Chapter 145

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

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

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

"Hah! Commander Brick, where have you been? Come, drink up—the roasted meat is ready!" Fariao's boisterous laugh rang out.

Hearing this, Brick nodded expressionlessly, but before sitting down to eat, he summoned his deputy commander.

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

Due to days of unbroken success, many knights and soldiers had grown lax.

Some had even begun secretly stripping off their leather armor to sleep, finding it uncomfortable.

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

But Gervas's words had stirred unease in him, so he decided no longer to ignore his men's negligence.

"Yes, my lord!"

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

The deputy commander stiffened, bowed again, then withdrew.

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

…

【Ding! Daily intelligence has refreshed…】

【Intelligence One: The garrison zone you must reach lies south of Viscount O'Neill's territory—this is the only passage toward Bokacheng.】

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

【Intelligence Three: A total of six thousand tribal warriors are now concealed in the surrounding wilderness, waiting to launch a deadly ambush on the left-wing noble army at dawn.】

【Intelligence Four: Your departure has been noticed by the tribesmen, but they are not in a hurry, for your main force remains their primary target.】

【Intelligence Five: They have dispatched five cavalrymen to trail you; once the main force is eliminated, they will turn to deal with you.】

【Intelligence Six: Moreover, they have already stationed five hundred tribal warriors inside Aojinmubao.】

【Intelligence Seven: With the warriors' combat prowess and the wooden fort's defenses, the savages estimate that even if you grew wings, you could not escape.】

【Intelligence Eight: Besides your left-wing noble army, the right-wing army will also be ambushed tonight.】

【Intelligence Nine: They too have fallen into the tribesmen's meticulously laid trap.】

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

【Intelligence Eleven: The western tribes will learn tonight that you killed two hundred Black Tiger warriors.】

【Intelligence Twelve: To avenge them, they will mark you as a high-priority target for pursuit.】

【Intelligence Thirteen: Thirty li past Aojinmubao, you will find a maple forest; turn right and travel three li to a peak with a magnificent waterfall.】

【Intelligence Fourteen: Behind the waterfall lies a hidden cave, leading to a sealed valley beyond.】

【Ding! Daily intelligence system refresh complete!】

Damn! Gervas exclaimed, "Damn!"

Indeed, the guess was correct; the group of tribal savages had deliberately hidden themselves in the dense thicket, seemingly trapped like fish in a barrel, but in reality, they were merely luring the noble army into a trap.

Indeed, his guess was right—the tribal decoys had deliberately hidden in the narrow woods, pretending to be trapped, merely to lure the noble armies into place.

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

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

Retreat? Go back the way they came?

Probably not.

The new intelligence had refreshed—this meant it was already dawn.

The tribes had likely already launched their assault on the royal army; returning the same way would be walking straight into a trap.

What then?

Press forward toward Bokacheng?

Not to mention the five hundred tribal guards stationed at Aojinmubao.

Even if he captured Aojinmubao, pressing onward meant entering enemy territory…

And the intelligence warned that, for killing the two hundred Black Tiger warriors, he himself had become a marked target.

"This is infuriating."

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 has spotted five tribal cavalrymen behind us. They noticed our Storm Squad and have been trailing from afar, not closing in."

"So they've come!"

Gervas knew these were the watchers sent to monitor him.

Once the tribes eliminated the main force, a large contingent would follow these riders to hunt him down.

"My lord, those tribesmen hiding in the woods have no horses—these five cavalrymen appearing now must mean trouble!" Lei Meng's face darkened instantly.

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

Gervas nodded, then turned to Laurent.

"Captain Laurent, lead the squad onward toward the objective. The knight squad stays with me—we'll ambush these tails with the Swift Demon Hawks' help."

Eliminating five tribesmen was not difficult—they had no idea they'd been spotted.

They walked blindly into Gervas's ambush.

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

The last one barely dodged the first attack and tried to flee, but with the Swift Demon Hawks pursuing, escape was impossible.

All five became roadkill; their horses became Gervas's spoils.

"My lord, these men all wear leather armor—they must be tribal elites!"

Gervas nodded in agreement. "Correct. The main army is in trouble. These were sent to watch us—once the main force is destroyed, a large tribal force will come for us."

Mi Gen and the others turned pale. "My lord, what do we do?"

"The rear is cut off—we must press forward," Gervas had no choice.

Lei Meng immediately agreed. "Right—if the western tribes have ambushes behind us, going back now is suicide."

"So we must press forward…"

…

Ding! Ding! Ding!

"Kill!"

That night, in the left-wing army's encampment, flames shot skyward; alarm bells and battle cries rang endlessly.

"What's happening?!"

Fariao, who had just fallen asleep after the bonfire banquet, was jolted awake by the sudden alarms and screams.

"My lord, it's the tribal savages—there are countless of them!"

"How is this possible? There were only a thousand tribesmen on the mountain, none even wearing leather armor—how dare they attack our nine-thousand-strong army?" Fariao was uneasy but forced calm.

His confidence came from the sheer size of his force.

"No, my lord—not just the thousand on the mountain. The surrounding wilderness has suddenly swarmed with tribal warriors."

"Many wear leather armor—their numbers are uncountable, as if the hills and plains are filled with them… We… we are surrounded!"