The persistent and forceful persuasion of his subordinates finally led Dakra to temper his rage. He realized the need to redeploy his forces for the military campaign against Rahir and Arer, fearing that the Limidians might seize the opportunity to strike from across the border.

　　A portion of his army remained at the Hulor frontier as a feint to intimidate his rivals, while the rest followed Dakra toward the eastern borders. His primary objective was to force Burda to submit to his authority. For too long, the Burda had masked their true intentions with a facade of obedience while maintaining clandestine ties with the Limidians.

　　However, Dakra and his followers had severely underestimated the resolve of the Willem Dynasty. Their forces had already fully mobilized, aiming not only to shatter their opponents but to advance toward Pilater. There, they intended to establish the King’s dominion, driving a permanent thorn into the back of the barbarian territories.

　　At this moment, the great passage leading from the Willem frontier into the Pilater Highlands sat at the crossroads of the territories belonging to the Shurbo, Lesser, and Huta tribes. Reaching this strategic point would require nothing less than a bold and fearless march.

　　While all eyes were anxiously fixed on the situation at the Hulor border, a messenger from Burda arrived with word of war for the Willem Dynasty. The Willem army swiftly received the King’s command. Under the leadership of Kalaurens Willem, a scion of the royal house, they crossed the frontier to launch their offensive against the barbarians, marching steadily toward the Pilater Highlands.

　　A barbarian force flanked the Willem army, intending to force them to shift their front and engage in a disadvantageous battle while their rear was obstructed by the terrain. However, this maneuver instead galvanized the courage and resolve of the Willem troops.

　　After a fierce clash, the barbarian forces retreated a certain distance, tainted by a touch of cowardice; they sat idly by as the Willem army plundered Shurbo, not daring to draw near. The King’s messenger carried word of this victory to Hulor, expressing hope that they might take action at the frontier to divert the barbarians' attention.

　　After stripping Shurbo bare, the Willem army did not continue their advance. Instead, they sent the bulk of the spoils to Lesser and Huta, spreading rumors abroad that this was a gesture of gratitude for the assistance provided by the two tribes. Subsequently, they withdrew a short distance to facilitate the acquisition of supplies while further confounding their enemy.

　　Dakra actually fell for these rumors, becoming deeply suspicious of Lesser and Huta. By the time the Willem army broke camp and advanced once more, Dakra had stationed his forces in the area of Great Chubal, placing Lesser and Huta at the very forefront of the confrontation. Regardless of who won the engagement, the people of Lesser and Huta were destined to suffer the most.

　　The bellicose leader remained full of confidence in his barbarian host. Distinguished chieftains held seats of honor in his golden tent and followed his command. Many of his soldiers were clad in armor, equipped with spears, sabers, and swords. Moreover, the two sides were set to engage on a flat and open front, where each other's deployments were laid bare for all to see.

　　Yet Dakra was desperate for a swift victory so he could redeploy his army to the western front and resolve the lingering conflict with Hulor. Before the battle, the chieftains of Huta and Lesser had used every means to convince their leader and allies of their loyalty. Wise men had also voiced their opinions, suggesting that spreading rumors to sow discord was a standard tactic of the Willem army.

　　Dakra’s response, however, was to order the two chieftains to take their men to the western front to join the fight against Hulor. The people of Lesser and Huta gathered around their chieftains' tents, shouting in protest and demanding that the chieftains protect their families and property.

　　With the Great Battle imminent, the two chieftains held a brief meeting on a patch of grass. Afterward, they issued orders with a show of pretense, telling their people to pack their belongings and prepare to leave. This further incited the desperate emotions of their followers. Finally, fueled by inflammatory rhetoric, the tribesmen prepared to turn their spears against Dakra himself.

　　Kalaurens and the Willem lords and commanders were delighted to see their enemies fall into internal chaos. The remnants of Huta and Lesser, having faced defeat, scattered in flight, and the chieftain of Huta lost his life in the process. Dakra was forced to retreat a certain distance under the cover of night, redeploying his forces at a new position.

　　In the ensuing engagement, Dakra’s own elite troops were stationed in the center of the line. Two Kerhun, men of high standing and virtue among the barbarians, accompanied the Steppe Sovereign on either side. Fluttering banners served as marks of nobility, while scimitars and armor were symbols of wealth.

　　On the left were the forces commanded by high-ranking chieftains, though their equipment varied in quality. These tribes had been the first to serve under the conqueror’s banner or had established alliances long ago; in times of peace, they were ranked to the left and right of the golden tent according to their merit.

　　The forces on the right came from secondary tribes—those who had been defeated and subdued by the conqueror’s camp and had sought pardon through the payment of tribute. Among their ranks, one could even see infantrymen who were mere herdsmen. Originally, these men were meant to be deployed at the front to exhaust the enemy, but Dakra, in an attempt to soothe the passive resentment of these secondary tribes, made a change—thereby exposing his own weakness to Willem.

　　Such a deployment handed the Willem army a golden opportunity. Kalaurens stirred the hearts of the lords and commanders by his side, urging them to follow orders and charge forward—to secure victory for Willem and win lasting renown for themselves. He concentrated his heavy forces in the center, a unit where both men and horses were outfitted with superior armor and weaponry. On either flank were the light troops led by the various lords, coordinating with the main body to harass and tie down the barbarians. The reserves held the rear, tasked with providing support or launching counterattacks at the critical moment.

　　In the engagement that followed, the ranks of the lower-tier barbarian tribes were the first to show signs of collapse. The Willem army intensified its assault, forcing them into a steady retreat and stripping Dakra and the Kerhun of their flank protection. Brandishing a long halberd, Kalaurens led the royal guard and a host of house-troops in the vanguard. His armor was adorned with colored knotted cords—not only a symbol of his rank and status but a beacon that allowed his men to clearly track his position amidst the chaos of the fray.

　　It was not until word reached him that the main barbarian body was faltering that the commander halted his pursuit, turning his spirited troops to bolster the center's fight. Kalaurens’s objective was not merely to defeat the barbarian host, but to annihilate them utterly; so long as a single barbarian remained standing on the field, his soldiers were to grip their weapons and fight to the last.

　　To avoid total destruction, Dakra signaled a retreat. The victorious Limidians, after pursuing the enemy for a great distance, finally halted to rest and proclaim their triumph. They held ceremonies for the fallen and awaited supplies from the rear. During this time, Kalaurens received a man in camp who claimed to be an envoy from the Lesser tribe. He stated that their chieftain had been watching the tide of battle and, upon learning of Willem’s victory, sought their mercy and protection.

　　Kalaurens gave a solemn promise: they could return to their homes to live in peace, provided they assisted Willem in hunting down Dakra and the remnants of his forces. Upon hearing this, the chieftain of the Lesser emerged from hiding, his heart blazed with the fires of vengeance. Leading his tribal warriors and the survivors he had taken in, he joined the camp of the Willem Dynasty.

　　With their aid, the Willem army stormed into a place known as the Bound of Torchi, a sacred site where Dakra’s deities were enshrined and where high-born barbarians were laid to rest. While Kalaurens and the Willem regulars maintained a posture of respectful distance, the barbarian auxiliaries following them rushed in without restraint, shouting wildly as they surrounded the mourning crowd gathered within.

　　As the barbarian soldiers leveled their weapons, the people there raised a chorus of pleas and wails, begging for the funeral to proceed so the deceased might be granted a final measure of dignity. Upon inquiry, it was revealed—to the shock of all—that this was the funeral of Dakra himself. The barbarian leader had chosen to take his own life at the final moment to preserve what remained of his honor.

　　A barbarian shaman chanted incantations, striking a wooden drum in a rhythmic beat. The adult men present slashed their cheeks with daggers or severed their earlobes as a sacrifice and a final farewell to the dead—the highest rite of their culture. Yet, the barbarian soldiers remained relentless, their eyes fixed on the mourners with predatory and ill intent.

　　Kalaurens maintained a cold indifference until he received a richly dressed youth in his command tent. He was the youngest son of Dakra, come to plead for the commander’s mercy, begging that his sisters not be carried off by the ferocious soldiery. Ultimately, Dakra’s family were treated as spoils of war for the King; they were secured in prison wagons and dispatched to Hedlim, as this was the only way to shield them from the violence and violations of the bloodshot-eyed barbarians. The rest of the tribe, however, were left to their fate.

　　The barbarians who followed Willem not only profited immensely from the plundering but also tasted the sweetness of revenge. Following their own customs, they presented a portion of the spoils to Kalaurens as a mark of respect and submission. Kalaurens used these spoils to reward his battle-weary troops, then reminded the chieftains that victory belonged to the Willem Sovereign alone, directing the grateful leaders to make their way to Hedlim.

　　Following the end of the steppe conflict, the Lesser tribe returned to their lands as victors. With their support, Chichir—an illegitimate son of the late Huta chieftain—became the new leader. Subsequently, under the guise of providing sanctuary and protection, Chichir extended his dominion into Shurbo. Yet the peace was short-lived. Some daring souls attacked the King’s messengers sent to the Pilater Highlands, plundering their valuables, lashing the royal officials with whips, and casting the Willem banners into the fire.

　　Kalaurens once again received the King’s command and appeared on the steppes with his army, demanding that the Lesser chieftain, Keleda, surrender the culprits. The chieftain was unwilling to give up his own son; however, he offered other means to secure the King’s pardon. Kalaurens, having already branded this defiance as an act of war against the Kingdom, had no intention of showing mercy. He arranged a grand banquet in his camp for Keleda and his son, feigning a desire to reach a compromise that would spare the boy while satisfying the King.

　　Keleda appeared before the royal scion in fear and trembling, his son adopting a posture of deep humility. Chichir, who was Keleda’s son-in-law as well as the Huta chieftain, also arrived with lavish gifts. A long table was set in the camp, with a chef and his assistants busily preparing the feast. As the wine flowed and the atmosphere grew warm, Kalaurens raised his wooden cup to stand. At that signal, a squad of warriors and house-guards suddenly burst into the banquet, slaughtering the chieftain’s retinue. The servants and cooks likewise bared their fangs, drawing daggers to strike down every barbarian present. The table, once laden with delicacies, was violently overturned.

　　For a time after Dakra’s downfall, Huluhan entered a period of satisfying tranquility. Thanks to the might of the Willem army, merchant caravans traveled safely through the steppe passes, and the tribal chieftains looked to the Willem King as the ultimate authority and arbiter.

　　Helles Willem, the eldest son of Deman, sat upon his throne in magnificent robes, listening to two reports. The first detailed how the lord’s army, under a valiant general, had destroyed a barbarian camp at the border and brought news of victory along with spoils to the Sovereign. Next, the Foreign Minister informed him that a tribe known as the Hasoda had sent an envoy to Hedlim, petitioning the southern conqueror to arbitrate an injustice they had suffered.

　　The arrival and request of the steppe envoy initially brought satisfaction to the King. Although the monarch was more than happy to watch the barbarians tear each other apart, strategic necessity demanded a proper resolution. On his journey, the envoy passed a Temple of the Sun and was captivated by its architecture. He first praised the temple’s grandeur with words of great refinement, then sighed with a profound observation: "If the sun were to lose its brilliance, where then would mankind find its way?"

　　The Limidian official in charge of the reception reported these words to the King, which immediately triggered Helles’s alarm. He told those around him that he would rather erupt into immediate war than see another strong leader rise from the northern barbarian lands. Orders were dispatched to every official and lord from the capital to the frontier to arrest this man. However, the steppe envoy had begun his return journey ahead of the King’s messengers. The Willem agents found their efforts in vain, and even the dispatched troops returned empty-handed.