Victory Report

Leave a few riders to watch the Barbarian camp. There was no need to bother with small groups of Barbarian cavalry seeking reinforcements.

Derek led his men in clearing the battlefield. There were more than a dozen intact warhorses; the rest would provide several meals of horse meat.

Then came the beheading for merit. They found a pit for the remaining corpses, threw them in, and covered them with dirt.

The weapons and leather armor stripped from the corpses were beneath Derek's notice, but they could still fetch a bit of money.

Then they waited.

The elite infantry century did not disappoint him. This was the century that had trained the longest and had no outsiders mixed into its ranks. It arrived before midnight.

But even elite soldiers could not be thrown into battle immediately.

They hastily set up camp, ate a simple meal, then everyone rolled themselves into sleeping bags and rested where they were.

The real battle would begin the next day.

Dawn broke!

The Barbarians had finally argued their way to a conclusion—or rather, a compromise.

Hold their ground and await reinforcements?

They had no confidence in that at all. Don't misunderstand; it was not that they thought they could not hold out for a few days.

They simply did not believe anyone would come to save them.

Anyone with a little common sense knew that the Locke Kingdom's counterattack had arrived. No one would likely spare a thought for scattered stragglers like them.

In fact, some of the Barbarians had already withdrawn. Those who remained merely wanted to take the risk and loot a little more.

But Derek could barely keep from laughing.

Whether the Barbarians held their ground for reinforcements or abandoned everything and fled, either choice would cause him some trouble.

Only this sort of hesitation made things easiest for him.

"If you cannot make a decision when it matters, you will suffer for it.

"Either form up and hold your ground; at least then you can inflict more casualties on the enemy.

"Or abandon everything and flee. With some luck, perhaps most of you can get away.

"But if you want to run while staying, and stay while running, you will only fail at both.

"Remember this. If you encounter this situation in the future, you must be decisive."

Derek used the scene as a lesson. As for the specifics, they would depend on the results of this battle.

Unlike the Barbarians, who had spent the night on edge, Derek's men were brimming with vigor, each one itching to leap forward and take a bite out of the enemy.

"Attack!

"Half of the spoils from this battle will be kept for yourselves."

This was their first battle in the truest sense, and these were all veterans who had followed him the longest.

Derek knew that no amount of usual talk could compare to a generous reward at a moment like this.

Sure enough, the moment he said it, everyone's eyes went red.

As the elite infantry advanced, a small number of cavalry roamed the edges of the battlefield, waiting for the moment the Barbarians exposed an opening.

The Barbarians also spotted this force of Locke people—or rather, they had already been prepared for it.

"I said long ago that the Locke cavalry had reinforcements behind them. We should have abandoned everything and fled decisively."

"We could have held our ground and awaited aid. At least we could have bitten off a chunk of them."

"Stop talking nonsense. They have fewer men than us. What are we afraid of?"

"So what if we defeat them? There must be a larger force behind them. The longer we drag this out, the worse we'll die."

Before the battle even began, infighting broke out among the Barbarian army.

Some Barbarians abandoned everything and fled light, while others stayed behind, intending to repel the approaching enemy.

Most ridiculous of all were the Barbarians who stood around helplessly watching. Only when the infantry century drew near did they hurriedly lend a hand.

"Unified command is important. A single voice may make mistakes, but at least this sort of thing will not happen."

Derek did not need to point it out. Everyone else could see that something had gone wrong with the Barbarians' command.

The leaders of several small tribes could not agree on a single commander, and the final result was division.

Though the Barbarian army appeared to have more men, less than half its fighting strength remained.

The Barbarians overturned their spoils, trying to pile them into a temporary wall.

But the elite infantry had already stepped over the obstacles and crossed through.

Even under such circumstances, they maintained a relatively tight formation.

Compared to the Barbarians, who were a complete rabble, the difference was enormous.

Kill!

Under the command of their junior officers, the infantry swiftly harvested enemy lives.

Only upon clashing with them did the Barbarians realize that these enemies were unlike any they had encountered before.

The elite infantry generally overwhelmed ordinary Barbarians in strength, and their discipline and fighting spirit were both formidable.

With neat ranks and leather armor on their bodies, ordinary Barbarians found it difficult to inflict effective casualties on them.

Once they realized this, the Barbarian formation became even more chaotic.

Derek keenly sensed the Barbarians' disorder and shifting emotions.

"Charge!"

The iron hooves of the warhorses thundered.

Like the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The Barbarians, who had witnessed the might of the Locke Kingdom's cavalry, finally could not hold on any longer.

The chaos intensified.

Then the cavalry arrived.

A slaughter. What followed was a slaughter.

As the knights shouted for surrender, some Barbarian soldiers dropped their weapons and lay facedown on the ground.

The entire battle ended in half an hour.

The infantry began clearing the battlefield, tying the surrendered Barbarians together.

After a simple tally of casualties, they had lost two cavalrymen and more than a dozen elite infantrymen that day.

The number of wounded was more than twice that.

This was the result despite holding an absolute advantage and using elite troops to strike.

If the Barbarians had possessed a little more resolve, the casualties might have been greater.

Derek rated himself as merely passable. If the Barbarians had had a competent commander, they would likely have caused far more trouble.

Still, it was a good start. They had taken the heads of more than eighty men.

The number of captives was about the same.

The rest had all fled.

Derek did not know how the other chiliarch units had fared, but his own speed should rank near the front.

The messenger had already returned with the victory report, and Derek was even preparing to continue the advance.

Count Perella's purpose was simply to drive off the Barbarians while inflicting casualties along the way.

They would sweep through the area piece by piece. Once this area was cleared, they would naturally press their advantage.

The only concern was that if they stood out too much, they might become separated from the Second Legion.

Then they would become a thorn in the Barbarians' side. That was an enormous risk.

But after giving it some thought, Derek still decided to press forward.

If he did not stand out, how could he rise above the rest?

To put it cruelly, this was using lives to gamble for a future.

Northern Province Second Legion. Count Perella had not constructed a large camp.

In truth, he did not intend to remain here for long. This was only a temporary encampment.

Once the chiliarch units completed their initial objectives, they would need to continue advancing.

He drew three horizontal lines across the map.

Beyond the last line lay Ironwall City.

"Ten days. At most, ten days before we concentrate our forces and attack the Barbarian army."

Count Perella knew that if they delayed any longer, Ironwall City would not be able to hold out.

Ideally, during these ten days, they would lure the Barbarian army into moving, then find an opportunity to engage them.

Because the Northern Province First Legion was also about to arrive.

With the combined strength of two legions, they would have enough force to fight the Barbarians.

If all else failed, they would forcibly drive back the Barbarian army.

That would look very bad, and it would do nothing to damage the Barbarians' confidence.

Count Perella still wanted to try.

Until the messenger arrived.

"Report! The Tenth Chiliarch Unit has completed its mission, taking more than eighty heads and capturing more than ninety prisoners."