CHAPTER 374: CHAPTER 253: CABDES’S CAUTION

At this moment, the Personal Guard Captain rushed in: "Leader, our scout has urgently reported that the Nix Army has entered our territory and is advancing here!"

"What did you say?!" Anrotas was startled and urgently asked, "How many of them are there?!"

"The scout said there are so many, it’s beyond sight. The Nix people were chasing so closely that they had to retreat and couldn’t investigate further."

"Damn it! Why did these Nix people choose to attack today?!" Anrotas was both shocked and angry. He looked at his subordinates and, with a trembling voice, said, "Hurry... hurry and ring the alarm bell, issue a war warning! Immediately notify... the elders to gather their tribesmen, take up arms, and prepare to defend against the enemy’s attack, hold our village! And... and—"

Anrotas looked at the Personal Guard Captain, who was also his own son, Acacus, and said solemnly, "You must ride to the Main Camp immediately, find Cabdes, and tell him that our village is under fierce attack by the Nix Army, and he must lead the army to rescue us as soon as possible!"

.....................

The Pannonian Tribe Alliance indeed split into two routes to attack the Nix. The northern coalition consisted of the armies of Desitia and Segestica.

Segestica Great Leader Cabdes worked hard to summon nearly 7,000 warriors, some of whom were prisoners exchanged from the Nix with grain by the tribe.

Desitia Great Leader Temagis mobilized 8,000 warriors, including 500 cavalry, which only represents half of Desitia’s forces.

The reason Temagis didn’t mobilize fully was partly because, although the Boyi people suddenly allied with the Pannonians, Desitia and the Boyi people had been fighting for years. There was still some mistrust, so enough forces had to be kept to defend the territory to avoid repeating Brochi’s mistake.

On the other hand, even though the seven Great Chiefs reached a consensus at the Pannonian Tribe Alliance meeting, Desitia does not border the Nix, unlike Segestica and Brochi, who feel the threat from the Nix more deeply. Additionally, with the death of his friend Andres, Temagis’ motivation to help Segestica decreased. This time, he is merely fulfilling the alliance’s decision.

The combined forces of the two major tribes amounted to 15,000 men. When departing from the Segestica Main Camp, Cabdes led the troops in front, and Temagis’ army followed, proceeding slowly. They arrived at Lin Kou Village outside the dense forest pass by dusk.

In the evening, after having dinner, Cabdes was about to sleep when he suddenly received news: Anrotas’ son had come for help, saying their village was besieged by the Nix Army.

Cabdes was stunned, then calmed down and immediately assured Acacus: he would definitely lead an army to rescue them, but now it was late, and they could only hurry on their way the next day!

After Acacus received this promise, he set off early the next morning to rush back, so he could promptly inform his father that "reinforcements are imminent," boosting the tribesmen’s confidence to hold firm.

However, not only did Cabdes not hurry on his way, but he let the army continue to rest in the camp and merely sent numerous scouts to the banks of the Kupa River to carefully investigate the enemy situation.

Cabdes’ strange move of halting the army not only caused criticism from the warriors but also drew questions from Temagis. Last night, when Acacus arrived, he not only sought help from Cabdes but also informed Temagis of the situation.

"Cabdes, your territory is under siege by the Nix people, your subordinate tribe is being attacked. Instead of rushing to rescue, you halted your march. Do you intend to watch as your tribe is destroyed by the enemy?!"

Facing the criticism from Temagis, Cabdes was not angry. Instead, he humbly pleaded: "Great Leader Temagis, I have my reasons for doing this. Please don’t rush, can you listen to my explanation first?"

Cabdes’ attitude made it difficult for Temagis to remain angry. He snorted and said irritably, "Go ahead, what kind of excuse could justify ignoring the safety of your tribesmen!"

Though both are Great Chiefs, they should traditionally show respect to each other, but Temagis was annoyed with Cabdes because he believed Cabdes had used underhanded means to usurp the position of his friend’s son. Although this was acknowledged by the tribal alliance, it left him displeased.

"Great Leader Temagis, according to our prior plan, the main force attacking the Nix Tribe is the army of Great Leader Bricks. Only after their army clashed with the Nix people would we attack from the Kupa River side, making it impossible for the Nix to defend on both fronts, and finally encircling and annihilating them... so our marching speed couldn’t be fast. This was agreed upon beforehand, right?"

"Of course, I remember. There’s no need for you to go on and on." Temagis said impatiently. "But the problem now is the Nix people launched the attack first, and your subordinate tribe is besieged. Are you just going to watch them die without helping?!"

"Of course, I want to rescue them, but even if you and I lead the army there, can we really drive the Nix people away and protect Anrotas’ village?" Cabdes retorted.

Temagis’ expression changed: "What do you mean by that?"

"The combined force of you and I is less than 15,000 men, while last year, Andres led almost 20,000 troops against these Nix people. I recall the Nix had about 10,000 soldiers then, yet we suffered a devastating defeat in the battle. I’m sure you’ve heard of this battle too."

Cabdes gravely emphasized, "The combat strength of these Nix people is very strong! And in the year since they settled here, many Scodisqi slaves have escaped from us and joined them. Oh, don’t forget Bricks complained about this at the alliance meeting!

So, I fear the Nix’s numbers now exceed ours, and many of their soldiers wear armor. It’s likely difficult for just your and my armies to stand a chance against them..."

Temagis snorted again but said nothing.

He had admired Andres primarily for his bravery, so he was intrigued by Andres’ defeat despite outnumbering the Nix, and he had specifically inquired about the battle details, shocked by the Nix people’s resilience and tactical ingenuity despite being at a disadvantage.

Moreover, previously when he joined the tribal coalition to besiege the Nix people’s temporary camp, he personally experienced their fierceness and tenacity. For this reason, he had supported the decision to eliminate the Nix people at the tribal alliance meeting, believing such dangerous enemies must not be allowed to grow and threaten the survival of the Pannonians!

"Besides, the Nix people are quite cunning, do you know? Half of the land they occupy now once belonged to my tribe!"

Cabdes, both angry and somewhat apprehensive, said, "Initially, they disguised themselves as Alde farmers, lured Chief Wallis to attack, then encircled and defeated him, and seized the opportunity to capture his village. At that time, I was unaware of this situation; I simply received a messenger for help from Wallis and hurriedly led warriors to rescue out of solidarity. The Nix people pretended to attack Wallis’s camp to lure me into hastening, resulting in an ambush where I quickly collapsed, and ultimately lost my tribe and clansmen..."

Cabdes pounded his thigh in anguish and finally said solemnly, "This time, the Nix people are attacking our village again. If we rush forward, who knows if it’s another ambush! Even if there’s no ambush, can our exhausted warriors who rushed there defeat the rested Nix people? Our Segestica people have endured numerous wars, greatly reducing the number of young tribesmen; we cannot afford significant casualties anymore!"

These final words profoundly moved Temagis. The last time, to help Andres, he led troops to join the coalition, attacking the Nix people’s temporary camp, resulting in considerable casualties and complaints from elders and tribesmen alike. If there were major losses again this time, he would face the blame from all the tribesmen when he returned!"

Temagis, silent for a moment, said reluctantly, "You... have a point. Against an enemy like the Nix, we must be cautious, but what about the besieged tribe of yours?"

Upon hearing these words, Cabdes knew he had convinced Temagis and sighed in relief, confidently saying, "Rest assured, Anrotas’ tribe is right next to the Nix people. For his own safety, during this year’s truce, he’s been leading the tribesmen in building wooden walls to strengthen the entire village’s defenses.

Given their preparations, it is impossible for the Nix people to capture that village quickly. Meanwhile, Bricks and his forces will penetrate the Nix territory within a few days, forcing the Nix to abandon attacking Anrotas’ village and turn west to face Bricks’ army.

Then we’ll advance swiftly to form a pincer attack against the Nix people..."

Temagis pondered for a while and then said stiffly, "Let it be so, but I must immediately send a messenger to inform Bricks of the situation here." With that, he turned and left.

Only then did Cabdes reveal a slight sneer; he had another reason for not rushing to aid Anrotas.

Anrotas was once a close confidant of Andres; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been among the first Segestica nobles to allocate land along the Kupa River. Both he and Pulikas had staunchly supported Andres’ son’s succession. However, after the situation was resolved, he didn’t remain stubborn like Pulikas but instead readily displayed willingness to submit to the new Great Leader.