Chapter 166

In order to clear the highlanders who were raiding Eastvale as swiftly as possible, Nestor Royce had sent a vanguard of a hundred men, thirty of them well-equipped horsemen, to reach the town ahead of the main force and prepare the way. That vanguard never arrived. Halfway to Eastvale they were ambushed by the mountain clans—pitfalls, hidden arrows, fire, and attacks from front and rear. Caught unprepared, the hundred men found themselves surrounded by several thousand highlanders. They were cut to pieces; many simply surrendered. Only a handful escaped, among them the scout who had brought the news.

“By the gods, how can these highlanders be so cunning?” Nestor sighed.

“They are clearly afraid of us and dare not face the noble knights of the Vale in open battle,” one knight offered.