Complete Victory

After Victor led his troops through the Barbarian Cavalry formation, the barbarian leader attempted to rally his men for a counterattack, but with little success. Space on the frontal battlefield was limited, preventing the Barbarian Cavalry from deploying their full strength or using their favored circling and harassing tactics. In one-on-one combat, they were no match for the cavalry of the Golden Sunflower Territory.

Left with no choice, the barbarian leader was forced to withdraw from the battlefield with his remaining troops, heading west to regroup after leaving the hills. By then, fewer than half the troops under his control remained; the rest had either been killed, wounded, or scattered.

At that moment, there were no enemies left around Victor. When he saw the Barbarian Cavalry beginning to disengage from the battlefield and attempting to retreat westward, he glanced at the sky and knew that today's battle was only one step away from complete victory.

Victor quickly called for Jack and James to lead their troops in pursuit, while Ron stayed behind to continue clearing out the scattered Barbarian Cavalry.

The infantry that had already reached the western side of the hills formed up at the beachhead. Under Santos's command, they set up a formation at the western pass. The Pikemen crouched halfway down at the edge of the formation with their long spears raised, while the archers and crossbowmen stood behind them.

Once they reached their combat positions, the barbarian stragglers who had fled the main battlefield ahead of time were blocked by the square formation and soon shot down one after another by the archers and crossbowmen.

When the retreating barbarian troops saw the formation, they tried to charge it once. But faced with a prepared volley of arrows and bolts, they left behind a batch of corpses before immediately collapsing into rout.

Seeing this, Victor directly ordered the cavalry to spread out and pursue the enemy in groups of five. He judged that the barbarian leader had likely been killed by the previous rain of arrows. The barbarian troops had now lost their commander, so all that remained was to hunt them down.

Santos also directed the infantry to spread out in groups of fifty, extending the formation's blockade and cutting off the Barbarians' route west.

By then, the Barbarian Cavalry had completely lost the will to fight. Many dismounted and knelt before Victor's army to surrender. Others tried to detour around the flank and escape, but their horses could no longer sustain a fast run after a morning of fighting. The cavalry Victor sent out caught up with them and cut them down one by one.

Victor also stopped fighting. There was no longer anyone on the battlefield worth fighting. The reason he had joined the battle in the first place was to make full use of his personal strength, break the enemy as the spearhead, and reduce his own side's losses.

In his previous life, when he played Mount & Blade, he had once quit the game because all the soldiers he recruited at the start of a campaign had died in battle.

Victor knew full well that he had no talent for becoming a famed general. Whether it was battlefield instinct or temperament, he fell short. He could treat his soldiers like his own children, but he could not treat troops like expendable mud.

Ever since he began learning combat skills, the people who trained alongside him had all been soldiers of the territory. Although there was a vast difference in status between them, Victor's previous life had deeply influenced him. His approachable attitude, rigorous training, and formidable strength earned him the trust and respect of the territory's warriors.

As the baron's heir, combined with his performance and his clear approach to rewards and punishments, the territory's standing army was willing to obey his commands and give their lives for him. That was why Victor could not regard these flesh-and-blood warriors as bargaining chips for gaining benefits.

He hoped even more to lead these warriors home in victory, reward them with money and land, let them raise children and live out their lives in peace. When he grew old, these warriors, equally gray with age, would bring their grandchildren to call him Lord.

At that moment, Jack approached, his face full of excitement.

"My lord, we have won a great victory with negligible losses. Not a single man in my unit died. A few were injured while charging the formation, but none of them are seriously hurt."

"My lord, you are a warrior among warriors. You alone killed at least thirty of them, including a Centurion." It was Jack's first time seeing Victor fight. He had heard that Victor's martial skills were formidable and rarely matched, but he had not expected him to be this powerful. He was practically invincible.

Jack's surprise was understandable. Victor had indeed been strong before, but not to this extent. Even Victor himself had not realized it. After activating the Combat Assistance System, his perception in battle had improved across the board. He could predict an opponent's movements through muscle reactions and identify openings in advance. For someone like Victor, who was already outstanding in combat, it was simply a force multiplier. His combat strength had gone from fifty to well over one hundred and eighty.

James also trotted over on horseback. "Victor, that battle was incredible. Too bad two of my men were shot in the eyes and fell straight from their horses. We couldn't save them. Why are you so fierce now? You weren't this outrageous when we fought Marquis Mora."

Victor did not answer James directly. Instead, he asked, "Have the wounded all been settled? I remember we brought a batch of Bitter Bamboo. Even if our losses are light, we still need to take care of the wounded first."

"Don't worry, Victor. We've all been through war before, so everyone has experience. It's already been handled. A few are badly wounded, and I've arranged for them to be sent back to camp first."

Victor nodded. "Maybe it's because after the war, I gained a new understanding of my martial skills. I really have become much stronger than before." Victor gave a deliberately vague explanation.

"That amazing? If you have any tricks, remember to teach me." James was impressed despite not really understanding why.

"Some things can only be understood, not explained. Once you reach that level, you'll understand." Victor continued to brush James off.

Santos also rode over on horseback and saluted Victor. "My lord, I did not fail your trust. The infantry detachment completed the task you assigned."

Victor patted Santos on the shoulder. "This victory was possible because of your hard fighting. Tell the boys they did well."

At that moment, Ron caught up with several men.

"Victor, it's over on our side too. We captured more than thirty prisoners. Looks like things went smoothly for you as well," Ron said as he stepped forward.

"Lord Victor, we captured 116 prisoners here. Three of them are seriously wounded and probably won't make it. We brought enough Bitter Bamboo, and all the lightly wounded have already been treated."

"Good. Ron, you understand the Barbarian language. Interrogate these prisoners separately so they can't coordinate their stories. Knight Jack, assist him."

"Yes." The two answered in unison.

"Inform everyone to rest for now, and notify the auxiliary troops to assist in cleaning up the battlefield."

Victor dismounted and removed his chainmail. When it fell to the ground, the impact shook loose a great deal of blood. The bloodstains on the leather armor beneath had already turned black, as though a layer of oil had been brushed over the originally black armor.

Behind Victor, Michael, like all the surrounding soldiers, looked at him with burning admiration. Such an unstoppable general could lead them to victory while preserving his men's lives to the greatest extent possible. He had won the worship of every one of them.

Seeing this, Jack immediately raised his longsword and shouted, "Lord Victor, victory without end!"

Soon, every soldier joined in. "Victory without end! Victory without end! Victory without end!"

Jack and James led Victor's warhorse over and helped him mount.

James waggled his eyebrows and said, "Great General, go inspect your troops."

Victor had no choice but to trot around the battlefield on horseback. Every soldier cheered at him, "Victory without end!"

Victor found himself immersed in the moment, as though he had already united the realm and founded a dynasty.

"Victor, your heart rate is too high. Please control yourself. Extreme joy and sorrow are harmful to the successor's health." Number 1 interrupted Victor's daydream at just the right moment.

Victor gave a bitter smile. "Thank you for reminding me, Number 1."

Afterward, Victor calmed all the soldiers and had them rest where they stood.

Before long, the auxiliary troops arrived at the battlefield and split into two groups to begin clearing it up. They buried the corpses, collected the weapons, and worked with the cavalry to capture the scattered riderless warhorses.

Victor sent messengers to notify the camp and the fleet on the Great Fish River of his victory.

By then, the interrogations had produced results. Ron and Jack brought the findings to Victor.

"We interrogated more than a dozen prisoners, including one Centurion and five squad leaders. This is what we learned. These are two rival tribes. The Wind Corner Tribe, the one that entered our territory first, lost its war against the Green Grass Tribe and was forced to head south in an attempt to migrate. The Green Grass Tribe also sent a pursuit force after them, and they ran into us. Now they've all been left here."

"They left several dozen men at their camp to guard the remaining members of the Wind Corner Tribe, and everyone else is here. We also discovered that their tribe does not have many troops left behind. Although they won their war with the Wind Corner Tribe, they suffered heavy losses as well. The five hundred men sent in pursuit were their greatest mobile force. There are only around two hundred soldiers remaining in the tribe. Even if they gather the other able-bodied men, they could barely put together five hundred cavalry, and their equipment would be worse."

"Victor, I think we can do another job. Didn't you want a batch of herding slaves? The thousand or so people left in the Wind Corner Tribe won't be enough. Add the Green Grass Tribe's people, and it'll be just right." Ron made his suggestion to Victor.

"No rush. We just finished a battle. First, inform everyone to set up camp here. Once we've rested, we'll take down the Wind Corner Tribe tomorrow and reclaim our Wood Fort stronghold."

"Let's get our territory in order first. The Green Grass Tribe has not received news of their defeat, so they won't run. Crossing the river means advancing deep into enemy territory, so we should be as cautious as possible. Besides, according to the plan, another two days will bring two hundred Light Cavalry from the Edelweiss Territory to our lands. If we bring them along, we can ensure nothing goes wrong." Victor explained his thoughts.

After hearing this, Ron also felt it made sense. He called for the soldiers to begin organizing the camp and preparing a place to rest that night.