Pigeris spoke with pride about the enthusiastic Ardii people, gesturing excitedly: "The market our Commerce Department carefully established has attracted some Ardii people in the past two or three months. We don’t tax them and even provide them with conveniences. They can exchange their goods for our tribe’s wheat, our exquisite pottery, better iron tools, and more practical furniture... Because of our market, they’ve improved their lives. How could they not welcome us with such enthusiasm?!"
To this, Fesaros really had nothing to say.
When the First Legion left the camp, Fesaros was surprised to find the road outside the camp was also crowded with people. However, these people were holding long spears, some with wooden sticks, and only a few wore armor...
Seeing Fesaros’s confusion, Pigeris whispered, "Last night, Budocaribas and other tribal leaders were too enthusiastic. I returned late, and you were all asleep, so I didn’t have the chance to tell you. These warriors are from the Ardii tribes who are friendly with us. They gathered here hoping to join our forces on the battlefield... Well, I agreed on your behalf."
"Why?" Fesaros still felt puzzled.
"Last night at the banquet, I raised this question. They didn’t answer directly, but with some intentional persuasion while drinking, I managed to extract some secrets from them."
Pigeris, somewhat proud, spoke in a lower voice: "These Ardii tribes, who are friendly with us and have agreements, either lost their land in wars with the Segestica people or have territories too close to the Segestica people. Out of fear of attack, they had to migrate west into the mountains...
For various reasons, they’ve had some conflicts with the southern Ardii tribes over the past two or three years. However, due to efforts by their Great Chief, there’s been no major conflict between them...
But this time, the Ardii Tribes are mobilizing militarily to summon warriors southward. Unfortunately, their Great Chief Acoupaigos has fallen ill, and his eldest son has taken command.
But this eldest son... As they say, he’s always protected the southern tribes and holds grievances against them, especially after learning they signed agreements with us privately without consulting the elders. They fear this chief’s son might seek revenge in battle, so they want to band together with us for courage!
Fesaros, being Illyrian and familiar with Illyrian customs, furrowed his brows upon hearing this: "Shouldn’t we avoid interfering in the internal affairs of the Aldeans?"
Pigeris, with an undertone, said, "Before I left, our leader specifically instructed me to maintain good relations with the friendly Ardii tribes. I couldn’t possibly refuse such a small request from them."
Hearing this about the leader, Fesaros fell silent. He vaguely sensed that Maximus was plotting something behind the scenes, but as a military officer, he instinctively shied away from complex politics.
At this moment, Budocaribas, accompanied by other leaders, approached. After an exchange of pleasantries, they finally decided: The First Legion would lead, and the other tribal groups would follow, proceeding together to the battlefield.
The force grew larger, but the marching speed slowed considerably.
The new recruits of the First Legion, having undergone several months of training with the Nix Tribe, already perceived a significant difference compared to the Pannonian Army’s training. Now that the Ardii Tribes’ army was mingling with the First Legion, this difference became even more apparent.
The soldiers of the First Legion marched in formation, and anyone wanting to stop for rest or wander off faced reprimands from the team officers. The Ardii tribal armies, though led by leaders, had no formation and moved in a chaotic mass without a fixed pace, stopping and going intermittently. Occasionally, some tribal warriors would dash out to catch wild rabbits or deer spotted by the roadside. Their leaders couldn’t restrain them...
As a result, after a while, the First Legion left the Ardii tribe’s forces far behind. Pigeris suggested slowing down to wait for their allies, but Fesaros disagreed.
Thus, the new recruits of the First Legion witnessed a strange sight: Ardii warriors, panting heavily, caught up with their troops only to fall behind until they disappeared from view again, only to sweep back after a while...
Watching the Ardii warriors, drenched in sweat and in disarray, the Scodisiqi new soldiers, who had similar customs and had lived there for generations, couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride. This pride grew stronger as the First Legion, after taking a big bend along the Murenica River, turned south.
Because the First Legion entered a small plain beside the Murenica River, no longer desolate, it was filled with wheat fields, crisscrossing paths, and densely populated areas, with the sounds of chickens and dogs heard, villages extended one after another along the river southward...
The people here had already been notified that "the ally of the tribe—the Nix army will pass through here." Although they hadn’t seen Nix people before, they’d heard that it was these very Nix people who defeated the Pannonian army they feared, so they crowded along the roadside, curious. Soon, this curiosity turned into amazement.
"No wonder these Nix people could defeat those detested Pannonians. Look, each of them wears armor!"
"Not only do they all have armor, but they also look so spirited. I don’t dare to approach them."
"You don’t understand, the most impressive thing about these Nix people is their discipline. Look at their neat formation, then look at our messy group behind... Sigh, the reason we lost to the Pannonians back then was because they were more disciplined than us, and clearly, these Nix are more disciplined than the Pannonians, which is how they managed to defeat them!"
"Those messy troops behind are from the north, not us. Our troops are better than theirs!"
Upon hearing the praises from the roadside, the new recruits of the First Legion stood with even straighter backs.
"That’s our tribe’s main camp!" As dusk approached, Budocaribas, acting as the guide, suddenly pointed to a village across the river.
Fesaros looked up to see a narrow footbridge leading to the opposite bank. The village on the other side was significantly larger than any they had passed and was surrounded by tall wooden walls, hiding the houses inside, with only the smoke from cooking visible in the sky above the camp...
Fesaros mentally compared it to Snowdonia, feeling his camp was larger, more vibrant, and more prosperous. He stopped looking and turned to ask, "Chief Budocaribas, it’s getting late. Where should we camp?"
"We’ll camp over there." Budocaribas hesitated not a bit, pointing westward as if he had already made arrangements.
"Going there will bring us closer to the mountains!" Pigeris interjected: "We’d have to pull grass and clear the land just to walk over. It’d be exhausting! Look at these freshly harvested fields, so clean. Why not camp right here?"
Budocaribas looked embarrassed and stuttered in reply: "Although the wheat here has been harvested... They’re planning to plant something else soon. With so many people... It’s easy to trample the fields beyond repair..."
The two exchanged a glance, and Pigeris said seriously: "Fields are precious; we can’t just trample them. We’ll follow your arrangements and camp over there."
Budocaribas sighed in relief, before hearing Pigeris continue: "Since we are here, I should visit Great Chief Acoupaigos as it’s customary. Fesaros, you lead the soldiers to camp. I will return soon."
Fesaros nodded in agreement.
The First Legion quickly left the road to a barren land far from the riverbank and fields, began clearing the area, and pitched tents.
The Ardii tribal forces were not so particular. Upon reaching the grassy wilds, each tribe grouped in one area without pulling grass or setting up tents. The warriors simply lay down on the ground to rest.
Fortunately, even though the tribe forbade camping on the fields, enough food was prepared and promptly delivered to them.
On the second morning, as the First Legion packed up its tents and resumed marching south along the river, the Ardii followed behind.
Along the way, Fesaros asked Pigeris what he said when he met with the Ardii Great Chief.
Pigeris only replied, "Great Chief Acoupaigos is indeed very ill," saying no more.
The entire force marched continuously along the river for three days, reaching the upper reaches of the Murenica River. Here, the land remained flat and fertile but was sparsely populated. The soldiers had to rely on their rations during camping.
Then, the entire army waded across the now-shallow river into the hilly terrain, continuing south until they reached the upper reaches of the Kolana River. On its northern plains, tents covered the land, with countless Ardii warriors frolicking and playing between them...
Hearing Budocaribas’s words, Fesaros sighed in relief: they had finally reached their destination!
He turned to a messenger and said, "Inform the brothers to gather their spirits and display the prowess of the Nix warriors to our allies!"
"Yes, Legion Commander!"
Soon, the marching soldiers of the First Legion let out a deafening cheer, startling the resting Ardii warriors and their leaders who were in a meeting.