The time you thought he will retreat, he would attack

When you think he would attack, he would stand still. He would not let his enemy rest.

This seems to be his method in attacking

But for governing he takes it slow.

Of course, the reason why his governing is so smooth relies on his personal charisma and his victory

In those early days, if he had suffered a setback, then his foundation would not be as sturdy as it is today.

But there is no what if. Aeryon from the moment he began his conquest. Other than during the Wustkazan conquest, which was risky and nearly led to a loss, in any other battle that the tribe had participated in, there was no loss in war

In battle, some of his men lost some battle here and there.

But when they started a ware, they would win.

Because Aeryon when he set a war, he has objectives.

Whether to uproot a certain tribe, whether to weaken a tribe, or whether to subdue a tribe. The objective is clear.

It did not matter if they lose a few battles here and there as long as the main objective of the war is achieved.

Clear objective leads to clear order.

Strong foundation leads to confidence. Confidence leads to victory

Didn’t Katakura know that? Didn’t Dama knows that. They know but they are helpless. Unless they could quickly settle the east, Dama would not have the capital to fight against Aeryon when it got big. And just like they expected. When Aeryon wins and keep winning, that snowball effect keeps enlarging.

After all, the more he wins, the more people he would have. More tribes lost under him, means more resources for his men. More resources, means more strength. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

And more strength means he would keep winning.

It would reach a point where Aeryon could simply rely on quantity then to defeat the small tribe and clan.

Now, Aeryon has reached appoint that even if he lost a battle, as long as he himself and the core of his tribe is not defeated, he would still have a position to comeback from. And that is something only powerful tribes could claim.

Most tribe if they fought a war with Aeryon would have no choice but to stake it all. One loss and they would lose everything.

Dama is also trying to do such a thing. Now that Aeryon is focusing on the west, it is time to slow down some measures.

It is only now that they have some leeway that Katakura is trying to alleviate some of the problem that arises because of his method

But who would have thought, the west would be....so useless? Now, this leeway time....does he even have a leeway time? It now depends on Aeryon and what he would decide on.

And without someone like Chadha, certain objectives could not be discussed beforehand

Though all of this does not matter in Katakura minds. He did not care why Ultar lost. What matters is they did lose and they lose this terribly fast

"Aeryon would conquer the west!" this is the conclusion.

The defeat of Ultar means Nergui is already highly vulnerable. One could not stop it at this point.

The contention point, the reason why the Cha Ner Ul Alliance has a potential to defeat Aeryon forces hinges on the fact that the three tribes remain intact.

Without the other two, there is too many holes for the Brolgadhr forces to poke into

Once Burchu and Mukhulai among to pacify the northern area of the battlefield, reorganize their troops, they could ride south attack Nergui with Belarion. Though that might not be necessary.

Belarion himself is advancing.

But Nergui is holding on.

At least they learn how to scatter and did not engage Belarion is a decisive battle.

But sooner or later, Belarion would be able to force the Nergui tribe to fight him directly.

At that time, Belarion who have never lost a battle would surely wins. And then all of these forces numbering by tens of thousands......would converge on Chagai.

Even if Chagai have great warrior with innate strength, they would have to bow under these circumstances

"Haish" Katakura could not help but sigh

"The west...could not be saved" Katakura could not change what is happening in the west. Even if he wanted to change it, he is helpless.

Right now, he must pacify the east as fast as possible.

There is still time.

Even if Aeryon conquered the west in another week, conquering it is easy.

Governing it, winning the loyalties, and reorganizing the troops....would take months

Not to mention, this is the largest war in the steppe since hundreds of years ago. Tens of thousands of men and horses.

Tens of thousands of men and horses also means tens of thousands of supplies.

Aeryon would take time to digest and replenish his supplies.

He heard that Aeryon has many supplies and grains but even then, the people under him needs to be rewarded.

Aeryon maintained is army with rewards and punishment. Fair rewards and fair punishment. As longa she could do that, his rule is stable.

New people, new tribes, new clans also mean a shuffling of new power. Some are divided and some are taken and some are given

All of this takes time. And Katakura knows during this time, he needs to craft a new plan

"Korun and Utgard could not be taken" Katakura minds is now thinking of the surrounding tribes.

Korun and Utgard.

These two tribes are like a buffer state that creates a wall if Esbizuk wanted to ride toward the west and attack Brolgadhr.

Of course, it is not like a literal wall

If they wanted to, they could bypass these two tribes and chose a different rallying point and ride from there.

The thing is if these two could not be pacified, when they are moving toward the west, these two would move toward the east.

And then they would be attacked from the front and behind.

Of course, Katakura knows that to attack Brolgadhr these two must either follow Esbizuk tribe or shows clear intention to side with Aeryon.

Once any of these are public, then the war between the west and east would begin. Aeryon doesn’t want that. And Katakura also doesn’t want that

The reason he did not want to attack those two tribes is not because he could not attack. It is because h does not want to attack it right now.

"Sordkazan?"

"Attacking Sordkazan could it move the Utgard tribe. I need to investigate first what the Sordkazan chief thought of the Utgard new chief"

"If it’s not for complications...then I would persuade Dama to take Sordkazan. Or should Dama focus on Altai and Timur. Once Dama pacify the mountain tribe...." And Katakura eyes narrows

" I should write a letter to Dama"

Katakura closes his eyes for a moment recalling the maps in his head.

"Altar and Timur. That would be better. Take most for the tribe of the eastern border tribe before Aeryon could stabilize the western forces"

"I would also like to see if Valgrun of Khagai is really as loyal to Aeryon as he presented it to be. I am not quite sure about his stance. But it seems that he is allied to Aeryon. But, no one really knows people hearts. It would be better if Valgrun could die." And at this Katakura could not help but sigh.

All the people who should not have died, died. Those who should die, do not die. Heavens seems eager to bless that Khan.

Dama is also a Khan.

And from some gossips he heard from merchants, there are other chiefs that claims the title Khan. But none would have such impact like how Aeryon proclaimed himself Khan

Sooner or later the west and east would clash. Before that time come, there are some things he needs to prepare.

Katakura coughed a little he got up from his seat for a while and then goes to a table on the corner of the tent.

There lies a closed off jug. He pours himself a drink.

A brew by one of the Ashanas.

The cold air this year is unlike the cold air before.

He feared he would be afflicted with a cold.

But fortunately, enough the Ashana concoction keeps him warm and he did not have a fever.

He returns back to his seat, and sits on the carpet cross legged and begins writing his letter

"A surprise attack could be applied" he thought to himself.

In the letter he did not only write, he also draws.

Katakura did learn writing and reading but Dama did not like it. He is not entirely unable to read. But there are many words that he does not know

So, when they were little, Katakura would create a language with drawing that only he and Dama knows.

Katakura himself could draw beautifully and his drawing is simple.

So, even if someone read the letter between Dama and Katakura, one could not make sense of it if they did not know this thing about Katakura and Dama

He enclosed with it a strategy if Dama wanted to take Altai and Timur.

Altai and Timur have a complicated history. They could be enemies one day and if there are certain needs, they could be allied with each other.

Of course, whether this was true or not....is something that Katakura himself did not know. But there is such a story

In the end, the relationship between tribes in the eats ahs always been like this. Stories. And you do not know which story are true until it is put to the test

Katakura could only sigh

Katakura would rather use a slow way to weaken and then attack Altai and Timur instead of attacking them outright. But right now....they do not have time

He finished writing the letter and then he rolls it up and put it inside a leather tube. Then he brought out another thick leather bark.

"Now...a letter to Jayeux"

That night, there were three parchments, carved with the reed and put into leather tube. Each tube carries a message and these messages is the prelude to a war that is coming

Once the West is settled, then the west and the east would have a fight

And the Steppe would welcome an overlord that would rule an entire region of the Steppe

Once that happens, the old order would crumble and a new order would arise

A wind of change that started from the Southern Great Steppe....would then sweep the entire Great Steppe and the four corners of the world!

..