Moreover, the camp was burned down, and all the supplies inside were destroyed. Although you stored most of the grain in the village to the east, avoiding significant losses, all the long spears and wooden shields stored in the camp were burned. Our tools for preparing long ladder logs, such as axes, hamrs, saws, were also incinerated. Additionally, tents, cloth blankets, carriages, and other military supplies were consud by fire, and not a few warhorses tied outside the camp have gone missing as well... Andres, this battle has cost us dearly—"
"No matter how great the losses are, we must keep fighting until we utterly destroy these rcenaries!" Andres replied firmly. "I will have the tribe quickly prepare and send the lost supplies. In the anti, the warriors can take this opportunity to rest and regain their morale. Once everything is ready, we will attack imdiately—there is no room for delay!"
"Andres, don’t forget that more than 2,000 rcenaries attacked us last night. If you also count the rcenaries who attacked the transport convoy earlier, the enemy’s numbers outside are now roughly equal to the warriors guarding the village and protecting the grain route. How can we ensure the safety of the transport teams?"
Temagis’ reminder caused Andres’ expression to change. He had been solely focused on annihilating the enemies within the camp, neglecting the safety of the grain route. Thinking about Pulikas’ report from a few days ago, their efforts had rely driven that group of enemies into Aldean territory without inflicting any real damage. Now, with an additional 2,000 enemies roaming outside, the situation had indeed beco a major headache!
Feeling irritated, Andres tried his best to regain his composure and thought about strategies from past experiences of exterminating remnants of the Skodisqi who escaped into the mountains. He hoped to quickly find a solution to this problem.
At that mont, he saw the two commanders of the Brochi and Mazi reinforcents hurrying toward him.
Another problem... Andres sighed softly in his heart, temporarily shelving the matter of the roaming rcenaries. He readied himself ntally to deal with the coming challenges and to persuade them.
Unexpectedly, Brochi commander Elix, upon seeing him, did not ntion last night’s raid. Instead, with an exceptionally solemn tone, he said, "Andres Chief, I just t the ssenger sent by my tribe’s Great Chief. Now, I will ask him to speak with you directly."
After Elix finished speaking, he stepped aside, allowing soone to walk forward from behind.
Andres froze for a mont, recognizing this person—Curius, the eldest son of Bricks and likely the next Great Chief of Brochi. This man in his thirties was dressed as a rider, with a haggard appearance suggesting he had been rushing tirelessly. This brought Andres an uneasy feeling.
"Andres Chief! Temagis Chief!" Curius greeted the two with a bow, and before they could return the courtesy, he imdiately continued, "In recent days, enemies have successively attacked several tribes in the western part of my Brochi Territory. Many tribesn have been killed, a significant amount of supplies looted, and many Skodisqi slaves have joined their ranks... The situation is extrely dire. Therefore, my father sent here overnight to inform Elder Elix to imdiately lead troops back to eliminate the enemies and safeguard the territory!"
Andres felt a sharp pain in his head again. Frustrated, he gritted his teeth and asked, "Does your tribe not have other warriors? Why must you withdraw the troops stationed here?"
"After the last tribal alliance eting, my father honored his commitnt by sending 15,000 reinforcents to Andizeti and another 10,000 reinforcents to you here. Not many warriors remain in the territory."
"Moreover, the initial enemy forces were reported to number several thousand. Now, with those damned Skodisqi slaves joining them, their numbers likely exceed 10,000. If we don’t withdraw troops soon, the entire territory might fall into chaos, making the situation even harder to resolve!" Curius explained in a worried tone, deliberately concealing the fact that due to the oversight of their commanders, more than 1,000 reinforcents sent to save the attacked tribes had been ambushed and suffered a disastrous defeat.
What Curius said was reasonable, but Andres was unwilling to let the Brochi reinforcents leave at this critical mont. He couldn’t help but ask again, "Why not withdraw the reinforcents stationed in Andizeti? The number of Brochi warriors is greater there, and the route back is flatter and easier to traverse."
Andres’ questioning tone visibly annoyed Curius, who dropped his expression and coldly replied, "The safety of Andizeti concerns the survival of our entire Pannonian Race, whereas the troubles here are rely the ss you Segestica stirred up in newly occupied lands. Andres, as the Great Chief, surely you can tell which matters are more consequential."
"You—"
Curius let out a mocking laugh and, having spoken plainly, didn’t bother holding back anymore. "Andres, your tribe faced danger, and our Brochi generously allocated 10,000 reinforcents for you. Yet, despite leading a large army here, not only have you failed to annihilate the enemy forces smaller in number than yours, you’ve suffered significant losses. Just from the Brochi reinforcents alone, over 2,000 have died or been wounded. Upon returning, it will be difficult enough for us to explain this to the families of the casualties."
"And now you want to disregard our holand’s peril and allow these warriors to continue fighting here? Even if I agreed to such a request, the warriors would undoubtedly revolt, and at that point, you would face an even greater disaster!"
"Curius, Andres does not intend to forcibly retain the Brochi warriors here," Temagis quickly stepped in to appease the situation and shifted the focus. "Where did the enemies within your territory originate?"
"It’s unclear for now. It could be the Aldeans, but for the past few years, they’ve been cowering along the Kolana River. I don’t believe they suddenly acquired the courage and strength to offend us Brochi."
"The more likely culprits are the rcenaries here. I heard your transport convoy was attacked previously, and last night your camp was raided again. Obviously, they could also dispatch a force west to stir up trouble in my Brochi Territory."
Andres seized the opportunity and loudly said, "That’s why these rcenaries are our biggest trouble. We should first eliminate the main force of rcenaries in the camp, then divide our troops to hunt down the remaining enemies outside. Only then will our territories truly be secure!"
Curius glanced at him, then said in a deep voice, "I am here rely to deliver the ssage. I still need to urge the warriors to pack their belongings and assist the wounded. Ti is tight, so I’ll take my leave now."
With that, he turned around and left, Elix following closely behind.
Andres wanted to call out to them multiple tis, but ultimately held back. He stood there, dazed, with only one thought in his mind: What should we do after the Brochi reinforcents leave?
The 10,000-strong Brochi reinforcents, including over 2,000 wounded, made up one-third of the Alliance Army’s total forces. Once they depart, and with 3,000 troops already sent to the rear to guard the grain route and thousands of injured soldiers accounted for, Andres would only have about 12,000 to 13,000 combat-ready warriors left. Would this ager force be enough to take the entire camp?
"Andres Chief," Mazi’s commander Saromis spoke up. "I regret to say that, like Elix, I too must lead my warriors back ho today."
"You—" Andres felt a surge of anger hit him. He turned his glare to Saromis and snarled, "Are you Mazi going to violate the alliance agreent as well?!"
"Andres Chief, what kind of talk is that!" Saromis retorted indignantly, "After the alliance eting, Great Chief Maitilis imdiately ordered to lead 10,000 reinforcents to assist you in battle here.
The Mazi warriors have been away from ho for over a month now. They’ve fought nurous bitter battles and suffered over 2,000 casualties. In the end, they succeeded in capturing the rcenaries’ outer camp, showing those enemies the strength of Pannonians... The Mazi have done more than enough for you Segestica! I believe we’ve already fulfilled the agreent, and now it’s ti to return ho!"
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