Keledu had always understood that, so he had tried to keep the Iron Bone Tribe at arm's length. He had even forbidden the followers under his command from preaching within the tribe.
Most of the new followers came from Barbarians abandoned on the grassland or tribes defeated in battle. They had nothing left to lose. Show them a little kindness, and you could earn their gratitude and loyalty.
Through such strict selection, Keledu had multiplied his followers several times over in little more than a year. His Order Warriors had grown as well, until his contingent was even larger than the Faith Order's headquarters on the Skyline Grassland.
Keledu had held almost absolute command of this operation. He had expected to crush the remnants of those tribes and gain not only a great many people but also the wealth the tribes had hoarded. Instead, a noble army from the southern kingdom had intervened, forcing him to abandon the pursuit.
Mizhene understood Keledu's concern and volunteered. "Apostle, leave the troops to me. I'll take them out for another try and see if I can find a weakness. We can't just give up!"
Keledu rejected the proposal. "No. We have too few troops to let you take that risk. I intend to contact the Iron Bone Tribe and have them send their best fighters into battle. At worst, we'll give them half the spoils!"
"Well..."
Just as the two were about to discuss it further, a messenger arrived with a report. "Apostle, the southern army that faced us down has followed us into the grassland.
"They've stayed on our heels and attacked some of our smaller units. The forces of several small tribes have suffered heavy losses!"
Keledu was shocked. They had withdrawn to the grassland only half a day ago, yet