Chapter 9 Battle
From the caravan's itinerary, this section of the road took up one-third of the time, but the number of villages was less than one-tenth, and the population might be even smaller.
Obviously, the caravan was not doing ordinary business, otherwise it would definitely lose money.
If it was doing any prohibited business, don't blame Derek for asking... for more money.
Manager Vincent hesitated for a moment, in fact, this was not a secret.
"There are a lot of furs here, which are excellent materials for making leather armor. Thanks to my master's relationship, I can trade with several villages, so I have to go there."
"So, most of the dangers along the way come from here?" Derek understood, perhaps this is why the caravan needs to hire guards.
Bandits are not necessarily professional.
Maybe those mountain people find a piece of cloth to cover their faces, or even don't need a piece of cloth, pick up their weapons and turn into bandits, and the things they just sold to you, they will buy them back for free.
But taking money from people and eliminating disasters for them.
This is what they do, there is nothing to be afraid of.
Derek has seen blood, so he is naturally not afraid of bandits.
In the final analysis, if you have sharp swords, the bandits will become hospitable mountain people, otherwise don't blame them for playing rogue.
However, we should underestimate the enemy strategically, but we should pay attention to it tactically.
Derek arranged it step by step, and the soldiers who were a little relaxed became nervous again.
There are not many old customers of the goat caravan, and it is obvious that the owner behind them has limited face.
But after all, it is an old relationship, and it is very smooth.
Seeing that they are about to return, there are no two places to run.
But Derek is more vigilant. He knows that the caravan cannot waste money, and there must be danger somewhere.
If it doesn't encounter it now, it may be behind.
And the last two mountain strongholds are already very deep in the mountains.
The members of the caravan who often run this section of the road have become less talkative.
The caravan guards clenched their swords.
In this atmosphere, the psychological pressure of the new recruits is very high.
Derek knows that appropriate pressure can accelerate people's growth, but excessive pressure will make people collapse.
His subordinates are not veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles, but just a group of new recruits.
So proper decompression is needed.
"Relax a little, don't be afraid. I don't know how many bandits I killed in the past. Even the head of that barbarian is hanging in my living room."
Derrick's language is vulgar, and he brags to the sky.
He has fought bandits with the Knights, and the number of bandits he has killed is only a few, but he has encountered a barbarian.
But it doesn't matter, others don't know he is bragging.
On the contrary, his identity as a knight makes his words very credible.
Derek was influenced by online literature in his previous life, so he couldn't write it.
But it's easy to fool these new recruits who have just left the farmland.
He even boasted vividly, sounding like a legendary story, and the so-called bandits were just chickens who were chopped like melons and vegetables.
The mood of the crowd gradually eased, which is the best state.
It saves you from shaking your hands and feet when you encounter a situation and don't know how to deal with it.
It's hard to say whether the bandits are the same as Derek described, but they are definitely not of a high level.
Especially the guest bandits, there is no organization or discipline.
With a loud bang, a stone was pushed down from nowhere.
The whole caravan was not hurt at all, and then the messy bandits jumped out.
A few scattered arrows flew over, but they were weak and lacked strength. Except for one unlucky guy who was shot in the butt, the others were fine.
It was just that the psychological pressure increased sharply. After all, short arms against long arms, there is definitely pressure.
Derek had been prepared for a long time. Seeing the bandits appear, he didn't care about the number and combat power, and immediately ordered the caravan to move closer.
"Surround the carriage, everyone hide in the middle."
The other side had few archers, and they all used short bows for hunting, which were not strong enough.
The panicked caravan was slowly dispatched under Derek's scolding.
Although Manager Vincent had traveled a lot and had seen a lot, this situation was rare.
At this time, Derek stood up and directly and forcefully occupied his command.
He didn't care, this kind of thing was not his forte.
Manager Vincent has seen a few hundred or so bandits, and judging from the number of people, his family is definitely at a disadvantage.
"How could this happen? I just feel that this trip is unsafe. I should have hired a few more people earlier."
In fact, relying on some relationships in the Earl of Perez's Mansion, his business has a more profitable business route.
Not to mention that it has encroached on the interests of others, wouldn't other mountain people be jealous?
Once, twice, or even ten times, we should thank the mountain people for their slow reaction, otherwise someone would have taken action long ago.
It is definitely impossible to say that he did not expect this day.
But the mentality of luck, and even the previous safety, made him ignore the risks.
Besides, if more people are hired, the profit will be reduced, and businessmen are always profit-seeking.
Derek didn't care about Manager Vincent's regret. In fact, he didn't think it was that dangerous.
A battle does not mean that the side with more people will win 100%.
He turned over and got off the horse. At this time, he was a living target on the horse, and this horse was too bad. He was even afraid that it would not obey during the charge.
Drawing out the fine iron sword from his waist, Derek saw that the caravan had not yet completed its deployment.
"We need to buy some time."
After all, they were just a group of ordinary people, not a professional army, so their efficiency was very worrying.
"Assemble, line up in staggered formations, and prepare for a charge."
Strong orders, loud voices, and strict training.
At this time, the spearmen acted according to their instincts and moved forward according to orders.
Compared to the chaotic bandits, the spearmen's combat power can crush the opponent.
If there are more of them, Derek is confident that he can solve the opponent with a charge.
But now, a counter-charge was launched as well.
In just a few dozen meters, the spearmen's weapons were slightly angled, just completing the acceleration.
Puff!
The spears in the front row directly pierced the target, and even if they wanted to dodge, they couldn't dodge.
The speed was interrupted, and some bandits wanted to go forward and chop down these spearmen.
Then the spears in the back row stretched out again.
Although the staggered formation reduced the lethality of the charge, it was faster, more stable and safer.
Thrust, retract, thrust.
Whether it hit or not, it was a mechanical move.
The effect of training was evident, and too many skills were not needed on the battlefield.
Strength, speed and a little bit of skill.
The bandits who rushed forward dodged while swinging their weapons to cut off the spears.
At this time, the nature of the mob was exposed.
Some wanted to run, some wanted to charge.
It was a mess without a unified command.
Several bandits who looked like small leaders were shouting, and even each of them had different ideas.
