83: Occupy Kedo Town

Outside Keduo Town, the Kobold army led by Godo was attacking the town.

An army of just over two thousand Kobolds could not possibly take down the well-defended Keduo Town, but Godo wasn't worried at all.

He could feel his master's gaze watching him from a distance; what Godo had to do was show his value to his master.

"Charge! Everyone, charge!"

Without any formation or strategy, more than two thousand Kobolds swarmed toward Keduo Town.

Looking at the dense mass of Kobolds outside the town, the Militia captain guarding the town felt a bit flustered. Although Kobolds weren't strong, their numbers were significant; it would be strange if he didn't feel nervous seeing them all rush over at once.

"Have you notified Lord Hiril? When will the Mine Guard Army arrive?"

"He has been notified. Lord Hiril is expected to arrive very soon."

Hearing the subordinate's affirmative answer, the Militia captain regained his confidence.

"Prepare to attack. Wait until those Kobolds get closer before launching the assault."

The Militia captain's usual training did not go to waste. Under his command, the Keduo Militia quickly stabilized their formation and began to fight back.

"Kobolds!"

"There are quite a lot of them!"

The Militia captain had only led his men through two rounds of attacks when he heard movement from behind. Turning around, he saw Hiril arriving with the Mine Guard Army.

"My Lord, the Kobolds have launched an attack. There are about two thousand of them. The strongest is that Bronze Rank Kobold commander in the distance."

Upon seeing Hiril, the Militia captain took the initiative to blurt out all the information he had just gathered.

"Strange, these Kobolds can actually drive Wasteland Wolves?"

"Do Kobolds have this talent too?"

Seeing the hundred or so Kobold Wolf Knights roaming at the rear of the Kobold army outside the town, Hiril was somewhat curious.

"Gnolls can tame Wargs, but I didn't expect Kobolds could too. These wilderness outcasts are quite resourceful, just as loathsome as that damned Wild Wolf Family."

After observing the besieging Kobold army from the city wall for a moment and confirming that their strength was negligible, Hiril decided to act.

"Open the gates. I will crush these Kobolds and use their blood and corpses to witness the glory of the Blackstone Family."

Under Hiril's command, the gates of Keduo Town were slowly opened. Everyone, including the Militia captain, believed that the Mine Guard Army led by Hiril could easily annihilate the Kobolds.

After all, Hiril was a Silver Knight, while the strongest of the pathetic Kobolds was only at the Bronze Rank.

"Charge!"

Of the two hundred Mine Guard Armys under Hiril, one hundred were cavalry and the remaining one hundred were infantry.

Led by Hiril, the cavalry charged out first, with the infantry following closely behind in a frantic pursuit.

The Kobolds near the city gate scattered as soon as Hiril charged into them.

Facing a Cavalry Squad led by a Silver Knight, these ordinary Kobolds were simply unable to resist. In the blink of an eye, one or two hundred Kobolds were killed.

"Retreat!"

Godo, who had been prepared for a long time, immediately led the Kobolds to retreat. The Kobold Wolf Knights turned and fled, and the remaining Kobolds followed in a frantic scramble.

Hiril was enjoying the slaughter. Seeing the Kobolds fleeing, he didn't think twice and gave chase.

Soon, the Cavalry Squad led by Hiril disappeared from the sight of the infantry behind them.

Chasing down the Kobolds all the way made Hiril feel exhilarated. The pleasure of the hunt was extremely addictive, even more satisfying than conquering someone in bed.

Cutting down another Kobold with his blade, Hiril grinned as he looked back at his handiwork. A headless Kobold corpse was spurting blood, falling to the ground and twitching unconsciously as blood soaked the earth.

"Lowly Kobolds, creatures even inferior to Slaves, actually thought they could attack Keduo Town. These outcasts really have no brains at all."

Hiril selected his next target and was about to charge over to harvest another head when a flash of silver light blocked him.

"What?"

Before Hiril could see what the sudden flash of silver light was, he was sent flying.

The last image he saw was a pure white Magic Wolf leaping through the air to reach his side in an instant. A figure on the white wolf's back swung a longsword, followed by another flash of silver. Hiril lost all consciousness and fell into endless darkness.

A volley of arrows took out more than half of Hiril's cavalry. By the time the remaining cavalry realized something was wrong, the Magic Wolf Knights were already upon them. In less than a single breath, the entire squad was wiped clean.

Colt and Godo, who had turned back, didn't even get a chance to act before Hiril and his men were completely annihilated.

"Is he the leader of the Keduo Mining Area?"

Renn threw Hiril's head at Colt's feet for him to identify.

"Yes, my Lord."

"He is the leader of the Blackstone Territory's Keduo Mining Area, Hiril Blackstone, a Silver Knight of the Blackstone Family."

Colt had met Hiril before and had even fought him once. That time, he and Hiril had fought to a draw, neither able to overcome the other. In the end, fearing reinforcements from the Blackstone Family, Colt had chosen to retreat.

He hadn't expected their next meeting to be in this form. Looking at the wide-open eyes on Hiril's head at his feet, Colt gained a clearer understanding of Renn's strength.

Fermon and the others beside Colt also saw Hiril's corpse. They quietly swallowed their saliva, and their gazes toward Renn became even more humble.

The strength of the squad led by Hiril was similar to that led by Colt. Faced with Renn's surprise attack, Hiril hadn't even lasted a single breath before being wiped out.

Colt and the others mentally compared themselves and realized that if it had been them, the outcome would not have been any better—only worse.

"That's fine then. Take his head, go wipe out those infantrymen, then join Godo to occupy Keduo Town and blockade the entire mining area."

"Yes, my Lord!"

The subsequent tasks went much more smoothly. With the Cavalry Squad led by Hiril eliminated, the most important defensive force of the Keduo Mining Area was mostly gone. The remaining Militia were no match for Colt.

After easily annihilating the infantry squad, whose stamina was mostly depleted from running the whole way, Colt and Godo arrived at the gates of Keduo Town.

When Colt displayed Hiril's head, the Militia captain lost his will to resist. Colt took over Keduo Town with very little effort.

On the other side, Renn led the Cavalry Squad and the Magic Wolf Knights to the Black Stone Mining Area.

After quickly eliminating the defensive forces left behind by the Blackstone Territory, Renn took control of the entire mining area.

Thousands of miners gathered in the large square in front of the mine shaft, looking up with fear at Renn standing on a high platform and the dozen or so tall poles nearby.

Hiril's head was currently hanging from a tall pole, swaying in the wind. The heads of several mine managers and overseers were also hanging from the tall poles, with still-warm blood dripping down the poles drop by drop.

"From today onwards, you all belong to me as Slaves. Work for me peacefully for twenty years, and after twenty years, you will regain your freedom. If you are unwilling, they are your example!"

Faced with these miners, Renn didn't have much time for persuasion; he directly used force to subdue them, killing those who were defiant on the spot.

The Slaves in the mining area felt nothing about changing masters, but seeing that their former master was reduced to just a head made them even more fearful of their new master.

The ordinary miners who were not originally Slaves were very dissatisfied with Renn's approach, but seeing those bloody heads, they were afraid to speak out despite their anger.

As for Renn's claim of trading twenty years of work for freedom, the ordinary miners didn't really believe it.

As for the Slaves, they had no thoughts at all, because most of them felt they wouldn't live that long.

Renn had no time to worry about these people's thoughts for now. After temporarily stabilizing the situation, he let these miners continue mining as usual.

On the other side, Renn arranged for Ross to begin the next step of the plan.

"Ross, go to Keduo Town to gather the population and prepare for relocation."