Mako gritted his teeth, drawing his broadsword diagonally and aiming to slash at Mashan Dan's arm, seemingly aiming to injure his right hand.
The tall, burly warrior, however, raised his hand with force, his fist, the size of a sandbag, slamming into Mako's stomach.
Startled, Mako immediately retreated. Mashan Dan's tactic of trading injury for a kill was something Mako couldn't counter, forcing him to abandon his attack.
The two, now separated, began a new round of combat. Though the axe was of poor quality, each swing unleashed a powerful impact in Mashan Dan's hands. It was through these strikes that he managed to deflect Mako's attacks on vital areas.
Seeing that he couldn't successfully land a sneak attack, Mako tried exposing weaknesses to bait Mashan Dan into attacking. By this point, Mashan Dan had lost the initial hesitation.
His attacks were fierce and relentless. His terrifying explosive power, combined with the great axe, pushed Mako to the brink of danger several times.
Bang!
Crack!
Another fierce blow came crashing down. Mako remained calm, using both hands to brace himself, and his skill, Vengeance Strike, instantly activated.
With a single strike, he cleaved through the wooden handle of Mashan Dan's great axe, severing it instantly. After a prolonged struggle, Mashan Dan's arms were beginning to ache. Mako, in his attacks, had been targeting the joint where the axe head met the wooden handle. After several blows, the inferior battle axe was broken by Mako.
Looking at Mako, who was pointing his greatsword at him, Mashan Dan sighed helplessly, then knelt down and swore his allegiance to Mako.
Mako's soldiers, seeing this scene, all cheered. The Magna Clan warriors in the distance also began to shout loudly.
Suddenly!
The ranks of these warriors became chaotic. More than 300 people broke away from the formation, raising their spears and bows and charging forward.
The recently sworn chieftain, Mashan Dan, immediately stood up and shouted at these soldiers:
"What do you want! I order you to stop!..."
A volley of arrows answered him. Mashan Dan was instantly enraged, grabbing a broken axe from the ground, ready to charge.
Mako stopped him. At first, he was also very surprised to see this scene, but after seeing Mashan Dan's reaction, he figured out what was going on.
Then, as if to confirm his thoughts, a young man who looked seven or eight parts like Mashan Dan appeared at the entrance of the valley.
Behind him were dense ranks of tribal warriors, estimated to be about 500 people. With his order, several long-haired rhinoceroses, each carrying large leather bags, were driven into the entrance.
As the long-haired rhinoceroses let out heartbreaking howls, these usually docile giant creatures charged towards Mako and the others.
Spears were stuck in their anuses, and their bodies were set on fire with torches. Whale oil seemed to have been poured on their fur, causing them to burn rapidly. With their frantic running and collisions, the entire valley was in chaos!
At the same time, the 300 or so soldiers who charged forward also took out small leather bags from their waists, slashed them with daggers, and threw them towards Mako and the others.
Seeing their actions, Mako immediately reacted and hurriedly ordered everyone to retreat.
At the same time, the archers on the mountain, under Elok's orders, also launched an attack. A dense rain of arrows instantly shot down a large number of Magna Clan rebels, delaying their oil-pouring actions.
Following this, the soldiers outside the valley fired a volley of flaming arrows. The area where Mako and his men were located instantly burst into flames, and the yellowed autumn grass and a small amount of snow immediately produced a large amount of smoke.
Adding to this the flaming long-haired rhinoceroses, the entire valley was in chaos. Fortunately, the Brute Troops under Mako's command suppressed those already fleeing clan warriors.
Mako saw this and instantly activated the "Blessing Ritual" skill. As Mako pointed his longsword towards the sky, an angelic phantom instantly appeared above him.
The people in the valley were immediately attracted by this scene. Although it couldn't be applied to the clan warriors, the magical sight also calmed the scattered warriors.
Thus, Mako first ordered Mashan Dan to gather all his men, and then ordered Griffon Swan and Unicorn Silver Flash to attack the five long-haired rhinoceroses that were still running around.
After gathering all the troops, Mako slowly led the soldiers out of the valley, even though the valley was in utter chaos.
But with the help of Griffon Swan, Mako still managed to clear a smoke-free area. Before leaving the valley, Mako saw that the 300 warriors of the Magna Clan were completely trapped in the sea of fire.
At this moment, Mashan Dan and the remaining warriors under his command were surrounded by Henk and his men. Seeing this, Mako frowned slightly.
He shouted at the two of them, somewhat displeased:
"What are you doing? These warriors are now your brother units. What are you two doing? Get out of the way!"
"Lord! Mashan Dan just swore his allegiance and then sent people to attack us. This kind of person doesn't deserve to be called a rock-born. He is a oathbreaker! This kind of person cannot be kept!"
"That's right! He is an oathbreaker!"
"Alright! I said it! This matter has nothing to do with him, step aside! Sas Ting!"
"Brute Troops! Assemble!"
Boom! Swish! Swish!
All the Brute Troops, upon hearing the order, immediately stood at attention and lowered their spears, lining up neatly to the side. They looked extremely disciplined.
Mashan Dan watched these soldiers, who obeyed orders without hesitation, a flicker of heat in his eyes. Seeing Mako look at him, he lowered his head, a little ashamed.
Mako gestured for him to first comfort the tribal warriors. Afterwards, Mako proceeded to take stock of the soldiers under his command.
He hadn't expected this attack to result in over 100 tribal warriors and more than 50 archers being lost. Most of them had been suffocated by the smoke or trampled.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If he hadn't had the heroes' invincible army, and had been just an ordinary tribal warrior, he would probably have already been turned to ashes!
He couldn't help but feel a hint of wariness towards the one who had instigated the rebellion. These rock-born people on Skagos Island were, after all, still in a primitive age.
It was impossible to imagine such a strategy, such a cold and ruthless method, coming from one of the natives. In Mako's opinion, this move was more like something from a noble from the south of Westeros.
While Mako was pondering the enemy's actions, Mashan Dan slowly walked up behind him and gave a slight bow.
Mako waved his hand, signaling him not to bother with the formality, and then said to him, "Tell me! What's going on here? Are there people in your tribe who aren't under your control?"
Mashan Dan blushed slightly and said, "My Lord! That fellow is my cousin, Mandis. He's the adopted son of Roose Bolton, the Earl of Dreadfort in The North.
Two years ago, he returned to Skagos Island and told us about his experiences. He believes the rock people are too backward and must submit to the civilization of The North, learning their advanced systems, and making the entire King's Hall truly noble."
According to Mashan Dan, this Mandis was a staunch reformer. For over a year, he had been preaching his systems and ideas within the tribe.
It was only half a year ago that he lost to Mashan Dan in the tribal leader contest, and after that, he became quiet. Mashan Dan thought he had given up, but then, a month ago, he showed up with an envoy from Dreadfort.
When the envoy arrived at King's Hall, Mashan Dan realized that his cousin had never given up on his plans. This time, Roose Bolton's offer was quite generous. He promised to provide food and weapons to King's Hall.
In return, King's Hall would need to persuade or conquer the other two tribes and make them swear fealty. He also requested that the Northerners be allowed free movement on Skagos Island.
It was said that after the failed rebellion on Skagos Island over a hundred years ago, House Stark had confiscated all the ships and weapons, leaving only fishing boats. Iron and trade were restricted.
Since then, the Bolton family had been subtly interacting with Skagos Island, starting with ordinary commodity trade and later secretly engaging in the slave trade.
Mashan Dan's cousin, Mandis, was secretly captured and sold during that time. Later, the Earl of Dreadfort, Roose Bolton, personally brought the child back to King's Hall.
After a conversation (transaction) with the old chieftain, Mashan Dan's grandfather, Mandis was adopted by Roose Bolton. Mashan Dan only learned later that his grandfather had exchanged his cousin for five barrels of wine.
Mashan Dan felt bitter inside. This brother was now his only remaining family, and he never expected things to come to this.
Mako, however, gleaned a lot of useful information from his description. What Mako hadn't anticipated was that he would clash with the Northerners so quickly.
He was also filled with emotion. Roose Bolton must have begun plotting his control of The North a long time ago, judging by his dealings with the rock-eaters of Skagos Island.
This family was always ruthless and merciless in their actions. It seemed that the adopted son on Skagos Island had learned well. According to Mashan Dan, he was only 15 years old this year. If he continued down this path, he would likely become another "Little Bastard"!
After a brief rest, Mako ordered the troops to advance toward King's Hall. Mashan Dan then led two warriors to Mako's side.
He said to Mako:
"These two warriors said that they saw a hidden unit in the valley during the retreat, and they hope to…"
Before he could finish, the two warriors suddenly drew two steel daggers and attacked Mako.
"Greetings from the Bolton family, sir!