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#180 - Chapter 26 Collision (I)

A group of people tightly surrounded the tower, not many, only thirty-four, but they were fully equipped, wearing black hooded robes. The well-trained warhorses alone set them apart from ordinary bandits.

The thugs split off a portion of their group, running around the village, setting fire to buildings when they found them empty. The remaining thugs, confirming there was no other resistance, turned their attention to the tower. They carried thick logs to batter the gate, while others in the rear fired crossbows at the tower windows. Several inexperienced militiamen were immediately hit.

Inside the tower, Knight Harlin led his men to desperately hold the gate, while the villagers behind them brought all movable objects to block the entrance. Harlin shouted, "Everyone, don't panic! Will, take three men upstairs to prevent the enemy from climbing up. I've sent out a distress signal, and our allies will be here soon to rescue us."

The situation was urgent, but Knight Harlin was also grateful. Several years ago, he had reached a cooperation agreement with the lord of White Thornhold, selling him all his agricultural products at market prices. With a stable sales channel and spare money, Harlin had expanded his ancestral brick house into a tower, creating the beginnings of a castle. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withstand this gang of thugs. These were no mere robbers; at least three of them were stronger than him.

If he were held up, he would be killed in a few rounds. He wasn't afraid. Not long ago, when bandits ravaged the Riverlands, House Morningstar had approached him, proposing mutual assistance among the lords who had trade cooperation. They, these lords even weaker than their main house, were naturally eager to accept.

The agreed signal was to release a smoke signal; nearby lords would quickly come to their aid. Thorn City even provided a hundred-man cavalry unit for mobile patrols. He should be the first to request assistance. The number of enemies outside was small; once someone came to support them, they should retreat. He was thinking this when, "Crack!" The thick gate actually cracked, and a broken piece of wood flew past his eyes. Harlin cursed inwardly, "Damn Marvin, he actually lied to me, saying it was the highest quality oak gate! A swindler! As long as I don't die this time, I'll go to his door and demand compensation."

Despite his curses, he didn't hesitate, grabbing a nearby crossbow and firing an arrow at the broken hole. Hearing a scream from outside, he revealed a relieved smile.

"Doo-woo~ Doo-woo~" The sound of a horn came, and Knight Harlin's spirits lifted. Then, a shout came from the stairwell: "Lord! Lord! Someone's coming! It's cavalry, the patrol from Thorn City! We're saved!"

Harlin laughed loudly, "I knew they were reliable! Come on, quickly move the obstacles from the gate! Let's kill our way out! Avenge ourselves!" Several farmers looked at each other, realizing they had been too hasty. They had almost completely blocked the gate, and it would take a while to clear it.

Harlin also realized this. He said helplessly, "What are you standing there for? Start moving! Damn it, you can't even catch the good stuff." The martial prowess of the lower-level knights in the Seven Kingdoms was still guaranteed; they had a sense of responsibility and were dependable.

In the village, a large group of cavalry swarmed in, blocking these thugs on the open ground outside the tower. The thugs, due to their own actions, had set fire to many places, leaving themselves no way to retreat.

These newly arrived cavalry had clear armor and banners, obviously the regular army of a great lord. Those thugs who were setting fires in the village were quickly dealt with, dragged behind the horses. And there were many of them, twice their number. Of course, there were also some riders in mixed attire. Judging from their banners, they were nearby lords. There were over twenty of these people, and the most important thing was that those four lords were all genuine knights, oh! Including the one in the castle.

The newly arrived cavalry surrounded them, and had enough spare manpower to put out the fire. The leader, Rafford, was panicked. They had wreaked havoc in the Riverlands for a long time, but they didn't expect to encounter such a situation. An officer-like figure on the opposite side shouted at them, "Drop your weapons! Surrender!"

Rafford's eyes darted around, "If we surrender, can you guarantee our safety?"

The officer: "You have no right to negotiate. Such banditry must be judged. The lords will decide your life and death." These words made several lords very happy. He was giving them too much face. As expected of someone from a great family, he spoke so nicely.

Rafford knew what his gang had done. If they fell into the hands of the others, they would definitely not have a good end. He said to his subordinates, "Did you all hear that? They don't plan to give us a way out. Brothers, fight them! Anyone who can break through, do it! Kill!" He incited these black-clad thugs to charge at the opponent's lines, while he himself deliberately lagged behind a few steps, preparing to break through from the gap.

The officer revealed a sneer: "Heh heh~ A bunch of ignorant fools. Brothers, hit them! Don't let them die too easily." Then, with a flick of his wrist, the weapon hanging below was revealed, a shiny, diamond-shaped whip-mace. That's right, the weapon painted on the door god.

Here's a simple popular science about the unique Chinese blunt weapon, the whip-mace. In fact, the shape of the whip-mace is not fixed. Generally, the one with bamboo root knots is a whip, and the one with four edges and no blade is a mace. In fact, this thing deals blunt damage, and the space required to wield it is larger than that of a sword, so it is not suitable for use in dense battle formations.

The physique of people in the Ice and Fire world is stronger than that of people on Blue Star, so this weapon, which is simple to manufacture and has a certain armor-breaking ability, is very interesting. But the human body still has its limits. Soldiers can certainly be inhuman, but they can ride horses!

The Zuasheng Army was the first to use this weapon outside the Great Wall and found that the effect was surprisingly good. Although the wildlings lacked metal products, the defenses of several layers of messy animal bones and skins stacked outside the Great Wall were really no weaker than the southern plate armor. At this time, the power of the whip-mace was reflected. Cavalry can wield four or five meter long spears, let alone whip-maces that are only one meter long. With the speed bonus of the warhorse, the blunt weapon whip-mace is no joke when swung at people. Even if the hard animal bones are protected by several layers of leather, they will be shattered by a single blow. Liu Yuan once did a test and found that at least the existing helmets in the Seven Kingdoms cannot completely defend against it and will basically be deformed. When dealing with the enemy, if you want him to live, be gentle, if you want him to die, be more ruthless.

This simple weapon was quickly popularized in the army and became the cavalry's first secondary weapon. Even the Eastern Continent's Sun and Moon Legion fell in love with this thing. Those cavalrymen of Dothraki descent have developed many special ways to play with it, using it to hit unarmored Dothraki warriors, basically one club for one child.

The cavalry's main weapon is still the spear, but if the distance is too close, a reliable secondary weapon is needed. In fact, the requirements for cavalry are not high, just a little shorter. But the bumpy horseback riding puts high demands on the use of swords. It is easy to make mistakes in the chaos, and the back of the sword cannot kill people, and it is easy to break the sword. The whip-mace is different, just swing it with your arms. What is most important on the battlefield? It is disrupting the opponent's organization and disrupting the enemy's strict formation. Especially in cavalry charges, just knock the opponent's cavalry off their horses. It doesn't matter whether they are killed or not. It's their good luck if they are not trampled to death.

The cavalry team tacitly did not use cavalry spears, but revealed the whip-maces in their hands. Some people even drew out two and wielded them with both hands. So as soon as they came into contact, they could see someone flying out. The chain armor under the black robe could not withstand such powerful and heavy attacks, and even the long swords that were swung were bent by the smashing.