Chapter 20: Melee

When Darlos led the bandits to the stronghold entrance, chaos had already erupted there.

The once sturdy wooden gate had been breached, and now, what entered Darlos’s sight was a brutal scene of over ten tall, fully armored black warriors wielding huge two-handed swords, cutting through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. Although the bandits were frantically counterattacking with swords, bows, crossbows, and even stones, these attacks were ineffective against the black-armored warriors. On the contrary, every time they raised their swords, nearby bandits would immediately retreat with screams, then be cut into two or more pieces… There was no need to count which side was left and which was right.

“Intermediate swordsmen?” After seeing the soul radiance emitted from the black-armored warriors’ armor, Darlos’s first reaction was that the Pale Hawk had attacked. Although intermediate warriors weren’t too rare, appearing in organized formations was definitely not something mercenary groups or local garrison troops could achieve. Among the local garrison troops around the Golden Trade Route, those intermediate swordsmen were mostly responsible for troop management. Except for the central forces, no power could afford an army mainly composed of intermediate warriors. However, Darlos soon realized he had guessed wrong.

These warriors weren’t wearing the Pale Hawk’s signature silver-white armor, nor were they carrying the standard weapons of the Kingdom of Wester. Instead, they wielded unfamiliar styles never seen before. Moreover, if one looked closely, each sword’s size, style, and shape had subtle differences.

“Get back here!” Darlos immediately shouted at those idiots who were still trying to charge forward recklessly. Although from a combat perspective, letting these guys continue to rush forward and die to consume the enemy’s strength was the correct choice, unfortunately, Darlos’s current identity wasn’t just a warrior. From the standpoint of a bandit leader, he was unwilling to waste his subordinates needlessly. This wasn’t an army where you could recruit people from anywhere!

Hearing Darlos’s order, the bandits immediately retreated. In fact, they weren’t really stupid enough to disregard their own lives. It was just that when Darlos arrived, if he saw them fleeing, the consequences would be equally unthinkable. Thinking it through, they were dead either way, so they might as well grit their teeth and charge to their deaths. At least they could say they did… whatever.

At this moment, after Darlos gave the order, the bandits immediately gathered around him, still holding their bows, crossbows, and swords, vigilantly watching the enemies before them. Almost simultaneously as the bandits retreated, the black-armored warriors also stopped their advance. With remarkable coordination, they raised their huge swords in front of them, then retreated, forming a semicircular defensive formation.
Who on earth are these guys?

Darlos frowned, feeling a bit thorny. He didn’t really take ordinary intermediate swordsmen seriously, but now these strange black-armored warriors were clearly well-trained and had obviously learned group combat tactics… Were these guys really not from the Pale Hawk?

However, Darlos didn’t relax his vigilance because of this. He felt that this battle might not be as simple as he had imagined, so the bandit leader considered for a moment, then suddenly waved his hand.

Subsequently, five bandits wearing armor and wielding longswords jumped out from the crowd. Although at first glance, these bandits didn’t seem any different from the others, the flowing light on their swords revealed their true identities.

Intermediate swordsmen.

Darlos wasn’t a fool.

He knew very well that as a high-rank swordsman, although he possessed powerful strength, he had also obtained quite a few weaknesses of the nobles while working for them. To prevent these guys from silencing him in the future, cultivating his own strength was necessary. Because of this, Darlos had selected those with talent and qualifications from among the bandits and trained them. These five people were precisely the results of Darlos’s training, and also his confidants.

The enemy had ten intermediate swordsmen. Although their specific rank couldn’t be discerned from the previous battle, as long as he joined the fight himself, plus these five subordinates, it should be enough to take them down… The only question was whether these guys had any more tricks up their sleeves.

At this moment, the Wraith Warriors also began to move, but their actions were somewhat different from what Darlos had imagined.

A tall black-armored warrior wielding a huge sword stepped out from the center, while the other nine retreated at this moment, blocking the entrance and exit of the stronghold, seemingly not intending to join the fight.
What’s going on?

Darlos looked at the black-armored warrior who had walked forward alone with some confusion, unable to understand how an intermediate swordsman had the courage to stand alone before him. Did he really think he could block the attack of a high-rank swordsman and five intermediate swordsmen with his meager strength?

Darlos blinked, somewhat suspecting if this was part of the enemy’s delaying tactics or some scheme. But his keen perception as a high-rank swordsman told him there were no hidden ambushes nearby, nor were there any reinforcements rushing here. In other words, those challenging him in this territory now were just a lone force of only about a dozen people. But this made their actions even more incomprehensible. If they were a desperate lone force, they should be charging in to fight to the death right now. This lukewarm attitude — did they think they were here for a friendly duel and afternoon tea?

It wasn’t just Darlos who didn’t understand.

“My lord, why aren’t we continuing to attack?” Ophariel hid behind the Wraith Warriors, nervously clenching her fists so tightly that even her joints were turning white. At first, when Julian ordered the attack, the girl really thought they would try to end it quickly like the previous times. Considering that the Pale Hawk was closely following behind this time, Julian’s actions were understandable. What Ophariel couldn’t understand was why Julian suddenly ordered these Wraith Warriors to stop and sent Judy alone to the front… What exactly did he want to do?

“Even in the most critical moments, one must remain calm, Miss Ophariel,” Julian smiled and replied to Ophariel’s low inquiry.

“Indeed, our time is limited — but if we become impatient and rush because of this, we will only reap failure. Watch patiently, we will achieve victory according to plan.”

Ophariel blinked and held her breath. In fact, what she was most worried about wasn’t the time issue, nor the responsibility of failure, but the Wraith Warrior standing alone on the field. It was Judy, who had been accompanying Ophariel these past few days. Now, it was she who, upon receiving Julian’s order, unhesitatingly stepped forward alone to stand before this group of bandits.

“Are you going to let Miss Judy face so many enemies alone, my lord?”

“Don’t worry, unless that old guy is really so shameless, he absolutely won’t make a move,” Julian’s expression was relaxed and carefree, as if he were out for a spring outing.

“As for the others… Even if they all attack together, they are absolutely no match for Judy. One against many is definitely not just about strength suppression, you know?”

It seems he had heard the conversation between Judy and Ophariel last night.

Indeed, as Julian had predicted, Darlos, unable to figure out what the other side wanted to do, didn’t lead the others to rush in all at once. He cautiously took two steps back, carefully observing Judy before him. Since the other side only sent out one person, naturally his side couldn’t rush in en masse either. Even bandits care about face. If they all rushed in to deal with just one intermediate swordsman, it would be too embarrassing.

If Darlos were still that seasoned, steady soldier, he might not have made this choice. After all, soldiers care about results, not means. But now, he was just a bandit — and only a bandit.

Fame and power had blinded his eyes.

Darlos released his grip on the sword hilt and quickly made a gesture. With his movement, the other five bandits who had been waiting in anticipation suddenly burst into action, charging towards the lone Judy.

What greeted them was a snow-white, dazzling, and ice-cold light.

The huge sword in Judy’s hand was no longer the rusty appearance it had initially. Compared to the previous standard weapon, the two-handed greatsword in her hand now had become sharper and even larger, almost one-third wider than the original greatsword, while its thickness had decreased, becoming much thinner. The once rough guard now bloomed like flower petals, with layers of metal plates protecting the warrior’s hands. On the thin and wide blade, several hidden, bizarre grooves emitted a dark red glow under the sunlight — impossible to discern without looking closely.

But this change wasn’t just superficial.

Although from a combat perspective, greatswords have strong killing power and a wide attack range, their disadvantage is lack of agility and large openings. However, in Judy’s hands, no such problems were apparent. Faced with the joint attack of five bandits, Judy didn’t retreat but advanced. Just as the five entered her attack range, she suddenly changed direction, swinging her greatsword towards the rightmost swordsman of the five.
The battle began.