The strange rocks in the Lado Valley stood like sentinels, looking even more ominous under the hazy moonlight. A gust of cold wind blew by, making one's hair stand on end. Ever since Yang Ling killed Emiya here, people often heard heart-wrenching screams on gloomy days.

  Some say it's the lingering spirit of Emilia, some say it's the eerie snake witch's blood staff that brought in many lonely ghosts and wild demons, and some say it's the snake witch's blood staff that broke through the void and brought in the devils from hell. One tells ten, ten tells a hundred, and the terrifying stories about Raduga Valley are endless.

  At first, some hunters who made a living by hunting did not think much of it. Every time they heard these absurd rumors, they would disdain them. But since a young man who could give birth to tigers and leopards made a bet with someone and became a madman after staying in the Ladoga Valley for one night, people finally realized that many rumors were not unfounded.

  Normally, Ladakh valley is rarely visited, making it even more desolate. Over time, it appears even more ominous.

  Half an hour before dawn, Stoff arrived with five hundred guards. On the way, he saw that it was getting colder and more desolate, and even Stoff himself couldn't help but mutter a few words, wondering why Merills would choose such a desolate place to meet.

  Wasn't Merileis planning to give herself up tonight, so she deliberately found such a desolate place?

  After a moment of fantasy, Stov shook his head and abandoned this unrealistic idea. For some time now, let alone break through the relationship between men and women, he hadn't even touched Meryl's jade-like hand that was as delicate as a water lily, not to mention that she would give herself to him.

  In a daze, Stoff led the soldiers into the gloomy Ladoga valley, unaware of the faint water marks on the ground above, and even less noticed. A faint strange fragrance floated in the air.

  If there was a seasoned Vatican lawyer here, he would absolutely turn around and leave immediately. Because this is not some water mark, but a terrifying black magic used to hide troops!

  The deeper the water mark, the wider the range, the more hidden troops and horses!

  After walking to the depths of the valley with a puzzled expression, he saw a familiar figure standing under a large tree in the distance. Stoff finally let out a sigh of relief. He ordered the soldiers to stop and led several guards to walk quickly towards him.

  "Miss Merryl, sorry, Stoff is late!"

  Seeing that there was only Meryl, Stov realized that he had been overly cautious and removed the pitch-black mask while speaking. Before setting out, in order to be prepared for any eventuality, he wore the armor made by his family at the repeated urging of his strategist.

  "Huh? Stoff, how is it you?" Merrill's eyes widened as she stared at the figure who had removed his face mask. The large strides of Stoff, who was walking towards her, were quite unexpected.

  Just a moment ago, she was still wondering why Yang Ling's figure seemed a bit different, but thought it was because of wearing armor and didn't think much about it. Until the other party lifted his face mask. She only realized that something was off!

  Not good! I've been tricked!

  Look at Stoff, who still doesn't know that death is imminent. Merile didn't need to think much to understand that he was fooled by Yang Ling again. He made a big mistake. He thought he could take advantage of the opportunity to bring down Yang Ling, but instead, he foolishly played the role of bait.

  After gritting her teeth, Meryl gave a decisive order to retreat immediately to the people hiding behind her horse, and swept past Stoff's side like a whirlwind. "Stoff, we've been had! If you don't want to die, hurry up and scatter!"

  Cheated?

  Watching Merrill disappear into the darkness, Stov's expression was dull. He couldn't think of anything. After preparing hastily for half a day, without even saying a word, the beauty quickly left him.

  He thought of Merrill's cold and indifferent eyes, and the entire sky seemed to shatter into pieces. Unwillingness, despair, desperation... In an instant, it felt as if a knife was constantly stirring in his heart, fiercely stirring, making his fragile heart shatter into pieces.

  "Hurry, protect the adults, retreat!"

  Stov was stunned, and it took him half a day to come back to his senses. However, the counselor behind him reacted quickly. Although he didn't hear Merile's reminder, he instinctively felt that something was wrong when he saw her suspiciously leaving quickly.

  Stoff's elite guard reacted quickly, but unfortunately it was too late!

  With a loud shout, a large group of Dorsians holding heavy crossbows suddenly rushed out from behind the nearby forest. In an instant, dozens of Bantus wearing black heavy armor fell under the dense arrow rain, and at close range, their proud black heavy armor couldn't withstand the terrifying heavy crossbow arrows.

  "Raise shields, form ranks, protect the lord, quickly!"

  Under the command of the commander, the Bantu people rushed up with shields and formed a phalanx, withstanding the rain of arrows from the Russians and protecting Stov tightly. However, the crossbow arrows were too dense, and soldiers were constantly hit by stray arrows, especially the military mages who accompanied the army, who suffered heavy casualties and let out miserable cries.

  "Sir, we've been outmaneuvered, retreat, quick retreat!"

  Seeing the situation was not good, several guards shouted and surrounded Stoff quickly retreated. The Russians came fiercely, perhaps they had already laid down heavy ambushes, if they didn't retreat quickly, maybe in the blink of an eye the whole army would be destroyed.

  If the Russian crossbowmen had given the Bantu people a hard time, then the next heavy cavalry charge was even more devastating.

  "Ooh la la..."

  ******

  With a low, mournful sound of the bugle, a troop of heavily armored Russian cuirassiers came galloping over a small hill, shouting and gaining speed as they descended the slope, like sharp knives cutting into the Bantus' large formation, charging back and forth.

  The Bantu army was thrown into chaos. No one could have anticipated that the Russians would suddenly arrive with a large number of reinforcements, nor that they would bring with them a large number of war horses and fine weapons, still less that all this was actually the result of Yang Ling's machinations behind the scenes.

  Some time ago, at the request of Yehnna, Yang Ling received a large sum of crystal coins and let the dwarf Rumi go all out to lead many ironworkers to imitate the armor and weapons of the Ros people, and secretly purchased a batch of war horses from mercenaries and adventurers.

  The Russian Empire is located in the north, with many places snowing all year round, harsh climate and rough folk customs. On the vast land, there are countless vast pastures. People grow up on horseback from a young age, with superb riding skills, known as the country on horseback.

  For thousands of years, the Ros people have relied on cavalry to establish their country and conquer the world with cavalry, sweeping everything before them. Except for the powerful German Empire in the west and the Bentu Empire in the south, which is famous for its magic, they rarely encountered a worthy opponent.

  As for the individual ability of soldiers, the Ros people may not be particularly outstanding, but if they have a war horse, the situation is completely different. In terms of cavalry warfare, throughout the entire Tairon continent, if the Ros people claim to be second, perhaps no one dares to say first.

  Although the situation was unfavorable, under the command of Tong Linge, the Bantu people fought back desperately.

  The surviving mages gathered around Stoff, unleashing their might under the cover of heavy infantry. Some joined forces to cast a magical shield, blocking the Russians' long-range attacks, while others used all their strength to strike down the charging Russian cavalry.

  Unlike the Northern Ros Empire, the Southern Bantu Empire did not produce warhorses due to its hot climate. For thousands of years, it has been known for its large number of magicians and heavy infantry, and is good at defense. As long as they form a formation, the heavy infantry and magicians can echo each other, and even elite troops can face the Ros people's heavy cavalry charge in the wild.

  Stov brought five hundred soldiers who were the elite of the elite, almost all of whom had experienced a hundred battles. Normally, with the cooperation of mages, they would not be inferior to the heavy cavalry of the Ros people. Unfortunately, after losing most of the mages in the army without any defense, the combat effectiveness of the entire army has decreased by 70-80%.

  The trend is irreversible!

  As the guards around him fell one by one, Stoff had no choice but to grit his teeth and lead the remaining soldiers in a desperate defense. The scout who had been sent to report back had already galloped away to fetch reinforcements, and the Ladoga Valley was not far from the military camp - as long as the main force left behind learned of the situation, they could arrive swiftly within half an hour.

  Stoff's party was caught off guard, and in the blink of an eye they suffered heavy losses. However, under their desperate resistance, the Russians also found it difficult to win a complete victory for the time being. After all, Stoff had brought with him a full 500 crack troops, and a camel that has been starved to death is bigger than a horse.

  In the heat of battle, neither the frenzied Russians nor the struggling Bantus noticed a few dark shadows hiding beneath a nearby thicket.

  "Ah Gu Su, where has Stoff's reinforcements arrived?" Yang Ling asked the head of his personal guard, seeing that Stoff and his party wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

  According to the linked plan, after Stoff fell into the ambush, he immediately sent someone to report to the large army left behind by him, letting the Bantu and Ruo people suffer losses on both sides, so as to smoothly control Weisen Town. But seeing that Stoff's party suffered heavy losses, Yang Ling understood that if their reinforcements did not arrive quickly, perhaps the situation would be beyond his expectation.

  "Sir, the parrot has successfully completed its mission and informed Stoff's army in time." Agu said after a pause, "According to the scouts' report, they will arrive within half an hour at most!"

  Half a time, for ordinary people, may be just enough to drink a cup of tea, but for the well-prepared Yang Ling, this was already sufficient! Sufficient to take advantage of the whole army's mobilization and thoroughly eliminate Stoff's forces.

  "Alright, let's go! Everything will proceed according to plan. Order the warriors to put on the Rus' equipment!"

  "Yes, I understand!"

  Yang Ling took the lead in retreating, quickly heading towards his empty camp to defend it. Behind him, Agu Su led his personal guards to follow up quickly.