Levi had underestimated the allure an iron mine held for these Wilderness People.

By now, they had already lost nearly twenty percent of their members, and even the Giant that served as both a source of morale and a siege engine had been taken down by him and Zat. Yet, these bandits didn’t break. They continued their death-defying charge. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

But after a moment’s thought, Levi understood.

To these Wilderness People who lacked weapons, an iron mine was more precious than a gold mine!

Debei strictly forbade the sale of large quantities of iron goods to the Wilderness. Therefore, to the natives, a gold mine was little more than a collection of shiny yellow rocks.

But an iron mine would allow them to forge their own weapons and arm their Warriors. They could then conquer the weaker surrounding Tribes. Once their power grew to a certain point, they could even push south and plunder wealthy human villages.

So, this iron mine wasn’t just about wealth for them. It was the key to becoming a great Tribe, a way to ensure Debei could no longer restrict their access to weapons.

This was their chance to rise in the Wilderness!

The Wilderness People fought for resources. High Cliff Castle fought to establish a foothold and secure more room to survive.

Neither side was right or wrong. There was no good or evil, only two factions fighting for their own interests.

And this prize could only be won with countless lives and a torrent of blood.

The Giant Sword in Levi’s hand had cut down an untold number of enemies. As the battle reached its peak, the frenzied Wilderness Natives resolved to overwhelm him with sheer numbers.

It was common sense: as long as a creature was still living, it couldn’t escape the inevitable loss of stamina.

In the eyes of the Wilderness People, the stamina he must have expended slaughtering so many and swinging that Giant Sword had to be terrifying. They thought he might just drop dead from exhaustion at any second.

Unfortunately for them, the first wave of Wilderness People who thought this way had already been annihilated. Their successors had to climb over the corpses of their own comrades to continue the assault.

As far as he could see, he was surrounded by a wall of corpses. Ferocious-looking Wilderness People kept leaping down from the piles of bodies, a seemingly endless tide.

If one were to measure it with an hourglass, no more than half an hour had passed since the fighting began. But for both sides, it felt more grueling than an entire year.

A wall four blades high was ultimately little more than a tall fence. It was soon choked with corpses, and the Wilderness People clambered over the bodies of their comrades, pouring into the Feder camp.

All the Feder Shooters dropped their bows. They drew One-Handed Swords, took up Round Shields, and with a roar, plunged into the breach to engage in close combat.

Baisitina and Mier retreated deeper into the camp, protected by Feder soldiers under orders Levi had given them long before.

The Feder spearmen who had been trying to stop the Wilderness Natives from scaling the wall suffered heavy casualties. The pressure on them only eased when they fell back toward the Barbarians, which allowed some to survive.

The ground underfoot, soaked with blood, had turned to thick mud. Both sides struggled desperately in the mire, determined to take an enemy with them even if it cost them their last breath.

This was the first time Levi had experienced a battle of this magnitude. It was a fight with no retreat, where both sides could only pray that their enemy would be the first to break.

However, Sam’s Healing Technique always managed to restore a sliver of stamina to the people of High Cliff Castle at the most critical moments, allowing them to see a glimmer of hope for victory.

"Spare me! I really don’t have a single drop of Magic Power left!"

Inside the camp, the old man Sam was sprawled on the ground, his face deathly pale. He wailed pitifully, looking as if he’d just been ravaged by a dozen barrel-waisted Debei peasant women.

Casting the group Healing Technique four or five times in a row had left his Magic Power completely depleted. He felt dizzy and disoriented. After speaking, he began to dry-heave—a clear sign of severe Magic Power exhaustion.

Seeing that the Shaman truly was out of Magic Power, Baisitina, her young face taut with stress, finally lowered the Mithril Sword from his neck. "The moment your Magic Power returns, you cast another Healing Technique! Don’t even think about running away! I swear, I’ll chop off your head before I die!!"

With that warning delivered, she turned her worried gaze back toward the wall, listening to the sounds of slaughter.

The Tribe’s crisis had forced the young Loli Race Leader to grow up fast. In Levi’s absence, she had decisively taken on the responsibilities of leadership.

On the battlefield, Levi mechanically swung the hundred-plus-pound Giant Sword. The Fine Weapon, purchased from the system, was now covered in nicks and looked as if it might shatter at any moment.

His body, which had never known fatigue, was starting to protest.

A hundred-plus pounds was normally nothing to him, but the accumulated strain was taking its toll. He had just been swinging around a several-thousand-pound Giant, and now he was relentlessly swinging his Giant Sword. For the first time since he’d arrived in this world, he truly understood the meaning of the word ’exhaustion’.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. The frontal assault from the Wilderness People began to thin. The mounds of corpses, piled high with severed limbs, assaulted the senses of the latecomers.

They could no longer stand it. Victory, which had seemed so close, was proving to be a mirage. With howls of despair, they abandoned their comrades and began to flee in droves.

The war cries died down, replaced by the irrepressible screams of the wounded that filled the air.

"Marshal Mu, your might is as impressive as ever!" Zat could no longer hold his Double-Bladed War Axe; it fell to the muddy ground with a squelch. He slowly slumped against the wall, a wide, tired grin splitting his face.

"You’re not so bad yourself, Marshal Zha!" Muto replied, joining in the mutual praise. He sat down beside Zat, grimacing in pain.

He had joined the fray when the battle reached its peak.

Not a single Warrior could remain standing. Most found something to lean against and sat down to rest, but even more simply collapsed onto the ground, spread-eagled and heedless of their appearance.

Their ragged breaths merged into a single sound, as if the entire group was suffering a collective asthma attack.

Though their brows were furrowed with the pain of exhaustion, their faces also bore the relieved smiles of survivors.

"So, where’s the Chief?" Zat asked, his energy slightly restored as he scanned the battlefield.

The situation had been so chaotic that everyone could only focus on the enemy directly in front of them.

CRASH!

Suddenly, a pile of corpses a good six or seven blades high collapsed in his line of sight.

You could tell at a glance. Only the Chief could have been so ferocious as to create a literal mountain of corpses.

Zat froze for a second. When he realized what it meant, he let out a howl. "Oh no, the Chief is buried under there!"

"What? The Chief was killed?!"

Amid the screams of the wounded, his cry had been unclear. Everyone was stunned, their faces filled with disbelief and despair.

It was the kind of despair one feels when a god has fallen.

’That’s right,’ they thought. ’No matter how strong someone is, how could they possibly survive being the focus of an attack by a thousand men?’

The news spread like wildfire as they ran to tell one another.

"Levi is dead?"

"How is that possible?"

Baisitina froze. The Holy Sword, which Levi had entrusted to her for safekeeping, slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground, but she didn’t even notice.

As she heard everyone saying the same thing, an irrepressible sorrow washed over her face.

’The one person who, above all others, shouldn’t have died in this battle... was dead.’ Baisitina felt a tightness in her chest. She wanted to say something, but though she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

Finally, she turned from the others and ran alone toward the outer wall, leaving behind only the sight of her small, slender back and her fluttering white hair.