Fa Louis returned to his residence and convened a clan gathering to announce his decision, which immediately caused an uproar. Especially among the younger generation, they were unaware of the old feud between Chiliao and the barbarian tribes, and many considered themselves Wu people.
However, as the chieftain of Chiliao, Fa Louis held significant decision-making power, and his decisions could not be defied by others. Although there were objections among the clansmen, they had to agree.
With Fa Louis, Xiao Xun was like a tiger with wings. He immediately appointed Fa Louis as the marching professor and guide, to advance into the desolate territory of the West Barbarians.
At a glance, one could see the rugged mountains and forests stretching for hundreds of miles, with ancient trees reaching for the sky. Above the mountains and forests, a faint, dense, purple mist filled the air, changing the colors of everything. The undeveloped ancient mountain range gave the Saint Ti Roman army a sense of fear of the unknown.
Legend has it that Atlantis was surrounded by a hundred thousand mountains, and the world beyond those mountains was unknown, with countless fierce beasts and monsters.
In the past, few soldiers ventured deep into these hundred thousand mountains. Only Duke Duke Kail, of divine might, had led his army deep into the heart of the West Barbarians. Now, these Saint Ti Roman soldiers had only seen those wild and fierce foreign tribes rush out to plunder.
They were broad-shouldered and burly, cruel and bloodthirsty, as if they came from the ancient barbaric era. Seeing them, one could infer the dire conditions of the hundred thousand mountains, and only such harsh natural conditions could cultivate such a fierce people.
Facing the boundless forest, Xiao Xun did not dare to proceed rashly. He could only order his men to set up camp and rest the troops first. In fact, he himself needed to sort out his thoughts to deal with the barbarians in the wilderness.
As the troops were setting up camp, a report came from the main army with a long trailing sound: "Report! An envoy from Her Majesty the Queen is arriving!"
Xiao Xun quickly ordered someone to invite him to the main army tent. He saw that the person had a strong and burly upper body, but his lower body was that of a horse. It was the Centaur Prince Kent.
It turned out that Kent was sent by Empress Selepheis, who had received Xiao Xun's battle report about pacifying the northwest and advancing into the West Barbarians. Xiao Xun ordered the wine and meat rewarded by the empress to be distributed to the camps, but he kept Kent in the tent for conversation:
"I have been dispatched by Her Majesty to conquer the West Barbarians. I have long heard that Prince Kent is a master of tactics. I wish to hear your views."
Kent spoke eloquently, "Lord Swain is too flattering! I believe that the West Barbarians, relying on their courage and being located in remote and treacherous mountain areas, have always refused to be governed. Today they are defeated, tomorrow they rebel again, repeatedly. I can foresee that Lord Swain's army will be able to pacify the barbarian soldiers as soon as they reach the barbarian territory. But when Lord Swain returns to the imperial court, if there are any other military actions, the West Barbarians will surely return with a vengeance."
This view coincided with Xiao Xun's, and it greatly pleased Xiao Xun. He couldn't help but nod. Kent continued, "I believe that if Lord Swain wishes to subdue the West Barbarians, he must strike at their hearts."
Xiao Xun laughed heartily. This coincided with his own thoughts, and it seemed that this centaur had some substance in his mind. "Kent knows my heart well. You don't need to return to report. Accompany me to conquer the West."
Kent was slightly taken aback, "Thank you, Lord Swain. Then I respectfully accept your invitation!"
Although he had staff officers by his side, none of them had studied military strategy, nor could he teach them.
Now, there was a centaur prince, and the centaurs were very capable of fighting. The empress had praised them many times.
Xiao Xun naturally could not afford to neglect him. Therefore, even at this critical juncture of conquering the West Barbarians, he had not utilized Kent.
However, Empress Selepheis had specifically sent him to reward the troops, which indicated her understanding of his predicament. By sending Kent, she naturally hoped that he would help him share the burden.
Since Selepheis had this intention, Xiao Xun also did him a favor.
Moreover, on this trip to the front line, Kent not only brought wine and meat to reward the troops but also brought a secret weapon for Xiao Xun.
The next day, after a brief rest, the army marched towards the barbarian territory, entering the ancient forest where sunlight was never seen.
The forest was filled with miasma, and mosquitoes, ants, insects, and snakes were everywhere. Fortunately, Fa Louis, who had entered the barbarian territory several times, guided them, and they had made defensive preparations in advance.
Otherwise, the Saint Ti Roman army would have been annihilated as soon as they entered the forest. With the assistance of Fa Louis's hand-drawn map, Xiao Xun's army to pacify the barbarians penetrated deep into the barbarian territory without much effort.
"Report!"
With a long trailing sound, a scout with torn clothes came to Xiao Xun's carriage and bowed: "Lord Swain, a large number of barbarian soldiers have been discovered ten miles ahead, their numbers are unknown!"
Xiao Xun nodded, looked at the terrain map, and realized that it was plains about two miles ahead.
The presence of barbarian soldiers here indicated that King Sain of the barbarians had received the news and sent troops to attack proactively. The first battle was crucial for the morale of the entire army. Once lost, their fighting spirit would be extinguished, so it could not be lost, and they could not advance rashly.
Xiao Xun immediately gave orders to establish a camp in the plains ahead to guard against the barbarian soldiers.
However, Xiao Xun did not expect that the plains marked on the map were not the plains of the Atlantis continent.
When the Saint Ti Roman army arrived at the target location, they discovered that it was overgrown with weeds as tall as a forest. The Saint Ti Roman soldiers had to exert considerable effort to set up camp and clear the weeds within a radius of two miles.
They also built defensive fortifications to prevent attacks from the barbarian soldiers.
With everything arranged, Xiao Xun had made his strategic deployment and summoned the generals to the main army tent to receive orders.
The barbarian soldiers advanced rapidly through the dense forest. They kept their bodies low and used their scabbards to push aside the weeds.
From the sky, it looked like grass being blown by the wind, with no trace visible. This was their main battlefield, and they had rich experience and strong confidence in field battles.
The tribal leaders who followed King Sain of the barbarians in this expedition were Tu Chasi, Gu Jianan, and Saikasi. These tribes had lived in the mountains for a long time and were adept at field battles.
This time, the three tribes planned to take advantage of the terrain to coordinate their attack and dampen the morale of the Saint Ti Roman army while their camp was not yet stable.
After discovering the Saint Ti Roman scouts, the barbarian soldiers launched a fierce suppression of the scouts and accelerated their march to break through the Saint Ti Roman army.
The entire forest was filled with the sound of leaves hitting each other, and the heavy killing intent caused birds to scatter.
The barbarians' vision soon opened up. The dense weeds in this plain area had been cut open, and the Saint Ti Roman army's camp was taking shape. However, they had only set up various tents and had not yet completed their defensive deployments. They could vaguely see the Saint Ti Roman soldiers about thirty feet away nervously and orderly setting up tents.
Upon discovering the Saint Ti Roman army, the Tu Chasi tribe was the first to charge out.
They had thick headbands wrapped around their heads, wore short shirts and shorts, straw sandals, and wielded black iron swords. They charged towards the Saint Ti Roman army's camp, howling.
The Saint Ti Roman soldiers who were setting up tents were quite taken aback. After a moment of stunned silence, they quickly withdrew from the camp.
The nine-foot-tall strong man Tu Chasi, who was at the forefront, bare-chested and wielding a black iron sword, shouted and led his men to charge forward. Seeing the Saint Ti Roman soldiers scattering in all directions, he became even more excited, shouting loudly and charging towards the Saint Ti Roman army's main camp.
Just then, a series of synchronized mechanical sounds of springs was heard. The crisp andθζ sounds were particularly jarring amidst the chaotic shouts and footsteps. The entire charging formation was stunned by this strange sound.
Then they saw rows of Saint Ti Roman soldiers standing about fifteen feet away. They were in pairs, one holding a strange crossbow, the other carrying a quiver and ten arrows in their hands.
Before they could clearly see what the Saint Ti Roman soldiers were holding, the sharp whistling sound of metal cutting through the air erupted, and rows of crossbow bolts flew towards the barbarians like silver raindrops, forming a metallic waterfall in mid-air.
The crossbow bolts, each about eight inches long, shot into the barbarian ranks. The powerful impact stirred up spurts of blood, even causing the broad-shouldered and burly barbarians to be thrown backward.
The arrows fired by the crossbows were so powerful that even Tu Chasi, who was at the forefront, felt as if he had been hit directly by a powerful master. He was suddenly sent flying backward, and with the strong impact of the dense crossbow bolts, his body twisted into an unnatural posture in mid-air, tumbling and being shot into a hedgehog.
The arrows pierced their bodies and even shot towards the barbarians behind them.