Chapter 150: Count Farrio

"Gone?! How could they possibly be gone? Does that guy fly? Even if he can fly, can his army fly too?"

Commander Tiraka was enraged.

He had originally planned to use that young noble as a sacrifice to raise the battle standard, avenging the two hundred Black Tiger warriors.

Now, five hundred more men were lost, and he was told the target had vanished.

His fury was unimaginable.

The messenger trembled, "Commander, Deputy Commander Dowa believes the noble Gervas must be hiding somewhere concealed, so… so he has already led his troops back along the original route from Baron Walker's territory to search, and only sent me ahead to report."

"Search! Scatter all units and scour the land—even dig down three feet—before nightfall, find that brat!"

At Tiraka's roar, even the two thousand plus tribal warriors he brought joined the search.

The distance from Baron O'Neill's territory to Baron Walker's is only fifty to sixty li, among the closest of all noble territories.

With rapid searching, north and south, it would take only half a day to cover.

Of course, that assumes searching—whether they find him is another matter.

True enough, by evening, Tiraka received the very message he dreaded most.

The noble Gervas's force had truly vanished, as if grown wings, along that short fifty-to-sixty-li stretch of road.

With nightfall imminent and reinforcements from other territories of Pakka City already arriving, Tiraka could no longer delay.

After all, he needed to reach the central front as soon as possible to coordinate with the main force in surrounding the noble army.

If he failed to arrive on time and the noble army learned of the situation and escaped, it would be disastrous!

"We move!"

With a bitter glare at the dark night sky toward Walker's direction, Tiraka still felt as if a pair of eyes watched him from the darkness, silently mocking his incompetence.

"Wait. If you dare show your face, you won't live!"

Tiraka certainly didn't truly abandon the noble force.

He left a garrison of one thousand tribal warriors at Aojinmubao, and daily cavalry patrols would continue without pause.

Meanwhile, although five hundred tribal warriors had been withdrawn from Baron Walker's territory, five hundred still remained.

He had instructed them: if they later spotted the noble's trail, do not engage immediately.

Instead, hold the castle and notify the one thousand tribal warriors at Aojinmubao at once.

With both forces combined, dealing with the four hundred noble troops would pose no problem.

And the castle was so sturdy—Tiraka believed the young noble could not possibly bypass Baron Walker's territory again.

Immediately, Tiraka led his main force northward.

What Tiraka did not know was:

His intuition was correct—in the darkness, a pair of eyes truly watched them.

That was Gervas, riding a flying horse to scout.

"Left behind a thousand men?"

Seeing the thousand men Tiraka left behind, Gervas was troubled.

Because among them, four hundred were Black Tiger warriors.

Clearly, Tiraka's concern for him was immense.

…

Time turned to two nights later.

The moon was bright, stars sparse; outside the central army's camp, bonfires blazed in preparation.

These were lighting fires to deter tribal savages from stealthily approaching the camp's wooden walls.

Clip-clop! Clip-clop!

At that moment, the sentries suddenly heard urgent hoofbeats.

The soldiers instantly went on alert; archers nocked arrows to their bows.

"Don't shoot! I'm Count Farrio! I'm one of you!"

"Don't fire! I'm Farrio…"

But cries soon echoed from the darkness, causing the soldiers to hesitate.

Though they, as lowly soldiers, didn't know who Count Farrio was,

a count meant one of their own—and a high-ranking one at that.

"Stop your horses! Don't come any closer!"

The sentries shouted outward, then sprinted down the wooden wall to notify their officers.

For they could no longer decide on their own.

…

Half an hour later, all the nobles, even those already asleep, hurried to the meeting tent.

Many had just fallen asleep and were rudely awakened without explanation.

Thus, everyone yawned, confused, wondering what had happened.

"Commander Narsi and Inspector Holt have arrived!"

At that moment, a shout came from the entrance—they were the central front's commander and inspector.

All the nobles turned toward the tent flap.

Yet when they saw the several nobles following behind Commander Narsi and Inspector Holt, they all froze in shock.

"Count Farrio? Isn't he assigned as inspector to the left front army? How is he here?"

"Yes, why is he so disheveled? Did something happen on the left front…?"

"Lords, silence!"

Seeing the chaos below, Commander Narsi, who had reached the far end of the hall, halted them.

And since the matter was urgent, Narsi wasted no time—he immediately revealed the situation.

"Lords, I've summoned you suddenly because our left front army is in crisis. Now, let Count Farrio tell you the details."

Saying this, Narsi stepped aside, allowing Count Farrio to step forward.

Count Farrio's face was filled with sorrow, his eyes red, voice trembling, "Lords, I bring terrible news!"

"Our left front army has been ambushed by tribal savages—and has been annihilated…"

Then Farrio began his performance and account.

He described how the left front army, lured by easy glory, grew careless.

How, lowering their guard, they abandoned the castle and camped in the wild to besiege the tribal savages—only to be ambushed.

"It's my fault as inspector—I failed to properly advise Commander Brick and the other nobles, or they wouldn't have been so reckless!"

"Commander Narsi, imprison me! Though I fought my way out with a few nobles to deliver this warning and prevent the central army from being flanked, I still should have died in O'Neill's territory—that is my duty!"

With that, Farrio stood motionless, face etched with grief, as if awaiting Narsi's order to detain him.

Narsi glanced at Farrio, his expression unreadable.

He said only: "Count Farrio, you are nominally inspector of the left front army, so our ranks are equal. Without direct evidence of your violation of military law, I cannot detain you."

"But I will immediately report this to Marshal Mixus. For now, you need only remain within our central army camp."

"But I will immediately report this matter to Commander Misius, so all you need to do now is remain safely in our central army camp!"

Then Narsi turned to the three remaining minor nobles: "Do you have anything to add? Are Commander Brick and the other nobles truly dead?"

Clearly, he could not rely on Farrio's word alone.

The three minor nobles had already aligned with Farrio and rehearsed their story on the way.

"Commander Narsi, Count Farrio speaks the truth. We have nothing further to add."

"Moreover, the other nobles had virtually no chance of survival—the main camp had already fallen, and at that time, there were eight or nine noble units attempting to break out with us."

"But after the tribal savages pursued us, only we few made it back…"

"But after the tribal savages hunted us down, only a few of us made it back..."