Chapter 188 Rescue 3
Chapter 188 Rescue 3
“Ow-“
The guards watching the city gates only heard a wolf howl coming from far and near.
The crowd shivered in fear.
“Hahaha! Look at how scared you guys are.”
The captain saw that he had managed to scare the crowd, his heart was not free of complacency, that wolf cry outside was really appropriate.
“This was a hundred years ago, the authenticity is not guaranteed. I’ll continue with this legend huh. Later there appeared a nameless warrior, he single horse sneaked into the forest, but never came back ……”
“People said that this warrior had sacrificed his life, yet the wolves were also divided and didn’t know how to work together like they used to.”
The soldiers were mesmerized as they listened, “Did that warrior slay the wolf king?”
The captain nodded, “That’s what else could have happened. Without the wolf king, the evil wolves are torn apart.”
“Later on, the Adventurer’s Guild set up a stronghold here and organized adventurers to go out and purge the vicious wolves, and the residents’ self-defense groups also re-entered the forest to regularly eliminate those larger wolf packs. It was only then that Nisborough truly prospered, gradually growing larger and larger, and eventually being chosen as the capital when the alliance was formed.”
The guards all tsked, not realizing that the city they were working for had such a history.
One of the soldiers suddenly became a bit uneasy, and he whispered, “Brothers, have you heard any movement? It seems like a wolf’s cry?”
“Hahaha!”
The crowd roared with laughter, “Was your kid frightened by the captain’s story?”
However, soon they couldn’t laugh anymore because they heard it too.
Not one or two wolves were barking, but many, many wolves.
At first, it was indeed not too clear, but the sound gradually grew louder and louder, more and more and denser, and in the end, it simply became a chorus of wolves.
The city guards were wide-eyed, having watched the city gates for such a long time, this was the first time they had encountered such a bizarre situation.
A guard shivered and said, “Tonight …… tonight doesn t seem right.”
The others also nodded their heads in succession, and the crowd coincidentally thought of the ancient legend that the captain had just told.
The captain’s brow also wrinkled, could it be that the scene in the legend is going to reappear, in fact, in his own heart he does not quite believe in those absurd legends, and just now told his subordinates to listen to it also to relieve the boredom.
“Damn it, the wolf cubs outside are barking collectively.”
A joke dispersed the fear of his subordinates.
“Tonight is indeed a bit unusual, let’s stop roasting the fire, cheer up and watch the city gates, and close them immediately if we find anything wrong.”
“Even if those beasts really went crazy, with this tall and thick city wall, I don’t believe they can climb over.”
The guards answered, and came to the city gates with their weapons in hand to carefully stand on guard.
After a short while, there was nothing unusual outside the city gates except for the wolf cries, but a group of people came running on the street inside.
This was the rescue team that came from the docks.
Quake ordered the crowd, “There are guards guarding the gates in front of us, take off your bayonets if you have them, don’t make people suspicious. Also, spread out in formation.”
When such a large group arrived at the city gates, they were unsurprisingly stopped by the guards.
Xela stepped in to deal with the guards, and she had an anxious look on her face, which she wasn’t faking.
“My daughter went outside the city during the day and has not returned yet. I’m here to lead the helpers in search of her.”
“Calm yourself, ma’am, perhaps she has stayed at a friend’s house in one of the nearby villages or towns. Do you hear so many wolves barking, it’s dangerous outside the city now.”
“No, my daughter doesn’t have many friends outside the city, I’m going to find him no matter what.”
The captain of the city guards revealed a helpless look, but he didn’t stop anymore, “Alright, good luck, don’t ever go deeper into the forest.”
He glanced at the group behind Xyla, about thirty men, perhaps able to deter small packs of wolves.
Since there were no wagons or large pieces of luggage, the soldiers didn’t check them and released them immediately.
Still guided by Polly the Parrot in front, the rescue team continued along the road.
“Now holster all the bayonets! Light the cord of fire! Stand by.”
Not far out of the gates, Captain Quick ordered his men to ready their weapons.
The sound of wolves howling from all directions was a bit ominous, and the men in the group were very nervous.
“Mrs. Sertia, is it always like this at night in Fort Ness?”
“No! Never heard of it.”
Quirk’s heart hung a little.
After almost twenty minutes of walking, they finally saw the wolf for the first time in the bushes by the side of the road, but instead of being attacked, the wolf merely looked at them with green eyes for a moment before running off to the north.
Judging by the sound, there were quite a few wolves in the bushes.
“Master Lardy! Wolves! Master Lardy! Wolves!”
Polly the parrot shrieked, making Xyla’s mind certain that the danger her daughter was in must have something to do with these wolves.
After continuing for some distance, the path ahead began to straighten out, and without the trees in the way, the group saw the faint glow of a fire.
“Master Lardy! Master Lardy!”
Polly the parrot squawked more cheerfully.
Xela told Quirk, “My daughter must be just ahead! It’s right near that wisp of firelight! For sure.”
“Accelerate forward! Move toward the firelight.”
The group took small, quick steps, however it didn’t take long to hit an obstacle – there were about a dozen wolves blocking the road ahead.
Of course, this was only what they could see, there were also noises coming from the forest on both sides, and there must be a considerable number of wolves waiting for their chance to act, otherwise a dozen or so wolves alone would never dare to stop thirty adult men.
The target of these wolves was obviously the rescue team, their hair stood up, at the same time, their lips rolled over, revealing their teeth, emitting a threatening “whimpering” sound.
In order to facilitate the command and rationalize the output of firepower, Quirk divided the thirty sailors into three groups.
He shouted, “One group is ready to fire! Group 2 and 3 guard the sides!”
The ten sailors at the front lined up in a row, they raised their muskets and pointed them at the wolves in front by the bright moonlight.
The fire rope at the gun’s mechanism had been set up long ago, and the slowly burning rope end showed a small red dot in the night.
“Fire!”
Captain Quirk barked, and the first group of sailors pulled the trigger at the same time.
The ten muskets suddenly let out a loud clang that for a moment drowned out the howls of the wolves around them.
Since it was nighttime, the fire spewing from the muzzles of the guns was particularly dazzling, illuminating the surrounding area.
The wolves that blocked the road were out of luck, the deadly projectiles tore through their fur and embedded themselves deeply into their bodies.
A dozen or so wolves instantly fell, most of them immediately lost their breath, while the ones that were barely alive let out agonizing cries of “wooing”.
Canine screams are especially heartbreaking, and many people felt compassion for these wolves, and those who had dogs at home remembered their own dogs.
Wolves were not shot by the companion of the encounter was scared silly, but more let them feel fear is the sound of the musket, wolves (dogs) have a very sharp sense of hearing, sudden loud noise for them is a kind of terrible weapon.
The wolves that could still move fled in all directions with their tails between their legs, and the woods on both sides of the road were soon silent.
Quirk waved his hand, “Keep moving!” “This …… this will do?”
Xela was shocked, she had already drawn her dagger across her body and was ready to fight to the death, but she didn’t expect these Aldorians to disperse the wolves with a single strike.
The strange weapons used by the Aldorians took Xela by surprise as well.
She was impressed by the power of the muskets and their ability to hit wherever they were pointed.
But since her daughter was still in danger, she couldn’t think about it and followed the group in the direction of the flames.
On the next road they encountered two more groups of wolves, but under the power of the musket, it caused no hindrance.
The party finally reached the light they had seen earlier, and sure enough, there were flames burning.
Although some places had already been extinguished, it could still be seen that the flames intermittently formed a circle, and right in the center of the circle was a carriage.
“Master Lardy! Master Lardy!”
Polly the parrot fluttered her wings and flew toward the wagon.
The door to the carriage soon opened and out stepped two women, one of whom the crew of the Southern recognized as the same female counselor who had been with Earl Graiman.
Polly landed on Laddie’s shoulder and kept rubbing her head into her face.
Xyla rushed to the carriage as well and went up and took her daughter in her arms, saying both thankfully and reproachfully, “Scared the hell out of me, what’s wrong with you kid!”
“I’m sorry, mom, for worrying you.”
On the side, Helen was very guilty, “I’m sorry, Auntie, it’s all because of what happened to me.”
“Ugh~”
Xela sighed and didn’t know what to say.
Quake ordered his men to guard the surrounding area and came over as well, “So it really is you, Counselor-sama.”
The female counselor’s face reddened, “I’m so sorry, Captain Quirk.”
Quirk waved a large hand, “Never mind, now that we know, there’s no need to talk about it, right now it’s important to get back to Fort Ness.”
“Thank you, this time even tired you guys …… Oh, this is Her Highness Helen, the Grand Duchess of the Duchy of Eaton, I came out with her to look for her sister, I don’t want to encounter the wolves.”
“Great …… Great …… Grand Duchess?”
Quake suddenly at a loss for words, in his cognition, the Grand Duke of this seems to be just one level lower than the king, and the advisor lady are said to be what the Duchy of Eton, that is not the actual king, the advisor lady side of the woman is not the equivalent of the queen?
He suddenly realized that he appeared to have been trapped in foreign affairs, and the other party was still a person at the highest level of the country.
O heavenly Father! Spare me! I haven’t even touched a single noble outside of Lord Lord.
“Your Highness! I, Captain Quirk of the Southern, have come on behalf of Count Paul Greiman of the Alda Domain in the northwest bay of the Kingdom of Aldo, so forgive me for my offense!”
He made a lame salute towards Helen and stammered out his identity.
Only after he finished speaking did he remember that he still didn’t know if the other party could understand his language, so he had to desperately wink at the female advisor.
Lardy smiled and said, “Don’t worry, schoolteacher knows Aldorian.”
Hokage? Holy shit, the seemingly very low-key counselor lady turned out to be so popular in her hometown! Why did she run away to a countryside place like the Northwest Bay.
Grand Duchess Helen bowed to Quake and smiled her thanks:
“Thank you Captain Quirk for coming to the rescue tonight, our sisters can’t thank you and your men enough!”
“Where where! The Grand Duchess is very kind!”
Quake hastily humbled himself.
Lady Sertia, who was on the side, suddenly interjected, “I say, gentlemen, this is not the time to chat, it’s better to return to Fort Ness as early as possible. I always feel that the wolves around are starting to gather again.”
The crowd then remembered that they were still deep in danger.
Quirk said, “Let’s get going before it’s too late!”
Helen carried her still unconscious sister out of the carriage, and Quirk wanted a soldier to carry Fanny, but the Grand Duchess refused.
“The child is light, I can still carry her, concentrate your manpower on defense against the evil wolves.”
With that Quirk loudly announced to the sailors to return to Fort Ness.
But no sooner had they started back than they ran into a fairly large pack of wolves.
It was frightening to hear the cry of the wolves rising and falling in the forest, and in a few moments, with the aid of the moonlight, they saw an uncountable number of wolves swarming down upon them.
The wolves were all in single file, as neatly organized as a troop led by an experienced officer.
Quirk immediately ordered the sailors to get close to each other and stand in three rows according to the groups they had previously divided.
In order not to interrupt the fire for too long, he ordered that only one platoon at a time be allowed to fire while the other two stood ready. If the wolves continued to charge after the first volley, the next volley would be fired.
At the same time, the platoon that had finished firing should not be too busy to reload for the second time, but should hold the gun tightly and use the bayonet to guard against those lucky and bold wolves that rushed forward.
The shots are soon heard!
Several of the wolves were hit in the head and fell, and a few others were wounded and ran off in a shower of blood, as could be seen clearly in the moonlight.
The wolves at the back were frightened, they stopped pounding this way, but they didn’t leave either, instead they kept hovering at a distance, seemingly hesitating to continue their attack, after all, they were outnumbered by wolves.
But the musket range is still able to reach them, although at this distance the smoothbore barrels have lost their accuracy, but so many shots will always be able to hit.
A second volley of shots rang out, and a few more wolves fell in the distance.
“Movement in the woods! Use grenades!”
The soldiers on both sides immediately pulled out grenades and ignited them, throwing them vigorously into the woods.
After a few of them exploded, there were several “wailing” screams.
Some wolves that had been stunned by the explosions scurried out into the road and were stabbed to death by the bayonet-wielding sailors.
Grand Duchess Helen watched the wolves scatter in all directions, not knowing what she was thinking.
On the side, Lardy asked in a low voice, “Sister, it’s incredible, isn’t it?”
“……”
What answered her was silence.
“I’ve had a vague feeling in my mind since I arrived at the Northwest Bay ……”
“What?”
“The age of heroes is coming to an end ……”
……
After confirming that the wolves in front of him had run clean, Quake ordered the party to continue on their way.
The group fired a few sporadic shots along the way, and it was fortunate that no one was injured by the wolves.
Finally, they reached the north gate of Fort Ness, and it was nearly three in the morning.
(End of Chapter)