Chapter 372 - 121: A Familiar Rhythm
Chapter 372: Chapter 121: A Familiar Rhythm
Mendes had his share of abilities, which was how he had earned Prince Odoruo’s favor.
Once the plan was settled, Mendes immediately summoned Blake and gave him the task of assembling the army.
Blake had long had this idea in mind. In fact, his army was already mostly assembled. He even mistook the shift in Mendes’s attitude as a sign that the Beastman was finally yielding to him.
As the two schemed with their own ulterior motives, a piece of intelligence shattered the silence of the Beastman encampment.
....
"What?! The humans are charging us?!" Mendes stared in shock at the messenger before him.
"By the time we made it back, the humans were only ten miles from here," the messenger continued.
Mendes glanced at Orc, who was looking right back at him.
They both saw the same shock and terror reflected in each other’s eyes.
’So familiar! We know this rhythm all too well!’
Both Mendes and Orc had previously been defeated by Robson. As such, they knew his battle tactics by heart.
These humans wouldn’t move, but when they did, it was with shocking force. They would press forward with the momentum of a thunderbolt, giving their enemies no chance to react.
How had Prince Odoruo been defeated before? Over the past several days, Mendes had pieced together reports from various sources and had a general idea of what had happened.
The Beastmen had held the advantage on the battlefield until, out of nowhere, a human army appeared in Ancient Dumu Town. They defeated the Dwarf Corps, and then the Centaurs...
In a single day, they had completely turned the tide of the war.
’How similar this situation is to what happened before!’
Once again, the Beastmen seemed to have the upper hand. Once again, the humans were just standing there taking a beating, not fighting back at all.
Just when everyone was wondering if these humans were all talk, in the blink of an eye, they were charging right at them!
Before receiving this report, Mendes might have had his doubts. Now, he was almost certain. This was the same human army from before!
After all, the journey from Bai Ma Ferry to Ancient Dumu Town took more than a day.
The intelligence from last night said the humans were still at Bai Ma Ferry, but they had charged over by this morning. Only one army could move that fast—that human army!
"Ha! Those humans have been hiding in their shells at Bai Ma Ferry. It was inconvenient for us to go after them there, but now they actually dare to come out!"
The speaker was, of course, Blake.
Blake was currently enjoying immense prestige within the Beastman Army.
He and his troops were responsible for conquering the few Human Territories that had fallen recently.
And now, the high-and-mighty Beastman lords were actually bowing their heads to him. For Blake, such a thing would have been unheard of in the past.
What’s that? If Blake was so formidable, why had he been driven out of Auric?
That was because the goblins hadn’t been fighting under his command back then. Now that the goblins were winning under his leadership, didn’t that just go to show the brilliant leadership of Chieftain Blake?
Mendes and Orc exchanged a glance. For a moment, they almost felt bad about continuing to deceive the Goblin Chief.
After all, they had seen this human army in action. They knew what they were capable of.
"Well, in that case, you should go and prepare to meet them in battle.
Win this war, and all the things Prince Odoruo left behind are yours.
Orc and I will go gather the rest of the army," Mendes said with a smile.
At the mention of what Prince Odoruo had left behind, Blake’s eyes instantly lit up with greed.
Greed, lust, and cunning were the true colors of a goblin.
The so-called "property of Prince Odoruo" was actually the spoils of war left behind by Robson on the battlefield; there had simply been too much to carry away.
At the time, Mendes had claimed it was reinforcements sent by Prince Odoruo to stabilize morale. The thought of these treasures had made Blake drool with desire.
"Go on, go on. Hurry back, or you’ll be too late to even see the humans’ backsides," Blake said with a smirk. He was really starting to think he was a big shot.
Mendes and Orc exchanged a glance, a hint of mockery in their eyes.
’Meet them in battle? If the goblins actually win, we’ll be the reserves.’
’But if this is the same human army as before... well, a wise man knows when to retreat, and discretion is the better part of valor.’
After watching Mendes and Orc depart, Blake immediately summoned the great chieftains of the goblins and kobolds and relayed Mendes’s promise.
"The Prince’s legacy!"
"For real?! Blake, you haven’t been fooled by them, have you? Those Beastmen are masters of this kind of trickery."
There were a few clever ones in the crowd who immediately voiced their doubts upon hearing Blake’s news.
Unfortunately, the clever ones were a minority. The majority of the goblin army were more like Blake—lost in the delusion of their own recent victories.
"Fooled? Of course not! Aren’t the Beastmen completely dependent on us right now? Where would they get the nerve to trick us?"
"Honestly, they should have handed this stuff over ages ago! They act like they’re in charge, but they just hang back and never go to the front lines!"
There was a reason why the goblins, despite their large population and the considerable number of combat-capable earth goblins among them, could never gain a foothold in the Beastman Empire.
Just like Blake, the moment the Goblin Chiefs heard about Prince Odoruo’s property, they were blinded by greed.
The previous voices of doubt were completely drowned out.
Blake watched the rowdy crowd and nodded slightly. ’Their morale is high,’ he mused. ’I can use this.’
Just as the Goblin Chiefs were clamoring amongst themselves, another messenger burst in from outside.
He froze for a moment upon seeing the room full of goblins holding a meeting, then looked around as if searching for Mendes and Orc.
"Mendes already ran off to assemble the troops! Whatever you have to say, you can say it to me," Blake said to the messenger, his voice laced with arrogance.
The messenger was a pure-blooded Purple-blooded Beastman. The goblin’s condescending attitude was deeply repulsive to him, but remembering his duty, he suppressed his anger.
"The humans are less than five miles away now. If you’re going to do something, you’d better do it fast!"
With that, the messenger turned and left.
"Hmph! A coward who runs at the sight of humans dares to speak to us like that?"
After a moment, a voice rose from the crowd of goblins, speaking what was on everyone’s mind.
Blake watched the messenger leave, his brow furrowed.
"Well then, let’s show those cowards what we’re made of! We goblins are not to be trifled with!"
If he had said this a month ago, he would have been laughed out of the room. But now, the assembled Goblin Chiefs all nodded vigorously in agreement.
The Beastmen’s recent abysmal performance had left them utterly dumbfounded.