Montenegro is not really a mountain.
In fact, if it is the Avenella people living in the highlands, it can be regarded as a hill at most. The reason for getting this name is obviously because Sivaliere is mostly a plain, and even the forest has mostly gentle terrain without much ups and downs.
Therefore, this hill, located to the north of Lazar and northwest of Prosper, is located in a dense forest and is unique in the entire plain. It is named Black Mountain because of the Aika black pine trees that cover the mountains and plains.
This group of Luoan bandits chose this place as their base for no reason.
Black Mountain is located in the middle of the forest and is not too far into the zone where monsters are infested. It has a unique terrain advantage. It has always been a place where bears and mountain lions have been inhabited in the past. After the exiled Roan people came here more than ten years ago, they built it with trees. A very impressive wooden fort with a three-story exterior wall.
For more than ten years, the relationship between the Sivaliya people and the bandits entrenched in the Black Mountains has been flickering.
People who don't know what's going on may think that bandits must be eliminated, but in fact, as a gang with strong combat effectiveness, the Luoan Bandits are a very good tool for those in power in many cases.
——To use an analogy.
There was a conflict between the two nobles, and the conflict reached an irresolvable level. So they could only retaliate, but obviously sending troops to fight would not only cost a lot, but also take certain risks considering the possibility of defeat.
So what to do in this situation?
Very simple, kill with a borrowed knife.
All you need to do is use the nobles' pervasive intelligence network to quietly reveal the goods and dates of the caravan transported by another noble in the province to the Roan people, and make the Sivalier army patrolling nearby turn a blind eye. With just one eye, you can achieve your goals with the help of these Luoan people who are hated by humans and dogs.
The Luoan people got their spoils of war, and the nobles breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone got what they needed, and no one could find them even if they wanted to.
Why not?
Everything is done for profit, and with the tacit approval of powerful merchants, great nobles and even church bishops, like many other areas on the west coast, the banditry of these Luoans is growing day by day.
From this point of view, this time summoning mercenaries to suppress the bandits can be regarded as clearing the family to a certain extent.
Maybe the Luoan bandits in Montenegro got tough and attacked people who shouldn't be attacked. Maybe Archbishop Prosper had some secrets that he didn't want to leak out and just found an excuse. Maybe it was this, maybe it was that, who knows. Woolen cloth.
"Huh..." White mist spread in the air.
Henry let out a long breath. He and Mira were at the back of the team. The sage leaned against the strong trunk of the Aika black pine, and Mira, who had a hood on her head next to her, lowered her head.
No matter what, this obstacle must be overcome eventually. Mila's request to fight was her own request. As long as she engaged in combat-related occupations on the west coast, she would inevitably have to deal with her own people.
Although the young Luoan Loli does not have a strong sense of identification with this group like other Luoan people due to her living environment, she will inevitably have some complicated emotions in her heart after all.
This was partly the reason why she covered her white hair, and the reason why Henry did not stop her this time was because of the consideration of the subsequent battle.
The mercenaries didn't know each other, and the distinguishing sign of Luoan people was their striking white hair. Even though Mira wore a green mercenary badge, she couldn't stop anyone from waving at her when her head got hot during a fight. The long sword came out.
The sensible Mira knew all this. Stubborn and independent, she put on a hood from the moment she entered the forest with the intention of not causing trouble to Henry. The sage, who understood the girl's inner struggle at the moment, did not say anything aloud. .
The outermost wooden wall of the Black Mountain Fortress was clearly visible, and a large group of mercenaries holding kite shields, tear shields, round shields and even square shields walked over sporadically.
Jeremiah and several other knights in full plate armor were holding down the formation with dozens of sergeants behind them. There were more than 800 mercenaries who came here in total, and according to the knight's statement, there were only three to four hundred bandits in Montenegro. people.
Theoretically, they have an advantage.
But as far as Henry knew, this advantage was not actually very obvious.
Sieges of the city have occurred countless times in the history of Rigal, and generals throughout the ages have been able to sum up many valuable experiences - one of which is the number of troops.
The attacking side must have three times the strength of the defending side to be able to break through.
Considering that Black Mountain is just a simple fortress with a wooden fence, the mercenaries of more than 800 people are still a useful force. But the problem is that the Luoan people are not idle people. All kinds of battles and wars are at your fingertips——
"Pah - ah -"
"Duowuwu——" A somewhat dull mercenary holding a kite shield became the first victim. The short and thick arrow that accurately hit his neck missed and the "Pop!" sound in front of him obviously came from a gun. He picked up the crossbow, and just as he fell down, a row of Luoan bandits stood densely on the wooden wall on the first floor.
"Enemy attack!! Enemy attack!!" Another mercenary who used a shield and ax shouted and raised his shield. "Take it! Take it!" Two arrows immediately attacked him, sawdust flew across, and the arrow penetrated The shield hit the mercenary's arm, and blood began to overflow. He gritted his teeth in pain but did not stop.
"Charge! Charge for me! You bunch of lazy fools!" Not all mercenaries are equipped with shields. The dense woods make it almost impossible to form a shield wall. The more than two hundred shield warriors at the beginning are scattered. The soldiers were scattered to the side, and the force was obviously not enough to surround the entire Black Mountain, so the gathered mercenaries formed a chaotic pile and rushed towards the wooden door of the outer wall above the slope.
"Ahhhhhhh!!" Arrows flew across the sky, and more mercenaries gritted their teeth and rushed up from behind. Many of them were accidentally hit by arrows and fell to the ground. The archers among the mercenaries also began to fight back, and Henry noticed that there were lights in many places. It was obvious that the magicians who had been forcibly recruited were preparing magic.
But they made the mistake of being inexperienced. Because of the range of primary magic, these mages stood in the open space in the forest, which directly caused them to become the key targets when casting spells.
"Wha--" The fireballs and the like that lost the guidance of the magic power of the magicians dissipated directly in the air. The magicians, eyes widened unwillingly, fell to the open space in the forest and bled.
"Ugh!" Many young mercenaries who were obviously participating in the battle for the first time bent over and started to vomit when they saw this scene of people dying one after another in just a few minutes. Jeremiah behind him looked at them with dissatisfaction. , and then waved his hand to signal his sergeants to rush forward and drive them forward.
"Archers! Support!" the mercenaries in front shouted. The archers found their respective positions and leaned behind the trees and began to shoot a large number of arrows. The sound of "rob, snatch, snatch" sounded continuously, and many arrows were inserted straight into the top of the outer wall. Archers with better accuracy hit the unwary Luoan people. The tall white-haired bandits turned over and fell from the top. .
"Go, go, go!" There was no cooperation, just someone shouted in the chaos, and the mercenaries rushed forward in a mess.
The archers continued to shoot at the wooden wall, and the suppressed Luoans were unable to attack for a while. "Aren't you going to charge?" A voice sounded from behind. Henry looked back. The one-handed swordsman Alan showed a provocative look at them, and then rushed out directly with the others.
"..." Henry shook his head, Mira looked at him, the sage touched her head, and then ran with her from the other side.
"Raise the shield!" The mercenaries in front shouted again. They had rushed under the wooden wall and raised their shields above their heads this time. The Luoans raised stones and hot oil and began to throw them down. The Luoan archers also took the opportunity to attack the weak flanks of the mercenaries.
"Ahhhhh!" The hot oil flowed down the edge of the shield and covered the mercenary below. The mercenary, who was immediately burned off a layer of skin, screamed loudly and fell down to death with a "dong dong" The rocks smashed into the mercenaries, causing them to stagger, and the arrows coming from the side hit their exposed armpits and sides, causing heavy losses to these mercenaries.
"Archer! Get up here and support me!" Jeremiah roared loudly from behind. The mercenaries hiding behind the trees could only show their heads under the power of the nobles.
It was impossible for the Luoan people not to notice that these archers also ran forward. The Luoan people on the wooden wall also launched an attack on them. Among the mercenary archers who were unable to dodge, more than a dozen of them fell in a pool of blood first. middle.
However, due to the larger number of people, the mercenaries still suppressed the Luoan people. Many Luoan bandits who threw stones and poured hot oil above the gate fell down and hit the mercenaries with two or three arrows. on top of the shield.
"Atzbichu!! Atzbichu!!" The Luoan people above the wooden wall shouted loudly in Luoan language to retreat. Some of the mercenaries who could understand Luoan language began to cheer loudly to convey the news. It seemed that the first wooden wall was about to be captured. The mercenaries gathered in front of the wooden door, and then began to use axes, hammers and even shields to try to break open the wooden door.
"..." But Henry frowned.
He felt something was strange - the Luoan people were excellent warriors. Even if they became bandits, to be fair, their strength was not as good as that of these lower-level mercenaries.
Not to mention the words of retreat that were obviously meant for everyone to hear - in the sage's opinion, this was more like a trap than a true repulsion.
"Everyone! Stop! I suspect they have an ambush." Henry shouted. Originally, he didn't really want to communicate with other people, but now the situation is getting worse, and even he is a little worried about what will happen. It became very ugly.
"Hmph, who do you think you are!" Alan, who was standing under the wooden door in the distance and felt that he was very honored to be on the front line, said proudly to Henry. The other mercenaries glanced at this hanging man. The tall green card adventurer didn't take him seriously either.
"Alas..." Henry sighed, and then started running in the other direction with Mira.
"Tsk, you are indeed a coward." Alan glanced at Henry with contempt, and then looked back at Jeremiah - but the noble man he expected did not see his outstanding performance. On the contrary, Jeremiah touched his chin, as if he was lost in thought because of Henry's words just now.
"What?" A mercenary stopped knocking on the door, and more mercenaries also stopped.
"Holy shit!" A mercenary behind yelled, and Jeremi and the other Sivalier nobles, who were all in plate armor, suddenly turned around and ran away at this moment.
"Damn it! The nobles ran away!" A mercenary archer shouted as the others walked to the open area. Before he could finish his words, an arrow penetrated his throat and took away his life.
"What?!" The panicked and confused mercenaries shouted loudly, and in the next moment, the Luoan bandits who had already detoured to both sides of the woods stood up.
"Wauk (fire)!" The leader of the Luoan people raised their swords and shouted loudly. The arrows that struck from two directions at the same time killed more than a hundred mercenaries in an instant, followed by these white-haired mercenaries. The sturdy men drew their weapons and rushed towards them.
"It's over... this is really a trap." A mercenary muttered.
