Chapter 13: Ballos

One day later.

After converging at the Black Earth Base and finalizing their plans, the Night Tribe's army decided to end the battle swiftly. They marched out overnight, heading deep into the Black Soil Plain to subjugate the Barbarian Tribe.

The deployed forces totaled twenty-four thousand troops, including three thousand Heavy Cavalry, thirteen thousand assault cavalry, and eight thousand light cavalry. All of the Night Tribe's cavalry had been mobilized.

The Barbarian Tribe was not particularly far from the Black Earth Base. If they marched at full speed, they could arrive in about a day.

However, traveling in a blinding snowstorm—even with Sky-Splitting Eagles guiding the way so they wouldn't lose their bearings on the grasslands—would inevitably drain the warriors' combat effectiveness.

Therefore, the plan Su Xingyu made for Night Battle was to march through the night and take a break midway. This way, they would most likely reach the Barbarian Tribe by the evening of the second day.

Su Xingyu did not march with the army. The plan was set; he only needed to leave the rest for Night Battle to execute. Leave professional matters to the professionals. He didn't believe he knew more about waging war than Night Battle. Moreover, his absence from the march didn't mean he couldn't influence the battlefield.

His growing number of Believers granted Him more autonomy. Currently, as long as there were enough Believers in a given location, He could directly descend with "Divine Power" to interfere with reality. Thus, even if the battlefield turned disadvantageous, He could still turn the tide. Although Su Xingyu felt he might not necessarily need to make a move personally.

He had already investigated the background of the Barbarian Race thoroughly. They were undeniably strong, but to think they could stand against his meticulously forged iron cavalry legion was simply wishful thinking. Not to mention, Night Battle was launching a surprise attack, fully prepared to catch them off guard.

After watching the warriors depart, Su Xingyu turned around and ordered, "Go bring the captured vanguard lieutenant of the Barbarian Race over here."

Soon, a pale, disheveled middle-aged man covered in bloodstains was escorted in by two men.

"There's no need to tie him up. In his current state, he can't hurt me." Su Xingyu waved his hand, signaling the two to untie the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged Nobleman Son looked at the clean, calm young man before him with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He seemingly hadn't expected the overlord who unified the Red River Region to be such a young man.

"What, didn't expect me to be so young? Or do you think people from the barren land should all be burly, rough Han Sons?"

The middle-aged Nobleman Son was briefly stunned before quickly recovering. Placing his right hand over his chest, he bowed and said, "Respected Clan Leader of the Night Tribe, Ballos pays his respects to you."

Su Xingyu nodded and asked, "I can tell you're not from around here. Where are you from? And what do you intend to do here?"

Ballos fell silent for a moment before replying with a bitter expression, "You guessed correctly. I come from a powerful nation—the Kael Dynasty. While sailing at sea, my ship was attacked by pirates... After managing to escape with great difficulty, I lost my bearings and encountered a massive Storm that tore my fleet apart... When I woke up, I was here."

"How did you end up with the Barbarian Race?" Su Xingyu asked curiously.

Ballos's expression showed a reluctance to recall the past. "I was saved by the members of a small tribe. They stripped me of all my clothes and then offered me up to the Barbarian Tribe..."

As a nobleman of the Kael Dynasty—even if he was just a low-ranking and impoverished one—Ballos still maintained the pride and dignity of his status. Therefore, being humiliated by a Barbaric Tribe was a fate worse than death.

"I can tell this hasn't been a pleasant experience for you," Su Xingyu said with a hint of pity.

"Indeed," Ballos replied in a deep voice, his eye twitching.

Su Xingyu suppressed the amusement in his heart. "Before long, the Barbarian Tribe will cease to exist. Do you have any thoughts of finding a new backer? If you join the Night Tribe, we will all be family from now on. Your affairs will be the Night Tribe's affairs, and we will seek justice for you against the tribe that humiliated you."

"It is my honor to join the Night Tribe... As for that other tribe, there is no need to trouble you, Clan Leader. A while ago, they were already swallowed up by the Barbarian Tribe because they couldn't hand over enough grain."

Ballos's attitude was very respectful; he did not show any slight toward Su Xingyu just because he was from the Barbaric Land. During his time living in the Black Soil Plain, he had learned a harsh truth: no matter what his past status was, it was useless here. Power was the only absolute truth. And clearly, the young man before him—who controlled tens of thousands of warriors—was an entity far beyond his reach.

[Hero Template]

Name: Ballos

Race: Human Race

Talent: Information Processing

Equal Tier: Tier One

Affiliated Force: Night Tribe

Loyalty: 60

Power: ★★★

Constitution: ★★

Agility: ★★★

Spirit: ★★★★★★★

Trait 1: Super Memory: Rapid memorization, photographic memory.

Trait 2: Information Analysis: Accelerated thinking, information parsing.

Trait 3: Information Integration: Rapid information synthesis.

Even within the Night Tribe, there weren't many who possessed a Hero Template, and outstanding ones like Ballos were so exceedingly rare that they could be counted on one hand. Furthermore, most of the talents in the Night Tribe with a Hero Template either had combat templates or lifestyle profession templates. Domestic affairs talents like him could also be counted on a single hand.

"Very good." Su Xingyu glanced at Ballos's template and smiled, feeling highly satisfied. With Ballos's abilities, he would only need some simple instructions before he could assist with handling the tribe's various affairs.

Ballos didn't understand what Su Xingyu was talking about, but his face maintained its respectful expression.

"Your abilities are quite good. Making you start from the very bottom would be doing a disservice to your talents. How about this... follow by my side for now and help me handle some miscellaneous tasks. I'll assign you a specific role after some time."

Ballos's capabilities were beyond doubt, but he was ultimately a newly joined member. Placing him directly into a high position wasn't impossible, but it wouldn't look good. Therefore, Su Xingyu intended to keep him close for a while and assign him to another position once the time was ripe.

"I will follow your will," Ballos respectfully replied.

Su Xingyu waved his hand, having his men take Ballos away and arrange a room for him. Afterward, he separated the six thousand captives and gave them a friendly "education," making them realize their mistakes.

As prisoners who had witnessed the "might of a Divine Spirit," these captives were very sensible. They enthusiastically expressed their willingness to accept the Night Tribe's reformation. After all, if they could live, no one would want to die.

Once the captives were properly settled, Su Xingyu inspected the development progress of the Black Earth Base. Overall, it was quite good; Night Battle had perfectly executed the orders issued by the tribe.

While Su Xingyu was handling the base's affairs, the Night Tribe's expeditionary force had also arrived near the Barbarian Tribe.