CHAPTER 232: CHAPTER 151: SEGESTICA GREAT CHIEF ANDRES_2

Florist Luscia’s delicate face revealed joy as she softly called out, "Sage."

"Child, how is your injury?" Emmerich stepped forward and asked with concern.

"That elder sister said I need several months of rest to recover." Florist Luscia glanced at Nexia standing by the door.

Nexia gave her a gentle smile.

She quickly lowered her gaze and said, "But I don’t feel particularly uncomfortable now."

"She is right. You must listen to them and patiently accept their treatment..." Emmerich walked to the bedside, his withered palm gently brushing her head as he spoke with a kind expression and a solemn tone, "Child, all the suffering is behind us now. We are free. Life will gradually improve from here on."

Florist Luscia raised her head, gazing up at the elderly man she had always trusted, her eyes shimmering as she asked in a trembling voice, "...Is it true?"

"It’s true!" Emmerich nodded firmly.

Tears glistened and flowed from the girl’s eyes...

Maximus suddenly felt out of place in the room and walked out in silence...

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Cabdes was not like Wallis, with the courage to fight to the death. Having fled the battlefield once before, when his village was breached, he again took his son and followers and boarded a small boat at the village’s river port, escaping the rebel army’s encirclement.

The small boat traveled downstream, and before long, they arrived at another riverside village in Segestica.

The leader of this tribe, Anrotas, had already learned from the envoy Cabdes had sent earlier that "Wallis led an army to engage the enemy to the west and suffered a crushing defeat; the village was under siege." Yet, he could not have imagined that even Cabdes’ village would fall. He immediately grew extremely anxious.

The strength of his tribe was inferior to Cabdes’ and far less than Wallis’. With both tribes wiped out in a single day, he reckoned his own tribe would meet its end sooner rather than later.

Cabdes could only console him, advising him to strengthen the defenses of the village while he himself intended to seek aid from the Great Chief, urging him to dispatch powerful reinforcements to defeat the enemy as soon as possible.

Thus, Cabdes managed to obtain some of the tribe’s few remaining horses before continuing east with his son and followers. They soon crossed the Kupa River and headed northeast, traversing forested paths until another wooden village—Lin Kou Village—rose before them.

Lin Kou Village was originally established to guard against the Aldeans to the west but had now become a forward base for campaigns into the midstream plains of the Kupa River.

Cabdes did not linger, bypassing the village to press onward. His vision widened; a vast, flat expanse stretched before him, with a mighty river cutting across the plain in the distance—that was the mother river of the Pannonians: the Sava River.

Cabdes felt invigorated, urging his horse forward past numerous villages. These villages lacked walls, their homes scattered, with tribesmen leisurely herding cattle and sheep, some idly chatting in the fields. The sounds of barking dogs, crowing chickens, playful banter, and laughter echoed through the villages—a scene of pastoral tranquility.

The tribesmen, buoyed by the harvest, were blissfully unaware of the devastating news ahead. Cabdes silently hoped the coming war would go smoothly...

To the west bank of the Dawa River lay a bustling village, part of Segestica’s Main Camp extending westward across the river. Most of the Main Camp was on the east bank, backed by towering mountains and cradled by the broad river, granting a defensive advantage. Its elevated terrain made it safe from floodwaters during the rainy season, providing security.

Cabdes passed through the West Village and stepped onto the floating bridge. Under the glow of the setting sun, he entered Segestica’s East Camp.

When he set foot in the tribal hall, Cabdes felt a wave of unease. Though he was the uncle of Andres, he greatly feared this nephew.

At just over forty years old, Andres was the youngest among the Great Chiefs of the Pannonian Tribe Alliance. While his position as the chief of Segestica was due to his lineage, the entire tribe revered him. By the age of twenty, he had already joined the battlefield in the war against the Scodisqi people.

During the decisive battle against the Scodisqi Tribe that initially occupied this region, he personally led an assault that shattered the enemy’s central forces and slew the Scodisqi Great Leader, allowing the Segestica people to reclaim their land.

In his thirties, Andres became the tribe’s chief. Unlike his father, who was content with maintaining order, Andres harbored ambitious plans to make his tribe the dominant force in both the Pannonian Tribe Alliance and the entire Great River Plain. Thus, he soon launched campaigns westward, repeatedly defeating the Aldeans who lived along the banks of the Kupa River.

His victories also provoked another major Pannonian tribe along the Sava River—the Brochi. Imitating his campaigns, they further weakened the already crippled Alde Tribe, who lost their eastern hill territories.

Just as Andres, brimming with confidence, prepared to lead his army to completely annihilate the Aldeans and fully claim the Kupa River and its tributary territories, extending his tribe’s domain far to the west, devastating news reached him: his most trusted Wallis had suffered a disastrous defeat!

Now, he sat on the main throne, stroking his Celtic-style mustache, his eyes sharp as he looked at the entering Cabdes and asked in a somber tone, "My uncle, you’ve come so late—is it to deliver good news?"

With a loud "plop," Cabdes fell to his knees, choking back tears as he cried out, "Great Chief, please forgive me. I have lost my village!"

"What?!" Andres bolted upright. Earlier, he had received a report from Cabdes’ messenger stating, "Cabdes is now advancing to rescue the besieged Wallis." At the time, he had held onto a shred of hope, thinking Cabdes’ reinforcements would allow Wallis to hold out for a few days, buying enough time for Andres to bring his army to the front. Yet now, even Cabdes’ village had been taken!

"How was it lost?!" Andres roared, his expression darkening.

Cabdes hurriedly recounted the entire battle.

Having heard the details, Andres grew even angrier: "You previously sent a messenger telling me that Wallis fell into the enemy’s trap and suffered defeat. What wisdom did you gain from that experience? None! Instead, you fell into the enemy’s ambush just as easily. Has your mind failed you?"

Cabdes cried out in defense: "Great Chief, I was desperate to rescue Wallis. Seeing his warriors valiantly defend the walls, I baited the enemy forces away, thinking Wallis would lead his warriors out of the village to counterattack. By then, it wouldn’t be me surrounded but the enemy defeated. Yet the gates stayed closed—the entire time—with my tribesmen trapped and surrounded, they never opened...

Great Chief, I am not blaming Wallis. I have fought alongside him for years; I understand him. If he were truly directing the battle from inside the village, he would have undoubtedly led his people out."

Andres widened his eyes at these words: "You mean to say Wallis is already dead?!"

"The enemy employed the same tactic to crush my village; they could certainly use it to break Wallis’ stronghold. His village isn’t much more fortified than mine."

"So Wallis is dead, and his village is lost as well!..."

Andres’ expression showed traces of sorrow. His bond with Wallis was extraordinary—they had grown up together, fought side by side against the Scodisqi people, and Wallis had loyally supported Andres’ western campaigns. Wallis often led his tribesmen to fight on the front lines, earning significant battle merit. Now, that reliable arm had been severed, leaving Andres deep in grief.