Lord of the Oasis - Chapter 136
Chapter 136: Kant Was Stunned
Firentis agreed with Kant.
As the order was given, the two city gates of the Drondheim fortress were opened. With a sinister smile on their faces, the light cavalry rode their horses and left one after another. They called out to each other and disappeared into the vast dunes.
They might not be very proficient in city defense with rigid tactical requirements
However, they were equipped with light equipment. As long as they split up into smaller groups, they would be as free as the fishes that jumped into the water. They could easily apply the various methods they used in the Sarrand Desert.
Although they were Kant’s light cavalry, they were once the bandits in the sea of sand that drove the entire Sarrand Sultanate crazy!
They split and attacked.
This was their specialty!
The Sarrandian Horseman and the desert horses, which were good at surviving in the desert, stepped lightly on the sandy ground and moved quickly among the dunes. With this speed, they were not much slower than moving on the plains.
With the 15 Sarrandian Horsemen at the center, 25 elite desert bandits and 40 desert bandits spread out over a wide area.
They could only see the other teams from a dozen meters away.
But the distance was not a problem. They had a way to communicate with each other, and they were surrounded by teammates. As long as someone rode up the dune, shouted, and greeted with a special tune that only the Sarrandian bandits would know. With the tacit understanding that they had cultivated in their plundering career, they would know what other comrades had in mind and react quickly.
Or they could spread out and attack the enemy’s troops.
Or they could gather behind a dune and form an orderly charging formation, charging straight at the enemy with a spear.
However, at the moment, they were best at hiding.
Kant stood on the top floor of the Council Hall, while Firentis and Manid behind him. They gazed into the north and could clearly see the desert bandits spreading out behind the dunes, they were like slippery loaches shuttling through the cracks at the bottom of the dune.
“They’re not bad,” Kant’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
“Perhaps,” Firentis nodded.
His tone was indifferent. It was the arrogance brought by his country and the contempt brought by education.
To this Swadian Knight, although the desert bandits were notorious in Sarrand Sultanate and were considered as the light cavalry that everyone feared, he knew that they would not be of much use on the battlefield.
Even the Sarrandian Horsemen could hunt them down, not to mention the Swadian Heavy Cavalry who were fully armored.
Pausing for a moment, Firentis realized that his reply to Kant was rather rude, so he explained, “But these Sarrandians can cause some trouble and chaos to the enemy, which is pretty good.”
“That’s right, that’s the goal.”
Kant chuckled, not minding that Firentis misspoke himself.
He did not have high expectations for the desert bandits.
After all, they were only more or less a Class 3 cavalry. To be more precise, they were around Class 2.5. Only elite desert bandits could be considered as Class 3 cavalry, and their combat strength was not considered strong.
His only request for them was to harass the enemy troops.
These desert bandits could definitely do it.
Four short javelins per person might not be a lot, but 40 desert bandits would have 160 of those, and those were very effective in harassing the enemy.
Moreover, there were 25 elite desert bandits.
They were equipped with six additional short javelins per person. Although there were only 25 people, there were 150 short javelins.
Therefore, Kant was confident.
These 300 heavy short javelins were thrown out one by one. The effect was much better than arrows and crossbows. Although they were short-ranged, only 10 meters in total, the destructive power was huge.
Moreover, the momentum of the running horse boosted the strength of the arm, the short javelin that was thrown out could pierce through armor.
It was estimated that it could even pierce through the chain armor worn by a Sarrandian Horseman and form a bloody hole.
On top of that, according to Kant’s understanding, the high-level Jackalan warriors of the Kingdom of Grey Mane were generally equipped with mail armor. Although it could shield the soldier against cuts from swords and sabers, it was not as effective against stabbing.
Due to its structure, mail armor was not as effective against arrows and crossbows as lamellar armor, chain armor, or scale armor.
Now that those Jackalans had to face javelins that could even destroy shields and chain armor, they could only hope for the best!
“They’re here.”
Firentis suddenly said and narrowed his eyes.
Kant and Manid’s expressions were solemn as well. They followed Firentis’ gaze and looked toward the north.
Among the dunes in the north, countless black dots were appearing at the top of dunes. They seemed to be moving slowly, but they were moving rather quickly towards the Oasis Lookout. Their dark silhouette covered seven or eight dunes.
“Doom doom doom… Doom doom doom… Doom doom doom…”
The bronze bell was rapidly struck by the Swadian Infantrymen who was in charge of it, and the clear sound of the bell reverberated in the fortress.
The soldiers who were on standby all stood tall.
The archers on the city walls and arrow towers all pointed their weapons toward the north.
Groups of civilians also lined up and waited in the open space right next to the city walls. If the fortress entered a state of emergency and the gate was about to be breached, then the special function of the bell tower would be activated, turning the 550 civilians into recruits with basic equipment.
Although they could not withstand the powerful attack, they could still keep the front line at bay with their own lives.
“They’re finally here.”
Kant narrowed his eyes and put his hands on the uneven arrow wall with both hands, but he was calm, “The expeditionary army of the Kingdom of Grey Mane.”
He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Asage had been captured after they defeated the Jackalan tribe. They had discovered that to the north of the Nahrin Desert, there was the Mannheim Coast. After learning about the Kingdom of Grey Mane, which was composed of high-level Jackalans, Kant knew that today’s battle was unavoidable because the other party had malicious intentions. In essence, they were here to plunder and fight.
These high-level Jackalans of the Kingdom of Grey Mane had no intention of negotiating or trading.
Kant also didn’t want those.
War was the best choice.
If those high-level Jackalans of the Kingdom of Grey Mane came here to build a friendship, and chose to negotiate, trade, and do business, who could Kant, who was only nominally a baron of the Dukedom of Leo and lived in the Oasis Lookout, represent?
He could represent no one!
On the contrary, he would be in grave danger because of the profits brought by the Jackalans.
Why would the nobles who exiled Kant to the desert let him have an opportunity to reappear in the upper-class society, smile hypocritically with them, talk to them, and then cut their throats with a knife?
Just look at the heirs of the Dukedom of Leo who died every year.
No good person could become a noble!
And the most important thing was the natural salt mine. It was an extremely crucial resource for Kant’s future development. He would not give it up to anyone, even if it meant war.
This salt mine represented the future!
The only valuable thing in the barren Nahrin Desert was this salt mine.
Kant would not let go of it.
His heart beat faster because of his thoughts. It was not because of fear or excitement, but just pure palpitations. Especially when he saw the enemy troops getting closer and closer, as well as his light cavalrymen who were hiding in the surroundings, carefully observing. Kant slowly clenched his fist and said in a deep voice, “Tell everyone to get ready.”
The Jackalan troops were less than 2,000 meters away.
Dark figures spread across the dunes.
The grey fur unique to the Jackalans was quite eye-catching. They had a slightly hunched back and a beast-like head.
If it was at night, their eyes would be filled with a green, dense light.
Dense and terrifying.
However, Firentis frowned. His gaze swept across the group of Jackalans and was finally fixed at the center. His brows furrowed even more. He suddenly felt that something was wrong.
“Huh?” Kant’s brows also furrowed.
Even Manid, who was not good at military affairs, could not believe what he saw.
“What’s going on?” Someone muttered to himself.
His tone was puzzled.
This was what everyone was thinking, and even their tone was with a hint of shock.
There were indeed a lot of Jackalans, they arrived in a dense mass. According to Firentis’ estimation, the number definitely surpassed the 2,500 the desert bandit estimated. Even when he was looking down at the dense formation from above, he saw at least 3,000 people.
Otherwise, they would not have formed such a large-scale army and covered several dunes.
That was why Kant and the others were puzzled and shocked.
They were also a little incredulous.
Because the 3000 Jackalans were all familiar “old friends”!
They had long sharp teeth on their jaws, grey fur, a head that looked like a wild beast, tattered linen and animal skin on their bodies, and spiked club that was laced with gravel and inferior iron in their hands.
Low-level Jackalans!
These low-level Jackalans were the favorite preys of Drondheim, the favorite cargo of the Kingdom of Vaegirs, the favorite slaves of the iron miners of Snowfield, and Kant’s favorite Denars.
That was the surprise.
That’s right, the army was made up of these low-level Jackalans.
300 low-level Jackalans could be hunted down by just 40 desert bandits who were galloping on horseback and holding machetes!
They launched an expedition against Kant’s Drondheim, gathering so many tribesmen as if they were going to risk their lives, use the spiked club in their hands to destroy this stone fortress in one go.
“Huh, is this a joke?”
Kant slightly narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over the huge group of Jackalans.
The Jackalans formed a dark and dense patch, but as Kant got closer, he saw their messy formation that didn’t have any tactics to speak of. Kant couldn’t help but clench his fists, he said in a deep voice as if he was insulted, “Now I wonder, what about the expeditionary army from the Mannheim Coast of the Kingdom of Grey Mane?”
In Kant’s eyes, those were his enemies.
As for these low-level Jackalans, they were just a bunch of trash that could be defeated at any time!
