Under the old village chief's arrangements, the villagers brought out all their cherished mead and fruit wine.
The village chief's obese daughter-in-law, along with several elderly women from the village, did their best to prepare delicious food from various cured meats, salted meats, dried meats, and dried fruits collected from each household.
Just one dinner had exhausted all the decent food the entire village could offer; by New Year's, they probably wouldn't even be able to prepare a proper New Year's Eve dinner.
The village chief's sons, moreover, led the young and strong men of the village to slaughter more than a dozen fat pigs and sheep.
These were all Baron Natte's private property; if their Baron Lord didn't understand their difficulties, they didn't know what kind of punishment they would face.
However, even the dinner they prepared with the entire village's effort was met with disdain from Earl Blinken and his men.
"The food in this backwater is simply unpalatable!"
"Pah! Is this wine or horse piss? It's truly awful!"
When the old village chief heard these words, his face was filled with anger and humiliation, but he dared not speak out, still forcing a smile as he said,
"We mountain villagers truly have nothing decent to offer.
Please forgive us, Lord Blinkon, for our inadequate hospitality.
These are the best foods we can provide; they were originally meant to be presented to Baron Natte soon."
"It is because you, noble sirs, are of high status that this humble old man dared to risk punishment from the Baron to offer these provisions.
I hope you noble sirs can understand our intentions."
Earl Blinken was suppressing a fit of pique and had no desire to listen to the old man's complaints here.
"Enough, I know you can't produce any decent wine or dishes.
But don't say I didn't warn you; the food is already so hard to swallow.
If there aren't a few clean and pretty women to reward my soldiers, you'll be in for it if they cause trouble."
Upon hearing this, the old village chief's face immediately turned pale.
Before he could say anything, the old village chief's youngest grandson, Albert, walked out directly and spoke to Earl Blinken with neither arrogance nor humility,
"Respected Earl, the women in our village usually do rough work; not only are they fat and ugly, but they all speak in loud, coarse voices.
Even I can't help but feel my eyes hurt when I look at them, and if they were to serve you noble knights, I'm afraid the food before you would become even more unpalatable."
"Hahaha~ You're an interesting boy, and you look spirited.
What's your name?"
Earl Blinken's mood brightened considerably upon seeing such a fair-faced and articulate young man in this small, broken village.
The young man bowed respectfully and said,
"My name is Albert."
Earl Blinken scrutinized Albert for a moment before saying with satisfaction,
"You're very good; stay by my side and serve me from now on.
I happen to be in need of a stable boy."
If it were an ordinary villager, they would be overjoyed to be noticed by an Earl, but Albert clearly didn't think that way, though he still replied with feigned gratitude,
"Thank you, Earl; this is Albert's honor!"
Albert then remained by Earl Blinken's side, pouring wine and serving dishes for the noble Earls.
His articulate speech and quick mind kept the noble Earls very pleased.
And as if to prove Albert's words, the old village chief gathered all the fat women in the village and had them serve the knights their meal.
Indeed, upon seeing these ugly, clumsy, and fat women, the knights immediately lost their appetite and found the food even more tasteless.
Meanwhile, the several hundred Blinkon soldiers who survived Harroway, after settling their wounded in the afternoon, continued their journey with Earl Blinken, bringing their supplies behind them.
The armor they had discarded near the reed marsh had now returned to normal temperature.
After a simple wipe, they put it back on.
Because their pack animals and carts were limited and they were pressed for time, much of the armor was simply left behind in the reeds.
Under the call of the Seven Gods Church monks, several hundred believers from Harroway Town had dug several large pits in the reed marsh, throwing in the soldiers' bodies, which had already been sorted by the Silent Sisters.
They first ignited them with lamp oil and then buried them deeply.
However, just as evening approached, several thousand Highland Clansmen, riding their short-legged ponies, arrived at Harroway Town.
Starving, they were not like those noble soldiers who still observed some sense of propriety and shame.
Without the slightest hesitation, they immediately began to burn, kill, and plunder in the town.
Even the wounded soldiers recuperating in the church were dragged out and killed one by one.
In the eyes of these Highland Clansmen, the people living in towns were almost no different from the pigs and dogs they raised.
Some tribes, which already had a tradition of cannibalism, were greatly stimulated by the smell of charring flesh from some of the wounded and directly roasted and ate them like pigs and sheep.
Harroway Town, having escaped two waves of noble soldiers, thus unluckily fell into the hands of the even more shameless and cruel Highland Clansmen.
Fortunately, after Marquis Frey and his forces engaged the Blinken Family army and set fire to the reed marsh, most of the town's residents had already fled.
Those who remained were either daring individuals or displaced people with nowhere else to go.
After plundering the entire Harroway Town, the Mountain Clansmen also killed the monks and believers who were burying bodies in the reed marsh.
These people never dreamed that the deep pits they dug today would become their own graves.
The Highland Clansmen, who worshipped the Old Gods, already harbored extreme hatred for the Seven Gods faith.
Therefore, after killing the monks and believers, these people extended their wicked hands towards the Silent Sisters.
Pity these nuns, who had been chaste and devoutly serving the Seven Gods since childhood; in the still-warm reed marsh, they were thus stripped of their virginity by those shameless barbarians from the Brightmoon Mountains.
The monks and believers in the deep pits were stained with blood on their bodies, while these poor Silent Sisters were stained with blood below.
Early the next morning, the old village chief and his people had just breathed a sigh of relief after seeing off Earl Blinken and his men, when they heard desperate cries for help coming from the back mountain.
It turned out that the hateful Highland Clansmen had also found their way here.
The old village chief closed his eyes in despair, never expecting that they had just seen off one group of fierce tigers only to be met by another pack of vicious wolves.
The village chief's sons quickly organized the remaining young and strong men of the village, grabbed sickles, hoes, and other farm tools, and rushed towards the back mountain without hesitation.
They knew that in such times of war, only they could protect themselves.
These bloodthirsty wolves would show no mercy.
The old village chief, meanwhile, calmed himself and had the remaining villagers begin setting up traps and obstacles around the village.
But facing the numerous and incredibly ferocious Highland Clansmen, how could these ordinary farmers possibly resist?
In less than an hour, the able-bodied men sent to the back mountain were all slaughtered.
And the young women who had escaped misfortune last night ultimately did not escape the tragic fate of being defiled.
Fortunately, those Highland Clansmen would not spare any men, but they rarely killed women.
So these girls at least saved their lives.
Soon, the Highland Clansmen stormed into this quiet little mountain village, which had been striving to survive amidst the chaos.
Angry roars and desperate wails immediately echoed throughout the entire village.
At this moment, a cloud of dust suddenly rose in the distance, and a well-equipped cavalry unit quickly approached.
Judging by the banners, it was the Vale cavalry that had arrived.