This is a complete free-for-all.
Except for three wizards wielding scepters, all the savages rushed into the flatlands of the mountain valley. Because the three groups of people looked similar, wore similar aprons made of leaves or some unknown animal skin, and used similar weapons, it was difficult to distinguish them with the naked eye when they were fighting together, or to tell which side they belonged to.
But the savages fought fiercely. They seemed to have no mistaken identities, and even more miraculously, they appeared to be covered in eyes, able to dodge arrows shot from behind and spears thrust at them.
Everyone understood that it was the result of the wizard wielding the staff's command, but such precise control over everyone's behavior was truly astonishing.
Petru stared in disbelief. "Holy crap, you can fight a war like this?"
He had never seen a war like this before; even if he searched through the entire history of human warfare, he could not find such a fighting style.
A battle that is not organized into formation is a major taboo in military strategy. The worst thing in war is the lack of unified command. If you want to move east, your soldiers are moving west; if you want to attack, the front-line soldiers are already in disarray.
The greatest advantage of battle formations is that they improve command efficiency and facilitate the issuance of unified commands. However, no matter how well your formation is designed, a battle formation will always appear clumsy. If the commander can control the actions of every soldier at any time, with freedom of movement and everyone being a general, then what is the point of battle formations!
Qingmu sensed the auspicious flow of Mental Power in the arena, like a flood released from a reservoir. Three streams of energy surged in from three directions and collided at one point.
Such a spiritual current has a great influence on the consciousness of ordinary people. It's like being in an open field with no cover, with one thunderclap after another exploding above your head and bolts of lightning flashing around you. Although it won't cause any real harm to the body, people with Mental Power may collapse at any time in such an environment.
Mrs. Larry and Alice were pale, looking as if they were carsick. Alice, in particular, was clenching her teeth, her whole body trembling, and her eyes were somewhat unfocused.
Qingmu and Su Huilan exerted their power simultaneously, using their Mental Power to protect them. Petru also diverted some of his Mental Power to protect Mrs. Larry, but when he saw Qingmu and Su Huilan making their move, he felt he was being somewhat superfluous and withdrew it.
Ivan and Boris didn't look too good either, but they were obviously very strong. Perhaps they had been with Situ for so long and had seen such scenes before, so they had nothing to worry about.
Anderson, on the other hand, seemed quite relaxed, which made Qingmu look at him with new respect.
Such a chaotic battle should have easily resulted in high casualties, but perhaps due to the proper command of their commander, the number of dead and wounded on the field was not large, and there was no scene of corpses strewn across the battlefield as one might have imagined.
The opposing savage group seemed to be the first to collapse, and their retreat was clearly visible. Then, Situ's men also began to retreat.
The third-party savages clearly had the upper hand, but they didn't show any intention of annihilating the enemy. They chased and fought on both sides for a while before stopping.
The valley returned to calm, except for the addition of several corpses lying on the ground.
Situ called the savage priest over, and after they exchanged a few words, the savage priest led the savages off to do their work.
It took Qingmu a while to understand that the group, including the group with the book, were planning to move their camp to a higher location.
Situ said, "The landlord is too powerful; we can't beat him for now. It'll be safer if we're on higher ground."
Su Huilan said, "Yesterday you seemed evenly matched with the other side, and even had a slight advantage. What happened today...?"
Situ said, "You should have already realized that in battles here, the fighting strength of the tribal warriors is only part of the equation; the most important factor is the contest of Mental Power."
"Could the shamans among those newly arrived savages be that powerful?" Qingmu looked towards the side of the forest, but didn't see any shamans there.
Situ brandished the scepter in his hand and said, "They are the landowners here. Their wizards and the scepters in their hands can more easily manipulate the local Mental Power Field. If we go back to the island where my tribe is located, the situation will be different."
Petru said, "Actually, if you can just hold them off for a little while, we can get off the field; we have guns!"
Situ shook his head and said, "We can't use guns."
"Why?" Petru and Boris asked simultaneously. They had been whispering and discussing when to rush in and fire a couple of bursts, but the savage battle was too chaotic for them to find an opportunity.
"Do you know why savages fight as soon as they meet? Why did the local landlords try to drive us away as soon as we arrived?"
"Why?"
"This is a primitive world, where each tribe, like a pride of lions, is territorial," Situ said. "When you invade their territory, they will drive you out."
"What does this have to do with using guns?"
"Because territorial disputes are usually just about expulsion, never a life-or-death struggle. Have you ever seen two Tiger fight to the death over territory? As long as sovereignty is asserted and strength is demonstrated, the weaker one will naturally leave. You see, although we fought fiercely just now, the casualties weren't high. If we can't beat them, we retreat first, and they won't immediately chase after us. But if you use a gun..."
Situ tapped Petru's submachine gun hanging on his chest with his scepter. "That's not a territorial dispute, it's an alien invasion. They'll use their entire tribe's strength to wipe you out. You know, this landowner hasn't even shown his full power yet! And... it's very possible that the two tribes over there will join forces to eliminate us first."
Petru gasped, glanced at Boris, and said, "Thank goodness I didn't act impulsively."
Boris glared at him and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? You're the one who acted impulsively, not me!"
Anderson said, "No wonder the savages were so relentless in their attacks on us; they mistook us for an invading alien species!"
Alice said bitterly, "But we didn't provoke them at first. They killed Professor Pardik first, and..." She glanced at Mrs. Larry and shut her mouth.
" Alice is right, those barbarians are damned beasts! We must avenge the dead and..." Petru clenched his fist, "...!"
Boris shook his head at Petru and said, "I thought that Redbeard, who dared to openly challenge the navies of various countries, was some kind of brilliant and resourceful strategist. Turns out he's just all talk! All he knows is revenge, revenge. Tell me, how are you going to get revenge? Give us some ideas!"
Petru said, "What's so difficult about that? Since the landlord's family is the strongest, and our two families are both a bit weaker, let's join forces and take down the strongest one first."
"You make it sound so easy!" Boris sneered. "How can we unite? Who'll go to negotiate? Are you going? If you dare to go, I'll admire you. Even if you die, I guarantee I'll personally collect your body and help you choose a good place to bury you. I'm afraid your corpse won't even last long; it'll become fertilizer for the flowers and grass here tomorrow!"
Petru looked at Situ.
Boris said, "Don't count on Mr. Stone. He's gone. Who's going to guard this place? What if someone attacks? Besides, the savages here might rebel!"
Mrs. Larry, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up and said, "I'll go. I can understand their language and speak a little."
Petru said nervously, "Madam, you can't..."
Mrs. Larry stopped him. "No one is more suitable than me."
Qingmu said, "I'll go with your wife."
Petru yelled "Hey!" and stomped his foot, saying, "I'm going too!"