"Don't let them reach the sea!"
Garon roared imdiately.
Mihawk reacted at once.
"Long-range piercing shots!"
"Long-range piercing shots!"
The archers once more raised their terrifying new bows.
Bowstrings stretched tightly like full moons as arrows scread through the air toward the fleeing Ironborn.
At the sa ti, Jon led his ten-man squad downhill at full speed, attempting to cut off the fugitives from the flank.
Unfortunately, the distance was simply too great.
The fleeing Ironborn were also running desperately at full speed.
Even though the new bows possessed terrifying power, their accuracy at such distances inevitably decreased.
One arrow pierced directly through an Ironborn's thigh.
He scread miserably and collapsed onto the ground.
Another arrow whistled past and tore across another man's shoulder, spraying blood into the air.
Seeing the remaining two fugitives disappear over the hills, Mihawk imdiately led his archers forward in pursuit.
Fearing an ambush, Garon followed closely behind while shouting a warning.
"Stay alert!"
"Watch for ambushes!"
Mihawk's expression tightened instantly.
He ordered the archers to slow down while Jon and his n rushed ahead to scout the path.
However, Garon's concerns ultimately proved unnecessary.
Once they crossed the final hill and the sea ca into view, they realized that these few n truly were the entirety of the Ironborn landing force.
"Fire!"
"Shoot again!"
Seeing no sign of enemy reinforcents, Mihawk imdiately ordered another volley from atop the hillside.
The two surviving Ironborn roared desperately and threw themselves toward a small skiff hidden along the shore.
They shoved it frantically into the shallow waters before climbing aboard and paddling toward the sea with all their strength.
At that mont, another storm of arrows descended upon them.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Several arrows embedded themselves heavily into the wooden hull of the skiff.
One arrow even pierced deeply into the leather armor on the back of one of the rowers, instantly causing blood to gush out.
Yet even so, the man stubbornly gritted his teeth and continued rowing without collapsing.
The small skiff swayed violently amid both the crashing waves and the relentless rain of arrows as it gradually escaped the shallows and paddled desperately toward the open sea.
Finally, carrying two blood-soaked survivors, the skiff disappeared into the distant horizon.
Standing atop the hillside, Garon quietly watched the tiny vessel vanish into the endless sea.
There was no anger in his eyes.
Only solemnness remained.
After all, an Ironborn boat had successfully escaped.
Which ant this matter was far from over.
"Pass down the order."
"Clean the battlefield!"
Soon afterward, the group finished clearing the battlefield and returned to the pine forest.
User Comments
0 comments from readers