Chapter 4: Like Breaking Bamboo

  Derek was safely brought back to the beach, and everyone began discussing their next attack strategy. Until this moment, Austin's enemy forces were still unaware that 300 of their own men had sneaked under their noses, and their most important hostage had also been quietly rescued, showing how lax their defenses were.

  "Now our greatest advantage is that the enemy still knows nothing about us, and we will also add a batch of friendly troops. So before the opponent realizes it, we must immediately launch a surprise attack."

  "Heirnis said, 'The town is peaceful and we have nothing to worry about. I will immediately contact our companions in prison, they can escape at any time. Hmph, don't forget that this is our territory, those bastards actually thought they could use our prison to lock up our people.'"

  Saying that, he stood up: "Don't delay, I'll go contact the brothers now, let's give those guys a good beating."

  "Wait." Raymond stopped him: "Later, after you escape from prison, don't rush out in a hurry. Try to create some chaos and make as much noise as possible."

  "Why?" Hillnis asked curiously.

  "As soon as the prison riots, the enemy will definitely come out in full force, but they don't know we exist. So, when they all rush to quell the riot, we'll suddenly attack from behind and then...". As he spoke, Raymond clapped his palms together, making a throat-slitting gesture.

  Xier Nisi understood and was overjoyed, saying: "I see."

  "Rudes, take 50 men to seize the city gate. We'll launch a surprise attack and absolutely cannot let the enemy on the front line detect any changes in the rear!" Raymon ordered Rudes again.

  The calm and composed Beamon nodded silently.

  Then he said to Shawn: "Shawn, you select 50 people with excellent riding skills and temporarily stay here as a reserve team. When the battle is most intense, you will come out and thoroughly defeat the enemy."

  Sean nodded excitedly in understanding.

  "What about me, young master? What does she want to do?" The cat woman couldn't help but shout out after listening to Raymond talk for half a day without mentioning her own business.

  "You don't have to participate in the battle later," said Raymond.

  "What am I supposed to do?" The cat girl was stunned.

  Raymond smiled and patted her head: "Don't worry, your task is to clear the enemy's sentry posts scattered throughout the city. If possible, take out those patrolling outside as well, so they won't bring unnecessary trouble."

  "Meow, I know." The cat girl said happily.

  In a short time, Raymond's plan was finalized and the fate of 500 enemy soldiers in the city was thoroughly decided. Afterwards, everyone left to prepare for the final battle.

  While Hillerns was on his way to the prison, Raymond also set out with 200 men under the guidance of a Ostend defender, and Bastert had already taken the lead in removing enemy sentries along the way.

  The reason for delaying until now is that I was afraid of killing those sentries too early, which might be discovered by the enemy's patrol troops and thus expose our plan.

  Fortunately, due to the enemy's curfew, so many people took action at night, although they startled many residents of Austin, but without knowing what was going on, no one dared to intervene, providing a great convenience for their secret actions.

  They rushed to the vicinity of the barracks where most of the enemy troops were stationed, and lay in ambush in a hidden alley, waiting for the disturbance on the prison side.

  Time passed minute by minute, second by second, but the prison direction was still quiet. The sky grew darker and darker, but everyone knew that this was the last period of darkness before dawn. If they didn't take action soon, it would be daylight in no time.

  What exactly happened over there? Did Shilnis fail?

  Just as they were getting anxious, the other side finally made a move. A chaotic noise was heard coming from the direction of the prison, and for a moment it was unclear how many people were shouting, standing out starkly in the silent city.

  Soon, there was a commotion in the enemy's barracks. It has to be said that the quality of these mercenaries is still very high. In an instant, under the leadership of several commanding officers, a team of hundreds of people rushed out of the barracks and ran towards the prison.

  After the enemy left, Raymond followed closely behind them along the small path. With local guides leading the way, they didn't worry about being discovered by the other side.

  Soon, the enemy army arrived at the prison. It had already been occupied by Auston's garrison, who were creating chaos according to Raymond's orders but not rushing out. The bodies of more than a dozen guards were thrown outside the prison, further fueling the enemy's anger.

  The enemy army that rushed to the prison had more than 400 people, and they were fully armed. They naturally wouldn't take these prisoners seriously. As the commander gave order after order, these mercenaries unfolded their formation in an orderly manner and began to prepare for the attack.

  Judging from the good quality shown by the other side, De Pero obviously hired mercenaries with combat experience. If they hadn't underestimated us tonight and Raymond's team had also pulled in Auston's defense team, it would be hard to say whether this surprise attack could have succeeded.

  As they approached the prison gate, several tall and sturdy men emerged from the crowd, holding giant axes, and rushed forward to chop down the gate, causing wood chips to fly everywhere. The guards on the city wall began throwing stones, iron pots, wooden chairs, dinner knives and everything they could find at the people below.

  A sturdy man dodged too late and was knocked down, but a group of soldiers immediately rushed out from the enemy's formation with shields raised to protect them all around. For a while, only the sound of stones, pots and pans smashing against the shields could be heard, which of course couldn't hurt anyone anymore, making this battle more like a farce.

  Up to this moment, the mercenaries still regarded it as an ordinary riot. The defenders had occupied the prison but didn't even have a decent weapon, let alone defensive bows and arrows, which posed no threat to the enemy at all, and the gate of the prison looked not very solid either.

  Therefore, the mercenaries outside the prison completely focused their attention on the front and didn't care about the rear at all.

  If it develops like this, the prison will be easily broken through, and the Auston guard inside may not have many survivors.

  Of course, this is just in general terms.

  As the timing was almost ripe, Raymond gave a loud order and dozens of archers in the team took advantage of the light from the torches in the enemy formation to launch the first attack.

  A hail of arrows shot into the enemy formation, and more than a dozen unsuspecting enemy soldiers fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the fact that the enemy had not yet come to their senses, the Haiton warriors, who had been lying in wait on the side, suddenly poured out from the alleys behind them.

  No one expected that a troop of enemy soldiers would suddenly emerge from behind, and even these well-trained mercenaries were caught off guard for the time being. Only a small number of people realized what was happening and turned around, while most of the others in front were still unaware of the situation and continued to attack the prison gate.

  Raymond took the lead, charging to a stunned mercenary, his sword flashed and sent him to see the god of death. On his left, the roaring warriors also rushed over, and a dull sound of blades chopping into flesh was heard, and a large number of mercenaries fell behind.

  At the same time, Raymond's archers were also working hard to move their bowstrings. Because of the bright torches in the enemy formation, they hid in the darkness, and it seemed that the arrows were pouring out of thin air, mercilessly taking the lives of the enemy soldiers.

  "Ah! I've been shot!"

  "What's going on?"

  "Enemy attack! Enemy attack from behind!!"

  The remaining enemies finally came to their senses, and in the confusion they tried to turn around to face the enemy. However, the opportunity was lost, and Haidington's warriors crashed into the enemy formation, starting a ruthless slaughter.

  At the same time, the prison gate, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened, and more than a dozen guards rushed out with weapons they had snatched from the sentries, knocking down the axe-wielding strongman who was caught off guard. The people following them picked up their weapons and joined the ranks of the enemy.

  The mercenary troops were suddenly attacked from both sides and immediately fell into great disorder.

  However, these mercenaries were not sheep to be slaughtered. After the initial panic was over, those who were in the middle and suffered the least from the attack were the first to recover.

  "Don't panic, there aren't many enemies behind us. First squad, hold them off for me! Everyone else, full force attack on the prison, and counterattack after we break in!" A tall mercenary who looked like a commander shouted repeatedly.

  This man had quite rich combat experience, and under the situation of being attacked from both sides, he still accurately judged that the main threat came from the rear. The Ostston guard team in front was limited in its damage due to a lack of weapons.

  So at this moment, the only way to survive is to charge forward with all one's might, first eliminating the relatively weaker enemies and using the prison as a stronghold for defense.

  As he ordered, some mercenaries turned back to meet the enemy, desperately blocking Raymond's charge. At the same time, some mercenaries began to counterattack with bows and arrows, and miserable cries kept coming from the darkness behind Raymond.

  The other mercenaries charged forward recklessly, determined to cut a path of blood.

  Raymond's men, after all, lacked actual combat training. Although they had the upper hand due to their sudden attack, the enemy was a group of experienced mercenaries. Once they regained their composure, they relied on their excellent quality to steady themselves and firmly held off Raymond's men, making it impossible for them to advance even an inch.

  On the other side of the prison, Auston's defense team lacked weapons and only a few dozen people at the front could fight. Once the enemy directed their main attack on them, they immediately put tremendous pressure on them.

  For a moment, the three of us were tangled up in front of the prison like a trampled foot-long hot dog, you pressing down on me, I pressing down on you, and we rolled around together, engaging in a fierce battle.

  "Cheers!"

  A mercenary wielding a broad-bladed longsword cut down two guards with one sweep, and like a maddened bull, charged to Raymond's side.

  At this time, Raymond had just solved an opponent and hastily raised his sword to block a powerful slash, causing him to retreat backward. He seemed to be at a disadvantage, but in fact, he rotated on the spot with a habitual swing of his sword, accelerating the long sword's rise, and slashing out diagonally with the momentum.

  Raymond's figure was ordinary, and the long sword he held was also ordinary. The tall mercenary showed a disdainful expression. He snorted, and then swung his sword to meet him.

  However, he did not know that the sword in Raymond's hand looked ordinary in shape, but it had been forged thousands of times and swung with a force that was quite heavy. Moreover, this sword borrowed the power of Raymond's whole body, far more powerful than it seemed.

  A dull thud echoed through the air, and by the time the mercenary realized something was amiss, he was shocked to find his own sword pressed against his shoulder. Then, Raymond's sword sliced across his neck in a swift motion, sending the mercenary's corpse tumbling out, leaving behind a fan-shaped splatter of blood.

  This tall mercenary seemed to be a renowned brave warrior among the enemy, seeing him being killed by Raymond, for a time the surrounding mercenaries did not dare to come forward again.

  After defeating his opponent, Raymond also leaned on the sword and took a breath. This long sword made of "Tie Ding" steel, which inherited the heavy properties of Tie Ding far beyond its appearance, can exert several times the force when swung. However, this is not a magical weapon after all, the drawback is that to use this sword, the swordsman himself also has to bear greater consumption.

  This couldn't help but make Raymond vigilant, since he had obtained this sword, he hadn't used it much, and most of the time was in battles that didn't last long, so Raymond only felt that the sword was easy to use, and hadn't noticed its shortcomings.

  Tonight, facing the extremely powerful mercenaries, after a series of intense battles, Raymond finally realized that he had not fully grasped the characteristics of this sword. If he continued to rely on brute force, one day he would suffer the consequences.

  Mom, you really gave me a troublesome thing...

  In this brief moment, several guards nearby had already been killed by the enemy. As the advantage brought by the surprise attack faded away, the gap in individual strength between the two sides gradually became apparent.

  Raymond looked around and saw that although the battlefield was chaotic, with people rushing about, it was clear that more enemy troops were advancing towards the prison. Auston's defenders fought hard, but they couldn't stop their steady retreat, and the enemy vanguard was about to storm into the prison.

  Raymond immediately realized the other party's intention. If they succeeded, not only would the Auston defense team be annihilated, but also after the opponent reorganized their troops, their own side, which was already inferior in strength, would undoubtedly lose.

  A beautiful surprise attack, but it's likely to end in tragedy.

  At this time, Raymond noticed the commander in the enemy formation. The man was under the protection of several guards and kept giving orders. The originally chaotic enemy army had a tendency to slow down.

  Knowing that to win, he had to get rid of this guy first. At this time, a mercenary happened to be holding a long spear and stabbing him from behind. Raymond dodged, flipped his wrist with one sword, and chopped the mercenary down. Then he sheathed his long sword and snatched the spear from the mercenary's hand.

  Hefting the long spear in his hand, Raymond took aim at the direction of that commander, lightly took a step forward, and then threw it out with force.

  Raymond's skill with the javelin was learned from a barbarian, originally acquired under Amada's arrangement from a brave prisoner of the Snowy Pine tribe. This record-breaking throw was extremely powerful, and the long spear shot out accurately through the gap in the crowd, stabbing straight at the commander.

  However, being able to command so many mercenaries, the opponent is not a mediocre person. Just as the long spear was about to arrive, that person suddenly became alert and shouted loudly, swinging his sword out and accurately hitting the long spear flying out.

  At the same time, he also saw Ramon throwing a spear. He cast a disdainful glance at Ramon through the layers of people, while the guards beside him rushed up to surround and protect him.

  Raimon shouted in disappointment, missing his shot, and now the opponent was on guard, making it even harder to succeed.

  Just then, a faint whistling sound came from the air, and a fiery red light shot down from the top of the prison wall, shooting straight at the commander.

  Although unclear what the thing was, a guard still dutifully raised his shield and blocked in front of the commander. However, what happened next made everyone unexpected.

  Just then, a loud explosion was heard. The light spot hit the shield and suddenly exploded into a ball of flames. This suddenness was extreme, and in the chaotic crowd, a fierce flame accompanied by a huge noise rose up, extremely eye-catching in the dark night. The surrounding mercenaries fell down in disarray.

  "Cough cough cough, what's going on? Where did this magic come from?" The commander was also affected by the blast. He frantically patted at the flames on his body while trying to get back up.

  At this moment, a sharp arrow suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pierced through his neck.

  The commander's body shook, he stiffly stretched out his hand to touch the arrow shaft that had pierced his neck, looked at his bloody hands, and then fell softly to the ground.

  It was then that Raymond saw, on the distant wall of the prison, Hillnis standing proudly with his bow, a pair of slender and agile eyes shining brightly in the darkness.

  It was he who shot the fatal arrow after Raymond's sneak attack failed.

  And what he just used was actually magic arrows!

  "Damn, I didn't see that coming, that guy actually has such skills." Raymond muttered.

  This skill of attaching magic attacks to arrows is a rather advanced technique that requires the user to be proficient in both archery and magic, and even among the elves who invented this skill, only a small number of people can master it.

  From this point on, it's not too strange for Hillnis to use Reverse Magic Arrows. However, his consistently coarse words and deeds almost made Raymond forget that he was an elf, and it's really hard to believe that such a crude elf actually possesses such excellent martial skills.

  Hilnis's magic arrow dealt a great shock to the enemy army, and with the death of their commander, the enemy army, which had already stabilized its footing, was shaken again.

  However, the good times did not last long. Suddenly, a cheer was heard from the front, and it was the enemy army that finally broke through the prison gate under concentrated attack. The Auston soldiers guarding the gate were defeated, and dozens of mercenaries rushed in.

  Raimon shouted "No way!", if they let their opponents get away with it, it would be difficult to eliminate them again.

  Hillnis also realized the situation was not good, he shot and killed several leading mercenaries from a high position, but ultimately it was of no avail. More and more of Auston's defenders rushed up to try to drive out the enemy, but were eventually killed due to the difference in strength. In just a short moment, inside and outside the prison gate, there were corpses all over the ground.

  Just as the situation was about to get out of control again, a sudden horseshoe sound came rushing towards this side.

  Close behind, 50 cavalrymen led by Shawn formed a charging formation and rushed out of the dark streets, charging straight at the enemy.

  The last force under Raymond's arrangement finally arrived in time.

  Although the number of cavalrymen was small, they could still bring extremely terrifying impact in the narrow terrain. Moreover, since all enemies were now crowded outside the prison, leaving their flanks empty, it simply created an excellent opportunity for them.

  In an instant, with a series of dull thuds from colliding bodies, the cavalry charged into the enemy formation. Like a herd of raging rhinos charging into a cornfield, any mercenaries who stood in their way were knocked to the ground by the tall warhorses and then trampled by the horses behind them.

  When the cavalry broke through the enemy's formation, what was left behind was a road of flesh and blood.

  "Spread out, attack freely, wipe them all out!" Shawn raised his long sword and gave the order.

  The cavalrymen all pulled on the reins, pulling their warhorses to turn around abruptly. They no longer maintained a dense formation but dispersed and charged into the enemy ranks, starting to attack the fleeing enemy freely.

  This impact played a decisive role in the battle, and the mercenaries who lost their command finally reached a critical point. It is unknown who was the first to turn around and escape, followed by the remaining mercenaries shouting and fleeing in the direction they thought could save their lives.

  "Chase after them, don't let a single one escape!" Remon shouted loudly, leading the team to follow and pursue. The cavalry took advantage of their speed superiority, mercilessly slashing and killing the fleeing enemy from behind.

  At last, this difficult raid turned into a ruthless pursuit. The enemy army that had resisted stubbornly just a moment before was now transformed into defeated soldiers without any will to fight, blindly fleeing towards the city.

  The rest was easy, a portion of the enemy fled to the city gate, trying to escape from the city, but was annihilated by Rudes' troops who had been waiting there; those scattered in the streets were surrounded and killed by Raymond's troops, and those who fell alone were caught up and killed by cavalry.

  Some were even beaten to death by angry Auston residents