I’m a Rebel in Another World

Chapter 66: Defending Against the Enemy

Under the cover of shields, Henwil and the warriors continuously shot down the bandits attempting to charge up the slope.

The great bows used by Henwil's guard were powerful, and the arrows were fitted with heavy arrowheads, offering excellent armor-piercing capability and range.

The advantage of the high ground further extended the effective range of Henwil's archers.

Coupled with the guard members' proficient archery skills, there were almost no wasted shots.

The lethal range of the guard warriors' arrows was basically around seventy meters.

In contrast, the bows of the opposing bandits had a lethal range of only just over thirty meters.

This difference of nearly half the distance meant that to suppress Henwil's group, the bandits had to run over thirty meters while enduring their precise shooting.

It didn't sound far, but this was a small hillside, and running uphill was not an easy task.

Actually, Henwil had a better method.

If he had placed some military crossbows here earlier, the range and accuracy would have been even greater.Furthermore, it would have saved considerable effort, allowing for sustained long-range fire suppression.

However, that wouldn't have aligned with Henwil's ultimate objective.

What he wanted was to give the bandits hope, to make them believe they had a chance to capture Henwil and his men.

Not to mention, the great bow in Henwil's hands was specially made; with his ability, he could easily kill the bandit leader who was jumping up and down while directing the attack from one hundred and fifty meters away.

But that wouldn't have been ideal. Henwil wanted to use this opportunity to deplete the bandits' strength as much as possible.

After over a hundred bandits were shot down, they finally remembered to use cover.

They dismantled carts, using the wooden planks as shields. Coordinating with bandits who already had shields, they charged forward together under the hail of arrows.

Although the heavy arrowheads had good armor-piercing ability, having cover still made a difference.

At the very least, the visual obstruction prevented the arrows from accurately hitting torsos.

Seeing the bandits had wised up, Henwil signaled the warriors to cease fire and rest briefly, preparing to meet the bandits' charge head-on.

Soon, the bandits surged up the hill.

The guard warriors held round shields in one hand and war spears in the other.

They blocked with shields, thrust with spears, retracted the spears, and raised the shields again, repeating the process. They sent the charging bandits into disarray, toppling men and horses.

This highly efficient and energy-conserving fighting style prevented the bandits from breaking through the guard warriors' formation.

Henwil stood in the center, holding his bow, continuously shooting down bandit archers who tried to get within effective attack range.

In battlefield combat, having horses against those without, armor against the unarmored, shields against the shieldless, and longer weapons against shorter ones, all represented significant advantages.

Add to that the enemy's disadvantage of attacking uphill, and it became an even greater handicap.

Not to mention the gap in combat prowess between the two sides.

After leaving dozens of corpses behind, the bandits broke. Ignoring their leader's roars, they simply ran back down the slope.

These bandits, usually vicious and brutal in their violence, finally revealed their weak and hollow nature when faced with even more ferocious warriors.

This kind of assault continued for several rounds, yet the bandits still failed to reach the top of the hill.

Throughout the afternoon, forget capturing Henwil, they hadn't even gotten a clear look at what he actually looked like.

Several major bandit leaders gathered to discuss the situation.

"This isn't working! The other groups don't want to attack anymore."

"After all, the prolonged assault has yielded no results. Everyone is also worried about when the Peace Point army might send reinforcements!"

"Are we just going to leave like this? How will we operate in this area in the future? Will others still respect us? What will our underlings think of us?"

"I don't mind the casualties. If you all agree, I'll lead my men in a charge myself! But I have one condition: the entire bounty goes to me afterwards!"

"Blood Whip, you've got some nerve! That's a full ten thousand gold coins!"

"Grey Spot, why don't you go yourself, then? I'd certainly agree to let you have the whole bounty!"

As everyone started arguing again, the leader of the largest bandit group spoke up: "We six factions split it equally! That was agreed upon before the plan even started!

Fighting amongst ourselves now will only weaken our strength. If, after the job is done, the client sees we're weakened and refuses to pay, then we'll truly become a laughing stock!

I'll act as guarantor! Each faction contributes some of their elite, core members. Let's take down this fat sheep first.

The bounty is only part of the reward. Once we eliminate this kid, our prestige will soar. Then, every merchant caravan will have to pay us tribute.

Think about it! How much money would that be? No need to take risks, just sit at home and collect money! That is our real goal!"

Just as the sun began to set, a combined force of elites from the various bandit groups charged towards the hill.

This group of over a hundred men was different from the previous bandits.

They were the elites of each bandit group, their very foundation.

Unlike the bandits who joined later, these were soldiers who had come from the battlefield.

Even if they were just deserters or routed soldiers, they were people who had received specialized training and experienced the chaos of battle.

Their equipment and weapons were also different from ordinary bandits; even the worst among them were equipped with leather armor.

Their weapons were standard military-issue, not the shoddy weapons produced by small workshops.

As they assembled, Henwil noticed that this group of bandits was unusual.

"Knight Mark, you rest first! Wait until the fighting becomes intense, then join the fray. When you do, hold nothing back. Use your battle energy. You must kill these bandits until they are terrified!"

About ten minutes later, the elite bandits began pressing up the hill.

They didn't foolishly charge upwards like the ordinary bandits before them.

Instead, they adjusted their pace, advancing slowly.

This not only conserved energy but also allowed them to maintain formation integrity.

The moment the two sides clashed, the elite bandits put immense pressure on the guard warriors.

Just as the guard was about to buckle under the assault, Henwil signaled that Knight Mark could act.

Mark took a deep breath, drew his greatsword, and as battle energy enveloped it, a faint glow appeared along the blade.

Then, the heavily armored knight crashed into the midst of the elite bandits.

His longsword danced, easily slicing through the opponents' armor. No bandit could withstand a single move from Knight Mark.

Within a few breaths, Knight Mark had already slain over ten bandits.

At this moment, Knight Mark was like a tank, crashing through the crowd with unstoppable force.

After a few minutes, just as Knight Mark's battle energy was severely depleted and his combat power began to decline, the bandits broke.

Mark's divine bravery reminded them of their experiences on the battlefield.

Facing true knights, they were like paper figures, easily cut down as the knights harvested lives at will.

The moment the bandits began to rout, Henwil immediately ordered the guard warriors to pursue them.

After a period of pursuit, only about twenty of the original hundred-plus elite bandits managed to escape back.

Surprisingly, such heavy losses did not intimidate the bandit leaders; on the contrary, it excited them.

They too had come from the battlefield and knew that a knight's burst of power at that level could only last for a few minutes.

For a considerable time afterwards, Knight Mark would be little more than a stronger-than-average ordinary soldier.

Watching as the leaders personally organized a second assault force, Henwil pulled his war lance, which had been stuck in the ground, free. He turned to the panting Knight Mark and said,

"You all rest up! I'll be back in a moment!"