Kneel

Soon, Jell's subordinates also made a new discovery. On the back slope, they found two corpses. Jell took a closer look and realized they were the two warriors he had sent out the night before. Both men had clearly been tortured before they died, their bodies covered in wounds with very few intact areas. They had finally been killed by having their throats slit.

Luda saw them too. These two were renowned warriors under Jell, and now they were dead. He felt a mix of schadenfreude and intense anger.

"These Duchy nobles are truly detestable! We are all subjects of the Iron Birch Family, so why treat our warriors like this? Brothers, pursue them! Chase them down and give them an eye for an eye!"

"Chase them! Kill them!" Soon, all the Barbarian warriors were enraged and shouted for revenge alongside Luda.

Seeing this, Jell said nothing and simply followed Luda and the others, swept up in their fervor, heading west along the trail Jack had left.

While pursuing Jack, Jell began to slow his horse and signaled his subordinates, gradually falling behind Luda's group. When they reached a patch of bushes, he directly led his troops to charge through to the other side. By the time Luda and his subordinates realized something was wrong, Jell and his contingent had vanished.

Luda was furious. He believed he had helped Jell by coming out to carry out the chieftain's orders and by helping Jell catch the enemy who killed his men, only for Jell to betray him.

Back at the camp, I must report this to Chieftain Anlie. Then, we'll heavily fine the Jell family a portion of their livestock. The chieftain eats the meat, and I'll get the broth. Luda felt much better thinking about his previous acts of revenge against Jell.

With these thoughts, Luda continued to lead his men along the trail. He didn't believe an enemy that fled without even seeing them could be a formidable foe. To him, Centurion Luda, they were all mere playthings.

Seeing Luda and his men continue westward, Jell emerged from behind the bushes. He kept his subordinates far behind Luda, as he was very sensitive to the information he had uncovered. Therefore, he decided to use Luda as bait.

At this moment, Jack encountered the troops sent to meet him and learned that Victor would soon be arriving with a large force. Jack was greatly encouraged. Instead of blindly counter-attacking the pursuing enemies, he dispatched an orderly to relay the intelligence he had gathered to Victor as quickly as possible.

Following this, Jack found a suitable location for an ambush along yesterday's route: a dry riverbed between two small hills. Jack concealed most of his men on the hillsides halfway up, while he led a small team of fifty to act as bait in the riverbed.

However, to prevent the hidden ambushers from being discovered, he deliberately moved the bait position forward slightly. This meant that support from the ambushers might arrive a bit later, and the bait would have to hold out on its own in the initial phase. He worried that if the pursuing Barbarian warrior leader was a cautious individual who scouted the ambush positions beforehand, they might be discovered.

But to Jack's surprise, Luda, who was pursuing them, showed no suspicion and directly led his men charging forward. The dry riverbed was covered in smooth pebbles. It was fine near Jack's position, but the further down they went, the more pebbles there were.

Luda's subordinates charged too hastily. Before they could even engage, over a dozen horses fell, and they lost a tenth of their force before any fighting began. Seeing this, Jack immediately ordered the standard bearer to signal both ambush points to attack. It was hard-earned meat delivered right to their doorstep; they should eat it quickly.

Jell had been following Luda all along. He had also seen the bait but thought that if it were him, he would definitely try to check the two hillsides.

However, after witnessing Luda's clumsy performance, he began to worry about the fallen warriors. But when the two sides engaged and no ambushers appeared, Jell began to wonder if his judgment was wrong.

Just then, a large group of cavalry appeared on both hillsides. They rode down the slopes and reached the battlefield in just three minutes. Luda's hundred-man contingent was surrounded before they could even react, and then it was all over.

Whether in small unit combat or one-on-one, these elite warriors from the Horseshoe Tribe were no match for the light cavalry of the Two Rivers Territory. Coupled with their superior numbers, they were quickly and thoroughly defeated, with not a single one escaping. Luda was disarmed and captured by Jack.

Watching the scene, Jell felt a sense of powerlessness. He was now almost certain that these nobles who had come to reclaim the land were no mere Barons. What Baron could be this strong?

Jell now felt that the Horseshoe Tribe should not have gotten involved in this matter. They might suffer a painful blow because of it. But then he thought, this event, influenced by the world, might also be the best opportunity to bring down Anlie.

With these thoughts, Jell immediately led his subordinates to the battlefield. Jack saw another group of Barbarian cavalry arriving and was concerned. He ordered everyone to remain on standby, ready to fight again at any moment.

However, Jell soon stopped his troops near the riverbed. He did not lead them to charge at Jack and his men. Instead, all of them dismounted with Jell. Jell stepped forward alone and called out, "Greetings, esteemed lord. I apologize for the trouble caused by our rash countrymen. May I ask which noble you serve? We are also vassals of the Iron Birch Family, and we are not enemies."

"I am a knight under Baron Victor of the Golden Sunflower Family. My name is Jack. Our lord will arrive shortly. Your tribe, without informing us, sent people to graze on the grasslands we occupy and drove away our scouts. Are you trying to start a war?"

As soon as he heard this, Jell knew there was hope. He realized his brother, Jian, and his hundred-man contingent had been discovered but were not dead, merely captured. This was good news for him.

"We didn't want this either. We bear no ill will towards the great nobles. It was the command of John, the eldest son of the Iron Birch Territory, that made us do this. We have no hostility towards Lord Victor. It was our chieftain Anlie's stubborn insistence that made us do it; we all opposed it beforehand." Jell continued to plead.

"And are these men also opposed?"

"No, my lord. They are the hundred-man contingent controlled by the Luda clan of our Horseshoe Tribe. They are loyal supporters of Chieftain Anlie. It is thanks to the Luda and Wen families that Anlie's unreasonable orders were passed. We were powerless and truly unable to prevent our chieftain's wrong actions." Jell spoke with tears streaming down his face, making Jack almost believe him.

However, Jack was not in a hurry. He first had Jell and his subordinates, along with the captured prisoners, brought to the pre-arranged rendezvous point. Less than an hour later, a plume of dust appeared in the distance. Figures of men and horses moved within the dust cloud – it was Victor's main force.