Constantine II had inherited all the worst traits of his parents. He was narrow minded, overbearing, hot tempered, and lacked cunning.
So, as long as there was a scheme, he would almost certainly fall for it.
Of course, a chieftain like him could still rule in the Wilderness World, and even rule fairly well. That was because this sort of personality was the norm among the chieftains of the Southern Wilderness. In contrast, someone as sinister and calculating as Constantine was the real oddity.
That was why Constantine and Alfonso’s previous conspiracy to destroy the Wild Horse Tribe had set an extremely terrible precedent in the Southern Wilderness. Fortunately, Nini’an had married the Little Barbarian King as his concubine. Otherwise, with the Chimera Tribe and Ankara Tribe now so weakened, they would have been destroyed ten times over already.
The moment Constantine II heard that his mine had been occupied by Langling and all the iron and steel ingots had been stolen, he flew into a rage and immediately prepared to gather his troops for battle.
Naturally, he would never admit one thing.
He had only become so confident because he heard that Langling was not there.
If Langling had been present, he would never have gone.
Deep down, Constantine II had developed a genuine fear of Langling.
This fear was not simply because Langling had shot out one of his eyes, nor because Langling had successfully led the foreign army in rebellion.
It came from the fact that Langling had outwitted him again and again.
Especially the battle a month ago, when his father Constantine had led a coalition of thirty thousand soldiers, only for nearly the entire army to be wiped out.
Although Constantine II was arrogant, there was one thing that was certain.
He deeply respected his father and believed he could never compare with him.
“Cousin, how many troops should we bring?” Gou E asked.
At this point, the Chimera Tribe barely had four thousand soldiers left. Only one thousand of them were elite cavalry. The remaining three thousand had been hastily recruited from the tribe.
Constantine II said, “Take two thousand. One thousand cavalry, one thousand infantry. Leave the remaining two thousand behind to guard the tribe.”
Gou E was secretly delighted.
This task was easier than he had imagined. His foolish cousin had fallen for the trap so effortlessly.
Then he realised something strange.
Deep inside, he actually felt excited.
He even wanted to see the Chimera Tribe completely destroyed.
He found himself wondering why.
Why did he think like this? Was he born to betray the Chimera Tribe?
Probably not.
Although Gou E was shameless, he did not seem to have been born with the instinct to betray his own people.
Had the Chimera Tribe treated him badly?
Certainly not.
Someone as useless as him had still become the real commander of a three hundred man force. He enjoyed fine food and drink every day. Constantine had already treated him more generously than he deserved.
Besides, Gou E had no great ambitions. He was perfectly satisfied with his current life.
His thoughts were actually very simple.
If I am unlucky, then someone else must suffer with me, preferably even more than I do.
Or rather, if someone has to make a fool of themselves, it cannot be just me.
If Constantine suffered an even greater defeat, Gou E would feel much better.
Du Yan was equally excited.
He was someone with genuine ambition.
If this plan successfully lured the enemy away and allowed Langling to wipe out the Chimera Tribe’s remaining army, it would be a tremendous achievement for him.
Everything was going smoothly.
Constantine II was just about to fall into the trap and send the Chimera Tribe’s last army to its destruction.
Then suddenly…
“Absolutely not.”
Tie Ji, the leader of the Near Human refugees, stepped forward.
“Young Chieftain, you must be careful. This may well be Langling’s trap.”
“Fuck your mother!”
Gou E and Du Yan cursed almost simultaneously in their hearts.
Who the hell are you?
Where did you come from?
How dare you ruin our plan?
Did Tie Ji really think this was Langling’s trap?
Had he truly seen through anything?
Not really.
He simply wanted to make himself noticed.
He was very satisfied with the Chimera Tribe’s treatment so far, and Constantine II also seemed to think highly of him. He believed this was the perfect opportunity to elevate his own status by stepping on Langling.
Du Yan’s face darkened.
“Sir, are you suggesting that I am falsely reporting military information?”
He spoke too quickly and immediately began coughing violently, spitting out another mouthful of bloody phlegm.
Constantine II asked, “Du Yan, who injured you?”
Du Yan proudly replied, “Who else besides Duolong could possibly defeat me?”
Gou E was far less polite.
Pointing at Tie Ji, he shouted,
“Who the hell are you? Which woman failed to keep her legs closed and dropped you into this world? Which bitch pushed too hard while squatting over a latrine and squeezed you out? Are you saying we’re lying about military intelligence? Do you think my wounds are fake?”
As he spoke, he slapped his backside, causing the arrow embedded there to wobble violently. The pain made him howl like a slaughtered pig.
Tie Ji’s face darkened after hearing such vulgar abuse, but he dared not argue.
Instead, he bowed respectfully to Constantine II.
“Young Chieftain, it is always better to be cautious.”
His tone was completely sincere.
His performance was worthy of a master actor.
Although he knew almost nothing about Langling, had never heard of his great achievements, and had no idea how cunning he truly was, it was always safe to describe one’s enemy as crafty. Criticising Langling could only improve his own standing.
Unexpectedly, his accidental guess actually worked.
Constantine II nodded.
“That makes sense. That traitor Langling has always been devious. We should be careful.”
Gou E immediately said, “Are we really just going to abandon the mine? There are millions of jin of iron and over a hundred thousand jin of steel in there.”
Constantine II hesitated.
The Chimera Tribe had no other major industry.
The iron mine was their greatest source of wealth.
Especially over the past few years, iron and steel had become oversupplied, so they had accumulated two or three years’ worth of unsold stock.
But those were still valuable commodities.
They represented the greatest fortune the Chimera Tribe possessed.
At that moment, Meng Tuoluo spoke.
“Whether it’s true or not, simply send a Griffin Warrior to take a look.”
Constantine II slapped his thigh.
“Excellent idea!”
He immediately dispatched a Griffin Warrior to scout the mine seventy miles away.
For a griffin, seventy miles was only about ten minutes of flying.
Just over half an hour later, the scout returned.
“Young Chieftain, several hundred cavalry from the Flame Demon Tribe are loading iron and steel ingots. They are using our ox carts and our mining slaves to transport everything back to the Flame Demon Tribe.”
Constantine asked, “Have they received reinforcements?”
The Griffin Warrior shook his head.
“No. Since many of their cavalrymen died, they now have spare warhorses. They have packed the iron and steel into large leather sacks and loaded them onto the horses. Many cavalrymen are even walking while letting their horses carry the iron.”
Constantine II’s expression changed.
“So they’re preparing to flee?”
“Yes. They are desperately loading iron and steel. There are countless ox carts.”
Constantine II burst into laughter.
Now he was completely reassured.
The Flame Demon soldiers did not even dare occupy the now undefended mine. They only wanted to loot everything before escaping.
That proved they lacked confidence in their own strength.
At that moment, Meng Tuoluo pretended to remember something.
“That’s right. The Flame Demon Tribe is desperately poor. They don’t even have a proper city gate.”
Everything suddenly became clear to Constantine II.
Langling desperately needed iron.
He could not even build city gates, so he had sent cavalry to rob the mine.
Immediately, Constantine II gave the order.
“Gather one thousand cavalry and one thousand infantry. We will wipe out those Near Human bastards from the Flame Demon Tribe and recover our iron and steel.”
In his excitement, he casually insulted the Near Humans, unintentionally offending many people present.
An hour later.
Constantine II led one thousand cavalry and one thousand infantry charging out of the Chimera Tribe towards the mine.
Unable to wait for the infantry, he rode ahead with the cavalry alone.
The Flame Demon raiding force was trying desperately to escape.
He absolutely could not allow them to carry millions of jin of iron back to the Flame Demon Tribe.
As a result, his already limited force of two thousand men was split into two separate groups.
Had Constantine known this, he probably would have hacked his own son to death.
…
Constantine II eagerly led one thousand cavalry out of the Chimera Tribe.
Halfway there, night fell.
Now he faced a difficult choice.
Darkness made cavalry movement dangerous.
It also meant the Griffin Warriors could no longer scout effectively from the sky.
Should he return?
Should he camp where he was?
Or continue advancing?
Returning was impossible.
He had marched out with great fanfare. Returning within an hour would be utterly humiliating.
Camping would preserve appearances, but by dawn the Flame Demon army would already have escaped with millions of jin of iron.
For a while, Constantine II found himself unable to decide.
“Send the Griffin Warriors ahead to investigate,” he ordered.
“Yes.”
The two Griffin Warriors flew towards the mine.
Twenty minutes later, they returned.
“Young Chieftain, the Flame Demon soldiers have almost finished loading everything and are leaving the mine. However, they are carrying far too much iron, so they are moving very slowly.”
They were not lying.
From the air, countless fires stretched across the ground, resembling a massive convoy that crept slowly forward.
“Hahaha!”
“Duolong really values iron more than his own life.”
“The Flame Demon bastards are like a snake that has swallowed prey larger than itself. They cannot spit it out, but they cannot run either. They’re finished.”
“Charge!”
“Kill every last one of them!”
The one thousand cavalry of the Chimera Tribe immediately galloped down the road.
Forty miles was only about two hours for cavalry.
…
Two hours later, Constantine II arrived near the mine with his cavalry.
Sure enough, countless ox carts stood before him.
Every single one was loaded with iron and steel ingots.
There seemed to be no end to them.
Gou E shouted excitedly,
“Cousin, I didn’t lie to you, did I?”
“When we get back, I’ll reward you.”
Hearing those words, Du Yan nearly spat out another mouthful of blood.
“Kill!”
Constantine II roared, drawing his sabre and charging towards the convoy carrying the iron and steel.
Behind him, one thousand cavalry also drew their sabres and charged.
The cart drivers screamed in panic and fled in every direction.
“Hahaha!”
Constantine II laughed loudly.
“The Flame Demon fools are truly idiots. They wanted to carry more iron, so they made their cavalry dismount and loaded everything onto the horses. Now that we’ve arrived, all they can do is run.”
Filled with confidence, Constantine II led his cavalry deep into the convoy, relentlessly pursuing the fleeing men.
His heart surged with excitement.
His father had suffered a crushing defeat against the Flame Demon Tribe.
But he, Constantine II, would achieve a glorious victory, killing nearly a thousand enemies.
What tremendous honour this would bring.
Yet he failed to notice one thing.
The fleeing soldiers were not running randomly.
Their retreat followed a carefully planned route.
After Constantine II’s one thousand cavalry had fully entered the convoy, the ox carts behind them slowly closed the gap.
Just like that, Constantine II rode directly into Langling’s carefully prepared trap.
The mine itself lay inside a valley.
Steep cliffs rose on both sides.
The mine’s stockade blocked the front.
Hundreds of ox carts formed a solid barricade behind.
His one thousand cavalry were completely surrounded from every direction.
Yet he still continued charging deeper, chasing the fleeing soldiers.
After another three hundred metres, the fleeing men suddenly disappeared.
They had all slipped behind the mine’s stockade and taken up bows.
Meanwhile, hundreds of soldiers began pushing the ox carts forward, steadily shrinking the encirclement.
Only then did Constantine II’s men realise the carts behind them had advanced, forming an impenetrable wall.
“Young Chieftain, we’ve been surrounded.”
“We’ve fallen into a trap!”
…
Standing atop the stockade wall, Langling casually smacked Gou Li’s shapely buttocks in the darkness.
“How did you manage to give birth to such a stupid son?”
Gou Li gritted her teeth.
Her son truly was unbelievably foolish.
He had charged straight into the trap.
Inside the narrow valley, with cliffs on both sides, the stockade ahead, and the ox carts sealing the rear, one thousand cavalry were trapped beyond escape.
The carts continued advancing, making the encirclement even tighter.
Constantine II cried out in horror.
“Gou E? Du Yan? What’s going on?”
But both men had already disappeared.
Only then did Constantine II finally realise.
They had betrayed him.
They had lured him into this deadly trap.
At that moment, a torch flared to life, revealing Langling’s face.
Constantine II’s heart nearly burst with terror.
His entire body turned ice cold.
It’s over.
It’s over.
I’ve fallen into Langling’s trap.
“Gou E, fuck your mother!”
“Du Yan, fuck your mother!”
Constantine II screamed in fury.
Then he shouted,
“Break out! Break out!”
Immediately, he led his cavalry in an attempt to turn around and escape.
But the ox carts blocking the valley entrance could no longer be moved.
The Flame Demon cavalry had tied the oxen’s legs together with ropes, leaving them completely immobile.
Each cart also carried several thousand jin of iron and steel.
There was absolutely no way through.
“Kill!”
Langling gave the order.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Arrows rained down from the soldiers atop the stockade and from those standing on the ox carts.
Langling once again unleashed his astonishing thirty arrow volley, releasing arrows like a torrential storm.
Even in complete darkness.
Even amid total chaos.
Every shot struck its target.
Screams of agony, cries of terror, and the desperate neighing of horses filled the valley.
Inside the narrow gorge, Constantine II’s one thousand cavalry could neither advance nor retreat.
Packed together so tightly, they formed a dense mass.
Even in the darkness, careful aim was unnecessary.
And so…
It became a completely one sided massacre.
The last elite warriors of the Chimera Tribe were mercilessly slaughtered in the darkness.
Every one of them was killed. Not a single survivor remained.