The Wolf Pack Appears

At midnight, the Tuwu People camp was still brightly lit.

"How many incidents has it been now?"

"When the enemy attacked, didn't you know to fight back?"

Tumen commander Jeremiah demanded harshly.

They hadn't even seen the enemy, yet their casualties had already exceeded a hundred.

For an army of more than thirty thousand, that loss of men was hardly a major matter, but they couldn't keep taking losses like this.

The great battle had yet to begin, and the troops' morale had already taken a heavy blow.

If this continued, there would be no point fighting the battles ahead.

"Commander, you can't blame us for this!"

"The people we lost were our own tribesmen. Nobody wanted this. The main problem is that the enemy is too cunning.

"Since we set out, the enemy has launched dozens of attacks.

"Whether they succeeded or not, they struck once and immediately withdrew.

"Most of the time, they never even faced us, setting traps along the road instead.

"We can guard against them for a while, but not forever.

"Everyone dozes off sooner or later. There's nothing we can do if the enemy takes advantage of it!"

Sanders explained.

He had no choice but to stick his neck out. Of all the tribes involved in the day's encounters, the White Fox Tribe had performed the worst.

If he didn't make things clear, they might end up being labeled the weakest in battle.

On the grasslands, might gave one a voice, and everyone looked down on the weak.

When tribes fought among themselves, the weakest tribe was often the first to be carved up.

No matter how strong they actually were, they had to put up a show and refuse to admit they were weaker than anyone else.

"Heh heh..."

"If the enemy being too cunning is enough to excuse failure, you might as well go home and hold your children!"

"We're facing the Holy Glory Empire's Third Army, the enemy's ace force.

"Given equal numbers, the khanate has only a handful of units capable of stopping them.

"If you aren't prepared to trade your lives for theirs, take your troops and leave immediately.

"Being a deserter is disgraceful, but pig teammates are even worse!"

Tumen commander Jeremiah immediately tore into them.

A loss was a loss, and blaming the enemy was the stupidest choice.

Pannosia's age of chivalry had ended thousands of years ago. Now, the strong preyed on the weak.

Armies of all nations had long agreed that anything went on the battlefield.

The two countries' enmity ran deep, so a few rounds of attacks were hardly a major matter.

"The commander's words may be harsh, but he isn't wrong.

"Since we've joined this great battle, we must be prepared to make sacrifices.

"Don't complain endlessly over a few little things and throw the entire camp into an uproar!"

"What's done is done."

"I've gathered everyone here mainly to discuss how to defeat the enemy.

"Over the past few days since we moved here, I expect everyone has realized how troublesome the enemy is.

"We must agree on how to fight the battles ahead."

Seeing that the atmosphere in the tent had turned sour, deputy tumen commander Knightley was forced to smooth things over.

Scolding people would only aggravate internal conflicts; it wouldn't solve any real problems.

The allied forces had come together because of shared interests.

If they were pushed too far, the tribes might turn tail and run. If the Seventh Tumen had to enter the mountains and hunt the enemy down with its own men alone, no one could be sure of the outcome.

"The attacks mainly happened on the road here. Once we've set up camp in the canyon, things will be much better.

"Although the surrounding terrain isn't particularly steep, it can still prevent the enemy from carrying out large-scale military operations, so the camp's security is assured.

"Taking the livestock out to graze will be troublesome, though. Besides watching out for enemy attacks, we'll have to beware of wolf attacks.

"There are many wolves in this area, and wolves hold grudges. We scared the pack in the canyon away, so they'll surely come back for revenge."

Tristan offered a tactful reminder.

To an army, a wolf pack was hardly a threat.

The army had brought only a limited supply of fodder, so it couldn't stay together for long. The cattle, sheep, and horses needed to go out and forage.

Once they were isolated, a few herders would be no match for a wolf pack.

"A pack of beasts has limited intelligence. We can simply set traps and lure the wolves out.

"I think everyone has experience hunting wolves."

Tumen commander Jeremiah waved a hand as he spoke.

Those trivial matters were not his concern.

If the wolves attacked, a few people might die and some livestock might be lost at worst, but it wouldn't hurt the army's foundations.

The real threat was still the Third Army hiding in the shadows.

The Dragonbone Mountains were simply too vast. Unless they found the enemy's exact location, there could be no question of hunting them down.

According to the intelligence gathered by their scouts, the enemy had been active in dozens of locations.

Determining which were real and which were false would take time.

But time waited for no one. The longer this dragged on, the more unfavorable the situation would become for him.

The best time to raid south had already passed. If they dawdled any longer, they might not even get a share of the soup.

A tumen commander who couldn't lead his men to riches would struggle to earn their genuine support, no matter how well he fought.

Outside the canyon, Victor was riding on the wolf king's back, directing the wolf pack to clear out the Tuwu People outposts.

In the darkness, wolves were the finest hunters.

Behind him, an army was driving a herd of cattle slowly toward the canyon.

A closer look by moonlight would have revealed dry grass wrapped around the cattle's tails.

Unlike ordinary dry grass, the grass tied to their tails had been soaked in grease.

"Ah!"

When their companion's scream rang out, the Tuwu People sentries lying in hiding felt their hair stand on end.

"Wolves..."

"There are so many wolves out there!"

Realizing danger was near, they no longer cared about staying hidden and rushed back toward the camp.

The sentries scattered around the perimeter quickly withdrew into the canyon.

"Commander, terrible news! Huge numbers of wolves have appeared outside. There must be a thousand of them!"

The young officer on night duty hurried over to report.

Wolf attacks on sentries were nothing new, but those had always been isolated incidents.

With a thousand wolves gathered at once, the situation had changed entirely.

"A magical beast wolf king has emerged nearby, and you all turned a blind eye to it?"

Tumen commander Jeremiah's demand was almost a roar.

A wolf king capable of gathering a thousand wild wolves was no ordinary wolf king. It must have become a magical beast.

There was a consensus on the grasslands: no wolf king could be allowed to become a magical beast.

Once one was discovered, a hunt was organized immediately to kill it, giving the wolf king no time to grow.

The main reason was that a wolf king who became a magical beast could summon the wolves of the grasslands to fight alongside it.

If it grew stronger, it would pose an enormous threat.

To prevent that from happening, they had hunted and killed many high-level wolf-type magical beasts.

"Commander, if we'd known a wolf king had become a magical beast, we would have hunted it down long ago.

"The wolf king outside must have emerged only recently. We've never encountered it before."

Tristan hurriedly explained.

They had provided the location of Heavenly Wolf Canyon, so they should have known the surrounding area better.

Failing to discover the wolf king's existence was a major oversight.

"Enough. Now is not the time to assign blame. Order the thousand-man commander on duty to attack and wipe out the wolves!"

After calming down, tumen commander Jeremiah issued the order decisively.