Gathered under Griffith's banner were 216 spearmen and 144 archers, including archers and slingers. The spearmen were divided into 12 squads of 18 men each. The shooters are divided into 6 teams, each with 24 people. All were militiamen who volunteered to fight. When they heard that the Lord Knight was going to attack the nearby monster lair to protect everyone, groups of militiamen and citizens swarmed over and asked Griffith to take them to fight.
Considering that he had no adjutants and staff around him and could not command more people, Griffith took only these people, but asked the town to provide him with many carriages and wood.
In addition, everyone also found two bed crossbows left here by the city defense army from the warehouse. After checking it, I found that it still works.
The treasurer and town mayors compiled the material information very quickly. Sheriff Herod will lead people to collect the items with the cooperation of the Chamber of Commerce and transport them back to the five main camps. They are still mobilizing more citizens and arming them with a variety of weapons.
Many militiamen and citizens used all the materials they could find to select the strongest buildings in the area for reinforcement, then built shooting ports on the roofs and stocked up on kerosene, crossbows, and arrows. Once a large group of living corpses appeared nearby, the militiamen launched an attack on the arrow tower.
Once Griffith left, they were left to hold the position on their own.
The militiamen who gathered around Griffith drove horse-drawn four-wheeled wagons, loaded with planks, logs and empty bags, as well as a lot of food, kerosene and bows and arrows, and gathered in the square in the center of the town. Prepare to head south.
Lanzada and the newly formed military council, thousands of citizens came to see them off.
Griffith held the reins in his hand, sat high on the horse, and told them: "After I leave, the isolation area must be strictly divided. The refugees must be separated in units of a hundred people, and militia must be patrolling at all times. Do you remember?" "
"I remember, please rest assured, Lord Knight." Everyone replied loudly.
Griffith continued: "The arrow tower must be built immediately to protect the archer's arrows and use rocket attacks. Some emergency warriors must also be placed on the arrow tower, armed with short guns and axes, to cover the archer at any time."
"Understood, Lord Knight!"
Griffith was very worried, and he gave four or five instructions in succession. Everyone responded to him with louder and louder cheers.
"I don't know if this group of people listened." Griffith turned around helplessly and said to Amber beside him.
The blonde girl smiled and raised her right hand to the crowd: "Did you hear Griffith's order?"
"I heard it!" The square roared with cheers.
Amber then asked loudly: "Can you hold your position and protect your family and home?!"
"Yes!" The voice became louder and louder.
"In front of the monster, I want you to fight to the end without risking your life!" Amber's voice was accompanied by bursts of thunder and bright lightning.
"Fight to the bitter end!" Everyone raised their weapons or waved their hats and arms, shouting wildly.
"Look," the trainee investigator winked at Griffith, "it's not like everyone will be finished if they leave you."
…
Griffith left the town with his 360 militiamen and a large group of carriages, heading south.
Most of his men had no armor, and their main weapons were spears, wooden shields, crossbows, and even slings. Although everyone was very active in mobilizing for the battle just now, not long after leaving the safe town stronghold, the morale of the team began to weaken.
Gusts of cold wind mixed with a strange smell brought an ominous premonition. Even the dullest people began to realize that something was wrong when they entered the wilderness to the south and saw the black clouds covering the sky and the spreading black mud.
The power of the cultists was beyond their imagination, and even the sky and the earth changed color.
"Bah!"
The black mud made a strange sound underfoot. This strange substance resembles a mixture of humus and pus, with a shallow layer of liquid on the surface.
Although people and horses would not sink when they walked on it, there was an indescribable stagnation and uneasiness, and even a weird feeling, as if there was a dark abyss hidden under the black mud.
If you look down from the sky, Griffith and his army seem to be walking on a black ocean. Under the black mud that looks like water, there are indescribable vague shadows that are squirming and swelling, as if a terrifying giant beast is inhabiting the ground, watching the world of the living.
Griffith also noticed something strange about Hei Mu. He carefully looked at the area in front of him.
He needed to launch a probing attack on the cemetery and cultist lair to the south to find out the size and composition of the enemy and see what they were up to. The Deathrattle Order may gather corpses in the cemetery to form an army, or plan more shocking conspiracies and spells. If Griffith hides behind the defense line without knowing anything, it will be extremely dangerous.
After all, no one knows whether there will be another infection in Hepu Town, and then there will be another infected person like Elodie. If you didn't realize it until you were hit by such a terrifying existence, then everything would be over.
Reconnaissance, non-stop reconnaissance, and doing everything possible to grasp the situation on the battlefield are prerequisites for victory.
The cemetery to the south has become the lair of cultists, where strange green light and black mud are spreading to the periphery, but hordes of monsters have not yet appeared to pounce on the town.
The enemy is deploying and his forces have not yet been assembled. If possible, Griffith takes his own troops to seize nearby terrain to seize the initiative. This may be a good time to disrupt the cultists' deployment.
Unfortunately, the troops around him were even worse than when Verona was fighting. At least the city defense troops who followed him that time had some training, and those who assisted in commanding the troops were capable trainee knights like Lassalle and Milhaud. Although the troops this time had practiced assassination and archery to some extent, they were all disorganized compared to the city defense army.
The militiamen drove carriages, carried spears and bows and arrows, and dragged crossbows, walking slowly on the black mud.
When their blood cools down and they are attacked a few times by terrifying monsters, these armed civilians will definitely disperse in droves.
After walking for a while, even Amber noticed the instability of the team and reminded Griffith in a low voice.
"Well, I understand," Griffith observed the battlefield with a serious expression, and raised his hand, "Speed up and occupy the open space by the river!"
Everyone looked in the direction of his finger. There is a raised flat land by the river near the cemetery, with some ruins on it. It looks like the foundation of an abandoned house.
The Xiacheng District Cemetery is built on a flat open space, less than 200 meters away from the open space by the river. This place has been covered with black mud, and the originally white tombstone has been corroded into a ferocious and sinister shape.
"Quick! Speed up!" Griffith shouted again, "Occupy the open space at full speed!"
The militiamen followed Griffith blindly toward the ruins and clearings along the river.
“Unload the wagons and join us on the outside,” Griffith shouted, “take off the logs and formwork from the wagons and put them up outside the wagons as fences.
"Dig dirt inside the palisade, put it in pockets, and fill in the gaps on the inside. Yes, don't dig outside."
Hundreds of militiamen immediately took action. They connected the carriages into an irregular rectangle and used wood to erect fences and wooden walls on the outside.
The surrounding environment was eerily quiet. The corroded stone monuments and dry old trees are like a dark painting, with faint swaying shadows in the unclear shadows.
Everyone was working nervously, and every once in a while they would raise their heads uneasily and look into the dark and strange distance. Only intense work can distract them from their fear and anxiety.
Griffith looked around, his serious expression gradually loosening.
"Hahaha, hahahahaha!" He suddenly laughed wildly.
The laughter made the militiamen raise their heads in surprise.
"Why are you laughing?" Amber asked in a low voice, "I sensed the aura of the enemy. There are many of them. They are lurking under the black mud and waiting for us."
"I laugh at the lack of planning of the Brainless Order of Living Corpses, hahahahaha!" Griffith raised his whip and pointed towards the cemetery, "If they send an army to stop them halfway, it will be really hard for me to handle!"
Amber looked at him, then at the unsettling black mud and cemetery, and ignored him.
"Everyone, work harder to repair the car array," Griffith didn't care at all that the girl didn't praise him. He said with a smile, "Wait until the enemy appears. If they want to ambush, then just keep lying down. Bar."
As soon as he finished speaking, huge groups of muddy bubbles appeared under the black mud and collapsed like a whirlpool. Then, a hand with only bones left suddenly stretched out from the ground.
Then two, three...
Hundreds of skeletal arms grew out like tender seedlings in a flower field, waving wildly, trying to grab all living creatures and drag them into the endless darkness.
Then, these arms braced themselves against the ground, supporting their bodies as they crawled out of the ground.
Skeletons and walking corpses, hundreds of monsters crawled out from under the black mud. A little bit of broken cloth was hung on their bodies, and their only skeletons stepped on the black mud, waving their ferocious arms and sharp claws.
This shocking and crazy scene made the militiamen's hair stand on end. Some people were mentally traumatized, their heads were in severe pain, and they were so sick that they retched.
"Living corpse!"
The militiamen who suddenly encountered the enemy immediately fell into chaos and began to shout in panic. Some people even ran around, trying to find a safe position behind others.
Twisted and broken shadows gathered in the distance, preparing to rush towards the militiamen. Among them, three special figures appeared.
A skinless ghoul, as strong as a cheetah, with an exposed brain and sharp claws flashing green.
It is swollen and huge, shaking like a mountain of meat, with tons of rotten flesh rolling in from the suture monster.
A cult monk wearing a black burqa, his whole body wrapped in the breath of death and stench.
They are completely different from the crazy skeletons and the army of the dead. They are larger in size and more terrifying in their aura. Just by standing there, the undead creatures around them became even more crazy and agile.
The commander of the Deathrattle Order appears.
When they saw the militiamen stopped in place, they gave up their ambush plan and directed three groups of zombies to surge in. Ghouls and suture monsters attacked from two directions. The monk even led a large group of skeletons to intercept the militiamen's retreat.
It won't be long before the militiamen are surrounded.
Amber immediately gathered her momentum and prepared to fight. Many brave militiamen also took up arms, trembling uncontrollably while staring at the army of living corpses with wide eyes.
"Amber, you stay here and supervise everyone's construction of the car formation." Griffith patted the girl's shoulder with his rifle and rode out of the car formation.
Under the attention of everyone, he raised his lance high and shouted in the open space 20 meters outside the position:
“Archers, get on the carriage and be on guard, pikemen, continue your work!
"Fighters from Raven, don't move where you are. I'll kill the enemy's general for you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, before the militiamen even realized what was going on, Griffith rushed towards the ghoul and a group of living corpses one by one.
The soft black mud could not stop the galloping horses. Griffith rode his horse and held a gun, and with the support of the ice shield, he rushed straight into the center of the living corpse.
The special ghoul raised his hand and pointed, and the living corpses surrounding it swarmed up, surrounding the armored knight like ants wrapping a candy ball.
Intense attacks like summer showers fell on Griffith's shield and armor, but were unable to penetrate his defense. He held a gun in one hand and took the hammer from the saddle with the other hand, amidst the dense tide of corpses. Crush the bodies of living corpses and skeletons.
The undead creatures that were originally going to attack the militiamen were attracted by the fierce fighting here. Most of them rushed to Griffith's side, surrounding him three layers inside and outside, clawing and biting him like countless mice gnawing cheese. .
The ice shield suddenly exploded, and layers of monsters flew all over the ground. Griffith threw the mace forward, smashed the head of a skeleton, raised his lance and stabbed the ghoul head-on.
This ferocious monster waved its claws and roared wildly. Before its strange claws could be swung down, the lance had accurately pierced its throat.
The ghoul fell silent instantly. Griffith rode his horse to the nearby place, cut off its head with a sword, drew his lance and ran back to the car formation, stepping over the living corpses.
"thump!"
From the time of the attack to the return, the head of the ghoul leader was thrown on the ground in the inner circle of the car formation in less than a minute. The group of zombies lost their command, and a large group was knocked to the ground, slowly gathering in a mess.
"How?" Griffith asked loudly.
"Roar!" The militiamen felt a little relieved and shouted together.
Griffith first pointed at the chaotic group of living corpses: "Come on two squadrons and shoot them with rockets. The others continue to build the camp. Fill the bags with soil to plug the gaps and dig trenches outside!"
He then pointed his gun at the suture monster, which was as huge as a hill among the living corpses: "I'm here to take off its head for you gentlemen and ladies."
As soon as he finished speaking, he once again rode straight towards the enemy.
Seeing that the living corpse just now was knocked away by the ice shield, Stitch Monster actually took the initiative to let the living corpses around him disperse, and roared to fight Griffith alone. It swayed its fat body and threw a sledgehammer from a distance.
"Bang!"
The sledgehammer hit the shield of the Mounted Eagle Medal and bounced off. Griffith's hand has condensed into a sharp ice spear. The phantom of the roaring mountain monster appears behind him, and the next blow will have a critical hit and a sure-hit power.
"Let you see the real projection!" Griffith roared angrily, and used his horse speed to throw the ice gun in his hand. The ice spikes whipped up strong winds and made a loud noise that tore through the air.
The Stitch Monster's right shoulder exploded directly, and the shoulder was torn apart under this blow, and both arms flew out. It hurriedly raised the weapon in its left hand to resist.
Griffith relied on the speed of his horse and rushed to his right side in the blink of an eye, shooting at his defenseless body.
"Bang!"
The militiamen far away in the car formation heard the muffled thunderous explosion. Stitch Monster was shot through the right side of his face. The rotten corpse's sewn body couldn't stop the puncture damage at all. The lance broke inside its body and penetrated the chest from under the left rib.
Griffith abandoned his lance, took the vanguard shield and jumped off his horse. He came to the kneeling Stitch Monster in two steps and swiped at the back of its neck.
Rotten flesh and corpse fluids splashed everywhere, but this blow didn't even cut off its neck. Living corpses from all directions surrounded them one after another. Griffith smashed a bottle of slowing potion on the ground, then swung his sword with one hand and held a shield with the other, slashing down six or seven living corpses in succession, and then chopped off the head of the Stitch Monster with one sword. .
As the sword was swung down, the living corpses fell into a sluggish state as if they had been knocked unconscious. Griffith took advantage of the situation and rushed out, got on his horse and rushed back to the car formation.
"Bang!"
Huge rotten heads were thrown at everyone's feet.
"How?" Griffith shouted.
"Long live!" the militiamen cheered, and everyone started working in a relaxed mood.
At this time, the third wave of living corpses, led by the cult monks, had just blocked the militia's path. They were visibly stunned when they saw that the other two groups had lost their leaders and fell into chaos in the blink of an eye.
The monk hesitated for a moment, raised his hands, rushed forward with its skeleton and zombies, and let out a ferocious and hoarse howl.
This time, everyone was calm and even laughed contemptuously. Griffith took a new lance and jumped on his horse, shouting: "I will defeat the enemy for you!"
He blessed himself with an ice shield again, rode his horse to drive away the tide of corpses, stabbed the cultist monk to death, chopped off its head and brought it back.
"Are you still afraid!?" Griffith asked the militiamen.
"Don't be afraid!" Everyone cheered together.
As a result, the morale of the army was determined and the position was stabilized.
Most of the zombies that were besieged from three sides were still there, but some of them fell into chaos, and others started to attack the nearby vehicle formation out of instinct.
This no longer requires Griffith to take action. He returned to the center of the position and found that the carriages had been connected together and a wooden fence had been erected outside. The spearmen were assassinating the unorganized living corpses behind the wooden fence.
Griffith sighed with satisfaction and turned to look at Amber.
"Hey, what should I say about you~" The trainee investigator shook her head slightly.
"Of course you are praising me," Griffith pointed to the battle situation around him. "They are militiamen. It is wrong to expect them to charge into battle."
“However, we can still do things like blocking the entrances with barriers and blocking roads with ballistae.
"The evil cult was arrogant and allowed me to come close to encircle and annihilate them. Instead, they allowed me to take advantage of the location."
Amber nodded approvingly: "That's true, but what should we do next? There will be more and more living corpses, and we won't be able to move here."
Griffith patted the bed crossbow in the car formation, looked at the large tomb more than two hundred meters away and said:
"Next,
"The artilleryman please speak!"
