103: Chapter 103 The Battle Begins

The tribe instantly erupted into chaos. Savage roars, heavy running, the clashing of weapons, and the terrified screams of women and children merged into a cacophony.

However, the chaos did not last long; clearly, this tribe possessed basic military discipline. Under the roared commands of several silver-ranked Minotaur warriors, a large number of Minotaur warriors surged out of the longhouses and quickly assembled in the open space at the center of the tribe.

Although there was some panic, their movements were not slow, and they soon converged into a dense phalanx exuding a fierce Aura.

Lin Tian watched all of this calmly from a slope in the distance, the light of his Detection Spell sweeping across the assembled phalanx once more.

"Their reaction isn't slow... They've assembled about three thousand battle-ready troops."

He said in a low voice to Lin Yin beside him, "The chief hasn't appeared yet; he should be inside that largest stone house in the center. There are about five hundred silver-ranked ones, ranging from one to nine stars. The rest are from high-tier black iron to Bronze rank. The distribution of strength is basically consistent with our intelligence."

He glanced at Lin Yin beside him, whose expression was calm and whose gaze was firmly locked onto the central area of the tribe, then looked at Lin Feng's vanguard ahead, which had already been exposed but still maintained a concealed formation, ready to strike. A cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Very well, since the surprise attack failed, then... we'll just crush them head-on! Let these Minotaurs see what a true gap in strength really is!"

"Lin Feng!"

"Present!"

"Vanguard, change formation! Golden Armored Spearman in the lead, assume a wedge assault formation! Target: the main gate of the tribe. Blast it open for me!"

"Understood!"

"Lin Yin!"

"Present."

"Pale Moon Hunters, suppressive fire, pin down any enemy units attempting a counter-charge. Void Ranger, hunt down the silver-ranked leaders at will, especially those trying to command and boost morale! Find that chief and give him special 'attention'!"

"Understood."

"All troops, prepare to attack!"

At this moment, Chief Kulu finally walked out of the stone house, his face flushed red. Who knows what he was doing just now, to not have come out despite such a commotion.

When he saw that "small handful" of human vanguard daring to offend them at the edge of the jungle, his face, covered in short brown fur with a dangling nose ring, first revealed undisguised grimaces and greed.

Humans! A straggling human army! This was practically merit and spoils of war delivered right to his doorstep!

He even began to calculate what kind of rewards he could exchange for after capturing these people from the Kingdom's envoy—would it be fine weapons, or lush pastures?

However, the smile on his face hadn't even fully spread before it suddenly stiffened and froze, then shattered inch by inch like broken pottery, completely replaced by a cold, bone-chilling terror that shot from the soles of his feet straight to his skull.

Because, right behind that "small handful" of human vanguard, the once-quiet jungle seemed to come alive, transforming into a surging ocean of steel and flesh!

Dense, boundless, and blindingly well-equipped human soldiers, like a metal forest growing from the depths of the earth, silently and ominously spilled out from the edge of the jungle, filling every inch of the field of vision ahead!

Sunlight shone on tens of thousands of suits of armor, reflecting a heart-stopping cold light, converging into a dizzying ocean of light.

Long spears were like a forest, slanted toward the sky, and the cold gleam of arrowheads dotted the scene like stars.

Even more terrifying was the man and woman located at the very center of the human army formation, surrounded by numerous powerful warriors. The man's posture was composed, and his gaze was calm as he looked over, yet it made Chief Kulu feel an invisible pressure.

And that woman, dressed in moon-white, stood quietly beside the horse. She clearly wasn't looking at him, but Chief Kulu's gold-ranked beast instinct was screaming wildly, warning him that she was an extremely dangerous existence!

Her Aura, I'm afraid... was not below his, and might even be stronger!

"Thirty... no, forty thousand! Or fifty thousand?" On Chief Kulu's thick neck, veins throbbed uncontrollably, and his palms, gripping the heavy totem battle-axe, were instantly soaked with cold sweat.

The previous greed and ecstasy were crushed to pieces, leaving only boundless fear and the absurd feeling of having "kicked an iron plate."

How was this a fat sheep delivered to his door? This was clearly a war behemoth capable of crushing his entire tribe into powder.

"Fighting head-on... there's absolutely no chance of winning! We'll die, everyone will die!" This thought was like ice water poured over his head, making him instantly sober.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. His chest heaved violently a few times as he slammed his battle-axe heavily onto the ground, emitting a muffled thud, trying to bolster his own courage and that of his clansmen behind him.

Pushing aside the guards blocking his front, he walked with steps that feigned composure but were actually somewhat stiff, moving to the very front of his own formation to face the suffocating torrent of steel in the distance.

"Moo!!!"

First, he let out a roar imbued with deterrence in the Minotaur language, attempting not to lose the upper hand in Aura.

Then, he shouted in stiff but clear Continental Common toward the human army formation, his voice carrying far across the open area:

"Humans! You have intruded upon land you should not have set foot on! Listen well! This is territory under the rule of the great Minotaur Kingdom!"

"I, Chief Kulu, am the chief of the Kamo Tribe under the Kingdom! You lead a great army across the border; what is your intention?! Retreat immediately, and I, Chief Kulu, can treat this as a misunderstanding and let bygones be bygones!"

While shouting, his mind raced, trying to understand the origin of this terrifying human army.

The envoy sent by the Kingdom a few days ago had indeed mentioned that many strange humans known as "Otherworld Lords" had appeared all over the world, capable of summoning soldiers out of thin air, and there were heavy rewards for capturing or killing them.

But those "Otherworld Lords" described by the envoy were often weak and isolated, with at most a few hundred or a thousand men under their command, in a wretched state—how could they compare to the scene before him?

Tens of thousands of troops, strictly disciplined, well-equipped, and even with gold-ranked powerhouses sitting in command... This was clearly a well-trained regular army!

It was the Purple Moon Dynasty! It must be the army sent by that human nation in the north that borders the Minotaur Kingdom and has frequent frictions!

They wanted to take advantage of the Kingdom's attention being diverted by the "Otherworld Lords" to launch a sneak attack?

Yes, it must be so! Chief Kulu seemed to have grasped a straw of hope. Amidst his fear, he actually felt a hint of absurd pride at having "seen through the enemy's conspiracy."

Immediately following this line of thought, his voice became even more high-pitched, even taking on a hint of blustering "righteousness," as he declared the name of the Kingdom:

"Humans of the Purple Moon Dynasty! Don't think that disguising yourselves as stragglers can deceive us! Retreat immediately! Otherwise, once the great army of my Minotaur Kingdom learns of your border provocation, they will surely march south and crush you into powder! Retreat now, and it might not be too late!"

He tried hard to puff out his muscular chest and brandished his battle-axe, striking a threatening pose, but the slightly trembling tip of the axe and his flickering eyes betrayed his inner panic.

The Minotaur warriors behind him were also intimidated by the boundless human army formation in the distance. Their originally fierce Aura stalled, and they became somewhat restless, only barely maintaining their formation under the suppression of the chief and the leaders.