Way of Overlord
Chapter 171: The Old and Young

Chapter 171: The Old and Young

Dama soars into the air like a condor and in an instant, his figure pass through the top of the city wall and with a resounding sound landed on the city walls

"Hahaha!" Dama laughed like a madman. He had no weapons on him as he throws them all away to make his weight light so that he could perform this kind of stunt.

A defender runs toward him with a sword

With a deft step back, he evaded the slash aimed at his neck, the blade narrowly missing him.

Seizing the opportunity, Dama swiftly closed the distance between himself and the attacker.

He grabbed the soldier’s wrist, using the man’s own momentum against him, and yanked him closer.

Before the disoriented soldier could react, Dama delivered a powerful elbow strike to the man’s face.

The impact stunned the defender, causing him to release his grip on the sword.

In one fluid motion, Dama snatched the weapon from the air and swung it expertly, slashing it through the now-defenseless soldier.

Crack! Swish!

"Argh!" the scream of the soldier echoes on the top of the wall

A bloody scene shakes the heart of the defender as they look at their comrade

The top of that soldier head was cut into two, brain matter leaked onto the city wall and Dama rushes forward

All the defenders of the city wall rushes toward Dama but is it is like moth rushing to a fire.

Dama is like a caged beast unleashed, each sword strike reap a life and as he is killing and rampaging over the city wall

Dama fought like a force of nature, every swing of his sword taking another life.

As Dama rampage continued, his warriors began to swarm up the city wall to join him. The southern wall quickly fell into the hands of Dama Esbizuk tribe warriors, and with their chief leading the charge, they stormed into the city through the opened gates.

With both the southern and northern gates now breached, Nurshira is plunged into dire peril.

The city is teetering on the brink of falling completely into the hands of the Steppe warriors, and chaos reigned in the streets.

The Southern and Northern Gate is open, the city is in dire peril!

Two more gates left before the city crumbled completely

....

At the same time, on the eastern gate, Karnain look at the city wall and the eastern city gate.

Unlike Aeryon and Dama he did not participate in the fight. Instead, he is inside a wheeled tent and it is from this tent, he is looking at the city wall in the distance.

The distance of the tent is not that far from the city walls but also not that close to the city walls.

He is old but that did not mean that he is weak.

Karnain in his youth also has ambition and even though this tribe did not raid Yan empire, he met a few Yan merchant and soldiers in his youth

And so, he also has some knowledge about Yan people and their way of fighting

His Chief Warrior all waited for him to give the order.

Because unlike the chief of Brolgadhr and the chief of Esbizuk, from the moment Aeryon and Dama assault the city gate, Karnain did not do anything.

He just prepared his warriors for an assault.

The only assault he had ordered was when he heard that Aeryon sent a scout to see the progress of the battle.

At that time Karnain order his men to assault the gate and when that scout returns back to Aeryon, Karnain pull back his men.

None of his Chief warriors understood Karnain strategy but they follow the orders with utmost devotion.

Karnain sit cross legged inside his tent and then close his eyes. Everyone in the tent all went silent and no longer insist

They know this is their chief thinking of things.

One of Karnain sons then come froward.

"Father, why are we not attacking? I heard the war drums, the trumpets, the screams from inside the city. It is clear that the city has been breached. Why should we not attack now?"

Karnain smile

"the young is always impetuous. But the young is also brave"

Karnain sighed and then said

"I should explain it to you then"

"Out of the four tribes, Brolgadhr is the largest. Khagai is the strongest. Esbizuk is the most vicious. And what about our tribe? We have enemies on all sides. Brolgadhr has alliance with Utgard, Zlata tribe and even the Chagai tribe. Durka from the Duhai tribe is his subordinate tribe"

"Then look at Khagai tribe. This is the tribe that repel the Western Zhou soldiers. Their land is smaller than Brolgadhr and even smaller than us. But as the buffer tribe between on the western side, if anyone attack them without reason, all the western tribe would retaliate"

Some of the advisor of Karnain frowned and they could not help but nodded

"Khagai does not have land, but when danger struck, all the western horses will ride to rescue!" he mutters and he sighed

Karnain son understood now some of the words his father said.

His father said, Brolgadhr is the largest and this is the fact.

Aeryon conquered many tribes and small tribes around his area and then move westward, defeating Khulun and Kanun tribe, subdue Duhai and subjugated Zlata tribe.

On his way toward the west, he made an alliance with the Chagai tribe.

And even before that, he made an alliance with Utgard, making the Korun tribe a buffer state between these two chiefs.

Out of the many tribes on the lower south, Aeryon tribe is the largest. But, there is many people, but not all of them are warriors.

Of course, if they compared it with Yan people, each of the people of the Steppe would look like warriors but elite warriors of the Steppe are those who have fought and gain practical experience’s

And to this, it relates to the words his father said.

Khagai tribe compared to the other three tribes has small lands. But they have train fighting against the armoured soldier of the western Zhou almost all of their life.

Most tribes on the western side of the Great Steppe has long been accustomed to fighting the soldiers of Western Zhou.

This is why many said, great warriors of the Steppe is born in the west.

And compared to the other three tribes, most of Khagai tribe warriors have heavy armor. This is the heavy armor they got from killing Western Zhou soldiers

And if any of the tribes of the Great Steppe attack these western tribes without good reason, the Bolghar, the Togrul tribe, the Tare tribe and Ashi tribe and the other tribes on the western side of the Great Steppe would be involved in this matter.

And that is only on the Southern Great Steppe.

Most of these western tribes knows each other because they usually met in the Empatarah Gathering of the West

Thus, his father evaluation, that Brolgadhr is the largest and Khagai is the strongest.

Karnain look at his son and he could see that his son is slowly understanding him. Karnain wanted his son to understand and his Chief warriors to understand.

He knows how prestige worked. At times, he could pretend to be mysterious and enigmatic. But not now.

Crisis of confidence must be solved immediately. He did not want his men to think of him as cowards

That would not be beneficial to the control of the tribe. So, he had to explain. And he had to convince them

"As for Esbizuk tribe, Dama is also an ambitious man. I think all of you had heard his name" Some of the Chief Warrior nodded

Smiling bitterly, Karnain then continue explaining

"Dama took Lushar and Kyara, and he executed them like animals. Those two tribes are now under him, his warriors grew in power and size, and fear become his tool of controlling his people"

Karnain son snorted and said

"Dama is vicious and brutal than the other chief. But look at what he had to do to take those two tribes. How many of his men died because none of the two tribes could easily surrender."

Karnain nodded.

Dama policy of cruelty does have its disadvantages.

Brolgadhr tribe could be reasoned with and because of that many small tribes sometimes surrender and Aeryon expansion could continue so smoothly is also because of his policy of mercy.

He would only use excessive force when fighting against a determined tribe and smooth out relations when he is fighting a tribe that could be coaxed and persuaded.

And even though his expansion is fast and swift, he is also trustworthy.

The fact that he did not attack some tribe because of agreements, shows that Aeryon is a trustworthy person and one could make an alliance with him and people is confident that Aeryon would honour it.

Khagai is also the same.

But those who wanted to surrender to Dama would not have such trust toward that One Eyed Dragon

They would rather die fighting in battle because they know that losing is death but winning is a sliver of hope toward life.

Of course, Karnain had also learned from some of his informants that Dama is slowly changing his tactic when dealing with the Great Steppe tribes.

The other Chief warrior is still nodding listening to Karnain son talking about Dama policy of cruelty

Yes, the Great Steppe do operate on the belief that who has the strong fist dominates. But force also has its limit.

The Yan do like to portray the Steppe people like uneducated barbarians.

Yes, not many of them could read, and they do not have a class of people called scholars but this did not mean that they did not have common sense.

Fighting and killing without reserve, who would it benefit? Chief wanted men, powerful men to defend their tribe and not to kill without boundaries.

After all, when a tribe become small, it will be disintegrated

The approach that Dama takes against the people of the Steppe was a wrong one.

Because the policy he uses, is the policy he uses against the mountain tribe. And such policy would not work against the tribes of the Great Steppe.

It is no wonder why many of his Chief Warrior is agreeing with his son.

Karnain sighed and his sigh silence all the murmurings in the tent.

He then said

"But fear also has advantages"

"Some small tribe just by hearing that he is present would surrender almost immediately. And there is many mountain people that he had recruited and all of this mountain people are hardy in nature, vicious and cruel and with Dama, they found the perfect commander."

Hearing this, the other Chief Warrior could not help but agree with Karnain words

He continue

"These three tribes all could replenish their men. But look at our tribe. We took Tuvan and our men increases. But now, after this, where should we expand?"

Smiling bitterly, he said

"To the East, there is Estkazan. But if we took down Estkazan, then we have to share a border with Esbizuk tribe. That is not something that our tribe want right now"

Pausing for a second he then continue

"On our west is the Korun tribe. But if we took Korun, then we shared border with Utgard and Brolgadhr and that is also not a position we want to be in. The only way we could expand it toward the north. But for that to happen we need resources"

"And that is why we came here to plunder this city, took their men and take the people of the Steppe that is being enslaved and make them our men. To take resources"

"But it is not enough to have resources, we must also minimize the casualties of our warriors. Aeryon, Dama and Valgrun could fight recklessly and even have many more methods available to them because they have ability to replenish their men. We don’t. So, my strategy is simple"

Saying this, Karnain suddenly got up and then he went out of his tent.

His Chief warrior all follow him out and then Karnain laugh

"Wait. And strike when the opportune moment come" Then he pointed toward the wall

Not many people understood the essence of this method. Wait? Wait for what.

Karnain had long expected that the one who will break the city first would be either the Brolgadhr or Khagai.

Right now, he still didn’t know that the second one breaking the city gate is Dama. But even if he knows, it would not change his plans.

He waited for those tribes to enter the city and draw the defenders towards them. And with that, the defense on the other gates would lessen.

That is what he has been waiting for. Ironically enough, there is someone else on the other side of the city that also have such idea.

And that was Katakura.

And now, that wait is almost over.

"Look" and the chief warriors all look toward the city wall and they were shocked

Because they could see that some of the placement of the defenders is now empty

"where did they go?"

Karnain smiles and mutters

"They are either running away or coming down to protect the city. Two gates probably had fallen down and now, it is time for us to enter the battle" Karnain laughed and then he rush to his horse and then shouted

"It is time now. Prepare the ladders and attack the gates and the city wall!

Karnain started his attack and in just a few minutes, the city wall is taken, the city gate is open and the Sordkazan tribe warriors enter the city

Northern, Southern and Eastern gate has all been open!

.....