A Realistic Mount & Blade Game

Darkness descended upon the barrow of Uzhall, where Bandak and the villagers and Swadian militia had gathered at the edge.

"Prepare for battle!" Bandak turned and instructed the Swadian villagers and militia behind him.

"Understood!" The 200 Swadian villagers and 700 Swadian militia responded in unison, their voices devoid of fear.

For they had all realized that they now held an absolute advantage in numbers.

Although they knew that undead monsters lurked in the darkness outside, the sheer number of 900 gathered here filled them with confidence.

After all, these Swadian villagers and militia had heard tales of Lord Shen Mu leading troops to and fro in this dangerous otherworld, slaying many enemies.

Though some soldiers had fallen in battle, they felt no unease about it.

War meant death; otherwise, how could it be called war?

Moreover, they had come to this otherworld to stand by Lord Shen Mu, prepared to die in battle, driven by a desire for wealth and power.

Secondly, they knew Lord Shen Mu in this otherworld was crucial to the safety of the entire world, a savior figure.

They had answered the call of a sacred mission, coming to Lord Shen Mu's side, and thus did not fear death.

"Very good, the morale is excellent." Bandak nodded, then instructed everyone to take out the prepared torches, light them, and illuminate the surrounding gray area.

The top of the barrow still fell within the area governed by the Mount \u0026 Blade rules.

Beyond the barrow lay the undead zone, shrouded in the rules of the undead.

This was a small extra allowance under the Mount \u0026 Blade rules, which encompassed not only New Uzhall castle but also a surrounding area.

This area could be used for cultivation or additional defensive arrangements, such as digging trenches or planting rows of spikes to hinder enemy attacks on the city walls.

It also facilitated Bandak's current preparations with the 900 Swadian soldiers.

Watching all the soldiers, each group of five holding aloft a lit torch, with the other four carrying two spare torches each, Bandak knew they were ready.

"Lord Bandak, we may encounter many undead monsters when venturing into the darkness, so please allow us to accompany you," the ten Holy Tree Knights assigned as Bandak's guards approached, earnestly requesting.

"Very well, you may follow me," Bandak nodded, saying nothing more.

He understood they were there to complete Shen Mu's mission and ensure his safety.

Moreover, venturing into the darkness filled with the rules of the undead and gray mist required high-end combat power to prevent problems on the battlefield.

Having these Holy Tree Knights along was indeed a good thing.

Thus, they prepared for battle, and under Bandak's command, headed down the slope of the barrow.

As before, 200 Swadian militia led the way, followed by 200 Swadian civilians in the middle, and 500 Swadian militia bringing up the rear.

Bandak followed the 200 Swadian civilians, holding the line in the middle.

As the light of the torches dispelled the surrounding darkness, the first 200 Swadian militia quickly reached the desert below the slope.

Wielding their hunting crossbows, they swiftly shot down skeletons and zombies that attempted to approach.

Quickly clearing an area.

Allowing Bandak, the civilians, and the remaining militia on the barrow to descend quickly and complete their formation.

The civilians and militia did not disappoint the vanguard militia, quickly rushing down the slope of the barrow and standing shoulder to shoulder with the front line militia, forming a semi-circular defensive formation centered on the barrow behind them, armed with shields and spears.

At this moment, the battle began immediately.

From the darkness, countless arrows rained down, clanging against the shields of the Swadian militia.

And in front, with the sound of bones clashing, a skeletal legion, dark and seemingly metallic, appeared, wielding spears and shields.

They charged out of the darkness and gray mist, their eye sockets blazing with eerie blue soul fire, towards the Swadian militia.

"Archers, fire!"

"Spear formation, hold the line! Stand your ground!"

The Swadian militia captains, who had naturally emerged from among the ranks, shouted loudly, encouraging their comrades to maintain their formation and retaliate.

The Swadian militia, having gone through the Swadian recruit stage, possessed combat skills honed through arduous training and battle experience gained from witnessing bloodshed.

Without hesitation, they raised their old kite shields on their left arms, forming a low wall, while tightly gripping spears made of superior wood and iron ingots in their right hands.

In a breath, they formed a wall of steel and a hedgehog formation.

This was the spear formation.

It not only blocked the incoming decayed arrows.

But also stopped the bone soldiers, swaying and clattering as they approached with decaying spears, swords, and shields.

Although the bones of these skeletal soldiers shimmered with a metallic luster, they were still merely upgraded versions of skeletons.

Their movement was still quite slow, and their strength was not that great.

Their ability to move depended entirely on the soul fire flickering in their eye sockets, or rather, inside their skulls.

This was the great disadvantage of the skeleton race among these undead monsters.

Bandak had dealt with these bone soldiers before, so he knew exactly how to deal with them without being harmed while allowing his soldiers to quickly accumulate combat experience.

After all, in the underground garage, Bandak had personally led the soldiers to upgrade from Swadian recruits to Swadian militia in a short period.

Now he had 700 Swadian militia, the most versatile infantry among these low-level soldiers.

How could they be afraid of these skeletal soldiers?

Then they saw the skeletal legions arrive before the Swadian militia, raising their decayed weapons, but before they could even swing them, the Swadian militia, gripping their spears tightly, struck first, hitting the bodies or heads of the skeletons.

With a series of thrusts, the skeletal soldiers instantly turned into scattered bones and rotten debris.

As for the attacks of these skeletal soldiers, they were easily blocked by the Swadian militia raising their shields on their left arms.

This was because, although these skeletal soldiers looked strong, their weapons were all decayed, and even the tattered armor they wore was as brittle as the weakest plastic bag.

It couldn't even withstand the Swadian militia's fierce spear thrusts, let alone the ordinary crossbow bolts fired by the militiamen standing in the rear.

The crossbow bolts easily pierced through the tattered armor, directly hitting the bones, even the skull.

This caused the skeletal soldiers, whose energy circuits were damaged by the external impact, to lose the strength to support their bodies, collapsing into a pile of useless bone fragments.

This is why skeletons are always at the bottom of the undead monster hierarchy.

Although skeletons are the most numerous and form the largest legions, this does not compensate for the fact that skeletons themselves are the weakest and lowest-level undead monsters.

Only by using an overwhelming numerical advantage can they drown the enemy.

An ordinary numerical advantage can only slow down the enemy's advance or delay their actions.

In fact, if the enemy is accurate enough, even a few hundred soldiers can easily break through a legion of thousands of skeletons.

Moreover, the number of skeletal soldiers that have gathered due to the descent of darkness is not too large, only about four or five hundred.

Those surging forward to fight the Swadian militia are only two or three hundred skeletal warriors.

As for the skeletal archers still shooting arrows from behind, there are only about a hundred or so.

For the seven hundred Swadian militia led by Bandak, it was merely a scratch, posing no threat to them at all.

After all, the Swadian militia's shields, helmets, and hard leather armor provided good defense against these decayed weapons.

Their own weapons were also brand new, far superior in quality to the decayed weapons of the skeletal warriors.

Even when the weapons of the two sides collided, the weapons in the hands of the skeletal warriors would be broken by the Swadian militia's weapons.

This also illustrates that the soldiers of these skeletal legions are no different from the lowest-level skeletons.

"Sir, do we still need to expand outwards? I don't think these skeletons can hinder our advance."

At this time, some Swadian militiamen had already realized that they were like reefs on the shore, firmly guarding their position, unshaken by the impact of the undead monsters, as stable as mountains.

Therefore, their confidence grew, and looking at the greater darkness outside, some Swadian militia captains wanted to rush out and see more of the undead monsters in the darkness.

"Stay where you are and do not act without authorization," Bandak directly stopped the Swadian militia from wanting to go forward and expand the battlefield.

He understood that the spear formation formed by these Swadian militia was essentially a passive defensive tactic.

It required them to stay in place like hedgehogs and wait for the enemy to take the initiative to attack.

It was a defensive tactic forced upon them by the weak.

Now, they believed that they were not weak, and facing these skeletons, they even wanted to disband the spear formation and use the pikes in their hands to fight the skeletal warriors.

Only in this way could they show their courage and bravery.

After all, no one on the Calradia continent likes cowards.

If they showed fear, they would be ridiculed by others, and they had to muster the courage to prove that they were strong and unafraid of battle.

But now, they must not have this idea, because Bandak himself was an extremely steadfast general.

He believed that this idea itself was a reckless and rash idea.

In order to ensure the safety of the Swadian militia and maintain the battle line, he did not want to take any reckless actions.

After all, he knew very well what his purpose was in coming here.

The first purpose was to allow the two hundred Swadian civilians around him, protected by these seven hundred Swadian militia, to gain sufficient combat experience to level up.

And to level up to the Swadian Recruit level in a short period of time.

Swadian Recruits and Swadian Civilians were not the same concept at all. No matter how trashy Swadian Recruits were, they were still soldiers equipped with polearms.

They were no longer part of the civilian class.

When these two hundred Swadian Recruits were formed, it would mean that there were no civilian units in New Uzhitz, and all of them were soldiers of the all-out conscription level.

Therefore, Bandak would never allow these Swadian militia to disband the spear formation and take the initiative to attack and expand the results of the battle.

Because the tactical objectives were different.

Bandak's tactical objective was to first allow these civilians to level up, and then in the process of leveling up, also allow these militiamen to gain some combat experience, and also qualify to level up to the Swadian Light Infantry level.

This was what he wanted.

"Everyone stays where you are tonight, and no one is allowed to act without authorization. This is my order."

Bandak subconsciously looked towards the west.

There was also a Diesel Company subway station entrance over there.

Before, when he went there, the Holy Tree Knight beside him reminded him that there were evil beings inside.

And there were many of them.

Looking at it now, these skeletons and skeletal warriors appeared because of the black mist and darkness.

The numbers were obviously smaller.

Bandak's heart was also slightly tense, after all, he didn't want to encounter a situation where undead monsters gathered in absolute numbers and then launched a siege on their New Uzhitz.

"Let's level up first," Bandak slowly exhaled a mouthful of stuffy air, looking at the Swadian militia who were still welcoming the sparse rain of arrows and fighting with the skeletal warriors in front of him.

At least these Swadian militia had no problem dealing with the current intensity of the battle. (End of this chapter)