The Main Force Attacks

At 8 AM on the 19th, under the bright morning sky, the temporary camp on the north bank was bustling with activity, the thunder of hooves deafening. After a night of rest, the detachments were ready, forming ranks to prepare for their march north.

This expedition was primarily cavalry-based. Victor had combined the 300 men from the First Infantry Detachment with the logistics detachment, placing them under Santos's unified command to depart last, escorting the supplies.

Victor himself, however, set out first with the First Cavalry Detachment and the remaining forces of the Second Cavalry Detachment.

Victor rode a tall, majestic steed, as black as ink, clad in leather armor. Closely following him were the remaining six companies of the First and Second Cavalry detachments.

This force of six hundred men moved in a vast, winding procession, like a colossal steel dragon. The total number of horses beneath them exceeded a thousand, their hooves echoing to the heavens, as if the very earth trembled in their wake.

These warhorses were all powerful and spirited, their bodies clad in orderly armor that gleamed brilliantly under the sun. The light cavalry wore matching leather armor, the red plumes on their helmets fluttering in the wind. They gripped sharp spears or swords, exuding an air of heroic valor and imposing presence.

Within this magnificent formation, Victor felt a surge of powerful ambition, as if with this army, he could achieve victory against any enemy.

To preserve the warhorses' stamina, Victor maintained a controlled marching pace. Simultaneously, during the march, Victor instructed the company commanders to ensure the marching formations remained orderly without breaking apart. Victor knew that demanding perfect formation marching from these troops was too much, but as long as the column maintained command and didn't descend into chaos, it would be considered acceptable.

This vast cavalry force advanced across the now-withered grasslands, their imposing presence making them exceptionally conspicuous, like a dark flood sweeping across the land.

At ten in the morning, Victor received an intelligence report from the front lines. It turned out that Ron, through forced marches the previous day, had met Jack's contingent at 6 PM the previous evening. After discussion, they decided to rest for a night before confronting the tribal outposts.

During the morning's standoff, the Two Rivers Territory cavalry held the numerical advantage. Although this tribal outpost had a higher proportion of warriors, most were ordinary herdsmen, inferior in equipment and combat resolve to the professional cavalry of the Two Rivers Territory.

During the standoff, Ron and Jack utilized their troop advantage, proactively using dense formations to flank and squeeze the barbarian herdsmen. The vast majority of the barbarian herdsmen couldn't withstand the sight of the cavalry formations slowly advancing like a wall. Furthermore, they were hesitant to draw their weapons, and soon the barbarian formation was scattered. Even with the desperate shouts of the barbarian warriors, the herdsmen couldn't regroup.

Soon, these barbarian warriors were apprehended one by one by Ron and Jack's forces, disarmed, tied to horses, and set aside. The remaining herdsmen were then gathered by Ron and his men, who rounded up the scattered livestock before setting up camp on the spot.

After a brief rest, Jack personally led his contingent towards the direction of the northern outpost to investigate the tribe that had established it. The remaining men were handed over to Ron's command. Ron, unconcerned, immediately began interrogating the captured barbarian warriors.

There were quite a few captured warriors, and Ron had many soldiers who understood the Barbarian language. Thus, as per Ron's instructions, they were divided into three groups for separate interrogations to verify the intelligence and prevent collusion.

The results surprised Ron. Their tribe was indeed a vassal tribe of the Iron Birch Territory. Their reasons for coming here were twofold: first, they learned that the two tribes previously occupying this area were gone; second, they had received a request, or rather, a direct order from Viscount John, to disrupt the new lord's expansion here.

After extracting this intelligence, Ron, along with the basic information about the tribe, immediately dispatched someone to report to Victor for a decision on how to handle the tribe.

Victor soon received this intelligence. This tribe, known as the Horseshoe Tribe, had been incorporated into the Iron Birch Territory long ago. The entire tribe numbered over 7,000 people, essentially at its maximum sustainable capacity, with over 600 professional warriors and the ability to mobilize 1,600 able-bodied men in times of need. Due to their early allegiance, the tribe's weaponry and equipment were relatively good; most warriors were equipped with leather armor, and their arrows had iron tips, making them quite wealthy. Consequently, they were very respectful to the Iron Birch Territory, allowing John to directly utilize the tribe under the Iron Birch Territory's banner.

A Centurion with his warriors and over 200 young, able-bodied herdsmen from this tribe's outpost represented nearly a fifth of the tribe's strength. They were completely dismantled by Ron and Jack, a significant loss for the entire Horseshoe Tribe. Furthermore, the entire Horseshoe Tribe had harbored doubts about this operation, but it was only pushed forward due to the current leader's obstinacy.

Upon learning of these circumstances, Victor immediately increased his horse's speed, no longer holding back the march, and hastened to rendezvous with Ron.

Jack's personal reconnaissance also yielded results quickly. The previous day, not far from the outpost, he discovered a new barbarian encampment. This indicated that the tribe was indeed unusual; the camp was well-organized, with sufficient sentry posts and dedicated patrol teams.

After a rough estimation of the camp's scale, Jack withdrew his men, not attempting any close-range reconnaissance. Since they had already located the tribe's camp, it wouldn't easily escape.

Jack acknowledged that the tribe was wealthy, their warriors appeared more professional, and their equipment was well-maintained. However, they posed no significant threat to the Two Rivers Territory, which far surpassed this tribe in both scale and training.

Subsequently, Jack dispatched his subordinate to return along the same route to report the situation to Victor, while he himself kept a distant watch on the barbarian camp, observing and monitoring the entire barbarian tribe's movements.

Around 3 PM, Victor met up with Ron, leading the main force. Victor did not press on but instead ordered everyone to rest on the spot, with dinner to be made from the cattle and sheep brought by the Horseshoe Tribe's outpost.

Around 6 PM, the orderly dispatched by Jack arrived at the main force, reporting their findings to Victor. Based on the intelligence provided by Jack, Victor sketched the location of the Horseshoe Tribe on the map within the command tent.

Victor addressed the several detachment and company commanders within the tent, saying, "Tomorrow's mission is simple. Bring your swords and spears. If they dare to resist us, act directly. There's no need for excessive chatter."

"Yes, my lord," everyone responded in unison.