EBE Chapter 3 The Hidden Griffin's Footprint
Chapter 3 The Hidden Griffin's Footprint
Three fully armed griffin riders!
One of them, judging from his equipment stats, should even be a Knight Commander!
Roger's heart was pounding.
Even though he only had a rough understanding of Pendor, he had heard of the famous Griffin Rider!
Griffin riders have appeared here!
Rogge was somewhat curious about the present era.
As far as he knew, the Gryphon Riders were first wiped out in Pendor 203; they appeared in the world for a very short period of time around Pendor 298.
Reconstruction would be a long time from now.
He didn't have time to think too much; his thoughts returned to the griffin riders.
Rogge deduced that the three griffin riders lurking in the shadows were preparing to ambush the slave-trafficking gang!
The vast majority of prisoners in this slave-trading bandit group were poor, unfortunate peasants.
The Griffin Knights' ancestral oath contains clear core clauses on helping the weak and needy and upholding justice:
"I will always speak the truth, defend the weak to the death, and seek true justice for the injustices suffered by the Knights and the atrocities committed against the innocent."
If they have enough power, they wouldn't choose to turn a blind eye just because they are capable of saving someone!
This is the code of justice that all Griffin Riders uphold!
Therefore, Rogge's chances of escaping
coming!
Time is of the essence, battles are often imminent, and swords and spears are indiscriminate.
Rogge must gain some initiative!
His only bargaining chip right now is to win over the two Mertenheim adventurers around him to enhance his own safety!
There wasn't enough time to plan too much.
Roger collapsed from exhaustion once again, repeating his usual sloppy performance.
Gold and his companion had already been instructed to support Roger as they moved forward, and they took the initiative to support Roger again, one on each side, without even waiting for the bandits to come forward to check on him.
This made Rogge even more pleased with the two Mertenheim men.
He let go of his last shred of reservations, and his desire to win over the two of them grew stronger.
He had to act quickly and use the asymmetric information he currently possessed to recruit two people!
He glanced around out of the corner of his eye and saw that the scarred-faced thug was not nearby.
Looking at the two men's haggard and numb faces, Roger spoke softly, in a voice only the three of them could hear:
"Gold, Virgil, there's an ambush ahead!"
Upon hearing this, the two men looked puzzled, their brows furrowed as they stared at Roger in bewilderment.
Gold was about to speak when Roger quickly stopped him in a low voice:
"Don't tell anyone! Trust me!"
"Someone's lying in ambush on this gang of thugs; a fight's about to break out!"
"We must be wary of these thugs going crazy. To survive, follow me... Will you listen to me later?"
Roger, with a serious expression, laid out the plan directly to the two of them, telling them to listen to him, as time was of the essence and he couldn't afford to make arrangements slowly.
As things stand, he is the weakest of all, his physical strength is far inferior to those commoners who have been working hard for survival all year round, and he is even weaker than these medieval farmers!
The two men from Mettenheim exchanged a glance, hesitated slightly,
"Rogge, if there really is someone lying in ambush, we'll do as you say..."
Virgil said, nodding heavily to Rogge.
Having received the answer he wanted, Roger felt relieved and quickly gave his instructions:
"If things get chaotic, you two shouldn't act rashly. Protect me first, and we'll play it by ear!"
"good!"
……
The entire group marched to the front of the sand dune.
As Rogge expected,
The dull thud of horses' hooves on gravel slowly rose, and everyone could hear it clearly.
Suppressing his excitement, Roger urged the two to make preparations.
All three were tied together with ropes and prisoners, and they needed to figure out a way to break free. Their eyes fell on the back of the scarred bandit not far ahead...
Not far to the side, three tall figures on horseback appeared atop the low hill, their figures revealed to everyone.
Against the sunlight, the three knights stood majestically on the low hill, like three unshakeable fortresses, their black cloaks fluttering in the wind.
The bandits were terrified when they saw this.
"Ambush! Be on guard! Quickly, raise your shields to defend!"
The bandit leader on the skinny horse was the first to react, roaring orders at the top of his lungs.
Before the bandits could react, the three griffin riders spurred their horses and charged forward with their lances raised!
More than ten shield-wielding bandits hurriedly stepped forward to set up a defense, and a simple shield wall formation was quickly formed. They had been robbing and plundering on the border for many years, so their combat experience was not bad.
The fact that they were able to assemble and form a formation in such a short time demonstrates that these desperate bandits have a wealth of combat experience.
However, this shield wall formation is decent against teams of the same level, and can even hold its own against some light cavalry.
But the bandits had clearly never encountered or fought against Pande's heavy cavalry before!
Especially heavy cavalry like the Griffin Riders!
They haven't realized the price they're about to pay for their ignorance!
"Under the lance, all are equal!"
Seeing that the enemy consisted of only three cavalrymen, with more than ten bandits holding shields in front and several bandits with hunting bows behind them constantly hurling wooden arrows at the knights.
The bandit leader even set up a light crossbow and aimed it at one of the riders.
The three knights crouched low and charged into the air, and the bandit leader seized the opportunity to fire his crossbow bolt. By sheer luck, he struck one of the knights!
The result was astonishing: the crossbow bolt was easily deflected by the plate armor, the bolt shattered, and the knight's plate armor was left with only a very thin white mark!
Time was running out for him to fire a second crossbow bolt. Three knights had already arrived, their lances raised and aimed directly at the shield-bearing bandits!
With a distance of only twenty or thirty meters and a commanding position, the griffin riders could achieve good acceleration during their charge.
At the moment of impact, a deafening crash and shattering sound rang out!
The wooden shields held by the bandits were easily pierced by the lances, like pieces of paper.
The momentum of the lances remained undiminished; three lances pierced through the three bandits completely.
The bandits along the way were all sent flying the moment they came into contact with the "Griffin Iron Hoof"!
Amidst the cracking of bones, some of those hit fell silent, while others lay on the ground, groaning incessantly.
Their numbers are too small, their formation too thin, and their armor practically nonexistent!
It's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
In a head-on clash with the Griffin Knights, more than half of the dozen or so bandits were killed or wounded in a single exchange!
……
After the initial charge ended, the bandits deliberately sought cover. The terrain was uneven, making it difficult to continue charging with their heavy lances. The three griffin riders decisively abandoned their heavy lances.
Two knights drew their ebony swords, and another drew his mace, hacking and slashing at the bandits along the way.
The plate-armored knights, whose armor was completely covering the enemy, were slaughtering the bandits in a one-sided massacre!
Almost one strike was enough to kill them all; no bandit could get close. Those who were lucky enough to manage to slash the knights' horses were blocked by their armor, leaving not even a white mark...
Of the twenty-seven bandits, only fourteen remained in a short time!
The vast difference in equipment and strength was like an insurmountable chasm. Seeing their comrades being slaughtered with almost no resistance, the remaining bandits' morale collapsed instantly, and everyone turned and ran...
Upon seeing this, the bandit leader shouted and gave the following order:
"Don't run if you don't want to die! None of you can outrun a horse!"
"Get closer to the prisoners! I think they're going to kill them all!"
Shouting as he did so, he spurred his horse to slowly retreat, then turned and rode off into the distance without hesitation.
Upon seeing this, a griffin rider immediately gave chase, and the two figures quickly disappeared on the horizon...
Abandoned by their leader, the remaining bandits cursed angrily.
Some kept running, completely ignoring their leader's orders, and headed in the direction they thought they could escape.
Some, however, rushed toward the prisoner ranks, perhaps thinking that blindly fleeing would only result in them being stabbed to death one by one from behind by the knights!
Indeed, the area was spacious, and the two knights quickly cleared out the scattered bandits.
……
More than thirty prisoners were tied together with a thick hemp rope. They had been trying to escape when the knight appeared, but when they saw seven or eight bandits charging towards them with bloodshot eyes, they instantly fell into chaos.
Tied together by ropes, they screamed and retreated, and in the chaos, many were dragged and fell to the ground.
Roger and his two companions, having broken free of the ropes binding them before the others, hadn't yet had time to run.
At that moment, the scarred bandit, carrying a curved knife, walked towards Roger. He had a fierce and reckless look on his face, but he seemed to have poor eyesight and failed to see that Roger and the other two had already broken free of the ropes.
Just as he was about to use Larog as a human shield, two men from Mertenheim suddenly attacked.
Two burly men pounced on him, and Scarface was knocked to the ground by the sudden attack.
Scarface was terrified. With both hands restrained, he struggled fiercely, his expression menacing.
The two men from Mettenheim, having been starved for so many days, were already exhausted and their hands were cuffed.
Their physical strength was nearing its limit, and for a moment they were even showing signs of being unable to control themselves!
Gold turned around anxiously and shouted:
"Rogge, grab the knife! Kill him!"
……