Chapter 442 - 190: Dispatching Troops
Chapter 442: Chapter 190: Dispatching Troops
"Hurry up!"
"You damn mutts! Move it!"
By now it was June, and both the Beastman Empire and the Frank Kingdom were indisputably in the height of summer.
Furthermore, the eastern front was near the central regions, and with the Beastman Plateau blocking the way, the climate was even more scorching.
Under the blazing sun, the Centaur Warriors used the whips in their hands to drive the surrounding Gnolls.
It wasn’t just Gnolls; there were also goblins, Kobolds, pig-men, and many other strange, miscellaneous races.
Such scenes were ubiquitous within the Beastman Empire, nothing to be surprised about.
The weak are prey for the strong, and the winner takes all. These were the rules of the Beastman Empire, where powerful races oppressed all others.
"What’s the status? How much longer until we can haul everything away?"
Centaur Chief Gwen asked from the side.
The humans had recently surrounded the Royal City, and the Royal Court had ordered them to dispatch all of their clan’s forces to its rescue.
Many of his clansmen had gone, but Gwen was an exception.
Ever since returning to his tribe, he hadn’t moved an inch. He hadn’t even sent out troops, merely observing the movements of the other Centaur clans.
As it turned out, Gwen was right. Those Centaurs who went to provide reinforcements couldn’t even get within thirty li of the Royal City. Any who dared to try vanished without a trace.
Gwen had spent decades on the battlefield; he was crystal clear on the difference between professional soldiers and a rabble of women, children, and the elderly.
From the moment the humans breached Julian City, Gwen knew it was only a matter of time before the Centaur King City fell as well.
With the front lines collapsing one after another, Gwen had already packed his things, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
"Almost there. Some of the livestock haven’t returned yet."
"Why aren’t they back yet?"
"Those bastards! We should stew them and make soup!" Gwen’s expression was grim.
In this situation, the sooner they fled, the better. If they were even a step too slow, the humans might catch up to them.
"Haha! Gnoll meat isn’t that tasty," the chieftain Tarren laughed.
He wasn’t joking. Tarren had actually eaten it before.
There were always years in the Beastman Empire when times were tough for every race. During those periods, vassal races were also considered reserve food supplies.
The environment on the steppes was harsh. To survive, they would give up anything.
A few passing Gnolls overheard Tarren’s words and bared their teeth at him.
"Hey! You little shits!"
With eyes wide with fury, Tarren strode forward and choked one of the Gnolls to death. The remaining Gnolls could only glare in silent rage.
"Hmph! These bastards have no discipline!" Tarren said angrily.
"They were just recently captured. How could you expect them to be obedient?" Gwen chuckled.
These Gnolls originally belonged directly to the Royal Court.
Normally, Gwen wouldn’t have dared to lay a hand on the Royal Court’s vassal races, even if he had ten times the courage. After all, you have to consider the master before you beat the dog.
But times had changed.
Property of the Royal Court? So what if it belonged to the Royal Court? In fact, they wouldn’t have wanted them if they *didn’t* belong to the Royal Court.
"Hm?"
"Do you... feel like something’s wrong?"
Gwen, who had been joking with Tarren, suddenly frowned.
"Wrong? What’s wrong?" Tarren asked, confused.
As he spoke, Gwen lowered his body to the ground, pressing his ear against it to listen carefully.
The sight of a Centaur in such a posture was rather comical.
Tarren frowned and waited for a moment. Suddenly, Chief Gwen’s expression changed drastically.
"Someone’s coming! A large group!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Humans?" Tarren asked.
"I’m not sure."
"What about the scouts? Did you send them out?" Gwen asked.
"I sent them out, but no one has reported back."
"Should we leave or not?"
Tarren asked.
If a human army was ahead, they would be completely finished. Given the tribe’s current strength, it wouldn’t even take much—a thousand men would be more than enough to deal with them.
In fact, a thousand was a generous estimate. Considering the quality of these human Soldiers, five hundred would be sufficient.
Sweat beaded on Gwen’s forehead.
’Leave or stay? It was a serious dilemma.’
They weren’t ready yet. If they fled in such a hurry, the tribe would lose more than half of its assets.
"No!"
"We wait!" Gwen gritted his teeth.
"We’re a good seventy or eighty li from the Royal City. Logically, they shouldn’t..."
Gwen had specifically ordered the tribe to retreat ten li just to avoid the battlefield.
’They shouldn’t... If the humans were charging this way, they would have had to break through several lines of defense.’
’Besides, aren’t the humans busy attacking the Royal City? How could they spare the effort to come after us?’
"It shouldn’t be them. We’ll wait."
"Maybe it’s another tribe trying to trick us!"
As he spoke, Gwen’s eyes grew brighter.
"That’s right! It must be! Those bastards have always been cunning."
Tarren frowned. His Warrior’s intuition told him that what you fear most is often what comes to pass.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a scout returned from the distance.
"Bad news, bad news!"
Gwen and Tarren hurried forward to meet him.
"What is it? What’s the situation?"
"Chief, it’s bad! Humans, a human army!" the scout panted.
Hearing this, Gwen’s face fell dramatically.
"What kind of army? How many of them?"
"I don’t know for sure, but definitely over a thousand..."
Just then, the neighing of warhorses could be heard from the distance.
Gwen looked ahead.
On the horizon of the steppes, a black mass suddenly appeared.
"We’re done for..."
"We’re screwed."
Gwen murmured.
......
Far away, Robson had arrived with his Cavalry, several li from the Centaur camp.
They could already see the Centaur tents in the distance.
After leaving the area around the Royal City, Robson had flown on his Flying Dragon, scouting from the sky for a suitable target.
This Centaur Tribe was a perfect fit.
They had just subjugated a Gnoll tribe and were already exploiting them to death.
Robson had circled the area on Everton, and he knew that these Gnolls were far from subservient to the Centaurs. He had even seen some of them gathering secretly late at night, though he didn’t know what they were discussing.
Robson drew the Knight’s Spear in his hand.
"Everyone! Double merit for live captures! Take them alive if you can!" Robson shouted.
Hearing this, the Soldiers behind Robson exchanged confused glances.
’Beastmen are things you kill, not capture. What’s the point?’
However, no one hesitated. If the Lord commanded it, he must have his reasons.
’Isn’t that what all those little books said?’
’They had faced so many crises, and every time, it was the Lord who stepped up with some brilliant stratagem to save them.’
’In short, the Lord’s decisions were always correct.’
Robson didn’t bother explaining. He leveled his Knight’s Spear.
"Victory to Affleck! Charge!"
With a roar, Robson charged forward.
"Victory to Affleck! Victory to Affleck!"