Chapter 12: Defeat

Watching the charging Barbarian Warriors, Night Battle was taken aback for a moment before he couldn't help but smile.

"As expected of the hegemonic power of the Black Soil Plain. Setting everything else aside, they certainly don't lack courage. To lead a charge without even knowing our numbers... I really don't know whether to call them confident or arrogant!"

"If they win, it's confidence; if they lose, it's arrogance. There's a saying from the Clan Leader that I really like: 'Only the victors have the right to explain everything.'" The burly man beside him stared with burning eyes at the rapidly approaching Barbarian Warriors, feeling the blood boil in his veins.

"Well said." Night Battle nodded slightly. He then dug his heels into his horse's flanks and slightly raised his long spear. "Heavy Cavalry, charge with me!"

"KILL!!!"

The three thousand men at the front let out a roaring battle cry, spurring their horses forward to follow behind Night Battle. Even though there were only three thousand of them, they possessed the majestic momentum of a hundred-thousand-strong army, bearing down on the enemy like a crushing black tidal wave.

The two valiant cavalry forces soon clashed.

As the two armies closed in, the young man leading the enemy charge looked at the pitch-black Armor worn by the opposing cavalry. Feeling their terrifying momentum, his heart skipped a beat. "Something seems off about this cavalry..." he thought, feeling that things were taking a turn for the worse.

However, the distance between the two sides was now a mere few hundred paces. For cavalry, this gap would be closed in the blink of an eye. Any other action would be pointless.

"DIE!!!"

With a furious roar, Night Battle thrust his long spear forward. The vast vitality within his body erupted instantly, channeling into the spear before shooting out as a blood-red dragon. The Tier Four Warrior of the Barbarian Race blocking his path didn't even have time to react before his entire upper body was Devoured by the crimson dragon.

"Agula!"

Seeing their top expert killed so effortlessly, the surrounding Barbarian Warriors were utterly shocked, their eyes filling with terror. However, their Fear had only just begun. Among those of the same tier, the only ones capable of meeting Heavy Cavalry head-on were other Heavy Cavalry.

The Heavy Cavalry, forged through Su Xingyu's painstaking efforts, was undoubtedly the number one force in the Night Tribe in terms of pure strength. Before colliding with the enemy forces, they raised their long spears.

BANG BANG BANG!

Without any suspense, it was like a bulldozer plowing through a wheat field. Any enemy cavalry blocking the Heavy Cavalry's path were either skewered to death or knocked to the ground, only to be trampled into a bloody paste by the horse hooves. The fierce and brave Barbarian Warriors truly lived up to their title as the overlords of the Black Soil Plain. They were not frightened by this gruesome scene. Even with Death imminent, they swung their Long Sabers forward in the final moments of their Life, desperate to drag their enemies down to hell with them.

To their despair, however, their usually unstoppable Long Sabers only struck a shower of sparks against this group of enemies, failing to even breach their Defense.

"How is this possible?! How could the Red River Alliance have such formidable cavalry? I don't believe it..." the young man cried out. Seeing the Barbarian Warriors around him falling one by one, his heart was filled with both shock and dread.

"Heavy Cavalry... this is Heavy Cavalry! How could such a monstrous unit appear in this barren land? Where did they even get so much iron?" The middle-aged Nobleman Son beside him was deathly pale, his face written with absolute despair.

"Sacrifice the heads of our enemies to the Monarch!!!"

Discarding his spear, Night Battle snatched the Long Saber from his horse's back and began a frenzied slaughter through the enemy formation with an invincible stance. With every swing of his blade, multiple enemies fell. After his explosive strike that killed the Barbarian Race's only Tier Four Warrior, there was no one left in the enemy army who could withstand even a single clash against Night Battle.

From the very start of the battle, the Balance Scale of victory had tipped directly in favor of the Night Tribe. With no possibility of a comeback for the enemy, the battlefield entered garbage time. There was simply no helping it; the force Night Battle was leading was the Night Tribe's strongest Elite Legion. Whether in terms of raw strength, equipment, or combat will, they were at the absolute pinnacle. Having seized the initiative, it was no surprise that they completely routed the barbarian cavalry.

After Night Battle led the Heavy Cavalry to pierce straight through the barbarian cavalry's formation, the rest of the cavalry trailing closely behind them joined the War.

An hour later, this completely suspense-free War came to an end. They had slain over two thousand enemies and captured nearly six thousand, while suffering less than a hundred casualties themselves. Without a doubt, this was a glorious victory.

The moment the War ended, the sky suddenly darkened. Dark clouds obscured the sun, and a massive, blinding phantom of a Divine Spirit emerged. It then transformed into countless drops of rain and dew that cascaded down, merging into the bodies of all the Night Tribe Warriors.

The wounds of the injured soldiers healed at a visible rate. Nearly a thousand men achieved a breakthrough on the spot, stepping into a new realm. Though the remaining soldiers didn't break through, they could feel that their Cultivation progress had taken a massive stride forward.

While this left the Night Tribe Warriors incredibly excited, what made them even more ecstatic were the two words that surfaced in their minds as the rain and dew merged into their bodies:

"Not bad!"

The divine voice was ethereal and completely devoid of emotion. Even so, it left the soldiers present so endlessly thrilled that they wished they could immediately slaughter their way into the Barbarian Tribe and sacrifice the entire Barbarian Race to the Divine Spirit.

"Our Lord is Eternal!!!"

"Our Lord is Eternal!!!"

"Our Lord is Eternal!!!"

Looking at the Night Tribe Warriors, who possessed fanatical gazes and acted like absolute madmen, the captured barbarians felt a profound, genuine Fear, subconsciously gulping in dread.

The reaction of a scrawny, middle-aged Nobleman Son among them was particularly exaggerated. Staring at the world that had once again regained its brightness, his eyes were filled with disbelief. "A Divine Spirit? How could a Divine Spirit possibly exist in this desolate land? What in the world is going on?!"

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Night Battle ordered his adjutant, "Bring all these captives back to the Black Earth Base. The Clan Leader should be arriving soon. Tell everyone not to slack off. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be striking the Barbarian Tribe next."

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

The soldiers' morale surged like a rainbow. Originally, they had harbored some misgivings. After all, the Barbarian Race had dominated the Black Soil Plain for a long time and accumulated deep-rooted prestige. But after fighting a single battle, their mindset completely shifted.

"Is this all the strength the so-called hegemonic Barbarian Tribe of the Black Soil Plain has? They are nothing more than this! Just watch as we conquer the Barbarian Tribe and offer them up to our God!" they thought.

SCREECH—

Following a piercing cry from afar, a fierce gale swept over them. An exceptionally majestic giant eagle then slowly landed, its two sharp talons and feathers still stained with blood.

Seeing this, the eyes of the Barbarian Warriors dimmed even further. They had originally hoped that once the tribe learned of their defeat, they would send troops to rescue them. Now, it seemed that was completely out of the question.

"Ye Shilui, go pick out the generals from among the barbarian captives. The Clan Leader might have a use for them later," Night Battle instructed the Nobleman Son beside him.

"We aren't going to just lock them up directly?" Ye Shilui asked in confusion.

"We need to interrogate them for intelligence before locking them up. Although we've already scouted the situation of the Barbarian Tribe, it was only a surface-level understanding. We haven't figured out the specific details yet, and launching a rash attack wouldn't end well," Night Battle patiently explained, shooting him a glance.

"Mhm, just leave it to me," Ye Shilui nodded, seemingly only half-understanding.

"Go on." Night Battle sighed softly and waved his hand. He suddenly understood how the Elders felt when they spoke to him.