Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"The Pyromancer is coming."

A single sentence made the air in the room as cold as ice.

"Baboon's butt face?" Winters's gaze was as dangerous as a wild beast, "Does he know I'm in Iron Peak County?"

"He?" Little Lion toyed with the tassel of his knife slowly, "He probably doesn't know."

"Doesn't know?"

"Doesn't know."

"Then why is he coming?"

"What else would he do?" Little Lion shrugged, "Robbery."

The affair of the Pyromancer has to be traced back to two months ago.

During the season when horses grow fat in autumn, September and October are traditionally the Herders' season for raiding and waging war.

As early as the beginning of spring, when the Paratu Standing Army returned in a crushing defeat, the tribal chiefs were already contemplating a raid in autumn.

By June, new news came—there was infighting among the Paratu People! The tribal chiefs were even more elated and busily prepared their armies, intending to strike big.

The Haidong Tribe's [Grey Eyes] and the Suz Tribe's [Healthy Eater] both organized their own raiding warbands.

To the Herders, "raiding" and "waging war" were the same thing. The amount of spoils concerned the chief's prestige, and distributing spoils was directly linked to one's status.

On one hand, the Red River Tribe had just fought a big battle with the Chief's diligent tribe and had not fully digested their gains; the White Lion declared in advance that it would not participate in the autumn raids, but he agreed to let other tribes pass through.

On the other hand, the Pyromancer urgently needed a successful raid to restore his reputation; but his influence was not what it used to be, so he pragmatically joined the Healthy Eater warband, combining forces with the Suz Tribe.

By the end of August, both major warbands had finished assembling.

In early September, after the warhorses had their last fill of grass seeds and wild beans, both warbands set off to invade the east at the same time.

Since the most fertile lands of Paratu are along the banks of Ashen Stream River, the two warbands split up, one south and one north. Grey Eyes went along the north bank, and the Pyromancer joined Healthy Eater along the south bank.

Both sides verbally agreed "not to cross the river with bows and horses" to prevent an unpleasant encounter.

After dividing their raiding territories, the Herders joyfully entered Paratu, and then… they were met with a painful counterattack.

It turned out that the dozens of mediations and negotiations by the Alliance government were less useful than a Herder's horseshoe.

Without waiting for the Herd Raiders' vanguard to cross the Border River, the previously at-odds Red and Blue Roses had already tacitly turned their guns against the common foe.

At a river crossing in North River Province, Grey Eyes's warband was intercepted and its center army smashed by Alpad.

Grey Eyes wisely fled, abandoning their banner, and the smaller tribes naturally scattered in panic.

Alpad led the Piaoqi Troops on a chase thirty kilometers beyond the Border River, killing until satisfied before returning.

In contrast, cleaning up the scattered small groups of Herd Raiders, after the battle took more time and was more exhausting.

Meanwhile, south of Ashen Stream River, the Healthy Eater and Pyromancer warband were ambushed and repelled in Mirror Lake County by the New Reclamation-Red Rose alliance—the New Reclamation Legion led by General Adams, the commander of the Red Rose troops unknown.

Because the ambush was exposed too early, the Paratu Alliance could not inflict heavy casualties on the Herd Barbarians; plus, the lack of cavalry in the Paratu Alliance made it difficult to amplify their victory.

Thus, the Pyromancer and Healthy Eater merely escaped with a bruised nose, retreating back to the Great Wilderness fully intact.

The Paratu Alliance also did not dare to pursue lightly—for in such matters of pursuit, they had suffered too many losses in the past.

Perhaps it was the Barbarians' fierce advance that prompted a sense of shared enmity in the warring parties. After two battles, the Red and Blue Roses temporarily settled down.

Without a new round of war breaking out, the lands of Paratu quietly welcomed winter.

Paratu may have quieted down, but the Great Wilderness had not.

Not only did they fail to feast on meat, but they also got their teeth knocked out. Just this incident alone was enough to spark countless absorptions and overthrows. Yet no one was overlooked, as everyone was already part of the game.

"My brother received some interesting news," Little Lion said lightly, "The Terdon Tribe is regrouping again."

"And then?"

"If the Pyromancer hasn't been kicked in the head by a horse, he wouldn't go to war with the tribes at this time. His forces are also insufficient to make another frontal attack on Mirror Lake County. My brother thinks he might try his luck nearby, so he asked me to remind you."

"How does the White Lion know the affairs of the Terdon Tribe?" Winters seemingly asked casually.

"Believe it or not," Little Lion snickered, "The Red River Tribe has its own sources of information."

Winters solemnly saluted Little Lion, "Thank you."

"No need for thanks. My brother said, if you can hold off the Terdon Tribe, extending credit is no problem; but if you can't even beat the Terdon Tribe, then let's just be friends and forget about business."

Little Lion affectionately draped his arm around Winters's neck, teasingly saying, "There's been a lot of miscellaneous things this year, no autumn hunt, so the winter hunt will be a bit bigger. My brother invites you to join the hunt, someone's looking to meet you."

Winters's scalp tingled, neither refusing nor accepting.

Winters understood what the White Lion meant:

The offensive-defensive dynamic between Paratu and the Herder tribes had reversed, and although Paratu was still far stronger than the Herder tribes as a whole, they could not afford to be involved now;

In contrast, the Herder tribes were always yearning for the "good old days" of the annual autumn raid;

This September's grand raid was just the beginning, and as long as the offensive-defensive situation does not change, more raiding warbands will come to Paratu;

The agreement on the "hundred-kilometer buffer zone" became a mere scrap of paper, as no Herder tribe would continue to abide by an agreement without the backing of force;

If Iron Peak County can't hold off the Terdon Tribe this time, then next time the Pyromancer will come with even more raiders.