Chapter 176: 176 Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Chapter 176: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

On the mountain path connecting Grey Soil Village and the Black Collar Tribe, frequent movement in recent days had trampled down all the undergrowth, widening the trail enough for two or three horses to ride side by side.

At this moment, Babulin led his contingent steadily along the path toward the Black Collar Tribe.

Soon, a group of cavalry appeared on the opposite side of the trail.

“Quick! Turn around! Retreat!”

Babulin gave the order without hesitation, and the entire group wheeled about on the spot.

These days, they had grown accustomed to such provocations—even using the enemy’s pursuit to hone their horsemanship.

The knights of Sain’s domain, led by U Nai, chased after them relentlessly.

Since being transferred to the Black Collar Tribe, he had not known a single day of peace.

You chase, and they refuse to fight;

You don’t chase, and they dare to loiter right at your gates.

U Nai was nearly driven to the brink of madness by these bastards.

“Damn you all! Chase them down hard today!”

The two forces galloped furiously along the mountain path—until, as they crossed the central boundary, a second wave of riders burst forth from the surrounding woods.

“Ha ha ha! You fools of Sain’s domain—you’re finished!”

U Nai’s face turned ashen. “Ambush! Fall back—now!”

He spun his men around to retreat, but Houen and Babulin joined forces and began pursuing in turn—though at a deliberately slow pace, just enough to let the enemy escape.

U Nai, heart pounding, barely slipped through the gates of the Black Collar Tribe’s stronghold and sprinted toward Philiton’s chamber.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

He pounded violently on the door. “My lord! Something’s wrong, my lord!”

Inside, Philiton lay fast asleep, rudely awakened by the frantic knocking. His temper was already thick with morning rage.

“Who the hell is it?!”

He growled in irritation.

Since arriving at the Black Collar Tribe, Philiton had taken himself for its lord.

Though the tribe was poor, it boasted over a thousand souls—and no shortage of decent-looking young women.

As for meat and wine, he’d brought a supply with him from Sain’s domain, and he ate and drank without restraint.

Thus, Philiton had lived in comfort these past days—especially after yesterday’s New Year celebration.

Still half-asleep, he instinctively glanced at the women snoring beside him.

They must have been utterly exhausted from last night’s revelry; even the pounding on the door hadn’t stirred them.

“My lord, the knights of Grey Soil Village are here again!”

U Nai’s words shattered Philiton’s drowsy reverie. He thought it was another trivial nuisance.

To be honest, he’d been startled the first time they crossed the border—but after repeated incursions, each time met with nothing but a swift retreat, he’d grown indifferent.

In Philiton’s view, though relations between Sain’s domain and the Forest Town were strained, open bloodshed was unlikely in the near term.

Besides, Luo Ning was still at Wu Mountain Fortress. Without the lord’s command, he didn’t believe that Riedal would dare launch a direct assault on the Black Collar Tribe.

“U Nai, didn’t I already tell you? When they come, you drive them off. Why are you bothering me?”

“Are your ears deaf? Or do you not understand what I say?”

“Do you even want to keep your position as deputy captain?”

U Nai, reeling from the tirade, felt both panic and fury—but dared not utter a word of protest. He truly feared that Jofri would snatch his post.

“My lord, this time is different!”

He hurried to explain. “This time, there are over thirty of them!”

“What?!” Philiton’s heart lurched.

Previously, Grey Soil Village had sent at most five or six riders. Why so many now?

What were these bastards planning?

“Is Riedal here?”

Philiton asked even as he channeled his aura to burn away the last dregs of wine and sleep, snapping fully awake.

He leapt from the bed and swiftly donned his armor and tunic.

“Riedal isn’t here. It’s Babulin and Houen—leaders of the barbarian tribes.”

U Nai rushed on: “They don’t fight. They just insult us all along the way—calling us fools, useless trash. They say Lord Reisen is all show and no substance—a complete idiot, a worthless coward.”

Hearing Riedal wasn’t present, Philiton felt a measure of relief.

Such provocations could wait until Baron Reisen returned from Wu Mountain Fortress. He had no desire to provoke direct conflict with Riedal.

If Riedal wasn’t here, then Grey Soil Village’s larger force today was likely just another stunt—training, taunting, nothing more.

“Damn it! Do they think we’re their damn sparring partners?!”

Philiton’s rage boiled over. “Fine! Today, we teach them a lesson they won’t forget!”

He had no wish to face Riedal directly—but that didn’t mean he feared Grey Soil Village. If it came to battle, Baron Reisen would cover his back.

Philiton mounted his warhorse and swiftly assembled his squad of knights and cavalry.

As the gates of the Black Collar Tribe swung open, they surged forth like a flood.

On the mountain path, Houen and Babulin had slowed their advance, remaining close to the boundary.

Hearing the thunder of hooves, they exchanged glances—not with fear, but with wild excitement.

“They’ve come out!”

“Look—the leader is still Philiton!”

“All these days, the coward finally dared to show his face!”

“Ha ha ha! Turn around, brothers! Let’s hurl every insult we’ve got at them!”

The moment Philiton saw the enemy turn to face him, his fury surged higher. He drew his longsword. “Charge! Today, they will pay!”

With a roar, he channeled his aura into a massive blade of energy—only to watch it dissipate harmlessly across the three or four hundred meters separating them.

Houen laughed uproariously and bellowed at the top of his lungs: “Philiton, you’re a pathetic waste! If that’s the best you’ve got, send Jofri back!”

Babulin chimed in: “If Jofri were here, he’d never cower like a turtle inside his castle.”

“Ha ha! Perhaps Reisen values Philiton’s turtle spirit enough to leave him guarding Black Collar.”

Philiton could still control his temper when Jofri wasn’t mentioned—but the moment his name was spoken, his rage exploded.

Once, he had been second only to the lord of Sain’s domain. Now he ranked third—and he loathed more than anything being compared to Jofri.

Now, hearing these words, his eyes burned crimson with fury.

Feridon lashed his mount's flank viciously, the warhorse bursting forward with a sudden surge of speed. "A bunch of useless trash! If you're men, stop and face me!"

The quality of the fellow's beast was exceptional; it rapidly closed the distance between Baburin and Horn, the grin on Feridon's face twisting into a hideous sneer.

"Today, I send you both to hell!"

Yet just as they prepared to strike, the frantic thunder of hooves and war cries erupted from the adjacent woodland, and out of the corner of his eye, Feridon caught sight of a dark silhouette rapidly closing in.

He could not help but look over, and in that instant, his soul nearly departed his body!

"It's Rydal!"

A terrifying realization flashed through Feridon's mind—was Dust Village actually launching an attack against the Black Collar Tribe?

"Rydal, what do you think you are doing? Do you intend to tear up the agreement reached between Baron Ronin and Baron Resen?"

Rydal paid him absolutely no heed. Spurring his mount to a furious gallop, he closed in on Feridon from the flank, his body and horse seamlessly fused as one beneath a shroud of battle aura.

The greatsword in his hand swung upward with tremendous force, slashing toward his opponent's head just as their steeds brushed past one another.

Horror seized Feridon's heart, yet he did not forget to react, raising his own blade to meet the onslaught.

A resonant, deafening clash rang out!

Rydal's strength was inherently superior to his adversary's, and bolstered by the momentum of his charging momentum, the single blow unexpectedly hurled Feridon clean off the back of his warhorse.

"Kill!"

With his ferocious roar, Baburin, Horn, and the others immediately wheeled their mounts around to charge the Black Collar Tribe's knight squad, while the archers concealed in the mountain forest unleashed a volley of arrows in advance.

The archers' arrows posed a limited threat to true knights, for professional knights possessed the reflexes to parry the projectiles with sweeps of their longswords.

However, the ordinary cavalrymen suffered terribly.

Some of the quick-witted managed to raise their shields to deflect the shafts, but many who reacted too slowly were instantly transfixed through the body, tumbling from their mounts to a miserable death on the spot.

"Swoosh!"

Amidst the rain of arrows, a thick bolt of blue aquatic energy shot like a streak of lightning toward Knight Unai.

This was the Water Arrow spell cast by Jenny, the intermediate water-attribute mage.

Knight Unai had never expected a magical spell to be concealed within the volley, and by the time he detected it, the water arrow was already upon him.

"Damn it!"

He could only slash his sword toward the water arrow, exploding with battle aura, but his rushed reaction was clearly insufficient to intercept the magic.

The Water Arrow spell slammed brutally into Unai's body, knocking him clean off his horse.

Instantly, the Black Collar Tribe's knight squad fell into utter chaos.

"Everyone, charge and slaughter them!"

From within the forest, Elron, seated atop his horse, bellowed at the top of his lungs.

An intense, milky-white radiance erupted from his body, and as the light washed over the soldiers, it dispelled their fear and pessimism, rendering them infinitely more courageous.

The light-attribute basic spell, Invigorate, was fundamentally an area-of-effect magic; with Elron's current strength, he possessed more than enough stamina to cast it multiple times, inspiring every soul present.

"Kill!"

The emboldened cavalrymen surged out first, preparing to break through the Black Collar Tribe's knight squad;

The infantry followed excitedly in their wake, ready to conduct the subsequent reaping.

Mountain Forest Town's first true battle had officially commenced upon the wilderness.

(End of Chapter)