Chapter 19: The Cordim Outpost

Valentina arranged for Nio to stay in the house, but Nio preferred to be with the White Socks—a sheltered shed with wind protection, some hay, and a blanket was enough for him.
The militia member tasked with taking Nio to the shed returned and reported. Valentina nodded. “Be extra careful. It will take at least ten of you to subdue this Nio.”
The militia member looked surprised but nodded anyway. In Mathuya, Valentina’s authority was as high as that of Saif, and her wisdom and foresight earned her admiration from the younger militia members.
It was bound to be a restless night. Not long after Valentina lay down in her clothes, someone came to report that another unidentified rider was approaching at full speed.
Soon after, another messenger arrived—Owen, one of the members of the two groups of Tan riders sent out. Wounded and exhausted, he could barely signal to identify himself.
Owen was almost carried into the main hall of the earth fortress. He had cuts from knives and axes, as well as two arrow wounds—barbed thorn arrows, the most common type used by the barbaric tribes of Monstoke.
“Cordim… the vanguard is already at Chebna!” Seeing Valentina, Owen struggled to move his chapped lips before passing out.
“Have you sent for Watts?”
“He’s already on his way; he should arrive soon.”
Valentina nodded. “Bring him near the fireplace. Help Owen take off his clothes. Prepare hot water, towels, and strong liquor for treating his wounds.”
“Yes!” A few militia members acted quickly, calmly and efficiently, not slower than the professionals in the barracks.
Valentina glanced back and saw Nio standing solemnly at the door.
“What is it?”
“An ambush. Clean up the aftermath,” Nio said carefully.
Valentina immediately understood what Nio meant. She drew her sword from the oak table and ordered, “Danny, Dick, Gail, David—take your weapons and follow me. Dru, you’ll take charge here for now.”
Nio watched silently from the door, noting the expressions and names of the people. The four people Valentina called were the same four who had met him earlier. This made Nio realize that there weren’t many truly capable warriors in Mathuya.
When Valentina and the others prepared their horses to set off, Nio naturally followed. The young female knight glanced at him, said nothing much, put on her battle helmet, mounted her horse, and led the way.
The six riders followed the footprints left by Owen’s horse, traveling about 2 kilometers before stopping beside a very gentle hill.
“Set up the ambush here!” Valentina ordered authoritatively.
The young men dismounted and got to work. Their skill showed they had received similar training before.
Nio remained still, not even dismounting from his horse. He took out a very light ribbon, held it between his index and middle fingers, stretched his arm forward at an angle, sniffed the air from time to time, and tilted his head.
“Our champion swordsman is stumped,” Danny said quietly to his companions as he stirred the snow with a small shovel.
“It’s indeed difficult to set up an ambush on such a gentle slope,” David replied.

“It seems there’s another set,” Gail said from time to time, watchingNeo’s actions. At least he could tell that the ribbon was likely used to gauge the wind direction. They also knew how to do that—Professor Valentina had taught them several methods, but all of them were simpler and faster than whatNeo used, requiring much less time.

“I hope it won’t hold us back. I heard wolves have a strong smell, especially after sweating.” Dick was the least optimistic aboutNeo, mainly because of the matted fur on White Socks. He thought White Socks had been withNeo for a long time.

Even Valentina was getting to work, taking on the most difficult part of the ambush: covering up the hoofprints. As she waved her hands, combat energy was released, forming small whirlwinds close to the ground. Wherever these whirlwinds passed, the hoofprints left by the six riders disappeared.

What impressedNeo the most was Valentina’s precise control over her power. The whirlwinds kept appearing and disappearing, moving across the ground, yet none of them damaged the hoofprints left by Owen’s mount.

As their disguise and hiding spot were almost ready,Neo finally took action. He whispered a few words to White Socks, and then the messily colored wolf leaped away. After that,Neo put on his cloak backwards and rolled around where White Socks had left.

The phrase “rolled around” wasn’t an exaggeration at all—it was like a child being naughty, without any pattern. But as he rolled, he disappeared. The night wind blew, and the area whereNeo had rolled quickly became indistinguishable from the rest.

Dick and the other three exchanged looks, all seeing disbelief in each other’s expressions.

“In which year’s militia training was such a course taught?” Danny asked.

“What I don’t understand is how he managed to roll those three javelins and weapons away too!” David said, scratching his head.

“The location he chose to hide in must be the direction the enemy is coming from, right?” Gail asked, puzzled.

“This guy is amazing!” Dick could only say in admiration.

Valentina said nothing. After seeingNeo’s actions, a glint appeared in her eyes. After thinking for a moment, she changed their hiding location.

It turned out thatNeo was indeed amazing. About ten minutes later, the scout riders of the barbarian tribes arrived. The Erdrit territory had become unfamiliar land to these tribes. As the saying goes in Monstoke: “Hurt one wild horse, and you can often find its herd’s habitat.” Owen was the wounded wild horse in the eyes of these tribes.

Cordim were half-human, half-leopard creatures, with human upper bodies and leopard lower bodies. Like centaurs, they were large creatures—adult Cordim often weighed over 1,500 pounds. It was said that some special Cordim clans weighed twice as much!

The eleven half-human beasts didn’t follow the hoofprints left by Owen’s mount but came around from the side. Seeing the gentle hillocks, the lead half-human beast’s gaze sharpened as it scanned the surroundings warily before quickly drawing an arrow and nocking it.

Suddenly, a blade of light shot out from beneath the snow. Due to the extremely short distance and awkward angle, the half-human, half-beast creature didn’t even have time to dodge before the blade struck, splitting its body down the side and killing it on the spot.

Following that blade of light, Valentina leaped into the air, sweeping with her long swords in both hands. Another blade of light appeared, killing and wounding another member of the half-human, half-beast group.

Dick and his three companions only rushed out from their hiding place after hearing the sounds of battle, not because they saw the enemy, as the enemy was behind them. With one acting as bait and another as a hook, the ambush was generally successful. Valentina’s powerful strikes stunned these Cordym creatures right away, and the appearance of Dick and his group further disrupted them.

However, this group of Cordym creatures also showed some strengths. As soon as they realized they were trapped, three of them scattered in three different directions, clearly aiming to ensure information could be sent back.

It was under these circumstances that Neo took action. It would be hard to imagine that Neo’s ambush point could be positioned less than 3 meters from the target unless seen with one’s own eyes. When he appeared from the snow, the last bit of fighting spirit in the Cordym creatures was shattered.

Three spears, three directions. Before Neo even landed, two spears were thrown, all hitting their targets accurately. The intense force pierced the chests of the two fleeing Cordym creatures, leaving no doubt that they had no chance of sending any messages.

The moment he landed, Neo threw his third spear. At the same time, a stone axe thrown in desperation by the Cordym creature closest to him narrowly missed his head, its rough rope edge brushing against his hair. This attack slightly affected the accuracy of the third spear; although it hit the Cordym creature, it landed lower and failed to cause a fatal wound.

Neo ignored the injured Cordym creature and drew his twin swords to join the fight.

The Cordym creatures were experts in close-quarters combat. Their archery while running was as precise as a human’s focused shooting. They could climb mountains as if walking on flat ground. Their stone axes and knives allowed for attacks as swift as the wind and as fluid as water. Even charging and trampling were among their strengths.

But in close combat without speed, their massive bodies became a burden, especially…

In this battle, Neo’s agility and strength were at their peak—swift and powerful. His slashing moves even made Valentina look in awe. The straightness of his blade and its ability to sever anything in one strike seemed to ignite the blood of onlookers, making their veins pulse with energy.

Crack! Another stone axe was split in two by his steel sword. Along with it, half of the axe-wielder’s head was severed. The speed of the sword made the cut extremely clean and smooth; there was no blood spraying for a long time, until the Cordym creature’s body collapsed, its remaining single eye blinking once.

The Cordim also tried to charge, aiming to engage in the close combat they excelled at, but this attempt became an unattainable dream when Valentina rushed into their ranks. Though these Cordim were the best among their kind, so were their enemies—more trained and better equipped. Valentina took control of the situation with her blade-like energy attacks, clearing obstacles and paving the way for Dick and the others, who simply had to serve as sharp weapons with all their might.
“This is just an upgraded version of a hunt!” Danny used his small steel shield to block a Cordim’s attack before slashing through its throat with his blade.
“Exactly,” Gail said. He wielded a battle axe, his strength on par with Nio’s, so that his strikes often caused the bloodiest casualties when the target couldn’t dodge.
Dick and David were a duo—sword in the left hand, sword in the right—combining offense and defense with seamless coordination. A few minutes later, the last Cordim fell under Valentina’s sword, at the cost of only two minor wounds on the sturdy Gail.
White Socks emerged from the darkness, holding the head of the wounded Cordim that had fled. Thus, the entire Cordim pursuit team was eliminated.
“Wow, what are you doing?” The strong are admired. Dick had intended to greet Nio but found him using a dagger to shave off a piece of raw meat from a Cordim’s side. Chewing on the fresh meat, Nio met Dick’s disgusted, surprised, and horrified gaze and slowly said, “The Dark Claws killed nearly half the townspeople in Tulip Town and took away over 80% of the food. Cropp’s supplies were also ruined by those bandits. We won’t have much food left for long.”
“But these Cordim are intelligent…” Dick actually wanted to say, “They’re intelligent beings. Eating them is no different from cannibalism!” But the more he thought about it, the weaker he felt his objections. He had experienced hunger before, and adding the phrase “for an unknown duration” made it truly despairing.
Valentina stepped forward, glanced silently at Nio, and said gravely, “Go back and tell Dave Manmories that we’re willing to sell some food to the people of Tures.”
Nio nodded. “I request permission to use these Cordim’s bodies as I see fit.”
Dick raised an eyebrow. “You still plan to eat their bodies?”
Nio replied solemnly, “War requires strength. Grains and vegetables won’t give much strength!”
“You can go hunting!”
Nio smiled faintly, thinking, “Hunting? How easy it sounds. Do you think you can just walk a few miles and find wild boars or deer to hunt?”
“Alright, but make sure to clean up the scene.” Though Valentina had a good impression of Nio, she still found it hard to accept him eating Cordim meat. She couldn’t help but think, “Werewolves are still wolves—they can’t escape their animal nature,” and her tone carried some emotion.

Nio picked up on it but didn’t take it to heart. Living in human society while still wanting to retain some of his werewolf wildness had earned him plenty of disdain, so this situation was nothing compared to that.
“It’s said that the Cordims can use ancient magic to find the death sites of their kin, so this place will surely be exposed. Maybe you’d prefer to set up a larger-scale ambush,” Nio said as he skinned and bled one of the Cordims. These human-animal hybrids resembled humans in the upper body but were completely like large feline beasts from the waist down. In other words, their fur was quite valuable, especially after they shed their winter coats.
“You’re only going to provoke the Cordims’ anger,” Valentina warned Nio.
“Thank you for the reminder,” Nio replied, continuing his work without stopping.
The victor takes everything from the loser, including the corpse.
This rule applies not only in the world of beasts and savages but also in human society. It’s simple: a pig is taken to the river for its flesh, its skin is used, its bristles become brushes, its bones are used to make soup or glue, ground into powder as feed, and even its bladders become toys for children. Everything from head to hoof, inside and out, is utilized completely, with people still needing some lofty excuse to cover it up. In Nio’s view, this was one of the side effects of human civilization—hypocrisy.
Only intelligent beings raised under such a civilization would consider themselves noble and other life forms inferior, believing that the noble should rest in tombs while the inferior can be disposed of however they wish.
Races that live in the wilderness don’t act like this. Before battle, they often say to you without hesitation, “Hey, I’ll skin you and use it as a scarf.” They say this not out of hatred but because they truly value your skin.
Seeing that Nio clearly didn’t agree with her, Valentina said nothing more, waved goodbye, and left with Dick and the others. She had already taken note of Nio’s suggestion, and now she was returning to gather more people to set up traps here.
It took Nio over an hour to complete the initial skinning and dismemberment. By then, Dick had arrived with more than a hundred strong laborers from Mathuya. Dick brought Nio two draft horses, saying it was Valentina’s personal and Mathuya’s people’s way of thanking him for his efforts.
Nio accepted the gift, knowing they were now even. He asked Dick for some rope and boards to make a simple sled, then transported the Cordim’s corpse in three trips to a snow-covered hollow between low hills. He had discovered this place on his way to Quian, closer to the Valley of Fallen Leaves, less than 5 kilometers away.
After all, one person’s strength is limited. By the time Nio finished, it was almost 6 o’clock. With two draft horses, he didn’t want to camp outdoors, so he returned to Croop that night. Without disturbing Dave and Milien, he briefly explained the situation to Ebute, who was on duty that night, found a sheltered spot, and fell into a deep sleep.