First Battle

The First Battle

At noon on September 27, 996 of the God Emperor calendar, Landen Gallop, the fourth son of Baron Gallop, was leading his Territory Residents through their third day on the Gallop Plains.

At that moment, he had neither the awareness that, as the fourth son of a minor branch of the family, he should have been sacrificed, nor any remorse over the retribution brought by the family's excessive private salt trade.

He had yet to feel the indignation of having his fate manipulated as part of some grand plan, much less the despair of being forced to flee with his Territory Residents after Barbarians had visited his territory.

Right then, he was teaching all the Territory Residents how to set up pots and boil water, dig latrines, and organize batches of people to bathe along different stretches of the river.

Since they had constantly been fleeing before, everyone had focused solely on survival.

Now that Landen was safe, he began to find the accumulated stench of a crowd that had gone unwashed for days unbearable, not to mention those who would simply squat in an open patch of ground to relieve themselves.

Landen could not accept the sight of people relieving themselves upstream while others fished downstream right in front of him. So, he first led people in digging several latrines, then found the Knights and Mana-Wielders and told them that if they did not manage things, everyone would have to eat amid the stench.

Every Mana-Wielder was used to living like a lord. How could they endure such indignity? One after another, they followed Landen's demands and made all the Mana-Less use the latrines. Each household had one Mana-Less specifically responsible for monitoring everyone else's hygiene.

Seeing that it was working, Landen went on to organize every household to boil water in pots and drink soft water. After boiling some himself, he showed all the Territory Residents the residue left in the water, then made up some crooked theory about Fire Elements combining with Water Elements to remove Earth Elements from the water. After all, he could hardly tell them that calcium carbonate and other mineral salts in the water had undergone chemical reactions under high heat.

Some of the Territory Residents fetched water north of the river and boiled it, some fished in the river, and others bathed downstream.

Landen had been rather cleanly in his previous life. Now that he was a Mana-Wielder, his senses were even sharper than before, and he could not stand the smell of one human steam chamber after another.

During their flight, he decided to spread basic hygiene knowledge among the Territory Residents and have them teach each other skills such as weaving, hunting, fishing, and cooking. Ideally, they would even learn to recognize a few words.

Landen estimated that the entire camp would remain here for one or two months. Perhaps when they returned to Gallop Territory in the future, they could even organize some kind of handicraft production.

Just as Landen was letting his thoughts wander, two figures came hurrying over from a distant hillside. They were Grey Dog and Raul, returning from reconnaissance.

After the two returned to camp, they brought Landen news of the surrounding area.

Their camp was now in the southern part of the Gallop Plains. The Gallop Plains stretched more than a thousand kilometers from east to west and over four hundred kilometers from north to south. Long mountain ranges formed its eastern, western, and southern borders, while the vast Blue Moon Lake lay to the north.

In the middle of the plains, the Gallop River, with its extensive tributaries, flowed from west to east, joined by many tributaries running from north to south.

The Gallop River's main channel divided the plains into northern and southern regions. The northern tributaries intersected frequently with the Blue Moon River, and the dense waterways made the area rich in Pack Beasts. The southern plains had only a few rivers, while the relatively unbroken Grassland produced Warhorses. In particular, the central grasslands produced a fine black horse whose coat resembled scales and whose hooves could gather Wind Elements.

When the Gallop Kingdom still existed, such horses had been called Black-Scaled Horses. Within every herd of Black-Scaled Horses, there would be a low-level Magic Beast Horse leader. A herd with such a leader could perform group Wind School magic acceleration like a Knight formation.

The Magic Beast Horse leader of a herd was called a Night-Kirin by the Gallop People. It was also the origin of Night-Kirin City's name: leading the entire nation forward as a herd leader led its horses.

Raul and Grey Dog had first scouted westward. After exploring more than ten kilometers, they turned north, then followed one tributary of the Gallop River eastward. About ten kilometers east of Landen's camp, they discovered a small Barbarian camp.

According to Raul's judgment, the camp contained roughly twenty to thirty Barbarians, meaning there were likely four to six Mana-Wielders. Ordinary Barbarians possessed the strength of Intermediate Knights. In other words, Landen's two hundred people and eighteen Mana-Wielders probably could not handle this tribe together.

Sitting on the grass and watching fish soup bubble in a distant pot, Landen considered the information Raul and Grey Dog had brought back.

He had been in this world for less than seven days, yet he had already changed locations three times.

Landen felt deeply frustrated. They were all transmigrators, so why did other people either transmigrate into Princes and conveniently save beautiful young witches, or enter the bodies of shield Warriors and follow armies into battle? Some even transmigrated into the bodies of Legend Knights and rose straight out of their coffins.

Why was it that when he transmigrated, his base was destroyed from the start? He had to work like livestock, go to war, and could be driven off by anyone who came along.

"Where is that camp? Take me there. I want to see what a Barbarian camp is really like." Landen no longer wanted to keep running. He wanted to see whether his small force could take the initiative and test itself against a small Barbarian tribe.

For Black-Scaled Horses, a dozen or so kilometers was not far. More than ten minutes later, they reached the foot of a hill and used its cover to scout from afar.

A small Barbarian tribe generally consisted of ten to twenty tents. At least one main tent housed the tribal leader and his family. Another tent stored supplies protected from dampness and sunlight, one housed Mana-Less slaves, and the remaining tents belonged to ordinary Mana-Wielding Barbarians and their families.

Barbarians maintained enough Pack Beasts to allow their camps to move at any time. Because of the superior qualities and temperament of Black-Scaled Horses, each Barbarian Mana-Wielder generally kept only one batch of them. Foals born in summer would be traded away after reaching adulthood in the following spring.

Besides horses and Pack Beasts, Barbarians also raised Long-Haired Sheep. Even the smallest tribes kept dozens of them. Very few Barbarian tribes spun wool; most simply used furs to keep warm.

In a sense, if not for the abnormal weather on the Gallop Plains, Barbarians lived more comfortably than Human Race farmers. However, the Barbarians of the Gallop Plains faced the Mosquito Disaster, Wind Disaster, White Disaster, and Water Disaster.

When these disasters struck, the nomadic economy of Barbarian tribes faced collapse. If a widespread climatic disaster occurred, large numbers of tribes would gather and head south into the Dragon Kingdom.

The Gallop Plains in 996 had a pleasant climate and clear, breezy weather.

Landen, Grey Dog, and Raul found the small tribe. It had twelve tents, and a fence woven from reeds enclosed several dozen sheep. Figures could be seen moving about in the camp, but it was impossible to tell how many people were there.

Landen asked Grey Dog whether Redsand could count. Grey Dog said he could.

Redsand was not a large dog, but he was very intelligent. His glossy fur reflected a red sheen beneath the sunlight, which was why he was called Redsand.

It took Redsand only a few minutes to go and return. He informed them that the small tribe had ten horses. In other words, there were at least ten Barbarian Mana-Wielders in the tribe.

Landen guessed that they might have to continue fleeing.

However, not long afterward, Raul said that Redsand had told him several of the Black-Scaled Horses were foals born this year.

Though he did not know how Redsand communicated with Grey Dog, learning that three or four of the ten horses were foals relieved much of Landen's pressure.

On their way back to camp, Landen discussed with the Knights whether they should launch a nighttime raid.

"I think it's feasible. If they were powerful Barbarians, they should have discovered Redsand earlier," Grey Dog said. He clearly agreed with Landen's idea. "The fact that there has been no reaction so far means the Barbarian camp does not have much strength. We can give it a try."

"Your little try carries far too much risk!" Raul could not accept taking Landen into danger.

"We have always been taking risks. When my father went to scout the Gallop Plains, was that not a risk? Without that risk, the territory would already be gone. If we had not relocated the territory, we would have been discovered by Barbarians or Magic Beasts by now." Landen believed the more important point was that they had finally gained the initiative. They could choose whether to attack or relocate, and he hoped to use that initiative to create an opportunity.

"Then we'll go. You return and lead the Territory Residents away first," Raul said.

"No. Albert will lead them away, and I'll go with you!

When my father discovered that Gallop Territory was in danger, he chose to bring our entire family into the Gallop Plains. Even if we were ambushed, Gallop nobles could not retreat because of fear.

Please do not forget that I am Gallop!" Landen spoke with unwavering conviction. Of course, more importantly, he wanted to use this opportunity to assess his current strength, including his own level and that of the territory.

To Landen's surprise, Albert strongly supported his expedition. Not only that, Albert decided to go with them. "You are the acting lord for Baron Gallop. I am not only your scholar, but also a member of the Gallop Family. I will not retreat at a time like this!"

Albert's words moved Landen deeply. What he did not know was that twenty years ago, while studying at the Imperial Capital, Albert had missed a Barbarian invasion. By the time Albert returned to Gallop Territory, its former Baron had already been dead in battle for four years, and Albert had never forgiven himself for it.

From then on, Albert, as the Territory Scholar, never again missed any expedition or retreat undertaken by the family.

After many discussions, Landen decided to launch a surprise attack at night. Although Alivia's nights were fairly bright, Barbarians needed rest as well. The advantage of having clocks showed itself again. They did not need to judge the time by the moon's phases; they could simply check the clock.

At 7:30 that evening, Volk and six Mana-Wielders had everyone in camp pack up all their belongings again, ready to evacuate at any moment.

As early as the afternoon, several Knights had traveled thirty kilometers east to choose a backup camp. They had also assigned a Mana-Wielder as a messenger. If the attack went poorly, the messenger would immediately return to camp and have Volk move everyone to the new camp.

Landen and the others would head west, drawing the Barbarian tribe's cavalry away from the camp in the opposite direction. They agreed that if anything went wrong, Landen would circle around for at least three days before finally returning to the new camp.

At ten that night, three moons gradually rose, and Landen arrived with five Knights at the place where they had observed the Barbarians that afternoon.

Most Barbarian tribes kept dogs. When strangers approached, the dogs would bark wildly and arouse the Barbarians' suspicion. Therefore, Landen believed that once they attacked, it would have to be the decisive blow; there would be no room for elaborate tactics.

By midnight, the Barbarian camp had fallen completely silent. Raul also felt the time was right, and Landen handed everyone several flatbreads to restore their strength.

At one in the morning on September 28, Landen and four other Knights, along with three Apprentices, mounted their horses and formed a line as they slowly approached the camp.

The light of the three moons spilled over the grassland. At that moment, the Gallop Plains were utterly silent.

The seven Knights moved down the hillside at low speed. At first, the horses were merely walking briskly. Only after reaching the foot of the slope did they break into a slow trot. The distance of less than a kilometer gave the horses just enough room to accelerate.

The distant tents gradually loomed larger. When they were nearly two hundred meters away, the dogs in the Barbarian camp began barking. The Knights could not help accelerating.

At one hundred meters, the dogs barked even more fiercely. One Barbarian could not stand it any longer and emerged from his tent. But when he looked in the direction of the barking, Landen and the others had already smashed through the fence and charged in.

Every Knight in the territory had a Spear, a saber, at least two throwing axes, and a round shield. Only Grey Dog still used a bow, while Raul had his own throwing knives.

Although they carried a wide array of weapons, everyone used sabers on this expedition. Raul said such slashing weapons were well suited for dealing with Barbarians who had not had time to mount their horses.

Though Landen had ridden for many days during the migration, when he truly charged on horseback, he even felt as though the excited Black Horse was dragging him into the attack.

Faced with the Barbarian fence, his horse did not hesitate and leaped straight over it. Unprepared, Landen nearly felt himself thrown backward.

As the horse landed, Landen adjusted his posture and brought down the saber in his right hand on the Barbarian who had emerged from his tent to investigate.

The entire battle lasted around ten minutes. In the first three minutes, Landen and Raul cut down four Barbarians. Over the next six minutes, they found and dealt with the fifth Barbarian in the camp.

The Knights' assault went more smoothly than expected. Their advantage of striking the unprepared was one reason; another was that there were very few Mana-Wielders in the Barbarian camp.

After the attack was complete, Landen and the others called out all the Mana-Less in the camp and announced that they were now the camp's masters. They then notified the messenger to have all the Territory Residents move into this camp the next day.

Landen knew that if several Mana-Wielders brought his Territory Residents over, not a single one of them should be missing.

But if he and the others led the Barbarian Mana-Less to their original camp, then there was no telling how many would remain by the time they arrived.

Landen bound the thirty Mana-Less from the Barbarian camp into groups of ten and told them that if any group was missing even one person by morning, the entire group would be killed.

In truth, Landen's concern was entirely unnecessary. Without Mana-Wielders, the Mana-Less could not survive on the Gallop Plains at all. Even if they escaped to another tribe, they would only become slaves.

The Mana-Less believed that staying meant being slaves, and running away meant being slaves too. There was no need to run an extra time.