Many horse thieves had already rushed to the front of the militia formation, and they could take away the militia's heads with just a swing of their swords. But their scimitars were still a step slower than the short spears thrown by the militia. More than twenty short spears flew over with terrifying force, instantly knocking down the seven or eight horse thieves in front. The result of the short spears thrown by the militia with great force hitting the horse thieves charging at high speed can be imagined. The tattered fur armor could not provide any protection at all. No matter where it pierced, it would penetrate directly. Even the fast horses under his feet were hit in the neck by a short spear. The spear head came out from the other end of its neck and stabbed into the abdomen of the horse thief. The horse thief, who originally thought he had successfully avoided the short spear, was stabbed in the abdomen by the spear head. Every bump of the mount caused the spear head to churn violently in his stomach. As his mount fell, the horse thief's stomach was twisted into pieces and his intestines were all over the ground. Only a few horse thieves who saw the situation was not good pulled the reins, lowered their bodies, successfully avoided the short spears, and went around the militia from both sides. Leo felt relieved and was very satisfied with the militia's performance.
If it were a month ago, these militiamen would not have enough courage and calmness to throw their spears at the horse thieves who rushed within ten meters. Even when they saw horse thieves riding their horses towards them, some people could not help but retreat like ordinary villagers, causing the shield formation to break up. Or hold up your shield and act like a coward. Even if some militiamen threw short spears, they would not be able to accurately hit the enemy due to fear and panic. It turns out that actual combat is the best way to train. After seeing blood a few times, the militiamen who used to panic when facing the ogres can now face the charge of the horse thieves without changing their expression. Some veterans in the militia could even ignore the howling of the horse thieves and the flashing of their swords, patiently waiting for the opportunity to kill them with one shot. The first batch of horse thieves suffered heavy losses, which directly led to the later horse thieves choosing to avoid the militia. Only a few brave horse thieves tried to pass through the militia's shield formation and swing their scimitars, but their attacks were blocked by the calm militia with their shields. The horse thieves who had plundered countless people immediately realized that this was a tough nut to crack, so they decisively gave up on them and rushed towards the lord's house. They came not to fight but to plunder, and there was no need for them to get entangled with the huddled militia. Creating enough killing and chaos is their top priority. Seeing all the bandits rushing towards the lord's house, Leo shouted, "Spread out the line and move forward!" "Maintain the formation, don't be impulsive!" With his cold shout and suppression, several militiamen who were anxious to cross the shield formation and chase the horse thieves suppressed their restlessness and returned to the formation. More and more militiamen gathered and stood in two rows, holding shields and following the horse thieves, striding towards the lord's house. A few bandits who had rushed to the front were about to chase and kill the lone villagers with their swords when they suddenly heard the sound of broken strings. Dense crossbow arrows flew out from nearby houses, the roof of the lord's mansion, and the small windows on the second floor of the mansion, turning the horse thieves and their horses into hedgehogs. Not only the militia regiment, but also fifty militia reserves were equipped with crossbows captured from the wild boar people. Because of his outstanding performance, the militiaman Vicchi, who was appointed as a reserve instructor by Leo, even brought a dozen crossbowmen and openly stood on the balcony corridor built outside the second floor of the lord's house, shooting at the approaching horse thieves to attract their attention. "How can there be so many militiamen in such a shabby village?" The horse thief leader could not help cursing. He quickly glanced at the militia shield formation slowly approaching behind him, and then looked at the half-closed door of the lord's house.
He roared unwillingly: "Go in and kill them!" Before the attack, he had actually sent people to sneak to the vicinity in advance to observe the movements in the river bend and confirm the strength of the enemy and our own side. Unfortunately, his scouts were unable to see the lively scene of the River Bend Militia and Reserves' large-scale training. So the number of militiamen in this village far exceeded his expectations. Not only that, he had never expected that the militia of this village would be so well-equipped, so powerful, and have so many crossbows! Seeing that the militiamen remained calm and even seemed somewhat composed in the face of battle, he almost suspected that this was the regular army brought back by some lord with military merit. It's even a trap! The bandit-suppression army assembled by the lords with elite troops is only at this level. But the bandit leader had a mission to complete and didn't want to give up easily. If the bandits rushed into the big house, controlled the door, and used the old and weak inside as bargaining chips, they would regain the initiative. A horse thief who was near the lord's house jumped off his horse and climbed up the wooden stairs, trying to stop him before the door of the lord's house closed. Once the door of a fortress-style lord's house like this is closed, it is impossible to open it with the short weapons in the hands of horse thieves. A short figure suddenly jumped out of the gate and rushed towards the horse thief. The horse thief grinned grimly and was about to kick him away, but the opponent had already rushed in front of him and hit him in the chin with a hook punch. Amid the crisp sound of bones breaking, the last thing the horse thief saw was a huge hairy fist and a hairy arm that was thicker and more muscular than his calf. And a dog barking. This is the dog-headed blacksmith from the river bend. Years of blacksmithing have given him a deformed body that is different from his peers. His upper body is extremely strong, and his arms are thicker than his legs. Because he never wore clothes, under the burning sparks, few of his hairs were intact. Some were black, and some were bald, making him look particularly terrifying. The horse thief's jaw was shattered and his skull was concussed by his rising dragon punch. He flew one meter into the air and then fell to the ground, his life or death unknown. Seeing this, the other horse thief jumped off his horse and landed on the wooden platform of the gate. Before he raised his knife, he seemed to sense something and looked towards the door suddenly. Inside the dark gate, pairs of scarlet eyes approached, and seven or eight kobold blacksmiths of the same size appeared and pounced on him. Seven or eight devilishly muscular pit bulls with charred hair threw a person to the ground and bit him, with blood and flesh flying everywhere. The psychological pressure caused to others was no less than that of disemboweling him. The other bandits also jumped off their horses and tried to come to the rescue. But the crossbows in the hands of the reserve militia finally exerted their full power at close range. Once they hit, the target would be seriously injured if not killed. Some horse thieves were shot and fell on the open space outside the lord's house before they could even climb onto the wooden platform of the lord's house. The casualties of his companions finally exceeded the bottom line of the horse bandit leader. He controlled his mount to circle in the open space in front of the big house, shot down three militia crossbowmen in a row, and unwillingly put his fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly. When all the bandits heard this, they gave up their attack, mounted their horses, turned their horses around and ran out of the village.
