The night, like a vast black velvet cloth, slowly covered the Black Stone Mountain Range.
Only a few sparse stars twinkled with faint light through the gaps in the clouds.
Under the cover of night, the Pegasus Knight Order approached the Blood Wolf Band's lair like ghosts.
The outer watchtowers and sentries were shot down by the Knights with arrows before they could react.
As the Pegasus Knights were about to reach the entrance, the interior of the cave seemed to have detected the anomaly.
Several torches were lit, and dim yellow light emanated from the cave entrance, vaguely revealing several figures running in a panic.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Piercing shouts echoed from within the cave, breaking the silence of the valley.
A few crossbow bolts shot out sparsely from the cave entrance, but in the darkness and with the Pegasus's agile evasion, their aim was terribly off, not even touching the Knights' clothes.
"Charge!"
Ed roared, leading the charge.
His Pegasus let out a clear neigh, its wings flapped vigorously, and its speed suddenly increased, like a white lightning bolt, charging directly towards the cave entrance!
The Knights who followed closely also accelerated, a white torrent formed by ten Pegasus, with an irresistible momentum, crashed into the seemingly sturdy entrance of the lair.
At the cave entrance, there were a few Blood Wolf Band members attempting to resist, brandishing their weapons, trying to block them.
But in front of the high-speed diving Pegasus and Knights, their resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Ed's longsword drew a sharp arc of light, and a burly man wielding a great axe, who was rushing at the very front, was cut in half at the waist before he could even react!
Blood splattered on the rock wall, instantly staining an area red.
Immediately after, Ed's Pegasus directly knocked away two other enemies attempting to block, its heavy hooves trampling over their bodies, emitting a bone-chilling crunch.
The few guards at the cave entrance were easily dispatched, and the Knights dismounted to sweep through the cave.
"Kill!"
The Knights of the First Squad followed Ed into the cave.
Two Knights were left to guard the mounts, while the others entered in single file.
Shouts of battle, clashes of weapons, angry roars, and sounds of fighting were incessant.
Half an hour later, the echoes from the depths of the lair gradually subsided.
The air was filled with the strong scent of blood and dust.
In the depths of the cave, the last resistance was completely crushed.
The torchlight flickered, illuminating the blood-stained rock walls and the scattered corpses.
The heavy scent of blood mixed with gunpowder and dust permeated the narrow passage, making it nauseating.
Ed emerged from one of the deepest side passages, his longsword still dripping blood, his breastplate splattered with dark red bloodstains.
"My Lord, it's all cleared," Ed reported.
Lei Luo nodded, his gaze sweeping over the Knights who were standing or leaning against the rock wall, panting.
Their armor and weapons bore traces of battle, but none were seriously injured; only a few unlucky ones had suffered minor superficial wounds, which they had already treated themselves.
"Casualties?"
"Two lightly wounded, not affecting their movement," Ed replied, "There weren't many Blood Wolf Band members left behind, about fifty, and their will to resist wasn't strong. It seems their elites are indeed not here."
"Very good."
Lei Luo's voice echoed in the cave.
"The First Squad is responsible for guarding the cave entrance and the perimeter, and clearing battle traces. Second Squad, follow me, search the entire lair carefully, especially places where valuables might be hidden. The Blood Wolf Band has been entrenched here for so many years, their coffers must be very substantial."
"Yes!"
The Knights responded again, quickly splitting up.
The Knights, holding torches, began a thorough search of the vast cave system.
The interior of the cave was far more complex than it appeared from the outside, winding and turning, with many traces of artificial excavation.
Besides the main passages, there were also many narrow side paths and stone chambers.
These stone chambers were used as bedrooms, storage rooms, and even makeshift prisons.
In addition to the smell of blood, the air was filled with a foul odor of long-term habitation, mixed with cheap ale, sweat, and some indescribable stench.
Tattered animal skins hung on the walls, and various household items, bones, broken pottery, and rusted weapons were scattered everywhere on the ground.
"Tsk, these guys really live rough."
A young Knight kicked an empty wine jar at his feet and couldn't help but complain, "This smell isn't much better than a goblin's nest."
An older Knight next to him patted his shoulder: "Be content, at least we don't have to spend the night here. Hurry up and search, you never know, there might be good stuff hidden in some corner."
They carefully checked every corner, tapping suspicious walls, and moving aside piled-up debris.
In a relatively spacious stone chamber, which seemed to be the leader's quarters, the Knights found some scattered money bags and a few decent weapons, but they were far from the wealth accumulated over "many years."
"My Lord, there doesn't seem to be anything special found here."
A Knight reported to Lei Luo, who was examining a rough map.
Lei Luo put down the map, which crudely marked parts of the Black Stone Mountain Range, with some areas marked with skull symbols, clearly indicating dangerous zones.
Putting aside other things, this map was quite valuable.
"Keep looking, don't miss any possible places."
The Knights looked thoughtful and searched even more meticulously.
Lei Luo led a few people into the deepest area, which seemed to be a warehouse, storing some grain, low-quality cloth, and some goods of unknown origin.
"Owoo!"
Moonlight's voice came from ahead.
Ed and Lei Luo walked over at the sound.
Moonlight was lying in front of a stone wall, licking its fur.
The stone wall was located at the innermost part of the warehouse, and compared to the rough rocks around it, this wall appeared overly smooth, and there seemed to be some imperceptible cracks on it.
"Interesting."
Ed reached out and fumbled along the stone wall.
His fingers traced a fine seam that was almost indistinguishable from the rock's texture.
He pushed hard, but the stone wall did not budge.
After carefully observing the stone wall, he extended his gloved hand and pressed firmly on several specific locations on the wall.
As he made his final press on an inconspicuous protrusion, a faint "click" sound was heard.
The smooth stone wall slowly opened inward, revealing a dark, black opening.
"Found it!"
A Knight whispered, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Lei Luo rubbed Moonlight's small head and picked him up around the waist.
"Well done!"
This little Silver Dragon always gave him too many surprises.
The Knights, holding torches, entered in single file.
This was a secret chamber, more regular than any other stone chamber outside, about twenty to thirty square meters in size.
The torchlight illuminated the scene inside, and all the Knights couldn't help but gasp, even Lei Luo's and Ed's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.
In the center of the secret chamber, several heavy wooden chests were piled up, with some lids open, and golden light almost overflowing from inside!
Beside the gold and silver, many colorful gems were scattered, some as large as pigeon eggs, others as small as fingernails, reflecting captivating brilliance in the torchlight.
On the shelves against the wall, some well-crafted weapons and armor were placed; although the styles were a bit old-fashioned, they were very well-maintained, and some even had faint magical glows attached to them.
On the other side were some seemingly valuable ores, monster materials, and several locked metal boxes, with unknown contents.