This was the first time Bulake had encountered a warrior of the same level stronger than himself. He was confident that his current strength was enough to fight against Early-stage Saint-level expert, and he could even hold his own against a Saint Realm Middle Stage for a while. However, the red-haired woman in front of him exerted more pressure on him than those Saint Realm Middle Stage experts.
"Woman, are you married? If you're not, how about coming back with me to live your life? If you are, I'll kill your husband, and then you'll come with me," Bulake said, speaking with the straightforwardness of the grasslands.
Veronica initially didn't want to pay attention, but seeing the corpses falling from the sky and Jason still flying overhead, she said, "My man killed off your Saint-level."
Bulake looked up in astonishment.
"Damn it, that piece of trash Wudawa!" Bulake cursed.
Not only him, but many people on the field witnessed the defeat of the Barbarian Saint-level. Although it did not collapse immediately, a drop in morale was inevitable.
Veronica's sword came at him again, Bulake barely managed to dodge it.
"My man is the most talented person I've ever seen, even the most talented creature. Whether human or magical beast, even the Four Ultimate Warriors of the same age can't compare to him. As for your talent, it's just barely passable."
However, Bulake didn't pursue the matter further, but instead threw a bottle at the opponent.
The dark green smoke spread instantly. The poisonous smoke, made by the orc witch doctor, was enough to make even a level nine expert hesitate, even though he had put an antidote pill in his mouth.
Contrary to stereotypes, the barbarians of the grasslands were not simple-minded. They were not ashamed of fleeing in defeat. On the contrary, they believed that choosing to run away when facing a strong enemy and then counterattacking when they were stronger was a normal choice.
However, to Bulake's surprise, the moment he turned around, a fiery red figure burst through the poisonous fog and pierced his chest with a sword.
"It's far inferior to the poison from the Clear Spring," Veronica remarked, sniffing the air.
The witch doctor's poison can kill most Ninth-level Warrior, but this does not include the Four Ultimate Warriors.
On the battlefield, most generals would not charge ahead like Bulake, even if they were powerful warriors themselves. However, a good commander is more useful than a warrior charging ahead.
Barek was such a commander, as was the old chieftain of the barbarians.
Barek tied the corpses of enemy Saint-level to a pole in an attempt to demoralize them.
The old chieftain was tempted to retreat upon seeing this; but seeing the blackish-green poisonous mist used by Bulake made him even more determined to abandon some of the grassland warriors and preserve the main force.
Now, due to the defeat of the Saint-level, the soldiers' morale is low. If they grit their teeth and persevere, they can win this war, but it will be a Pyrrhic victory. According to scouts, a reinforcement force of the enemy is on its way from afar. Even if they win this battle, they will inevitably suffer defeat afterward.
The barbarian light cavalry would be at a disadvantage against a frontal charge by Rhein heavy cavalry and heavy infantry, and the current battlefield does not allow him to use his usual guerrilla tactics.
As for Bulake, the old chieftain wasn't worried at all. He simply assumed that the stubborn young man had finally come to his senses today, realizing that he might be targeted by the enemy's Saint-level, and had taken advantage of the poisonous fog to escape the battlefield.
"The remaining enemy troops are all in ' Purplewood City. ' Once we join forces with other units and take down Purplewood City before this main force returns to reinforce, this main force will lose its base, and its defeat will only be a matter of time. At that point, no force in the entire eastern Rhine Empire will be able to stop us!"
The old chief cracked his whip, giving the order to retreat.
The three thousand elite soldiers who had followed Bulake in the charge had become completely mixed up with the enemy and could only be abandoned. The old chieftain gathered the remaining ten thousand cavalrymen, divided them into two groups, and withdrew in an orderly manner.
"Ivan, go after the enemy. Leave this Silver Behemoth to me." Veronica appeared before the Silver Behemoth.
The Twin-Headed Silver Dragon is skilled in magic and can fly, making it far more destructive to armies than to warriors.
As for Jason was in the sky, seeing that the battle was over, he landed next to Barek and said, "We won."
"No, we've only won half the battle. That white-haired man was the commander of this force, and he's more decisive than I thought." Barek's face showed no joy at victory; instead, his brows were furrowed. "If that man is smart enough, they're already preparing to head towards Purplewood City. And the forces of other surrounding tribes are also gathering there."
After Barek's advice, Jason understood their current predicament. "Shall we go back and help immediately?"
Barek shook his head. "No, the barbarian light cavalry are best at harassment. We are exhausted now. If we don't give our troops time to rest, the barbarians on the road will rout us. The barbarian troops just retreated in two groups, and one of them should be lying in ambush on our way to Purplewood City."
The disadvantages of heavy cavalry compared to light cavalry, besides being slower, also included the need for more time to rest and recuperate after marching and fighting.
In this other world, siege weapons are not essential in siege warfare due to the presence of mages. As the main force of the barbarians, they would not be without spellcasters.
Purplewood City had already been destroyed once before, and its defenses were very weak.
Finally, under the watchful eyes of Jason and the surrounding officers, Barek made a difficult decision. "Inform the garrison of Purplewood City to burn all supplies and provisions, then break out to the east. We will meet you on the east side."
"General," an officer beside him said, "Purplewood City still has over ten thousand men and a large amount of grain and supplies. They can hold out for five or six days without any problem, and can wait for our reinforcements."
"No, the barbarian forces should have already received the news and are converging on Purplewood City. If we're late, it will turn into a siege and reinforcement attack. We must retreat and preserve our strength."
An hour later, the backup force arranged by Barett arrived.
The barbarian vanguard of three thousand and their rearguard of over two thousand were annihilated. The Rhein side suffered over a thousand dead and two thousand wounded.
In direct combat, the barbarian light cavalry were at a significant disadvantage against the Rhein cavalry, and the results were far from ideal.
The main reason was that Barek chose a battle location that was very unfavorable to the Rhein side in order to lure Bulake out, and the enemy had a numerical advantage in the early stages of the battle, with many soldiers dying or being injured in the early stages.
Jason is performing a "Soul Search" on several high-ranking prisoners.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much useful intelligence. The only important piece of information was that the white-haired old chieftain was not the commander-in-chief of this army; the commander-in-chief was the already deceased Bulake. Since the barbarian army's purpose this time was to plunder, there was no supreme commander; they were simply led by Bulake.
Given the white-haired chieftain's status, it might not be easy for him to rally other barbarian tribes to attack Purplewood City.
Barek still did not rescind his previous order, "The enemy is being underestimated; the Rhine Empire cannot afford a major defeat. Moreover, if that white-haired chieftain conceals the news of Bulake's death, his orders will still be in effect."
"You must have foreseen this situation before sending troops, right?" Jason asked.
"Yes, the commander-in-chief must prepare for the worst in this war, but the opposing commander is so decisive. This war will not be easy." Barek looked at the soldiers cleaning up the battlefield, his face grave.
The enemy just abandoned 5,000 cavalry, 3,000 of whom were elite troops, and left the battlefield without even confirming the fate of their commander.
Jason, however, looked towards Veronica.
The Silver Behemoth was incredibly powerful, managing to hold out against Veronica until the very end. Only with the help of the Silver Dragon Ivan did Veronica manage to slay this rare magical beast.
Veronica now stores Behemoth's body in her Interspatial Ring, and then, with Ivan by her side, helps the medics treat the wounded.