Chapter 502 - 237: After the War
Chapter 502: Chapter 237: After the War
When the Regent King, Tailuo, had personally led his troops into the fray, the battle for the Tiger Race Royal City was essentially over.
Prince Tallo had already invested everything in defending the Royal City—his army, his prestige, his wealth...
Now, even if Tailuo were to flee, it would be impossible for him to make a comeback.
Given Prince Tallo’s previous actions, if he were to survive, those fellows in the Senate would tear him to shreds.
Tailuo had mobilized the Royal City’s army by holding its generals hostage. This was tantamount to grinding the old senators’ faces into the dirt, and on top of that, he had cost them what little military strength they had left.
As royalty among the Royal Family, Prince Tallo naturally possessed his own pride.
’Rather than shamelessly trying to survive, only to be ruined and disgraced by those old men later, it’s better to die for the Royal City now. At least I can leave behind a good name, and my family will be protected.’
In truth, it wasn’t just Tailuo. Many hot-blooded, high-ranking officials and nobles throughout the Tiger Race were now leading their family forces to mount a final resistance, even though everyone knew it was pointless.
"His Highness the Regent King is here!"
"Fight them to the death!"
"The Tiger Race will not be humiliated!"
Regardless, the Regent King’s arrival did somewhat bolster the flagging morale of the Tiger Race Warriors.
Seeing Prince Tallo and Prince Trilman charging forward, what reason did they have to hesitate?
Of course, this was just a small fraction of them. The civilians, lacking professional training, couldn’t withstand the Gnolls’ Bloodthirsty Cloud Qi and were fleeing toward the rear in droves.
"For the Lord Envoy!"
"For Affleck!"
Facing the Tiger Race people’s sudden burst of fighting spirit, Robson’s Soldiers showed no signs of fear.
’In the face of true power, a brief surge in morale is meaningless!’
Soon, the morale that the Tiger Race had struggled so hard to raise was crushed once again.
The scene was too chaotic for any Officers to organize a proper defense. After the fighting, no one knew where Prince Tallo and Trilman had gone.
A good number of the Tiger Race people attempted to use the streets for defense, but unfortunately, they had lost all sense of organization and were unable to leverage the advantages of urban warfare.
The Tiger Race army was quickly routed by the Gnolls and the elite Human Race forces, beaten back at every turn.
From the city gates to the East City District, from the East City District to the Central Square, and then on to West City, North City, the Royal Palace...
Now, the entire Tiger Race Capital was engulfed in roaring flames.
.....
Partway through the assault, Robson pulled back, having his human Soldiers follow the Gnolls’ path and letting them take the lead.
It wasn’t that Robson was deliberately setting the Gnolls up to fail; the main issue was that his First through Third Regiments had been pushed to a terrifying extent tonight.
To put it simply, these three regiments had fought their way from outside the city walls to the gates, and from the gates deep into the city itself.
They had done all the heavy lifting in the preceding battles; it was time to let his troops have a breather.
As for clearing the battlefield, what if the Gnolls couldn’t handle it on their own?
Robson had already planned for this. The Fourth through Seventh Regiments were at full strength and had yet to see combat.
And there was also the Gray Rock Bear Race.
Once the Gnolls used their bloodlust ability, that trick was basically spent, which could be considered one of their weaknesses.
As a standing fighting force, their members were at most fifth-tier, but their practical combat effectiveness was only at the fourth-tier level. When factoring in their performance as a cohesive army, they were only equivalent to a third-tier force.
The Gnolls could only unleash a devastating surge to overwhelm the enemy when their Bloodthirsty Cloud Qi erupted. However, once the Bloodthirsty Cloud Qi was spent, half of the Gnolls would be crippled.
The battle for the Tiger Race Royal City was not the ultimate goal of this campaign, after all. The Beastman Emperor was still waiting for Robson.
’Beast Emperor Kemel! Now *that* is Lord Robson’s true target.’
’It goes without saying that the Beast Emperor’s personal army would be no ordinary force. They are the most elite legion in the entire Beastman Empire. At the very least, their strength is certain to far surpass that of the army we faced at Thermopylae.’
’Even now, the Battle of Thermopylae remains etched most deeply in my memory. We held every advantage—timing, terrain, and morale—yet our losses were still severe.’
’Troop types like the Gnolls will be difficult to use effectively in the battles to come. The true backbone of my forces will have to be my own human army.’
’Conveniently, the Fourth through Seventh Regiments are also low-level. With the Tiger Race army routed, now is the perfect time to hunt down the stragglers. The experience gained might be negligible for the first three regiments, which are nearly all sixth-tier, but for the latter four, it’s a significant amount.’
Sending in the Soldiers from those rear regiments now means they can gain experience without taking too many casualties.
Just because Robson had the Gnolls take the lead didn’t mean the mission was over for the First through Third Regiments.
Their part in the direct fighting was simply over.
For Robson, eliminating the Tiger Race Royal City wasn’t just about clearing an obstacle on his path to the central front.
’The countless resources within the Tiger Race Royal City—that is another main event of this campaign!’
’That plunder will determine whether I, Lord Robson, can continue this war.’
Robson captured a few Tiger Race nobles.
Every race has its share of scum, and the Tiger Race was no exception.
Some of the greedier nobles had failed to escape in time, so Robson had them act as his guides.
The layout of the Tiger Race Royal City wasn’t complex. In fact, apart from the developed human commercial cities in the south, the structure of nearly every city on the continent was simple.