Chapter 011: Setting Out for Battle

In the eyes of many dwarves who opposed the Dwarf King, all this was a severe act of militarism.
However, those who opposed it later admitted that it was precisely the strong military power of the Black Panther Knights that enabled the dwarves to enjoy a rare period of peace spanning hundreds of years!
That peace finally came to an end this time.
“Second brother, which tribe is besieging our eldest brother this time?” Du Fan asked.
“It’s the Bilu tribe,” Basha replied.
The Bilu tribe was one of the three major tribes—along with the Tatu tribe and the Dodge tribe—that jointly denounced Basha. It had a population of 350,000.
Moses led 2,000 elf archers on their way to the Black Panther Knights’ base, passing through the territory of the Bilu tribe.
As soon as they entered Bilu tribe territory, they were ambushed and besieged!
“However, the troops besieging our eldest brother this time aren’t regular soldiers from the Bilu tribe. They’re just 20,000 people temporarily gathered from the periphery of the tribe,” Basha explained.
Moses led the archers and the Black Panther Knights into the area. Perhaps Karu had received intelligence about this, and after getting it, he prepared to wipe out the elf forces. But by then, Moses had already entered Bilu tribe territory.
So, due to time constraints, the Bilu tribe didn’t have time to mobilize its elite warriors for the siege and had to rely on those 20,000 dwarves from the periphery.
The low combat effectiveness of such a hastily assembled army was also one of the reasons Moses was able to escape unscathed.
Moreover, there were no skilled fighters among those dwarf troops at all! The only level-8 warrior was killed by Moses as soon as they met!
“What are your plans next, second brother?” Du Fan asked again.
“Hmph, since those people have attacked me, I must retaliate!” Basha said fiercely.
“That’s not wise,” Du Fan said. “Although Karu has already issued a declaration, a full-scale war hasn’t started yet. If you raise an army just because our eldest brother is besieged, I think it will only give Karu an excuse to claim that you’re killing your own people for the sake of the elves!”
These words made the dwarf officers, including Basha, fall silent.
“What do you suggest, third brother?” Basha asked.

“The fact is that the Tatta tribe sent people to attack you, and since you are the son of the Dwarf King, you naturally have the right to speak on your father’s behalf. So, as the son of the Dwarf King, demand that the Bilu tribe send troops to attack the Tatta tribe—after all, their attack on you is clearly an act of rebellion,” said Du Fan.

“What good is that? Since the Bilu tribe has jointly issued a statement condemning me, how would they possibly listen to me and launch a campaign against the Tatta tribe?” Basha replied indifferently.

“I know they definitely won’t launch a campaign against the Tatta tribe for you. So, as long as they oppose us, we can openly attack the Bilu tribe!” Du Fan said with a smile. “In that case, our reason for attacking the Bilu tribe will be that they are defying the will of the Dwarf King and attempting rebellion, rather than because they attacked my elder brother’s elves!” he added with a laugh.

“If we’re going to fight, let’s just do it directly. Why go through all these tricks?” Basha asked in confusion.

“Elder brother, just follow my advice. I’m teaching you this to win people’s hearts,” said Du Fan.

Hearing Du Fan’s words, the dwarf general with a square face named Tieye nodded thoughtfully.

“Also, I’d like to ask, elder brother, can you get in touch with His Majesty the Dwarf King?” Du Fan asked.

“The way I communicate with my father is through that passage we took together. But to get there, we must enter Grass City. I think it’s impossible to contact my father under these circumstances; we can only wait for him to contact me,” said Basha.

“What’s the situation with the magical beasts?” Du Fan asked again.

After thinking for a while, Basha replied, “Apart from Tek who attacked us today, there’s no activity from the magical beasts side. So I suspect that Tek’s attack on us was just an isolated act.”

“We still need to keep an eye on the magical beasts side. With Tek’s status there, it’s unlikely he could act alone. We must pay attention to this,” said Du Fan.

“What do we need to pay attention to?” Basha asked.

“We need to be cautious in case we start fighting with Karu, and the magical beasts suddenly step in to help them,” said Du Fan.

“Also, since the second commander has already taken action, we need to find a way to consult the first commander. If the second commander’s actions were ordered by the first commander, things will get complicated,” Du Fan added.

Everyone felt their hearts sink at these words. Everyone was confident when fighting against Karu, but with the addition of the Warcraft side, not a single dwarf general present dared to guarantee victory. After all, the Warcraft side was strong enough to rival the entire dwarf race! With the Warcraft side joining Karu’s side, Basha had virtually no chance of winning. “I don’t think so. After all, the Great Commander and my father have a very good relationship. He surely wouldn’t take advantage of the internal strife among the dwarves to attack my father,” Basha said firmly. Hearing this, the dwarf officers nodded in agreement. It seemed these dwarves were well acquainted with their king’s long-time rival. No wonder—after centuries of acquaintance, they still knew quite well the temperaments of such well-known figures as the Dwarf King and the Warcraft Great Commander. “If that’s the case, second brother, then we should order the Bilu tribe to send troops to attack the Tata tribe while we gather our own army to attack the Bilu tribe as well. By the way, second brother, how many troops can you gather from the dwarf race?” Du Fan asked. “Most of the messengers I sent are still on their way, so I can’t calculate that yet. But I think, with the 13,000 reserve knights of the Black Panther Knights and the 2,000 regular Black Panther Knights who have already arrived, it shouldn’t be a problem to crush the entire Bilu tribe,” Basha said casually. Hearing this, Du Fan nodded in thought. After seeing the dwarf army and warriors today, Du Fan finally understood why, despite the dwarves having far greater natural talent than humans, they still couldn’t surpass them in terms of military strength. It was purely a matter of military training and discipline! Although the dwarves had strong individual combat skills, they lacked teamwork and strong execution ability—two key factors hindering the development of their army. But these two problems were perfectly addressed by the Dwarf King within the Black Panther Knights. With 15,000 Black Panther Knights, Du Fan was confident that the Bilu tribe, with only 60,000 troops, was no match for Basha’s Black Panther Knights.

At Du Fan’s suggestion, the next day, a sternly worded official document was sent to the leader of the Bilu tribe. The leader was puzzled—war among dwarves meant fighting whenever it started; what kind of trick was Basha playing? He even sent him an official document! He had thought it would be a declaration of war, but upon opening it, it turned out to be an order to attack the Tata tribe! “Haha! Is your Basha city lord crazy? He dares not come to avenge himself on those who openly attack him, so instead he comes up with this nonsense! Sending me to fight the Tata tribe! Does he think I’m as mad as him, attacking my own allies? Haha! Go back and tell your Basha city lord that our Bilu tribe has decided to take on him! If he dares to fight us, I, Komhan, will treat him as a real man!” This leader of the Bilu tribe was named Komhan. Hearing such news from the messenger, Du Fan was pleased—this leader of the Bilu tribe seemed to be quite clever as well. Soon, under Du Fan’s instructions, a second official document was sent to Komhan. Its content read: “You, Komhan, dare to disobey the orders of the great Dwarf King? That Tata tribe dares to attack the Dwarf King’s son, and as a tribe under the rule of His Majesty the Dwarf King, you, the Bilu tribe, have the duty to avenge his son! As a subject of His Majesty the Dwarf King, you, Komhan, should obey his orders! I, the son of the Dwarf King, the Basha city lord, now order you to wage war against the Tata tribe!” When Komhan read this document drafted by Du Fan, he burst into laughter. “Hey, I’m asking you,” Komhan shouted at the messenger sent by Basha, “is your Basha city lord being chased by the Tata tribe until he’s gone mad? Doesn’t he know that among us dwarves, the one with the bigger fist is the leader? If it weren’t for his father, that Phile, who luckily obtained a divine essence from the Sacred Remains and became a god-like warrior, could Phile have become the Dwarf King? Your so-called ‘His Majesty the Dwarf King’—still calling himself ‘His Majesty’ in front of me! Tell your Basha city lord that when I led the Bilu tribe to glory in the Twilight Mountains, his father was still wearing open-crotch pants. Back then, in Grass, I even saw that kid Phile peeing while playing with chicks.”

The leader of the Bilu tribe was over three thousand years old. Back then, when this chieftain was young, the Dwarf King was still just a little dwarf wearing tattered pants. Of course, it’s impossible to verify whether this Komhan leader had ever seen the Dwarf King urinate. Anyway, the messenger who delivered the letter turned pale with anger upon hearing such insults against the Dwarf King and immediately proposed a duel with Komhan. But the Komhan leader merely sneered. “Kid, keep your life. Tell your idiot city lord Basha that I, Komhan, am waiting for him. If he’s strong enough to knock me down, then I’ll admit his superiority and might even submit to him and help him fight against the Tata tribe. But look at your idiot city lord Basha—just sending letters like this. What’s the use?” Then, the Komhan leader ordered a group of skilled warriors from the Bilu tribe to drive the messenger out of their tribe. Hearing this, Du Fan smiled and said to Basha, “Second brother, the time has come. Let’s prepare for the military campaign against the Bilu tribe.”