Yotsuba Village lay in the southwest corner of what used to be the Willem Duchy—now, of course, there was no such thing as the Willem Duchy, only the Hunter Duchy.

The village took its name from the four-leaf clovers that grew in abundance in the surrounding fields. It had a permanent population of around three hundred. Under the rule of the House of Wil, villagers had barely managed to survive despite heavy taxes.

But now, Yotsuba Village’s peace had been shattered; fires burned throughout the village, and black smoke curled into the sky. In the great battle at the Little Ling River several days prior, the House of Wil had suffered a devastating defeat, and Yotsuba Village had borne the brunt of the loss.

Of the fifty-odd young men drafted into service, barely half returned. The entire village was still grieving, when, before they could emerge from their mourning, they were plundered by the snow pirates.

A group of fifty or so snow pirates easily overpowered the villagers. They stole everything of value, taking all the food reserves meant to last through the winter, as well as the seeds stockpiled for spring planting. Any who resisted met with a grisly end: murder followed by arson.

After wreaking havoc in the village, the snow pirates departed, leaving behind a trail of destruction and devastation, along with muted sobs.

The snow pirates had never been so brazen, and the House of Wil’s quasi-knight cadets were not the sort to be trifled with. The villagers, as long as they could hold out until the House of Wil’s quasi-knight cadets arrived, could force the snow pirates to retreat.

But now, the House of Wil had been exterminated, and the self-defense capabilities of each village had suffered immense losses. The snow pirates, like the northern climate, seemed to have entered a springtime.

A tall, middle-aged man stood outside Yotsuba Village a few kilometers from the north, deep in thought, while more than ten burly men carrying weapons kept quiet around him, not daring to disturb him.

Suddenly, a sprinting snow pirate disrupted their quietude.

“Boss Egon, the people of Yotsuba Village are back. They’ve managed to snatch nearly a hundred bushels of grain, along with some gold pieces.”

“Hm.”

The tall, middle-aged man was Egon, leader of these snow pirates. There were a dozen or so bands of snow pirates operating in the northern lands, but Egon’s crew was one of the largest. Egon himself was a formidable pirate, possessing the martial prowess of a quasi-knight.

Early in his career, he had ambushed a caravan and stumbled upon a rather decent breathing technique, which he kept for himself. His two hundred subordinates were all seasoned bandits, each highly skilled in their own right.

While they couldn’t quite match up to the Hunter family’s professional soldiers or the House of Wil’s quasi-knight cadets and personal guards, they could easily dispatch the peasant soldiers of each village.

Such a force was rare among the northern lands’ snow pirates. Pirates may have seemed fearsome, but most were simply desperate farmers, refugees, and some of the freemen living in the mountains and forests. Those with real skill tended to swear fealty to one of the lords in hopes of becoming a knight.

Attacking homesteads and raiding villages was akin to shearing a lord’s sheep, and none of the Golden Dragon Kingdom’s lords were easy to deal with. Each lord maintained at least one knight and several quasi-knights, so even a quasi-knight like Egon would be on tenterhooks when leading a raid, for fear of running afoul of one of the knights patrolling their territory.

Only now, with the House of Wil defeated and its territory thrown into chaos, did they dare act so boldly.

“Boss Egon, the team sent to Blackrock Village is back. They brought in at least two hundred bushels of grain.”

With no need to fear reprisal from the House of Wil, the raiders could take their time plundering, and the spoils were much greater than usual. The messenger couldn’t help the excitement in his tone. Egon was generous with his subordinates, ensuring they received a share of the loot. With such a bountiful harvest this time, those who returned would undoubtedly reap greater rewards.

“What about the team that went to Millstone Hamlet? Why haven’t they returned yet?”

This time, the villages had no defense, so Egon divided his forces into four teams to maximize efficiency. He led a group of elites and coordinated from the center while the other three teams spread out to quickly loot the surrounding villages.

“I don’t know. Millstone Hamlet is quite a ways away. Maybe they’ve gotten delayed on the road.”

Egon narrowed his eyes, contemplating his subordinate’s hypothesis. He wasn’t as optimistic about the fall of the House of Wil as his men. Back when he had rampaged through the northern lands, many minor nobles had gnashed their teeth in fury at his audacity.

Despite always managing to evade the knights of various houses, Egon’s forces had suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Hunter family. The fierce peasant soldiers and well-trained armored cavalry had left a deep impression on him, forcing him to retreat from their territory with his men.

Now that the Hunter family had defeated the House of Wil and taken their territory, Egon feared that this region would no longer be a safe haven for raiders. He planned to leave as soon as they secured their bounty, thinking that it would be best to depart before matters grew more chaotic.

“Kill them!”

“Fight, use your energy! Yes, riders, charge!”

“Shoot, don’t let a one escape.”

“What’s that in the sky? Ah…help me, put me down.”

On this side of the story, Richard had led his troops to Millstone Hamlet, where he encountered Egon’s men. The raiders had barely left the village when they ran headfirst into Richard and his System soldiers.

After receiving the mission, Richard had set off from Boulder Fortress with twenty pikes, ten archers, and six griffins, leaving Ron and a handful of others to guard the fortress in case of emergency. After pinpointing the location of the pirates using the griffins, he rushed at top speed to Millstone Hamlet, arriving just in time to prevent the scene unfolding at the entrance to the village.

The pirates, who had just completed a successful raid, were still in a state of euphoria when they were suddenly struck by a wave of precise arrows from Richard’s archers, taking out seven or eight of their number. The rest scattered after Richard and his pikes charged. As they fled with their backs exposed, the griffins unleashed their claws for the first time on this continent.

The battle, which had been one-sided from start to finish, ended as quickly as it began. The handful of pirates whom Richard had intentionally spared to interrogate stood before him, somewhat bewildered.

“Speak,” said Richard, “how many of you are there? Where are you hiding?”

Though they did not know the exact number of pirates currently wreaking havoc in the northern lands, based on the size of this group, there could be no more than fifty. The Boule Chamber had issued a mission with a target of one hundred; clearly, there were still other pirates at large.

“We work for Egon.”

After this, the answering pirate paused.

“If you want me to tell you where my comrades are, you have to promise not to kill me.”

Richard smiled, assuming an amiable expression.

“All right, I promise not to kill you, as long as you cooperate.”

“Egon has two hundred men under his command. There should be about a hundred left by now. We were planning on meeting up with him after gathering our loot. They’re probably near Yotsuba Village or Blackrock Village.”

With this information, Richard directed his griffons towards Yotsuba and Blackrock Villages to continue the search. The playful griffons responded with a few hawks’ cries before flapping their wings and swiftly leaving, shrinking into mere dots in the sky.

“Bind them, but don’t kill them. Leave them for the villagers of Millstone Hamlet.”

After retrieving his answers, Richard rose to give instructions. The spearman wasted no time, quickly tying up the pirates and dragging them back into the village.

I only promised not to kill them myself; I’m just giving them to the villagers. Whether or not they live is none of my concern. I’m a man of my word, Richard thought to himself.

“Alright, let’s continue the pursuit of those bastards.”

With that, Richard mounted his horse and led the charge, followed closely by the spearmen and archers.