This is the most troublesome aspect of Fishmen; once a battle starts, it doesn't end until one side is completely annihilated, and it's an all-out fight to the death.
Most people aren't protected by full body armor; even leather armor only covers some vital parts and doesn't offer complete protection.
This makes it easy to get injured while fighting Fishmen, and if you're not careful, you might suffer severe injuries or even lose your life.
Fishmen are often very dirty, and any wound they inflict quickly gets infected.
Infections in this era pose a significant threat to life.
Fishmen also have the ability to contaminate water sources; similar incidents have happened before, leading to countless people downstream suffering from diarrhea, vomiting, and life-threatening conditions after Fishmen polluted the water.
If the Fishmen occupy Bell Island Lake, the drinking water around Fengqiu City will be contaminated.
For Duke and his group, they must eliminate these Fishmen, both for the residents of their territory and for themselves.
Everyone quickly climbed up onto the makeshift wooden wall. It's about two meters high, not very tall, but it can temporarily block these Fishmen.
The average height of Fishmen is only about sixty to seventy centimeters, usually not able to jump over this wooden wall.
However, their numbers are overwhelming, making the wooden wall unsafe.
Duke wielded his bow and arrow, firing the first shot, piercing through a Fishman's head.
The death of this Fishman did not instill fear in the others; the scent of blood instead spurred their ferocity, and they all screamed and charged forward.
With wave after wave of arrows raining down, one Fishman after another fell.
Duke and his group haven't engaged in close combat yet; they're relying on this buffer distance to minimize the number of Fishmen.
As the battle continued, they realized the Fishmen numbered at least three hundred, probably close to four hundred.
A few minutes later, the Fishmen reached the wooden wall.
With limited manpower, the arrows could only eliminate a few Fishmen.
Once the Fishmen reached the foot of the wooden wall, they leaped up, trying to stab the people above with their fish spears, but due to their short stature, they couldn't reach them.
In a moment, the Fishmen who had just charged to the wooden wall were shot dead, falling to the ground as corpses.
More Fishmen continued to charge forward, quickly piling up a layer of Fishmen corpses at the foot of the wooden wall, and the remaining Fishmen trod on these bodies to continue their assault.
Duke noticed the increasing number of bodies below, realizing the Fishmen were gradually reaching them.
He knew that close-quarter battle was inevitable.
Indeed, these Fishmen didn't use their brains. If they had focused on attacking the wooden wall, not so many would have died.
Duke put away his longbow, drew his longsword, and decapitated the Fishman in front of him with a single swing. Even after its head hit the ground, its protruding dead fish eyes stared at Duke, as if trying to bite him to death.
As more Fishmen surged the wall, everyone found themselves locked in fierce combat with them.
Duke's strategy was clear: he prioritized preventing injuries over killing Fishmen.
His Fighting Spirit was entirely devoted to movement and defense, not attack, and he didn't use the Dragon Spine Burning Wave Sword Technique.
The Fishmen's attack power was already sufficient to handle them without the extra boost from Fighting Spirit, so avoiding injury was the main concern.
Fishmen are fearless of death; Duke couldn't afford to trade blows with them recklessly.
Close combat began soon, and screams soon erupted from the defending soldiers.
Duke observed a young man, seemingly in his teens, plunging his sword into a Fishman's head. But then, three Fishmen impaled their spears into his stomach and pulled them out along with his entrails — a gruesome scene.
The Fishmen attacked without regard for their survival, fixated on driving their spears into enemy bodies.
Duke and his group quickly found themselves in a dire battle, surrounded by Fishmen as soldiers fell one after another.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and fish, and torches overturned, igniting wooden huts into a blaze.
Duke was already covered in green Fishmen blood, using the blazing light to survey the situation around him.
By then, most people had formed small defensive formations against the Fishmen, though some inevitably fell due to exhaustion or distraction.
Duke lost track of how long the battle lasted. He felt numb, repeatedly dodging and striking down Fishmen.
Suddenly, a loud cry resonated from afar, causing the Fishmen to hesitate momentarily before retreating swiftly.
In a blink, only Fishmen corpses remained around them, none alive.
Like a tide, the Fishmen had come swiftly and left just as quickly.
Duke and the others couldn't pursue; the waters were the Fishmen's domain, and they lacked the ability to chase and eradicate them.
George gasped for breath, saying, "It must have been their tribe leader directing them to leave. Such losses have hurt them deeply. They'll likely abandon this place and choose another location for their den."
Duke glanced around before falling into a brief silence.
The casualties were heavy on both sides; their losses were equally devastating.
Out of over eighty people, fewer than fifty remained standing, with over thirty dead.
The injured were countless, and more might die from infected wounds in the aftermath.
The scale of such a brutal outcome was rare in all of Maple Hill County, a type of casualty not seen for a long time.
This group led by Duke was meant to defend against potential magical beasts, never expecting to face a whole Fishman tribe.
To handle these Fishmen with normal casualty rates, they would need at least a two hundred-strong force, much more than they had.
Duke was relatively unharmed; prioritizing defense meant he was merely exhausted rather than injured.
The next day, at dawn, people from Fengqiu City came to provide support, shocked by the scene they found.
The ground was strewn with Fishmen corpses, flesh scattered, a sight more brutal than many battlefields.
Duke and his group returned to Fengqiu City to rest for a while, with others coming to guard the site in their stead.
Soon, rewards and compensation were issued, many of the deceased were Nightingale's men.
Losses among Earl Hardy's elite were painful for him.
Duke received a reward of fifty gold coins, along with a month of rest.
Yet, the rest was theoretical; he wouldn't need to undertake any tasks if manpower was sufficient, but should an emergency occur, he'd be involved.
Upon returning to the manor, Duke learned that Hewen, who joined Nightingale through the selection process alongside him, had died.
Days earlier, Hewen was on guard duty in a small town when a high-level magical beast emerged from Moonlight Forest and attacked. Hewen was decapitated while fighting to defend against it.