Chapter 331: First Battle

After confirming the target, Xiong began to arrange the tasks: those guarding the base and those attacking, the positions of the attacking personnel, and the order of advance. Everything followed the military tactics Baifeng had taught them. Understanding military tactics was far superior to chaotic, unorganized fighting; for the Cannibal Tribe, who were currently like wild beasts, this was yet another case of dimensional-reduction strikes.

The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, their team set out. In the front, the Heavy Cavalry riding oxen cleared the path and swept away obstacles ahead. Moreover, oxen were more sensitive than humans; if there were anyone hiding, they would immediately make noise to sound the alarm.

Behind the Cavalry were the Archers, who could deal the first wave of damage to the enemy. Furthermore, after a volley, they would immediately switch to Changdao for close-quarters combat; Archers were the strongest Soldiers.

On both flanks were the knife-wielding Soldiers, and in the middle, toward the rear, were two doctors. They were protected by over a dozen Soldiers at close range, allowing them to provide emergency aid to injured Soldiers in the shortest possible time.

They slowly swept forward in an arrowhead formation. When they reached the location where the Scouts had encountered danger yesterday, they discovered that the corpses of the Cannibal Tribe they had killed were gone, leaving only bloodstains. It seemed they did not even spare their own kind.

Reaching this point meant that enemies could appear at any moment, so everyone raised their vigilance to the highest level, paying attention to their surroundings.

After marching for another stretch, a Soldier near the edge suddenly issued a warning. As everyone turned their gaze, they saw a savage run out from a patch of Grass. The Archers immediately nocked their Arrows and fired at him. Over a dozen Arrows flew out, and at least half hit their mark.

The knife-wielding Soldiers cautiously walked forward, preparing to deliver a finishing blow. When they were halfway there, someone else actually jumped out and fled. This time, they were close enough; they rushed over and slashed with a Knife. A large gash immediately appeared on the savage's back, exposing white bone. He lay on the ground wailing incessantly, and amidst his screams, he was run through by a blade, after which there was no more sound.

They walked over to one who had been hit by an Arrow to deliver a finishing blow, killing him completely, then pulled out the Arrow to recover it, including those that had missed.

Xiong concluded that there must still be survivors here, so he had everyone stop and then form up to search the surroundings carefully.

The Militia Soldiers holding long spears would, upon seeing any Grass or bushes that could hide a person, stab them a few times without a word before proceeding. They searched a circle with a diameter of one hundred meters in this way and actually found six more. Afterward, Xiong gathered the team; there was no need to search any further, as it was better to find the main camp.

Just as their team finished gathering, the sound of people running came from afar. Looking closely, there were actually two savages. However, this time they did not pursue; instead, Xiong ordered them to follow. They were certainly going to run back to their lair, and following them would save effort.

Thus, the group quickened their pace. The forest was dense, and those two could not run fast, so even though Xiong and his men were trailing far behind, they did not lose them.

They pursued until the view suddenly opened up. Xiong thought that they must be arriving at their lair now.

In a valley, the traces of human activity were very obvious. Moreover, after exiting the forest, what lay before them was a grassland; the change in scenery was too distinct. However, this place was also very suitable for humans to live. For instance, on a small hill in the distance, earth caves were lined up one after another, which were clearly made by humans.

Accompanied by a few strange cries from the savages, many filthy savages crawled out of the earth caves one after another.

Their appearance could hardly be called human. Aside from their physique and features, it was difficult for Xiong to associate them with humans; even the wandering savages they had encountered were better than these.

Those savages must have received an alarm that enemies were coming, because they were all holding Weapons after they came out. Furthermore, at a glance, Xiong saw that this group had at least three hundred people.

Xiong did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately issued the order to charge. The Cavalry took the lead; with a slap to the oxen, the oxen charged toward the group of savages at a terrifying speed. The savages had never seen such a sight and were scared into scattering and fleeing on the spot.

The Archers could not fire their bows at this time; instead, they held their Knives and charged as well. Xiong immediately arranged for the remaining Soldiers to flank from all sides so that not one would escape. They were there to surround the battlefield; the elite troops were enough for the main assault.

As for himself, he stood in a relatively high place with an open view to watch and command the overall situation.

After the Cavalry charged through, the number of those trampled to death or injured was not small. Then, they swung their blades at any savage in their field of vision. The Bow and Blade Team also slashed at anyone they saw before rushing toward the next, not caring whether they had killed the person completely. In any case, without Heavy Armor, taking a slash meant either death or being severely incapacitated.

There were not many people in total, and almost no one could escape far. Most of the Soldiers held their Knives, feeling itchy to join in, but in reality, they did not even get to land a single slash. When one finally managed to escape over to them, he was finished off by a comrade who ran faster, and they could only go up to the corpse to deliver a finishing blow to satisfy their urge.

Not even ten minutes had passed, and there was not a single living soul left on the battlefield. Their side had only one casualty, and that was because he had been too enthusiastic in his slashing and had not watched his footing, getting tripped by the limp corpses and slippery, bloody mud, which caused him to sprain his ankle. Fortunately, he had killed enough people that it was not shameful; on the contrary, many people envied him.

The two doctors finally had a chance to be useful. Seeing an injured man, they rushed over, laid him down, and lifted him onto a stretcher. Regardless of how the Soldier struggled and claimed he was fine, the two doctors turned a deaf ear. They carried him away from the center of the battlefield to a relatively flat place, set him down, untied his leggings, and began to examine him. Unfortunately, they were very disappointed after looking; not even a patch of skin was broken. Thus, they could only tell him to rest well again, then heartlessly threw the injured man off the stretcher, never looked at him again, and left with a sigh.

Seeing that the battle was over, Xiong then had people clean up the battlefield. They did what was needed to deliver finishing blows, but in truth, there was nothing left to finish off; every corpse was smashed into pieces, dead beyond any doubt.

There was no loot. Some wooden sticks and Stone Axes were trash to them, and they did not even glance at them. Searching the earth caves also yielded nothing.

The best items were various furs, but they looked all mixed together. Some should have been hunted by the savages themselves because the processing was too crude, and those that were slightly better processed were covered in blood, likely taken from dead people, and had absolutely no value. They did not even want to touch them.

Inside the caves were all sorts of messy things, mostly taken from people of other tribes, which had no value and were not collected. There were also all kinds of bones everywhere, and skulls could be seen all over, which was enough to prove how many people this Cannibal Tribe had eaten.