Chapter 285: Our Mission is Complete
Halair charged into the crowd like a whirlwind, his two scimitars danced in his hands as if alive, constantly slashing and flying.
No one could stop his advance!
The protective circle around the leaders of the medium-sized tribes was torn open by him alone.
The soldiers following him swarmed forward, overwhelming the panicked tribal leaders.
After taking down these leaders, the others immediately became a disorganized mess, easily divided and slaughtered by Halair's army.
The elderly, women, and children in the back watched in horror as Halair killed their loved ones.
With the battle nearly over, exhaustion was visible in Halair's eyes.
Yet he didn't show it, ignoring the pleas for mercy from the remaining barbarian soldiers and killing them all.
The cold and ruthless Halair slowly raised his head, gazing at Yaya hovering in the sky, then walked into the protection of his guards.
"Let's go, the 'cooperation' is over."
"Our mission is complete."
Matthew withdrew his gaze from the chaotic battlefield below and returned to the camp with Yaya.
After these events, although the barbarian numbers had decreased by nearly 15,000, their threat had greatly increased.
They had transformed from a disorganized group into a unified tribe under Halair's control.
A weak army with a strong leader becomes formidable.
Halair's display of strength and tactics left a deep impression on Matthew.
However, despite Halair's formidable means, he wouldn't last long.
The visible debuffs above his head—"Severely Injured," "Deeply Poisoned," "Weakened"—indicated he was a dying man.
When Matthew returned, Angela glanced at the distant chaos that hadn't yet settled and asked without hesitation:
"Are they planning to retreat?"
Matthew shook his head, "No, but they'll take a different route."
Halair was smart; he wouldn't do anything uncertain, and Matthew wasn't interested in further "negotiations" with him:
"Inform everyone, we've killed 10,000 barbarian soldiers, but our troops are exhausted and unable to fight further."
"The remaining 45,000 barbarians will soon cross Silvermoon River, and we cannot stop them."
"Also, inform them of the barbarians' route."
Angela nodded, looking at the corpse-strewn battlefield across the river, and then turned to Beelzebub:
"Get them to surrender quickly."
The barbarian soldiers on the bridge, seeing the scene on the other side, promptly chose to surrender.
At this moment, they even felt a bit fortunate; though being captured was shameful, it was better than falling into Halair's hands.
Even ants strive to survive; they too wanted to live!
After nearly two days of battle, the Bay Territory soldiers escorted the prisoners back to camp to rest.
Even the golems would run out of energy or suffer damage, let alone the soldiers.
Even with further plans ahead, Matthew would not let them operate beyond their limits.
A pulled-back fist hits harder!
The barbarians who took a beating must be boiling with anger—let others take the first hit.
The Bay Territory won?
Defeated over 10,000 barbarian soldiers?
The remaining barbarians were now bypassing the coast and heading straight for them?
The nobles in Zone Two, upon hearing the news, initially refused to believe it.
"Just a few thousand of them held off tens of thousands of barbarians and killed over 10,000? Impossible!"
"This must be false news, perhaps just a minor victory…"
"Exactly, maybe they're just boasting with a few hundred barbarian heads…"
"Forget all that, are the barbarians really coming?"
"I think it's quite possible they are, but as for their achievements, that's definitely fake…"
"We knew we couldn't rely on them, it's up to us!"
"With Sir Harley here, we're sure to win!"
"…"
Listening to their boasting, Harley's eyes were filled with deep caution as he carefully reviewed the detailed information from 343.
The noble leaders noticed his odd behavior and gradually lowered their voices, eyes filled with suspicion.
None of the nobles here, not even those sent as scapegoats by their families, were truly foolish; otherwise, they'd be dead by now.
Observing Harley's strange demeanor, they quickly hushed and looked over.
Putting away the information, Harley's tone grew heavy as he looked north and said:
"Our enemy is not weak."
"They're led by a chieftain of extraordinary rank, with over 20,000 soldiers capable of fighting."
"They have a well-structured army with many professionals, including at least 3,000 barbarians and warriors…"
"And quite a few high-level entities among them…"
Silence fell over the camp immediately.
Noticing Harley's grave expression, no noble dared to argue.
But even with such detailed words from Harley, they still had doubts.
They had all encountered barbarians to some extent, whether through handling barbarian slaves or clearing out wandering groups.
In their view, barbarians were no different from kobolds or gnolls, merely enemies that could be easily dealt with.
So, even knowing the enemy's numbers, they weren't overly concerned.
After all, with Harley on their side and the Blood Moon Knights providing protection, they felt little psychological pressure.
But what they hadn't anticipated was that the barbarians they would encounter this time were vastly different.
"Good thing the information arrived in time; if we only learned this after clashing with the barbarians, we'd be in deep trouble!"
Harley shrugged slightly, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the others.
Each noble commander felt immense pressure and instinctively bowed their heads.
"Why so downcast? It's just a bunch of barbarians."
"Back then, we drove them out of here to establish the Eastern Province; now they're nothing but remnants!"
"The Bay Territory did well, severely denting their morale and buying us valuable time."
"They also provided critical intel, roughly pinpointing the barbarians' direction and confirming they lack sufficient mounts."
"Call in the reserves for reinforcement as soon as possible."
"Triple the number of sentries and locate their exact position quickly."
"Everyone else, fortify the camp; we'll block them right here on their path south to Bloodmoon City."
"If they find the plains below, it'll be much harder to wipe them out."
"…"
Harley's speech barely steadied the morale of the noble leaders, and he didn't hesitate to call for backup.
He knew that instead of advancing north to engage the barbarians, it was better to use the terrain to weaken them.
The barbarians were far from home, without manpower or supplies; the longer they were delayed, the weaker they'd become.
Meanwhile, they would silently wait for reinforcements, strengthening their position and increasing their chances of victory.
Moreover, Harley believed that the Bay Territory, now positioned behind the barbarians, wouldn't miss the opportunity to continue reaping merits.
He was prepared to wait!