Chapter 527 341: Training 2

'To find that the enemy only numbered five thousand, and their strength was just average... this is the first time I've ever fought such a one-sided battle. It almost feels anticlimactic.'

"Since these lowlifes are so eager to be our guests, let's have them stay here forever." The Lord's tone was ice-cold, sealing their fate.

As the Jackal Wolfman Scouts gathered intelligence, they confirmed that several Tribes around the Wilderness had been plundered, leaving only ruined walls and corpses strewn everywhere. Just as Leiden had said, the enemy was treating the Wilderness as their personal backyard, capturing slaves here to sell.

After all, capturing slaves was far simpler than doing business—a venture with guaranteed profits and no risk of loss.

Miriel had never led an army into war, but she had at least led Mercenaries to fend off Wilderness Bandits. With a nearly five-to-one disparity in numbers, such a statement would sound like sheer arrogance from anyone else. But coming from the Lord of High Cliff Castle, it seemed perfectly natural.

He was, after all, the Dragon Knight who had successfully seized his title and quelled the Demon uprising. To him, an enemy force of five thousand was indeed nothing to be concerned about.

"Lord, we should still treat those Warriors with tattoos on their faces seriously," Si Kai said, finally speaking up after some hesitation. "Those are Purity Warriors, raised from childhood by the Persian Gulf Empire. The tattoos on their faces are actually Demon Patterns that can stimulate their physical Power, allowing them to surpass ordinary men."

Fujero had previously given the Lord a thorough lesson on Demon Patterns, so this was not unfamiliar territory. He simply asked out of curiosity, "How do they compare to the Royal Family's Lion Heart Red Swordsmen?"

"Uh... one of them could take on ten."

"They're that strong?" The Lord's brow furrowed.

"You may have misunderstood. A single one of our Lionheart Swordsmen could kill ten of them. Otherwise, they wouldn't have kept their unit size at only eight hundred men."

"As it happens, one of my men can take on three Lionheart Swordsmen."

"Miriel, I'll sell all the spoils of war to you when the time comes." The Lord was already thinking about how to divide the loot before the battle had even begun.

The enemy had snuck into the Wilderness directly, which proved they had ships. Furthermore, ships that could transport around five thousand soldiers and were prepared to haul slaves back meant they had to be large, high-tonnage slave ships.

'Every one of those ships is incredibly valuable! This is a fat prize delivered right to my doorstep by the heavens. It'd be a crime not to devour it.'

"As you wish." The Half-Elf gave a slight nod, unable to suppress the smile on her face. How could she not be happy? This huge deal would let her make another fortune.

...

"Using Jackal Wolfmen as Scouts... what a clever move," Kemish marveled, looking at the cavalrymen in his camp who were dressing their wounds.

Those creatures had a keen sense of smell and sharp eyes. Most importantly, they completely negated the cavalry's greatest weakness—noise!

Even with Cotton Cloth wrapped around a horse's hooves, some faint sound was inevitable at close range.

But the natural pads on the Warg Mounts' paws made their every stride as silent as a ghost's.

On closer thought, the gap between their two forces was even wider than it appeared.

'They're stronger than I imagined, not just some disorderly mob. But that's as far as it goes,' Kemish mused, feeling no anxiety over the matter.

Admittedly, when he first heard the captured Wilderness slaves babble about their opponent being a Dragon Knight, he had felt a pang of anxiety. He feared that a torrent of Dragon Breath might descend from the sky at any moment and annihilate the fruits of his decade-long efforts.

But to this day, he hadn't seen so much as a single Scale of a Giant Dragon. It was clearly just the exaggerated boasting of these ignorant Wilderness People, not to be taken seriously.

"Have the Scouts continue to press on and probe the enemy's movements. The rest of you, hurry and get the slaves onto the ships and fortify our defensive works." Kemish was not one of those useless noble scions who indulged in women and poetry; he had formally studied under a great military noble.

He knew full well that no matter how high the odds of victory, one must always leave an escape route.

That was why he was loading the slaves onto the ships first. If the battle turned against him, he could simply sail away and escape, leaving the enemy to stare helplessly at the vast ocean.

...

"Lord, these guys have set up defensive works at the God-Forsaken Narrow Sea," Hog said, pointing at a map. "A massive ship, like a Giant Beast, lies across the water, surrounded by five smaller ones."

Levi took out a telescope and looked into the distance. They were on a hill from which they could already see the coastline. Rolling waves crashed against the reefs, sending up countless sprays of white water.

An enormous iron-hulled ship, at least a hundred blades long, sat on the water's surface like a Giant Beast, an awe-inspiring sight.

"Lord, that's the Persian Gulf Empire's *Rukban*," Si Kai explained from the side, unable to hide his own astonishment. "It's a slave trading ship built specifically for transporting slaves. It measures one hundred fifty-six blades long and twenty-four blades wide, with a maximum capacity of eight thousand people. It has three propulsion systems—two side paddle wheels and a stern propeller, all powered by Magic Crystals—as well as six masts for its sails. A slave ship of this caliber isn't something you can build with money alone; you need status, too. The owner is likely a descendant of a Pure-blood Noble from one of the Eight Great Noble Families, at the very least."

"Damn, that ship alone must be worth a fortune!" The Lord was practically drooling as he watched it, only reluctantly tearing his gaze away to look elsewhere.

About a thousand paces from the sea, a small camp sat on a slope. Crude wooden huts, built from pine trees sourced locally from the Wilderness, stood in a disorderly fashion.

And along the coast was a simple harbor.

It was clear the enemy had been here for some time and intended to turn this place into a base of operations.

The camp was bustling with people. Soldiers were brandishing their weapons, herding all sorts of Wilderness People onto the ship: Goat-men, Rabbit People, Lizardmen, the Wilderness Old People, and more...

The weaker Races were mostly female, while the stronger Races were predominantly male.

Their goal was clear: capture slaves and sell them for money.

'Their equipment is actually not bad. Even the common grunts have quality Leather Armor, and those Demon Pattern Warriors are each decked out in Full Plate Armor. Are these guys loaded?' The Lord grew more astonished the longer he looked.

'It's one thing to have such a huge slave ship, but I never expected their armor coverage rate to be this high.'

To be honest, if High Cliff Castle couldn't produce its own equipment, even the Lord wouldn't dare claim he could achieve a hundred-percent armor rate, let alone equip every man with Three-Layered Heavy Armor.

Levi felt like he'd bought a lottery ticket on a whim and scratched off a million-dollar prize.

The enemy, who were clearly not blind, had also spotted the uninvited guests from High Cliff Castle.

Their formations began to spread out in a slow and deliberate manner, taking up a defensive position on the only road to their camp.

To the left were towering mountains, and to the right was the sea. They had even built a crude wall out of huge rocks.

It could be said that they had chosen an excellent position. To get past, the main force from High Cliff Castle would have no choice but to launch a frontal assault.

Levi observed them carefully through his telescope. He didn't spot anyone who looked like a Mage, nor did he feel any elemental fluctuations.

That was because Casters were just too easy to distinguish from common soldiers; there was almost no possibility of them being in disguise.

At that moment, lead-gray clouds sank toward the edge of the horizon, hanging between heaven and earth like a forgotten curtain.

The unique, salty smell of the sea was carried in by the wind, washing over everyone's faces without discrimination. A light snow began to fall from the sky.

"Mier, I'm giving you full command this time." Levi turned and patted Mier on the shoulder.

It was time for the young man who had followed him from the very beginning to start shouldering some heavy responsibility.

This opponent wasn't weak, but they weren't overwhelmingly strong either—perfect for some hands-on training.

He couldn't stay in High Cliff Castle forever. He would eventually have to leave for a time on some matter or another, and when that happened, he needed someone who could shoulder the burden.

After dealing with things here, he had to go to Gonda to complete a trial mission, and he had no idea how long that would take.

"Yes, Lord!" Mier nodded firmly. He was nervous, but he didn't show the same fear he once had.