Slaughter

The heavy rain had continued for more than three hours, with no sign of stopping.

Rainwater flowed down the slopes and continued to gather in the low-lying areas, causing flash floods in some places.

At the entrance to a tent on the mountaintop, Moriarty stood gazing at the sky, his eyes grave.

The heavy rain would inevitably slow the army's advance. A journey that would originally have taken a little over a day would now be impossible to complete in even two or three days.

The army had only one day's worth of food left. Now they could only hope the hunting parties would bring something back.

Unfortunately, the rain was far too heavy. This damned weather was no weather for hunting.

The only good news was that the enemy would be affected just as much as they were. Whatever plans the enemy might have, there was no way they could launch a sneak attack at a time like this.

"Chief, seven more of the wounded are dying!"

A guard hurried over to report.

"I know. I'll be there shortly,"

Moriarty said slowly.

He had heard similar reports of impending deaths countless times along the way.

At first, he would shed a few tears and promise his tribesmen revenge. After hearing it so many times, he had grown numb.

He took part in seeing them off only to observe the tribe's ancient tradition.

He had long since stopped talking about revenge.

No one would listen even if he brought it up. All anyone wanted now was to go home.

In the face of survival, even hatred had to give way.

"Chief, the commander of a thousand sent me back to tell you... beware the enemy's plot... there's a problem with our route..."

The news the young man in felt had brought cast another shadow over the tribe.

"What problem?"

Moriarty pressed urgently.

Perhaps he was too tired, or perhaps he was too tense. As Moriarty shook him, the young man in felt fainted on the spot.

Faced with such a half-baked piece of intelligence, Moriarty felt his scalp go numb.

"Take him away and treat him!"

After hesitating for a moment, Moriarty gave the order to the guards.

Whether the intelligence was true or not, it would have to wait until the rain stopped.

Deep down, he could not help cursing Dorian's entire family.

Since Dorian had discovered a problem, he should have hurried back to report it. A messenger could never explain it clearly.

If their luck had been bad and something had happened, they would not have received even this incomplete report.

They had suffered too many losses from bad intelligence along the way and could not afford any more setbacks.

"Damn this wretched weather!"

"This rain couldn't have come at a worse time!"

"I had everything ready, and now the enemy can't make it here!"

Howard cursed furiously without pause.

After everything they had done, the enemy's morale had suffered a devastating blow and was on the verge of collapse.

Now all it would take was one final strike to rout the enemy army.

Everything had been prepared, but at the very moment they were about to put it into action, a heavy downpour had changed things.

The enemy's inability to get there was a secondary concern. The main thing was that once people had time on their hands, they would start thinking.

The Tuwu People had suffered so many losses, and they were no fools. They would certainly review what had happened.

If they studied the lessons of their past defeats, they would surely draw some conclusions, and they would not be so easy to push around next time.

"Captain, that's enough."

"Things change constantly on the battlefield. An unexpected variable like heavy rain is something a commander should take into account in the first place.

If you keep cursing like that and bring the army commander over here, you'll have a hard time of it!"

Reginald replied with a smile.

The downpour had disrupted their plans, but the enemy would be suffering just as much.

Ordinary soldiers might be able to endure it, but for the wounded, whose resistance was weak, this damned weather could be deadly.

After days of continuous losses, even the most elite troops could not withstand such punishment.

"So what if the army commander comes? I've won a battle. What's he going to-"

Halfway through his sentence, Howard's bluster vanished without a trace.

Victor had not been in command of the army for long, but his prestige among the troops was by no means low.

His string of battlefield victories in particular had brought his prestige to its peak.

Even those who refused to concede it aloud were convinced in their hearts when they looked at the mutton stew in their bowls.

Howard's troops had performed brilliantly in this war, but Victor had devised and laid out the tactics. They had merely carried them out.

"Haha..."

"Captain, calm down first."

"The enemy's failure to come might not be a bad thing."

"With our forces, we could rout the enemy army, but our losses would not be small either.

Now the storm has kept the enemy from reaching us in time, so our mission has actually been completed ahead of schedule.

Once the rain stops, the roads will be muddy, and that's when marching will be hardest. They can forget about getting out of the mountains in less than three to five days.

Judging by the time, their army's provisions should be just about exhausted.

A bunch of starving remnants with no morale won't even need us to hunt them down. They could starve to death on the grasslands all by themselves."

Reginald offered his analysis with a smile.

The tribes had been wiped out, and the horses, cattle, and sheep they had brought with them had become the Third Army's spoils.

The grasslands could support only so much, and there was no third tribe to be found for hundreds of li around.

For the remnants of the grassland forces, hungry after days without food, getting out of this death trap on their own two feet would be extraordinarily difficult.

"We can't pin our hopes on the enemy army collapsing on its own. We still need to make the necessary preparations.

After suffering so many losses, the enemy will learn its lesson too."

"Enemy attack!"

No sooner had the guard raised the alarm than the Goshawk Tribe fell into chaos.

The tribal leaders who had stayed behind tried to organize a resistance, but all who remained in the tribe were the elderly, the weak, women, and children.

"Quick!"

"Cut down the fences and let the horses, cattle, and sheep go! We can't let the enemy have our livestock!"

Amid the panic, the old priest shouted to the crowd fleeing for their lives.

Unfortunately, he was a step too late. Aside from a few herders who heeded him, most were busy fleeing.

In the blink of an eye, the tribe's last resistance was crushed.

The slaughter began!

A bloody scene unfolded. At that moment, the Tuwu People, young and old alike, all wished their parents had given them two more legs.

The Tuwu People who reacted quickly had already mounted their warhorses and charged out of the tribe.

Those who were slower to react were still running wildly through the tribe.

A few of firm resolve had taken out torches and begun setting fires everywhere.

What they could not take with them, they would burn. If they could not keep it, they would not let the enemy have it.

A similar scene was playing out in the Cors Tribe at the same time.

At this moment, the blood feud between the peoples was being settled on the battlefield.

The Tuwu People who realized things were going badly mounted their warhorses one after another and began to flee.

It did not matter if they could not outrun the enemy, so long as they could outrun their fellow tribesmen.

The greater cause of their people and bonds of family counted for nothing in troubled times.

Elder brothers abandoned younger sisters, fathers abandoned their families, mothers abandoned sons...

At the moment of life and death, all social order collapsed.

Everyone had only one thought in their heads-run for their lives!