Five thousand words chapter update. Congratulations to the Alliance Leader Luo Liqibelin!
"Go!"
Duncan urged his horse to gallop, and although the others did not know the reason, they quickly followed.
A strong scent of blood filled the air.
By the time Duncan's group arrived, there were nearly a hundred corpses on the battlefield. The Exiles couldn't break through the barricade of wagons and were unwilling to leave, so they surrounded the enemies in the middle of the road.
The private mercenaries in the wagon barricade were not afraid at all.
A leader-like figure even had the leisure to instruct his soldiers to prepare wine and food. They had been trapped for several hours, and the soldiers needed to replenish their strength after the fight. Besides, with the convoy stuck here, nearby towns and estates would surely respond; reinforcements would arrive soon. With just twenty or thirty cavalry reinforcements, they could easily charge and crush these rebel remnants.
Two to three hundred Exile Rebel Army members watched helplessly as those private mercenaries feasted on meat!
The nearby sallow-faced refugees couldn't help but swallow their saliva, and some even sneaked closer, trying to reach the edge of the wagon barricade, where there was a pile of corpses, just to gather the scattered grain from the ground to eat.
Whoosh!
A Barbarian mercenary soldier drew a powerful bow, aimed at the refugee, and shot an arrow that pierced through the chest. Blood foamed from the mouth, and the refugee fell, barely breathing.
"Hahaha!"
"These rebellious wretches!"
The Barbarian soldiers inside the wagon barricade laughed heartily, their morale appearing very high.
In contrast, the Exile Rebel Army showed expressions of unwillingness and had very low morale. If they had a way out, they would have already collapsed.
Their only advantage was their numbers.
But the last time they attempted a strong assault on the barricade, the Barbarian mercenary leader dared to lead more than ten men in a charge by the barricade, killing more than thirty of them, then calmly retreated back to the barricade under the cover of bowmen.
Such fierce and brutal demeanor showed he didn't consider them a real threat.
The Exile Rebel Army had three leaders, one was killed by elite Forest Archers, another was cut to death while climbing the barricade, leaving only a man in his thirties, pale and haggard, looking like an impoverished military household, and with Gallic features.
At this moment, he was considering retreating, but retreating would leave many to starve, most people couldn't survive until winter.
Even if they somehow made it to winter, without food and supplies, they would still die.
"Gather the armored and follow me!"
Kvito gritted his teeth and said to his compatriots beside him, "Attack once more! If we don't, the enemy reinforcements will arrive, and we won't have another chance."
He planned to risk it all.
If they couldn't break the barricade, sooner or later they would all die, hiding in the wilderness wouldn't make a difference.
With two of the three leaders dead, he was now desperate and wanted to fight to the death!
All just to survive.
At that moment.
The sound of hooves came from not far away, and Kvito's face changed, showing fear, thinking it was enemy cavalry reinforcements. The Exile Rebel Army consisted of serfs and slaves, without decent weapons or equipment, even encountering a light cavalry would lead to a massacre.
Inside the barricade, the Barbarian mercenaries were also delighted. With cavalry arriving, they could charge out of the barricade, behead their leaders, and the rebels would collapse immediately.
Not far at the crossroads appeared five riders.
The Barbarian mercenaries looked disappointed; this was obviously not reinforcements, just a group of passing travelers.
Five people, five horses.
Two men and three women, one carried a bow and a sword, exuding a fierce aura, another appearing rugged like a Gallic wild man, and of the three women, two were remarkably beautiful, even at a distance, they seemed like beauties.
All around, the Exile Rebel Army was restless, but the riders were out of reach.
Kvito immediately ordered his men to restrain themselves and sent someone to shout to the five riders, asking them to bypass this place.
For some reason, one person made him feel uneasy, even more so than the old gladiator who taught him to fight. Gladiatorial combat was long banned within the empire, but some noble houses still secretly raised gladiators for entertainment. Most gladiators were plebeians or slaves, sometimes used for betting and gambling.
Nowadays, gladiators were rare, and those remaining were secretly kept by nobles, randomly training some slaves, using them for bloody fights for amusement.
"You stay here!"
Duncan nodded slightly to the Crow Queen — Triss, then rode out alone towards the battlefield.
His face was cold as if he were an emotionless warrior, an intimidating presence, scaring the Exile Rebel Army from approaching, causing them to scatter to the sides.
These people were all impoverished serfs and slaves with little fighting prowess.
Without gladiators joining the Spartacus uprising, it would have been crushed by the empire's legions in an instant.
Arrow to the bow!
A forty-five-degree angle shot.
Duncan did not get too close to the Exile Rebel Army, and with an arrow shot, a Barbarian mercenary above the barricade let out a muffled groan and fell clutching his throat.
The several hundred present were shocked!
The Barbarian mercenary leader was struck with terror, instantly grabbing a shield to protect himself. In contrast, there was an uproar among the Exile Rebel Army; Duncan's action was undoubtedly friendly, even Kvito couldn't help but show joy, incredulously watching that lone rider ready his bow again.