Chapter 157

"Divine… Divine punishment?" The heirs also froze in shock.

The tribe's records indeed contained countless accounts of gods descending revelations and punishments.

But to witness it with their own eyes—this was the first time.

Moreover, they weren't even certain it was truly Divine punishment.

And in the brief moment they were stunned, the guards below had completely lost control.

In fact, even if the heirs had wished to reassert control after the cry of Divine punishment, it would have been futile.

For in the hearts of all tribal members, Divine punishment was far more terrifying than anything else.

Even death seemed less frightening in the face of Divine punishment.

"The effect is really this good?"

Gervas hadn't expected the effect of "Wrath of the Sea God" to be this powerful.

He had merely intended to use the explosion to injure the enemy and inflict massive casualties as a deterrent.

But these fools had imagined it was Divine punishment, scaring themselves into total collapse.

Then again, this seemed almost reasonable.

Tonight, the moon was bright, the stars clear, and the sky utterly cloudless.

The explosive made from blue-scaled sea beast scale powder emitted white light and thunderous roars—wasn't that exactly Divine punishment?

Weren't the guards previously blown apart the tragic fate of those struck by Divine punishment?

At this moment, not only were the guards beneath the platform terrified, but even the other tribal soldiers who had been attacking Gervas and his group retreated in fear.

"What are you standing around for? Charge forward and seize those bastards!"

Gervas knew the moment was fleeting—he immediately ordered his men to storm the platform.

What followed was inevitable: though the heirs tried to resist, after Lei Meng charged ahead and slew several of their personal guards, the rest were utterly cowed!

"Bind them all!"

At Gervas's command, over a dozen tribal heirs were tied up like rice dumplings.

With longswords pressed to their necks, they were marched straight to the camp's main gate.

Now, the guards and soldiers who had just regained their composure began to gather around again.

They dared not advance, yet dared not retreat.

"Listen well—all of you. Go at once and tell your respective leaders: if you want your heirs to live, immediately cease your attack on the noble army!"

"Otherwise, you'll never see these heirs again!"

"Now, I'm taking your heirs for a little walk. If anyone tries to stop me from leaving, I won't hesitate to cut off a few fingers from these heirs and send them to you!"

"Who has any objections?"

Objections?

Of course, none at all.

At Gervas's words, the guards and tribal soldiers were instantly cowed, watching helplessly as Gervas and his group departed.

"Our young masters have been captured by those noble soldiers—what should we do now… what should we do?"

"What else can we do? Hurry and notify every leader! If the young masters are harmed, our families are finished!!"

The guards and soldiers trembled, some secretly trailing Gervas from afar, others galloping swiftly toward the noble camp burning fiercely in the distance.

…

"Ha! That was exhilarating—truly exhilarating! We actually succeeded!"

"Yes! Over a hundred tribal savages, yet we, just over three hundred, captured all these heirs!"

"Ha! That's thanks to our lord's secret weapon—the Wrath of the Sea God is truly terrifying!"

"Exactly! Our lord is incredibly wise!"

Laughter echoed across the wasteland; Migen and the others held the dozen tribal heirs close, their smiles barely contained.

With these heirs in hand, the Storm Legion's safety was guaranteed.

Moreover, capturing heirs from the enemy's main camp would give them enough bragging rights for decades!

"By the way, my lord, will the tribal leaders really stop attacking our noble army?"

"About seventy percent chance."

Gervas had no hundred-percent certainty.

But seventy percent was already enough.

After all, if they didn't risk it, they had zero chance!

…

"Commander, the legion can't hold much longer—the tribal army is too numerous; they're about to break through our formation!"

Meanwhile, in the central army camp, tens of thousands of the kingdom's troops were trapped in the northeast corner.

Though they still fought desperately, everyone knew their fate was grim.

After the camp was breached, Narsi organized his men to break out and retreat.

But these tribal savages were clever—they had deliberately opened a gap early on, letting some noble forces escape.

Then, once they confirmed they could annihilate the remaining nobles, they sealed the gap completely.

Thus, the noble army trapped inside the camp would soon be wiped out.

Of course, the tribal savages had no intention of letting the escaped nobles live either.

Five to six thousand troops waited outside to pursue and kill them.

As for whether that number was too small—

No need to worry: the nobles who believed they'd escaped the encirclement would immediately lose cohesion.

When danger struck, they'd only think of fleeing, hoping to outrun their comrades and leave them as stumbling blocks for the pursuers.

"Gentlemen, since the army can no longer hold, let us fight these damned tribal bastards to the death!" Narsi's eyes burned with resolve.

"Yes! Kill one and we're even; kill two and we profit!" Hearing Narsi's cry, some brave nobles immediately responded, readying themselves for death.

Of course, a few cowardly nobles trembled in fear, unable to muster courage.

Narsi didn't look down on them—he warned instead, "My lords, remember this: we face tribal savages. In battle with them, I'd rather die on the field than be captured by these savages!"

"Because the late Baron Leven and other nobles are the best example—if captured by savages, your fate will be worse than death!"

Hearing this, several cowardly nobles shuddered, their eyes gradually hardening.

Yes—dying on the battlefield was far better than being captured by tribal savages.

Seeing their resolve return, Commander Narsi relaxed, drew his waist sword, and prepared to launch a final assault.

"Gentlemen, since you're ready, for the honor of knighthood, let us begin our final battle!"

"Yes! For honor!"

One by one, the nobles drew their swords and raised them high, ready to follow Narsi into a charge, smashing into the enemy ranks!

Whoop-whoop-whoop!

But at that moment, a horn blast suddenly sounded from across the field.

At the sound of the horn, the tribal soldiers who had been fiercely attacking them withdrew like a receding tide.

The nobles stared, stunned; even the soldiers on the verge of collapse were bewildered.

"W-what's going on?"

"No idea. Could it be… that our fearless spirit scared them off?"

"…"