The thunder of hooves was continuous and unrelenting. Amid the swirling dust, black silhouettes burst forth in orderly formation at a steady pace, carrying a sweeping, overwhelming momentum. The only difference from the Flying Tiger Legion's lancer charge was that their formation was less dense — each rider maintained a distance of roughly two meters from the next — and their speed was even greater.
A shrill whistle pierced the air. A torrential rain of crossbow bolts lanced from the hands of those dark figures, then they reloaded and fired again, an endless volley of bolts streaking across more than a hundred meters toward their targets...
With another whistle, the leading figures suddenly split left and right, veering off to the flanks, while the ranks behind continued to charge forward, firing bolts, splitting apart, and repeating the cycle over and over.
"Your Highness, this is the mounted line shooting drill I've designed. If the enemy is caught in such an attack while on the march, there is a very high probability that they'll be annihilated under this sustained assault. Of course, if they form up in a defensive formation for open battle, the effect might vary somewhat. After all, this kind of ranged attack launched during a mounted charge can only inflict maximum damage on an unprepared enemy." Josque explained his tactics to
Because the steel crossbow needed to be kept secret — the
"How did you come up with this?" Lorist asked.
"There's nothing strange about it," Josque replied. "Your Highness, the most elite light cavalry are scout riders. They track enemy movements, monitor enemy routes, and hunt down enemy scouts. Their method of fighting is to dismount and use ranged attacks, then mount up for close combat. Only a rare few with real talent can use ranged weapons from horseback. And among those, throwing axes and javelins are only short- to mid-range weapons — for long-range attacks against the enemy, you generally need longbows.
Even the Fiesobrun Family's famous Border Patrol Cavalry Corps — once hailed as the empire's finest light cavalry — their tactics were no different from what I've described. Back when our Hunter Rider Corps suffered a devastating defeat in Muyayuan Province, those grass barbarian cavalry who attacked us were simply doing the same thing: tracking us, staying outside the range of our war cart crossbows, luring our light cavalry into rash charges beyond the crossbows' protection. When we fell into the trap, all they needed was the cover of their shield wagons and their numerical superiority to defeat us.
If we had possessed the steel crossbow back then, we would never have suffered such a crushing defeat! We could have turned the tables on the grasslands and annihilated their scout riders, pursuing them and eliminating them at range without ever dismounting. Even when surrounded by the enemy, there would have been no need to dismount and form a defensive line — no enemy could withstand the ranged attacks we unleashed while on the march or mid-charge. That way, the mobility and flexibility of light cavalry could truly be brought into full play...
Josque rattled off a lengthy spiel of mostly useless information, but Lorist understood the core of it. Currently, the light cavalry's main roles were scouting and pinning down the enemy. Due to the scarcity of ranged attack options, the strongest ranged assault a light cavalry unit could mount was to dismount, form a line, and use longbows in high-arc and direct fire to inflict damage on the enemy. But dismounting meant forfeiting mobility, drastically reducing the threat light cavalry posed to an enemy holding a formation in open battle. Charging light cavalry straight at an enemy formation was even more of a losing proposition — in close combat, light cavalry lacked both the offensive and defensive capability to match fully armored heavy infantry. The only exception was when the enemy was already routed and fleeing.
With this steel crossbow that could be fired from horseback, they not only gained a boost in firepower but also preserved their mobility and flexibility. Even if the enemy held a tight defensive formation, light cavalry could still leverage their speed to relocate to the enemy's weak rear, or split their forces to punch through gaps in the defense, unleashing a storm of ranged attacks to mow down the enemy — all without ever engaging in a head-on clash. In this respect, the arrival of the steel crossbow gave light cavalry a genuine battlefield tool for seizing victory in open engagement.
Lorist took the steel crossbow Josque handed him and examined it closely. More precisely, this was a crossbow rifle — its design was markedly different from the heavy crossbows, stone crossbows, hunting crossbows, and siege crossbows found across the Galentea Continent. It seemed Master Hidd had borrowed some design principles from Lorist firearm concepts. The steel crossbow featured a stock and a grip, making it convenient for a rider to aim and fire from horseback. At the same time, the presence of the stock and grip provided leverage when recocking the weapon after firing, making the process far simpler and quicker.
"Your Highness, a hundred light cavalry riders were assigned to assist Master Hidd in testing this steel crossbow for a year and a half before the final design was finalized. As it stands, this is the most perfect ranged weapon for light cavalry. Once it appears on the battlefield, our Norton Family will unleash a storm of light cavalry fury..." Josque said with undisguised pride.
"Does this steel crossbow have no shortcomings at all?" Lorist raised the weapon in his hand.
"Well..." Josque paused. "There is one drawback, Your Highness. The steel crossbow cannot channel combat force. The force of each bolt relies entirely on the power of the bow arms and the trigger mechanism."
But a prodigy like Josque — gifted enough to shoot from both sides of the saddle — was exceedingly rare, perhaps one in ten thousand. Lorist couldn't very well select a unit of such exceptional soldiers to form a mounted archery corps. Given the current situation, the steel crossbow was unquestionably the best choice for giving light cavalry a ranged attack capability from horseback. A minor limitation like the inability to channel combat force was no serious issue and could be readily overlooked.
...
"Ready? I'm about to start the attack," Lorist said with a smile to Schwad standing before him.
Schwad nodded and settled into a defensive stance. "Your Highness, come at me."
The longsword in Lorist hand flashed like lightning, arriving in an instant with a sharp whistle cutting through the air. Schwad met it without flinching, his sword transforming into a series of overlapping arcs that formed an impenetrable net before him. The master and disciple clashed into a furious whirlwind of steel.
Reddy and Jeno Leo stood watching from the side, Jeno Leo's face full of envy.
Reddy chuckled. "Jeno Leo, if you want to learn the sword, you have to be able to endure hardship. Schwad was taught a very painful lesson back when he first started."
Jeno Leo nodded with solemn gravity. "Senior Brother, I can endure it. No matter how hard or tiring it gets, I will learn from you and Senior Schwad with utmost seriousness."
A strange, sly smile crept onto Reddy's lips. "Good. I can find a time to put in a word for you with His Highness. However, the foundation of our school's swordsmanship is dynamic visual acuity. If His Highness agrees, Schwad and I will help you develop that ability."
"Really?" Jeno Leo was delighted. "Thank you, Senior Brother!"
"No need for thanks. Who told you to be my junior brother?" Reddy laughed wickedly, mentally calculating who he could invite to watch the fun this time. Perhaps this was a chance to open a betting pool—wagering on how long Jeno Leo could last on the spinning platform before passing out...
*Ding...* Lorist sword precisely flicked away the blade in Schwad's hand.
"Not bad. I didn't expect you to last over twenty moves," Lorist said, a hint of surprise in his voice. As expected of
"No wonder Reddy said he went to spar with you and needed nearly a hundred moves to win. He was unsatisfied, so you two fought for several more days with the same result, which is why you both returned so late." Lorist handed the sword back to Schwad for him to put away, his thoughts turning inward. "Your sword path is different from Reddy's. Reddy relies on his innate divine strength, following a route of overwhelming force and momentum, fierce assault for a swift victory—an all-or-nothing attacking style.
You're completely different from him. Your sword path is very similar to your father's — you could say you inherited his talent. Your swordsmanship is seasoned, always probing for weaknesses in the enemy's defense during a tight guard before launching a counterstrike for the kill. That's why after Reddy completed his closed-door training, I sent him traveling to broaden his horizons. You don't need that. If you want to practice your swordwork, go to the guard camp, have multiple people attack you, and focus entirely on defense."
"Yes. Thank you for your guidance, Teacher," Schwad said.
"Heh heh..." Lorist ruffled his hair. "But before that, I need to get your wedding to Katerina done first, so your father-in-law doesn't keep complaining."
...
"Steward Hansk, I'm very disappointed in you," Lorist said to Steward Hansk standing before him. To express his displeasure, he didn't even offer the man a seat before beginning the conversation.
"Your Highness, you can't blame me. The main problem is that those mountain barbarian laborers won't do as they're told..." Steward Hansk's face was ashen as he protested. In his heart, he believed he had already given his utmost effort — braving the wind and hardship in the Northland's wilderness, doing everything he could to keep the project moving forward. But those mountain barbarian laborers were truly stubborn; even killing them didn't bring them in line, which delayed the entire project's progress. Now Lorist was laying the blame at his feet — how could he accept that?
"Steward Hansk, it seems you still haven't recognized where you went wrong. As the person in charge of the Northland's road and infrastructure overhaul, your responsibility is to coordinate and manage, ensuring that project timelines and plans are carried out. All the budget plans and schedule arrangements were handed over to you. All you had to do was implement them step by step according to the plan. So please tell me — why did you extend the mountain barbarian laborers' working hours and cut their benefits, throwing the entire plan into chaos and provoking the barbarian uprising and the grinding strike?" Lorist was growing angry.
"Your Highness, please don't forget — the mountain barbarians are the Norton Family's enemies! Your father and countless Norton Family ancestors died in their raids on our family's territories! You shouldn't be treating these mountain barbarians as mere laborers, giving them wine to drink and meat to eat. Are you entertaining these mountain barbarians as honored guests of the Norton Family?!" Steward Hansk was shouting now.
"Heh heh..." Lorist was so angry he laughed. "So you confiscated all their wine and meat? And gave them nothing but two fist-sized biscuits made from moldy grain each day? Then drove them to work day and night without rest? You think that's loyalty to the family? You think that avenges my father and those Norton Family ancestors? Foolish!"
The door cracked open a sliver as someone peeked out to check on the commotion.
"In order to build the main road from Jinling to Moon Spring Town and carve a path through the forest, at least seven thousand of the thirty thousand mountain barbarian laborers had to be killed before we completed this road drenched in blood and death. The heads of fugitive barbarian captives who were caught and brought back were mounted on stakes along both sides of the road. It took that many deaths for our family to figure out how to drive the mountain barbarian laborers into working willingly — and that was by providing them with wine and meat. After twelve hours of grueling labor each day, they would receive wine and meat as their reward. That was the reason those barbarian laborers were willing to work hard. They regarded the wine and meat we provided as their daily wage for a day's toil...
And then you treated these mountain barbarian laborers who were working for our family as the murderers and enemies who killed my father and the Norton Family ancestors. Not only did you cancel their wine and meat rations, you extended their working hours by four more hours. You really are something, aren't you? You thought you could break those mountain barbarian laborers into submission? They revolted. You sent Berulneck and the personal guard battalion to suppress them, and in a single sweep killed over ten thousand mountain barbarian laborers. You probably think that scared them into obedience, don't you? But what about the project? The project has come to a near-total standstill!
I deeply regret entrusting this Northland road infrastructure overhaul — a project that determines the Norton Family's fate for the next hundred years — to you. You have betrayed my trust. You want to say the mountain barbarians are our family's enemies? Fine, that's true. But that doesn't mean we should slaughter every last one of them. Those seventy thousand-plus mountain barbarian laborers are all able-bodied young men. Do you have any idea how much wealth they would create for our family while they serve their sentences on our territories in peace? Do you have any idea how desperately the family lacks this kind of able-bodied labor that doesn't require a single copper in wages? And now, thanks to your little stunt, fewer than sixty thousand mountain barbarian laborers remain, and the family has to pay an even greater price to pacify them..."
Lorist shook his head with a bitter smile. "Steward Hansk, you have truly disappointed me. Given the meritorious service you've rendered the family in the past, I have no desire to pursue the many other mistakes you've made. There are certain things you should reflect on privately — have you overstepped the bounds of a household retainer? Has your reach extended a bit too far? Forget it. I'll forgive you this once. Return to your own barony in the Dralemond Province and reflect properly."
Steward Hansk's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling as he turned mechanically toward the study door. He knew this was exile. His power within the Norton Family had been completely stripped away, and he would never again hold the ability to command the winds and summon the rain. Still, Lorist had at least remembered their old bond and had not confiscated his territory or his title.
Standing at the door, Steward Hansk halted. After a long silence, he turned and walked back before Lorist, his expression deeply agitated. "Your Highness, this servant is willing to depart, but there is one matter I beg Your Highness to consider most carefully."
"Speak..."
"Your Highness, please designate an heir as soon as possible, to put the hearts of the family's million subjects at ease." Steward Hansk's face was filled with a tragic resolve.
"Heh. Then tell me — whom should I designate?" Lorist asked, an amused tone in his voice.
"Master Lesscott, of course. He is already thirteen years old and approaching adulthood..."
Lesscott was the first son born to Lorist and Elynna. He had a somewhat violent disposition, mainly because he had grown up in Maplewood Manor, spoiled beyond all restraint by Elynna until he became a little tyrant. In the end, when he was eight, Lorist had him placed under the care of the Marek household, where Lady Marek took charge of his upbringing. He had only just entered Nico Academy the previous year.
"Do you think I'm going to be a short-lived man?" The question Lorist asked struck close to the bone.
"Your Highness, it is better to be prepared. Your father thought the same way, forcing himself to march out despite his illness to intercept the invading mountain barbarian cavalry, and the result was..." Steward Hansk was still rambling.
"Get out!" Lorist flew into a rage and hurled the document folder from the desk.
...