Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 268 - 34 - Charge, Knight_1

Chapter 268: Chapter 34 - Charge, Knight_1

"I don’t like this sort of scene," Catherine said softly, "Even though many knights are enamoured by it, I don’t really like it."

The atmosphere of war was gradually rising in the valley. Although most of the city guards were novices, they were well-trained. They dismounted their horses in an orderly manner in preparation for battle when they reached the valley. For non-knight professionals, their fighting abilities on horseback were often inferior to their foot-fighting abilities. Instead of struggling to fight on horseback, they simply abandoned the mobility advantage of the horses.

The convoy was divided into three parts. The first part was two reinforced passenger carriages. The wedding party members on the carriages had been transferred to other vehicles before entering the valley, therefore, only ten city guards, known for their excellent archery skills, were left in these two carriages. They were ready to target enemies from the open windows with their bows and arrows. The second part involved three additional coaches loaded with passengers and Freya’s carriage. The three coaches encircled Freya’s luxurious carriage, guarded on the outside by twenty city guards, armed with swords. The last part was the gift and supply carriages which had been distanced about forty to fifty meters from the other wagons, ensuring they wouldn’t be affected by the battlefield but could also receive timely assistance if attacked. At the very front of the convoy were a few upper-rank professionals, who were the leaders. Even with just a few of them, there was plenty of power. Among the eight Silver Rank bandits, any one of them could easily defeat any of the lower rank personnel.

However, the atmosphere was extremely tense. Everyone was aware that their opponents were not stupid, knowing these ragtag bandits would not cause much trouble. They were sure that there was another attack hidden, just like the one a few days ago.

"Many people don’t like this sort of scene." Pannis shrugged his shoulders casually, "Even among knights, many detest war. The more powerful they are, the more they deteste it. Ordinary people might get thrilled by war, but not them."

"Why is that?" Catherine asked, puzzled, "I tend to feel the same way, but I don’t understand why."

"You can’t figure it out?" Pannis looked at Catherine in surprise and inquired, "Would you feel thrilled by the sight of a group of babies fighting in a gory battle? Would you enjoy such a magical scene?"

"No sane person would enjoy that." Catherine smiled bitterly, "I still consider myself quite sane, so I definitely won’t like it."

"There are more sane people in this world than not." Pannis leaned back against the arch of the horse’s neck and spoke leisurely, "The stronger they are, the more the people in the war seem like babies to them. The difference between the strengths of the two opposing militaries and the courage of their soldiers are like child’s play to these powerful professionals. What really matters is when they encounter upper rank professionals of the enemy side. But then the nature of the conflict changes. It’s no longer a war, but a fight between two or a few people, so there’s no thrill or excitement."

"That’s quite accurate." Captain Ayrland reminisced, "Although I am not a knight but a warrior, I used to serve in the grassroots army of the Falar Empire when I was young. I participated in many small border battles. At first, I was very enthusiastic about honor and victory. But after I was promoted to Gold Rank, I realized that my enemies and comrades were no different from children fighting. I could stand there without shielding myself with aggression and let them hack at me, yet few of them could actually harm me. The physicality gap between upper and lower ranks is just too large. Since then, I left the army and never returned. However, I heard that the war against the Undead a hundred years ago was quite intense, like a real war for professionals."

"Really? I don’t know, I didn’t experience it." Pannis languidly scratched his neck and stared up into the sky with a half-smile, "It’s been a hundred years, that’s a long time. I’m so young, how could I possibly know."

"What happened next? Did you come to the City of Knowledge?" the most curious Lina couldn’t help but ask Ayrland.

"Well, kind of," Ayrland recalled, "I was over forty then and had lost all hope of becoming a legendary professional, so I lacked motivation. My long-standing desire to travel around the world, hoping to gain a better understanding of the customs of various places during my lifetime, led me to the City of Knowledge. I was impressed by it and haven’t left since."

"Indeed, the Holy City is arguably the best city in the world," Vivian agreed, "Unless other factors are considered, I don’t think anyone would willingly leave this place."

"Alright, enough chit-chat. The enemy is in sight," Catherine stood up from horseback and looked towards the far end of the valley, "I should get ready for battle."

"Can you handle this alone, Miss Catherine?" Ayrland asked worriedly, "What if the enemy has hidden professionals above Gold Rank in their ranks? It could be very dangerous."

"Don’t worry." Pannis waved his hand, "Even if there are hidden enemies, they won’t be there. Trust in Catherine’s strength. After all, she has the qualifications to inherit the flag of the hero Knight."

"Don’t worry, I’m going." Catherine smiled, gripping the lance she had borrowed from the team, urging her horse to trot at a gentle pace, beginning to slowly accelerate.

"May glory and victory always accompany you." Pannis puzzledly raised his coat, using it to shield his eyes from the glaring setting sun. He also hid his own expression and gaze: "My Lady Valkyrie."

Far away, the enemy also stirred. They were better than imagined, at least not thrown into chaos as soon as the battle commenced. Rather, they’ve arranged their formation within the valley. The infantry was at the center of the team, although their weapons were chaotic, they maintained a neat formation. Over twenty cavalries divided evenly into two sides— a standard offensive formation. The two cavalries on the flanks guiding the enemy’s facing direction, while the infantry head-on charged at the enemy positions in an attempt to crush them in one fell swoop. Of course, if the situation was not favorable, the formation could be slightly modified, like allowing the infantry to distract the enemy’s defense from the side, while the two flanks pounced on the loopholes with a strong impact to tear the defense line open. Surprisingly, a group of disorganized thieves, a temporarily plundered team, managed to form such a standard formation.

Catherine’s horse was trotting slowly, although speeding up gradually, it wasn’t fast overall. Seeing the enemy finish their assembly in just two minutes, Catherine knew that their morale wasn’t as weak as she had imagined, perhaps the battle would drag on longer than planned. But it didn’t matter, everything was under control. Even if the enemies grew stronger, a knight would always remain fearless.

Soon the 1500-meter distance narrowed down to a thousand meters. The closer they got, the calmer Catherine appeared. When the speed of the horse reached a tipping point, Catherine’s face broke into a beautiful smile. She bowed her head, focusing on the lance in her hand for a moment, and when she raised her head again, her face had turned completely indifferent. She coldly lowered the visor of her helmet, and bent her upper body close to the horse. Although Catherine’s horse wasn’t a professional warhorse, it seemed to understand her intentions completely. Without her issuing any command, the horse leaped forward, instantly increasing its speed, and charged at the enemy line with the sound of the wind howling past them.

"She’s charging, is she crazy?"

"She’s just one person."

"Stop her, don’t let her reach maximum speed."

"Don’t panic, hold steady, prepare for the impact, no one moves out of line. Remember, whoever turns to run first will be the first to die."

"She must be one of their leaders, probably the strongest among the enemies. Defeating her means we’ve won half the battle, let’s go all out."

A moment of chaos ensued amongst the enemy as they faced Catherine, but this was quickly dispelled under the stern reprimand of their leaders, gradually transforming into disciplined soldiers, ready for their first battle.

"Ha, hey!" Although Catherine was not there yet, her voice arrived first. The thunderous roar echoed through the battlefield with a powerful, disoriented sound wave, spreading in all directions. This was the standard application of a knight’s war-cry, an initial attack amid the charge, using their voices to intimidate the enemy’s courage, their sound waves to disrupt the enemy’s defensive movements.

"Quick, stop her." Someone shouted: "Don’t let her break through the central defense line."

The cavalry on the left and right moved immediately, a few along the arc from both sides launched their attack on Catherine. But she didn’t even glance at their attacks. Her hand atop the lance pressed down lightly signaling the horse to suddenly pick up speed, leaving the attackers futilely chasing her disappearing silhouette.

A few other cavalries moved sideways in line with the commander’s intention and confronted her from the front, intending to block her path, slowing her charging speed. It had to be said, these people chose the most effective method of blockade, but equally, they were the most unlucky.

A cold smile appeared on the corner of Catherine’s visor, as she was enveloped by the radiance of her Aggression. Not just her, even the horse under her was shrouded in the Aggression. This was the main characteristic of knights; during battle, the horse and the rider were one entity, possessing the same defense and impact. Any attack, whether on the person or the horse, the result was the same.

The instant the two sides made contact, screams erupted from the cavalry. Luckily, they weren’t speared by the lance, or rather Catherine intentionally adjusted the direction of her lance to avoid directly attacking them. But their luck soon ran out as accident after accident took place. Every enemy cavalry in front of Catherine had a close encounter with her horse, then amidst a clear bone fracture sound was flung off the horseback, as they screamed in pain and agony. Finally, falling on the ground, rolling out covered in abrasions, they lay motionless on the ground. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, I invite you to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest encouragement. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)