Conflict

Jack soon sent back new information. This tribal outpost was unusual. They seemed very familiar with the duchy's Light Cavalry tactics. They had been actively driving off the scouting cavalry Jack sent out, but they had kept their restraint and never hurt anyone.

Faced with this situation, Jack kept trying to slip his cavalry behind the outpost, but he never succeeded. The outpost continually organized small units of Barbarian Cavalry to intercept Jack's men. Since Jack did not hold a numerical advantage, he simply could not send anyone behind them to scout.

When Jack reported this to Victor, Victor was not in the command tent. He was at the Main Camp inspecting the assembly of the various detachments. After hearing Jack's report, Victor frowned as well.

This tribe truly was different. The responsiveness of its outpost was unlike that of either the Green Grass Tribe or the Wind Roll Tribe Victor had encountered since arriving on the grasslands.

Not only were they well equipped, but their tactics and fighting spirit were also exceptional. Most importantly, they had deliberately held back to avoid injuring anyone. This gave Victor some ideas about their origins.

At that moment, Little Paru, standing nearby, said, "They're dogs. They should be dogs raised by Baron Colt." Victor quickly understood what Little Paru meant. Baron Colt was immensely powerful and held many Barbarian Tribes under his control. This tribe was likely one that served the Iron Birch Family.

These tribes had long roamed along the border between the Northern Three Commanderies and the Northern Barrens. Northern Frontier nobles traded with them and supplied them with some weapons. In return, they constantly tried to stop other Barbarian Tribes from approaching the borders of the Northern Three Commanderies. When they encountered weaker tribes, they slaughtered and absorbed them outright. When they encountered stronger tribes, they contacted the Northern Frontier nobles and launched wars together, driving those tribes away or even wiping them out.

The bloody conflicts among grassland tribes over the past few decades that Paru of the Green Grass Tribe had mentioned were mostly caused by them. They also actively captured members of other Barbarian Tribes, as well as prisoners from their spoils of war, and sold them as slaves to Northern Frontier nobles.

Little Paru had been brought to the Northern Three Commanderies and made a slave in this way. Victor only learned of this later. Little Mouse was not his biological younger sister either. She had merely been a baby girl abandoned by other slaves whom he had found. Unwilling to watch her starve to death, he kept her by his side. Later, she became his emotional anchor, so he acknowledged her as his sister and named her Little Mouse, hoping a humble name would make her easier to raise.

After learning these things, Victor renamed Little Mouse Minnie, as a blessing of sorts, hoping she would grow up healthy.

After confirming the traits of such tribes with Little Paru, Victor immediately ordered Ron to lead the First Cavalry Detachment to support Jack's forces. They were not to draw weapons or start a fight for now. Instead, they were to use their numbers to suppress and contain the tribal outpost, allowing Jack's scouts to infiltrate behind it and gather intelligence.

Ron quickly departed with the assembled First Cavalry Detachment. Four hundred cavalrymen, each equipped with two horses—one to ride and the other as a spare. Altogether, nearly a thousand fine horses had gathered in one place, a truly spectacular sight.

The cavalrymen and horses stood in neat ranks before the docks. At Ron's command, the cavalry moved swiftly. In orderly fashion, they led their horses aboard the troop transports at the ferry crossing. The sound of hooves rang into the sky, as if even the earth trembled beneath them. For a time, the entire dock bustled with people and noise. The soldiers called out and directed one another, ensuring that nothing went wrong at any stage.

When Captain Jack had returned with the fleet last time, he had left behind another troop transport. There were now two troop transports, enough to carry the entire detachment across in two trips.

Loaded with cavalrymen and fine horses, the two troop transports slowly left the shore and headed toward the opposite bank. Under the sunlight, the river shimmered and reflected a golden glow.

After seeing this, Victor immediately notified the other detachments. Other than the Second Infantry Detachment, which would remain behind to defend Wood Fort Town, the remaining detachments no longer needed to wait at the Main Camp. They were to proceed directly to the docks and prepare to cross the river in formation. He also ordered Powell to organize the supplies at once and send them to the north bank after the troops crossed.

Whether those on the other side were enemies or friends, Victor believed they had to remain vigilant when faced with such uninvited guests. Every hidden danger had to be eliminated. They could not show weakness; overwhelming them with force was the most sensible choice.

At present, both the First and Second Cavalry Detachments had completed recruitment for their Barbarian Cavalry squads and were fully organized. Each detachment had four hundred men and nearly a thousand warhorses. Basically, Victor had brought out every horse he possessed that could serve as a warhorse.

As for the First and Second Infantry Detachments, their auxiliary soldier recruitment had not yet been completed, so both were understrength and currently had only three hundred men each. The Second Infantry squad also had to garrison the outposts on the north bank, so Victor simply ordered it to remain behind.

Victor now had eight hundred cavalrymen under his command, including fifty Chainmail Cavalry and fifty Heavy Cavalry equipped with Iron Knight Armor. His forces were undeniably strong and well mounted. Even among the viscount nobles of the Northlands, such strength would rank in the middle tier. It was not something a subordinate Barbarian Tribe could contend with.

Victor learned from Little Paru that the Barbarian Tribes controlled by the Iron Birch Family were deliberately limited in size. Their population was generally not allowed to exceed eight thousand, and they could muster at most one thousand able-bodied fighters. They were permitted to trade with the northern nobles and could obtain weapons, equipment, and various supplies, but their strength was never very great. There were dozens of such tribes, though only the Iron Birch Family knew their exact numbers.

This tribe that had migrated here was probably one of them. It was just unclear whether they had simply relocated here or intended to trade with the Northlands nobles.

Jack was currently leading his personal company in a prolonged standoff sixty kilometers from the north bank. Although the Barbarian Tribe outpost could block Jack's reconnaissance, Jack had also pinned them down firmly, leaving them unable to advance even a step. The conflict between both sides was growing fiercer. Though weapons had not yet been used, physical confrontations had begun, and tempers were rising.

The moment Ron crossed the river, he led his personal company north to support Jack. He left the remaining cavalry and the troops that had yet to cross under Jackson's command. Jackson was helpless about it. His commanding officer was both his superior and the second-in-line heir to Edelweiss Territory; he could not offer even the slightest advice.

Victor remained at the docks, waiting for each detachment to cross. It was not until one in the morning on the nineteenth that all deployed troops had been sent to the north bank. Victor ordered every outpost to strengthen its defenses and conduct night patrols. The other troops were to rest as quickly as possible and set out punctually at eight in the morning on the nineteenth.