novelraw Chapter 154
Chapter 154
Chapter 154
The place where Rudelrof had set up an ambush with the Lion Tribe warriors was midway between Lucas and the Second Horn.
It was a location that anyone taking the shortest route from Lucas would inevitably pass through.
Since the Cow Tribe warriors had already passed through here, the Imperial bastards would soon follow.
The Imperial Army, already a step behind, would have no choice but to take the shortest path to catch up with the Cow Tribe.
Rudelrof’s objective here was to stop the Empire’s pursuing force—and depending on the situation, wipe them out entirely.
“Doesn’t seem like there was any need to mobilize the Horse Tribe too. Didn’t all the Knights head to the Second Horn?”
“I’m not even sure if you can call this mobilization. They came voluntarily. All the Horse Tribe warriors ran to the Second Horn. The ones here are all reserve warriors.”
“Sending even reserve warriors to support our rear… does that human Lord not trust us? What’s the point of this against mere Soldiers?”
Camilla, clearly displeased at being assigned here instead of the Second Horn—where the Imperial Knights had gathered—looked deflated.
She was a Great Warrior of the Lion Tribe, after all. Naturally, she would rather fight Knights than Soldiers.
“That’s not it. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have entrusted us with such an important task.”
“Is that so?”
“And more importantly, there’s a Great Warrior among the enemy.”
“Oh? A human Great Warrior? That’s nice. Mind if I take that one?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
Rudelrof calmed the irritated Camilla by offering her the enemy Great Warrior.
Seeing her expression brighten instantly at the mention of a worthy opponent made him chuckle bitterly.
Leisha and Camilla—lionesses of the tribe—were all like this.
‘Well, the important thing isn’t the Great Warrior—it’s making sure none of the cavalry escape. That’s why Iron welcomed the Horse Tribe reserves joining us.’
Originally, only Horse Tribe warriors were supposed to participate in this war.
They were meant to gather here with the Lion Tribe.
But as the large-scale forces shifted toward the Second Horn, the Horse Tribe warriors assigned here all went there instead, leaving this battlefield entirely to the Lion Tribe.
For Rudelrof, who had to take responsibility here, it was an uneasy start.
Stopping the Empire wasn’t difficult—but wiping them all out was another matter.
Since the enemy had mobilized to pursue the Cow Tribe, many of them would be cavalry.
He wasn’t confident that the Lion Tribe alone could eliminate all fleeing cavalry.
‘That’s when the Horse Tribe joined us.’
As Rudelrof pondered how to ensure complete annihilation, the Horse Tribe reserve warriors appeared.
The reserves, originally part of the supply unit, showed up here instead of heading to the Second Horn.
With the Johnson Territory supplying large quantities of portable canned meat, their logistical burden had been reduced—so they simply moved here.
Whether warriors or reserves, the Horse Tribe were all exceptional archers.
They were hunters specialized in dealing with fleeing enemies.
There couldn’t have been more welcome reinforcements.
“They’re coming.”
At that moment—
The sound of hooves echoed from afar.
A large cavalry force was approaching.
The plan itself was simple.
Once the enemy approached, the Horse Tribe would unleash a volley of arrows, and then the Lion Tribe warriors lying in ambush would strike.
The Lion Tribe had roughly 400 warriors deployed for this operation.
No matter how many Knights the enemy brought, as long as it wasn’t over 500, victory was guaranteed.
Honestly, it almost felt too easy.
* Fwooooom—BOOM!!!
* BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
“…What is this?”
As planned, the Horse Tribe fired their arrows.
The problem was—
They weren’t ordinary arrows.
For some reason, the arrows exploded one after another.
The Imperial Army, focused solely on pursuit, was thrown into complete chaos.
An easy battle had just become even easier.
Letting out a hollow laugh at this unexpected boon, Rudelrof gave the order to attack.
The Lion Tribe warriors sprang from hiding and descended upon the Empire.
“At this rate, we won’t even earn our keep.”
The battlefield was cleared in an instant.
The Imperial force numbered around 1,000.
But the number of Knights wasn’t that high.
At most, around 200.
Unless they had completely abandoned their base, this was probably their limit.
Even then, they had organized all 1,000 into cavalry.
Most of the warhorses were well-maintained—likely belonging to Knights—and their armor was solid.
It seemed they had even mobilized the warhorses left behind by the Knights sent to the Second Horn.
If over a thousand cavalry had continued harassing the Cow Tribe, it could have posed a serious problem.
The heavily armored Cow Tribe was durable—but that came at the cost of mobility.
“But well… it’s already over.”
A force of 1,000, including 200 Knights.
Once the explosions caused the horses to panic, control was completely lost.
Then came the Horse Tribe’s arrows, followed by the Lion Tribe’s charge.
They couldn’t even mount proper resistance and quickly collapsed.
“At this rate, that Black Lion brat’s going to laugh at me.”
“Still, the Empire is the Empire. That Great Warrior was quite decent.”
However, Camilla, who had rushed in eagerly, was held up by the Empire’s Great Warrior.
Wielding a massive shield and a huge axe, the Imperial Great Warrior had exceptional defensive skills.
Even Camilla, one of the Lion Tribe’s finest, struggled to break through his defense.
If Rudelrof hadn’t finished off the Imperial Knights and joined her, she might still have been locked in combat.
Something she would never want to admit.
Fortunately, the Lion Tribe specialized in group hunting.
“Chieftain!”
“Yes, Horse Tribe warrior. What is it?”
As Rudelrof was cleaning up the battlefield, a Horse Tribe reserve who had been chasing fleeing enemies approached him.
They weren’t personally acquainted, but as comrades on the same battlefield, that didn’t matter.
Rudelrof spoke calmly.
But what followed surprised even him.
“Haven’t we finished everything we need to do here?”
“That’s right. Why?”
“Then let’s go raid the Imperial bastards.”
“Raid? The Empire?”
They were suggesting plundering the Empire.
Plunder.
It was something Rudelrof had never even considered.
‘Come to think of it… Lucas isn’t land we can occupy anyway.’
Iron had said that Lucas would eventually be taken by one of the human Great Lords.
Even if Beastmen took it, it would be meaningless—and impossible to hold.
It would only draw unnecessary attention.
If they couldn’t keep it, there was no reason not to plunder it.
The Lion Tribe’s next mission was to support the Dog Tribe.
Going through Lucas would also shorten their route.
And above all—
‘Raiding the Empire… this sounds fun.’
Beastmen had always been the ones getting plundered.
The idea of turning the tables was thrilling.
Rudelrof was a male.
And males, by nature, didn’t shy away from reckless acts for the sake of enjoyment.
Especially if it meant screwing over the Empire.
“Alright. Let’s go. Let’s raid the Imperial bastards.”
“As expected of the Lion Tribe. Let’s move.”
Rudelrof pulled out a Mana Communicator.
To report the situation and relay their next move.
A wide grin spread across his face as he reported their plan to plunder Lucas.
---
“You! A message came in! It’s good news!”
“Ah, Yuria.”
As I stood on the Castle wall observing the Imperial movements, Yuria came running over.
She brought news of something good.
‘But… she doesn’t look well at all.’
* She used Great Shamanism. It must have taken a toll on her body.
“Are you alright?”
“Hm? Ah… yeah. More or less.”
“Damn, you overdid it.”
“That’s because you compared me to the Dog Tribe Priestess…”
If Yuria hadn’t used Shamanism at the right time during the last battle, we might not have held out until the Horse Tribe arrived.
Even if we had, the damage would’ve been far worse.
I hadn’t been able to check on her earlier because of all the wounded—but seeing her pale face now made me feel guilty.
And even in that condition, she had still brought the Mana Communicator.
“Try to avoid using Great Shamanism in the future.”
“Hmph, are you worried about me?”
“I am. Even if it’s just in name, you’re the Lord’s wife. It’s a problem if you suddenly collapse. And… I’m sorry for comparing you to Elline. I didn’t mean anything by it…”
Saying it out loud made it sound pretty pathetic.
“Well, whatever. If it upset you, that’s on me. I’ll be more careful.”
“Still, that was a pretty straightforward apology.”
“If I’m wrong, I’m wrong.”
“Hmph. Fine. I’ll accept it.”
* Breeding projects are important, but shouldn’t you check the message first?
‘Ah, right.’
Yuria looked so unwell that I got carried away.
At least I explained things properly and apologized.
Still, even if her Shamanism helped, it would be a problem if she ruined her health.
Even as a nominal Lord’s wife, she had strong support from the residents—and the Fox Tribe was watching closely.
Though honestly, it would be better not to end up in situations requiring Shamanism at all.
‘But something like this probably won’t happen again.’
“So, what’s the good news?”
“Oh, right. The Lion Tribe and Horse Tribe defeated the pursuing force.”
“Oh, really?”
That really was good news.
Since most of their Knights had already been deployed here, I expected the pursuing force to be small.
Apparently, they had about 200 Knights.
Even with additional Soldiers, that force couldn’t stand against the Lion–Horse Tribe alliance.
Even the Horse Tribe reserves were skilled archers and fought similarly to warriors.
Honestly, even I wouldn’t know how to deal with them in open terrain.
I had expected this—but seeing it confirmed still felt good.
“But…”
“Yeah?”
“The Lion Tribe and Horse Tribe say they’re going to raid Lucas Castle.”
“…Raid?”
“Yeah. Raid.”
“…Why suddenly a raid?”
When I first met the Horse Tribe, their chieftain had mentioned looting the Empire.
I hadn’t taken it seriously at the time.
I didn’t think they’d actually cross into Imperial territory to plunder.
But things had taken a strange turn—and now the opportunity had appeared.
Lucas Castle was probably empty right now.
‘Nomads really do love raiding. They spotted the opportunity immediately.’
* Is that a problem?
‘Not really.’
We couldn’t claim Lucas anyway.
It would likely fall under the influence of Vines.
We had already contacted them, and they were probably just waiting for the right moment.
Even though we were cooperating now, I didn’t think highly of Vines.
From what Elline said, they hadn’t treated her well.
And more importantly—they had refused to sell us grain.
They sold grain to the Empire, but not to us.
Even though I had planned to pay cleanly with Mana Crystals.
It left a bad impression.
So honestly, I didn’t mind if Lucas got looted before Vines took it.
“Any movement from Vines?”
“They’re starting to move. The two territories they support are gathering troops.”
“Slow as ever.”
Well, if they wanted to move slowly, that was their problem.
We’d just take what we could.
At this rate, even if Vines took Lucas, restoring it would take a lot of effort.
‘Elline’s going to love this.’
Two pieces of good news for her—
That we’d be looting Lucas.
And that Vines was finally starting to move.