Before the scout could speak, Ciciliotes anxiously asked, "Who won?"
No wonder the leaders were anxious. Although they were not far from the Nix Tribe, the Pannonians had not launched an attack on the Nix Camp in this direction. Instead, they dispatched cavalry to pose a nacing stance in front of the Aldean Village, scaring Budocaribas into closing the village gates and rallying the tribesn to prepare for defense, not daring to send scouts directly.
But today’s battle not only concerned the life and death of the Nix Tribe but also their own safety. So a group of Aldean leaders stood on the village wall, gazing to the east. Although they couldn’t see the battlefield, they could see dust shrouding the east and hear the sound of battle, which indicated the fierce fighting. Now that calm had returned, it was obvious that victory or defeat had been decided.
"The Pannonians did not break through the outsiders’ camp; they retreated!" The scout’s words made the leaders breathe a sigh of relief, and then they showed expressions of joy.
Budocaribas laughed heartily, saying, "Didn’t I tell you earlier not to worry? Last ti, our allies dared to fight outside the camp and defeated the Segestica Army with fewer numbers. This ti, relying on the camp’s defense, even if the Pannonian Army has more warriors, they can’t break it!"
"Budocaribas, if you trust those outsiders so much, why did you plead for our help earlier?" Ciciliotes teased.
"Indeed, I was beside him, and I heard him mumbling sothing like ’It’s all those outsiders’ fault for attracting so many Pannonians, it will bring disaster to us’..." another leader chid in.
"Nonsense! I... I never said such things!" Budocaribas’ face reddened with embarrassnt as he vehently denied it.
"I heard it too, you even said..." Yet another leader interjected.
Seeing his leader’s awkward expression, the scout raised his voice and said, "Although the Pannonians retreated, they are now moving their camp south, closer to the outsiders’ camp. It looks like they are preparing to surround the outsiders’ camp."
"What?!" The leaders’ expressions changed at once, and they turned their heads to the east.
However, all they could see were the hundreds of Pannonian cavalry in the distance, not the Pannonians setting up camp further away.
A leader said worryingly, "Although the outsiders repelled the Pannonians this ti, if the Pannonians besiege the camp over a long period and repeatedly attack, I’m afraid they will eventually be wiped out!
Then the Pannonians will turn their attention to us with full force, which would be troubleso! Since we are allies, why not quickly send soone to ask the Great Chief and provide them with so tily support?"
"Support? Send our warriors to risk fighting this vast Pannonian Army?! Don’t forget! We invited those outsiders here to help us defeat the fierce Pannonians, not to sacrifice our warriors to help them live comfortably here!" another leader reminded discontentedly.
His words imdiately won the approval of most leaders. The repeated defeats over the years had filled the Aldeans with fear of the Pannonians. So had even complained that these outsiders were too belligerent, bringing the Pannonian coalition army, and with the battlefield so close to the Aldeans’ core territory, there was always the risk of a renewed large-scale invasion by the Pannonians.
"Let’s stop arguing and wait a bit longer." Budocaribas tried to diate: "Before the Pannonian Army attacked, I had t with their leader, Maximus, and expressed my willingness to offer him so help. But he refused. He confidently told that they would defeat this Pannonian Army just like last ti!"
.....................
In the Pannonian Army’s first attack on the camp, even though Andres was unaware of the situation in the Nix Camp and the warriors lacked experience in attacking regular military camps, he still launched a full assault. As a result, there were up to 3,000 casualties, mostly wounded, but many had injuries like pierced feet or fractures, making them unable to return to combat quickly.
The significant casualties forced the Pannonian Army to be unable to launch another attack soon, so Andres had to let the troops rest while besieging the enemy camp.
Additionally, he actively discussed with Temagis and other reinforcent leaders how to break the enemy camp.
.....................
Pulikas was using his foot to scrape through a pile of ashes on the ground. Seeing this, an old hunter beside him said, "Leader, this pile of burned firewood should be from yesterday. I just walked around and didn’t see any newer ones."
"So, the enemy ran away yesterday!" Pulikas looked around, seeing only this pile of ashes and a few simple wooden fences by the creek, with no other signs of human habitation on this open space.
"These damn bastards sure ran fast!" Pulikas angrily kicked at the ash, which was wet with dew and not only didn’t scatter but stuck to his foot. Stomping it off didn’t clean it, making him even more annoyed as he walked to the creek.
At that mont, another search party returned.
"Leader, the enemy likely headed southwest. We found a lot of human waste on the mountain path there, as well as scraps of clothing hanging on branches and weeds..."
"Southwest?" Pulikas looked at the old hunter.
The old hunter said, "Leader, the mountains to the southwest are low and easy to travel, and past them, continuing west, is the Kolana River, which is part of the Aldean’s territory."
"It seems these enemies intend to flee back to their own camp." Pulikas said through gritted teeth.
"Leader, shall we pursue them?"
Pulikas didn’t answer imdiately but first asked the old hunter, "How long would it take to reach the Kolana River from here heading southwest?"
"If traveling quickly, it would take only a day and a half."
It seed the enemy had already fled far, too far to catch up... Pulikas looked back at the thousand n he had with him, mindful of the primary task Andres had given him: to secure the rear’s safety at all costs! If he led the troops in pursuit, abandoning the Kupa River’s vicinity, a new enemy could attack the supply lines, causing trouble!
With this in mind, he decided to lead his army back to the base. But considering that this enemy force might sneak back after he left, he left a search party here to stay hidden and report any unusual findings promptly.
........................
Just as the Pannonians found the Nix Special Soldiers’ temporary camp in the mountains, Pequot had already led his team out of the mountains.
When he decided to attack the Pannonians’ supply convoy, he had already planned to abandon that camp. Although the camp’s location was hidden, once they revealed their presence, the Pannonians would certainly send a large search party, and they would surely find it as it was quite difficult to hide the traces of over 2,000 people (including nearly 2,000 Scodisqi slaves) moving in and out of the mountains. Pequot, born among the Illyrian Mountain People, understood this well.
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