Barbarians

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Barbarians
Original Name	蛮夷
Species/Race	Otherworldly race
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Characteristics

The Barbarians are a warlike people who repeatedly invade Human Race territory across the Wild Continent. Human soldiers regard them as cruel, bloodthirsty, and ruthless, fearing that a breached settlement will be completely slaughtered. 2

• Generally powerfully built from fighting ferocious beasts year-round; their ordinary soldiers are considered physically stronger than Great Yan troops. 3
• Commonly wear beast-hide armor and fight with curved blades, sabers, axes, bone blades, spears, and large shields. 1 18 26 135
• Their soldiers are notably fearless in direct assaults, continuing to charge even after taking multiple arrows or seeing heavy casualties. 3 32 60
• Their forces include cultivators from the Body Tempering Realm through the Divine Repository Realm, as well as elite commanders and great demons. 4 25 383
• Barbarian armies have employed Shadow Wolves to track fleeing enemies. 25
• They use flying ships to deploy high-level forces beyond their usual ground armies. 340 343

Military Conduct

Battlefield Doctrine

Barbarian forces favor overwhelming frontal assaults and close-quarters slaughter. Their infantry attacks in dense waves, using scaling ladders, battering rams, and shields to force breaches while cultivators lead the charge. 3 32 135

• Individual soldiers often fight with savage ferocity rather than coordinated formations. 60
• Their lack of coordination can be exploited by disciplined shield, spear, saber, and archer formations. 60 61
• They reinforce conventional troops with Demonic Beasts and Demon Race combatants when allied with the Demon Race. 18 32 70
• Their commanders can organize ambushes, including the trap set around a grain convoy in Blackstone Valley. 21
• During the siege of the commandery city, they drove bound civilians ahead of their army as human shields. 70

Occupation and Plunder

Barbarian campaigns are repeatedly motivated by the seizure of land, food, wealth, slaves, and Human Race women. 58 133 426

• Wu Xiaotian promised his troops unrestricted plunder after breaching Mystic Sun City, including three days in which their blades would not be sheathed. 141
• After the destruction of the Great Yan Imperial City, the Barbarians occupied five prefectures and the Imperial City region, then sought to claim Cool Prefecture. 459
• They occupied Peace Prefecture and reduced its people to slavery. 366
• Their desire for Great Yan territory stems in part from the harsh conditions of their own lands. 459

History

The Barbarians were already a constant border threat when Li Xuancang arrived in the Great Flame Dynasty. They repeatedly attacked Lakeside Station, where their soldiers fought conscripts and Battle Soldiers in brutal assaults. Li Xuancang killed his first Barbarian during the opening battle and later killed three in succession, earning eligibility to become a regular soldier. 1 4

Their early campaigns escalated from raids to coordinated offensives involving Demon Race forces and demon soldiers. They attacked the eastern pass with more than a thousand warriors and dozens of demon soldiers, later launching an all-out assault with hundreds of Demonic Beasts and Body Tempering Realm cultivators. 18 32

The Barbarians successfully ambushed Zhao Changlin's force in Blackstone Valley after luring it there with false intelligence concerning a grain convoy. Their pursuit of the retreating Battle Soldier Camp subsequently forced Zhao Changlin and Feng Long's units into a rear-guard action. 21 25

Under Gu Shuo, the Barbarians fought the Human Race counterattack around Blackwind Ridge. Gu Shuo was critically wounded in the trap and later killed as most of his force was wiped out during the battle. 43 44

Huyan Zhuo later led a Barbarian force against Li Xuancang's convoy. His defeat and death at Li Xuancang's hands caused his soldiers to panic and flee, allowing the Human Race to pursue them and take more than a thousand heads as spoils. 60 61 62

The Barbarians and Demon Race assembled an army of tens of thousands against the commandery city. Their siege relied on civilian shields, Demonic Beasts, and powerful cultivators; Barbarian leaders identified Li Xuancang as the killer of Huyan Zhuo and ordered his assassination. 68 70

They later formed a secret alliance with Evil Cultivators and Prince Fu's Residence to divide Peace Prefecture. Li Xuancang discovered the plan while infiltrating their main camp to rescue Shen Qingshan. 133 366

Tuoba Shou became a major Barbarian commander during the conflict around Mystic Sun City. Li Xuancang entered the Barbarian camp alone, wounded Tuoba Shou, then returned to assassinate him; repeated raids over the following days killed more than twenty Blood Condensation Realm cultivators and over seven hundred soldiers, forcing the army to retreat. 137 146 147

In the later war at Spirit Yang Prefecture, the Barbarians joined Prince Fu's Residence against the Human Race. Tuoba Hong and other Divine Repository Realm experts fought Li Xuancang, but four Barbarian Divine Repository Realm experts, including Tuoba Hong, were killed by the end of the campaign. 372 375 383

The Barbarians later renewed their invasion with hundreds of thousands of troops. Although they helped seize much of Great Yan's territory after the Imperial City's destruction, they eventually halted their advance to consolidate occupied lands before pressure from the Blood Race and Demon Race compelled further expansion. 379 459

As the Abyss expanded, the Human Race migrated into Barbarian territory. The ensuing Human Race offensive overwhelmed the Barbarians, whose surviving experts concealed themselves to avoid complete extermination. 555

Relationships

• Human Race — Primary enemy in a longstanding blood feud marked by border wars, sieges, occupation, and reciprocal massacres. 1 555
• Demon Race — Frequent military ally against the Human Race, though the alliance is unstable; the two sides nearly fought after the Demon Race devoured Barbarians. 18 42 68
• Grassland People — Temporary allies during the invasion of Yu Prefecture, joining their armies against Li Xuancang and the Human Race. 461
• Prince Fu's Residence / Evil Cultivators — Secret collaborators in the planned partition of Peace Prefecture. 133 366
• Blood Race — Cooperated in broader invasions of Human Race territory, but later pressured the Barbarians to continue expanding rather than merely consolidate territory. 459

Known Leaders and Experts

• Gu Shuo — Barbarian commander during the Blackwind Ridge campaign; critically wounded in the Human Race ambush and later killed. 42 43 44
• Huyan Zhuo — Blood Condensation Realm chief defeated and killed by Li Xuancang. 60 61
• Wu Xiaotian — Barbarian leader who ordered Li Xuancang's assassination and commanded the siege of Mystic Sun City. 70 141
• Tuoba Shou — Commander guarding the border checkpoint; later assassinated by Li Xuancang within the Barbarian camp. 137 146
• Tuoba Hong — Divine Repository Realm expert and major commander who fought alongside Prince Fu; killed during the later war against the Human Race. 372 375 383
• Long Yan — Mid-Stage Divine Repository Realm Barbarian expert who infiltrated Human Race territory to assassinate Li Xuancang. 397
• Xiong Yuan — Barbarian leader involved in the later occupation and expansion into Great Yan territory. 452 461
• Murong Qi — Barbarian expert who participated in the encirclement of the Human Race near Heaven Origin Grotto-Heaven. 506