Chapter 4: Preparing for Battle

It was the scout riders of the Cordim beast-people.
They had been here last night during the snowfall. The Croop people had fled, leaving no valuable clues, so they left. Tonight, they merely wanted to use the houses here to shelter from the wind and cold and rest for a few hours.
The writing used by the Cordim beast-people derived largely from ancient human scripts, with similar meanings, but their language was entirely different from any language currently spoken by humans. Apart from linguists and specialized magic, there was no other way to communicate. The differences in culture, customs, and cognition between the two sides were so great that even gestures and drawings made it difficult to understand each other.
Under normal circumstances, adventurers encountering the Cordim were like facing a pack of hungry lions—the Cordim wanted meat, while the adventurers wanted their skins. Additionally, the genitalia of male Cordim were popular among wealthy men who were not very vigorous in bed.
Of course, there were exceptions, just as lions could sometimes coexist peacefully with humans. Yet such peace was hard to maintain and usually short-lived, as both sides had troublemakers who disrupted harmony—ferocious Cordim and greedy poachers…
The darkness had little effect on the Cordim. After stepping on a trap, they began to probe openly.
Nio’s early warning devices were very effective. By the time the Cordim beast-people advanced toward the village, Nio and the others were already fully prepared.
“Zhu,” Nio began by outlining the key points, then called out the names, “Barrett, Dick, Botlem, you three will follow me into battle. Protect my rear, be careful of your own safety, and watch out for arrows. Boglem, bring the javelins.”
“Yes.”
Nio’s instructions clearly defined each person’s role in the combat team. Barrett and Dick would pick up two shields standing nearby, while Boglem brought six javelins with metal heads.
At the same time, Nio said to the pale-faced young man, “Mah, you’ll command the remaining people. Stay inside the house.”
Mah nodded without showing much expression. He rarely changed his facial expression, not out of defiance toward Nio.
Nio handed Edward the relic of Bishop Thelos—a magic-powered firearm. “I heard you’ve used weapons like this before.”
Edward was somewhat flattered. He did have experience using firearms, but they were old flintlock guns, nowhere near as advanced as this one.
Then Nio handed his own green steel sword to Barrett. After exchanging a punch with him, Nio knew the sword Barrett was using was too light for him.
“Dick and the other two, do not make a sound without my permission. Alright, let’s go.” Nio fastened the leather strap of his sword scabbard and picked up his gray spear. He stepped out of the main house through the side door—the front door was a trap.
Although the wind wasn’t as strong as last night, the cold was even worse. The wind howled fiercely, cutting like knives against their faces.
Without torches or other lighting, the Cordim beast-people fared better, but Dick and the others could only see about 3 or 4 meters ahead. Fortunately, Nio ordered them to keep close to him and pay attention to his gestures. With the wind noise being so loud, they didn’t have to worry much about the sound of stepping in the snow.

On one side of the building, Nio stretched out his hand to signal a stop. He handed his spear to Boglem behind him and took a javelin from him; his yew wood bow had already been given to Light—otherwise, a bow would have been his first choice in such a situation.
In human form, Nio’s dark vision only reached about 15 or 16 meters, but he could already make use of his sense of smell and hearing effectively, so his range for detecting enemies was actually at least twice as large.
Suddenly leaping forward, Nio threw the javelin with force—this throw relied more on experience.
The two Cordim beast-people who had just stepped off the covered wooden bridge saw a shadow flash in what seemed to be an open street ahead. Before they could react, the javelin struck them—thud! The lead Cordim’s chest was pierced, its front legs buckled, and it fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
The other Cordim shouted loudly, signaling to its companions that battle had begun and there weren’t many enemies, then charged toward them along the road. After advancing about 20 meters, one of its front hooves suddenly lost contact with the ground. This Cordim was prepared enough to thrust its spear diagonally downward as a pivot, managing to stabilize itself. But before it could move again, Nio dropped down from a house on the side of the street. With a flash of his sword, he sliced across the Cordim’s throat—blood gushed forth. The Cordim’s grip on its spear weakened, but its forward momentum continued; its hoof got stuck in a pit again, and the inertia of its heavy body broke the leg, causing it to topple over and die quickly.
Wiping the blood from his sword, Nio calmly walked back, sheathing his blade.
After joining up with Dick and the others, he took another javelin and led them across the street into a residential house. They went upstairs and exited through a broken skylight. Locking in their target, they threw another javelin—this time less successfully, only hitting the base of one of the Cordim’s front legs. The Cordim cried out in pain, slipped, and slid down the snowy roof slope with a loud crash, unable to get up for a long time.
Whoosh! Two fast arrows flew in from different directions—one from the roof across the street, shot by a Cordim that had just climbed onto the roof. But by then, Nio had already retreated back into the room.
“Watch the roof!” Nio said as he took the gray spear from Boglem’s hands.
Almost as soon as he spoke, bang! There was a noise from the roof—the sound of a Cordim landing after jumping. These beast-people with leopard lower bodies and human upper bodies were better at climbing and jumping than centaurs, more agile and swift, but their endurance was average. Their weight gave them an advantage in charging, but now it was clearly a disadvantage.
Bang! With both hands holding the gray spear, Nio thrust it upward with all his strength less than a second after the Cordim landed. The spear pierced through the roof and into the Cordim’s lower abdomen. Twisting it violently before pulling it back, Nio narrowly avoided an arrow shot through the skylight. He said, “Dick, Barret, go down and seal the door.”
Then he took another javelin and threw it straight through the skylight—this time without even locking in a target. It hit the roof slope of the opposite house, shattering the tiles with a loud crash.

The opponent continued to shoot arrows in return. In fact, even from outside looking into the room, it was difficult to see clearly—even for Cordim. The Cordim archer who later climbed onto the roof merely reacted instantly to Nio’s javelin throw.

Meanwhile, Nio had already taken Boglem downstairs and headed toward a large window.

Bang! Bang! At the main entrance, a Cordim smashed through the thin wooden door with just a couple of axe blows. Barret and Dick, guarding inside, clashed with this muscular man-beast, exchanging blows several times without being able to gain the upper hand.

Nio said to Boglem, “Stay here. Use your javelin later, aiming where my weapon indicates.”

Boglem nodded. Although the room was dim, many wall panels had been removed, allowing light and air in, making it possible to see somewhat. Boglem saw Nio first go to the window and then quickly to a wall missing two wooden panels, after which Nio pointed his sword diagonally at the thin wall.

Boom! A Cordim crashed through the thin wall and rushed in. Boglem met it with javelins thrown from both hands—Boglem being ambidextrous with equal strength in both hands.

The man-beast charged in carrying a shield. Facing the barrage of javelins, it swung its shield to block them all. At the same time, it managed to knock away a gray spear flying from the side, but unfortunately, that spear was also a trap to lure it into action. The real killer was Nio himself, who had taken advantage of the chaos to rush up from below, swinging his sword diagonally from waist to the opposite shoulder, almost splitting the man-beast in two.

Then Nio kicked the side of the man-beast, pushing its massive body sideways and shattering several wall panels before sending it flying to one side. He picked up the knocked-away gray spear. Wiping blood from his sword with a swift motion, he sheathed it and rushed to the corpse of the man-beast to grab its large shield, then emerged through the hole in the wall created by the beast. “Watch the upper floor,” Nio reminded Boglem before leaving.

Not long after exiting the room, Nio was spotted by the Cordim on the opposite roof. Whoosh! Bang! The opponent had bows, while Nio had a shield. The opponent shot swiftly, but Nio blocked calmly.

Being ambidextrous, it didn’t matter which hand held the spear or the shield. Nio strode forward, turned, and moved toward the main entrance.

The Cordim shot two more arrows. Seeing no effect, it put down its bow and leaped from the roof at Nio. Almost at the same time, the muscular Cordim that had been fighting Barret and Dick also spotted Nio and turned to charge at him.

It seemed Nio had anticipated the Cordim on the roof would leap down. As it jumped, Nio slammed the tail of the gray spear into the snow-covered ground with a bang, then quickly pulled back. As Nio retreated, the Cordim leaping from the roof saw the spear lying diagonally on the ground—its intended landing spot. If it didn’t deal with it, it would be pierced by the spear upon landing.

At the critical moment, Cordim threw his hand axe, successfully knocking down Gray Spear and allowing himself to land safely. Yet before he could steady himself, Nio, who had stepped back earlier, rushed back from the side with his shield in front, slamming into Cordim’s side with great force. The impact sent Cordim staggering sideways, and it was then that his blue steel sword shone once again—stepping forward, drawing the sword, extending his arm, and swinging the blade. This move, called “Shield Blade,” used the shield to disrupt the opponent’s fighting stance, create an opening, and then pursue with the weapon in mid-air. Though it seemed simple, mastering it required great strength, reflexes, speed, and skill.

Nio had learned the technique “Shield Blade” in exchange for a large bag of mead from a human warrior. It was his most proud move when using a shield, and now that his strength had greatly increased, this strike was truly exceptional. The sword cut deep into Cordim’s right front leg, creating a wound nearly a meter long; blood gushed forth, and one of Cordim’s front legs was almost completely ruined.

At that moment, the muscular Cordim that had been locked in combat with Barret and Dick rushed forward, wielding an axe in both hands with tremendous force. Yet Nio managed to withstand two axe strikes and the charge using his shield, holding his own. Only then did the muscular Cordim realize that this man was not only incredibly fast but also extremely strong, with even greater explosive power—after all, it had the advantage of weight.

After the clash, Nio retreated deliberately before charging forward fiercely again. The Cordim also went all out, roaring as it raised its axe to meet him. Boom! With just one axe swing, the shield was sent flying. Immediately afterward, the muscular Cordim felt severe pain in its abdomen. Looking down, it saw its insides spilled out and blood flowing—it had fallen victim to Nio’s “Turtle Shedding” trick.

Nio, who had slipped out from behind the muscular Cordim, got up, sheathed his sword, and picked up Gray Spear. He called out to Dick and the others in the room, “Kill all the injured ones. Try to keep their fur intact.” With a whistle, he summoned White Socks, mounted his ride, and rode away at top speed.

About half an hour later, Nio returned. He had gone after two scouts from the Cordim patrol. One was successfully ambushed by Nio, injured, and killed, while the other fled desperately but couldn’t outrun White Socks and was eventually caught and killed as well. Nio was late because he took time to dispose of the last Cordim’s body.

By the time Nio returned, the several Cordim that had been injured in the village had also been dealt with—a total of 9.

“Drain their blood! Skin them!” It was easier to do these things while the bodies were still warm. It was similar to slaughtering large animals. Although none of them except Nio were skilled at it, and the tools weren’t professional, seven or eight people working together finished the job in less than an hour.

“Oh, let’s go to bed!”

After going through a battle, how could they fall asleep easily? Except for Nio, Vitz, and Boglem, everyone else tossed and turned to varying degrees. Tony and Hagen twisted in their beds for nearly an hour before finally falling into deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Neo still got up around 6:30, but it was 90 minutes before he woke Dick and the others. Two of them woke up early on their own due to strong biological clocks—Borglem and Mah. Neo prepared breakfast that day, a stew that was especially flavorful and delicious. Yet Borglem and Mah ate it with solemn expressions. Tony and the others asked what was wrong with them, and both claimed they had no appetite. Dick asked Neo what secret method he used to make the stew so tasty, to which Neo said the secret would be revealed at noon…

It was a very tiring morning—whether it was blacksmithing, tanning and drying leather, or shaping it into usable materials, none of these tasks were easy. By noon, when everyone was tired and hungry, Neo told them that the meat they had eaten in the morning was from Codim. The others were fine, but Tony and Hagen felt extremely nauseous, though the food had already been digested and nothing could be vomited out. As a result, lunch that day was minimal, using less than half the usual amount of food. This time, Witz was the top eater, able to consume as much as in the morning. Neo patted his shoulder without saying much. Whether it was because of his thick skin or because he remembered what Neo had said, one thing was certain: Witz was working hard to recover.

After a short rest after lunch, the blacksmithing continued, while the rest handled the Codim’s internal organs as ordered by Neo. The rest was manageable, but the intestines were the most troublesome. According to Neo’s instructions, the intestines had to be cleaned and degreased to make large and small intestine skins. Large intestine skins were one of the best materials for bowstrings, while small intestine skins could be used to make sutures for surgeries. Additionally, intestine skins had a basic purpose: making sausages.

By 2 p.m., the results of their hard work appeared. First were two light yet sturdy sleds pulled by two horses. These sleds, designed and supervised by Neo himself, could carry all the team’s supplies. This meant that if it were just the nine of them, they could fully rely on animal-powered transportation.

Another good news was that Barret, Borglem, Dick, and Witz—all four of them—now had suitable weapons. Neo also made simple customizations based on their individual needs. For example, Barret used a thick, single-handed greatsword with a hexagonal hilt. He preferred to fight with a shield and, given his physique, had potential for defensive combat. Neo even crafted a thick shield with wooden and steel edges for him.

Borglem’s sword resembled a curved iron bar—thin but extremely sharp. Its guard was special, consisting of a curved cover with a tail that required hand insertion. Based on his swordsmanship style, Neo designed asymmetrical copper armor for him. The left arm’s armor was exceptionally strong, with three steel ridges running vertically along the forearm to withstand axe blows. The right arm’s armor reached only the elbow and had no gauntlets, as his weapon already protected his hand. The focus of the right arm’s armor was on wrist flexibility, which required some effort and time from Neo to perfect.

Dick preferred the design of the Neo Blue Steel Sword, but with the current lack of time for such intricate craftsmanship, his sword resembled it only in appearance, actually falling far short even in that regard. Still, among the four weapons, it was the most well-proportioned and aesthetically pleasing in structure, with good strength and toughness as well.

Vitz chose a thick-backed cutting sword. Its features were simple lines and sharp edges. If not for the cloud-like patterns formed by repeated forging on its surface, it would have looked like a mere large piece of iron. Moreover, it had the smallest guard—a thick yellow-orange copper band.

“Boss, this weapon is exactly what I dreamed of—perfect for me.” Whether it was his straightforwardness, boldness, or fierce nature, Vitz was by far the least reserved of them all, using the title “boss” with utmost ease.

As for Neo, he mainly appreciated Vitz’s temperament. Put bluntly, Vitz was like a gun—anyone could use him if they knew the right methods. Put positively, Vitz was a true warrior—simple, resilient, with little moral restraint or self-condemnation. He didn’t get emotional easily, remained stable, and his strength improved steadily. His only skill was combat, making him relatively pure in that aspect.

As time passed, more weapons and equipment were created in the blacksmith’s shop: arrowheads, spear tips, reinforced shields sealed with iron strips, as well as tools like knives and chisels.

Around 4 p.m., six bandits arrived in a disheveled state at Croop.

“Captain, we were wrong!”
“Captain, we surrender!”
“We’re starving!”
“Captain, we’ll do whatever you say—just give us something to eat!” …

Upon seeing Neo, the six of them started shouting chaotically. This was because Neo had arranged for Edward to keep watch from a high point in the village; otherwise, they might have been injured by traps.

“Hmm, I’ll give you a chance. Boil water and clean yourselves—inside and out, top to bottom. I’ll check, and the worst one will have to watch others eat,” Neo said, then turned to Hagen, “Prepare a big pot of the best meat!”

Hagen responded, feeling uneasy, as Neo had specifically told him earlier that when he mentioned the best meat, he meant meat from Codim beast-men!

Hunger is an endless motivator. Smelling the enticing aroma of the stewing meat in the large house, the six bandits rushed to clean themselves until they looked like fair, clean girls. They bathed, shaved, washed and dried their clothes, even restoring their tattered leather armor to its original color. When Neo came to inspect them, in terms of appearance, they were at least twice as presentable as when he first saw them.

“I really want one of you to watch others eat…” Neo said as he inspected them—under their nails, behind their ears, on their necks—places that were now unusually clean, with their skin red and almost broken from scrubbing. “But I can’t find any reason to punish you. You all passed. Go eat.” Neo concluded.

The bandits didn’t even bother cheering as they rushed like wolves at the prepared stew and devoured it heartily.

Previously, Neo had deliberately gathered everyone here. Dick and the others watched as those bandits devoured the meat and felt their stomachs churn with disgust. Neo shouted at the bandits, “Do you know what this is? It’s the meat of Cordim man-beasts.” The bandits were momentarily stunned but continued eating frantically. One of them said, “Great! Let’s drink their blood and eat their meat!” Another added, “I could even swallow human meat—let alone that of man-beasts. Try working nonstop for two days and only eating once to prove it!” He said this while chewing grimly. Neo viewed this young man with new respect—he was clever enough to understand what he wanted in such a situation. “What’s your name?” “Reporting to the captain, my name is Chebman. My family has been in small business for generations.” “Hmm. Do you like money?” “Yes!” “Earn it or spend it?” “I’d love to sleep on gold coins every day!” “Very good. From now on, you’ll be in charge of the squad’s finances and logistics.” With that, Neo turned to Dick and the others and said, “Everyone sees this. If you don’t want to go two days without food, find a way to overcome your aversion to eating this stinky meat. Now, get to work!” “I think our captain is more like a typical Frey exploiter. Even Lord Manmores might not be this strict. Who did he learn this from? Especially since he’s a werewolf.” “But you have to admit he’s truly amazing. He single-handedly killed nine Cordim scouts with ease, remaining unharmed. Even all of us combined might not have half his efficiency and combat strength.” “Shut up and work harder. Our captain is just as skilled at disciplining people as he is at killing. Keep that in mind…” The work at the blacksmith’s shop continued, while those who had dealt with the man-beast’s internal organs turned to work on the pelts—shaving, removing fluff, and skinning, a slow process as well. After dinner, the six new soldiers joined the work force. Interestingly, this task was more delicate—sewing clothes. “Winter is approaching, and the weather will only get colder day by day. Don’t think just because you’re strong and in your prime that you can withstand the cold! What worked in previous years won’t work this time. The Frost Years occur every 300 years—imagine how cold it will be!” This was a motivational speech. Neo scanned everyone with his gaze before continuing, “And our goal isn’t just to survive the cold. We’re going to fight. If we’re frostbitten and can’t even move our hands or hold our weapons, how can we fight? So don’t think this task is unimportant. If we dress warmly, it’s like cutting frozen meat; otherwise, it’s the enemy cutting our flesh. I don’t need to explain further, right? The needles are here, the thread has been prepared, and the patterns for the clothes have been measured and cut. We start sewing now. If we don’t finish tonight, we won’t get to sleep. If it’s not done well, we won’t have food tomorrow morning. Alright, let’s begin!” The men were frustrated—usually, such work was done by women, and most of them had no experience. But Neo had said it had to be practical, not beautiful. So they picked up thick needles and started sewing what he called cotton armor.

Cotton and cloth mainly come from the remnants of the dead Dark Claws; it can be seen as a form of reprocessing and remaking. One purpose is to ensure a proper fit, and the other is to make it more practical. These cotton armor pieces not only contain cotton but also include added Cordium fluff and wool. According to Neo’s crafting requirements, fine diamond-shaped patterns must be sewn onto the surface to prevent the fluff from piling up. Additionally, leather strips with straps are sewn onto the trouser legs and cuffs for easy tightening…
Neo was also sewing—not for himself, but for the horses. He wasn’t exaggerating when he warned everyone; the weather was indeed getting colder, and it was absolutely necessary to take good care of the large animals.
“Someone in the migration group must have thought of these issues and started paying attention to them, right?” Neo was somewhat worried about Milien and the entire migration group. With enemies like Valentina and the Mathuya cavalry, this migration would by no means be easy.