Chapter 017: Luck by Chance

This incident was merely a small episode within the Bilu tribe!
The four brothers were all conscripted into the army. Due to the pre-war propaganda promising great rewards after victory, they happily joined the army called up by their leader, Komhan.
They thought that once they won and received those rewards, their elderly parents at home could be taken care of properly.
According to Komhan’s propaganda, Basha was a complete fool—so foolish that it seemed unbelievable. It was as if, as soon as Komhan led his troops into battle, Basha would be instantly defeated!
But who would have thought that this so-called fool, Basha, wasn’t foolish at all!
These four brothers always fought together, but this time, they didn’t even have the courage to flee together! They had to scatter and run for their lives.
It seemed to prove what the eldest brother had said—before the four brothers even split up to flee, the other warriors of the Bilu tribe also began to scatter! They fled like birds and beasts! Now, these once-proud warriors of the Bilu tribe were like frightened animals, running around in chaos!
“Flee back! Flee back! As long as we return, we can gather our army again and fight once more!” Komhan shouted.
In the dwarf tribe, the distinction between soldiers and civilians wasn’t very clear. Many of the current Bilu tribe warriors would immediately become miners, craftsmen, or hunters once they put down their weapons. Similarly, among the dwarves, those with various professions would instantly become warriors once they picked up weapons!
Dwarves were born warriors—strong, highly defensive, and naturally sensitive to weapons! They didn’t need special training; when needed, they could be called up and immediately participate in battles!
Of course, the Black Panther Knights were an exception!
Now, it was clear what the difference was between the Black Panther Knights and ordinary dwarf warriors!
The Black Panther Knights were like professionally trained soldiers among humans, while those ordinary dwarf warriors were like civilians with no military training at all!
When such two groups clashed, it turned into a one-sided massacre!

A complete massacre! Under the might of the Black Panther Knights’ regular army, the warriors of the Bilu tribe fell like harvested crops in autumn, one after another! Moreover, following the Black Panther Knights were 1,500 elf archers led by Nayshu—elite archers from the seventh-level elf race! The difference between the regular Black Panther Knights and their reserve forces became starkly apparent once these large-scale regular troops appeared. The regular army possessed a fierce fighting spirit honed over centuries of battles, along with perfectly coordinated partnerships between their mounts and knights, as well as between knights themselves. A model! Such a knightly force could truly be called a paragon among knights! Watching from afar as the regular Black Panther Knights continued to claim the lives of the Bilu tribe warriors, Du Fan sighed in awe. “Anyway, we must try our best to secure these regular Black Panther Knights for the Dwarf King,” Du Fan thought, his eyes shining at the sight of such formidable cavalry. The gap between the regular Black Panther Knights and their reserve forces was indeed significant. Of course, Du Fan also realized that two reserve Black Panther Knights could easily match one regular one. But if 200 reserve knights were to face 100 regular knights, he was confident that the 200 reserve knights would be utterly at a disadvantage! The teamwork and the killing intent when these units assembled together were remarkable. Although both groups rode Black Panthers, the difference between them was very clear. Earlier, the 1,500 regular Black Panther Knights hadn’t charged, so it was impossible to see the terrifying momentum they would unleash when they charged together. This time, when 8,000 Black Panther Knights charged at once, even Du Fan paled. At Komhan’s shout, many Bilu tribe warriors gathered around him. When the dwarves were defeated, they tended to scatter in panic, but that didn’t mean they lacked courage. On the contrary, there were many loyal warriors within the tribe who were devoted to their leader. These loyal dwarf warriors quickly gathered around Komhan, determined to protect their leader at all costs, even if it meant dying in the process!

Soon, those fleeing warriors, aside from a few who had already escaped, began to gather around Komhan!
Something very strange happened—these dwarf warriors, still numbering over fifty thousand, faced the regular Black Panther Knights led by Leibao and completely gave up resistance. Instead, they marched firmly toward them!
At first, facing the unresisting dwarf warriors, the regular members of the Black Panther Knights raised their axes and beheaded them one by one. But after killing five or six thousand warriors of the Bilu tribe, these knights began to feel a sense of illusion—this wasn’t warfare at all; it was pure mass slaughter!
After killing thousands, the Black Panther Knights in the front lines gradually grew hesitant—hesitant to kill!
Think about it: when someone who offers no resistance comes at you and lets you kill them, you’re no different from a executioner! Such behavior is like being a murderer yourself!
Gradually, more and more Black Panther Knights stopped this one-sided slaughter. As some stopped, more and more joined them.
“Strange,” Du Fan said with a frown. “I don’t know what Komhan is thinking, coming up with such a tactic!”
Though this method was dangerous, its success rate was actually very high. How could someone lack compassion? Facing those who offered no resistance, any normal person would hesitate to kill them, let alone when they were actually their own people!
There were many members of the Bilu tribe among the Black Panther Knights. Even if they weren’t from the same tribe, they were still dwarfs!
“Let them go!” Leibao suddenly sighed.
After killing tens of thousands of warriors from the Bilu tribe, this heartless commander of the Black Panther Knights also felt deeply troubled. He immediately issued such an order.
At Leibao’s command, a path was created among the Black Panther Knights, allowing the remaining warriors of the Bilu tribe to retreat.
“Third brother, what should we do?” Basha asked as he watched Leibao release the remaining Bilu warriors.

“Let them go!” Du Fan sighed. Clearly, with the current forces combined, it would be possible to encircle and annihilate all the warriors of the Bilu tribe in the Kama Valley. But Du Fan also knew that doing so would leave a lasting hatred toward the Bilu tribe!
Basha didn’t yet have the courage to attack such a large tribe of 350,000 members and wipe them out completely. If he really did that, he would become the public enemy of all the dwarves!
Moreover, continuing the pursuit would surely embarrass Leibao. It was Leibao who had ordered the pursuit of the Bilu tribe, yet Basha ordered a full-scale chase—wasn’t that equivalent to embarrassing Leibao in front of so many dwarven warriors and Black Panther knights?
If that were the case, it would be better to buy Leibao a favor. In Du Fan’s eyes, the greatest enemy now wasn’t the Bilu tribe but the Dodge tribe!
The hundreds of thousands of warriors of the Dodge tribe, along with their loyal allies—the Mountain Giants—were Du Fan’s real threats!
Du Fan had long witnessed the power of the Mountain Giants. Without using his Space Rending Slash, even one Mountain Giant could ravage him at will!
Back in Grass, it was precisely because of a Mountain Giant that the six Holy-ranked warriors had to flee desperately! Recalling that incident, Du Fan thought of four terrifying opponents—the Metal Four Brothers of the Tata family.
It could be said that if those four brothers fought, Du Fan wouldn’t worry at all. But when they united, they became incredibly powerful! It felt as though a god stood opposite him!
Hearing Du Fan’s words, Basha quickly nodded and shouted, “Let the people of the Bilu tribe go! We’re all dwarves—there’s no need to exterminate them completely!”
At Basha’s words, the soldiers chasing the Bilu tribe warriors also stopped their pursuit.
Hearing Basha’s words, Komhan felt as if his emotions had been thrown into chaos—he couldn’t determine what he was feeling!
Was it joy? Of course. With Basha’s order, the remaining Bilu warriors were spared their lives.
Or was it hatred? This Basha had killed so many of his own people, including his old brother Komron, who had been his companion for thousands of years. His cruelty was truly hateful to the core!

It was worry—based on Basha’s behavior today, who knew what would happen to his own Bilu tribe if Basha succeeded in the end?
It was hope—hoping that what Karu said was true, hoping that Karu’s reinforcements would arrive soon. Otherwise, with such a depleted force, if Basha attacked the Bilu tribe again, even if he were still alive, it would be dire. Hope that Karu’s troops would come quickly.
Going into battle full of hope, the Bilu tribe soon lost over twenty thousand warriors, and Komhan retreated with just over forty thousand remaining soldiers.
Defeat was total; Komhan’s troops had completely lost their fighting spirit. When passing by the Black Panther Knights, some Bilu warriors trembled with fear!
The intense killing intent emanating from the Black Panther Knights, combined with the overwhelming sense of violence, made even some timid dwarves shake with fear.
“Leader Komhan! I hope that once you return, you’ll reflect on the current situation! Don’t choose the wrong side!” After the exams ended, Leibao casually uttered another statement laden with political intent.