Bait

The Locke people are here?

A surge of strength welled up inside the Barbarian Leader, and he sprang to his feet.

He looked back in the direction they had come from. Other than a few of his own men dragging their heavy feet along, there was nothing.

Just as he was about to curse his subordinates for spreading false military intelligence, he saw his clansmen in his line of sight suddenly turn and run. They moved so fast that none of their earlier exhaustion showed.

Damn it! The Barbarian Leader had barely turned around when his subordinates were already dragging him away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw rows of fully armed Locke soldiers advancing.

The familiar Triangular Flag confirmed their identity.

Everything was clear now. This was a trap.

"Cunning Locke people."

As he ran, the leader's heart ached over the money and goods he had worked so hard to seize.

But money was important. Life was more important.

The Barbarian Leader shoved his subordinate away, trying to run faster.

But he had forgotten that after walking all night, both his legs had gone weak—especially after resting.

Before long, the Locke infantry caught up and kicked him to the ground.

A Barbarian shouted in the local dialect that those who surrendered would not be killed.

At a glance, Adrian saw that he was a traitor captured by the Locke people.

Without any effort, Adrian captured dozens of men. Those who resisted to the death were all cut down with a single stroke.

Compared to fighting bloody battles on the front lines, taking prisoners was easier and safer.

Then, one after another, Barbarians practically ran straight into his hands and squatted on the ground beside their leader.

In just one morning, they captured around a hundred and fifty men.

The rest had probably either gotten lost or slipped past from the sides.

When Simon's Cavalry arrived, they were astonished to find Barbarian prisoners squatting all over the ground.

"Adrian! You caught all of these?"

Simon's eyes were full of envy. So many prisoners meant no small amount of merit.

Given Lord Derek's character, the reward would certainly be generous.

"It was all arranged well by the Chiliarch," Adrian replied calmly.

This mission was not very difficult. Though it had been somewhat tiring, it was undeniably a fine assignment.

The others would surely have their thoughts about it, but that was the advantage of family ties.

He would not reject the advantages brought by bloodline, nor would he needlessly invite resentment, so he offered a timely reminder. "Simon, take your men around the area. You can still catch some fish that slipped through the net."

Simon's eyes immediately lit up. After thanking him, he promptly led his men off to sweep the area.

Quite a few Barbarians had escaped. Some had gotten lost, while others had sensed trouble and avoided the area.

Those fellows running flat out on two legs could not have gone far. Even if they could not catch them all, they would still gain something.

Far away in the small town, Derek had remained remarkably calm.

That composure made Baron Palmer, who was anxiously waiting, deeply envious.

"Derek, you truly are a born general."

That was how he praised him. Even though he knew the outcome had already been decided, he could not control his own agitation. He kept worrying about what if something went wrong.

Derek chuckled softly. It was not that he was truly calm. It was his first time commanding troops, and it would have been a lie to say he was not worried.

But whenever he felt concerned, he only needed to glance at the Data Panel.

Everyone was still listed on the Panel, which meant everything was going smoothly.

Sure enough, a messenger soon brought good news. If Simon had not delayed matters by capturing prisoners, the victory report would have arrived even earlier.

"Baron Palmer, take a small number of men to guard the prisoners for now. Once Count Perella arrives, I need to pick up the pace."

According to the Count's orders, the two Chiliarch Units were bait.

And since they were bait, they naturally could not advance cautiously and steadily.

Pressing the advantage, underestimating the enemy, and charging ahead recklessly—that was what bait was supposed to do.

When it came time to divide the spoils, Baron Palmer refused Derek's goodwill.

As he put it, "My family does not lack money. We need military merit. We need a fief, so that we can truly enter the ranks of the nobility instead of merely being wealthy like we are now."

Just listen to how bold that sounded.

But these newly risen merchant nobles truly did not lack money.

Derek could only silently accept the spoils. Everyone envied wealthy tycoons, but everyone also loved dealing with them.

After a brief reorganization, Derek led the two Chiliarch Units straight into the heart of the Barbarian army.

By then, they were already very close to Ironwall City.

At the same time, Count Perella had only just received word that Derek had advanced once more. Unhurriedly, he ordered the Second Legion to assemble slowly.

"That boy understands what I mean, and he is willing to take risks. If he survives this time, he can at least earn himself a baronial title."

Count Perella expressed his appreciation so bluntly because he had not issued the same orders to the Tenth Chiliarch Unit alone.

Of all those who had grasped the meaning behind his orders, dared to take them on, and most importantly possessed the ability to carry them out, only Derek had done so thus far.

Even if the others wanted to compete now, they no longer had the chance.

Only the outstanding talents selected through survival of the fittest could hold firm against the Barbarian army's assault.

Derek's sudden appearance caught the Barbarians by surprise.

The closer they were to their main camp, the less vigilant the Barbarians became. Only after Derek captured several small units in succession and slaughtered over a hundred men did they finally take notice.

But by then, he had driven the prisoners forward and taken an entire town in one stroke.

Before the Barbarian army could react, he had reclaimed the lost territory.

But the move was extremely dangerous, because Barbarians surrounded him on all sides.

One slight misstep would mean the annihilation of his entire force.

Up until this point, Derek had not actually attracted much attention.

Only when he used prisoners to reinforce the town's defenses while leading the Cavalry to swiftly crush several Barbarian units and supply convoys attempting to drive him away did the Barbarian main camp have no choice but to take him seriously.

A force of Locke people lodged in their throat like a thorn meant that units operating nearby could not be smaller than a hundred-man company, and even supply convoys could no longer move alone.

This would greatly increase the army's burden, especially while they were deep within Locke territory.

Large numbers of troops would be tied down, morale would suffer, and the consequences would be impossible to measure.

Upon receiving the report, the Barbarian commander traced over the map with his hand and quickly located the town Derek had occupied.

It was planted right in the middle, allowing him to maneuver around it from either side.

Leaving it alone would be unbearably irritating.

"The Locke Kingdom still has some capable commanders, but they think far too little of us."

Did they really think he could not see through such an obvious intention?

Did they look down on the Barbarians' strength so much that they thought this thorn could not be pulled out?

After asking about the positions of the First Legion and Second Legion, he jabbed his finger hard at Derek's location.

"Send Alpha Wolf Enrick to deal with these annoying Locke people, and bring the troops back while he is at it. The Locke people's main force is coming."

After realizing that Ironwall City would be difficult to take, the Barbarians had actually slowed their offensive.

The Barbarians' objective was simple: cripple the Locke people's reinforcements, wipe out the Northern Province's resistance in one stroke, and sever the connection between the Northern Province and the Locke Kingdom for a time.

The Barbarians' power would gain recognition from the three southern kingdoms, formally step onto the stage... and found a nation.