Lord: I Grind EXP with Warband Panel

Chapter 435: Chapter 183: War Preparations

At the end of June, Robson led a host of soldiers onto the Beastman Grassland, encountering almost no resistance along the way.

Gazing at the vast scenery, it wasn’t just the surrounding Frankish Nobles who were moved; even Robson himself felt a surge of heroic ambition.

After reaching the grassland, Robson didn’t immediately push deep into its expanse, nor did he rush to the Centaurs’ capital to lay siege.

The transition from the plains to the grassland involved too many complications.

Although Robson had a map, it was over a century old. Who knew if it was still accurate?

Robson had always prioritized caution. Charging in blindly based on a pile of guesses, without a clear understanding of the situation, was not Lord Robson’s style.

Besides this lack of information, there was also an elevation difference of over a thousand meters between the Julian Plain below and the Beastman Grassland above.

The incline was so steep that it forced a complete overhaul of their logistics.

On the flat terrain of the plains, horse-drawn carts had been sufficient, but with such a significant change in elevation, the horses no longer had the strength to manage.

Fortunately, the troops of many nobles from the outer territories were following behind.

These first and second-tier soldiers wouldn’t be of much use on the battlefield anyway, so Robson repurposed them for logistics.

If this had happened under the command of an ordinary Count, the noble lords would certainly have been displeased.

Their soldiers were meant for the battlefield; being assigned to logistics was a sign of disrespect, was it not?

However, after Robson’s string of victories, his prestige was firmly established. Even if they objected, there was little they could say.

During this period, Robson mounted Everton and made a tour of the surrounding Beastman Grassland.

It had to be said, a dragon was incredibly effective for reconnaissance. If he had been riding a griffin, Robson would never have dared to be so bold. If a few Thunderhawks flew over from the Beastmen’s side and he, Lord Robson, lost his balance, things could get ugly.

The fall wouldn’t kill him, but if he landed on the grassland, a stranger in a strange land, and was captured... then his cries for help would truly fall on deaf ears.

A dragon had no such worries. Everton could soar thousands of meters into the sky, while Thunderhawks and griffins alike had a flight ceiling of only a few hundred meters at best.

As long as Robson didn’t do something foolish, like riding his Flying Dragon down to attack the Beastmen, he was essentially out of danger.

...

After completing his aerial circuit and scouting the final location, Robson rode Everton back down to the human camp.

Seeing the dragon in the sky, Valentino and a group of nobles immediately made their way to the command tent.

Robson, astride his red dragon, landed before the large command tent.

"How did it go? When do we attack?" Valentino asked, stepping forward.

"The situation is rather grim," Robson said with a nod.

"Let’s go inside first."

The group followed Robson into the command tent.

Robson spread out the parchment map that Chief Mole had given him.

"From my observations, the defenses inside the Centaur King City are indeed much lighter.

However, in the various tribes, the chieftains are actively mobilizing their people," Robson said.

"Their people?" Valentino asked, puzzled.

"The Centaur armies on the central and Western Fronts already number over fifty thousand combined. Do they still have warriors to spare?"

Robson shook his head.

"I’m not sure. Perhaps this is their final mobilization, or perhaps they’re already a spent force.

Besides the Centaur Clan, there are also many Wolf Spirits and other races on the grassland converging on the Centaur King City.

Most of them have already finished gathering and are now heading toward the Royal City," Robson said.

At that moment, a gruff voice cut in.

"Those bastards. They must be mobilizing their entire population again."

Everyone turned toward the sound of the voice. The speaker was none other than the only non-human in the entire army: Chief Mole.

After a series of forced marches, Chief Mole had finally reached the battlefield before the war began.

At first, everyone had harbored some reservations about Chief Mole. However, after spending more time with him, they all discovered that when it came to hating the Beastmen, the warriors of the Mountain Rock Bear Race were far more extreme than any of them.

The Frankish Nobles, at the end of the day, simply wanted to stop the Beastmen from invading their lands and, ideally, drive them out of the Beastman Grassland.

They saw the conflict between the Frank Kingdom and the Beastman Empire as a dispute over interests.

This was, in fact, the view of most humans, as there had once been a "honeymoon period" between humans and Beastmen.

But the Mountain Rock Bear Race told a different story. In their eyes, the Beastmen were the most evil race in the world, a people that must be utterly purged with pure, holy fire.

Not even the Franks were that extreme.

Furthermore, Chief Mole was a man of integrity, and after spending time with him, the noble lords found him to be quite a decent person.

Seeing that all eyes were on him, Chief Mole stepped forward to elaborate.

"I can’t speak for the other races, but I know the Beastmen. Especially the royalists within the Beastman Empire. If they dare to abandon the lands they are assigned to guard, they will face horrific retaliation.

That was why my clan was forced to flee into the mountains," Chief Mole said.

Robson nodded.

"In truth, whether these people are warriors or mobilized elders and children makes no difference to us now."

"Since they are preparing to march on us, they are the enemy. We will treat them all as warriors," Robson said.

In the war between the Frank Kingdom and the Beastman Empire, the distinction between civilian and soldier had long been erased.

The level of civilization here was medieval. Who cared if you were an innocent civilian?

Although Robson was reluctant to slaughter the old, the weak, women, and children, the war had reached a point where such things were unavoidable.

"So what’s our next move?" Valentino inquired.

Robson pointed to the map.

"We are new to this territory, and the kingdom has no precedent for attacking the Beastman Grassland from the east. Therefore, we must still proceed with caution."

"These Centaurs are now gathering at the Centaur Royal Court. They will undoubtedly interfere with our siege later on."

"Here is my plan: the main force will advance to surround the Royal City of the Centaur Clan. We will leave half of the Light Cavalry, plus one regiment, to guard our supply lines. The Fengman Knight Order and my Heavy Cavalry will deal with the Centaurs who are coming to provide reinforcements," Robson declared.

"Yes, an excellent plan indeed!"

"A brilliant strategy!"

After Robson finished speaking, the assembled nobles, likely not understanding the details and perhaps not even hearing everything he said, simply nodded and applauded out of instinct.

"Alright, the rest of you are dismissed. Chief Mole, please stay for a moment."

Robson paid their reactions no mind.