Outside Outpost County

If you were to ask which race on the Saint Cassis Continent was the poorest, the Savage Ancient Plains Barbarians would say they were second to none.

The Savage Ancient Plains, bordering the Behemoth Kingdom to the north and numerous human kingdoms to the south, were constantly plagued by war. Hundreds of years ago, under the leadership of the Holy See, many human kingdoms formed an expeditionary force of hundreds of thousands. Their target was Shabak, the Royal City of the Behemoth Orcs, with the aim of eradicating the Behemoth Orcs entirely.

However, this heavily armed expeditionary force of hundreds of thousands encountered a rather awkward situation. As soon as they set foot on the Great Wilderness, before they could even see a single Behemoth Orc, they found themselves fighting the indigenous barbarians of the plains.

The indigenous tribes of the plains were quite willful. The barbarians, with a population of less than a hundred thousand, saw the human soldiers and, without a word, charged at the expeditionary force with bare chests, roaring.

Not only were the humans stunned, but the Behemoths were too.

Those who served in the Holy See were not mild-mannered. They had always been the ones bullying others; this was the first time they had encountered someone actively picking a fight. How could they tolerate this?

When you're out and about, reputation is everything. So, under the wise and mighty leadership of the first Pope, they didn't hesitate. They launched the first campaign to suppress heretics, historically known as the Battle of the Great Wilderness, although their enemies were not the Behemoth Orcs they had initially intended to fight.

Barbarians were naturally gifted, possessing semi-petrified skin from birth. They were all over two meters tall, with physiques like upright walking grizzly bears. Not only was their combat power off the charts, but they also had sturdy and resilient bodies. Despite their small numbers, one barbarian could easily take down seven or eight ordinary soldiers, as if it were just a daily workout.

Humans also had their tricks: Holy Light Priests specializing in healing, high-level Battle Qi Templar Knights, and various Mages of all disciplines. Especially notable were their fully developed military systems and extensive combat experience.

The Battle of the Great Wilderness, which lasted for three months, resulted in heavy losses for the barbarians. The Holy See also suffered greatly. After the battle, let alone seeking trouble with the Behemoth Orcs, their shortage of supplies and low morale made it uncertain whether they could even survive leaving the Great Wilderness and seeing the Behemoth Orcs.

This senseless battle pushed the barbarian tribe completely to the opposing side of the Holy See. However, the barbarians didn't care. Since they were already so poor, killing a few more people would save some food. Most barbarians were the kind who became fiercer the poorer they got, and poorer the fiercer they became.

In this large-scale battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, the only name that history remembers and widely recounts to this day is not a legion commander or the supreme commander, the Pope, nor a combat hero from the barbarian side who turned the tide. Instead, it was a minor noble, a Baron.

This noble Baron was named Bote. He hailed from a declining noble branch of the Kingdom of Locke, being a distant cousin of Allen's grandfather's grandfather's uncle's wife's second cousin.

It was this minor figure who ended this farcical battle.

The process was nothing short of miraculous. Baron Bote was directionally challenged. While fighting, he got lost and ended up alone at the Great Chieftain's tribe.

This fellow was quite something. Facing tens of thousands of barbarians, he remained unfazed. He directly impersonated a negotiator from the Holy See and said something to the Great Chieftain, essentially: "We've suffered heavy losses this time and are planning to leave the Great Wilderness. Your subordinates have been hounding us. Elder brother, what do you want? Let's discuss terms."

After a huddle among the burly barbarians, the Great Chieftain finally stated their demands: "One hundred carts of food, ten carts of cloth. It would be best if you leave the horses and carts behind!"

Baron Bote immediately agreed and sealed the deal. However, the barbarians couldn't write, and there was no written agreement. They sealed their pact with a handshake.

Baron Bote returned to the expeditionary force's headquarters and reported the matter to the supreme commander, the Pope. The Pope readily agreed and, with a wave of his hand, summoned two guards who proceeded to beat Baron Bote soundly and expel him from the expeditionary force.

The reason for this outcome was simple: no one believed Bote. The demands made by the barbarians, even when converted to gold coins, were less than the daily consumption of the army of hundreds of thousands. Was this a joke?

In fairness, it wasn't entirely the Pope's fault. After all, no one expected the barbarians to have such limited ambitions.

This is why Baron Bote's name is still sung today. At that time, the Baron rode his swift horse back to the Kingdom of Locke. He scraped together the supplies through various means, borrowing and even seizing them. He personally escorted the goods with a few guards to the Great Chieftain's tribe.

The Great Chieftain distributed the goods, and the chieftains of the various tribes were satisfied. They treated Baron Bote exceptionally well.

The barbarians were very honest. The next day, all the barbarian warriors withdrew from the battlefield. They dispersed, with each returning home and resuming their lives as if nothing had happened.

This time, the Pope was dumbfounded. He suddenly realized a question: why had his expeditionary force ended up fighting the barbarians? Puzzled, he dispatched a messenger to inquire with the Great Chieftain.

The Great Chieftain also couldn't write. He simply gave the messenger a message to relay: "How the hell should I know? You lot came to the Great Wilderness, and I thought you were going to raid our tents. I had no idea you were going to fight the Behemoth Orcs. Next time, tell us earlier; you wasted our time."

After this farcical battle, the Holy See, having suffered a loss, classified the barbarians as heretics and uncivilized savages.

The barbarians finally surpassed the Behemoth Orcs, reaching second place on the Holy See's list of enemies.

The first place was held by a fellow traveler of the Holy See, the Ice Goddess Cult, located in the far north. Only among fellow travelers is there naked hatred.

Against this backdrop, the barbarians had no good feelings towards the Holy See or the various human kingdoms. "As long as we don't bother you, don't come to the Great Wilderness looking for trouble."

And now, Bloody Hoof Zack, the Chieftain of the Bloody Hoof Tribe, was the first barbarian chieftain in hundreds of years to set foot within the sphere of human influence.

The elite warriors of the Bloody Hoof Tribe encountered no obstacles on their journey, not even encountering the human legions originally stationed at the border.

Looking at the dilapidated city gate not far away, Old Zack frowned, waved over a subordinate warrior, and said, "Big Babylon, I have a bad feeling about this. You're the smartest in our tribe, what do you think we should do?"

Big Babylon, over two meters tall, with a shaved head and covered in tribal tattoos, said in a deep voice, "Chieftain, how about I sneak in under the cover of darkness to check the situation? Didn't that human envoy say a few days ago that there were no guards in Outpost County? I memorized the route. We can just storm in and snatch the person then."

Old Zack shook his head. "That human envoy might not have had good intentions. He might just want to use us to get rid of the Lord here."

"Oh, Old Chieftain, don't worry," Big Babylon said, flexing his fists and volunteering, "Leave it to me. There are too many of us, and we're too conspicuous. I'll sneak in alone."

Old Zack looked at Big Babylon's giant-like physique and reluctantly nodded. "Then be careful. If anything goes wrong, just set a fire. It would be best to burn all these cunning humans to death. When we see the smoke, we'll rush in to help and definitely find the location of that Old Castle."

"Alright! Old Chieftain, just wait and see," Big Babylon said with a sinister grin and disappeared into the night towards the outer wall of Outpost County.

A barbarian child with a particularly young face, with snot streaming from his nose, hopped over and was about to speak.

Old Zack immediately kicked him, sending the child rolling like a ball.

The warriors of the Bloody Hoof Tribe standing nearby secretly wondered if Little Zack was actually the Chieftain's biological son.

"Get lost!" Old Zack roared. "Don't cause trouble for us. Go play somewhere else."

Little Zack got up as if nothing had happened and said innocently, "Dad, that idiot Big Babylon is so tall and strong, he's obviously a barbarian. Why don't you let me go? My physique is more like a normal human."

Old Zack bared his teeth and snorted, tacitly agreeing.

Little Zack excitedly ran off, shouting Big Babylon's name.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.