Wind Sweeps Green Grass

Early the next morning, the camp bustled with men and horses as the entire force continued advancing toward the Green Grass Tribe's camp.

Meanwhile, Knight Jack's side also began speeding toward the Green Grass Tribe. Along the way, any Green Grass Tribe herders they encountered were silenced.

This time, Jack's force included several Cavalry from Edelweiss Territory who understood the Barbarian language. Upon finding these herders, they immediately interrogated them, and Jack quickly obtained a crucial piece of intelligence.

The Green Grass Tribe's chief had personally led 500 Cavalry to pursue and kill the remnants of the Wind Corner Tribe, and there had been no news from them for more than eight days. The situation within the tribe was now chaotic. The chief's younger brother had directly won over the commanders of the two hundred-man units left behind, imprisoned his brother's relatives, and declared himself the tribe's new chief.

He was now preparing to lead the tribe northward. Many of the herders who had fled were supporters of the former chief, and their relatives were among the 500 warriors the former chief had taken away.

To prevent these people from affecting the tribe's migration or informing the former chief during the journey, the new chief simply drove the herders out of the tribe, seized their livestock and wealth, and left them to fend for themselves.

After receiving this intelligence, Knight Jack did not dare delay. He immediately sent someone to report to Victor while leading his troops forward at greater speed. Besides concealing the main force's movements, his mission was to disrupt the Green Grass Tribe's possible migration.

At nine in the morning, when the main force had already advanced five kilometers, Jack's messenger reached them and handed the intelligence to Victor. After reading it, Victor immediately summoned Ron and Jackson and informed them of the report.

"I originally planned to advance normally, reach the Green Grass Tribe's Main Camp tonight, and launch the attack tomorrow. But plans cannot keep up with changes. I need you to take 150 men and reinforce Jack. You must work together to obstruct them effectively. Jackson, leave fifty men behind."

"Understood." After accepting the order, the two immediately began making arrangements. Jackson assigned a deputy named Michael to lead fifty men directly to Victor, while the remaining 150 men, led by Ron and Jackson, accelerated to catch up with Jack's force.

"If they don't spare their horses, they should reach the Green Grass Tribe's camp with Jack before one this afternoon. Two hundred and fifty light cavalry will be enough to handle the Green Grass Tribe's barbarian troops. And since the Green Grass Tribe has just undergone a coup, they likely won't be able to muster many men even with an emergency levy."

Victor sighed. Both chiefs of the Green Grass Tribe had been anything but ordinary. They had given him two difficult problems, yet had also thoroughly lowered the difficulty of the test.

If the former chief had not pursued the Wind Corner Tribe, Victor would not have had the chance to swallow his army in one bite or set his sights on the Green Grass Tribe. If the new chief had not staged a coup and the tribe's loyalties had remained stable, they could still have gathered 500 men to resist Victor. Both had reduced the military difficulty of Victor's conquest of the Green Grass Tribe.

With that in mind, Victor directly ordered Michael to organize scouts around the main force. Any herders discovered after being driven out of the Green Grass Tribe were to be seized and told, "The former chief's force has already been defeated. Most of them have been captured. From now on, they will fight for the honorable Lord Victor. As their relatives, Lord Victor will provide you with food."

Victor had indeed captured quite a few Green Grass Tribe soldiers, but there were only a little over 200 of them. Still, he did not care about deceiving these herders, and the herders did not care that Victor was deceiving them. As long as Victor was willing to give them food, they would naturally follow him. After all, they had lost everything. If they wanted to survive, they had to eat.

At around two in the afternoon, when the main force had advanced to less than eight kilometers from the Green Grass Tribe's camp, Victor could already see smoke in the distance. It seemed the battle had begun, and something had been set ablaze in a massive fire.

Two messengers came to report to Victor. To ensure the accuracy and timeliness of messages, Victor required each squad to have three messengers. Once the candidates were chosen, he would personally meet them, remember their faces and personal details, and allow them to report directly to him.

Victor questioned the two carefully and learned that the two cavalry units had joined together and launched a direct assault on the Green Grass Tribe's camp. The attack had come so suddenly that the Green Grass Tribe had not reacted before the enemy broke into the camp. To ensure their own safety, Victor's cavalry had merely burned and killed for a while before withdrawing. Unexpectedly, the fire had spread fiercely, while no one in the Green Grass Tribe organized efforts to put it out. Their camp was now in complete chaos.

Victor frowned. It was not that he thought Ron and the other two had done poorly. Rather, he was furious at the new chief of the Green Grass Tribe for his inaction and utter incompetence. The supplies burned and the herders and livestock killed were Victor's wealth. That man would have to pay dearly.

By then, three or four hundred herders were following behind Victor's main force, all persuaded over by Victor. The closer they came to the Green Grass Tribe's camp, the more such herders appeared. At least a thousand people had been driven out of the tribe. Victor simply had the cavalry lead these herders in shouting as they marched, and as Victor advanced with the main force, more and more herders followed behind them.

A little after three in the afternoon, Victor led the main force to the front of the Green Grass Tribe's camp. There, he saw Ron, Jack, and Jackson leading their troops around the outskirts.

Victor hurried over to the three with his personal guard and asked about their progress and what had happened.

"Lord Victor, the fire began dying down just now. That new chief tried to escape with his troops, but we drove them back. We killed or captured half of them. Fewer than a hundred made it back into the camp," Ron reported.

"Many herders have now fled the camp. We simply called for them to gather together and told them someone would provide them with food afterward," Knight Jack added.

Jackson nodded beside them without saying anything.

"Very well done. These herders are important resources. We cannot let them run off on their own. Without food, a lone person will only become fertilizer for the grasslands." Victor affirmed their actions.

Looking at the still-chaotic Main Camp of the Green Grass Tribe, Victor considered it for a moment before directly ordering the main force to attack. There was no need to consider anything else. Ending this sooner and reducing losses was what mattered most. These unexpected developments had already cost Victor much of the loot and population he could have gained.

Very quickly, the main force captured the tribal camp. Watching the herders and livestock being driven out of the camp, Victor breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had secured the lion's share.