At midday, the sun blazed brightly overhead as a long procession of people trudged along the main road through Barand territory.

This sight was not uncommon in Barand. Merchant caravans passed through the territory frequently, and every few days, one as large as this would pass through. However, ever since the Northern Expeditionary Army suffered defeat, opening the way for the demons to advance eastward, merchant caravans had ceased crossing through Barand, which lay in the heart of the territory devastated by demons.

Upon closer inspection, the ranks of humans in the procession had vacant looks in their eyes, like so many walking corpses pushing the wagons forward, while the far greater number of burly, green-skinned demons were ferocious and barbarous, periodically dragging those who they perceived as slacking from the line to kill them and warn the remaining humans.

The wagons were piled with provisions, ironware, gold, silver, and other valuables, all plundered from villages in the area over the past few days.

In the eyes of these demons, human villages were filled with valuable things. Beyond provisions and valuables, any ironware such as pots, pans, and dishes were items they wanted to take for themselves, like an old lady moving house who refused to discard anything.

This necessitated a long and winding demon caravan that finally stretched to its limits, forcing them to capture some villagers to help transport goods.

This disordered formation meant that, should the column suffer a sudden attack, their response would be sluggish at best. Any military leader worth his salt would never allow his troops to travel in such a disarrayed manner.

However, the orcs were more akin to primitive nomadic tribes; save for Grugesh’s direct subordinates and a few of the larger tribes, the smaller tribes had no concept of military strategy or formations. They relied solely on their natural physical superiority.

As everyone in the column busied themselves, one orc, clad in heavy armor, leisurely sat on a flatbed cart. Four burly orc warriors pushed the cart along, carrying their fellow warrior, who weighed close to half a ton with his armor on.

This warrior was Nuer, leader of this particular tribe. After witnessing Grugesh’s defeat of the Northern Expeditionary Army, Nuer answered the call to follow Grugesh’s lead and invaded human territory with his tribe.

Initially, Nuer planned to settle down in a village like his comrade Bruce; life here was much more comfortable than in the barren tribal Wilderness. However, Bruce had already established himself nearby, and two tribes needed to maintain a distance lest they clash over resources.

After seizing two villages, Nuer prepared to travel farther away from the conflict zone—not because he feared a fight with Bruce, but because there was no need to clash with him.

To Nuer, fighting with the weak humans was far less worthwhile than warring with his own kin.

“It’s been nearly two days since we last heard from that Bruce fellow.” Nuer sat atop his cart, perplexed. According to Grugesh’s orders, the tribes were to maintain regular contact with their neighbors. Nuer and Bruce had been diligent in this regard, so Nuer wondered if perhaps Bruce had forgotten?

Should he send someone to check in?

Despite his misgivings, Nuer remained unconcerned. Of the various tribes, only Grugesh’s direct subordinates strictly adhered to these rules; the smaller and mid-sized tribes could be counted lucky if they bothered to follow them half the time. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that Bruce had simply forgotten.

As Nuer pondered whether to send someone to check in on Bruce, the clatter of hoofbeats interrupted his thoughts. The steady drumbeat drew closer, growing louder until it filled the air with a thunderous rumble.

Nuer recognized the sound: it was a human cavalry charge, and these still formidable human warriors left a strong impression on him.

Where had this cavalry come from? The human lords in the area were all huddled behind their castles’ walls; what had compelled them to initiate an attack?

Nuer had no time to ponder the origin of this enemy. He abruptly stood, his immense strength shaking the cart. Several nearby cannibal demons hurriedly steadied it, preventing Nuer from falling.

“Enemy attack! Prepare to fight!” Nuer shouted atop the cart. In truth, his warning was unnecessary; the cannibal demons had stopped in their tracks and turned toward the charging cavalry, drawn by the thunderous sounds of their approach.

Despite being caught in a surprise attack, the cannibal demons reacted swiftly. Most of them concealed themselves behind the supply cart, shielding themselves from the brunt of the cavalry charge. As intelligent creatures, they understood instinctively how to avoid harm.

A portion of the cannibal demons raised the stone slings they carried, preparing to launch the first wave of counterattacks against the encroaching human cavalry.

These crude weapons had long been replaced by bows and crossbows in human warfare, but in the hands of cannibal demons, they proved far more formidable. The stones attached to the slings were each about the size of a human head, and getting hit by one would undoubtedly spell doom for any unfortunate soul.

Closer, closer…

Richard, Baron Bandel, Ron, and others rode at the vanguard of the charge, followed closely by several of the Bandel family’s quasi-knight cadets. The hundred-man cavalry formation maintained a conical shape as they galloped toward the cannibal demons.

“Bang, bang…”

When the cavalry unit drew near, the stone slings began to rain down. The massive stones smashed into the knights, striking their armor and weapons with thunderous booms. Several riders were thrown from their horses in the first moments.

Though stone projectiles lacked the ability to penetrate armor, their sheer mass, propelled by the immense strength of the giants, was enough to crush a soldier’s organs beneath their armor.

Luckily, the rocks came in fits and starts. The presence of the carriages forced the giants into a long, single file, so Richard and his fellow knights only needed to focus on one point of attack and could avoid suffering too heavy a bombardment.

After weathering the onslaught of rocks, the cavalry charged ruthlessly into the ranks of giants. The wagons did manage to impede the charge somewhat, but they were ultimately too flimsy. After losing a handful of riders, the procession was broken, and the remaining knights flooded through, swiftly completing their flanking maneuver.

“Zzz…” Richard’s sword split a giant warrior’s spear in two, and its energy-infused blade easily sliced through the creature’s throat, dark blood gushing forth ceaselessly from the wound.

Baron Bandel and Ron, watching from the side, each took down a goblin soldier. Yet more goblins rushed toward the knights, undeterred by the three riders’ brilliant energy fields, which only served to draw Nuer’s attention, prompting him to engage them personally.

Given the overwhelming numbers of individual goblins, it would have been difficult for Richard and the hundred or so cavalrymen to defeat the hundreds of goblins alone. But reinforcements were now approaching, and the confused goblins would soon face attack from both cavalry and infantry.