Pioneer Lord: I Have Conquering System

"Many of the stone houses here are empty. They might be a bit short for your men, but they should be fine for resting," Lancelot said, looking at the group of Beastman Barbarians who stood over two and a half blades tall, approaching three.

Levi led his men directly to their assigned quarters, instructing Leiden beside him, "Have some men guard our supplies well. Don’t let those scumbags come and steal them."

"Brother-in-law, are we going to stay here the whole time?" Mier asked from the side.

"Probably not. We’ll likely be ordered to join the general offensive in a day or two," Levi said after some thought.

The initial supply delivery was to solve the urgent needs of the soldiers at White Bone Fortress, allowing them to maintain their combat effectiveness and form a pincer with the main army outside.

’It isn’t hard to guess their plan.’

Levi figured it was nothing more than the army outside and the forces at White Bone Fortress jointly pinning down the Demon Army, while an elite force would be sent to raid the Demons at the Space Channel and close it. Then, they would properly deal with the remaining Demons.

Their Lord had always placed great importance on the food from High Cliff Castle. He even brought cooks along from there, viewing all sorts of ingredients as being just as important as weapons and armor.

This was because it was a crucial guarantee of the Barbarians’ combat strength.

So upon arriving at White Bone Fortress, they had also brought supplies from High Cliff Castle.

As dawn broke, wisps of cooking smoke began to rise from High Cliff Castle’s encampment.

"It smells so good!"

Passing soldiers were drawn to a stop by the aroma. They tried their best to show disdain, but their own traitorous bodies couldn’t help it, their faces instantly filling with envy and jealousy.

The black bread in their hands, which they had softened and found fragrant, suddenly seemed tasteless and hard to swallow.

They could only tear fiercely at the black bread, inhaling the fragrance drifting on the wind, as if that could somehow make it more delicious.

"I have a plan." A soldier suddenly had a brainwave. "There are so many of them eating. If we sneak in and grab a bite, no one would notice."

"Stow your brilliant plan," the squad leader snapped. "The other side is almost entirely Half-Beastmen. The moment we walk in, it’ll be like a dog in a wolf’s den. We couldn’t be more conspicuous."

His men immediately deflated, looking as listless as frostbitten eggplants.

By the time the sky was fully bright, the battle was finally winding down. At first, the Demon side had been beaten back repeatedly, but once they reacted, reinforcements swarmed in like a tide of ants.

The soldiers of the Eastern Territory felt the pressure, and both sides began trading lives.

In terms of ferocity and physical Attributes, these Demons were no worse than the soldiers of the Eastern Territory. They could have fought them to a standstill, but the enormous gap in equipment put them at a disadvantage.

Their crude iron weapons could at most leave a scratch on the fine Plate Armor. But the forest of Fine Steel pikes and Steel Blades, facing unarmored targets, was like chopping meat and vegetables.

A mere graze could easily tear off a large chunk of flesh and blood.

Fortunately, these Demons were sufficiently mad. When isolated or outnumbered, they might appear exceptionally cowardly.

But when surrounded by their own kind and with a clear numerical advantage, they would display unimaginable courage, perfectly demonstrating the principle of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

The Eastern Territory soldiers easily cut down the first rank of Demons, but before they could celebrate, they found that even the heavily wounded Demons remained fanatical, desperately trying to tackle them to the ground.

This fighting style was actually not uncommon in the Wilderness, as the Lord himself had experienced, but the soldiers of the Eastern Territory had never encountered anything like it.

This life-for-a-life tactic stunned them, leaving them at a complete loss. Once a soldier was tackled by a Demon, countless others would pile on one after another. There was almost no chance of getting back up, only a horrifying, despairing wail left behind.

Therefore, when the battle ended, the Demons’ casualties were heavy, but the Eastern Territory’s losses were not insignificant either. Both sides could only gather their forces and retreat to lick their wounds.

During this time, it’s worth mentioning that Fujero and the bastard son from Terror Castle named Bodun were also transferred into White Bone Fortress.

After all, the importance of White Bone Fortress was self-evident. If it were captured by the Demons, the difficulty of dealing with them would increase by several Levels, so reinforcements were a natural course of action.

Part of the goal was also to ensure White Bone Fortress had enough strength to tie down a portion of the Demons outside.

...

The following days were very peaceful for High Cliff Castle. Outside, the main army and the Demons were locked in intense combat, with both sides trading victories and defeats.

In a ravine a few miles from White Bone Fortress, countless bodies had been left behind, forging a terrifying battle line of flesh and blood. Neither side could hold it for more than half a day before the other would seize it back.

The reason for this stalemate was that neither side had yet deployed their top-tier Samurai.

The battlefield is like a game of cards—whoever shows their full hand first is the one who loses the worst.

Meanwhile, the people from High Cliff Castle were feasting inside White Bone Fortress, conserving their energy and building up their strength.

In reality, everyone was waiting for the right opportunity—waiting for Damon’s seventy to eighty thousand soldiers to recover, and for the Griffin Knights to completely clear the enemy’s air units.

"General Mandela is no ordinary man. In fact, he contributed greatly to Duke Fulina’s ascension to her current position."

In the High Cliff Castle camp, Fujero was telling everyone the story of a famous figure from Debei, and he had just gotten to the part about Fulina’s uncle.

"You might not know this, but General Mandela was once a Desolate Baron in Debei. His life can only be described as Legendary."

"Wait, if he was a Desolate Baron, then who is Duke Fulina’s mother?" Levi immediately sensed something was off.

"That’s right. Duke Fulina’s mother was the daughter of an ordinary Baron."

Fujero had nothing to hide about this. Most people knew, and Duke Fulina didn’t forbid people from talking about it, so it was no great secret.

"When the Old Duke of the Northern Territory was young, he enjoyed traveling through Debei. That’s how he met General Mandela, who had just become a Knight, and through him, met his sister."

"But let’s get back on topic. Let’s talk about General Mandela," Fujero said hurriedly, seeing the increasingly gossipy expressions on everyone’s faces, pulling the conversation back.

"From a young age, General Mandela showed a Talent for Combat Qi that far surpassed ordinary people. His father valued him greatly, believing the family would grow even stronger in his hands."

"But unlike others who prized noble titles, he was dismissive of it, seeing it as a shackle holding him back from getting stronger. So, after coming of age, he began to travel Debei and accomplished many great things, which I won’t detail one by one."

"Later, by a twist of fate, he was noticed by an instructor of the Lion Heart Red Swordsmen and joined their legion. Within just a few years, he defeated his own master, became an instructor for the Chosen Swordsmen, and was granted the Blood Sword Demon Pattern."

"Demon Pattern?" This was the first time the Lord had heard of such a thing.

"Have you noticed the tattoos on the arms of the Lion Heart Red Swordsmen, including General Mandela?" Fujero asked in return.

"Some useless tattoos. Their only purpose is to show off and make them look special." The Lord scratched his head, blurting out what he really thought. At the time, he had truly believed it was just something those Great Swordsmen used to look cool.

’After all, having a huge, lifelike face tattooed on your arm that looks like it’s about to devour someone is certainly intimidating.’

’Back then, he’d thought that those tattoos alone would be enough to scare a bunch of cowardly Goblins to death if they appeared at night.’

But if it were the men from High Cliff Castle, they would have just crossed their arms and laughed.

In their eyes, it was no different from gilding a lily. ’Does a country mutt become a fierce tiger just because it tattoos the character for "King" on its forehead?’

"My good Lord, if the Chosen Swordsmen heard you say that, they would probably explode with rage," Fujero said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.