CHAPTER 464: CHAPTER 332: NAVAL BATTLE

When Pulikas’ troops were annihilated, the team participating in the harassment on Iberus’ side had not yet set off.

Iberus, of course, had his own selfish motives. He wanted to achieve a greater result to overshadow Pulikas, gain greater prestige for himself, and reduce the casualties of his tribesmen. But the reason the team had not set off was because he was waiting for the wind to come.

Iberus and Pulikas had already agreed in advance; he would lead the attack on the villages on the east bank, while Pulikas would attack the villages on the west bank.

Iberus’ tribe was very close to the core region of Segestica, and the Nix camp was not far from his tribe either. This meant it was convenient for his team to invade the areas controlled by the Nix, but it also meant they could easily be intercepted and attacked by the Nix Army.

After discussing with other tribal leaders by Gonami Lake, Iberus decided to launch an attack via the waterway, bypassing the Nix Camp and penetrating into the heart of the area controlled by the Nix people. They would quickly land and raid the riverside villages before they had time to react, and then quickly return by boat...

They believed: The Nix had only occupied the Segestica Territory for over two months, so it was impossible for them to have established a fleet capable of fighting on the Sava River in such a short time. After all, even the other Segestica tribes weren’t skilled in river combat before, which is why they couldn’t do anything about their Gonami Lake tribe... Since the Nix Army couldn’t challenge them on the river, traveling by water was undoubtedly the safest route.

To increase the success of their surprise attack, relying on the weather patterns that they had explored for generations living there, they discussed with Pulikas and finally set the attack date for this day.

By morning, the sky was still gray, but the clouds began to move, and the south wind finally arrived!

The 100-plus ships summoned by the various tribes by Gonami Lake had long been anchored near the northern lake’s entrance waiting. After Iberus gave the order to set sail, each ship hoisted its sails, and the south wind filled the sails, pushing the boats upriver.

The boat on which Iberus was located was at the forefront of the fleet. It was a common single-masted, spindle-shaped fast boat on Gonami Lake, about seven meters long, generally seating eight. There was a helmsman at the stern, a sailor in the middle, a poleman at the bow, rowers on both sides, and ten long spears were placed inside the boat... Despite the boat’s small size, it was quite fully equipped.

Iberus himself served as the helmsman, skillfully maneuvering the ship, maintaining a fast speed while navigating against the current in a zigzag pattern.

Soon, he spotted the Nix Camp on the shore, and the Nix soldiers patrolling on the wooden walls pointed in their direction, shouting loudly about something, and more soldiers gathered on the wooden walls...

Sailors on each boat saw this scene and began loudly mocking the Nix soldiers: "Hey, Nix people, stop yelling nonsense. If you’re so bold, come and catch me in the river!"

"Don’t get cocky just because you look fierce on the shore. On the water, I can take on two of you alone!"

"Come, try the mash water grandpa made for you, it’s really sweet!"

...

Some sailors even pulled down their pants and peed into the river, while their companions laughed out loud.

Compared to the wanton arrogance of the tribesmen, Iberus began to feel tense. He knew that from the moment the soldiers at the Nix Camp discovered their fleet, time became critically important to them!

Fortunately, the south wind was growing stronger, making the ships sail faster and faster.

This is the Divine protecting us! Iberus watched the riverbank rapidly recede and felt his confidence soaring.

However, when this fleet moved further away from the Nix Camp, the crew members didn’t notice a thick smoke rising from the Nix Camp, reaching straight into the sky.

After a while, Iberus, who had been keeping a close eye on the riverbank in front, suddenly said, "Everyone, take note! Start taking down the sails, prepare to dock!"

Upon hearing the order, the sailor didn’t immediately take down the sails but slowly closed them. This was to allow the ship to decelerate gradually, eventually docking smoothly without damaging the hull and signaling the boats behind, allowing them ample time to prepare accordingly, thus avoiding chaos during the docking process.

The boat slowly decelerated as it entered a "U"-shaped river bend.

During the rainy season, the river here could exceed five hundred meters in width, and sometimes flood over the riverbed into fields on the east bank. But during the winter, when the water was less, the river would shrink to half its size, revealing a large river beach on the east bank, enough to accommodate this thousand-man fleet’s landing.

Moreover, the riverbank here was gentle, so the tribesmen could easily climb onto the ground and launch an assault against a tribe less than a mile from the river beach...

This was a carefully chosen attack target by Iberus and other leaders, located right between the Segestica Main Camp and the Nix Camp, ensuring that Nix reinforcements would take considerable time to arrive here, enough for them to complete the raid and return to the river beach to depart by boat...

The boat docked steadily on the northernmost river beach, and the poleman immediately inserted one end of his wooden pole through the iron ring at the boat’s bow, deeply into the river beach’s mud and sand, firmly anchoring the boat.

Iberus jumped out of the boat, directing other boats to dock and constantly urging, "Everyone, hurry up! ... Get off and assemble quickly! ... Stop dawdling, hurry up! ..."

More than 100 boats were docked on the river beach. Except for the helmsman who had to stay and guard the boats, over nine hundred people armed with long spears followed Iberus ashore, rushing towards the village ahead.

By this time, it was almost noon. Some villagers working in the fields around the village saw a group of fierce people charging from afar and fled towards the village in panic, further fueling the bloodthirsty impulse of the Gonami Lake warriors.

But just as they approached the village, Iberus saw a thick smoke rising from the village, reaching the sky. Although the Pannonians had never used smoke as a warning signal, Iberus, who had remained highly vigilant since the onset, felt an intense unease at this anomaly, forcing him to halt and loudly order his accompanying warriors to stop advancing.

However, only the three hundred tribesmen of his own tribe heeded his command. Warriors from other tribes seemed to ignore his words and rushed into the village ahead.

This might be for the best, let them scout the path first... Iberus thought, choosing not to forcibly stop them.

But his tribesmen were not pleased: "Leader, we’ve come all this way, why make us stop now?!"

"Leader, the others have rushed in, and we’re just standing here like fools while they take everything good in the village!"

"That’s right, we can’t just stupidly wait here. Leader, if you don’t let us in, we might just—"

The tribesmen clamored noisily, their emotions becoming increasingly agitated. Iberus felt he was losing control. Just as he was about to nod in agreement to let everyone raid the village, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Enemies! The enemies are here!"

The entire team quickly fell into panic as they soon saw a fully armed Nix team coming around from behind the village. Upon spotting them, the Nix forces rushed at them even more fiercely.

By this time, Iberus could tell that the enemy was well-prepared. His team, with their crude weapons, was no match for the well-equipped Nix. The situation was urgent, and he couldn’t afford further thought: "Retreat! Hurry, retreat! Get back to our boats! ..."

As he gave the order, the tribesmen had already turned and begun running back. Their earlier arrogance on the boats was forgotten as they scrambled to escape, completely abandoning their comrades who had entered the village. When they realized the enemy was in hot pursuit, they even began discarding the burdensome Wooden Shields and Spears.

To their credit, their reaction was prompt, and they retreated lightly while the Nix soldiers pursued in full gear, quickly leaving the Nix soldiers far behind.

Iberus led his tribesmen back to the river beach in one breath, where they boarded the boats, and their nervousness eased slightly.

"Leader, should we set sail?!" The poleman called out.

Sitting on the deck, Iberus saw no trace of the Nix soldiers pursuing them. Confident the enemy had abandoned the chase, he breathed a sigh of relief, striving to remain calm.

He stood, carefully scanning the others on the boats, and then said, "Let’s not leave just yet; let’s wait a bit longer and see if any of our tribesmen manage to escape back."

Iberus made this risky decision because he noticed that only the members of his own tribe had escaped back to the boats. As the organizer of this raid, he couldn’t face the other tribes upon return. He also recognized that while the poorly equipped warriors couldn’t win against the Nix soldiers, they might escape, potentially allowing some warriors to return, making it easier to explain upon return.

Iberus issued this order to his tribesmen, and no one protested. Returning to the boats felt like returning home, and their courage returned.

But during the wait, Iberus instructed his tribesmen to disperse among all the boats to avoid leaving boats of other tribes for the Nix people when they departed.

Just as Iberus anticipated, some tribesmen managed to escape the Nix’s encirclement, desperately running towards the river beach, only to be struck down by pursuing Nix cavalry with long spears just as they were about to reach the shore...

Iberus and his tribesmen watched helplessly as their compatriots screamed and rolled down the bank...

The Nix Cavalry stared coldly at them on the boats before turning their horses around and leaving.