Chapter 154

"Go!"

The camp gate burst open; Fariao gave the signal, and the nobles led their followers charging out of the camp.

At this moment, the tribal army was still organizing for their next assault and had not anticipated anyone from the noble camp would launch a countercharge—everyone froze in shock.

Fariao and his men seized this exact opportunity and immediately fled toward the flank.

They intended to circle around the tribal army and escape from the side.

"Count Fariao, the camp gate hasn't been closed—won't the tribal army exploit this opening?!" one noble shouted over his shoulder as he fled, catching sight of the gaping gate and turning pale with alarm.

Fariao, the last to flee, cursed silently at the noble's stupidity: "Right now, saving our lives is all that matters—what else do we care about? Besides, leaving the gate wide open is exactly what we want; if they close it again, the tribal soldiers will chase us!"

Clearly, Fariao had anticipated everything.

And as he predicted, when the tribal soldiers finally reacted, one immediately shouted to Tila Ka: "Commander, look—the noble forces are trying to flee! Should we send troops to intercept them immediately?!"

"Fool! Compared to those few nobles, breaching the noble camp is far more important—they've handed us a perfect opportunity; how could we miss it?!"

"Order the entire army: advance! Follow me into the noble camp!"

Whoop-whoop-whoop!

At Tila Ka's command, urgent war horns blared; the tribal army surged forward en masse, flooding toward the open camp gate.

Seeing this, Fariao finally relaxed—what did he care about the fate of anyone left inside the camp?

The expressions of the other nobles, however, were strained, torn between relief and guilt.

They were relieved they had escaped, but ashamed they couldn't match Fariao's cold indifference.

…

"What's happening?"

Meanwhile, on the southern wall of the camp, Narsi heard the faint, urgent war horns echoing from the north.

His knowledge of the tribal army told him this was the signal for a full-scale assault.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A Moxun Eagle descended from the sky.

The main force had brought ten griffins and thirty Moxun Eagles.

But aerial beasts were too precious; both sides had tacitly refrained from using them in combat, reserving them solely for defense against aerial raids.

The Moxun Eagle riders had just clearly observed the northern situation and now landed to report.

"Commander, nobles have fled from the northern camp—they opened the northern gate and left it wide open. The tribal army has launched a full-scale assault and breached the camp."

"What?!" Narsi's face turned ashen, his body trembling. "Damn it—these cowardly worms! They'd actually do this? Don't they realize they're dooming everyone?!"

Unfortunately, the situation here mirrored that of the left flank army—Narsi's report changed nothing.

Moments later, screams and cries erupted from the north; flames began to rise within the camp.

Whoop-whoop-whoop!

Worse still, the main tribal force now reacted—the full-assault horn blared from the south as well.

"The camp's been breached! Run, everyone!"

"Hurry! If you don't move now, it'll be too late!!"

The nobles, faces twisted with terror, began shouting and fleeing—the entire camp descended into chaos.

"Commander, what… what do we do?!" Narsi's subordinates and soldiers turned deathly pale.

Narsi, though furious, knew what mattered most right now.

"Order everyone: stay calm, don't panic—panic means death. All units, assemble! We'll find a way to break out!"

Narsi believed his main force of forty thousand troops still had hope—if they could regroup, they might yet escape.

…

"My lord, look over there!"

Meanwhile, in a dense forest several miles away, Lei Meng suddenly pointed toward the distant horizon and cried out.

Because the noble camp was farther away, Gervas and the others had seen it indistinctly before—but now, the roaring flames within the noble camp had turned the entire sky blood-red.

"That's our central force!" Gervas immediately declared.

"What? That… that's the central force? My lord, does that mean the central force is finished?!"

Migen and the others were stunned as if struck by lightning.

Gervas had revealed nothing of what would happen tonight.

They had still believed that if they joined the central force, they would be safe.

But now, their illusion was shattered.

If the camp was burning so fiercely, joining the central force would only mean dying faster.

Boom! Boom!

Amid the prolonged tribal war horns, the entire tribal army began to pour out.

Whether infantry or cavalry—even over a hundred third-rank beak-winged dragons in the air—charged forward.

"My lord, what do we do now? If the central force is destroyed, won't this land become the tribal savages' territory forever? We're still trapped here!" Looking at the full tribal army mobilizing, Migen and the others trembled with dread.

"Correct. If the central force falls, this land will be enemy territory for at least several months—and we'll be stranded deep in enemy territory!" Gervas confirmed.

Of course, he had no intention of terrifying his men; he paused, then added: "But I have a plan—perhaps we can still turn the tide."

"My lord, what plan?"

Migen and the others pressed urgently.

Being trapped in enemy territory was no fun.

Once every corner of enemy land was garrisoned, returning home would be far harder than it was now.

"Now that the tribal army has committed everything, their camp is left defenseless—and I've learned there are over a dozen tribal heirs inside that camp. If we…"

This… this… this was too intense!

Before Gervas could finish, Migen and the others had widened their eyes in shock.

"My lord, tell us what you want us to do!"

No fear. No dread.

For Migen and the others, they feared not hardship on the path ahead—they feared the absence of hope.

Just moments ago, facing a battlefield of tens of thousands, they had known they were powerless—and felt despair.

But capturing a dozen tribal heirs? That changed everything!

Gervas smiled, and immediately began his final preparations.

…

Twenty minutes later, no more tribal troops poured out of the tribal camp; the flames of the noble camp burned even brighter—Gervas knew the moment had come.

"Move out!"

The three-hundred-man force advanced along the road; the dense patrols of tribal cavalry scouts had vanished—they had all rushed to the noble camp.

Thus, Gervas's group encountered no resistance as they reached the edge of the tribal camp.

"Halt! Who are you?!"

From the seven- to eight-meter-high wooden palisade, the sentries shouted a warning.