Bull Tribe

On the fifth day after occupying the Eagle Tribe, Landen faced a new camp. Across from him stood a nearly three-meter-tall Barbarian Cavalryman, mounted atop a massive pack beast.

"What a huge barbarian!" Landen muttered. Though he had just reached a height of 2.4 meters after being nourished by large amounts of Magic Beast Meat, and had replaced much of his clothing, he still lacked confidence when facing a three-meter-tall barbarian.

This was a duel between barbarian tribes. The two combatants were Big Bull of the Bull Tribe and Landen of the Gallop Tribe.

In this world, height was strongly correlated with one's extraordinary level. Adults under two meters tall could not possibly be Mana-Wielders. Those between two and three meters were low- or intermediate-level Mana-Wielders, while anyone over three meters was certainly an advanced Mana-Wielder. Because of such differences in height, Mana-Wielders could not hide among the Mana-Less, and advanced Mana-Wielders found it difficult to conceal their rank.

Big Bull was tall and powerfully built, standing out like a crane among chickens even amid the generally towering, burly barbarians. He wore dark-brown Leather Armor, the tough hide stretched taut over his solid muscles. Beneath him was a pack beast that looked just as strong as he did, half bull and half horse. Man and mount together were truly imposing, and from afar looked like a dark-brown wall.

He was not the true chief of the Bull Tribe. Big Bull was the title given to the Bull Tribe's strongest warrior, responsible for all duels and wars.

The Bull Tribe's Big Bull had a role much like the captain of knights in Baron Gallop's Territory. The only difference was that Big Bull could only be the son of the Bull Chief—meaning he was the future Bull Chief.

The Bull Tribe was the fourth medium-sized or larger territory Landen had encountered after taking the Eagle Tribe, and this was his second duel.

The first three medium-sized camps had brought plentiful gains, but Landen was no longer so excited by the spoils from ordinary medium-sized camps.

The Bull Tribe before him was the most famous pack beast-breeding tribe south of the Gallop River. This tribe alone had 130 pack beasts and nearly 300 Long-Haired Sheep. By comparison, they possessed only ten Black-Scaled Horses.

Besides having a different livestock structure from the other tribes, the tribe generally wore Leather Armor made from pack beast hides. Many of its barbarians and Mana-Less were excellent Tanners.

Moreover, the tribe's warriors generally did not ride horses. They all rode Pack Beasts like Big Bull's, which were generally taller and more enduring than horses, though less agile than Black-Scaled Horses. Big Bull's mount was the leader of the entire herd.

Knight Landen did not want this duel. By his thinking, he merely wanted to buy the Human Race Mana-Wielders of the Bull Tribe; he had no desire to annex a tribe that possessed only pack beasts. Yet the chief of this pack beast tribe had proactively issued a challenge, hoping to claim half of Landen's nearly two hundred pack beasts if he won.

As the plains' largest supplier of Pack Beasts, the Bull Tribe had long held a grudge over the more than four hundred Pack Beasts Landen had swept up.

"Heh." Big Bull kicked his pack beast in the belly, and it immediately moved forward, first at a trot, then gradually breaking into a full gallop.

The three-meter-tall barbarian rode atop a two-and-a-half-meter bull, charging toward Landen like a locomotive.

Fifty meters left. Landen urged Black Horse forward.

Thirty meters left. Gravel shaken up from the ground struck the horse's legs. The Black-Scaled Horse had begun to grow restless, but Landen continuously soothed it with his hand.

Two seconds later, only a dozen or so meters remained. Landen judged the moment was right. Now. Battle Qi had long since flowed into the horse's hooves. The black hooves kicked up a Whirlwind, and they shot forward at once.

Big Bull hunched his entire body, ready to receive Landen's strike. Then he watched as horse and rider on the other side left behind an afterimage and brushed past him.

Landen veered several degrees, avoiding Big Bull's charging path. His Charge could carry him roughly twenty meters. Now that he had broken through to Intermediate Knight and gone through several battles, he could steadily unleash the Charge skill five or six times.

Before the battle began, Landen had consumed Krypton Crystals without hesitation. His tactic was clear: do not clash head-on; wear Big Bull to death.

Seeing an opening, Landen launched another Charge from behind Big Bull.

Big Bull's initial charge abruptly lost momentum. He had just slowed down when a chill wind rose behind him. Tilting his head, he caught Landen's charging afterimage from the corner of his eye.

Knowing things were bad, Big Bull gripped one of his mount's horns with one hand and leaned his entire body down toward the opposite side from which Landen was coming. Using the pack beast's body as cover, he avoided Landen's blade.

Landen's saber swept past ten centimeters above the pack beast's back, shearing off a lock of mane.

It did not matter that he had failed to strike Big Bull. Landen had never intended to kill his opponent in one blow. As soon as he passed the barbarian, he immediately turned away, keeping himself out of Big Bull's sight.

Hiding behind the pack beast's back, Big Bull knew that this duel would be harder than any he had faced before.

"Moo—" The great pack beast slowly worked its mouth, producing several indistinct sounds.

Big Bull knew his mount was warning him that his opponent was far away and telling him to get back onto its back quickly.

But Big Bull knew Landen could Charge at him at any moment. If he had just climbed onto the mount when he was attacked, he might be sent flying outright. He did not dare let down his guard.

The Bloodline of the Bull Tribe's chiefs allowed them to communicate simply with Pack Beasts and Long-Haired Sheep. With that ability, his mount became Big Bull's eyes.

When Big Bull still had not mounted up after more than ten seconds, Landen sensed that something was wrong. Suddenly, the pack beast moved, circling toward Landen counterclockwise, while Big Bull continued hiding on the mount's far side.

Landen did not know exactly what Big Bull intended, nor could he see him hidden behind the pack beast, but he was certain that Big Bull had another trick up his sleeve. So Landen urged his horse into a counterclockwise circle as well, moving in the same direction as the pack beast.

His horse was faster anyway, and its turning radius was smaller. He would circle around from behind; Big Bull could keep hiding back there if he wanted.

Once the pack beast began running, Big Bull found it awkward to keep holding its horn. Knowing Landen was in no hurry to attack and that he was out of immediate danger, he pushed off the ground and flipped onto the pack beast's back.

Landen, circling with the pack beast, saw Big Bull mount up. He gradually accelerated, approaching the pack beast's left rear in a tight arc before launching a Charge straight at Big Bull's side and back.

Big Bull had barely settled himself before he had to turn around and receive Landen's saber. In that instant of sparks and flint, their blades collided. Big Bull felt a tremendous force, his hand nearly unable to hold on. When the two pulled apart again, Big Bull found several fresh chips in the edge of his curved blade.

"Woo woo—roar roar—hahaha—#^%&$"

The Bull Chief had already seen that Big Bull was falling into a disadvantage. He roared loudly, his accent so heavy that Landen could not understand a word he was saying.

The Bull Chief kept shouting. His voice was thick and deep, his speech slow, and the stream of gibberish was maddening to hear.

Landen continued closing in to engage Big Bull. After several exchanges, Landen felt that Big Bull had not changed much, but the Bull Chief's shouting was driving him mad.

Big Bull prepared to charge again. Landen also urged his horse forward, intending to pull away from him, but after several tugs on the reins, the horse beneath him stepped unsteadily, as though it had been frightened.