As time dragged on, both sides steadily increased their stakes. More and more soldiers poured into the battlefield.
The jackals attacked with brutal ferocity, while the Night Tribe held their ground with an unyielding defense. But it didn't take a trained eye to see where the tide was turning. The Jackals were losing ground. Their initial fury failed to break through the Night Tribe's line. Instead, once the adrenaline wore off, the Night Tribe countered, seizing the moment to slaughter their warriors.
"Press forward. Apply more pressure."
Su Xingyu remained composed. With plenty of cards still in hand, he raised the tempo layer by layer, steadily draining the jackals' strength.
If this was all the Jackals had, they weren't worthy of being counted among the three great powers of the Black Soil Plains alongside the barbarians and the half-metal giants.
"Damn it."
Harvey's face darkened. Every frontline was under heavy pressure. There was no breakthrough, no advance. The sight gnawed at his nerves.
He still had several trump cards left, but the problem wasn't lack of power—it was uncertainty. If these humans dared to confront the Jackal Tribe head-on, they must be hiding something. And the worst part? None of the enemy's heavy hitters had been deployed yet.
They hadn't even sent in their cavalry.
When Su Xingyu issued the next command, the Night Tribe soldiers, who had been holding a defensive posture, suddenly shifted into an aggressive advance.
Harvey was forced to act. No matter what he was planning, he couldn't afford to let the enemy keep pushing. That would crush his army's morale.
"Ado, intercept them! Don't let them break through."
Once again, Harvey sent out an elite unit to stabilize the faltering line and slow the hemorrhaging morale.
But deep down, Harvey knew this couldn't last.
The humans across the field had not shown their full hand. They continued to hold back, even as they pressed the Jackals into retreat. The cavalry watched silently from the flanks, poised but idle.
Su Xingyu, despite being off the battlefield for a long time, showed no signs of rust. He commanded with calm precision, drawing out the jackal forces, encircling them, and cutting them down piece by piece.
The Night Tribe didn't need an explosive charge. Their approach was slow, methodical—like corrosion eating through stone. No flash, just relentless erosion.
And Harvey could only watch it happen. His army, slowly being devoured, was barely holding the minimum line needed to stave off collapse.
"Chief, let us go. If we keep this up, we'll lose for sure."
Surrounded by generals, Harvey heard their frustration erupt. The sight of their people falling one after another had driven them nearly mad. They wanted to fight, to clash blades in one final desperate charge.
They didn't believe they would win—but they were ready to try.
Because if they continued like this, by the time they could charge, it would already be too late.
"Wait. Hold the line. The time isn't right."
Harvey shook his head. As both commander and chieftain, he carried the fate of the tribe on his shoulders.
He couldn't afford to gamble everything on a wild swing of the blade. "Live if we win, die if we lose" wasn't leadership. He needed to wait for the right moment.
"But—"
A hot-tempered warrior growled, but Harvey's eyes snapped to him.
"I said, wait."
His voice cracked like thunder. "I am the chieftain. You will obey me. I will lead us to victory, just like before."
"…Yes, Patriarch."
Harvey's authority was absolute. No one dared challenge him when he spoke like that.
They would hold the line.
All he had to do was make it until sundown. If he could stall long enough for night to fall, there was still a sliver of hope.
So Harvey dug in his heels, sacrificing lives in exchange for time.
Twilight crept over the valley. The sky dimmed, and the last rays of sunlight bled away.
The battlefield had become a graveyard. The once-verdant ground was now a blood-soaked wasteland, strewn with corpses from both sides.
"Interesting," Su Xingyu muttered, feeling the change in the air. "They actually held out until night. This jackal chief is no amateur."
But there was no worry in his voice. In fact, there was a trace of amusement.
Because Su Xingyu was a Dark God.
His soldiers were blessed by the shadows. Night was not their weakness—it was their domain. In the dark, their vision sharpened, their reflexes quickened, and their power surged.
If the jackals hoped to win under cover of darkness, they had just sealed their fate.
As dusk fell, Harvey gave the order.
The Jackals counterattacked with everything they had. No more holding back.
Then they saw something horrifying.
The humans weren't weakened by the dark. They were stronger.
"What's going on?" Harvey's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why are they faster? Why are we losing faster?!"
"Hadar! Take the wolf cavalry around back and hit their rear!"
"Giant Wolf Legion, break through the center! Scatter them!"
"Priests, bless the wolves—everything you've got! Don't hold back your magic. Victory or defeat will be decided now!"
Harvey's desperation erupted like a dam breaking. He committed his final trump cards.
Thousands of giant black wolves thundered onto the field, bolting toward the Night Tribe's front lines. These were not ordinary beasts. Each was a magical creature of at least second-level extraordinary strength. Their sheer size alone made them monstrous in combat.
From the rear, the jackal priests emerged from hiding. With chants and raised staffs, they poured blessings onto the charging wolves.
"Strength! Speed! Defense!"
With every spell cast, the wolves grew faster, tougher, deadlier. The priests exhausted nearly all their mana. But if this worked, it would be worth it.
Su Xingyu, unflinching, gave the signal.
The human battle lines shifted.
Then came the roar of titans.
The half-metal giants stepped forward.
Towering and relentless, they braced themselves to meet the oncoming beast tide.
The leader of the Giant Wolf Legion didn't slow. It leapt high, glowing red claws slashing down at the metal juggernauts.
The Werewolf Tribe had fought the half-metal giants before. This was familiar territory. But something was different.
Bang!
Agu, one of the half-metal giants, swung his colossal mace.
Time seemed to freeze.
The giant wolf's body caved in from the impact and was flung backward like a broken arrow.
Boom!
Another giant braced himself and caught a charging wolf. Muscles bulged beneath steel as he lifted the beast clear off the ground.
All around them, the half-metal giants crushed the wolves with overwhelming force.
The Giant Wolf Legion, the pride of the jackals, never even reached the Night Tribe's first line of defense.
And the wolf cavalry sent around the flank?
Their fate was even worse.