"Baron!"

Alexia rode over on a small horse with Sarah sitting behind her, excitedly waving both hands.

"Is today the day I’m officially knighted as a lady knight?"

"Of course not. At least not today."

Phield laughed. This girl was probably the boldest child in the entire territory. After all, she was Tate’s daughter.

The girl immediately looked disappointed.

"What a shame. You missed the chance to witness the greatest lady knight in the territory."

"You’ll have your chance someday. Today, I’m taking all of you on an outing."

Phield’s gaze swept across the eleven children standing before him.

After rounds of selection and recruitment, aside from the Jane sisters, the others had already learned a great deal of knowledge and military skills.

In this era, these children already had the potential to become officials, caravan leaders, or managers of small outposts. What they lacked now was practical experience.

However, Phield had no intention of raising officials who would become detached from the people, soft flowers raised inside a greenhouse and obsessed with comfort.

Most of the boys and girls before him were terrified of the world hidden within the gray mist. Their trembling legs made that abundantly clear.

If one day they ever dared say something like, "The lord and soldiers only need to fight on the battlefield, but we officials in the rear have much more to consider," he would probably die from sheer rage.

Traveling with them were thirty guards including Sam, as well as the Wolfkin cavalry squad.

With the military leading the way, the group advanced eastward.

Ever since the corrupted lord of Starnight City had been exterminated, the corrupted corpses within Nightfall Domain had grown noticeably weaker. Combined with Ashina and the "traitor to corruption" Violet relentlessly slaughtering them, the number of corrupted corpses throughout the domain had sharply decreased.

Along the way, Phield explained the basic conditions of the territory to them.

"Tisiana, watch the northwest. A large group of corrupted corpses is approaching."

After glancing at the minimap, Phield immediately issued orders to Tisiana while directing the guards.

"Guards, form a circular defensive formation. Children, stay quiet."

"Yes, my lord!"

Tisiana knew her perception abilities weren’t strong, so she obeyed without hesitation.

"Cavalry, with me. Take the high ground."

Phield waved his hand and led the cavalry up a nearby dirt slope at a quick pace, preparing to support the infantry formation from above.

"Hm? You two are the newcomers."

Alexia jumped off her horse and looked around before taking the initiative to grab the hands of the twin girls.

"With me here, there’s nothing to be afraid of."

"Mhm." Clara nodded obediently.

Jane, the older sister, was still somewhat dazed. She timidly glanced at Alexia’s gorgeous and pristine white dress.

"Are we really going to fight corrupted corpses?" Jane was practically trembling with fear. The peaceful days she had recently enjoyed had almost made her forget that monsters still surrounded them everywhere. "I... I can’t fight them."

"You don’t need to. Just don’t do anything stupid or scream later. Leave the fighting to the soldiers. The more you scream, the more excited the corrupted corpses become. And the more excited they are, the easier it is for you to end up pregnant... ah, no, the easier it is for them to attack you."

"They’re here!"

Alexia showed no fear whatsoever. In fact, she looked thrilled.

"ROOOAAAR!"

Corrupted corpses burst out from the chaotic gray mist as if they had teleported directly into existence, roaring horrifically as they charged straight toward the guards’ circular formation.

Before they even reached the formation, smoke began rising from some of their bodies.

The holy light released by Tisiana was hundreds of times more effective than a mist dispelling lamp. Any corrupted corpse stepping into its range would slowly suffer damage.

Her wings trembled once as countless sharp and sacred feathers shot outward like a swarm of locusts.

In an instant, screams echoed across the wilderness. Without plate armor to protect them, the corrupted corpses had no way to defend themselves against Tisiana’s ranged attacks.

Large numbers of corpses were instantly pierced to death by the feathers. Those lucky enough to avoid fatal hits fared even worse. The holy light feathers embedded in their arms or shoulders suddenly ignited, turning them into burning fireballs.

Nearly every meter the corpses advanced became covered with the bodies of their own kind.

The once overwhelming tide of corpses quickly thinned out.

"Now! Cavalry, with me! Strike their flank!"

Phield lowered his cavalry lance, squeezed the horse with his legs, and launched directly into a charge.

Charging downhill gave the cavalry the perfect advantage.

"Protect the lord!"

The moment Phield urged his horse forward, the surrounding Wolfkin cavalry accelerated immediately. Riders closed in from the front, rear, left, and right, maintaining distances that allowed them to support one another at any moment.

In a real battlefield, cavalry charges weren’t mindless rushes with eyes closed. Light cavalry or knight squires were usually responsible for clearing the path ahead.

"Watch for debris that could trip the horses!"

Spotting a rotten overturned wooden cabinet on the roadside, one light cavalryman immediately rode forward. Pulling a rope from the left side of his saddle, he swung it outward and expertly hooked the cabinet.

With one hard yank, he flipped the obstacle aside.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Then the cavalrymen at the very front seized the opening to unleash two volleys of arrows in quick succession. Seven or eight savage corrupted corpses fell instantly.

"Ashina really trained these cavalrymen well."

Phield clicked his tongue in admiration. The level of coordination between the light cavalrymen had already reached perfection, and each individual rider possessed combat skills comparable to veteran rangers.

There was no time to think further.

With no obstacles remaining, the cavalry crashed directly into the flank of the corrupted horde.

At this moment, the corpses were still entirely focused on the infantry formation in the distance and had no idea enemies were charging from their right.

"BOOM!"

Several unlucky corrupted corpses were sent flying by the impact of the horses alone. The cavalry lances pierced through three or four corpses at once like skewered meat.

If this had been an army made up of conscripted peasants, they would have collapsed immediately.

"My lord, be careful!"

The two cavalrymen beside him attacked simultaneously. One wielded a longsword while the other thrust with a spear. Every strike brought down another corrupted corpse.

The riders surged forward like a blade splitting waves, tearing straight through the horde and cutting it cleanly into two halves as effortlessly as drinking water.

The corpses at the rear attempted to chase after the cavalry, only further throwing the entire horde into chaos.

"Ah? Baron... he’ll be alright, won’t he?"

Peeking through gaps between the soldiers, Clara looked extremely worried.

"This is nothing at all."

Alexia was so hyped she looked like the one personally leading the charge. Her heart pounded with excitement as she proudly declared,

"No matter how many corrupted corpses there are, they’re no match for us. Actually, the manor territory has suffered countless attacks already. It’s just that the lord protected all of you so well that you never even noticed."

"Really..."

Clara looked at Phield with pure admiration, while Jane’s face turned red with guilt.

The cavalry rapidly shattered the corpse horde. Tisiana casually cleaned up the remainder, exterminating the entire group before they could even reach the infantry formation.

"My lord, look at me! Look at me! I want to kill one too!"

Alexia bounced excitedly in place as she pulled out a small dagger she carried with her and swung it through the air.

"Just watching won’t let me grasp the true essence of it. I’m the captain of the Nightfall Domain Exploration Team."