Chapter 295 - 59: The Beastmen’s Purpose
Chapter 295: Chapter 59: The Beastmen’s Purpose
Robson didn’t remain dazed for long. He quickly got out of bed and donned his armor himself.
He ordered the soldiers outside his door to push several wooden tables together, then spread the topographical map he had received from the Fengman Clan across them.
It wasn’t that Robson was overreacting, looking like he wanted to summon the entire army just because two Tier Five scouts had died.
It wasn’t as if Robson had never lost Tier Five Cavalry before, but when had that ever happened?
The most recent instance had been at Thermopylae, during a battle against the Beastman Empire’s most elite corps, where many Tier Five Cavalry had fallen.
At any other time? Almost never!
The troops produced by his Mount & Blade system were a cut above; if not every one was a masterpiece, the vast majority were.
This was especially true for high-level units like the Tier Five Cavalry. Due to their factional origin, Robson’s cavalry were somewhat specialized—their charge was devastating, but their mounted archery was lacking.
But aside from mounted archery and a few other specialized tasks, these Frank Elite Cavalry were masters of their craft, be it reconnaissance or rapid strikes. Killing them was no easy feat.
Unfortunately, it was the middle of the night, and his griffins had suffered heavy losses in the previous war. Robson couldn’t immediately dispatch them to scout for information.
Though everyone had already turned in for the night, at Robson’s command, a group of officers still rushed to his tent.
Ais was the last to arrive, which was to be expected. After all, he was just an ordinary person.
Gathered in the tent, everyone looked at Robson with puzzled expressions.
Robson didn’t say much, nor did he need to.
Such was Robson’s prestige in the army that even if he ordered them to jump into a sea of fire, the soldiers would assume their lord had his reasons for giving such a command.
Just as Robson was about to invent some pretext for them to mobilize, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from outside the tent.
At the sound of the hooves, the officers, who had been somewhat groggy, instantly became clear-headed.
Riding was permitted within the camp, but galloping was strictly forbidden. This was a basic rule. Lord Robson’s army was known for its discipline, and such violations were rare.
There was, however, one exception: when a scouting Ranger was returning with an urgent military report.
"Urgent report! Urgent report!"
Just as they expected, the sound of hooves drew nearer and nearer to the tent.
"My lord, there’s someone outside..."
"Let him in."
The Personal Guard outside was about to inquire further but was cut off by Robson.
A moment later, a Light Cavalryman stumbled into the tent. He was clad in leather armor, soaked to the bone, with an arrow piercing his left arm and another protruding from his back.
"Report! My lord, we’ve spotted traces of the enemy southeast of the camp!
I was on patrol with three comrades when the enemy ambushed us with a volley of arrows. The other two couldn’t retreat in time... their fate is unknown." The Light Cavalryman was grievously wounded, yet he had somehow managed to endure the jarring ride all the way back.
’One had to admit, the soldiers produced by the Mount & Blade panel were top-tier in both willpower and physical constitution.’
"Just as I thought," Robson murmured.
At Robson’s words, all eyes in the tent turned to him.
"I vaguely heard the sound of a large army on the march in my sleep, so I summoned you all. It seems it was true!" Robson seized the opportunity, using the scout’s report to neatly cover for his earlier lie.
"How many are there?" Robson asked.
"I don’t know. It was too dark; we couldn’t see them," the scout replied, shaking his head.
"Alright, we have the information now. You’ve done well.
What’s your name? And your merit rank?" Robson asked the cavalryman.
"Bola, my lord. I’m at the fourth merit rank." As he said this, Bola couldn’t help but puff out his chest with pride.
The merit system had only been in place for a short while, so achieving the fourth rank was still a source of considerable pride.
Robson nodded.
"Ais, remember this hero’s name. For bringing this intelligence, promote him one rank and reward him with one Silver Coin," Robson declared.
...
The merit system was still in its early stages. To get his soldiers to take it seriously, Robson needed to constantly set public examples.
After bestowing the reward, Robson dismissed the cavalryman to get some rest and turned back to the map on the table.
"The Beastmen tonight are a warning!
The Beastman Corps at Bai Ma Ferry is about to make a move," Robson said.
"Bai Ma Ferry? But the Beastman Army there is enormous. They couldn’t possibly mobilize that quickly...
My lord, could it just be the remnants of their previously defeated forces?" Ais inquired.
"Unlikely. I don’t mean to boast, but all of you have seen my troops in action and know what they’re capable of.
If they had run into a mere disorganized remnant, my men wouldn’t have been killed on the spot—certainly not two of them at once."
Robson finished, then extended a finger to point at a location on Wisley Path.
"Bo Yang previously reported that the Gnoll army on Wisley Path hasn’t retreated. They’re still putting up a futile resistance.
Now, it all makes sense. The Beastmen want to rescue their comrades trapped on Wisley Path.
It seems we killed some rather important figures earlier," Robson said.
Logically speaking, since Robson had already captured Wayne Moutain, the Gnolls on Wisley Path should have immediately withdrawn to rendezvous with the other routed forces further north.
Robson had been wondering why this band of Gnolls hadn’t done so.
It now appeared that among the Beastman Generals Robson had previously routed, there was someone of extraordinary importance—important enough for the eastern Beastman Corps to be willing to sacrifice an entire Jackal Wolfman Legion just to rescue that person’s group.
"Sir, could they be here to attack Wayne Moutain?" Earl Uman suddenly interjected while everyone else was lost in thought.
Robson almost choked when he heard that. ’No wonder Earl Uman suffered such heavy losses before,’ he thought. ’There really is a reason for everything.’
"Ah? Haha, just a wild guess," Earl Uman said with an awkward laugh, noticing the sudden chill in the air.
"It’s fine. You don’t have all the intelligence, so it’s a normal assumption to make.
The enemy’s main force is still north of the Largus River, spread across the three major provinces. Right now, their greatest concentration of forces is likely at Bai Ma Ferry.
Furthermore, it hasn’t been long since our great victory, and Count Sriphine is already marching toward Ancient Dumu Town. Even if the entire force from Bai Ma Ferry came at us, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to overwhelm us."
"My guess is that this enemy force is a detachment that the Beastmen from Bai Ma Ferry are trying to secretly send north to help their other forces break out," Robson said.
"Lord Viscount, what are our orders?" Knight Commander Elon asked, always direct and decisive.
Alongside Knight Commander Elon was Claude.
Hearing this, Robson glanced at the map and a smile touched his lips.
"So, they want to get this group of Beastmen to the north? That’s fine. We’ll help them... we’ll send them on their way," Robson said.