Volume Two: Iron and Blood Baron - Chapter 145: The Battle of Nordenburg (Part XIX)

Barin hurriedly ordered his men to retreat, attempting to lure the pirates into the nearby forest. That was their home turf, and once the pursuing pirates followed them in, they would be utterly routed by Barin’s men, just like the previous group of pirates yesterday.

However, to Barin’s surprise, the Toba pirates who pursued them only chased them for a short distance before falling back. During their retreat, they thoroughly inspected the perimeter of the wooden fort. Because Barin and his men had already fled far away, they could not see what else the pirates were doing during the inspection.

Seeing that the nearly two hundred Toba pirates had turned back after such a short chase, Barin realized that these pirates had learned their lesson and would not repeat the foolish mistake of entering the forest to fall into an ambush like the night before.

Still, Barin could understand. After all, these renowned and formidable pirates were veterans of countless battles; if they fell for the exact same ambush time and again, Barin would have to seriously doubt whether these newcomers were genuine Toba pirates at all.

"Boss, what should we do now? Do we head back just like this, or wait a bit and go cause more trouble for them?" one of Barin’s squad leaders asked.

Barin raised his hand and knocked him on the iron helmet, chuckling and scolding, "You little rascal, can you sleep if we head back now? We slept the whole day away! Stay right here obediently. Once they go back into the wooden fort to rest for a bit, we'll go wake them up again.

Those pig-spawned Toba Island bastards won't be getting a sound sleep tonight. Let's put in some hard effort tonight and give every single one of these pirates heavy dark circles under their eyes so they remain exhausted. That way, our brothers defending Norlanden Castle will face a bit less pressure tomorrow.

Lads, don't slack off! We're going back to stir up trouble in a moment!"

"Understood, Brother Barin!"

"Just watch us, Boss!"

"We绝对 won't let these sea-dwelling wild dogs sleep soundly any night this week! Once this battle is over, we're going to make Commander Barrett and the others treat the entire reconnaissance squad to drinks!"

……

Hearing Barin's words, the members of the reconnaissance squad responded enthusiastically, rubbing their hands together and declaring they were going to raise hell shortly.

When the moon had sunk halfway, Barin began leading his reconnaissance squad members to quietly approach the wooden fort once again. They only brought sidearms like swords and daggers, leaving even their shields behind in the forest. Since they also had to carry gongs and drums, being fully armed would be extremely inconvenient. Everyone simply wore double-layered leather armor and helmets as they came.

In any case, if the pirates inside the wooden fort came out, they could just make a quick run for it. The forest was not far from the wooden fort, and for men who trained in running every day, covering that distance was a breeze, ensuring they wouldn't be caught by the pirates.

As Barin and his party quietly approached the wooden fort, they immediately began to strike their gongs and beat their drums. As they played, they constantly shifted their positions, knowing that hammering away in just one spot would undoubtedly draw a concentrated volley of arrows from the archers on the ramparts.

Nor could they avoid the archers' arrows by retreating beyond bowshot range, because making a commotion over a hundred paces away would only involve the sound of gongs and drums, which would have a very limited impact on the pirates.

It was precisely for this reason that Barin led his men within fifty paces of the wooden fort. Raising a ruckus at this distance would guarantee the pirates couldn't sleep.

"Dong, dong, dong!" "Clang, clang, clang!" As the sound of gongs and drums rang out, the pirates on the ramparts immediately responded, firing arrows indiscriminately in all directions in a vain attempt to shoot down the Brick soldiers who were disturbing their slumber in the night.

Barin and his men struck a gong and shifted to a new spot, beat a drum and moved to a fresh position. Hearing the sounds after the fact, the pirates' arrows inevitably missed them entirely. Furthermore, the open space around the wooden fort was quite vast, and the thirty members of the reconnaissance squad were widely scattered. For one of them to be hit by an archer on the walls would truly require the blessing of the pirates' ocean god.

Just as Barin and his men were banging their gongs and beating their drums, having a grand old time creating chaos, sudden flashes of fire appeared all around them. Looking back, Barin saw that nearly a hundred Toba pirates had somehow materialized to encircle them completely.

Some of these pirates were holding torches, others dragged battle-axes, and some brandished war hammers, wearing savage expressions as they gazed at Barin and his men. They looked just like starving wolves that had waited patiently for a long time until their prey finally arrived.

Realizing they were surrounded, Barin was not a little startled. He hurriedly called out to his brothers to gather together. There were only thirty of them, while the surrounding pirates numbered no less than seventy or eighty, and unlike Barin's men, who carried virtually no weapons, the pirates were fully armed.

However, Barin, a warrior born of seasoned hunters, quickly steadied his nerves. He took a deep breath and said to the soldiers of his reconnaissance squad, "Brothers, how has our lord, Baron Belyon, treated us?"

"Well!" the reconnaissance squad soldiers answered in unison.

"Then if someone wants to harm Lord Belyon, will you allow it?" Barin continued, asking his men in a loud voice.

"Never!" the reconnaissance squad soldiers replied again, in one voice.

"These bastards from the southern islands who have come to plunder our homeland, murder our brothers, and violate our sisters—can you agree to that?" Barin swept his gaze over his soldiers and posed a third question.

"We will never agree!" the reconnaissance squad soldiers shouted together for the third time.

With a solemn expression, Barin nodded and said loudly, "Tonight, as you can see, we have been surrounded by these bastards from Toba Island. Then let us fight in a sea of blood together! Fight until the end of the night, fight until the dawn arrives, fight until we can no longer lift our weapons, fight until the earth of Norlanden Castle is soaked with our blood, and fight until the great God of Fire is moved by our bravery and allows us to enter the heavenly realm!"

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" At this, the reconnaissance squad soldiers threw their gongs and drums to the ground. Stamping their feet, they let out fierce roars to express their determination to follow Barin and fight to the death against the surrounding Toba pirates.

"Good! I didn't misjudge you all. You are truly my good brothers! Men! Grasp your weapons tightly and open your eyes wide—the moment for us to fulfill our oath to Lord Belyon has arrived. May the great God of Fire protect you all!" With that, he took the lead and charged directly toward the pirates standing some fifty paces ahead.

Barin had intended to break through the pirates' encirclement and then lead everyone in a rapid retreat back to the forest, thereby minimizing casualties. However, as he led the charge forward, he saw the pirates' encirclement steadily contracting and more and more enemies gathering in front of him. He knew his plan was bound to fail, and feared that his entire reconnaissance squad would be wiped out right here in front of the wooden fort this time.