As darkness fell, the team’s progress became slower.

“I have no other choice,” Allen said with a bitter smile. “I don’t have time to train the farmers into soldiers. I can only use this method to force them to exert their greatest strength. Everyone knows what will happen if they fall behind in a place like this, and whether they can keep up depends on themselves.”

“Honestly, I don’t think this is any use.” Soldering shook his head and decided to advise his employer. “Farmers can’t become soldiers. I don’t think highly of them.”

“This may not be impossible. Sometimes miracles still happen.”

Allen looked back at the team behind him. He knew that this small army recruited from several villages under Angate had almost no combat effectiveness. And in this difficult march, some people would definitely fall behind.

Most of these people will be lucky enough to catch up or simply run back home, but some will be unlucky enough to lose their lives.

But Allen doesn’t feel guilty about it.

He did not have time to train an army step by step, nor did he have time to let this army temper their will through battle again and again.

He had to lead this almost mob-like team and find a way to protect himself and his sister, to deal with the bandits of Angate, and even to face the elite guards and knights of Montina in the future.

So he wanted to train these farmers as much as possible into an army that could at least confront the enemy, rather than running away as soon as they saw the enemy’s flag.

“Ofulei, tell the team to stop and set up camp to rest.” Allen said to the young man on horseback. He was now Allen’s messenger. “Let those who are still strong unload the things from the caravan. Thordrin, let your archers cover the carpenters to cut materials in the woods.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two men quickly dispersed, and the soldiers who still had some strength unloaded the materials from the caravan. The carpenters who were traveling with the army went into the woods nearby under the cover of the elven archers.

All night long, bonfires were lit under the castle. The sounds of felling trees, making wooden ladders, and scolding lazy soldiers reached Angate Castle, but were drowned out by the screams of women and the laughter of men in the castle. It was not until dawn that Carter and the bandits in the castle noticed the army at the foot of the mountain.

The sky finally began to have some vague bright colors, and as a hint of white appeared in the eastern sky, the bandits finally saw the siege machine outside the castle.

“…trebuchet?”

Carter’s eyes widened in astonishment. The bandit leader, who had been blaspheming the female knight all night, was feeling dizzy. “How did they make this thing in just one night?”

“We can make some parts that are more difficult to manufacture in advance, transport them to the castle by car, and then make simpler parts on site. This will greatly reduce the time it takes to make siege equipment, and we can also move it to the front of the castle.”

In the position under the castle, watching the peasants setting up the trebuchets under the cover of the elven archers and shields, Allen explained to Thordrin, “If time wasn’t tight and the village’s craftsmen weren’t short of manpower, I could build a bigger trebuchet.”

Despite the lack of time, Allen still improved this thing as much as possible, changing its structure from the common torque type to a more advanced counterweight trebuchet with a longer range.

The bandits on Angate Castle obviously would not sit idly by and watch their actions, but there were not many archers among them. A few bandits who were hunters bent their bows and drew their arrows, but the light arrows hit the shields and did not cause any damage at all.

However, those unlucky guys who stood up from the top of the city wall were shot through by the elves with great accuracy.

The bandits could only watch as Allen assembled the terrifying siege machine, loaded it with “ammunition”, and then watched as the soldiers, under the command of the young man who looked like an aristocrat, fiercely smashed the hammers on the wooden wedges –

“Swoosh—ping!”

The stone hit a bandit’s head with a dull thud, smashing it into pieces, and then it continued to move forward, knocking over another unlucky guy who was unable to dodge.

Amid the screams of the bandits, the peasant soldiers hurriedly reloaded the trebuchets and hit the wooden wedges again. This time, the stone knocked off a piece of the wall, and the broken wall and flying stone debris flew into the faces of the defending bandits who had no armor to protect them, causing blood to flow.

Screams rang out from the top of the city. This weapon, which was almost impossible to resist, was a fatal blow to morale.

“Damn it! Don’t scream like a woman just because you bleed a little!” Carter gritted his teeth and looked at his panicked subordinates. Looking at the “army” below that had no cavalry and seemed to be all conscripted farmers, he quickly made up his mind:

“Open the city gate! Let’s rush out and dismantle that thing! As long as we can dismantle that machine, we can pick any property in the castle and sleep with any women we want! Don’t forget how we dealt with those noble armies before! Those peasants recruited from the fields are no match for us!”

Although he loved money and women, Carter knew when to spend money and when to give his men enough rewards to keep them working hard.

What’s more, before this, they had repelled several attacks by the nobles.

This heavy promise made the bandits’ eyes light up. The cheers from behind the city wall almost drowned out the sound of the peasant soldiers busy loading.

Chapter 236: First Entering the Battlefield

These bandits who have become bandits are naturally brave and bloodthirsty. Most of them are farmers who have been forced into desperation. Once their tolerance limit is exceeded, these most honest and hardworking farmers will become bloodthirsty maniacs.

Soon, the wooden gate of the castle slowly rose up under the capstan of more than ten bandits. The ragged bandits quickly formed a simple horizontal line at the gate of the city, and then rushed towards the direction of the catapult!

The front line was full of fierce bandits holding weapons, while the ones behind were more like farmers, holding pitchforks and hoes, and some even holding sticks. They didn’t have much of a formation, they just relied on their bravery and shouted as they rushed towards the farmers.

The appearance of the bandits obviously made the peasant soldiers panic. The tension spread quickly in the team like a plague. If it weren’t for the few elven archers who immediately surrounded them and shouted loudly to intimidate them, I’m afraid the team would have collapsed.

“A bunch of peasants,” Thorderin said softly. “Only those who survive the first battle can be called soldiers. Otherwise, they are just a bunch of peasants.”

Allen nodded, looked at the soldiers who were in a chaotic formation, and suddenly shouted:

“For all those who died in battle, I will give his family a pension! The land I promised will be inherited by his family! Those who escape will be deprived of all their property and hanged on the rack! His family will be expelled from the territory forever!

“If you lose the battle, they will rush into your village, rob your property, and capture your wife and daughter! Think about your family, you have no way to retreat, because your home is behind you!” There was a commotion among the peasants. These farmers who followed Allen for land and military pay finally realized that they had no way to escape.

If he ran away, he would be shot to death by the elven archers, and his family would be expelled from the village.

If he died in battle, at least his wife and children would have enough food and drink.

This is actually a very profitable business – besides, their lives are worthless.

These farmers who had worked on the land all year round and endured oppression from tax collectors and nobles finally burst out with courage under the dual threats of money and death.

“Arrange the formation!”

As Allen shouted, Oflai, who was following him, raised the horn and blew the battle horn loudly.

“Angate people!”

A shout exploded from the team. Upon hearing the horn, these newly recruited farmers who had only received the simplest training huddled together involuntarily. The spears in the hands of the first row of farmers were messy but densely pointed forward. At the same time, pairs of nervous eyes were fixed on the bandits rushing towards them.

“Hold the spear!”

Following another shout, the dozen or so brave farmers at the front immediately stretched their spears forward. Sweat beads appeared on their foreheads, and many of them were so nervous that their joints ached because their hands were wet and slippery while holding the spear handles.

Looking at the oncoming bandits, they began to feel real tension and fear as they faced the enemy for the first time.

“Hold on!”

Sweat also flowed down Allen’s forehead, condensed on his chin and then fell down.

Can these farmers really face the enemy?

Can they survive the terrible and cruel strangulation?

Allen didn’t know what was coming at this time, but he knew that he would have to face this test one day.

Since there is no way to avoid it, the only thing to do is to face it head on.

At least these bandits in front of us are much easier to deal with than the noble knights.

When they saw the bandits rushing very close to them, not only did their formation become scattered, but some people even slowed down.

They are being cowardly!

The moment this thought flashed through his mind, Allen couldn’t help but give the order:

“Bow and arrow!”

Dozens of elven archers at the edge of the spear formation quickly drew their bows and shot arrows towards the bandits – the dense formation meant that these skilled archers didn’t even need to aim, they could hit the enemy as soon as they drew their bows.

“Go for it! Go for it!”

The bandits who were not shot shouted, their voices trembling with luck at escaping being shot and the excitement about the next killing.

But the screams immediately stopped with a series of terrifying “puff” sounds, or turned into even more miserable screams of pain!

“Spear formation!”

Following Allen’s roar, the bandits immediately ran into the formation that was not very tight but was enough to become a nightmare for scattered soldiers.

The spear wall of the Angate farmers was not tight and was even more chaotic. The sharp spears were stabbing forward randomly. Some farmers even stabbed and shouted aimlessly at the air, as if they were intimidating an invisible enemy.

The bandits who had crashed into the formation reacted quickly, thrusting their spears and stabbing with their swords. These brave bandits, composed of mercenaries and farmers, were inspired to kill by the blood, and they shouted and attacked the enemy despite the double threat of spears and bows and arrows.

A scream came from not far away from Allen. A soldier’s stomach was pierced directly, and several torn internal organs were hanging on the tip of the spear that pierced through his lower back. The soldier kept screaming, holding the spear shaft under his lower abdomen with both hands, until the other party was hit by a bullet and fell to the ground screaming. Then he fell backwards, and the spear that was pierced in his stomach was shaking violently in the air as he twisted on the ground.

Another spearman was stabbed down, and hearing the man’s painful screams before death, the peasants shouted in fear.

Although it was only a brief confrontation, the fierce battle was unbearable for these farmers who had only received basic training.

Some people began to throw down their weapons and run away in fear, and this action immediately caused greater chaos. “Anget people, hold on!” Allen shouted, “Running away will only lead to faster death, hold on!”

The originally shaken spear formation was revived by Allen’s roar. The spearmen struggled with the fear in their hearts while stabbing forward recklessly.

And Thordrin looked at the chaotic situation in front of him. A whistle escaped from his chest and blew it hard! “Toot, toot, toot–“

The sharp whistle echoed across the battlefield.

A bandit who was at the back of the team, holding a flail in his hand, turned his head in confusion, and heard a loud bang that shook the ground.

The sound of horse hooves?

After a long moment, an experienced bandit suddenly realized that something was wrong and was aware of the danger approaching from the dense noise. But he only had time to desperately warn “There are enemies!” before he saw cavalrymen rolling down the slope, armed with strange scimitars and bows and arrows, rushing towards their rear.

The bandit who first saw the cavalry had not yet reacted to what was happening. He only felt a sudden gust of cold wind passing by his side, and then the cold wind quickly swept across his upper body.

Before he fell to the ground, he saw a dark shadow rushing past, and a few drops of hot stuff splashed on his face.

He didn’t know that it was his own blood, and he didn’t know that his neck had been cut with a long cut that reached all the way to his cervical spine.

The elven cavalry quickly passed by the flanks of the bandits, easily harvesting their heads with scimitars and bows and arrows. Whenever they passed by the enemy, without even waiting for the enemy to react, with the galloping speed of the horses and the swinging of the powerful arms, the sharp elven scimitars would cut through the poor enemy like cheese, instantly leaving a hideous wound on the body of the poor enemy.

Regardless of whether the sword attack is successful or not, the elven cavalry will not stop to continue fighting. They will leave the enemy to their companions who are following behind, while urging their horses to continue running forward and swinging their swords to attack the next enemy.

Carter’s face turned livid. Now he realized that he had fallen into a trap – the only reason these cavalrymen were hidden was to lure him and his men out of the castle!

“Hold on! Charge forward! Charge forward! If you want the reward and the women, charge forward! Charge down those lowly peasants!”

Although he brought a few fierce bandits to supervise the battle in the rear, the bandits were already on the verge of collapse as they were being slaughtered crazily by the cavalry.

“Angetes!” Allen shouted, “Hold the line and prepare to seize the victory and spoils that belong to you!”

Allen’s words caused the peasant soldiers to cheer loudly. These soldiers, who were so frightened by the blood that they could hardly hold their weapons, seemed to have seen wealth waving to them at this moment.

When these soldiers, who had previously been working in the fields with hoes and hayforks, thought of the wealth in the castle, greed and enthusiasm shone in their eyes.

Seizing the enemy’s spoils and making oneself rich, something that has been seen as a quick way to get rich during wars for thousands of years, filled the hearts of the peasant soldiers with courage at this moment.

They even began to push back little by little against the bandits’ formation!

Looking at the Bohemian cavalry carrying terrifying blades that swept past the bandits from behind like a whirlwind and completely disrupted their formation in just one instant, Allen breathed a sigh of relief silently in his heart.

He knew that this battle was already won by him.

In the year 1490 of the Star Calendar, in the territory of Montina in the Soma Empire, a young man named Allen Heinems captured Angate Castle.

At that time, no one realized what this battle meant to the North.

Chapter 237: Rich Loot

The cold wind mixed with morning dew blew across the mountains and the remote Angate Castle. If it weren’t for the large expanse of hills and plains that could be seen from the not-so-high walls of Angate, this hellhole would probably really be called “useless”.

“What the hell.” Thordrin kicked open the arrow tower that was reduced to ruins by the catapult and couldn’t help frowning.

“Angate is one of the oldest castles in Soma. Its history can be traced back to the Witch Kingdom period. At that time, it was a wooden military fortress with a witch army stationed here. However, there has been no lord here for many years, and it has been lacking care.”

Allen explained casually. This knowledge came from the fragments of his previous memories. What he didn’t say was that although his illegitimate “brother” Alfred had been collecting various taxes from this territory in the name of supervision, he had never invested a single gold coin in the repair costs of this territory.

The castle walls were fairly solid, with stone slabs at the foundation and a mixture of wood and stone above. The walkways were wide enough for three people to walk side by side, and there was a battlement every five steps.

A crude stable, a blacksmith’s furnace under a thatched shed, and a dilapidated granary were scattered inside the wall.

The center of the castle is a circular stone inner fortress, with arrow slits on each of the three floors and a wide sentry tower surrounded by battlements on the top. On the inner side of the inner fortress are some abandoned warehouses, barracks, stables, training grounds and a well that is still bubbling with water. A small carriage road extending from the main road leads directly to the gate, which looks decent, but the entire castle has been plundered by bandits and is in ruins, and really needs to be cleaned up.

“grown ups!”

Oflai’s voice sounded behind him. The young man ran up the stone steps to the top of the wall quickly, took out a booklet made of paper from his pocket, and flipped through it quickly:

“The spoils have been counted. These bandits are really rich… In total, we have looted five gold cakes, forty-five silver marks, and other gold and silver coins, which are equivalent to at least 26,000 ducats… There are also some crosses, gold wine glasses, silver plates and other jewelry. I don’t know how to convert them. There are also 6,000 pounds of grain, forty-three horses, fifty oxen, eight carriages, and some linen, velvet, porcelain, tea, spices, salt, weapons, armor…”

During the days of conquering the castle, this young man, as one of Allen’s few “direct confidants”, was responsible for counting the spoils.

But after hearing this result, Allen couldn’t help but smack his lips. These bandits are really rich… He only got a loan of 60,000 ducats from the bishop!

“There are currently 813 villagers imprisoned and enslaved in the castle, including four blacksmiths, eight carpenters, and one stonemason. Together with the population of the three nearby villages, you have a total of 2,947 people.”

“It’s incredible.”

Thordrin looked at the young man with a surprised look on his face, “A young servant who can write and calculate.

If he were in the slave market, he could at least sell for the price of two war horses. “Ofulei’s face immediately turned red with anger because of this bad analogy. Just as he was about to loudly refute, Allen waved his hand to interrupt their conversation.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, these two people were the only “team” he could use at the moment.

“Let’s go to the inner castle and take a look.”