Word Spreads

White Fox Tribe.

"Good news!"

"Good news!"

"Elder, those devils have finally left!"

Dominic shouted as he raced over.

After wiping out the Goshawk Tribe and the Cors Tribe, the Third Supplementary Army had earned the name of devils, while Victor had become the new generation's great demon king on the grasslands.

After word from the grassland coalition army ceased, the herders in the neighboring area were especially frightened, losing sleep night after night.

To make matters worse, the Third Supplementary Army's cavalry force often came calling.

One day they would steal a flock of sheep; the next, they would make off with a herd of cattle.

Lacking the strength to resist, everyone could only endure it.

If circumstances had allowed it, they would have fled long ago.

Living next door to a band of devils was no way for a person to live.

After suffering through it until now, they had finally seen the devils off, and everyone's taut nerves relaxed at once.

"Has the news been confirmed?"

"Those devils appear and disappear without a trace. Don't let them fool you!"

Elder Strauss pressed him.

Their main forces were all away, leaving the tribe short of troops.

If the enemy attacked, they wouldn't be able to hold them off at all.

To ensure the tribe's survival, they had drawn up a plan to evacuate in different directions long ago. They would flee as soon as the enemy approached.

"Don't worry, Elder!"

"I checked the enemy camp myself. It's completely deserted now.

I followed the hoofprints west for over eighty li before I found any trace of them.

If they were coming after us, there'd be no reason for them to go that far!"

Dominic assured him at once.

The White Fox Tribe was now an empty shell.

Cattle, sheep, and horses were worth little on the grasslands. The enemy could take as many as they wanted, and none of the surrounding tribes had the strength to resist.

Sometimes, having too many supplies was a problem too.

If they truly plundered all the surrounding tribes, the enormous numbers of cattle, sheep, and horses would overwhelm the enemy's logistics system.

Traveling with so much livestock was nomadic herding, not marching.

"Good!"

"It's good that they've left!"

Strauss spoke with excitement written all over his face.

He didn't care who the enemy went west to torment, as long as they didn't come looking for trouble with his tribe.

If the enemy kept ravaging them, a spring famine was inevitable next year.

"By the way, have you found any trace of the coalition army?"

After calming down, Strauss asked another question.

Like the surrounding tribes, they had made a heavy investment in the campaign to wipe out the enemy, hoping to demonstrate their loyalty to the royal court.

As locals, they had a general idea of the enemy's strength.

The enemy certainly had no more than ten thousand troops. Even if it had been a full-strength army, it would have suffered losses while wiping out the two tribes.

Allowing plenty of leeway, even if the enemy had ten thousand men, that still meant thirty thousand against ten thousand.

With a three-to-one advantage in numbers, including the khanate's elite Seventh Tumen, victory had seemed assured however they looked at it.

Reality seemed to have played a joke on them. After the thirty-thousand-strong grassland coalition army entered Heavenly Wolf Canyon, they lost contact with it.

The last news they had received from the coalition army had come a few days ago, when some routed soldiers escaped from Heavenly Wolf Canyon.

Those poor wretches had all been driven to mental collapse by the enemy, and their words were a jumbled mess.

Wolf packs attacking the camp, flaming cattle charging their ranks-it was all complete nonsense.

There were plenty of wolf packs on the grasslands, but he had never seen one take the initiative to attack an army.

As for cattle, what family on the grasslands didn't keep a few?

They were so slow that even if you whipped them until your whip broke, they couldn't possibly overrun an army camp.

By piecing things together and guessing, they had finally concluded that the coalition army's situation was far from promising.

In the days that followed, the enemy maintained a tight blockade, and they didn't dare provoke those devils, so they gave up on actively searching for the coalition army.

"I don't know!"

"In any case, the enemy has withdrawn from the canyon entrance. Perhaps the coalition army went into the mountains, or perhaps they're on their way back."

Dominic couldn't help speculating.

They had thirty thousand troops, after all. Even if they couldn't defeat the enemy, they presumably wouldn't fare too badly.

Now that the enemy had chosen to withdraw, he figured the two sides had fought so fiercely that the enemy couldn't bear its heavy casualties.

Here on the vast grasslands, no matter how elite the enemy's Third Army was, every man they lost was one fewer in their ranks.

"Mm!"

"Send people into the canyon to investigate at once. There may be clues to the coalition army's whereabouts in there."

Strauss nodded.

Those demons had left. He didn't care whether the coalition army lived or died, as long as his tribesmen in the army could return alive.

It was better to leave the business of wiping out the enemy and winning glory to the other tribes.

The White Fox Tribe's strength was limited; it couldn't afford to get involved in a contest between great powers.

At nearly the same time, similar scenes were playing out in tribe after tribe.

Upon receiving word that the "Third Army" had withdrawn, they all turned their attention to Heavenly Wolf Canyon in search of the coalition army.

When the scouts reached the canyon entrance, the stench of decay that hit them nearly knocked them dead.

Forcing down their nausea, they entered the canyon and were soon stunned by the sight before them.

Rotting corpses lay everywhere. Looking closer, they could see maggots writhing on them.

After taking a quick look around, they turned and fled.

Some with weaker constitutions even vomited on the spot.

No one paid any attention to how the people had died.

All they wanted was to get out of that godforsaken place and get the news back as soon as possible.

As the news spread, the "Third Army's" reputation among the Tuwu People grew ever more firmly entrenched.

The former butchers and executioners were elevated to the "devil army," the "demon army," the "children of hell," and the "great demon king"...

Every terrifying term the Tuwu People could think of was applied to them.

On the vast grasslands.

Having finished the day's march, the Third Supplementary Army had stopped to make camp.

Watching the soldiers work, Victor not only declined to help but instead rode the wolf king around the camp on inspection.

He had no idea that his image as a demon king was continuing to spread across the grasslands.

The benefit was obvious: he would never have to worry about his image collapsing again.

Given his reputation among the Tuwu People, it had nowhere left to fall.

From now on, no matter how outrageously wicked his actions on the grasslands were, the Tuwu People would consider them normal.

A demon king had no moral boundaries to begin with and was capable of anything.

Unaware that his reputation had turned foul, Victor was wandering around at his leisure.

Compared with a warhorse, the wolf king, a fourth-tier magical beast, was steady and hardy.

After marching all day under the blazing sun, it showed no sign of fatigue and still had energy to spare.

"Commander, the Rattlesnake Tribe we scouted earlier has now migrated eighty li away.

If we pursue them, we can catch up in two days at most."

Maddox hurried over to report.

They had chosen their current marching route with the intention of plundering along the way.

Any small or midsize Tuwu tribes they encountered along the route would simply be out of luck.

"Why pursue them?"

"If they want to run, let them run."

Victor rebuked him irritably.

After following him for so long, Maddox had still only learned the basics.

There were so many tribes along the way that if they attacked them one by one, they might not be finished even by this time next year.

The best choice was to keep applying pressure, forcing them to leave on their own and clear the road west.