Chapter 323: Ambush

Winning this battle was very simple for Wu Qingsong. As long as he awakened the fallen warriors of the Antai and Skude Clans as undead, he would immediately have nearly six thousand soldiers at his disposal. These undead were evenly matched against the empire’s regular army. Against the nomads of the wasteland who lacked organization and discipline, coupled with the undead bison and moose that rivaled heavy cavalry, they could easily crush an enemy several times their own size head-on.

However, Wu Qingsong refused to use this method.

Using undead creatures had already branded him as a follower of an evil god—accused of polluting the land and corrupting animals into something sinister. While such a reputation might seem useless, at times, it was highly effective. If not for this fear and unease spreading among the surrounding beastmen clans, they might not have united so easily against him.

With their thick fur covering their bodies, aside from their unnatural obedience and strange movements, it was difficult to discern anything unusual about the bison and moose. These ignorant wasteland dwellers might not even associate them with the undead. 

However, the truth would be impossible to hide if undead soldiers were used. Nagrand would be cemented as followers of the evil god. While this might deter anyone from daring to challenge them for a long time, it would also mean they could never expect any beastfolk to willingly join them.

Even if the ratfolk and rabbitfolk of Nagrand could reproduce rapidly, how many children could they really have? 

How long would it take for those children to grow into warriors capable of serving Nagrand?

No matter how forward-thinking Wu Qingsong was, he couldn’t tolerate spending ten or twenty years simply farming and cultivating a future army.

Moreover, if he used undead soldiers on a large scale here, it would be an outright provocation to the Sentalus across the Batiz Desert. If that drew them in, what would become of Nagrand then?

“The Bares Clan has already merged with the Ogota Clan, but the Bloodmoss Clan is still dragging their feet. It will take them another two or three days to arrive.” 

Looking at the map, Wu Qingsong addressed the others.

On these open plains, under the watchful eyes of airships and undead birds, large-scale troop movements were impossible to conceal from Wu Qingsong.

“The Bloodmoss Clan itself is an alliance of many different races. Their current chieftain, Grove, is a foxfolk, lacking in prestige. Internal conflicts are common among them. Moreover, he’s known for being extremely cautious and cunning,” Nina added. She had just extracted this information from the prisoners.

This was the final battle, the outcome of which would determine the fate of both Nagrand and the Silvermoon Wolf Clan. Although manpower was already stretched thin, the withdrawal of the Broken Horn Clan had significantly eased Silvermoon’s burden, allowing Nina to rush back to Nagrand for reinforcements.

“The Boyle Clan fell into chaos after losing all their leaders again, the Antai Clan was annihilated, and the Silvermoon absorbed the Skude Clan. Word of this must have already reached them,” Ram said. “The Bloodmoss Clan is likely considering retreat. That means our real opponents are just the combined forces of the Bares and Ogota Clans, about twenty thousand troops. If we defeat them, we’ll have firmly established ourselves in this region.”

“Twenty thousand? I wonder how many ambushes they can withstand?” Xeila sneered.

Wu Qingsong’s tactics were practically unbeatable in this terrain. As long as she assassinated the leaders first and set fire to the camp, throwing the nomadic hunters into chaos, they would be unable to resist the undead assault.

Striking under the cover of darkness, with the advantage of preparation, they attacked an unprepared enemy with heavy cavalry charges.

Under such circumstances, sheer numbers hardly mattered.

No matter how many warriors the enemy had, without proper organization to form a solid spear wall, they would all meet the same fate—trampled under the horns, impact, and iron hooves of the undead bison. The alliance of the two clans might not help at all. In fact, conflicting commands could create even greater disorder.

“Then tonight, we will break them,” Wu Qingsong declared.

Vaughn was left behind in Nagrand under Back’s watch and others. His role was essentially that of a hostage, ensuring that the Broken Horn Clan remained in check. Wu Qingsong had no intention of letting him witness the battle firsthand. It would be enough to bring him to the battlefield afterward to see the aftermath. 

That would be an effective deterrent on its own.

Once more, the undead herds set out. The airship carried Wu Qingsong and his team into the sky, heading northeast under the cover of night. Before reaching their destination, everyone except Wu Qingsong and Ling took a brief rest.

“Alice, I need you to fully unleash your power this time. Make sure as many people as possible see the Holy Light on you.” 

Wu Qingsong instructed Alice in private.

This approach wasn’t the most efficient, as a large portion of energy would be wasted on the radiance itself. However, Wu Qingsong did not intend to inflict massive casualties like he had with the Antai Clan. His goal was simply to break the enemy’s will. Achieving a strategic victory was enough.

A brutal massacre was acceptable once in a while, but Nagrand’s future image should be that of a land bringing prosperity, not a domain of death.

“I understand,” Alice nodded. 

She always followed Wu Qingsong’s instructions unconditionally.

Unlike Ling, however, her obedience was more akin to that of a mortal bowing before a deity.

Wu Qingsong had long since resigned himself to this attitude of hers. As long as she didn’t behave this way in front of too many people, he could only let her be.

“Almost time.” Xeila stood up, casually checking her gear and weapons before stepping up to Wu Qingsong.

“Be careful,” Wu Qingsong said.

Xeila gave a routine nod. The next second, just like before, she silently vanished into the darkness.

“Everyone, get ready,” Wu Qingsong commanded, while simultaneously mobilizing the undead creatures that had been lurking nearby, ordering them to advance and prepare for the charge.

Just then, a sudden explosion erupted from the camp below, followed by an eruption of firelight—not the spread of flames, but the glow of countless torches.

They were prepared.

Numerous beastmen rushed out of their tents, spears in hand, forming tightly packed phalanxes around the encampment. Flaming arrows shot high into the sky, illuminating the darkness and exposing the shadowy figures of the bison and moose.

Wu Qingsong hurried to the front of the airship, desperately scanning for Xeila’s figure, but after that initial explosion, there was no sign of her in the camp below.

“Wu?!” The beastgirls were growing anxious. 

What happened?

“Nina!” Wu Qingsong’s voice was urgent as he shouted, “We’re going down!”