"Damn it! Just our rotten luck to be chosen."

"Exactly, they get to relax, while we aren't even allowed inside, let alone have a couple of women sent out for us to have some fun with."

"Say less, might as well sleep if there's time, you can dream of anything."

Under a campfire, three night watch soldiers were complaining, but from their lax demeanor, it was clear they weren't taking it seriously.

But you couldn't really blame them, as this was how they guarded the city gates, unless there was booze or gambling to be had, just being present was considered decent enough.

Not to mention they hadn't even seen a stray dog along the way, so they relaxed, probably well aware that in the eyes of others, they weren't a proper army, just menial workers.

"Going to take a piss, who's coming with me?"

"Damn it, you piss a lot."

One of them cursed, picking up a spear and following, though they weren't wary, the dark-covered wilderness around still exerted pressure.

The remaining one couldn't be bothered, continuing to sit by the campfire, not even holding the spear in his hand.

But after waiting for a while and not seeing the other two return, he grew suspicious.

"Fell down a pit, didn't they?"

However, just as he finished speaking, a feather arrow flew out of the darkness, striking his throat.

In the last flicker of the campfire, he saw shadows surging forward.

Instinctively, he grasped the arrow, wanting to do something, but something seemed to be flowing from the arrow into his blood, rendering his body uncontrollable.

This arrow is poisoned!

By then, the shadows had already approached, yanking out the feather arrow, with such force that his body tipped over as well.

The entire process ended without even a struggle, his body collapsing like a deflated balloon, blood gushing from his throat.

Simultaneously, the campfire extinguished in succession, darkness engulfing everything once more.

Such a fragile outpost stood no chance against the seasoned barbarian mercenaries, and once the outpost failed, the sleeping city defense force would face a gruesome massacre.

One or two were perhaps not noticeable, but the death of ten or several tens of people, would create a scent of blood intense enough to alert the personal guard stationed in the village.

Meanwhile, the city defense force wasn't foolish, the commotion of so many people rushing in alarmed some of them awake.

"Ah!!!"

This scream instantly ignited the entire scene, the barbarian mercenaries, seeing they've been exposed, brazenly wielded their weapons, slaughtering the city defense force.

With combat prowess akin to hooligans, many in the city defense force couldn't see clearly in the darkness and had no armor, making them easy prey.

However, the city defense force combined with the convoy numbered nearly two hundred, not even pigs could be slaughtered so quickly.

"Get into the village!"

Who yelled wasn't clear, but the words were like clutching a lifeline, prompting a rush toward the village entrance.

The barbarians' cunning lay in allowing the campfires near the village gate to remain lit earlier and they weren't in a rush to kill them now, but instead herded them toward the village.

The knight master responsible for the city defense force couldn't even bother with armor, clumsily fleeing toward the village gate, shouting at the blocking soldiers.

"I am nobility! I am nobility! Open the gate quickly!"

Yet what met him was a crossbow arrow, aimed not at the ground as a warning, but directly at him.

"Ah!" The knight felt a jolt in his chest, then pain surged to his brain, releasing a scream involuntarily.

The bizarre moment was in the instantaneous flare of light in the darkness, as the personal guard crossbowman who had shot the knight was headshotted by a barbarian musketeer hidden in the dark.

The knight fell to the ground, everything around slowly fading away, perhaps never imagining the barbarians avenging him.

The city defense force was driven by the barbarian mercenaries toward the village gate, yet the personal guard within the village were clearly not letting them in, resulting in a slaughter from both sides.

The barbarians extinguished the final campfire, and a brutal scene erupted at the village gate in the darkness.

Amidst slaughter and screams, crossbows twanged, and musket fire roared.

The barbarians were using the city defense force to deplete the village's strength, with a dozen odd musketeers firing continuously, limited by reloading speed and the muskets' inaccuracy.

But they made an error in judging the soldiers inside to be similar in strength to those outside.

This act naturally wore down the personal guard a bit, but it bought them time to react.

The personal guard swiftly regrouped, waking Gene up, and upon hearing the convoy was attacked, he frantically panicked.

His entire wealth was at stake!

When he rushed out, he happened to see Michelle, who had also been awakened and appeared very agitated.

"Kill them all for me, and I'll reward you handsomely."

"Kill, kill, kill!" Upon hearing these words, the soldiers were all excited, the leader leaving a dozen to guard Michelle, then opened the village gate, and charged out.

Most of the personal guard carried torches, appearing like a blaze surging into the darkness, dispelling the night's cover on the barbarians.

The barbarian mercenaries probably never expected these soldiers to abandon the dirt wall's protection and engage them in open field battle.

Under the torchlight, it became evident these troops were well-equipped, unlike ordinary soldiers, but their own equipment wasn't inferior either!