Chapter 140: Ballista
CLATTER! CLATTER! CLATTER!
The wagon rattled violently as it raced across the uneven road.
Roderic held onto the side of the wagon, glancing back towards Whitemane City.
The southern walls were already disappearing into the distance.
’Good,’ he thought, nodding once. ’That’s part one of the plan complete.’
His gaze lifted to the clear sky above.
The moon had yet to reach the highest point in the sky.
’There’s still a bit of time before Finn will act.’
Just then, Frederic’s voice rang out ahead of him.
’’Young master!’’ he shouted. ’’We can’t maintain this speed for much longer. Not if we want to make it back with the wagon!’’
Roderic snapped out of his thoughts and turned to him.
’’Slow down in a minute,’’ he said. ’’We’ll be far enough from the city then.’’
Frederic nodded once.
’’Understood!’’
A minute later, Frederic gradually pulled back on the reins.
The four horses slowed from a gallop to a trot, causing the rattling of the wagon to become considerably quieter.
Roderic turned his attention towards the north.
’Now, let’s see.’
Thanks to his Eagle Eyes, he could easily scan the landscape ahead.
The terrain was relatively flat, consisting mostly of open fields, scattered bushes, and several clusters of trees.
Fortunately, there were no major obstacles between them and the Deres encampment.
’We’ll be able to travel through there easily,’ he thought. ’But we’ll be quite... visible at times.’
Roderic’s mind churned for a moment.
They could continue and enter from a bit further ahead, but they’d be going through a large number of trees and ditches.
’Ah, screw this,’ he thought. ’Getting stuck is the last thing I want.’
He glanced towards Frederic right away.
’’Leave the road here,’’ he said, gesturing to the right. ’’Head north through the fields.’’
Frederic pulled the reins right away, guiding the four horses off the road.
CLATTER! CLATTER!
The wagon bounced violently as its wheels rolled onto the uneven ground.
’’WOAH!’’ a cry rang out behind.
Peter had lost his balance, only barely able to grab onto something in time.
’’For fuck’s sake!’’ he cursed, pulling himself back on. ’’Warn us next time!’’
’’It was the young master’s orders!’’ Frederic shouted back.
Peter’s face paled slightly.
’’Uhm- uhm,’’ he started. ’’I-It was a good decis—’’
Roderic scoffed quietly, already ignoring his words.
Instead, he continued surveying the surroundings.
They were already nearing the Western gate area, which only meant one thing.
’There should be more scouts,’ he thought. ’I’ll need to dispose of them instantly.’
Roderic had long thought of a way to do so.
Without wasting another moment, he opened the System Shop.
’System, purchase me 5 pairs of ordinary hooked blades.’
A blue window instantly popped up in front of him.
[Would you like to purchase five Mortal-rank [Twin Tiger Hook Blades] for 5 Throne Coins?]
[Yes] [No]
Roderic pressed yes without any hesitation.
[Ding!]
[5 Throne Coins deducted!]
In an instant, ten separate hooked blades appeared on the wooden bench beside him.
’Now then.’
Roderic closed the screen with a simple thought.
His eyes narrowed as he swept through the surroundings.
For the next few minutes, nothing happened.
The wagon slowly made its way through the fields, occasionally passing through patches of bushes and tall grass.
Just as Roderic began wondering whether they’d somehow avoided the scouts, his eyes caught something.
’There,’ he thought, his expression darkening.
Several figures were standing near a small cluster of trees.
Five were on foot, while the sixth one sat atop a horse.
And all of them were looking straight back at him.
’It’s a lot of them too!’
Roderic immediately turned towards Frederic.
’’Keep going,’’ he said, standing up. ’’And whatever happens, don’t stop.’’
Frederic looked confused for a moment before realizing what was going on.
’’Scouts?’’ he asked immediately.
Roderic nodded once as he picked up two of the hooked blades.
’’Six of them,’’ he replied. ’’Near those trees up ahead.’’
Frederic narrowed his eyes, but couldn’t make out anything in the darkness.
Regardless, he simply tightened his grip on the reins and maintained their pace.
Roderic let out a quiet breath, his gaze locking onto his targets.
’Let’s see how well these fly,’ he thought.
...
At the same time, a young scout turned to the others in panic.
’’That’s definitely not one of ours,’’ he said.
The other men nodded, having watched the wagon for nearly thirty seconds now.
Even so, the situation seemed incredibly strange to them.
’’If it was from Whitemane, the others at the northern gate would’ve warned us, right?’’ one asked hesitantly.
’’Doesn’t matter,’’ another replied, turning his horse around. ’’I’m going to report this.’’
The others nodded right away.
With that, he kicked his horse forward.
’’HYAH!’’
The horse immediately broke into a gallop, racing towards the Deres encampment.
’’I’ll follow up with more details once we’ve identified them,’’ one of his comrades shouted behind him.
The scout on horseback turned back to nod.
However, barely a second later, his expression went ghostly white.
’’AAARGH!!!’’
A scream rang out behind.
Two of his comrades collapsed onto the ground, the moonlight reflecting off a metallic blade in each of their chests.
’’W-What the fuck?!’’ the scout muttered, eyes wide.
He watched his remaining three comrades flee for their lives.
But they too met similar fates.
’’FUCK!’’ he cursed, shivers running down his spine.
He kicked his horse’s sides repeatedly.
’’FASTER! FASTER!’’
The animal accelerated, its hooves pounding against the ground.
He didn’t dare look back again.
All he could think about was reaching the encampment and warning the others.
Unfortunately for him, Roderic had no intention of letting that happen.
’Shit, he’s fast!’
Roderic grabbed another hooked blade and hurled it towards the fleeing scout.
WHOOSH!
The blade shot through the air.
However, by the time it reached the horseman, he had already moved several meters further.
’’Fuck!’’ he cursed. ’’He’s already out of range!’’
Roderic reached for another blade.
But just as he was about to throw it, John’s voice rang out behind him.
’’Young master! Let me handle him!’’
Roderic turned around.
John was already standing beside the enormous ballista, his eyes fixed on the fleeing scout.
’’Pull back the cloth!’’ he shouted towards Peter and Paul.
The two immediately understood.
’’On it!’’
They grabbed the thick cloth covering the weapon and pulled it aside.
WHOOSH!
The enormous ballista was revealed, glinting beneath the moonlight.
Roderic’s eyes lit up instantly.
’’Good thinking!’’ he said. ’’Almost forgot we could use that!’’