My Kingdom Building Done Right!-Chapter 57: Night Raid

As the sun slowly dipped over the horizon, the darkness of the night started creeping in.

Lynceus and Rufus exchanged a glance with each other. The former took the lead to evacuate their people, while the latter guarded the rear.

The Black Wolf Tribe had a little over three hundred people. The women, children, and elders were boarded on the wagons pulled by the two Ironclaw War Raptors.

Men who couldn’t fight were also inside the wagons, while those who were willing to fight were mounted on horses and wolves.

They used the cover of darkness to slip away from their camp in silence, hoping they wouldn’t be discovered.

Suddenly, the members of the Black Wolf Tribe heard a sharp whistle. Lynceus’ and Rufus’ expressions hardened, but they had already expected their journey to be bumpy.

In the distance, the riders of the Ashclaw and Stormhorn Tribe started moving.

They already guessed their targets would escape during the night, so they had positioned scouts on strategic locations beforehand to observe them from afar.

From what they had agreed on, a whistle meant the Black Wolf Tribe had set off.

"Remember, we will only attack them from afar," Ragan reminded everyone. "Do not fight them in close combat."

"If they charge at us, we will retreat," Barka stated. "We will continue to harass them over and over again until we whittle their forces. Show them the might of the Stormhorn Tribe!"

The warriors urged their horses to charge in the direction of the fleeing tribe. They were still too far to unleash their arrows, so they needed to close the distance first.

As they neared their enemies, a small blur streaked by.

At first, Ragan thought he was merely imagining things, so he brushed it off.

That was his mistake.

Blitz had flown at the center of their formation, its eyes glowing golden.

A moment later, it unleashed Spark Surprise.

An electric discharge spread from the squirrel’s five-meter radius. Those who were caught up in it didn’t even know what hit them.

Their horses reared violently, shrieking in panic as the current surged through them, throwing riders off their backs.

Several warriors stiffened as the electric shock reached them, their bodies locking up before they tumbled to the ground.

This skill was not lethal, and its main purpose was to stun everyone within range. In any case, it was extremely effective against a herd of horses riding close to each other.

The muffled screams of the fallen didn’t escape Ragan’s and Barka’s attention. Some of their warriors cried out in panic after seeing their comrades fall off their horses, not understanding what was happening.

But it didn’t take long before they had their turn.

Blitz made a sharp turn and unleashed a lightning bolt, hitting a warrior several meters away.

A scream escaped the warrior’s lips as he fell from his mount. The smell of burning flesh also lingered in the air, proving how deadly the squirrel’s attack was.

Ragan and Barrak had finally realized the severity of the situation. However, the only thing they could see in the darkness was a golden flash of light that moved too fast for them to identify.

They only knew one thing for certain—wherever the golden flash appeared, warriors would collapse on the ground and twitch like insects that had been stepped on!

Two minutes later, half of the barbarians were already down for the count. Ragan and Barka immediately ordered a retreat, for they had no plans to fight something unknown.

Unfortunately for them, Blitz had already done its part. It had led them exactly where it wanted them to go.

Just as the two tribes thought they had finally escaped their unknown attacker, a warcry reached their ears.

Ulric and his warriors suddenly emerged behind a hill, where they had been waiting for an ambush.

Ragan’s expression turned grim as he forcefully nudged his horse to the side, forcing it to sharply turn to his left.

Barka failed to react on time and found himself facing off Ulric and his Blood-Crest Raptor.

The ambush was so sudden that only Ragan and a few of his men managed to react on time. The Ashclaw Tribe’s quick maneuvers were well-known in the Borderlands, especially when it came to running away.

They would never hesitate to leave their allies behind, using them as bait to make their escape.

"Damn you, Ragan!" Barka shouted in anger. He traded a blow with Ulric, one shot sending him through the air.

The Blood-Crest Raptor made short work of Barka’s horse, biting its neck and crushing it in a heartbeat.

The sound of fighting could be heard all around them as the Alborin Tribe and the Riverfang Tribe engaged their enemies who had fallen in a complete disarray.

Ulric made Barka fight for his life, leaving the latter no time to shout orders.

As the strongest warrior of the Stormhorn Tribe, Barka believed he wouldn’t lose to Ulric so easily.

But he was wrong.

Perhaps he stood a chance against the former Ulric.

But this more powerful version of Ulric was beyond his league.

After becoming Leone’s vassal, the chieftain of the Alborin Tribe’s fighting prowess had significantly increased.

Every time they exchanged a blow, Barka could feel his bones rattle, making him understand that he was outclassed by his opponent.

"W-Wait!" Barka shouted. "I surrender! Let’s stop fighting! Ragan forced me to do this! Arlo also threatened to slaughter us all if our tribe refused to cooperate with him."

"I don’t care," Ulric replied coldly. "The moment you and Ragan decided to attack the Black Wolf Tribe while they fled with us, your fates have already been sealed.

The chieftain then summoned his familiar, planning to teach his enemies the true meaning of despair.

"Fury to me!" Ulric shouted.

A magic circle manifested at the center of the battlefield. Ulric’s familiar appeared with a loud, arrogant roar.

This roar momentarily slowed down the movements of its enemies out of shock, despair, and horror.

After announcing its arrival, Fury immediately swiped the nearest barbarian with its claws, burying them deep within his chest.

A blood curdling scream escaped the dying man’s lips as Fury turned his attention to his next target.

The Dire Bear mauled everyone within its reach, sending the warriors scrambling and begging for their lives.

Some even threw their weapons to the ground and raised their hands to show surrender, hoping their lives would be spared.

"I surrender!" Barka also threw his weapon and raised his hand. "I am unarmed. Will you really attack me?! Do you have no honor?!"

"You dare talk about honor after trying to kill women, children, and the elderly?" Ulric sneered. "Is there any honor in attacking our tribe when we pose no threat to anyone?!"

The anger and hatred that Ulric had been bottling up finally rose from his chest, guiding his hand as he swung his great axe at the bastard who had lost his honor long ago.

Barka could only scream in horror, unbefitting of a warrior, as Ulric’s axe cut off his arm in a single swing.

The chieftain of the Alborin Tribe had no intention of giving Barka a quick death. He would make sure he would die regretting raising their arms against his tribe!

The warriors of the Riverfang Tribe could only watch Ulric’s merciless display with solemn expressions on their faces.

The other members of the Ashclaw and Stormhorn Tribes who failed to escape right away all knelt on the ground, surrounded by their enemies with no path to escape.

Fury growled at them, making them all shake like leaves. They could only hope that Ulric’s anger would’ve waned after taking Barka’s life. By then, perhaps he’d be more merciful toward them.

In the beginning, they had been very confident about pulling off the guerilla tactics they had agreed to use on their enemies.

Unfortunately for them, their plan had already been discovered and was used against them.

Barka’s pitiful cries of apology fell on deaf ears. Ulric cut off his arms and his legs before looking down at him in contempt.

He even picked up one of Barka’s arms and fed it to his Blood-Crest Raptor, who happily ate the "treat" that it was given.

"You will regret this, Ulric!" Barka shouted, tears and snot covering his face. "The other tribes will not leave you alone! No one will let you build a force that can threaten them!"

He shouted loudly, hoping to be heard by the scouts sent by the different tribes. Even if he died, he would drag Ulric with him.

Once the Chieftains of the other tribes hear the report of their scouts, they would certainly see Ulric as a threat.

Ulric remained silent, understanding that anything he said would be reported back to the other tribes.

"Eat him slowly," Ulric ordered his raptor. "Make sure it’s very painful."

The Blood-Crest Raptor obeyed its Master’s orders and began eating the Head Hunter of the Stormhorn Tribe. It started from the non-vital parts, ensuring he’d be alive for as long as possible as he spent his last moments in horror and despair.