Chapter 159: Chapter 146: Centaur
On the plain below the hill, Si Kai and his dozens of scout cavalry stood assembled. The war horses beneath them panted heavily, clearly having just finished a long, hard ride. The biting wind whipped against their cavalry armor, making it feel as cold as ice, but every man was steaming with body heat.
If the Knights had been full of vigor when they set out, they now looked utterly dejected.
The Lord sized them up carefully and was secretly alarmed.
What was once a force of roughly seventy men had been reduced to just over forty. They had lost nearly thirty, and those who remained were all wounded to some extent.
One Knight had a strip of cloth torn from his tunic wrapped around his head, a dark, caked bloodstain marking where his right ear should have been.
The state of the Scout Squad was ghastly.
Levi could almost picture the dangerous scene: an arrow had shot fiercely toward the Knight’s head as he galloped, but his sharp reflexes had saved him. The Arrow that should have pierced his skull had only torn off his ear instead.
To be fair, the Scout Squad wore light Cavalry Armor, and their Northern Black-Hoofed Horses were chosen specifically for their renowned speed and endurance.
Their standard-issue equipment consisted of only a Light Bow, a Cavalry Sword, and a few days’ rations.
With this loadout, their speed in the Wilderness was nearly unmatched by any other cavalry.
They might have been completely unqualified as Heavy Cavalry for a frontal charge, but they were more than capable as Scouts.
Levi couldn’t understand. ’If they wanted to retreat, what kind of force could possibly have stopped them and inflicted such heavy losses?’ This was a casualty rate of over thirty percent.
"We ran into Lionels." Si Kai clearly wasn’t one to beat around the bush; he got straight to the point.
"Damn it. I just can’t figure out how those Minotaurs ended up with Lionels," Si Kai cursed, offering a brief explanation. "We were resting on a hillside. The view was wide open, perfect for monitoring the Southern Alliance Army’s movements. We never expected a horde of Lionels to charge out of the dense woods and catch us completely by surprise."
"Those Lionels are natural-born cavalry; we’re no match for them. They took down ten of my men in the first clash alone."
"We lost a few more to their arrows as we fought a running retreat."
As Si Kai spoke, he unfastened his helmet and cradled it in his arms. The Lord noticed that his hands were trembling.
It wasn’t from fear, but the aftereffect of having exhausted every last drop of his Combat Qi.
For a Combat Qi Knight to exhaust his Combat Qi—the very energy he relied on for survival—spoke volumes about how perilous the situation had been. No mere words could fully capture the desperation of that fight.
"If we’d only been up against ordinary Lionel Scouts, it would have been one thing. We’re no pushovers. But they had a Chieftain with them, nearly a Quadruple Blade tall. His arms were corded with muscle, thicker than my own waist, and every arrow he loosed killed one of my men."
"I had to burn through all my Combat Qi just to get us out of there and avoid a total massacre."
Si Kai’s expression was grim. A shiver involuntarily ran down his spine, especially when he recalled that Giant Beast of a Chieftain.
An ordinary Lionel is usually just over a Tri-Blade tall. But this one, clearly the Chieftain and a formidable figure, was a full size larger than his kin. The difference was like that between a child and an adult.
’If it weren’t for my Combat Qi training,’ Si Kai thought, ’I truly might not have made it back this time.’
’Lionels? So it’s one act after another,’ the Lord thought with a strange expression. ’Everyone’s just lining up, impatient to prove themselves in the Wilderness, is that it?’
He wasn’t a biologist or a scholar, but he had some knowledge about these powerful warrior Races.
First, while Centaurs and Lionels belonged to the same genus, there was a vast difference between the two.
Centaurs, for instance, typically had the lower body of a horse and the upper torso of a human. They were a gentle people with civilized Tribes, considered a benevolent Race.
Lionels, on the other hand, had a similar structure to Centaurs, but their upper torsos were those of Beastmen. With ferocious, ugly faces, they were irascible and warlike—a renowned powerful warrior Race of the Wilderness. The reputation of these Lionels was no less fearsome than that of the Minotaurs.
Both being powerful warrior Races, they would not normally mix, barring special circumstances. After all, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Both Races were notoriously ill-tempered; if you put them together, they were more likely to start fighting each other before the real battle even began.
"Don’t worry about it. Let your Duke get a headache over this," Levi said, patting Si Kai’s shoulder in a rare moment of consolation.
"Duke Fulina is here?!"
Si Kai froze for a second, then his face lit up with delight.
It was as if her presence alone meant that everything would be all right.
"She arrived not long after you left. And speak of the devil, there she is now." Levi gestured with his chin towards the distance.
In the distance, the sharp and capable-looking Fulina, dressed in full military attire, was galloping toward them on her Magical Beast. She was followed by several cavalrymen in aristocratic dress, who likely held important posts in the army.
In truth, the only reason Levi had reached Si Kai first was that he happened to have been winter fishing by the river, which shortened his trip. The soldiers from Bailiu City had actually spotted the returning Scout Squad only a moment after the Jackal Wolfmen did.
’That said, the winter fish are beautifully plump this time of year,’ Levi thought to himself. ’Fish soup with noodles tonight will be absolutely delicious.’
"Duke!"
Si Kai bowed respectfully. The Knights behind him dismounted and followed suit, a clear testament to the Duchess’s high standing within the army.
"Dispense with the formalities. We’ll speak once we’re back."
A single glance was all Fulina needed to grasp the situation.
"These Warriors have had a long, hard journey and are exhausted. Let them return and get some proper rest."
"Levi, I’m calling a war council shortly. Remember to bring the banner of High Cliff Castle when you come." After instructing Levi, Fulina departed in a hurry with her retinue, presumably impatient to find out what had happened.
"Understood." The Lord packed up his homemade fishing rod and started toward High Cliff Castle, carrying a large, plump, white-scaled fish.
Generally, the main gate of High Cliff Castle, forged from solid iron, was kept open. It was only closed when the castle was under attack.
Feder Warriors were patrolling the walls while, inside the territory, the common folk went about their daily tasks.
"I’m going to a meeting. Zat, you take the men to eat first. Give this fish to Tina and have her make some soup to warm everyone up."
Levi retrieved a rolled-up banner from a storage box in the lord’s hall. He unrolled it, threaded a Long Spear through the top, and raised it high. It was the banner of High Cliff Castle: "A Mountain Bathed in Flames Beneath a Shining Sun."
