ATPnovel Chapter 79 Wolfhounds and the Suppression of Sea Pirates
Chapter 79 Wolfhounds and the Suppression of Sea Pirates
Night was deep, in the dense forest outside Duanpo Village,
Virgil listened to the whispers around him, glanced at Rogge who remained expressionless beside him, and quickly lowered his voice to growl:
"If you don't want to be discovered by the pirates, keep your mouths shut!"
The murmurs abruptly ceased, and the woods returned to their previous deathly silence.
Rogge's gaze remained fixed on the edge of the village.
In the dim light of night, Rogge could still vaguely see a thin, dark figure suddenly darting out from behind the broken wall at the village entrance!
It's Ragnar!
The boy's face was filled with terror, his hair was disheveled, and what was even more frightening was that a giant gray wolfhound was chasing him relentlessly!
Behind the wolfhound, two Vanskerry pirates clad in studded leather armor followed closely, hurling throwing axes at Ragnar's retreating figure.
"Big brother, help me!"
Ragnar ran and screamed, his voice filled with terror on the verge of collapse.
With the extraordinary speed granted by the experience candy, he dodged continuously, narrowly avoiding the successive flying axes behind him.
Under the cover of darkness, the pirates had a hard time hitting their target.
But four-legged creatures are ultimately faster than two-legged ones.
The giant wolfhound drew closer and closer, then suddenly leaped and pounced. Ragnar, anticipating this, dodged to the side, causing the wolfhound to miss its target.
Roger's expression changed instantly, and he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
Ragnar has been exposed!
Judging from his panicked appearance, he had no chance of escaping the giant wolfhound's pursuit.
Without the slightest hesitation, Roger stood up abruptly, drew his military longsword, and gave a stern order to the men behind him:
"All squads, prepare for attack according to the original plan!"
Upon hearing the order, everyone immediately stood up and quickly prepared their equipment.
After giving the order, Roger was the first to rush out.
He moved with lightning speed, his gaze fixed on Ragnar, who was a hundred meters away.
The giant wolfhound finally caught up with Ragnar and pounced again, knocking the boy to the ground!
The wolfhound's thick front paws pressed firmly against Ragnar's back, its gaping maw ready to bite his neck.
Roger was extremely anxious; his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.
He was still dozens of meters away from Ragnar, and there was no way he could catch up!
At this critical moment,
An arrow silently whizzed past Rogge and landed precisely on the head of the giant wolfhound!
Roger paused slightly, slowed his pace, and glanced back to see Eileen still in the posture of drawing her bow and shooting!
The girl's expression was focused, her pale golden hair gently swaying in the night breeze...
At a distance of more than 50 meters, an arrow actually hit the wolfhound in the head!
For an ordinary archer, hitting the target at 20 or 30 meters is already considered good. At 50 meters, and with a mediocre bow, it's simply impossible without years of hard training!
The wolfhound was hit by an arrow and let out a painful howl, its massive body momentarily pausing.
It was this fleeting gap that gave Ragnar the chance to break free.
The boy suddenly flipped over, breaking free from under the wolfhound that was shaking its head, and scrambled towards Roger.
At this moment, Rogge was already close to Ragnar.
Eileen's sudden appearance immediately attracted the attention of more than ten pirates who had chased her to the outskirts of the village.
"There are two more accomplices!"
There are women too! Charge! Kill that man first!
"Don't let them get away! There aren't many of them!"
The pirates roared and charged toward Rogge, brandishing their battle axes.
Ragnar stumbled to Rogge's side, bending over and panting heavily.
Roger shielded him behind him, gripped his longsword tightly with both hands, and assumed a fighting stance, ready to meet the charging pirates.
But just then, the pirates who had rushed halfway suddenly stopped in their tracks.
Their faces showed fear, and after hesitating for only a moment, they turned around and fled into the village in a disheveled state.
Rogge turned his head to look.
In the dark shadows of the forest,
One by one, figures wielding shields emerged from the bushes...
The sight of over fifty men charging forward was particularly oppressive in the quiet night.
These teams were finally ready.
Rogge's more than fifty troops, including everyone in Gonde Village, have been equipped with studded leather armor by the weapons and equipment they seized from the pirate squad that was attacked during the day, and their weapons have all been upgraded.
The sixteen pirates who were dealt with during the day were given sixteen more intact shields.
Of this team of over fifty people, nearly forty were armed with shields, enough to form several assault squads.
Looking at Ragnar, who was panting heavily, Rogge asked:
"What's the situation inside the village? How many pirates are there?"
"There are... there are only thirty-odd pirates inside!"
Ragnar reported, panting heavily, his face still showing lingering fear; the giant wolfhound had terrified him.
"I hadn't even located the captured villagers when this giant dog found me!"
After hearing Ragnar's report, Rogge was finally relieved.
The thirty-odd pirates were exactly the number Aino and the others had estimated, and they also met his minimum threshold for launching an attack!
At this moment, the shield-wielding team members had also rushed to Rogge's side. The team members held shields and weapons, their eyes were firm, and their morale was high.
The effects of the experience candy were working perfectly on them; their previous fatigue had been completely swept away, and everyone looked energetic!
Rogge raised his longsword high, the tip pointing directly at Broken Amber Village, his voice ringing out powerfully:
"All troops, listen to my command! There aren't many pirates in the village, launch an attack immediately!!"
These pirates were no less powerful than the regular army, but Rogge's troops were equipped entirely with weapons captured from the pirates.
In addition, everyone has access to experience candy, which is comparable to a powerful stimulant.
These villagers were no less powerful than the pirates.
In this situation, the greater the advantage in strength, the more likely one is to fight the simplest battle.
Overwhelming the opponent with superior strength is the safest tactic.
Rogge planned to fortify his camp and fight a protracted battle, using superior forces to push forward and minimize casualties.
Under Rogge's orders, the men from the two villages formed two shield walls and slowly advanced towards Broken Po Village.
Soon, the village was filled with the shouts of the pirates, terrified of an enemy attack.
It was only when he passed by the giant wolfhound that Roger truly realized its immense size.
This beast was like a half-grown calf, with thick, strong limbs and great strength. No wonder Ragnar was terrified and easily tackled.
Even if it were shot in the head at this point
But perhaps the shooting distance was too far, or perhaps the arrows fired from the hunting bow didn't do much damage.
The arrow had only pierced a small part of its skull; the injury wasn't fatal, and it was writhing in pain on the ground.
Without hesitation, Roger stepped forward and plunged his longsword into its heart.
The wolfhound let out a mournful howl, the sound echoing throughout the open space...
When the two shield walls advanced to the vicinity of the village entrance, Rogge gave another order:
"Aino, take your men and guard the front of the village entrance, then steadily advance inwards!"
"Virgil, Gold, lead your squads, splitting into left and right groups, and advance into the alleys on either side!"
"yes!"
The crowd responded in unison.
Aino led a 23-man shield wall squad to guard the front of the village entrance, with the shield-wielding militiamen at the forefront.
The people of Duanpo Village split into two agile teams, each with a dozen or so members, and slipped into the alleys on either side.
These villagers from Duanpo Village, familiar with every alley in the village, quickly surrounded the village from the depths.
More than thirty pirates, having already received warning, charged out with shields, clashing with Aino's forces on the village's main road.
Shields clashed, swords and axes swung, and shouts of battle echoed throughout the village entrance.
……