"Commander Elliot! Aren't we marching too fast?" Neil expressed his concern to Elliot. Normally, it would take four days to travel the distance they had covered. But the Star Mark squad had been galloping on horseback, switching to the best horses at each station, and had reached the Southern camp in only a day and half. After a brief rest for the night, they embarked again on their patrol to the Northeast. Their pace slowed down, but it was still much faster than a typical patrol.
"We don't have any wind mages for aerial surveillance. Anya and Selena take turns casting detection spells and it's quite exhausting. With the increasing activity of the wolf cavalry, should we be more cautious?" Bellian joined the conversation. The Star Mark squad had received little formal training in horse riding. The mages and archers would be at a disadvantage if a wolf cavalry ambushed them on horseback, hence they were forced to traverse the vast grassland on foot.
At this moment, Elliot was also hesitating. According to the original plan, the squad now had to reach the Eastern ancient city ruins and rest there by afternoon. By the evening, Ray would drive a large group of wolf cavalry to the ruins, engaging in a "fortuitous" battle. The Star Mark squad would take advantage of the ruins' architecture, annihilating the wolf cavalry that was unlikely to charge effectively there, striking a complete victory.
But after all, this was the Star Mark's first time out in the field, so they were a bit slow. Though Ray had ploughed the land several times before ensuring their safety, he still had to put on a full show so as not to affect the morale of these proud humans.
"We shall rest here for a moment. We need to arrive at the ancient city ruins before the darkness falls. We cannot risk camping in the open – too dangerous!” Elliot, after consulting his maps again, gave his orders.
"This grassland is beautiful. If not for war, this place would be a wonderful tourist spot," Irodity muttered, laying down her long sword in contemplation.
"It indeed used to be. My tribe used to graze here, back when there were countless sheep and cattle," a towering figure said sitting next to her, staring off at the horizon as if to recall something; that was Arun, the warrior dispatched by the nomadic tribe.
"Big guy, your home was around here, wasn't it?" Evan walked to Arun's side, looking at the grass swaying in the wind, which showed no signs of human activity.
"Not too far. Just north of the river. Our house had over 800 cows and over 1000 sheep. I used to ride horses and herd them every day," Arun said with a slight smile on his face.
"So you used to ride horses and herd sheep when you were young?" Evan asked, surprised.
"Children of our pastoral tribe start at the age of nine. When the beastmen invaded in my 13th year, I could take down a cow with my bare hands!" Arun proudly showcased his biceps, but his smile faded quickly.
"Then came the beastmen's wolf cavalry who killed all our livestock. The adult males from the tribe died in battle. All we could do was flee to the Free Federation," he added.
"But we'll recover everything. The human territories we've lost – we'll regain all of it!" Evan reassured him, patting his broad shoulder.
~~~
"Jingpi! How many wolf cavalry do you have left?" two breathless beastmen jumped off their wolves and ran towards another.
"Over 30. How about you?"
"We only have less than one team left. Hogg here still has about three teams." Upon hearing this number, Jingpi let out an aggravated howl. Originally, they were a wolf cavalry squadron of around 300 men aiming for the southwest Tuchan Fort. However, they encountered a merciless human on the way who killed almost half of the warriors.
"Damn it! What on earth does that human want to do?" Hogg growled, gripping his war knife tightly.
"Ideally, he could easily annihilate all of us. But he's herding us southeast like sheep. Any deviation in direction and he kills a few of us! God knows what ambush lies ahead!
"Is there any place southeast where we can rest?"
"There's an abandoned human ancient city. We can regroup there while we wait for the other units to rescue us."
"Okay, inform the squad – we need to reach the ancient city before the sun goes down."
~~~
"Avery, wake up! The beastmen are coming!" Irodity gently nudged a tense-looking Avery, leading her to join the others. Elliot was busy outlining the battle plan.
"The sun is almost setting. According to Anya’s detection magic, the approaching party consists of about 100 wolf cavalry. They are also likely to camp in the ruins. Let's ready ourselves. They should be here within half an hour."
"One, one, one, one, a hundred people, that's not five teams!" Originally still drowsy, Avie instantly woke up when she heard this news, feeling a shiver all over her body.
"Don't worry, don't be afraid, Avie! Although there are many people on the other side, the advantage is on our side!" Beryan confidently looked at the information listed by Elliot and said.
"That's right! They lost the biggest reliance of the wolf riders when they entered the ruins for repairs and turned into ordinary beastman infantry. Plus, we are the ones ambushing this time, setting magical traps to catch them off guard. This time, we are guaranteed to win!" Evan analyzed bit by bit.
"Anya, prepare the magic shield, don't let the smell leak and alert them early. Selena, Neil, you guys set explosive traps here and here, don't let a single beastman escape. Everyone else come with me, we have to scatter and hide as soon as possible, we must wipe out this group of beastman wolf riders!" Elliot directed confidently, and everyone immediately began to prepare.
"Hurry! Hide well! The beastmen are coming!" On the horizon under the setting sun, the figures of the wolf riders were already vaguely visible, Beryan urged anxiously in a low voice.
"Almost done! You quickly cover our tracks!" Neil was also a bit anxious, the arrangement of alchemical traps was coming to an end.
"Done! Let's go! Hide with Avie!" Two minutes later, under Beryan's constant urging, Neil finished setting up the traps, and the two hurriedly ran to the designated place to ambush.
"Quiet, quiet! They're here!" Avie pulled them into the hole shielded by magic, and everyone quietly waited for the arrival of the wolf riders.
