Chapter 559: The Hero
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Sir John, they…they are coming over," a knight said fearfully.
"As though I can't see for myself!" Little John said softly. "Stay vigilant!"
"Sir, that is the Roaring Dead Legion!" The knight's voice trembled as he spoke.
"What is the big deal?" Little John asked with a prideful smile.
The knight dropped his jaw, wanting to say something, but ended up keeping mum. He did not know where to start, as he had too much to say. Little John seemed ignorant and proud! During the night, the mage army had been utterly destroyed. The Griffin Aerial Unit had also ceased to exist. The Roaring Dead Legion was the only remaining powerhouse, and it would be impossible to defeat them with only a few thousand new infantries and more than 200 knights. They would be courting their own deaths if they were to attack the Roaring Dead Legion. However, commands must be obeyed. He could only lament his fate, and the fact of having such a Chief Commander.
The army was approaching them. Although there were only about 700-800 of them, and the fact that they were not moving in unison, the soldiers still exuded an overpowering killing intent that only elite troops possessed.
"Sir, we should retreat." The knight made one last effort to dissuade Little John.
"I just wonder how you became a knight!" Little John sneered at him and said, "Pass down the order and get ready…"
"Yes…" A voice came out from among the shrubs, sending chills up the knight's spine.
The soldiers from the Roaring Dead Legion had reached the foot of the mountain. For the past few months, they had not met any powerful enemies, thus they had slackened. The soldiers formed ranks that stretched a mile long, and there were more than 40 prison vans with them. Every van was filled with prisoners. There were males and females, young and old. All the prisoners were well-dressed, and they seemed to be the royal families from the Shansa Empire.
Little John turned and gave a signal to one of the magicians, who softly chanted a spell and released a bellicose incantation. More than 500 soldiers of the Shansa Empire had been affected by the incantation. Little John jumped onto his battle steed and pointed his long sword toward the sky, shouting: "Comrades, let's charge…" Having said this, he took the lead and dashed downhill.
The soldiers who followed after Little John were the ones affected by the incantation. Courage could be contagious. The other soldiers hesitated for a while, following behind. Their Chief Commander was in the frontline, and they had no reason to back away. Moreover, they would have been severely punished if they had retreated.
The soldiers of the Roaring Dead Legion were taken off guard. "Oh no, we have been ambushed! Let's run for our lives. Leave the prisoners behind! Let's leave…" Following the cries, the soldiers fled desperately in a panic.
Initially, the knights of Little John were slacking behind the soldiers, but after seeing what had happened, they were elated, and urged their battle steeds forward. However, it was too late for them to take credit. Little John had dashed into the chaotic array. Those soldiers, who had been affected by the bellicose incantation, followed closely behind.
A general from the Roaring Dead Legion clumsily urged his battle steed onward, but it refused to move. Little John dashed toward the general and slashed the general's neck with his long sword. A bright sword ray flashed across, and the general's head flew up to the sky, sending blood spewing all over.
"Charge…" Little John shouted.
"Charge…" When the soldiers of Shansa Empire saw that their Chief Commander had killed the general of their enemies, their morale was boosted. A few thousand soldiers rushed down from the top of the hill and filled the valley.
Many soldiers from the Roaring Dead Legion fled for their lives. More than 30 of them lost their directions in their panicked states, not knowing where to flee. Little John pushed his way around and wielded his sword. He was like the invincible god of war. Every time he wielded his sword, someone would be killed.
As he was dashing past one of the prison vans, Little John suddenly stopped. "Is that not Duke Rhine?" He gave up his plans to pursue after the enemies, and quickly dismounted from his battle steed. With great force, he broke the chain around the cage with his sword. He went into the prison van and helped an elderly man exit.
"Good, …well done." Duke Rhine had lost hope, not having expected to see such a courageous general in the Shansa Empire. This general had fearlessly challenged the Roaring Dead Legion. That was a close call for Duke Rhine. He was moved to tears and could not say a word.
"Charge…" The soldiers of Shansa Empire dashed past the prison vans in pursuit of the enemies that had fled. To beat a drowning dog was a pleasurable feeling for the soldiers. Only some of the soldiers remembered to break open the prison vans and rescue the royal families. However, they were too slow to act, as compared to Little John. After saying a few comforting words to Duke Rhine, Little John had rushed to the other prison vans with his sword. Within a short period of time, he had broken the chains of more than 20 prison vans, and rescued many royal families.
The combat ended very quickly. Although the cowards in the Roaring Dead Legion did not have the courage to fight, they were quick in escaping. It might have been due to the lack of training of the Shansa Empire soldiers as well. After pursuing the enemies for a few miles, not only were they unable to catch up with them, but they became exhausted. It was especially so with the soldiers who were influenced by the bellicose incantation. After the magic power had lost its effect, they were left panting hard.
Having received their freedom, the royal families sat on the grass. After being cramped up in the prison van, they needed a rest. Some were praying, some were bursting out in tears, and some were filled with gratitude and were talking to Little John. Little John was like their god. However, Little John smiled humbly, speaking politely to them. He had left a good impression on the royal families.
After mingling around, Little John came back to Duke Rhine. Although all were royal families, there were different rankings among them. Duke Rhine was a good friend of Edward VIII. Even if all the royal families had gathered together, they would still not be as important as Duke Rhine!
At this instant, the knight, who had tried to dissuade Little John earlier, came forward. He said excitedly to John, "Sir, the enemies have been pushed back. We have killed a total of more than 30 enemies, and one of them is a general! We have a great victory!"
"How many enemies have you killed?" Duke Rhine coughed, while asking this in a dignified voice. He had now recovered, regaining his composure.
"We have killed more than 30 enemies, including…"
Duke Rhine lifted up his hand and gave the knight a tight slap. He lowered his volume and said, "You are stupid like a pig!" He felt deeply grieved. Why? Why is there no intelligent man, under such a courageous general?
"Sir Duke…" Little John was taken aback.
"There were more than 5,000 men, who were escorting us, but you have killed only a little more than 30 soldiers? Do you consider that a great victory?" Duke Rhine pointed at the knight's nose and said, "I have seen the whole process with my own eyes. It was such an intense fight, and you have only killed a little more than 30 people? You fool, have you seen correctly?"
Little John and the knight just stood there, dumbfounded. 5,000 people? Who has seen wrongly?
Duke Rhine waved his hand and said, "I am not old. I have seen clearly! We have killed more than 3,000 soldiers in this battle!"
The knight scrunched his face up, and after a while, looked elated. Little John had killed half of those people, including the general. To share the remaining credit among the soldiers would be pathetic, that is if they had killed only a little more than 30 people. However, if they had killed more than 3,000 soldiers, the situation would be quite different. He might be accredited for killing more than 10 people!
The knight suddenly lifted his hand and slapped himself. He shouted, "Sir, I am a fool, I am blind. Please forgive me. This place is filled with dead bodies. There are about 5,000 of them!"
"Nonsense!" Duke Rhine said with a straight face, "How can you report to your superior with an estimated number? Go and check again. Remember, I want a definite figure!"
"Yes, Sir!" The knight saluted excitedly at Duke Rhine, turned around, and dashed out.
Little John finally managed to calm himself down. He had been around Diamond City for some time, and knew that the royal families had been deceiving their superiors and subordinates, and that they were corrupted. However, he did not know that military merit could be exploited in this manner! Suddenly, Little John noticed a longing look in Duke Rhine's eyes. After pondering this for a while, he said softly, "Sir, the greatest credit goes to you. If you had not disrupted the deployment of the enemy's army from within, I would not have succeeded." Since Duke Rhine had amplified his credits, Little John had to give the greatest credit to him.
"Hahaha…" Duke Rhine laughed aloud. He patted Little John's shoulder and said, "Young man, you have a great future ahead of you. I like you!"
"I am honored to be recognized by you." Little John bent with respect as he spoke.
Duke Rhine held Little John's hand warmly, lifting it up. He shouted, "Who has saved us from our suffering? Who has given us the chance to live again? Who is our hero?"
Many of the royal families knew Little John's name by now. Moreover, they had to give due respect to Duke Rhine, so they shouted, "John…John…" Their shouts grew louder, and in the end, many soldiers joined in the shouting as well. If the Maho Empire was a tiger, then the Shansa Empire would be a timid rabbit. The rabbit would hide in its burrow, shivering. Shansa had been longing for a hero to stand up and take control of the situation.