At eight o'clock on the morning of the nineteenth, daylight was fully upon them. The Temporary Camp on the north bank bustled with people, and the thunderous clatter of hooves filled the air. After a night of rest, every detachment had recovered its rhythm and was forming up in unified ranks, preparing to march north.
This operation would be led primarily by Cavalry. Victor combined the three hundred men of the First Infantry Detachment with the logistics detachment, placing them under Santos's unified command. They would depart last, guarding the supplies.
Victor, meanwhile, set out ahead with the remaining forces of the First Cavalry Detachment and Second Cavalry Detachment.
Victor rode a tall, imposing steed, black as ink from head to hoof. Clad in leather armor, he was followed closely by the six remaining squadrons of the First Cavalry Detachment and Second Cavalry Detachment.
The six-hundred-man force advanced in grand array, like a winding steel dragon. They had more than a thousand horses in total, and the pounding of their hooves rang through the skies, as though the very earth trembled beneath them.
Every warhorse was strong and spirited, its tack neatly fitted and gleaming brilliantly beneath the sun. The Light Cavalry wore uniform leather armor, the red plumes on their helmets fluttering in the wind. They gripped sharp lances or swords in their hands, valiant and imposing.
Amid this magnificent formation, Victor could not help but feel a fierce surge of ambition. It seemed that with this force under his command, he could triumph over any enemy before him.
To preserve the warhorses' stamina, Victor kept the army's marching speed under control. At the same time, he ordered every squadron commander to ensure that the marching formation could be disorderly without falling apart. Victor knew it was asking too much for these troops to maintain perfectly neat ranks on the march, but as long as the force did not lose command due to confusion, it would be good enough.
This vast Cavalry force moved across the yellowing grasslands, its presence magnificent and impossible to miss, like a black flood sweeping over the earth.
At ten in the morning, Victor received a report from the front. Ron had hurried through the night before sunset yesterday and met up with Jack's force at six in the evening. After discussing the situation, they had decided to rest for the night before confronting the tribal outpost.
During the morning's standoff, the Two Rivers Territory Cavalry had already gained the advantage in numbers. Although this tribal outpost had a relatively high proportion of warriors, most of its people were ordinary herdsmen. Their equipment and fighting spirit were far inferior to those of Two Rivers Territory's professional Cavalry.
During the confrontation, Ron and Jack used their numerical advantage to press in on the Barbarian herdsmen from both flanks with dense formations. Most of the herdsmen could not withstand the Cavalry ranks slowly closing in like walls. Nor did they dare use their weapons lightly. Before long, the Barbarian formation was scattered, and no matter how desperately the Barbarian warriors shouted afterward, the herdsmen did not dare gather again.
Before long, Ron and Jack's forces had brought the Barbarian warriors under control one by one. After disarming them, they tied them to horses and set them aside. Ron then led men to gather up the scattered livestock herds, while the remaining herdsmen were settled down to camp where they were.
After a brief rest, Jack personally led a team north in the direction from which the outpost had come, intending to investigate the tribe behind it. Ron took over command of those left behind. Unbothered by the arrangement, he immediately began interrogating the captured Barbarian warriors.
There were quite a few captured warriors, and Ron now had no shortage of soldiers who understood the Barbarian language. Following Ron's orders, they divided into three groups and interrogated the warriors separately, verifying the intelligence and ensuring that none of them could coordinate their stories.
The results took Ron by surprise. Their tribe was indeed a vassal tribe of Iron Birch Territory. They had come here partly because they had learned that the two tribes previously occupying the area were gone. The other reason was that they had received a demand from Iron Birch Territory—or rather, a personal order from Viscount John—to interfere with the new lord's development here.
Once Ron had extracted this intelligence, he immediately sent someone to report it to Victor along with the tribe's basic information, leaving Victor to decide how to deal with the tribe.
Victor soon received the intelligence as well. This was a tribe that Iron Birch Territory had brought under its command long ago, called the Horseshoe Tribe. The entire tribe numbered over seven thousand people, nearly the largest population it could sustain. It had more than six hundred professional warriors and could mobilize sixteen hundred able-bodied men when necessary. Since it had pledged allegiance early, its weapons and equipment were relatively good. Nearly every warrior wore leather armor, and their arrows all had iron arrowheads. It was considered a wealthy tribe and was highly respectful toward Iron Birch Territory. Thus, John could directly mobilize this tribe under Iron Birch Territory's name.
The tribe's outpost had one Centurion with his warriors and more than two hundred young, able-bodied herdsmen, amounting to nearly one-fifth of the Horseshoe Tribe's total strength. Yet Ron and Jack had crushed them in one stroke. It was a severe loss for the entire Horseshoe Tribe. Moreover, the whole tribe had originally harbored doubts about this operation, but their current leader had stubbornly pushed it through.
After learning of the situation, Victor immediately increased the pace and no longer kept the army's speed down, hurrying to join Ron as soon as possible.
Jack's personal reconnaissance soon produced results as well. Not far from where he had discovered the outpost yesterday, he found a new Barbarian encampment. From this alone, he could tell that this tribe was indeed unusual. Its camp was orderly and well laid out, with sufficient sentries and dedicated patrols.
After making a simple estimate of the camp's size, Jack withdrew with his men rather than attempting to approach for further intelligence. They had already found the tribe's camp. It would not be easy for them to run away.
Jack admitted that this tribe was wealthy, that its warriors appeared more professional, and that their weapons and equipment were well supplied. But they would not be difficult for Two Rivers Territory to handle. Two Rivers Territory far surpassed this tribe in both size and level of training.
Jack then sent his men back along the original route to report the situation to Victor, while he remained at a distance to watch the Barbarian camp and monitor the movements of the entire Barbarian tribe.
At around three in the afternoon, Victor led the main force to rendezvous with Ron. Rather than continuing onward, Victor ordered everyone to rest where they were. For dinner, they would directly enjoy the cattle and sheep carried by the Horseshoe Tribe's outpost.
At around six in the evening, the messenger Jack had sent back reached the main force and reported their findings to Victor. Based on the intelligence Jack provided, Victor marked out the Horseshoe Tribe's location on the map inside the tent.
Victor said to the detachment commanders and squadron commanders inside the tent, "Tomorrow's mission is simple. Bring your blades and spears. If they dare oppose us, strike them down. There is no need for too much talk."
"Yes, my lord," everyone answered in unison.
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