Chapter 145

Watching Gervas's retreating back, Brick frowned and returned to the center of the camp.

At this moment, the camp center was still hosting a bonfire feast.

Although the mountain tribesmen had not yet been dealt with, for nobles like Fario, accustomed to nightly revelry, it made not the slightest difference.

"Hah! Commander Brick, where did you just go? Come, drink up—the roasted meat is ready!" Fario's boisterous laugh rang out.

Upon hearing this, Brick nodded expressionlessly, but before eating the roasted meat, he summoned his deputy commander.

"You will lead the night watch personally tonight, coordinating with those petty nobles—no soldier or knight is to remove their armor."

Due to days of smooth sailing, many knights and soldiers had grown lax.

At night, some even secretly took off their leather armor because they found it uncomfortable to sleep in.

Normally, when sleeping in castles or safe zones with no enemies, as long as the night watch was fully armored, Brick turned a blind eye.

But Gervas's words just now had made him uneasy, so he decided no longer to ignore his subordinates' negligence.

"Yes, my lord!"

"Remember, I'm not joking—anyone who slacks off will be punished severely!"

The deputy commander's heart tightened; he bowed again before withdrawing.

"Hah! Commander Brick, come drink with us and celebrate tomorrow's great victory!"

……

【Ding! Daily intelligence has been refreshed…】

【Intelligence One: The garrison zone you must reach lies south of Lord O'Neill's fiefdom—this is the only passage toward Paka City.】

【To better collect taxes, Lord O'Neill built a sturdy wooden fortress on this border road, named O'jin Fortress!】

【Intelligence Two: The western tribesmen's plan has reached its final stage—Lord O'Neill's fiefdom is the final trap set for the left-wing noble army.】

【Currently, six thousand tribesmen are ambushed around Lord O'Neill's fiefdom, stationed in hidden wilderness, waiting to launch a lethal strike against the left-wing noble army at dawn.】

【Intelligence Three: The tribesmen noticed your departure, but they are not in a hurry, because the main force is their primary target.】

【As for you, they have dispatched five cavalrymen to trail behind you—they plan to deal with you after eliminating the main force.】

【Moreover, they have already stationed five hundred tribal warriors inside O'jin Fortress.】

【With the warriors' combat strength and the fortress's advantages, the savages estimate that even if you grew wings, you could not escape.】

【Intelligence Four: Besides your left-wing noble army being ambushed tonight by tribal warriors, the right-wing army has fallen into the same trap.】

【They too have been ensnared in the tribesmen's carefully laid scheme.】

【After tonight's ambush, the tribesmen's next move is to converge on the central army, surrounding the noble forces from both front and rear.】

【Intelligence Five: The western tribesmen will learn today that you killed two hundred Black Tiger warriors.】

【To avenge them, they will target you as a high-priority enemy!】

【Intelligence Six: After passing through O'jin Fortress, about thirty li ahead lies a maple forest—head three li to the right of the forest to reach a mountain peak with a spectacular waterfall.】

【Behind the waterfall on the peak is a hidden cave, leading to a sealed valley beyond.】

【Ding! Today's intelligence system refresh complete!】

Damn! Gervas exclaimed "Damn!"

Indeed, his guess was correct—the tribal savages deliberately hid in the narrow forest, feigning being trapped, when in truth they were merely luring the noble armies into position.

Worse still, they were now fully inside the tribesmen's encirclement.

So even if he had learned the truth in advance, how could he escape this disaster?

Retreat? Go back the way he came?

Probably not.

The new intelligence had refreshed, meaning it was now dawn.

The tribesmen had likely already launched their assault on the kingdom's army—if he returned the same way, he would be walking straight into a trap.

Then what should he do?

Continue toward Paka City?

Not to mention the five hundred tribesmen guarding O'jin Fortress ahead.

Even if he captured O'jin Fortress, pressing forward would mean entering enemy territory…

Moreover, the intelligence said that because he had slain the two hundred Black Tiger warriors, he would become one of the tribesmen's prime targets.

"This is truly headache-inducing!"

For the first time, Gervas felt the helplessness of war.

Splash! Splash!

At that moment, a Swift Demon Hawk appeared overhead.

"My lord, the Swift Demon Hawk squad spotted five tribal cavalrymen behind us—they've been following at a distance since detecting our Storm Unit's presence, and have not approached further!"

"So they've come!"

Gervas knew these were the watchers sent to monitor him.

Once the other tribal units annihilated the noble army, a large force would follow these five to pursue him.

"My lord, the tribesmen hiding in the woods have no horses—these five cavalrymen's appearance is suspicious!" Lei Meng's expression turned solemn.

Though he lacked system intelligence, he could sense something amiss in the sudden appearance of five tribal cavalrymen.

Gervas nodded, then turned to Laurent.

"Captain Laurent, lead the unit forward toward the objective—the knight squad stays with me to set an ambush; we'll eliminate these tails with the Swift Demon Hawk squad's help."

Dealing with five tribesmen was not difficult—they had no idea they'd been discovered.

Thus, they walked blindly into Gervas's ambush.

Lei Meng and the knights surged forward, cutting down four of them in a single strike.

The last man narrowly escaped the first wave of attacks and tried to flee, but under the pursuit of the Demon Swift Eagles, there was nowhere to run.

In the end, the five became fertilizer for the roadside, and the horses became Gervas's spoils of war.

"My lord, these fellows are all wearing leather armor; they must be the barbarians' elite!"

Gervas nodded in agreement. "Exactly, the main army is likely in trouble! And these are here to monitor us; once the main army is dealt with, a large force of barbarians will likely come to deal with us!"

Knight Mi Gen and others turned deathly pale. "My lord, what should we do?"

"Retreating via the rear route is impossible for now; we can only push forward!" Gervas had no choice.

Lei Meng immediately agreed. "Exactly, if the Western Barbarians truly have an ambush in the rear, returning now would be walking straight into a trap!"

"So, we can only continue forward..."

Clang clang clang!

"Kill!"

That night, in the camp area of the left-wing main army, flames shot into the sky, and the sounds of alarm bells and battle cries were unceasing.

"What is happening!"

Fario, who had just fallen asleep not long after the bonfire banquet, was startled by the sudden alarm bells and battle cries.

"My Lord Count, it's bad! It's the tribal barbarians, so many, so many tribal barbarians!"

"How is this possible? There were only a thousand tribal barbarians on that mountain, and they didn't even have leather armor. Dare they attack our army of nine thousand?" Fario was uneasy but forced himself to remain calm.

For the army of nine thousand gave him confidence.

"No, My Lord Count, it's not just the thousand barbarians on the mountain; suddenly, dense crowds of tribal barbarians have appeared in the surrounding wilderness."

"Many of them are wearing leather armor; their numbers are impossible to count, as if they cover every mountain and field. We... we are surrounded..."