A Bewildering Victory

Late at night, the Goshawk Tribe's command tent was still brightly lit.

"We received word just this afternoon that the battle for Dragon Spine Pass has begun.

The enemy is putting up fierce resistance. In just one day, the khanate has suffered thousands of casualties.

Given the current intensity of the fighting, we can't rule out further conscription. We're running out of time!"

Zander said gravely.

If they could capture Dragon Spine Pass and enter the Holy Glory Empire to plunder, then naturally, the more tribesmen who took part, the better.

Under the khanate's rules, they only had to hand over thirty percent of the spoils. The rest went to the tribes that had fought.

This was a chance to make a fortune, and they had to seize it.

But Dragon Spine Pass was no easy target. The last time they had broken through was fifty years ago.

Over the past fifty years, every time they raided south, they had sent small forces around the pass to plunder.

Not only were the gains meager, but the risks were high.

A moment's carelessness could leave them trapped by enemy troops, and they would pay a terrible price.

After every southern raid, the enemy would send troops to retaliate the following spring.

"Great Elder, that's good news!"

"The iron pot at my home has been patched up for years. This is the perfect chance to replace it!"

Cross said with delight.

Life on the grasslands was hard. Even the tribe's upper ranks were far from wealthy.

As international relations deteriorated, the Golden Horde Khanate had become entirely dependent on black-market smuggling to obtain daily necessities.

Even an ordinary iron pot was a symbol of wealth on the grasslands.

For the Tuwu People, raiding beyond the pass was a chance to turn their fortunes around.

"Cross, you're oversimplifying things.

If there were nothing but benefits, the khanate would have invaded the south at any cost long ago. It wouldn't have waited until now.

The Holy Glory Empire is only decaying. It isn't dead yet.

If we really pushed them too far and they fought a war of attrition against us for several years, the khanate couldn't withstand it."

Zander shook his head as he spoke.

The younger generation had not lived through the years when the Holy Glory Empire swept across the grasslands. They did not know how fearsome the enemy was.

But old men like them had experienced it firsthand.

Five long years of brutal fighting had reduced the khanate's population by sixty percent.

Large numbers of livestock had died during the migrations, and in winter, many elderly people had been forced to leave their tribes and fend for themselves to save food.

If upheaval on the continent had not drawn the Holy Glory Empire's attention southward, whether the Golden Horde Khanate would still exist was anyone's guess.

"Great Elder, times have changed."

"It was that terrible war that drained the Holy Glory Empire's strength and caused it to lose the struggle for dominance of the continent.

First, the Aodon Empire and the Radiance Empire teamed up to give it a beating. Then the Desais Empire beat it again, forcing it to cede vast territories.

Afterward, the Quake Empire took advantage of its troubles, and it lost five vassal duchies in the east."

Cross replied with a smile.

Their own heavy losses were certainly sad, but it was different when the enemy had suffered alongside them.

If its foundations had not been so strong, the Holy Glory Empire might well have ceased to exist.

Without experiencing war firsthand, it was difficult for the younger generation to understand its cruelty from accounts passed down by their elders.

"Forget it. No matter how much I say now, you won't understand.

Once you've been on the battlefield, you'll know!"

With a soft slicing sound, a blade slit a hidden sentry's throat. His mouth had already been covered before he could make a sound. His hands struggled for a few moments before he lost consciousness.

Only the hot blood gushed onto the grass with a faint rustling sound.

Three groups of hidden sentries had been eliminated in succession without trouble, but things changed with the fourth. A Tuwu man lying in wait happened to turn around and met the attacking soldier's eyes.

Without hesitation, the soldier drove his blade through the sentry's body, and a scream rang out.

"Ah!"

"What was that?"

"Enemy attack!"

Realizing something was wrong, the Tuwu patrolmen hurriedly raised the alarm.

"All troops, attack!"

At Victor's command, the Third Army soldiers lying in wait around the camp charged.

They covered the few hundred meters in the blink of an eye and reached the camp entrance.

Unlike a traditional encampment, the Goshawk Tribe's camp had no outer palisade for lack of timber, and no pit traps had been dug either.

Even though their attack had been exposed, the Third Army still managed to fight its way into the camp.

Many Goshawk tribesmen had barely been jolted awake when a spear appeared before them.

Those who reacted a little too slowly still had no idea what was happening when their tents were set ablaze.

For a time, battle cries and screams rang out to the heavens.

"Someone's attacking the camp! Hurry and organize a counterattack!"

Realizing the situation was bad, Zander hurriedly gave the order.

Unfortunately, any action taken now was a step too late.

Panic had spread through the camp. As people ran about in the darkness, the units had already fallen into disarray.

"Form groups of ten and organize a counter-"

Before Cross could finish, a rain of arrows descended on his exposed position and riddled him like a sieve.

One of the tribe's three greatest warriors, who had once hunted down a fourth-tier magic beast alone, had been killed the moment he showed himself.

In the final moment before he fell, he finally understood the cruelty of war.

At the sight, the Tuwu people's already faltering morale collapsed completely.

They scrambled to flee, and no amount of shouting from the centurions and chiliarchs could stop them.

"Great Goshawk Spirit, please hear your servant's summons..."

The shaman was only halfway through the chant when he was knocked to the ground by Tuwu people fleeing for their lives. The backlash killed him on the spot.

Clearly, he was not yet strong enough to use the Totem Summoning Technique.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

With the enemy's morale broken, the archer battalion rushed to the front and unleashed a feast of slaughter with their arrows.

Wherever the most routed soldiers gathered, a rain of arrows fell upon them.

The Tuwu people, lacking armor, were largely helpless against it.

Of all the enemy troops in the camp, half died beneath the arrows.

The other half fell to the spearmen.

The heavily armored infantry company, built at great expense, had originally been tasked with breaking through enemy defenses. But the enemy routed so quickly that the company was reduced to spectators for the entire battle.

As time passed, the battle gradually drew to a close.

Having somehow won the first great victory of his life, Victor's head was buzzing.

Was the enemy too useless, or was the Third Army too powerful after gaining its cheat? Or was it perhaps both? He could not bring himself to reach a conclusion.

The routed Northern Frontier Corps soldiers they had gathered earlier were just as bewildered.

Victory had come so easily that it felt unreal to them.

Since when had the enemy become so easy to beat?

When they had fought the Tuwu army before, the fighting had been brutal, and every encounter had come at a painful cost.

Even though the Third Supplementary Army had performed well earlier, they had still expected a brutal exchange that would require superior numbers to secure a costly victory.