Chapter 725 Military Discipline Dispersed
Lair showed little anger, continuing to coldly question their affiliations and superiors, clearly intending to show no leniency.
I had thought Lair was approachable, without the airs of nobility and easy to get along with. Now, I see it was merely good manners cultivated from childhood. In reality, he was still a noble, with the inherent coldness of nobility.
However, I didn’t find his coldness uncomfortable. As the saying goes, only evil can curb evil. This was precisely the moment someone needed to deal with these brutes. I was too soft-hearted; it wouldn’t do.
The soldiers trembled, daring not to speak. Lair didn’t press further, merely saying, “It’s fine. Anyway, only those few teams were dispatched today. It’s alright if you don’t say anything; I’ll speak to the City Lord myself. It’s probably not just your group acting like this.”
The soldiers’ faces immediately turned ashen. They knew that if Lair reported this matter, not a single one of them would escape. So, they all reached out to stop Lair: “Master! Master, wait! We’ll give you all the spoils of war. Please, don’t tell the City Lord!”
“Scram! Who allowed you lowlifes to touch me!” Lair kicked back, sending the soldier who tried to grab him flying. The soldiers who were arrogant before adventurers were now mere peasants before Lair. What a mockery.
They thought these looted magical beast materials could appease Lair, but they were overthinking. Lair couldn’t be bothered with such things; otherwise, he wouldn’t have wanted to give me all the magical beast materials before.
We followed Lair through the city gate. The soldiers knelt on the ground, some trembling, some holding onto faint hope, and some with a developing glint of madness in their eyes.
They knew full well that if Lair entered the city to report to the City Lord, they were doomed. They would die either way, so why not…
“Die!” Suddenly, a soldier stood up, thrusting his spear towards Lair’s back.
“How dare you!?” Lair truly hadn’t expected anyone to dare plot against him. He only had time to point at the soldier, watching his spear pierce towards his own chest.
“Swish!” A silver blade light flashed, and the spear was cleanly severed. Milti kicked out, sending the attacking soldier flying.
“How dare you plot against the Count’s son!?” Lair asked, a mixture of shock and anger.
“He’s not the Count’s son; he’s an imposter! Brothers, kill him! If we let him in, we all die!” The soldier scrambled up, pointing at Lair and shouting loudly. The other soldiers’ gazes shifted from awe and fear to madness and rage.
So, Lair was still young and immature. Nobles should keep their intentions hidden, revealing their fangs only when they strike. Now that he had spoken, the soldiers, facing certain death, would naturally fight back. If they killed him, there might be a chance of survival.
Of course, killing a Count’s son would incur the Count’s absolute wrath, and the City Lord wouldn’t be able to protect them. But at least it would buy them time. If all else failed, they could defect and become bandits.
“Kill!” A soldier’s eyes were red as he charged forward. The rescued female adventurers were at a loss, never expecting to encounter such a dramatic turn of events right after being saved.
“Clang!” A crisp, heavy impact rang out. Lorna, wielding her Page Hammer, smashed it forcefully onto a soldier’s breastplate. She had wanted to act for a long time.
The heavy force dented the armor, and the soldier screamed as he was sent flying backward, spitting blood. It seemed his internal organs were shattered by the blow.
“Ah!” Paris and Liya both screamed. They were only returning to the city gate; how could such a thing happen?
More and more soldiers charged forward. Paris couldn’t help but act. Having recovered some of her spell slots after her long rest, she unleashed a powerful spell.
“Lightning Chain!” A bluish-green lightning bolt leaped from her staff, striking one soldier and then immediately jumping to another, chaining to four or five others.
The high-voltage current would directly penetrate their conductive metal armor. The first three soldiers electrocuted died instantly. However, the voltage decreased with each jump, so the remaining soldiers were merely paralyzed and fell to the ground, not directly killed by the electricity.
Lair also nocked an arrow, and lightning arrows shot out one after another. The soldiers’ armor was conductive, and they had no resistance to electricity. Upon being hit, they were immediately electrocuted and fell.
“This isn’t part of the hired job. I’ll be demanding extra payment afterward,” Tandri said with a wry smile, but he also swung his greatsword horizontally, shouldering the front-line responsibility with Lorna and Jayad.
As they began to fight, the commoners in the outer city scattered in terror, while the adventurers outside the city cheered loudly. They had been fed up with these brutes for a long time. They had enjoyed watching Lair reveal his noble status and declare he would report them, but few dared to rush forward and help.
“Damn it! Church people! Draw your guns! Use your guns to kill… Urghhhh!” A person, likely a junior officer, started to command loudly before screaming, having been secretly hit by my Plague of Maggots and now being gnawed by maggots all over his body.
But the soldiers had already reacted. They were numerous, so they drew their guns, preparing to shoot us. However, I noticed their clumsy gun-drawing and fumbling reloading. They were even using old-fashioned muzzle-loading fire guns, and their formation was a mess, unable to even form a line.
I shook my head repeatedly. Could soldiers like these defeat magical beasts? The Centipede Snake, Beehive, and Mad Speech Beast I encountered today could each wipe them out. Unless there was a melee fighter in front to tank, allowing them to shoot slowly.
So, I casually cast a Poison Cloud Technique, enveloping a group of them. Immediately, a patch of soldiers fell to the ground. Their scattered bullets hit Older Brother Jayad and Lorna’s Holy Light Shield like stones.
I realized again that when the enemy lacks mages or defensive measures, a caster can produce astonishing destructive power. A single spell could take down a large group, and none of us on our side had even sustained an injury.
Soon, the soldiers realized their attacks were useless, and their own casualties were heavy. Their morale instantly collapsed, and they threw down their weapons, fleeing in disarray.
We watched speechlessly as the soldiers, who had been so aggressive and overbearing moments ago, now ran like stray dogs until not a single one was seen. The battlefield instantly fell quiet.
They were already undisciplined, and the identity of Lair, the Count’s son, weighed on them like a mountain. Coupled with the unexpected magical attacks, even minor casualties were enough for them to scatter like birds and beasts.
The adventurers outside cheered, finally able to enter the city.
