Mortal arrows were essentially useless against these Transcendents with their Fighting Qi Body Protection. Only Fighting Qi could break through Fighting Qi.
'Perhaps a Magic Crossbow could work too, but where would Robson find such a luxury?'
Robson first sent someone to notify the 1st, 8th, and 3rd regiments to prepare to advance. At the same time, he gathered all his Transcendents—about thirty of them—to give these Jackal Wolfmen a nasty surprise.
Robson split his Tier Three Frankish Infantry into small groups, sending them into the wagon barricade to delay the enemy. The Tier Three and Tier Four Archers continued to pick off the Bloodthirsty Jackal Wolfmen with targeted shots.
As for the Tier Four Frank Skilled Infantry, Robson divided them into five groups to confront the Transcendents.
'Four against one should be more than enough to handle any Transcendents below Tier Three.'
"DING! Frankish Infantry has killed a Jackal Wolfman Herder."
"DING! Frankish Infantry has killed a Jackal Wolfman Warrior."
"DING!..."
In an instant, the Jackal Wolfmen, waving their wooden clubs, charged the front of the wagon barricade and began to clash with the Frankish Infantry.
The kill-death ratio was currently five to one. For every five green kill notifications, a red death notification would appear.
"All men, Knight formation!" Robson commanded.
The time had come to compete in raw strength!
"For the Franks! For His Majesty the King! For the Lord of Dawn!" Robson roared as he vaulted onto his horse.
"For the Franks! For His Majesty the King..." The other Knights, having already donned their armor, also mounted their horses.
"Charge!"
Robson took the lead. With a chorus of whinnying horses, his lance became a blur, weaving through the horde of Jackal Wolfmen like a roving dragon.
The group charged with a clear target: the Jackal Wolfman Transcendents.
Ode watched Robson's charging steed, his wolf-like eyes widening. Instead of dodging, he counterattacked, lunging forward with both claws and actually tearing the horse apart.
Thrown off balance, Robson slid to the ground. A pair of claws slashed at him, but his swift reaction allowed him to dodge the blow.
"Bloodburn!"
Robson activated Bloodburn. Instantly, he felt his entire body begin to boil. Every inch of his skin, every cell, seemed to thrum with exhilarating power.
In response, his mind grew hazy. Reason faded, and a primitive bloodlust took over.
"Hah!"
Robson drew his Knight's Sword and batted away Ode's claws, then took several steps forward.
He attacked purely on instinct, delivering a simple, unadorned heavy blow with crushing force!
'How is this possible!'
Ode was shocked. He hurriedly raised his claws to block, but his normally razor-sharp claws were instantly smashed to pieces by the heavy blow.
"AWOO!" Ode howled in pain and hurriedly took half a step back, barely dodging another of Robson's upward slashes.
Robson didn't stop, relentlessly pressuring Ode as if he had an inexhaustible supply of strength.
'Who's the real Beastman here? How can he be so savage?' In his alarm, Ode frantically called for reinforcements.
A few Tier Two and Tier One Jackal Wolfman Transcendents started to move in, but a single horizontal slash from Robson took out three of them. The rest cowered, not daring to step forward.
Robson's Bloodburn was now in full effect. Only a sliver of reason remained, allowing him to distinguish friend from foe. He felt no fear, no pain, nothing else.
Having lost his target, Robson began rampaging through the Jackal Wolfman horde, cutting them down like melons and vegetables.
His technique was masterful, his angles unpredictable. Almost none could dodge his attacks.
"For the King! For the Franks!"
The other Knights followed close behind. Perhaps inspired by Robson, or perhaps the bloodlust of the battlefield had awakened the primitive ferocity of the Franks, they charged fearlessly into the Jackal Wolfman horde.
'Who are the real Beastmen here?' Ode felt like he was about to cry. He had never seen such savage barbarians even in his own Jackal Wolfman Tribe.
"Commander! The enemy's reinforcements have arrived!" his Little Commander reminded Ode.
"Retreat! Bloodthirsters, cover our rear! Everyone else, fall back!" Ode commanded hastily.
By now, he had lost at least three-tenths of his forces, a number far beyond what the Chieftain would tolerate. There was nothing to be gained by continuing the fight, so Ode could only order a retreat.
...
「Dusk. Inside a human tent on the mountain.」
"He's awake! Sir Robson is awake!"
The surrounding noble Knights, clad in blood-stained armor with disheveled hair, were overjoyed. These were the very Knights who had charged with Robson earlier, and his rampage on the battlefield had completely won them over.
The Franks were a thoroughly martial people. To win their respect, you had to display a dozen times their own valor. Clearly, Robson had done so.
Robson slowly opened his eyes, his head throbbing with a splitting pain. He felt groggy and dazed.
'So this is Bloodburn?' Robson swore he would never use this skill again unless it was absolutely necessary. The aftereffects were too severe.
Someone helped Robson sit up.
Outside, the night was dark. Soldiers stood guard at the tent's entrance, while a group of Knights waited anxiously by his side.
"Sir Robson, you're finally awake," said a Baron beside him.
Robson looked at them and saw that almost every one of them looked at him with eyes full of respect.
"How long was I unconscious?" Robson asked. 'A skill that can knock you out on the battlefield... it's too risky. I'll have to use it sparingly in the future.'
"Six hours, Sir," the Baron replied.
"Did we retreat successfully?" Robson asked.
The respect on the Baron's face deepened.
"Rest assured, we are on the mountain. Our position is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and we're keeping an eye on those savage Jackal Wolfmen," the Baron replied.
"Mm, that's good," Robson nodded.
"We'll leave you to rest then."
After speaking, the Baron gestured for the others to leave. Seeing that Robson wasn't in any serious danger, the others also returned to their posts.
Robson watched them all leave, then eagerly opened his Mount & Blade panel.
"[Host: Robson Odogin (Fourth-rank Silver Knight 1222/1000) (No Title)]"
"[Heroes: None]"
"[Skills: Perfect Knight Eight Skills (1000/1000)
Novice Bloodburn (100/100) +]"
"[Soldiers:
Tier Three: 211 Frankish Infantry (150 Upgradable) +
Tier Three: 99 Frankish Archers (99 Upgradable) +
Tier Four: 10 Frank Skilled Infantry (130/2000)
Tier Four: 80 Frank Skilled Shooters (120/2000)]"
"[Morale: 70/100]"
"[Troop Limit: 1000]"
'Killing all those trash mobs was so satisfying! The EXP gains were insane!'
Robson immediately hit upgrade, promoting himself to a Fifth-rank Knight and upgrading Bloodburn to the Proficient level.
'Promoting Tier Four Soldiers seems a lot harder, though. Not a single one got promoted even after firing so many volleys.'
The ones who gained the most experience this time were, naturally, the Tier Three Soldiers.
The first wave of Jackal Wolfmen never even reached Robson's lines, so there was no real experience to be gained. This time, however, it was a brutal, close-quarters fight.
Robson now had 160 Tier Four Frank Skilled Infantry and 179 Tier Four Frank Skilled Shooters! He had already witnessed the capabilities of the Frank Skilled Shooters.
If it weren't for the Jackal Wolfmen's numerical superiority in Transcendents, Robson was confident he could have held the line with these men alone!
'Now that I have the high ground, if those Jackal Wolfmen dare to attack again, I'll show them the true power of 100% accurate, targeted fire.'