Chapter 147: First Contact

The late autumn wind carried the dampness of the Somme River as it brushed against Vivi’s furry tiger ears.

Mounted on horseback, she narrowed her amber-brown eyes slightly and gazed into the distance. Behind her rode four more scouts, each dressed in tight combat gear with longbows slung across their backs. This five-man unit was the scout company’s patrol team on duty today.

The Black Armored Legion Scout Division was a brand-new unit personally established by Nolan, specializing in reconnaissance, infiltration, and decapitation operations. Anyone selected for it possessed exceptional potential in those fields.

When Nolan first announced that the company commander would be a half-beast girl, the entire Black Armored Legion had exploded into uproar.

Doubt. Confusion. Even disdain.

Though no one dared openly question Nolan due to his authority as lord, their expressions had already revealed what they truly thought. In this human kingdom, discrimination had long since seeped into people’s bones.

But Vivi had proven through sheer ability just how wrong the kingdom’s long-held claim—that beastfolk and half-beasts were “inferior races”—really was.

At that moment, her beautiful tiger ears twitched faintly.

Without turning around, she made a hand signal toward the four behind her. The others immediately obeyed, moving toward the direction she indicated.

Their destination was a raised slope beside the Somme River.

This was the largest river near Coldsteel City, originating in the Holy Osu Empire to the west. It flowed eastward through the Borderlands Forest and across the entirety of Demont Province.

It was currently the dry season, and the river had narrowed considerably, exposing stretches of cracked riverbed. From the high ground, everything on the opposite bank was clearly visible.

“Captain…”

The youngest-looking member of the squad finally lowered his voice after staring into the distance for quite some time without seeing anything.

“We’ve already moved beyond our normal reconnaissance line. What exactly are we waiting for here?”

Vivi glanced at him.

The boy’s name was Peter, a native of Coldsteel City. He had once been a hunter and was now a reserve member of the Black Armored Legion. Because of his agility and sharp eyesight, Vivi had picked him out immediately when he volunteered to enlist, recruiting him into the scout division.

The others in the team were equally capable: a former independent mercenary famed for his archery, one of the best former private soldiers of the Haus family, and a former Fire Fox Mercenary Corps scout renowned for reconnaissance work. All of them were quick-witted and fast to react.

Vivi did not answer Peter’s question. Instead, she merely raised a finger to her lips, signaling for silence.

Then her hand gestures began to change.

Two fingers raised.

A point forward, followed by a circle.

Then a sharp upward motion.

The sequence flowed smoothly.

Understanding dawned on the others’ faces, though their shock deepened.

This was a custom sign language Nolan had taught Vivi.

Players often had to deal with all sorts of situations where speaking aloud was inconvenient. Since the game aimed for realism, typing to communicate was forbidden as a form of cheating, so players had gradually developed simple hand signals to communicate silently while causing trouble unnoticed.

Over time, it evolved into a mature system used even in combat.

Its greatest advantage was not merely silence, but the fact that it was self-created. Because it originated as a player convention, the natives of this world could not understand it without training, completely eliminating the risk of information leaks.

Now, this system—officially named the “Cipher Sign Language System” by Nolan—had become standard issue throughout his forces.

The meaning of Vivi’s gestures had been simple.

Two minutes.

That direction.

Incoming.

The squad exchanged glances, astonishment flickering across their faces.

The weather today was clear, visibility excellent. The terrain across the river was lower as well, making the area easy to survey. Yet no matter how hard they stared, all they could see were a few rabbits hopping through the grass and hunting hawks circling overhead.

Vivi offered no explanation. She simply drew out her crossbow and checked the bolts loaded into the mechanism.

The others saw her movements and immediately grew tense, discarding all distracting thoughts as they inspected their own weapons.

Time passed second by second.

Just as Peter was beginning to suspect their captain had misjudged the situation, a line of black dots finally appeared on the horizon across the river.

The dots rapidly grew larger.

A cavalry unit.

The riders moved swiftly along the riverbank, their horses kicking up trails of dust.

“They’re here!”

The former Fire Fox mercenary recognized their attire instantly, excitement and admiration coloring his voice.

“Blue robes with gold trim—they’re retainers of Demont. Men under Sir Pascal!”

Vivi nodded calmly and gave another hand signal.

Attack.

She pressed her legs against her horse’s sides, and the warhorse beneath her let out a low neigh before charging down the slope.

The other four followed closely behind, forming a standard diamond assault formation.

The scout team on Pascal’s side numbered eight men.

They clearly had not expected a force to suddenly emerge from across the river. It was only when Vivi’s squad reached the riverbank that they finally reacted.

The leading knight pulled on his reins and shouted loudly, “Look! Rebels!”

The men behind him burst into laughter, not taking the five-man squad seriously in the slightest.

These country bumpkins were playing at being scouts now? They even looked the part. Nothing but trash.

The lead knight cleared his throat and raised his voice toward Vivi’s side. “Hear this, rebels across the river! Lord Pascal is merciful and offers the following terms: surrender and join the allied forces, and you will be accepted despite your crimes! Any who provide useful intelligence on city defenses will receive a reward of five gold coins—”

His voice echoed through the open river valley, dripping with arrogant condescension. By the standards of the era, the offer was actually rather generous.

Yet the rebels across the river did not slow down in the slightest. Instead, the only response was the sharp click of a crossbow mechanism firing three times.

Three shrill sounds tore through the air as three cold bolts shot from Vivi’s crossbow.

The first struck the leading knight directly in the forehead. The arrogance on his face froze instantly as he toppled backward off his horse.

The second bolt pierced the chest of one of the laughing knights behind him.

The third missed its target by a narrow margin, but buried itself deep into a warhorse’s neck.

The two struck riders collapsed immediately, while the wounded horse reared up in panic, causing the knight atop it to scream.

“Enemy attack!”

“Damn it! They’ve got sharpshooters!!”

Only then did the pampered noble soldiers finally react, terrified shouting erupting all at once.

The members behind Vivi joined the battle as well.

The enemy had come intending to persuade them into surrender, but caught completely off guard against a squad of elite marksmen, the difference in skill became obvious instantly.

The four behind Vivi had already drawn and loosed their bows. Amid the vibrating hum of bowstrings, several more enemy riders screamed and fell from their horses.

The return arrows fired by the opposing side were scattered and feeble, landing far behind Vivi’s group.

From the very start, the battle had been entirely one-sided.

The knight whose horse had been wounded earlier had survived by sheer luck. Watching his companions collapse in moments, he nearly lost his mind in terror. The gap between the two sides was simply too enormous.

“They can’t cross the river! Retreat! Retreat!”

The remaining three survivors immediately wheeled their horses around and whipped their mounts desperately, fleeing from the terrifying “sharpshooters.”

By now, Vivi had already reloaded her crossbow. She raised it and fired twice more. Two dull thuds followed. Two more kills.

Only one rider remained, rapidly disappearing into the distance.

Peter, the former hunter, urged his horse forward eagerly and shouted, “Leave this one to me!”

In one smooth motion, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The sharp arrowhead locked onto the fleeing rider’s back.

But Vivi raised her right hand and clenched it into a fist.

Cease attack.

Peter froze. His fingers stiffened against the bowstring. Days of harsh military training had taught him the importance of absolute obedience, and in the end, the arrow never left the bow.

Confused, he looked toward Vivi. “Captain? Why not wipe them out completely?”

Vivi holstered her crossbow. The icy killing intent faded from her face, replaced by the sly expression unique to the beastfolk girl.

“We’re the defenders of Coldsteel City. Their mission is to probe our defenses and try persuading people to defect. This place is still far from Coldsteel City. If he escapes now, he won’t bring back any useful intelligence.”

Her smile slowly widened into the exact same mischievous grin Nolan wore whenever one of his schemes succeeded.

“Letting him live on purpose means he can carry fear back with him. A living coward does more damage to enemy morale than eight corpses ever could.”

Peter and the others finally understood. The doubt and surprise in their eyes vanished completely, replaced by awe and wholehearted respect. Their captain might be young, but not only was her archery terrifyingly precise, her mind was every bit as frighteningly sharp as the lord’s.

“Alright, stop standing around.” Vivi waved a hand, her tone suddenly lightening as occupational instinct took over. “Go clean up the battlefield and see whether these noble lordlings brought anything valuable with them. “The scout division’s budget depends on this stuff, you know!”