Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 112: Collapse
The bombardment against the main gate shook the entire village. The right watchtower collapsed with a thunderous crash, and the left one leaned at a dangerous angle, on the verge of toppling.
Scouts stationed above fell down in panic. One unfortunate fellow was pinned from the waist down by a broken beam, unable to move.
“Advance.”
Lusha ordered the musket unit forward.
Seeing this, the other three chiefs also commanded their own forces to follow.
After marching quickly for some distance, Lusha suddenly raised his right hand:
“Stop. Continue firing!”
While the Black wind tribesmen were still paralyzed with shock from the terrifying power of the cannons and had not yet recovered, the musketeers of the Sinking Sand Tribe raised their weapons once more and opened fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Caught off guard by another volley, the Black wind soldiers panicked, breaking formation and scrambling in all directions to find cover.
Boom!
Another cannon strike landed—an entire hut was blown apart, and more than a dozen Black wind tribesmen were killed instantly.
The scene turned into utter chaos. The Black wind Tribe was completely stunned and overwhelmed by the muskets and cannons wielded by the Sinking Sand Tribe.
Many soldiers turned tail and fled toward the rear of the settlement in a frantic rush. None dared to charge forward anymore—for to advance was certain death.
“Hold the line! No one is allowed to retreat!”
Even Chief Zar’s furious roar could not stop the panic-stricken soldiers.
“Deserters will be executed on the spot!”
Thrusting his spear, Zar killed one clansman who had tried to flee right before his eyes. Already, more than a dozen deserters had fallen by his hand.
Yet despite this, Zar still could not restore order. Soldiers continued to scatter.
Having witnessed the enemy’s devastating cannon fire, most of the Black wind tribesmen had lost all will to resist, thinking only of survival.
Fortunately, the Bone Warriors—Zar’s personally trained elite—remained loyal.
They made use of anything they could find as cover, holding the frontline with difficulty, occasionally hurling discarded spears left behind by deserters to strike back.
But their desperate valor was not enough to turn the tide of a one-sided defeat.
As more and more Bone Warriors fell, Zar’s heart bled.
This was the force he had poured his very soul into—the Black wind Tribe’s ace unit, the spearhead meant to subjugate all other tribes. How had it come to this, reduced to such a passive beating?
If things continued, the Bone Warriors would be annihilated, and the Black wind Tribe itself would face extermination.
He had treated the Sinking Sand Tribe this ruthlessly. There was no doubt they would exact the same vengeance upon his people. Zar had no illusions about that.
The shields. He must seize the shields.
In this desperate hour, Zar still refused to give up. The stockpile of shields in the warehouse was his last hope.
The ordinary Black wind soldiers, stripped of all fighting spirit, were useless now. Zar instead rallied the Bone Warriors and the few soldiers still resisting.
“Everyone, with me!”
At his command, they decisively abandoned the frontline and regrouped around their chief.
Zar led them in a fighting retreat, step by step, moving toward the warehouse where the shields were stored.
Noticing their maneuver, Lusha raised his right hand once again:
“Cease fire. Fix bayonets!”
The warriors of the Sinking Sand Tribe immediately stopped shooting, drew their bayonets, and fixed them neatly onto their muskets.
At the same time, Lusha turned and exchanged a meaningful glance with the other three chiefs.
The three nodded in reply, then directed their forces into action. Their troops surged into the village all at once, clashing with the Black wind tribesmen in brutal street fighting.
With combat shifting to close-quarters, Kerman also halted the cannon fire—the last of the cannonballs had just been spent.
Originally, Lusha just intended to use the cannons to blast open the gate and at the same time frighten the Black Wind Tribe with their terrifying power. He didn’t need many shells.
The task of killing the enemy was better left to the musketeers and the other tribal troops.
Now, it seemed the effect was excellent—better than expected—and so many enemies had been killed in the process.
The scattered Black Wind Tribe soldiers throughout the village would be dealt with by the Bloodfang, Claw, and Witchwood troops, while the Sinking Sand Tribe forces were tasked with pursuing the remnants led by Zaal.
Even their chief had abandoned his own people; the morale of the Black Wind Tribe had plummeted to rock bottom, making it nearly impossible for them to mount an effective counterattack.
Before the operation, Lusha had already told the three chiefs: if the enemy surrendered, disarm them, herd them to the central plaza of the village, and guard them strictly. They would be dealt with only after the battle was over.
However, the other tribes’ troops were not like the Sinking Sand Tribe. They hadn’t undergone professional training and strict discipline at Bianshu Town.
Would they really follow orders? Or would someone, driven by hatred of the Black Wind Tribe, kill prisoners in secret—or worse, commit atrocities against ordinary villagers of the Black Wind Tribe? That remained unknown.
Only the musketeers could handle the Bone Warriors. The Sinking Sand Tribe forces had no time to deal with surrendered soldiers, so it had to be left to the other tribes.
Amidst the chaos, Zar led his remaining soldiers in retreat to the warehouse where their equipment was stored.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry—everyone grab a shield!”
Inside, Zar urged everyone to equip shields as quickly as possible, preparing for a counterattack.
Even at this stage, he stubbornly believed there was still a chance—so long as the Bone Warriors could break through and eliminate that troublesome unit.
Most of the shields in the warehouse were wooden or rattan; a few were reinforced with tough leather on the outside, and some were made from the exoskeletons of insect-like monsters.
Before long, the relentless Sinking Sand Tribe forces arrived at the warehouse entrance.
The three chiefs also came with a handful of soldiers, wanting to witness Zar’s downfall firsthand.
Street fighting still raged, but there was no organized resistance left. The Black Wind Tribe’s village would soon fall under the control of the four united tribes, and the battle was approaching its end.
To be honest, none of the three chiefs had expected the battle to end so quickly. They had thought it would take several days to besiege the Black Wind Tribe.
In the worst-case scenario, they feared being pushed back by the Bone Warriors and forced into guerrilla fighting in the forest.
“Everyone, pick up your shields and form a line!”
This was their last hope. Zar shouted hysterically:
“Charge!!”
Led by the Bone Warriors, they raised their shields in front of them and charged out of the warehouse to attack.
“Fire!”
With a wave of his arm, Lusha watched their final struggle with an emotionless face.
Zar’s last hope was shattered. The shields could not withstand the musket balls. The front row of Black Bone Warriors fell one by one; not a single one reached the musketeers.
As Zar watched the Bone Warriors he had painstakingly trained collapse into corpses, his heart began to crumble.
At last, he realized that facing musketeers head-on was nothing but suicide. Their long-range firepower was simply too overwhelming.
Unfortunately, he had realized it far too late.
Seeing the Bone Warriors in the rear hesitate, Zar sighed and said:
“Don’t charge anymore. Hide yourselves and wait until they come inside before you attack.”
Charging forward now would only mean pointless sacrifice. Their only chance was to lie in wait inside the warehouse and fight in close quarters once the enemy entered.
Even if they lost, Zar still wanted to make the enemy pay a heavy price. He could not swallow his pride otherwise.
Lusha also saw through his plan and raised his hand to halt the shooting. But he had no intention of letting his clansmen fight inside.
Though the enemy was at the end of their strength and victory was within reach, their last mad-dog counterattack could still cause casualties among his people.
The Sinking Sand Tribe had already experienced one near-extermination in the past; Lusha did not want to see his clansmen hurt again.
So he stepped forward and shouted loudly:
“Zar! You cowardly turtle! How long do you plan on hiding in there? Come out and face me in a duel to the death!”