“Lord Lutz, the dog-headed people have discovered a human army of two to three thousand approaching us from twenty li away.”

Inside the cannibal’s tent, an elite warrior was relaying the movements of the allied army to their leader, Ruth.

In truth, even in an age without advanced weaponry, an army this close to their enemy could be considered a face-to-face confrontation. However, the cannibal tribe lacked professional intelligence-gathering units and relied on rudimentary methods, so it wasn’t unusual for them to discover the enemy so late. At least, there was still time to raise the alarm and prepare for battle.

The allied army had long since detected the movements of the cannibal tribes, and Richard had even pinpointed their location early on.

“How many humans are there?”

“Two to three thousand.”

It was difficult to conceal the size of an army marching across the plains, even if the dog-headed people were unprofessional spies, they had still provided a reasonable estimate of the allied army’s numbers.

“Only two to three thousand? Are they tired of living?” Ruth found these numbers hard to believe. Based on his understanding, a single cannibal warrior should be able to fight ten human soldiers.

A mid-sized tribe like his, with several thousand dog-headed people as allies, would only be attacked by a force of at least half a legion. Even with the aid of a few thousand dog-headed people, it was still a suicide mission for such a small force.

“Summon our people, we’re not waiting here anymore. Prepare to engage!”

After learning that the allied army numbered only two to three thousand, Lord Ruth decided to take the initiative and strike first, eliminating this human army that dared to provoke him.

“Lord, could it be a trap? Humans are the most cunning of creatures,” one of Ruth’s fellow demon warriors voiced his concern.

“Who cares if it’s a trap? There’s no hiding such a large force on these plains. With only two to three thousand soldiers, our warriors have nothing to fear.”

“Unless there are dozens of human knights among them,” Ruth added with a chuckle.

If there were dozens of knights among the paltry two to three thousand soldiers, how could they have reached this far?

“Prepare to engage!”

“Yes, Lord!”

Once Ruth confirmed his orders, his subordinate demon warrior dared not question them further. The entire tribe of Ogres and their dog-headed allies began to mobilize.

“Prepare to engage the enemy!”

Richard, observing the movements of the entire tribe through the griffins, gave the order, and the allied forces transformed from a marching formation into a battle formation.

In accordance with their plan, the armies of the various noble families took positions on the left and right wings, while Richard’s system army formed the tip of the spear in the center.

There was no point in placing the noble families’ armies at the front; they were more likely to collapse first when faced with the orcs. Richard’s system army wouldn’t falter due to their collapse, but the combined combat power of their allies was still a supplement to his own. There was no need to waste their lives for no reason.

After reorganizing, the allied forces spotted the dog-headed people’s vanguard. The dog-headed people were packed tightly together, which might have intimidated ordinary soldiers, but those noble families whose territories bordered the Wilderness had experience dealing with them.

They knew the capabilities of these dog-headed people, so their ranks remained unmoved by this dense mass of enemies. The true threat lay further ahead.

Finally, the dog-headed people stopped at a distance of a few kilometers from the allied forces.

A tall, ugly cannibal demon appeared in the field of view of the allied forces.

Unlike the two tribes they had annihilated before, Ruth’s tribe had a basic formation. Aside from Ruth and two other cannibal demon warriors, dozens of elite cannibal demons donned iron armor.

Although the armor was crudely made, with some laughably shoddy joints, if such craftsmanship were to appear in Richard’s arsenal, Richard would immediately execute the blacksmith responsible. However, appearing on a cannibal demon, it represented progress from nothingness.

In the past, only the demon warriors who fought on equal footing with knights could wear iron armor. Now, an intermediate-sized tribe could afford dozens of suits.

The quality of these armors was lacking, but the strength of the cannibal demons compensated for it. These armors were all much thicker than those worn by humans, making them somewhat unsightly, but their protective capabilities were not inferior.

If not for Richard arriving with reinforcements, Ruth and his dozens of armored cannibal demon warriors would likely have been enough to break through the allied forces.

After all, a giant two-meter-tall figure covered in nearly half-a-finger-thick iron armor was a battlefield bulldozer in itself when wielding a cold weapon.

When they appeared en masse on the battlefield, they were a nightmare for any soldiers without a powerful leader to guide them.

All the lords present were astonished by the sight, and some even looked frightened.

Only Richard and Ronen remained unperturbed. Richard was confident in his Crusaders, while Ronen had faced far more terrifying foes on the battlefield before and considered these armored giants a minor threat.

“Lord Lutz, the humans have stopped advancing.”

The Ogres likewise chose not to attack immediately, instead observing the enemy from a distance of about half a mile.

“Send the dog-headed people to test their defenses.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Dog-headed people’s lives were cheap in Ruth’s eyes; one could easily find more in the Wilderness if one wished. He might as well send them in to probe the strength of the human army.

Soon, the dog-headed people split into two groups, with one side charging toward the allied forces. These creatures, no taller than three feet, possessed an incomprehensible courage, Richard thought, rushing forward armed with nothing more than wooden clubs and stone shards against the well-equipped, tightly organized allied army.

Regardless of how incomprehensible it was, Richard swiftly issued orders for battle. “Archers, prepare!”

“Two hundred yards, one hundred and fifty yards, one hundred yards.”

“Fire!”

A rain of arrows flew from the Crusaders’ side, and a wave of screams erupted from the dog-headed people. Arrows weren’t particularly lethal against demons, but they proved highly effective against dog-headed people.

Almost a hundred dog-headed people lay on the ground after a single salvo. Yet the dog-headed people certainly deserved their reputation for mysterious bravery, as two rounds of volleys failed to stop their charge.

The dog-headed people soon reached the Crusaders’ front lines. Yet upon doing so, they found themselves in an even more embarrassing situation. The men at the front rank of the human coalition pierced the dog-headed people like they were nothing, while the dog-headed people’s weapons couldn’t reach the humans standing before them.

A lucky few dog-headed people managed to burrow through the spear formation, but before they could attack, they were cut down by the swordsmen waiting at the ready. The dog-headed people suffered heavy losses, yet they inflicted almost none upon the Crusaders.

From within the ranks of the demon army came a strange wailing sound, and the dog-headed people still outside the Crusaders’ lines began to retreat in response.

Lord Lutz cared little for the lives of dog-headed people, but neither did he wish to see them squandered in such a futile charge—this was not how one utilized cannon fodder.