“4,000 armored elites! Do you two dare to say that again under the totem of the God of Thorny Rocks? We brought all the half-grown children from the tribe just to scrape together this force of 2,500!
And you’re telling me this dilapidated Border City has nearly 4,000 armored elites inside!”
Big Barton was the first to shout his rebuttal.
“Big Barton makes a good point. We have currently mobilized the strength of our entire tribe, yet we have only managed to gather an army of 2,500. Furthermore, most of them are teenagers and half-grown children with no combat experience. Our armor rate barely exceeds 5%.
Thirty years ago, the old Chief attacked Border City once. There were only a few Knights and a few hundred militia. Generally speaking, there shouldn’t be, and couldn’t possibly be, over 4,000 armored elites inside,” Kamal analyzed calmly, acting as one of the few strategists of the Iron Jaw Tribe.
“Exactly! Chief, look, Kamal thinks just like I do! It must be these two guys, and Old Gula, too. They were too cowardly to fight, so they made up these lies to deceive us all. If you had let me lead, we would have entered Border City long ago to feast on meat and guzzle wine!”
Hearing Kamal support him, Big Barton raised his head proudly, looking quite smug.
“You—how can you slander us like that? In war, this is called preserving our strength, not being cowardly!” one of the two Centurions who had just retreated bared his teeth and retorted.
“…”
Old Gula chose to remain silent. He didn’t say a word, but his vertical pupils were filled with displeasure as he stared at Big Barton.
“I haven’t finished speaking, Big Barton,” Kamal said, intending to continue. However, Big Barton was clearly immersed in his own world, muttering to Old Gula and the others about how they finally got what was coming to them after always calling him a brute.
“Big Barton!”
It took Gros speaking up to make Big Barton settle down.
“Kamal, continue.”
“Yes, Chief. Where was I? Oh, right. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for Border City to have 4,000 armored elites. But what if the circumstances aren’t normal?
Chief, every time the Piranha River froze in the past and our warriors crossed the ice to invade the Hanover Province of the Black Cross Kingdom, the Lords here would always flee at the first sign of trouble. At most, they would offer a symbolic resistance before shrinking back into their fortified castles to wait for us to return to the forest,” Kamal analyzed meticulously.
“Correct,” Gros nodded in affirmation.
“Mhm, Kamal is right.”
“That is how it usually goes.”
“Those humans don’t even dare to fight us.”
The other Centurions agreed with Kamal’s words.
“But the Lord we encountered this time is different. He stayed to defend this dilapidated Border City instead of fleeing, and he even opened the city gates wide without any defenses. Either he is a madman, or he has the confidence to defeat us. Just as Flan and the others said, there might really be 4,000 or even more defenders in Border City.”
Kamal shifted her stance, now supporting the claims made by Old Gula and his peers.
Hearing Kamal back them up, Old Gula and the others immediately straightened their backs. After all, they had simply avoided falling into an enemy trap; they hadn’t actually fled without a fight.
“But if there are 4,000 armored elites, why would they defend this place? Why defend such a gods-forsaken, poor area?” Big Barton curled his lip.
“It is simple. It is because the Lord here knows that we must take Border City before we can begin attacking other cities. If Border City cannot be taken, our rear will always be unstable. They could cut off our retreat at any time.”
Kamal pointed to the parchment map in front of her, drawing an arc between Border City and the Piranha River.
“Kamal, do you think we should continue attacking Border City?” Gros asked with a sigh as he looked at the city on the map.
“We must! Chief, we have already made an agreement with the Emerald Tail Tribe and the Red Claw Tribe. They will only send their troops across the frozen river once Border City is taken. If we break the agreement midway, we will have to give up 70% of our hunting grounds to them. Unless the sacrifice to take Border City is greater than we can bear, we cannot afford the price of breaking that pact,” Kamal said, shaking her head.
“Kamal, take your unit and go test Border City again. But this time, ignore the open gate. Look at the other directions to see if there is anywhere we can break through.”
Gros gave Kamal her orders.
“Yes, Chief!”
Having received her orders, Kamal immediately led her unit toward Border City. However, this time she paid no mind to the wide-open gate. Instead, she maintained a distance of 300 feet and began circling the city walls.
Atop the city gate, Vera noticed the unusual movement of Kamal’s unit. She immediately reported to Anke, who was lying in a chair “enjoying” a winter sunbath.
“His Highness, the enemy does not intend to enter through the gate this time. They seem to be looking for a new attacking position.”
“It looks like they’ve started to have their doubts. Vera, come here. I’ll tell you what to do.”
Anke lifted the hat covering his face and beckoned Vera over. He gestured for her to lean in, then whispered into her ear.
“Are you… sure?”
After hearing Anke’s instructions, Vera wondered if she had misheard him.
“One hundred percent sure. Don’t worry. They’ve fallen for it twice; they will definitely fall for it a third time,” Anke said confidently.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Seeing Anke’s confident expression, Vera could only hope that the God of Science would protect him again.
Outside the city, because Kamal’s centuria had been marching aimlessly around the walls, people gradually began to complain. These voices grew louder and eventually reached the ears of Kamal’s guards.
“Lady Kamal, this Border City doesn’t look like it’s garrisoned by a large army. Look, there are barely any people on the walls,” a guard asked Kamal in confusion.
“You cannot judge things by their surface. The calmer the water, the more likely there is a deadly vortex beneath. What looks like a lack of defense to you could actually be a fully armed army inside,” Kamal emphasized.
Just then, there was sudden movement on the walls.
Several soldiers wearing high-quality full plate armor poked their heads out from behind the battlements, taunting Kamal and her group.
“Come over here!”
“Come on! There’s no defense here!”
“Come, hit me right here! Right on my chest!”
The proud Barbarians under Kamal could not stand such taunts. They one after another begged Kamal to order an attack.
“Bastards!”
“I’m going to kill them!”
“Lady Kamal, give the order to attack!”
“Ignore them. They are trying to lure us into a trap.”
Kamal, however, rejected all suggestions and suppressed the voices calling for battle. She continued leading the unit around the city.
Meanwhile, more and more defenders appeared on the walls, and the taunts grew even louder.
However, Kamal noticed a pattern. A large portion of what these defenders said was repetitive, which indicated that someone was intentionally making them do this.
After completing a full circle, Kamal finally returned to the open city gate.
This time, the old man sweeping the floor was gone. In his place was a driver with a donkey cart, hauling a load of fresh, steaming Black Hard Bread that still smelled of wheat.
“You must be tired from all that walking. This is a reward for you from His Highness. Eat your fill and then attack quickly. If you’re not going to attack, then go back to sleep.”
The driver urged the donkey forward, walking at a leisurely pace until he stopped in front of the Barbarian army.
“Thank you. However, we will take what we want ourselves!” Kamal said, looking up at the human Lord waving at her from the city wall.
“Let’s go!”
Kamal ordered a retreat, leaving the driver alone in the cold wind to guard the cart of freshly baked bread.
Some of the teenage soldiers in the unit couldn’t resist the temptation of the bread. Every step they took, they looked back. Their retreat speed was practically nonexistent.
“Hey! Brothers, let the kids take some to eat! Don’t worry, none of it is poisoned!” Anke shouted toward Kamal from the wall.
“I am warning you, this is food given by humans! If anything happens after you eat it, you’re on your own! If you’re not afraid of eating yourselves to death, go ahead and take it!” Kamal warned her subordinates.
The veterans were fine; they could withstand the temptation of food.
However, the teenage soldiers who were used to going nine meals without food over three days during the winter couldn’t care less. Once one person turned back, the rest followed. They swarmed the donkey cart to grab the bread, stuffing one in their mouths while clutching several more in their arms.
“A fine trick, Human Lord,” Kamal muttered, her lip twitching. She led the chaotic unit in a hasty retreat, leaving the old driver standing bewildered in the cold wind.
“No! Leave the donkey and the cart for me!” Anke shouted at Kamal’s retreating unit from the wall.
Kamal looked at the teenage soldiers who had decided to just take the donkey and the cart along with them. She felt so embarrassed that she didn’t want to speak.
“They even made off with my donkey and cart. This loss is too great. I might have even been able to drift with it,” Anke complained to Vera.
Was this loss… great? Vera could only think that Anke was being too modest. To “repel” a wave of Barbarians with just a donkey cart and a load of bread—others would probably be fighting for the chance to do the same.