AWDC Chapter 74

## Chapter 74: Hunting Down the Remnants

Only the two dukes had brought their soldiers this far near the hills. The other nobles did not join this front.

Gregg and Midland had two objectives in venturing so far from their territories, near the south.

One, of course, was to capture Waomou and destroy the Bawa Roma Order. They were determined to never allow such a heresy to revive. This was also a secret agreement between Toma and the two dukes. If the Bawa Roma army attacked any of the three, the other two would surely strike from behind. This time, Toma had easily won the initial battle, so there was no opportunity to strike from behind, but now that they had come this far, their course was clear.

The other objective was to secure slaves. The Kingdom of Flandre did not officially recognize slavery. Human trafficking was forbidden. However, in this world without advanced machinery, slaves were indispensable. For Duke Gregg, who held vast territories with many mines, cheap slaves who could be treated harshly were highly desirable. He couldn’t obtain slaves through human trafficking, but enslaving prisoners of war was permitted. For Duke Gregg, this was an unparalleled opportunity to secure slaves.

The Midland family, holding the eastern plains, thrived in commerce and industry, and did not desire slaves as much as Gregg did. However, slaves could be sold at high prices in other countries. To Duke Midland, prisoners of war looked like treasure.

To them, nothing was more appetizing than the defeated remnants of the Bawa Roma army.

Duke Gregg and Duke Midland watched the groups of retreating soldiers emerging from the hills.

It seemed Toma had thoroughly battered the Bawa Roma army this time. The enemy soldiers were struggling to escape through the undulating hills, their strength and spirit exhausted. There was no way to let the remnants escape from this vantage point. Such an easy hunt for remnants was rare. Moreover, only the two great ducal houses were lying in wait in this area. The other nobles hadn’t even come to observe. In other words, they could say there were no rivals. It was no wonder the two dukes were grinning.

And the Bawa Roma soldiers, who had run through the hilly terrain without rest, exhausted, were easily found.

Although they had lost forces at the shores of Lake Milona, there were still nearly 20,000 troops. But an army is only as good as its cohesion. Now, they were just a group with numbers.

The soldiers who entered the plains had desperately fled through the hills, fearing arrows from behind at any moment. Finally reaching the wide plains, the soldiers were relieved and sat down on the ground. Relaxed and unguarded, they simply sat, some even lying down to rest.

Then the cavalry came and suddenly shot arrows. They no longer had the will to act together, simply dodging arrows and running around.

There, the infantry units of the two ducal houses had set up a net to wait.

If more than ten people gathered, even regular infantry units could not easily subdue them. But two or three people were captured as easily as handling children.

Samuel watched this scene from a small hill.

He sensed the danger of entering the plains directly from the hills. He stopped Waomou’s carriage at the edge of a rare open space in the hills, surrounded by followers.

These were not recent converts but devout followers of Bawa Roma who could be trusted.

“Your Majesty, it is dangerous to rush into the plains immediately. Let us wait for darkness.”

Waomou nodded in agreement to the suggestion. They would spend the night here and, under cover of darkness, take the King to the capital. Many soldiers were still in the hills, approaching even late into the night. They should let them go ahead and fall into the trap of the remnant hunt. They would wait in this safe place for the right moment.

That was the plan.

But ominous information was brought from the followers securing the rear.

“The troops of the southern lords are coming.”

“Can’t we hide?”

“They seem to be searching every corner of the forest and thickets for soldiers. It seems impossible to hide.”

“How long until they arrive?”

“Probably about an hour before sunset.”

It was unfortunate news for Samuel. To let King Waomou escape under the cover of night. That plan had failed.

Now, he had no choice but to use himself as bait to let the King escape.

Samuel made his decision.

Suddenly, a carriage, with soldiers guarding both front and rear, rushed down from the hills. The number exceeded 100.

“There! That’s the carriage Waomou is riding in!”

The ducal house units headed towards the carriage all at once. They blocked the carriage’s path with obstacles.

But the carriage guards did not panic and faced the duke’s troops in an orderly fashion. As expected of veteran followers.

Among them, Samuel’s performance was particularly remarkable. He had diligently trained in the Bawa Roma Order and possessed exceptional physical strength.

With skills that could easily handle two or three opponents, the duke’s soldiers could not approach the carriage.

“Use the poles!” the captain shouted.

Five or six soldiers with poles exceeding 3 meters gathered in front of Samuel.

Against ordinary swords, Samuel could handle even more opponents to some extent. Against swords, he could easily draw them in and thrust at their chests without a wasted motion.

However, he could not deal with such long poles. The reach of the poles was too great to penetrate. All he could do was desperately dodge the poles being swung down one after another.

He somehow managed to fend off one or two poles, but the third hit his shoulder, and the fourth hit his head. None of them were deep, but as he retreated to avoid them, he stumbled on several poles at his feet.

These poles tripped him up, making it impossible to stand his ground. He fell on his rear, where many poles attacked him.

With Samuel down, there was no one left to protect the carriage. A soldier opened the carriage door. Only a woman was riding inside.

“He’s not here! Waomou isn’t here!”

Samuel heard that voice with a smile.

“Your Majesty, please be safe.”

Muttering such words to himself, Samuel’s consciousness faded away.