Chapter 21: 21 This is the Gaoliang River

Chapter 21: 21. This is the Kaoliang River

The Kingdom Knights were the first to arrive in Avignon. The knights were fully armored, their lances pointed toward the sky, as they halted their horses at the spot where Dacus had previously stayed.

Before them lay a horrific scene. Great fires raged through the village, thick smoke billowed, and the occasional crackle of exploding wood echoed through the air. A foul, burnt stench permeated the atmosphere.

The Kingdom Knight in command of Avignon wore an expression of agony, whether from his failure to defend the people and the land, or from the loss of a source of tax revenue, remained unknown.

One knight dismounted and began to inspect two corpses on the ground.

"Hiss, is this Jonyva of Valance?"

Having said that, he immediately moved to inspect the other body.

"Correct! This is Bassedine; they were guests in my castle just a few days ago." Under the pale, sickly moonlight, the knight began to observe closely. "Their armor is gone. This wound? Was he executed? A sharp weapon struck at a treacherous angle, piercing his heart." Having finished, he turned his attention to Jonyva's body.

"This was struck by a firearm from the mountains! It pierced directly through the heart."

A knight remarked, "The gates were opened from the inside; this was definitely not the work of beastmen."

"Vampires? Those filthy things from Mushilon in the south? But why would they come here?"

"There are horse tracks on the ground. What kind of monster makes these tracks? They headed south."

The leading knight declared, "Whatever they are, we are obligated to defend our people and our land with our lives. Pursue them!"

At that moment, the faint sound of hoofbeats drifted from the distance, appearing and disappearing like a phantom.

Gondel had arrived. The knights recognized his silhouette immediately. Leonis's north borders closely abut Le Angoulant; they had dealt with each other frequently in the past, and word had spread of his recent activities in the vicinity.

Upon understanding the situation, the cavalry merged and began to advance southward.

The Calamity Chariot had not wandered aimlessly; it had remained stationed within a grove. This was a strategic position; once Dacus's party passed through, any enemy pursuing from the west or north would be forced to pass through this spot.

The driver sat on a rock beside the chariot with his eyes closed and his chin resting on his hand. Suddenly, his pointed ears twitched.

"They're coming. Twelve half-elf warhorses, their strides are almost perfectly synchronized. They are well-trained."

This beastmaster was no ordinary handler. He had served the House of Calamity for nearly two hundred years and was one of the deputies to the high-ranking beastmaster, Jaeger. Usually, he stayed beneath the Tower of Destruction to domesticate beasts or led teams to the Black Ridge Mountains to capture them.

Last year, under Jaeger's leadership, he had represented Krakalond at the Great Arena in the capital, Nagalond, to participate in the centennial Talons Tournament of Duruchi. However, during a critical match, they were utterly crushed by Rakas of the Kalond Karchen-Slayer family!

His Great Majesty Marequis was extremely satisfied with such a decisive victory and offered high praise. This infuriated Neukel, who sat nearby and wanted to sacrifice Jaeger to Aenese Lema on the spot. Jaeger was eventually saved, but their honorary titles and noble promotions were stripped away. Neukel had him redeem his merit by participating in this Haksiye Trial Voyage to protect Dacus.

Hearing the hoofbeats drawing closer, he maintained his posture, unmoved. Two beastmasters holding harpoon crossbows looked at each other. One could not help but ask, "Calien, what should we do?"

As the hoofbeats began to fade into the distance again, Calien stood up, brushed himself off, and straightened his unconventional, skyward-pointing braid.

"What else can we do? The Young Master told us to handle it ourselves. What do you think? Catch up to them and have a little fun in that open field ahead."

"Giddy up!"

The twelve knights, trotting slowly toward the clearing, suddenly heard the creaking of wheels coming from the woods to their side and rear. The knights pulled their reins, turning their horses in place. A strangely shaped and bizarre chariot slowly emerged from the forest. It lacked a legendary aura, primarily because the knights atop their warhorses were taller than the chariot itself.

Once the Calamity Chariot burst from the woods, it immediately accelerated. Under Calien's exquisite driving skills and the "Heart of Empathy," the chariot began to perform arc maneuvers around the knights. One beastmaster gathered all his strength and blew a long horn. These horns were enchanted by sorcerers, possessing immense piercing power. The moment the horn sounded, three beastmasters and the dark steeds were momentarily shaken.

The leading knight shouted, "They are here to stall us! Split into three squads and take them down! For the Goddess of the Lake! For the people of Avignon!" He then lowered his visor and spurred his horse to accelerate.

The twelve knights divided into three orderly squads, beginning to flank and block the Calamity Chariot's path. These knights had undergone rigorous noble training under their fathers' strict supervision since childhood and were battle-hardened veterans by adulthood. They knew how to fight efficiently rather than simply swarming behind the chariot.

Seeing the knights split to attempt an encirclement, a look of gravity crossed Calien's face. "Damn, we underestimated these monkeys. Brace yourselves; we're going for real in a moment. May Aenese Lema protect us!"

The Calamity Chariot's speed increased, and the three squads of knights began their own arc maneuvers. Soon, a beastmaster with a harpoon crossbow achieved the night's second kill. The harpoon accurately pierced the chainmail beneath the cloth, driving into the neck of a warhorse. The high-speed Batonian warhorse lunged forward a few more steps due to momentum before collapsing to the ground. The knight immediately pulled his feet from the stirrups, attempting to leap out, but he was a step too slow. One of his legs was pinned under the horse, immobile. A following knight used masterful horsemanship to prevent his own horse from trampling the pinned knight's head. The knight beneath the horse cursed loudly, but with no squire by his side, he could only draw his longsword and begin digging at the dirt, trying to free his leg.

As he was digging, he caught a glimpse of something flying through the air. He turned his head to see a knight from another squad with a harpoon embedded in his chest, thrown backward from his horse and hitting the ground dead. If he hadn't misread the decorations on the helmet, the one thrown back was the very knight in command of Avignon.

Repeating crossbows and repeating hand crossbows utilized magazines, holding six bolts each, which were reloaded once emptied. The repeating crossbow was known to the Duruchi as the "Ulsen," or the Rain of Death. It featured two modes: single shots for long range and continuous double shots for close range. They were typically equipped by Black-Edge crossbowmen and city guards, though some gang members and mercenaries obtained them through special channels. The harpoon crossbow had immense power but a slow reload time, primarily used against beasts such as Chimeras, War Hydras, and Manticore.

To put it in perspective: the repeating hand crossbow was like a pistol, the repeating crossbow was an assault rifle with a shotgun attachment, the harpoon crossbow was a large-caliber single-shot anti-materiel sniper rifle, and the Reaper Ballista was a large-caliber direct-fire cannon or howitzer.

In the clearing, a Duruchi Calamity Chariot and the Kingdom Knights of Batonia began a game of encirclement and counter-encirclement, cutting in and cutting out. The scene was utter chaos, perhaps requiring a football commentator to describe it.

Gondel's squad maintained an inward cutting maneuver. They were less than ten meters from the Calamity Chariot. *Push harder, just a little more, and I can strike those three damn pointed ears.* Having secured two kills, the beastmaster reloaded his harpoon and aimed at Gondel. The harpoon whistled through the air, but Gondel, worthy of being a half-step Saint Grail, swung his greatsword with a violent strike. Sparks flew and the sound of clashing metal rang out as he precisely struck the head of the harpoon. The beastmaster's eyes widened in disbelief, but he quickly recovered, throwing a barbed hunting net at Gondel. With his hands numb, Gondel saw the net flying toward him and delivered another upward slash, slicing the net apart.

The knight to Gondel's right had already leveled his lance, cursing furiously—it was unclear if he was cursing his uncooperative mount or the damn chariot's speed. The nearby beastmaster had already fired two harpoons, and the third was now loaded. Calien glanced back quickly and commanded, "Take out the one with the lance on the right! Hold steady, I'm turning right!" The beastmaster braced his stance and turned his aim toward the knight who was always just a fraction too far away.

"Watch out!"

The knight raised his shield to block, but the harpoon still grazed the shield and slid into his helmet. The shield fell uselessly to the ground, and the lance blocked Gondel's path. Supported by his stirrups and armor, the knight remained in his saddle, though his body leaned back at a forty-five-degree angle, as if staring at the Morslib in the sky.

At that moment, the Calamity Chariot came to an abrupt halt, then the two dark steeds performed a rapid, stationary right-side step and accelerated in one fluid motion! They had completed a turn in place that defied the laws of physics.

If Dacus had been present to witness this, he would have surely exclaimed, "Donkey cart drifting!"