Compared to the nearly vertical walls of the High Plateau Mountains, the hill at Yier Mountain Pass is much gentler.
This is only in comparison to the High Plateau Mountains; for travelers, it’s still steep and hard to climb.
Between two hills lies a long path flanked by vegetable fields, with wooden stakes and barren grassland on both sides.
The grass and wood from before were taken by the rcenaries to build camps and barricades.
At the end of the path is a checkpoint made of spiked wooden stakes and round log barricades, with a person-height wall beyond.
On the slopes of both sides, there is an archery tower each.
At this mont, only the left tower has a sentry, who leans against the wooden post, nodding off.
Until the footsteps of travelers shook the tower’s post, jolting him awake.
Startled, he quickly poked his head out of the tower, realizing it was the White Maple rcenaries, with four carriages in tow.
The carriages were packed, covered with canvas and rope, a fragrant salted ham half-exposed.
The leading White Maple rcenary waved to him.
"Sun goat’s, ssed with your father’s good dream."
Comfortably lying back, the mountain sentry continued to sleep.
Fifty White Maple rcenaries escorting four carriages soon arrived at the checkpoint and slowed down.
The checkpoint was densely packed with spiked wooden stakes, with only a two-person-wide gap for passage, blocked by a round log barricade.
"Yo yo yo, if it isn’t our White Maple rcenaries?" A sleepy bald rcenary taunted from behind the barricade, "You’ve co to the wrong place, this is our mountain rcenaries’ camp."
"Hmph, filthy, I thought so." The leading one-eyed White Maple rcenary cursed in the plain dialect, "We found abandoned carriages by the Short-haired on the mountain, need to take a shortcut to deliver to Lords Belard and Cléante. Open the road now."
The mountain rcenary said nothing, turned his head to look at the carriages, his eyes brightening at the sight of the ham.
"Tsk, well, we mountain rcenaries always follow strict rules, Lord Cléante isn’t here, we can’t let you through."
The leading White Maple rcenary said nothing and turned to leave.
"Hey hey hey, I’m just joking, brother, you’re just trying to earn credit, others can’t take it from you, I just want a ham, no one will find out." The mountain rcenary quickly stopped them.
"Just want that ham?" The White Maple rcenary Captain hesitated for a mont.
"If you’re willing to give more, I don’t mind."
Looking up at the sky, the White Maple rcenary Captain sighed: "Fine, move the barricade, I’ll give it to you after I pass."
"Tsk." The mountain rcenary rolled his eyes, tilted his neck towards his followers, who stepped forward and moved the barricade with effort.
The wheels rolled, gates wide open.
Following the fragrant ham, the bald rcenary trailed behind step by step.
After a couple of steps, he stopped: "Wait, your carriage is full, why are the tracks so shallow?"
The rcenary Captain halted, turned around, lifted his hat brim, opened his mouth, and spat out a small whistle.
"Toot toot toot—"
"Oh no, signal—"
An iron arrow shot through the air, piercing the bald rcenary’s throat, stopping his shout in his throat.
Jeska retrieved the short bow, drew his longsword, and swiftly decapitated the leading soldier ahead.
The "White Maple" soldiers imdiately raised their spears, rushing towards the surrounding mountain rcenaries.
These mountain rcenaries were skilled at small cluster skirmishes, effective at quelling mobs, but not so against the trained Celestial Soldiers of the Pope Country.
Moreover, their small clusters faced an army of eighty companies.
Seven or eight spears stabbed from all sides, regardless of their street fighting prowess, they were pierced right through the heart, lungs, and viscera.
One mountain rcenary wielded a scimitar, charging at several Celestial Soldiers. Before he got close, two spears stabbed from above and below.
He reached out to block the upper one, then used the scimitar to deflect the lower, his head lifted, another spear stabbed, leaving a blood hole in his throat.
As the spearhead withdrew, it dripped with crimson blood.
The sharp spearhead rippled over the soft belly, and screams and sounds of battle instantly filled the entire camp.
anwhile, ropes on the canvas of the carriages slipped like small snakes, and the canvas was lifted, thirty black-clad leapfroggers jumped down from the carriages, clutching short swords.
Then the group of leapers fell down in heaps on the ground.
"I already said, the ground is slippery."
"Stop complaining, keep moving!"
After standing up, they gathered together and dashed towards the main gate, cutting down any mountain rcenary or servant in their path with a sword, without chasing or getting entangled.
The leapers moved like centipedes with swords growing from their legs; after passing, the ground was littered with moaning servants, stunned mountain rcenaries, and leapers dressed in black who slipped from running too fast.
The servants were all local residents recruited temporarily and had never seen such a scene, fleeing in panic while screaming.
The mountain rcenaries at the gate cursed and ordered the servants to shut the gate, but no one listened, forcing them to close it themselves.
Amidst the ear-piercing creaking sound, the gate slowly closed with only the width of one person left.
One leaper accelerated in a few steps and shoved his thigh into the gap between the gates, squeezing half of his body through.
More leapers reached from both sides to grab the door panels and began pulling them outwards.
Inside, people imdiately used scimitars and spears to stab at those at the gate, causing sparks to fly as short swords clashed with long spears, pulling the gate back and forth.
"Lady Jeanne!" a leaper shouted.
Suddenly, electricity danced, and after a flash of white light, seven or eight rcenaries inside the gate instantly fell to the ground while the gate was pried open by hands with muddy fingernails digging in.
Like a Valkyrie, Jeanne charged in, covered in electricity, raising the battle flag and sending out two bolts of lightning, which struck another ten soldiers. Finally, the mountain rcenaries inside the gate couldn’t withstand it and began fleeing in panic.
At the end of the road, more black-clad soldiers were marching in formation, having rounded the hill.
The servants had long since given up on reinforcing roadblocks, either diving into the hills or jumping into the creek.
The intense sounds finally awakened the old sentinel sleeping in the watchtower; he poked his head out from the railing, rubbed his eyes three or four tis, and dared to confirm.
Hadn’t this group of short-haired ones run to the back? How did they reappear at the front?
No ti to think, the old sentinel reached for the horn hanging nearby.
Perhaps due to nervousness, as soon as he held it, his fingers slipped, causing it to drop to the ground.
He bent down to pick up the horn, relieved it hadn’t fallen downstairs, and as he raised his head, a flail struck directly at him.
At the mont the flail hit his forehead, his vision turned white, and various colored patterns appeared.
Duvalon flipped into the watchtower, stepping on the old sentinel’s belly, removed the dagger from his mouth, breathing heavily, and plunged the dagger into the sentinel’s chest.
The sharp pain made the old sentinel’s face contort suddenly. He woke up, reaching out to push Duvalon’s shoulder.
Due to the hindrance of clothes, Duvalon gritted his teeth and exerted force, but the knife didn’t slice through the chest smoothly, and he was actually flipped over by the old soldier’s knee.
The old soldier painfully cried out, kneeling and rising, pulling out the dagger, just as he was about to stab Duvalon, a dagger erged from his throat.
"Next ti, aim for the neck." René tore open the old soldier’s clothes and stabbed two more tis at the heart from behind, then said to Duvalon.
René tied a red cloth to a branch and waved it below.
The battle in front of the camp had basically co to an end.
Seeing the gate captured and the witch participating in the fight, those mountain rcenaries imdiately cared about nothing else and fled mixed with the servants.
A crowd of black-clad soldiers rushed in from the entrance, chopping the wooden spikes on the ground with axes, allowing the elderly, won, children, and carriages from behind to enter.
Only fifty were guarding the camp, while the Pope Country’s celestial soldiers numbered eighty and had reinforcents; it was a surprise attack.
Although clumsy, they still seized the camp.
By the ti Horn arrived with the elderly, won, and children, Madlan rushed over to report: "Your Eminence, we’ve hit the jackpot; there are lots of provisions, dicines, armor, and horses in the camp."
"Bring the leather armor and conical helts; other armor is too heavy, don’t take them." Horn commanded the convoy to move quickly while instructing Madlan, "Take the horses and dicines."
"Why not take the iron armor?"
"Too heavy, too heavy, and few could wear it anyway; we need to travel light for the night march and must reach Xiangshu Village before midnight."
Finding a large boulder, Horn shouted loudly: "Discard irrelevant items, discard them, you must discard them; without discarding, how can there be a bright future."
The vast population of Pope Country, young and old alike, gritted their teeth, carrying burdens, almost jogging through the muddy ground.
"All elderly, won, and children get in the carts, discard everything unnecessary, don’t feel regret." Horn picked up an oil lamp from the ground, pushed the woman into the marching lineup, "After the special walking event ends, your gain will definitely exceed the loss; if not, co find , Horn, I Horn will compensate."
After capturing the camp without ti to rest, the entire Pope Country marched forward vigorously.
They were 362 miles away from Joan of Arc Castle.
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