Chapter 31: The Second Battle for the Ore (Part II)

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Brian stared intently ahead, unleashing his power as a mid-tier Silver Knight, and gathering visible battle aura flames upon his knight’s lance.

“Form up!”

The knights and their squires behind him heard their lord’s command and began adjusting their charge, forming a wedge-shaped formation within the mere three hundred meters separating them from the enemy.

With Brian, the mid-tier Silver Knight, at the vanguard, they surged forth, prepared to tear through the human wall that opposed them.

Seeing this, Barry hefted his massive shield, stepped to the front, summoned all his battle aura, and braced himself for the first impact.

“Roar—!”

His muscles bulged, veins stood out, and, employing his family’s secret technique, Barry managed to transform himself into a giant standing two meters and thirty centimeters tall.

Watching the enemy’s movements, Brian shifted his trajectory, bypassed Barry, and struck from the flank.

“Aah—!”

A wet crunch.

“Shatter—!”

A sickening crack.

The right wing of the human wall was torn apart; more than a dozen soldiers, along with their iron armor and shields, were reduced to fragments, raining blood-red droplets onto the battlefield.

Witnessing this carnage, Barry bared his teeth and let out a furious roar, lunging at Brian.

With a single blow, the giant—this high-tier Bronze Warrior, just a hair’s breadth from ascending to Silver—was sent flying and slammed hard into the ground.

Seeing this, a few mid-tier Bronze Warriors rushed in like madmen, only to have their heads taken by the knights with ease.

The battle raged on, warriors falling one after another to the knights’ blades.

Then, the six hundred elite fighters led by Adrian the Magic Knight arrived on the field, bringing the conflict to its conclusion.

Having regained a bit of strength, Caisley summoned his recently recovered magic and, using a voice amplification spell, forced himself to announce, “Lay down your weapons. We surrender.”

The soldiers nearby heard the command, halted their actions, and dropped their arms.

Seeing this, Brian had Adrian handle the prisoners, while he led the remaining knights to support Verin.

At that moment, Violet realized the situation behind him. Seeing the command post overtaken, he gnashed his teeth and spat, “Coward, only good at scheming and dirty tricks.”

“Heh.” Verin replied with a smile, mocking the muscular knight with more brawn than brains.

“Ah—damn you, I’ll kill you!”

He had always mocked others; never had anyone dared mock him.

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Violet’s fury soared at Verin’s contemptuous smile. Ignoring the hopeless situation, he launched another attack at Verin.

Verin wiped the smile from his face, gripped his knight’s longsword, and continued to face his foe.

A few minutes later, Brian arrived on the battlefield and ended the fight with ease.

The enemy Verin struggled to contend with was dispatched single-handedly by his cousin, whose imposing presence left Verin momentarily dumbfounded.

“Cousin, you're actually a mid-tier Silver Knight?”

“What, didn’t I mention it?” Brian scratched his head, grinning sheepishly.

“Ah—” Verin was momentarily lost for words. Had he known, he would have listened to his cousin and charged head-on, sparing himself the need for any elaborate tactics.

“No matter, cousin. It’s my own fault for not gathering proper intelligence.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Despicable villains, you two—”

“Enough noise.” Brian smacked the muscular knight with the flat of his blade, sending him into a splendid faint.

Ten minutes later, the battle was finally over.

During the prisoner count, they discovered that Brandon was nowhere to be found.

“That old fox is clever—he’d already prepared for this.” After learning what happened, Verin smiled wryly, knowing that the last battle would haunt Brandon for the rest of his days.

“My lord, what are your orders next?” Baird, drenched in blood, approached Verin to report.

“As usual, select one soldier from each of their three units to return home. Three days from now, we’ll negotiate ransom terms.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Soon, the camp was lively again.

Except for Violet, who was bound hand and foot and gagged with a rag, Caisley and Barry enjoyed noble treatment.

“Violet, this time we get the same treatment as Brandon—relying on a woman to negotiate our ransom.”

“Mmm, mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm…” Violet was furious, but his mouth was stuffed.

“Do you think Brandon anticipated the ambush and slipped away ahead of time?” Barry asked Caisley, glancing at his bandaged arm.

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“In fact, the enemy had already warned us of the ambush, but we chose not to heed it.” Caisley recalled the earlier signal flare, a bitter smile on his face.

“True, you need brains for war. Otherwise, you end up like this—obvious advantage squandered, now prisoners of war.” Barry was equally frustrated, his forces reduced by half, unsure how long it would take to recover.

“Mmm mmm mmm, mmm mmm mmm—”

“Ah—”

“Mmm mmm mmm—”

…

Three days later, the two sides held preliminary negotiations on ransom terms.

Six days after, the transaction was completed. Verin released the three lords, all knights, squires, and warriors, and the enemy delivered the agreed goods.

As for the captured serfs from both sides, no one cared.

The ransom Verin received was so immense he felt as if he'd become rich overnight.

Fifteen hundred male serfs, five hundred female serfs, twenty thousand gold coins, four hundred thousand pounds of grain, three thousand pounds of fine wine, two hundred oxen, sixty war horses, five hundred bolts of cloth, thirty bolts of silk, three hundred sets of leather armor, and five hundred lances—totaling a value of two hundred thousand gold coins. It was tantamount to draining a tenth of the wealth of three noble families.

According to the distribution rules, Verin claimed forty percent of the goods: one thousand male serfs, five hundred female serfs, four hundred thousand pounds of grain, one hundred oxen, twenty war horses, three hundred bolts of cloth, and two hundred sets of leather armor. The rest belonged to Brian.

From the spoils of battle, Verin took only six hundred serfs, eighty sets of iron armor, two hundred sets of leather armor, fifty knight’s longswords, one hundred and twenty horses, and three hundred lances. All other loot went to his cousin.

On the afternoon of July 31st, a grand banquet was held on the grasslands by Lake Starprayer, celebrating their victory.

The next morning, at dawn, Brian led his troops and spoils away from Lake Starprayer, returning to the Ridge Domain.

At the same time, excavation work began at the Mithril Mine.

On the journey home, Adrian came up to Brian, puzzled. “My lord, it’s clear Lord Verin’s domain holds secrets. Why not let me investigate further and gather more intelligence?”

“Adrian, you may handle other matters, but regarding Verin, if he doesn’t wish to share something with me, why should I pry?” Brian replied unconcernedly.

“But, my lord…”

Seeing Adrian was about to protest further, Brian raised his hand to interrupt, asking, “Enough. Don’t dwell on it. Come, have a drink with me—we haven’t had a good, satisfying battle in ages.”

“Very well, my lord.” Adrian could only acquiesce, ceasing his inquiry.