Chapter 236: We Must Strike First (3)

"It's the enemy! The enemy! The fortress bastards have attacked!"

Shrieks echoed from all directions. The barbarians scrambled, grabbing their axes as they gathered in a hurry.

They had been just about to go hunting, so they weren't prepared, nor were they on their horses.

"Get ready, quick! They're already here!"

The warriors rushed to mount their horses, but Ghislain's army, charging like a storm, was already upon them.

The horses, sensing danger, were agitated and difficult to control.

No military unit could function properly without maintaining its formation. Without even a semblance of order, and with their mounts in chaos, the barbarians stood no chance.

As they flailed in confusion, Ghislain's forces descended upon them.

Boom!

"Aaargh!"

Ghislain's spear smashed through the heads of barbarians in an instant. The red glow in his eyes was mirrored in the crimson aura radiating from his weapon.

Whoosh!

Thud!

Every sweep of his spear sent a barbarian tumbling from their horse. They died without putting up any meaningful resistance.

With his overwhelming skill, Ghislain carved a path through the enemy. Following behind, Gillian's spear unleashed a similarly devastating power.

With just the strength of two men, the entire barbarian camp began to collapse.

Behind them, the Perdium knights charged into the fray.

Boom!

Having rapidly improved their skills thanks to Ghislain's training, the knights tore through the barbarian encampment with their exceptional horsemanship.

"Hahaha! This feels amazing!"

Randolph roared with laughter, and the other Perdium knights joined in with shouts of their own.

"Did you think we'd keep taking this forever, you bastards?"

"Who would've thought the Young Lord would give us this chance!"

"How does it feel, huh? Tastes pretty good, doesn't it?"

Faces flushed red, they shouted themselves hoarse as they slaughtered the barbarians, venting years of pent-up frustration.

The Perdium cavalry, following behind, were no different. They fought with faces aglow, cutting down barbarians with fury.

For them, this battle was cathartic, washing away the bitterness they had long endured because of the barbarians.

Meanwhile, the Fenris knights...

"Ugh! Dammit! Why are they all so fast?"

Kaor, wearing a frustrated scowl, shouted. He had thought himself adept at mounted combat, but he couldn't keep up with the others.

In truth, he hadn't spent much time fighting on horseback. He usually preferred dismounting to enjoy the more visceral satisfaction of combat.

The other knights were in the same boat. While they had learned some shock tactics under Ghislain, they were far from matching the skill of warriors with years of mounted combat experience.

Boom!

Even so, their sheer numbers—several hundred—more than compensated for their lack of finesse. When the Fenris knights joined the fray, the barbarians completely lost their composure.

The initial clash had cost them so dearly that they had no time to recover.

Still, the northern barbarians, true to their fierce nature, didn't surrender easily. They rallied and attempted a counterattack.

"Damn it, you dogs! Close ranks! Quickly!"

"Don't underestimate the strength of warriors!"

"Hold your ground! We can kill them!"

But such efforts were in vain. At some point, the knights and cavalry had spread out, surrounding the barbarians.

As the formation tightened, Ghislain raised his voice.

"Leave no one alive! Release the fury you've been holding back! Make them tremble in fear at the sight of the wolf's flag!"

"Waaaaaaah!"

Ghislain's rallying cry ignited the spirits of the Perdium knights and soldiers.

Eyes blazing, they unleashed their wrath upon the barbarians.

This wasn't like before, when they defended the fortress or hunted down raiding parties. This time, they were striking at the heart of a barbarian tribe.

One, two, three, four…., with every barbarian they killed, the weight of their resentment lifted.

It felt as though they were avenging their fallen comrades, easing their long-held grief.

For the Perdium soldiers, this attack was almost a sacred rite.

The Fenris knights, by contrast, fought with cool precision, following orders to the letter.

All except for one.

'I have to kill more than that old man!'

Kaor fought with a fiery determination. He couldn't stand the thought of being outdone by Gillian.

'He's my eternal rival!'

While Gillian himself didn't share this sentiment—he barely acknowledged Kaor's existence—Kaor was dead serious.

"Aargh! Curse you all!"

The barbarians fell rapidly. Some dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.

But the Perdium knights and soldiers ignored them, striking them down without hesitation.

They had suffered too much pain to offer mercy.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As he directed the battle, Ghislain barked out clear orders.

"Spare the horses!"

While annihilating the barbarians was a primary goal, capturing their horses was just as important.

In the end, the barbarian warriors were all wiped out, many without having swung their axes in defense.

All that remained were the elderly, women, and children cowering in tents.

Rip!

The Perdium soldiers tore open the tents, dragging out the captives.

When Perdium had attacked the six-tribe alliance's camp, the barbarians had already fled. But this time, the attack had come so suddenly that there was no time to escape.

One knight stared down at a crying child, raising his weapon. He didn't want to do it, but he was prepared to snuff out every spark of resistance.

Then Ghislain's voice rang out across the battlefield.

"Enough!"

The knights and soldiers simultaneously lowered their weapons.

Perhaps they had been waiting for someone to stop them. They had never killed non-combatants before.

Randolph, watching, spoke with a grim expression.

"Young Lord, this may be unpleasant, but it's better to eliminate them now. If they grow up, they'll become more enemies for us to fight."

Ghislain answered nonchalantly.

"That's true. But they're useful for now."

"What could they be used for?"

"That's for me to know. For now, take them all. And I don't enjoy killing those who can't fight. It's a bit beneath my pride."

There was something unsettling about his words, leaving Randolph tilting his head.

"If they were useless, would you kill them?"

Ghislain paused briefly before replying in a detached tone.

"If necessary."

His face betrayed no emotion, but his eyes flickered with something deeply unsettling. Randolph felt a chill run down his spine.

'This guy… could it be… he's already…'

Randolph didn't know what Ghislain had done in his past. The heir's reputation as a troublemaker had made Randolph lose interest long ago.

Thus, there were gaps in his understanding of Ghislain's history.

But Randolph was an experienced knight. He recognized the chilling malice and ferocity briefly reflected in Ghislain's gaze.

It was as if Ghislain had taken more lives than Randolph, who had spent his entire life on the battlefield.

'That can't be. He's younger than me, with fewer war campaigns under his belt… Even if he killed in secret, it's impossible to have gone unnoticed for so long. I must be mistaken.'

Shaking his head vigorously, Randolph pushed the thought aside. Instead, he turned to oversee the cleanup of the battlefield.

With numerous prisoners and horses secured, Ghislain returned to the northern fortress.

The knights and soldiers who had fought alongside him were buzzing with excitement, boasting of their exploits.

"Hahaha! Those bastards were so weak!"

"We should've taken the fight to them ages ago! Look at all these horses we got!"

"I've never felt so good about venting my frustrations!"

Their pride was palpable. Those who had stayed behind at the fortress couldn't help but look on with envy, clamoring to join the next raid.

"Take me next time!"

"I'm way stronger than that guy!"

"Please, let us join the fight!"

Ghislain, pleased by their enthusiasm, smiled. He loved having such motivated troops. High morale always made an army stronger.

"Alright! We'll take turns wiping them out!"

"Wooooo!"

The Perdium forces rotated out injured knights and soldiers with fresh ones from the fortress.

By systematically alternating their forces, they could eliminate the barbarians faster and more efficiently.

Of course, the Fenris knights were excluded from the rotation. They needed harsher conditions and more experience.

Ghislain swiftly moved through the region, targeting smaller, nearby tribes, annihilating them one by one.

Because no survivors remained other than the captives, it took several days for the barbarians to realize that something had gone wrong with a neighboring tribe.

Even then, the details remained unclear, and only rumors spread that the fortress soldiers had suddenly gone mad and started rampaging.

There was no way the barbarians would sit still in the face of such a sudden threat. Some tribes even began openly searching for Ghislain's forces.

Of course, they, few in number, had no chance of standing against hundreds of knights and cavalry.

"Argh! Who the hell are these guys?!"

"Why are there so many of them?! Why are they so strong?!"

"It looks like the main force from the fortress is all out!"

One encounter after another with Ghislain's troops ended in total defeat, quickly revealing that this was no ordinary threat. The tribes in the vicinity finally started contacting one another.

In the end, eleven tribes gathered, led by the formidable Echoing Wind Tribe near the fortress, to discuss how to deal with this crisis.

"Why are those bastards, who had always struggled just to defend against us, suddenly acting like this?!"

"Their forces are no joke. It's strange for them to move like this during a famine, too."

"Whatever the reason, we can't just leave them alone! If we stay separated, they'll take us out one by one as they come! They're steadily moving northward!"

Ghislain's forces were systematically wiping out the tribes closest to the fortress and gradually expanding their range of operations. Confrontation was inevitable.

Kustu, the Echoing Wind Tribe's chieftain, was deep in thought. He was a warrior renowned across the north for his strength.

'Damn it, for Perdium to make a move at a time like this. And we haven't even settled things with the Sunstone Tribe yet.'

The Sunstone Tribe was a major tribe competing with Echoing Wind. The two had been eyeing each other, waiting for a chance to eliminate the other...

And now their enemies were advancing toward them.

If they suffered significant losses fighting these enemies, they could be devoured by the Sunstone Tribe. In their current state, with too few warriors, they were not a match.

Relocating their base was an option he had considered, but that would require fighting the tribe already there. It was unfeasible in their current difficult circumstances.

If they had to fight somewhere anyway, it was better to deal with Perdium's forces.

The only silver lining was that eleven tribes had gathered to face the enemy. Everyone felt threatened by Perdium's movements.

"You said six tribes were defeated earlier?"

At Kustu's words, another chieftain nodded.

"Yes, over two thousand warriors were lost. Their forces are formidable."

"They were ambushed during a siege, I heard."

"That's right. Honestly, we think it's difficult to capture the fortress, too. There's also the risk of being ambushed again, but more than that, we're fundamentally weak in siege warfare."

"That's because we've been fighting amongst ourselves and never seriously joined forces to attack it. Besides, even if we did destroy them, the kingdom would just send another lord, so we've deliberately stopped short every time, haven't we?"

"That's true."

"There's no need to play into their hands. Chasing after them only harms us. Gather all the warriors from our tribes. Let's show them overwhelming strength."

"You mean…?"

After grinding his teeth a few times, Kustu slowly spoke.

"Let's take advantage of their forces being outside the fortress and completely destroy it. Let's behead Zwalter Perdium. They call him the Wolf of the North in Lutania, don't they? Let's see if he lives up to his name."

***

Claude, his eyes filled with exhaustion, looked at the map and spoke to Ghislain.

"The dangerous situation you've been waiting for has finally arrived."

"What's so dangerous?"

"Eleven tribes have banded together. The number of warriors is estimated to be over five thousand. It seems like they've scraped together everyone who can fight."

"Oh, they've gathered quite a lot, huh?"

"Yes! And that makes it dangerous for us! Did you really have to create this situation?!"

Claude burst out in frustration.

This is not how you're supposed to handle battles with barbarians. If Ghislain's methods worked, the kingdom would have eradicated them long ago.

Even if the rivalry between the royalists and the duke faction weren't a factor, the north had too many tribes to realistically conquer. That's why they had abandoned conquest generations ago and focused solely on defense.

"When you provoke them, of course they'll unite. Fighting them only puts us in danger and increases casualties! It's not like the royal court or other lords have ignored them all this time for no reason! Why would you shorten the timeline and create this risk?!"

Claude clutched his chest in exasperation. Why couldn't their lord just live a normal life?

What kind of childhood must he have had to carry so much resentment against the world?

"Let's negotiate, negotiate. We have plenty of food. If we give them some, they'll likely accept it. They're struggling too, after all."

At this, Ghislain replied with a sullen expression.

"Negotiations sound good. We can't wipe out all the barbarians right now anyway."

"Exactly. Even if we fend them off this time, they'll just regroup later."

"But negotiations should be done when we have the advantage. Who negotiates from a position of weakness?"

"We're in a weak position, so we need to negotiate!"

"Then we just need to turn the tables."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

Ghislain smirked and replied.

"How? It's simple. We start by cutting off the heads of those gathered now. That'll make the rest of them much more agreeable."

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