The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

At some point, deep in the forest, the birds stopped singing. The sunlight shines through the gaps between the branches, illuminating a trace of rising water vapor. 

In the grass, a beetle was trying to escape the hot sun, but was suddenly crushed by a greaved foot. 

A wave of arrows fell without warning on the camp from the depths of the forest, covering the bandits who were eagerly packing their belongings with arrows. 

The bandits working at full speed did not even wear a piece of leather armor. Several of them were even bare-chested. If an arrow grazed them, they would be seriously injured, and if it hit a vital part, they would die instantly. 

Seeing that half of the bandit group had been decimated, someone finally reacted. 

"Enemy attack!" The shrill screech suddenly drowned out the screams. Axe panicked and took cover behind the cart. 

Someone actually came to your door. What kind of mercenaries did the businessmen find? 

Soon, Axe, whose face turned pale, knew that he was wrong, because he immediately saw the city guards wearing standard armor surrounding the entire camp in an instant. 

City Guards! It was an army, a regular army, not the mercenaries they had encountered before. Why would an army find this place? 

On the other side, since he didn't know how many opponents there were, Lann brought his hundred subordinates this time. 

General bandit gangs can massacre some small villages with more than ten people. This time they were able to encounter a large gang of forty people, which was really beyond Lann's expectation. 

But it doesn't matter, the strength of the standard army lies in its quantity, coordination, and equipment. A dozen well-equipped soldiers can kill militiamen several times their size head-on, not to mention that Lann and the others still have a numerical advantage. 

Perhaps these newly brought out city guards still lack some fighting experience. But Lann happens to have a training mission of [Defense of the City. Iron Guard - Part 1] 

What better target to test the sword of his new recruits than these extremely vicious soldiers with blood on their hands, but no armor at the moment? 

Lann slowly rode out of the forest on horseback, surrounded by more than a dozen knights. There were also more than ten archers and crossbowmen distributed on both sides of the knights, ready to take action. 

The spearmen and shield soldiers who had been training for several months combined with the swordsmen to form an encirclement. The helmets lightly covered the nervous faces of the rookies and the foreheads that were beginning to sweat. Showing a cold and ruthless image as they slowly surrounded the bandits. 

"Who is that gentleman outside?" Axe shouted miserably, leaning on the back of the cart and moving towards the place where the weapons were stacked. 

"Be kind, we are just a group of merchants. Is there any misunderstanding here?" 

In response to the Axe's cry for mercy, there was a sound of neat footsteps and the sound of swords being drawn. 

Finally, some bandits couldn't stand the sense of oppression. They screamed and ran to the ground to pick up weapons and tried to break out. 

"Whoosh!" There was another explosion in the air. The soldiers who had already tightened their ropes saw the opportunity and their arrows directly nailed some bandits to the outer edge of the ground. Then, all the archers and crossbowmen turned and hid behind the cavalry. 

It was not that they feared being attacked, but that the infantry was already in close contact with the enemy, and there was a risk of accidental damage if they fired again. 

The vile bandits, driven by a burning desire to survive, are surprisingly powerful. However, each bandit who attempts to break through the siege encounters enemies two or even three times his number. 

They howled and struck out with an axe and were immediately blocked by a large shield half as tall as a man, and then a spear or sword came over from behind the shield. 

More simply, three or four spearmen advance together, extending their hands at the same time. Three or four spears pierce the enemy at the same time. 

The remaining twenty or so bandits finally picked up their weapons and formed a simple formation. 

On the periphery of the battlefield, the vice-captain who was watching the battle was somewhat dissatisfied with the efficiency of these new recruits. 

"My Lord, please wait a moment, the battle will soon be decided." 

The vice-captain turned as he said this to Lann, but as he finished turning, a strong gust of wind passed in front of him. Wasn't the count behind him? Only Lann's horse remained, scratching the ground in confusion! 

There were bandits who had been keeping an eye on these knights for a long time. When they saw the young man in the middle who could be seen as the leader at a glance, rushing over, all the bandits were overjoyed. 

Is there such a reckless young nobleman these days? When the enemy is about to be defeated, he goes into battle alone to help the opponent recover? 

Immediately, three bandits broke out of their formation and rushed towards Lann. 

"Your Lordship the Earl!" All the knights screamed in panic. 

The knights' worries are obviously unnecessary. 

Lann was seen standing in front of the first bandit who rushed over, pulling out the sword at his waist at a speed that the other party could not react, and at the same time stepping forward. The half-unsheathed sword blade just happened to get stuck in the opponent's right hand that was wielding the axe, and it went straight into the bone. From the knights' perspective, it was as if the enemy had actively collided with Lan's sword blade. 

With the momentum, he pulled out the sword. When the long sword was completely unsheathed, he completely cut off the enemy's right hand. Amid the blood and screams of the enemy, Lann advanced and crashed hard. The thick shoulder armor threw the opponent several meters away, and he and the bandit who came second rolled like a ball. 

Suddenly, the confrontation turned into a one-on-one battle with the remaining bandit. 

Only then did the third bandit react. The young noble in his eyes had already turned his sword into an airtight wall that was heading towards him. 

Swinging the sword so quickly should be just a test to force the enemy to reveal their weaknesses. The veteran bandit's instinct was to block and maneuver. But the strength that came from Lann's hand was not at all what a testing attack should be. Instead, it was like a final blow, making the bandit's wrist suddenly go numb. 

Then came the second and third blows. The weapon flew out of the bandit's hands in an instant and the enormous force caused him to stagger back. Then, the fourth blow hit his chest, which was not protected by armor. 

Blood splattered, Lann kept twisting his waist for a moment, and used his right foot to directly use the enemy's corpse as a springboard to step hard. The right half of his body was slightly in the air, and the hand holding the sword was raised above his head. 

With a 'puff' sound, the long sword pierced the body, and the dying bandit with his hand severed was skewered on the ground along with his companions. 

The knights who were about to advance to help and the bandits who were rushing over were stunned. 

"Your Lordship the Earl!" the infantrymen who were charging forward shouted, their morale rising. 

All the soldiers shouted in their hearts, what could boost morale more than having their commander personally enter the battle, charge faster, and kill more enemies than his subordinates? 

Tormented by the even louder cries of battle, Lan glanced at the increasing experience points on the panel. The experience gained from killing was not as much as that gained from completing quests, but every little contribution counts. 

"Soldiers, charge me!" 

Lann wanted to continue earning experience points and his soldiers were eager to fight.