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TWL Chapter 31: Dryads
🕑 Added 2023-11-15 00:51:39 +0000 UTCLann clearly remembered that, according to the plot of The Sword of Destiny, the Nastrog Section who were a group of bandits stopped Geralt and Ciri on their way to Cintra from Brokilon. Then 'Verden's soldiers' explained to them that they had come across the scene of an ambush by the Dryads on a merchant caravan. But Geralt quickly realizes that the evidence around him does not support the 'soldiers' claims and a fight ensues. Ciri manages to hide in a tree, but the witcher is hopelessly outnumbered. Luckily, and at the last moment, he is saved by the arrival of Mousesack and some dryads.
So, when Lann saw the scene, he immediately understood the situation. So, he had no intention of believing them or letting them go.
The Black Wind is extremely powerful.
A normal knight would enjoy raising his spear and charging at everything in his path. But Lann was not skilled with the spear; he had not had enough time to master it in a year. Besides, he didn't need it either.
While riding his horse, Lann drew his sword, moving his entire torso and the sword together.
The short, fat man had a horrified expression on his face. He obviously didn't expect Lann and the others to suddenly launch an attack.
Before he could draw his weapon, the blade of the sword opened his chest. The blade opened from his abdomen and exited through his back, also cutting into his shoulder.
A rain of blood suddenly sprayed all over the sky. Viewed from behind, the short, fat man looked as if he had been chewed hard by a beast.
At this time, some of Verden's soldiers barely reacted and drew their weapons in an attempt to confront the enemy.
After cutting down one person, Lann's momentum continued unabated. A soldier roared and rushed towards him, brandishing his weapon, waving his spear in an attempt to knock Lann off his horse.
Lann leaned forward, dodging the attack and stabbing his sword like a spear into the body of another Verden soldier. At the same time, he released the sword, allowing the impact force to be discharged into the opponent's body and avoiding damage to his own wrist.
Black Wind neighed excitedly. It was a war horse, not a captive pet. The sound of swords clashing, and the smell of blood made it go faster.
With a dull thud, the soldier whose lower body was pinned under the horse had his head crushed like a watermelon by the Black Wind. At least his suffering was over.
Three kills instantly.
Given the numerical inferiority, losing three men in the first attack was devastating. The soldiers died horrible deaths. The last two men in Verden's formation attempted to flee.
“Idiot, he has no weapons, come on!” Shouted the squinting soldier.
His shout was not unreasonable, but Lann's speed in Black Wind was too fast. The Verden soldiers who could still fight were not mounted, so they could not escape easily.
The two deserters tried their best to stay away from the battlefield, but Lann riding the Black Wind swept past the two fleeing men, easily breaking through the phalanx of Verden soldiers and blocking their retreat.
At this time, Lann's attendants, and scouts also rushed into the enemy camp on horseback and began to have a close encounter with the Verden soldiers in front.
Lann dismounted and rushed forward to meet the two deserters. What he is better at is actually fighting on foot.
"He has no weapons." A soldier facing Lann muttered in a low voice, and then shouted to cheer himself up. "He has no weapons! Ah…!"
This is a rare swordsman, but his swordsmanship is really not good, at least not good enough to face Lann alone.
Even wearing plate armor, Lann's flexibility exceeded everyone present. He stepped forward to close the distance, stretched his right arm forward and struck at the opponent's hands holding the sword, weakening the power of the opponent's slash. The left arm was passed directly towards the opponent's sword edge.
With a clang, the specially thickened arm armor firmly blocked the opponent's sword. Immediately afterwards, Lann started to kick, and the foot wrapped in steel greaves kicked directly between the opponent's legs. The chain armor could not protect this place.
The poor soldier's eyes suddenly bulged, and he instantly lost the strength to hold his weapon. Lann easily snatched his sword, reversed the hilt, and slit the soldier's throat.
Lann weighed the weapon in his hand. He thought it was not as good as his own, but it was still usable.
At this time, there was only one Verden soldier left in front of Lann, and Lann had a sword in his hand.
Coincidentally, this soldier was the one who had laughed at Lann in a low voice before.
"Now do you understand why I am the fencing champion?" Lann asked.
The soldier thrust forward with red eyes and a spear in hand. Lann flicked the tip of the spear lightly with his sword, stepped forward to close the distance, split his torso from top to bottom, and then swung it from bottom to top, leaving a bloody 'X' on his body.
Looking back, there were only three enemies left on the field.
The slant-eyed soldier had long realized that something was wrong. He kept fighting and retreating, relying on the cover of his comrades to run to the horse.
A soldier was shot through the throat by Ace at the right opportunity, leaving only two enemies on the field.
The slant-eyed soldier shouted to calm the war horse, but the horse was too frightened and refused to obey the command. He gritted his teeth and forced himself onto the horse. He was really good at riding, and in this situation, he could still cling tightly to the horse's back.
Two scouts held a soldier with their spears, and then Levin cut his throat with a dagger.
The young man who knew the forest best in Brokilon murmured softly: "Trees are chopped down with axes, and dryads will never chop down trees, idiots."
The only surviving Verden soldier is the slant-eyed soldier.
The horse refused to run. The slant-eyed soldier gritted his teeth and shoved the dagger into the horse's butt. The horse, wounded and frightened, galloped uncontrollably in any direction.
“Idiot, this is not the direction, don’t run into the forest!” The slant-eyed soldier shouted.
Seeing that the opponent was actually trying to escape, Ace smiled contemptuously, drew his bow and aimed at the target.
"Leave him alive." Lann remembered.
At this moment, an arrow screamed out from the dark forest, drawing a long and soft arc. It seemed to be gliding slowly in the air, the arrow feathers swaying lightly in the wind. Until the moment of impact, the speed and strength did not increase at all.
The arrow feathers were pheasant feathers, dyed yellow with tree bark juice. The material of the arrowhead was unknown, as it was buried in the slant-eyed soldier's throat.
The owner of this arrow obviously did not want the slant-eyed soldier to invade the forest.
The impact caused the soldier to be thrown backwards, leaving the horse running into the forest. Ace, surprised, released the arrow, completing an unexpected and coordinated action in the air.
Unfortunately, the arrow originally aimed at his legs deflected and stuck in the junction of the chain mail on the enemy's shoulder. The arrow did not go through, but the anti-projectile armor proved effective.
The soldier with slanted eyes fell to the ground on his back. He could only make a muffled sound, because the arrow had pierced his chest. He then started bleeding from his chest and back.
The Verden soldiers were eliminated, but the team's vigilance did not diminish, as an invisible and more powerful enemy appeared in the forest.
Levan shouted: "It's the dryad!"
Ace angrily set up another arrow and aimed into the forest. He was extremely ashamed that he failed to complete the earl's instructions.
"It's okay, Ace, he doesn’t need to live anymore." Lann comforted, looking into the depths of the forest. "We have something better now."
