Chapter 15: Charge

Leaving three thousand men behind to guard the prisoners, Night Battle did not linger. He led the remainder of his forces away from the Barbarian Tribe's stronghold, galloping straight toward their next target.

The Barbarian Tribe had two strongholds in total, along with quite a few vassals. Because of this, the Night Tribe had to move fast. They needed to strike before the Barbarian Race could prepare, crushing them in one fell swoop. If they allowed the enemy time to mobilize, even if the Night Tribe Warriors could win, their casualties would be immense—an outcome that completely went against their goals.

The Night Tribe didn't just want the Extraordinary resources and mineral veins here; they also wanted the Barbarian Warriors themselves. However, trying to absorb them wasn't exactly a wise move.

For the current Night Tribe, suddenly taking in a population of three hundred thousand would create a massive burden. This was especially true considering these people were the wild and unruly Barbarian Race. It would turn the Night Tribe into a balloon ready to burst. Although the Night Tribe boasted a massive population, more than half were new members. Most of them only stayed out of fear of the Divine Spirit's might and because of the tribe's excellent living conditions. Very few actually felt a true sense of belonging to the Night Tribe. If a riot were to break out, the entire tribe would explode in an instant.

Ultimately, they simply hadn't had enough time. It hadn't even been a month since the Night Tribe unified the Red River. Expecting the new members to fully accept the Night Tribe in such a short window was too difficult. If they just had a little more time—not even that long, perhaps half a year to a year—Su Xingyu was confident he could make them truly pledge their loyalty.

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs."

Su Xingyu hadn't wanted to start a War with the Barbarian Race this early. As time passed, the Night Tribe's Power would only continue to grow, whereas the Barbarian Race had already plateaued. The longer they waited, the easier it would be for the Night Tribe to deal with them.

But that was under the assumption of a one-on-one battle.

Such a scenario was impossible. At their absolute limit, the main Barbarian Tribe could field sixty to seventy thousand Warriors, but with their vassals included, that number would easily surpass a hundred thousand. Once the Barbarian Tribe discovered the Night Tribe's existence, Su Xingyu knew exactly what they would do—they would recklessly throw their entire military force into a decisive battle against them.

Su Xingyu didn't think the Night Tribe would lose, but engaging in such a massive War would inevitably hinder their development. Therefore, upon learning that the Barbarian Race had sent men over, Su Xingyu didn't hesitate. He immediately deployed all his cavalry, intending to swallow the Barbarian Tribe whole.

As for whether it could be done?

Su Xingyu believed it absolutely could.

The two strongholds were only a few dozen miles apart, an incredibly short distance. Before the cavalry led by Night Battle had even covered half that distance, they collided head-on with a massive Barbarian army. Without a doubt, these were the Barbarian Warriors from the second stronghold.

"Acre, that useless piece of trash! With over thirty thousand Barbarian Warriors, he couldn't even hold out for a moment," a burly Barbarian cursed out loud, his face grim as he stared at the cavalry clad in Black Armor ahead of him.

His name was Hudson, the ruler of the other stronghold and the nominal leader of the entire Barbarian Tribe. When he had first received the news of the attack, Hudson didn't believe it. The other tribes should be thanking the gods that the Barbarian Tribe wasn't causing trouble for them; who would dare to actively provoke his people?

However, as more and more fleeing Barbarian Warriors arrived, he had no choice but to believe it. Harboring deep doubts, Hudson gathered almost all of his Barbarian Warriors and rushed over, encountering even more deserters along the way. This forced him to accept the reality: another tribe had indeed attacked them, and the Barbarian Tribe was somehow on the losing end. Even so, Hudson never could have imagined that Acre would lose the battle before reinforcements even arrived.

"Let's see just how mighty this Barbarian Race, who runs rampant across the Black Soil Plain, truly is!" Scarlet blood-qi flared around Night Battle once again. With a furious roar, he spurred his horse forward. "Charge with me!"

This was Night Battle's method of leading troops: serving as the vanguard himself. He would either pierce straight through the enemy or die charging.

"Kill!"

"Slaughter them!"

"Offer this victory to our God!"

With thunderous roars, the Night Tribe Warriors behind him charged ahead.

"Fools overestimating their own strength." Hudson sneered, then spurred his horse forward as well. "Follow me! Let's show them the Power that allows us to suppress the Black Soil Plain!"

Howling at the top of their lungs, the Barbarian Warriors charged ahead in sheer excitement. The most massive cavalry clash in the history of this land had begun.

Between the two sides, nearly a hundred thousand Warriors took to the field, and every single one was an Elite. It was no exaggeration to say that either of these armies could sweep through all the other tribes on the Black Soil Plain on their own.

As the two armies rapidly closed the distance, Hudson, riding at the very front, felt his pupils shrink slightly as he realized something was wrong.

Why was the enemy cavalry moving so slowly? And why did the rumbling of their approach sound so off?

When the two sides were only a few hundred paces apart, Hudson finally realized what it was.

They were fully armored. Weren't these fucking Heavy Cavalry?!

Before becoming the Clan Leader, Hudson had traveled with merchant caravans for a time, witnessing many things that did not exist in this land. One of those things was Heavy Cavalry—something he had always wanted to establish, but couldn't achieve due to practical limitations.

The Barbarian Tribe did not lack iron ore, but they lacked the necessary smelting techniques. Hudson had scraped resources together for years just to outfit a few hundred Heavy Cavalrymen, which served as his ultimate trump card. Yet, if his eyes weren't deceiving him, the entire enemy force opposite him consisted of Heavy Cavalry—or, at the very least, the vanguard charging at the front did.

"It's over." Hudson's face turned the color of dead ashes.

Having relied on his own Heavy Cavalry to bully other tribes, Hudson knew exactly how devastating this unit type was. Once they built up speed, they were nothing short of a Giant Beast of steel. Even Extraordinary Warriors, who were vastly stronger than ordinary men, had to steer clear of their momentum when facing such an armored monstrosity.

But this was where the tragedy lay. Both sides were moving too fast. Even if Hudson ordered an immediate retreat, the Night Tribe Warriors would still crash right into them, leading to an even more disastrous defeat.

Led by Night Battle, the three thousand Heavy Cavalry slammed into the Barbarian Warriors in an instant.

It was like an elephant charging into a pack of wolves. The Barbarian Warriors on the front lines were either sent flying through the air or knocked directly off their horses, only to be trampled into a bloody pulp. Whether they were ordinary Warriors or Extraordinary Warriors, beneath tens of thousands of iron hooves, anyone who fell would be pulverized into bloody mud.

The formidable Heavy Cavalry easily tore through the Barbarian Tribe's front lines, practically splitting their forces in half.

Tossing aside his ruined spear, Night Battle snatched up a massive war cleaver and slashed viciously forward, instantly killing two Barbarian Warriors and sending them tumbling from their mounts.

"Hahaha! Kill them all!"

"Is this the so-called Barbarian Race? They're a bit weak!"

"Is this all they've got? With this kind of strength, how could they possibly stop our conquest!"

Laughing wildly, the Heavy Cavalry—despite having lost some of their momentum—continued to stubbornly hack their way forward, cleaving a bloody path with their Long Sabers.

As the Night Tribe's most Elite Warriors, they boasted the best equipment available—a full tier above even the brothers fighting behind them. In comparison, the Barbarian Warriors' equipment was severely lacking.

Almost all of the Barbarian Tribe's gear came from merchant caravans. The quality wasn't terrible, but it was incredibly old. Some of the Barbarian Warriors were wearing armor that was hand-me-downs from their grandfathers' generation.

If compared to the original Red River Tribe, this equipment would undoubtedly be considered advanced, given that the Red River Tribe used to wear mostly animal pelts. But against the newly outfitted Night Tribe, they looked utterly dilapidated.

If a single Warrior had outdated gear, he could make up for it with sheer skill. But when tens of thousands of Warriors were out-geared, the battle was practically over before it even began.