Chapter 012: Deceit and Trickery

In the following days, the messengers sent out gradually returned with news that more and more tribes were willing to raise troops to assist Basha in suppressing the rebellion. Though these were mostly smaller tribes, according to the reports, the number of those willing to help Basha had reached one hundred thousand!
Compared to the two hundred and fifty thousand warriors Karu could muster, one hundred thousand indeed seemed much less. However, as Basha’s messengers traveled farther, more and more people offered to join his forces as cavalry.
With one hundred thousand warriors, plus ten thousand regular Black Panther Knights and thirteen thousand reserve Black Panther Knights, this force gave Basha sufficient confidence.
Just before Basha set out with his army, another thirty thousand dwarven warriors arrived one after another. At this point, a new problem arose: Basha’s location was merely a military base, so many logistical needs could not be met. The food, shelter, and other necessities for these thirty thousand dwarven warriors became issues.
In the end, Basha settled those dwarven warriors who could not be accommodated elsewhere in a tribe of over eighty thousand people, located about two hours’ journey away from the base.
Then, on Du Fan’s advice, Basha established a temporary camp in a dwarf tribe with a population of one hundred and eighty thousand. This place was about half a day’s journey from the Black Panther Knight Corps’ base, and all subsequent troops were temporarily stationed there.
From the Black Panther Knight Corps’ base to the Bilu Tribe, the knights could reach there in a day if they moved at full speed. But this time, many warriors from various tribes were accompanying them, and battles required provisions. However, the problem of supplies was solved by the elf archers. These archers from the elf race carried storage rings, and with their help, Basha’s supply issues were easily resolved.
On the third day after Komhan drove away Basha’s messengers, Basha’s army finally set off.
It should be noted that two days before Basha’s advance—on the day after Komhan’s leader drove away his messengers—Basha sent a declaration of war, challenging Komhan to battle in the Kama Valley.
The Kama Valley was a valley located in the Twilight Mountains, between the territory of the Bilu Tribe and the Black Panther Knight Corps. The valley was covered with lush grasses and served as one of the natural pastures for the dwarves.

Kama Valley was also one of the ranches that supplied meat to the Black Panther Knights. It belonged to a small tribe of over five thousand people called Kama, who relied on their cattle and sheep for survival. Eventually, they began supplying all their livestock to the Black Panther Knights, gradually becoming a tribe dependent on them.

Opposite Kama Valley was a mountain pass, and Komhan naturally stationed his troops at the nearest of the three passes. Half a day had passed since the scheduled battle with Basha, yet Basha’s army still hadn’t arrived, which greatly angered Komhan!

To prepare for the battle against Basha, Komhan’s leader had made early preparations. In battle, it was crucial to first scout the terrain and arrange defensive and offensive strategies, so Komhan not only arrived on time but also reached Kama Valley a day early.

“Leader, what’s the situation ahead with Basha’s forces?” Komhan asked the man beside him, sitting on a mountaintop at the edge of the valley.

In a dwarf tribe, a leader was part of a larger group, and the leader of such a unit was called a leader. This leader here was one of the more prominent leaders in the Bilu tribe.

“Leader, reports from ahead say that Basha’s forces consist of five thousand Black Panther Knights, along with three warrior leaders and two thousand elf archers, all heading this way. However, their warriors move extremely slowly. It is estimated that it will take another three hours before they reach Kama Valley,” the leader explained in response to Komhan’s question.

This leader had three thousand Armored Pangolin Knights under his command, so in this decisive battle against Basha, his subordinates served as scouts.

“Why are they moving so slowly?” Komhan asked in confusion after hearing the leader’s reply.

“According to the scouts, Basha’s dwarf warriors were recently summoned from various tribes. After days of long marches, they are extremely exhausted. As soon as they arrived at Basha’s camp, they were sent to fight us without even having time to recover,” the leader explained.

“This Lord of Basha isn’t even one-tenth as smart as his father was. With such an army, he still dares to send it to fight against me. Hmph. It seems I wasn’t wrong when I cursed him back then—Basha is indeed a foolish lord! What Karu has done this time is truly right! If the Dwarf King leaves us one day and hands over the entire dwarf race to such a fool, I’m afraid the end of our race is near.” Komhan said with a loud laugh.

“Leader Li, take a look—how effective is my arrangement?” Komhan suddenly started discussing the battlefield strategy with Leader Li again.

“Very good. Basha’s advantage over us lies in their Black Panther Riders and elf archers. By positioning the army on the mountains, Basha’s advantage in those forces is instantly lost. On mountainous terrain, the speed of those Black Panther Riders is greatly reduced. Moreover, if those elf archers shoot from below, I think the speed and lethality of their arrows will be much lower,” said Leader Li.

“Good, good. My arrangement is exactly as you said—using the geographical advantage of being on high ground to counter Basha’s Black Panther Riders and the elves’ archers,” Komhan said with a smile.

“Leader, when will the reinforcements from the Dodge tribe arrive?” Leader Li asked.

“They’re already on their way, not far from us. At their marching speed, they should arrive in six hours,” Komhan said with a smile.

“What worries me is that Basha has so many Black Panther Riders, yet he only sent five thousand. Leader, we must be cautious about this,” Leader Li said carefully.

“Don’t worry. We’ve sent so many scouts out. Even if that kid Basha is that smart, we can still defend ourselves. Besides, in my opinion, that fool Basha doesn’t even have the military acumen to do that.” Hearing Leader Li’s concerns, Komhan shared his own plans.

Strangely, among Basha’s army, two thousand archers were surrounded in the middle of the forces. At the forefront were five thousand Black Panther Riders. Following those riders were thirty thousand dwarf warriors. Among those dwarf warriors, there was clearly a group of elf archers who were much taller than the other dwarfs.

Among these archers, Moses, Du Fan, and Basha were walking and chatting.

“Third brother, if we deliberately walk so slowly like this, won’t Komhan start to suspect something?” Basha asked.
“If you hadn’t kept sending him those documents one after another, I think he might have suspected something. But ever since that Komhan drove away your messengers, I reckon he must think of you as an idiot and won’t suspect anything,” Du Fan replied with a laugh upon hearing Basha’s question.
“Everyone, hurry up and scold him some more! Scold Lord Basha harshly—I’ll reward him with a pound of black iron if I’m pleased!” Du Fan suddenly shouted at the army.
Sure enough, curses filled Basha’s army immediately.
From afar, Komhan’s scouts heard this and exchanged knowing smiles.
Soon, scouts rushed back to report to Komhan that Basha’s army was filled with rage!
“Haha, Leader Li, see? No wonder Basha’s army is marching so slowly. It turns out their army is in complete chaos!” Komhan said, laughing at Leader Li while sitting atop the valley.
“What is an ‘idiot’?” Basha asked in confusion upon hearing this term he had never heard before.
“An ‘idiot’ refers to those who often act in ways different from ordinary people. Generally, it’s used in a derogatory sense,” Du Fan explained after thinking for a moment.
“Is this a term unique to your human race?” Moses also asked in confusion.
“Well, it seems to be a term specific to the distant Eastern Continent. I’ve only seen it mentioned once or twice in books,” Du Fan replied.
“Lord, this is so tiring,” said an elf beside Basha suddenly. What made this elf different was that he was riding a black panther!
Oh, no—upon closer inspection, this elf was actually disguised as a black panther knight, wearing a tall hat on top of his head, with a typical elf head carved on it—pointed ears—and the hat was covered with branches.
If you stood fifty meters away, you wouldn’t be able to tell from the swaying branches that these elves were actually disguised black panther knights! Moreover, around these disguised elves, there were five hundred real elf archers stationed.
“I know you’re tired, but I’m tired too,” Basha said helplessly.

Basha said the same thing because he too was riding a Black Panther and wearing a tall hat on his head.
“Let’s all be patient. There are still over two hours left before we reach the Kama Valley,” Du Fan couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing their conversation.
Initially, at Du Fan’s insistence—stating that perfection was necessary—he insisted that Basha wear such a hat.
At that time, Basha was just a teenager who had just completed his coming-of-age ceremony. Under Du Fan’s persuasive words, he couldn’t hold his ground and was soon forced to wear that tall hat as well.
If the Black Panther Knights were dressed up as elf archers here, then what were the real elf archers doing?
In the Kama Valley, deep behind the Komhan army, behind a mountain peak, a large number of dark armored cavalry suddenly appeared!
These armored cavalry were exactly eight thousand regular Black Panther Knights! Surrounding them were 1,500 archers from the elf race!