With three arrows in succession, Leo took the lives of three West soldiers. The Calamity Bell rang three times in succession, increasing Leo's soul power by 3 points. This time, Leo did not choose the Haste Soul String. He chose the Cipher Soul String instead, bringing his Cipher soul power to 37 points.
Thinking carefully about it, the Haste school would sooner or later need a Final Entrustment ritual or an Intimidation ritual to advance. When that happened, it would gain 10 points at once. Investing soul power into it now would be a waste.
The fourth time Leo drew his bow, he suddenly sensed danger. Someone had locked onto the center of his brow! The officer on the other side, the Fallen Haste Mage, had made his move!
Leo loosed his arrow, but his mind had been disturbed and he failed to ensure its accuracy. The enemy's lead ball, however, flew toward Leo with terrifying precision. Leo was currently equipped like a typical light infantryman, with only a helmet and breastplate. Fortunately, he had the helmet. The enemy's lead ball struck it squarely.
Leo let himself fall backward behind the cover. After the roar of the shot, the West Empire soldiers saw the longbowman at the side of the barricade collapse, and they quickened their pace. Most of the lookout squad's suppressive power came from Leo. The longbows in Ignaz's hands and those of the other soldier were only slightly better than having nothing at all.
"Squad Leader! How are you?" Ignaz shouted anxiously.
Ignaz was a veteran and had already risen from ordinary soldier to Deputy Squad Leader, but he did not have much combat experience. He had spent more than ten years in this lookout squad guarding the lookout tower. At that moment, he forgot all the times he had complained inwardly that Leo had stolen his chance to be promoted to Squad Leader. He was genuinely worried about Leo's safety. Judging from Leo's performance so far, he was clearly a competent combat commander and a competent Squad Leader.
Leo's voice came from inside his helmet. "I'm fine! Follow my orders! Everyone stay flat on the ground and withdraw! We'll crawl through the West soldiers' blind spot and get onto the roofs of the stone buildings on both sides!"
Every member of the lookout squad began carrying out Leo's order. They pressed themselves tightly against the ground and used the barricade to block the enemy's view, crawling to the rear walls of the stone buildings. Some pushed, others pulled, and eventually everyone climbed onto the roofs.
The people of the West excelled at ranged attacks. More than half of their weapons were prepared for fighting at a distance. Once combat closed to melee range, their effectiveness dropped sharply. All Leo needed was to create one unexpected opportunity for close combat, and he could hit them hard.
The two ten-man West squads were now only fifty yards from the stone barricade at the camp entrance. Some West soldiers began firing at the barricade, while the others rushed toward it under matchlock cover. The charging West soldiers climbed onto the stone barricade and immediately fired into the space behind it.
But there was no one there.
On the roof of a stone building, Leo extended one hand and spread his fingers. Every soldier in the lookout squad waited for his command. The moment Leo clenched his fist, they would counterattack.
At that moment, a West soldier below shouted, "No one's here! Those hypocritical, treacherous Order bastards may have run!"
Hypocritical and treacherous... Was that how the people of the West described the victors of the Order War?
The West soldiers farther back also stopped firing and rushed forward. As they ran, the West officer shouted, "Don't just stand there! Search! Search every footprint! Find the route they used to escape!"
Seventeen West officers and soldiers crowded into the cramped space around the five stone buildings and the yard between them. Leo frowned and looked toward another roof. Five people were packed together up there. What kind of nonsense was this? Why were so many people crammed onto one roof?
The West soldier searching that building used his saber to pry up the bed boards, then rummaged through boxes and cabinets looking for clues. Suddenly, a trickle of dirt caught his attention. The dirt was falling from above. The West soldier raised his head and looked at the roof. Why was dirt inexplicably sifting down from it?
He did not intend to think through the question. He raised his loaded matchlock and prepared to fire a shot into the roof.
At that moment, shouts of attack suddenly erupted from the cramped yard! The West soldier hurriedly turned his head and saw a figure leap from the roof opposite him to the ground. So there really was something wrong with the roofs. He fired into the wooden roof above him.
Three seconds earlier, Leo had already thrown away his longbow. After clenching his fist, he swept it downward and gave the order to attack. He wore an iron helmet on his head and a breastplate covering his torso and shoulders. A mace was in his right hand and a round shield in his left.
Brad was not here. Leo did not need to worry about anyone's poor stomach!
A mace came crashing down from above and instantly smashed one West soldier's head like a burst melon. The mace swung through the crowd. In only a few seconds, Leo activated his Cipher spell several times. He no longer had time to count how many times the Calamity Bell had rung in his Soul Sea.
Block! Swing!
Block with the shield, then swing the mace at the enemy's head! Even if one blow did not kill them, it could easily leave them incapable of resisting.
His movements were fast, but time felt slow. Only Little Locke and a few others were around Leo. They were not the entire lookout squad!
Leo's brow knotted deeply as he cursed aloud, "Ignaz, what are you doing?!"
Ignaz had seen Leo's fist signal and had just gotten to his feet, but his legs suddenly went weak. Fear seized his body and mind, and he froze for three seconds. Only when a lead ball punched through the wooden roof beneath him and splintered wood flew around him did he realize that the roof was not safe either.
He let out several strange yells to build up his courage before finally jumping down. Ignaz went first. Only then did the other soldiers of the lookout squad follow him.
Three seconds. A full three seconds. The lookout squad soldiers who should have jumped down with Leo the instant he gave the order had hesitated for three whole seconds before finally dropping from the roofs one after another.
Leo was furious beyond measure. The mace in his hands carried overwhelming force, and no armor could survive even one exchange against him.
The West soldier who had noticed something strange about the roof hurried out the door, only to be crushed beneath two lookout squad soldiers. In the confusion, he was stabbed twice in the back. As he died, one thought still lingered in his mind. I knew there was something wrong with the roof...
Leo's round shield and breastplate were the strongest defenses here. No blade or lead ball could break through the breastplate reinforced by his Cipher spell. Because his defense could not be broken, his attack knew no fear.
Leo's mace was the most unstoppable weapon on this battlefield. The enemy helmets were as fragile as the skin of a melon. One blow sent their contents splashing everywhere. Only this "juice" was mostly made up of indescribable red and white matter.
The West officer and the two Squad Leaders were all Haste Mages. Without the advantage of distance, they were not much stronger than ordinary soldiers in front of Leo.
The West soldiers had completely lost the battle of morale. The survivors broke and fled into the distance under their officers' lead.
Leo was drenched in blood. He had won. His fearlessness had won.
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