Chapter 469 - 217: Forceful Breakthrough

Chapter 469: Chapter 217: Forceful Breakthrough

With Prince Trilman’s order, the entire Beastman Camp stirred into action.

A clamor erupted everywhere.

Several miles from the Beastman Camp, a group of Gnolls and earth goblins stared at the terrain before them, engaged in a heated discussion.

In the midst of their intense discussion, a Gnoll cavalryman suddenly charged in, interrupting them.

That’s right, the Gnolls had cavalry. This was a special version supplied by Robson, pairing hulking Gnolls with stout, small horses.

The Gnoll cavalryman didn’t look at the other Chieftains, but turned to Chief Mole instead.

"Chieftain, the Beastmen have set out. They’ve dispatched about five thousand men to intercept us," the Gnoll Knight reported.

He was a fifth-rank Gnoll, so estimating enemy numbers was a simple matter for him.

Chief Mole nodded and looked around at the still-bickering Chieftains.

"Enough! Quiet!" Chief Mole roared.

"The Lord anticipated this."

Hearing that there were orders from the Envoy, the Chieftains all looked at one another.

’You had orders, so why didn’t you say so sooner? After all that, we thought we were supposed to improvise.’

However, since Chief Mole held the orders of the Great Power Envoy, the other Chieftains didn’t dare say another word and simply waited where they stood.

"Orders from the Lord."

As he spoke, Chief Mole produced a piece of paper.

Robson would never have entrusted his army to Chief Mole without being fully prepared. He had contingency plans for every scenario: What if the Beastmen attacked with a large force? What if they attacked with a small one? What if they didn’t attack at all?

Robson believed his arrangements made it highly probable that the Beastmen would dispatch a low-quality force for the interception, but one always had to plan for the unexpected.

Lord Robson always preferred a cautious approach.

Looking at the paper in his hand, Chief Mole couldn’t help but marvel at his Lord’s god-like foresight.

"This time, the Gray Rock Bear Race will form the vanguard, the earth goblins will be in the center, followed by the Gnoll Warriors..." Chief Mole read directly from the note in his hand.

Hearing this, the faces of the Goblin Chiefs lit up with joy. The Gnoll Chieftains, in contrast, did not look nearly as pleased.

It was all because of the order of deployment on the battlefield.

Everyone knew the rule of serving under Robson: the more you did, the more you gained.

The first ones on the battlefield would certainly have an easier time earning military merit than those who followed.

If other Beastman Commanders saw this, their jaws would probably drop in astonishment.

They had employed Gnolls for many years, but they had never seen them so full of fighting spirit.

Even though the Gnoll Warriors had been driven to the point of collapse before...

"We obey!"

"We obey!"

Although they yearned to be on the front lines, the Envoy’s orders were clearly more important to the Chieftains.

Robson had recently discovered that the best way to rule lesser races was to fool them with talk of gods and other divine beings.

This was perhaps a universal weakness among all races.

Of course, all of this was predicated on being able to keep them well-fed.

If they couldn’t even eat their fill, who would listen to such things? The Beastman Empire had also invoked Great Powers in the past, yet the Gnolls still rebelled when the time came, without the slightest hesitation.

Having received Robson’s orders, the entire army immediately sprang into action.

The sounds of horns and war drums rose from all around.

...

"Sir! That pack of Gnolls is less than a mile ahead!"

"Obviously! I can see them!"

Chief Kandar angrily rebuked his useless subordinate, then raised his head to look into the distance, his feelings somewhat conflicted.

’When had he fallen so low as to be making enemies of Gnolls?’

On the Beastman Grassland, strength commanded respect, and the strong naturally associated with other strong warriors.

’A pack of Gnolls as his opponents...’

Chief Kandar hadn’t witnessed the bloodbath at the Centaur King City, so he couldn’t understand why that Centaur had been so terrified.

He just felt that this task was beneath his dignity as Chief Kandar. After all, the truly powerful Chieftains had all gone with Prince Trilman to intercept the humans.

"Relay my orders to the entire army! Prepare for battle immediately.

We must rush to the east to support Prince Trilman before noon," Chief Kandar declared.

As he spoke, the Chieftain gripped the hilt of his saber tightly.

’I heard these were the ones who destroyed the Centaur King City.’

’Heh, I’d like to see for myself what these Gnolls are really made of.’

The two sides were now barely a mile apart, well within charging distance.

Chief Kandar glanced around, confirmed everything was in order, and then raised his scimitar.

"For the Empire! For the Tiger Race! Charge with me!"

"Victory to the Empire!"

The grassland tribes didn’t concern themselves with complex tactics. With a great war cry, Chief Kandar led his tribesmen in a headlong charge.

The Warriors behind him roared in response, following close at his heels.

On the other side, Chief Mole was baffled to see the opposing Tiger Race launch the first attack.

Unlike Chief Kandar, Chief Mole had personally experienced the bloodbath at the Centaur King City. He understood all too well what a terrifying force ten thousand Gnolls represented.

In his eyes, the opposing Beastman General’s actions were utterly irrational.

’But... irrational is good.’

Chief Mole glanced behind him.

After the last war, the Bear Race Warriors had stripped dozens of wearable sets of armor from the Centaurs.

A fervent look appeared in Chief Mole’s eyes.

The world turns on the axis of self-interest. While Chief Mole was a straightforward individual, he was still a thinking being.

The Gnoll Chieftains wanted military merit, and he, Chief Mole, was no exception.

’As for money, who would ever complain about having too much?’

"All units! Prepare for battle!"

"For the Envoy! Charge!"

Chief Mole let out a great cry, snatched the battle-axe from his back, and led the charge.

"For the Envoy! For the Great Power!"

"Charge!"

There was a reason the Beastmen had failed to destroy the Frank Kingdom after so many years.

Warfare on the Beastman Grassland was, in a word, unsophisticated.

On battlefields of thousands or even tens of thousands, everyone formed up by tribe, shouted their slogans to build up morale, and then charged headlong into the enemy.

In the past, the Beastman Empire had considered changing this state of affairs, but the end result...

One could only say that a primitive, tribal, slave-based society could only support such a military system.

"Kill!"

Chief Kandar’s face was a ferocious mask. Hoisting his scimitar, he led his elite warriors—several dozen Extraordinaries and over a thousand elite Tiger Race Warriors—in a fierce charge toward the Bear Race forces.

Just then, the Bear Race Warriors suddenly produced shields, and hundreds of heavily armored Bear Race elites, previously hidden within the formation, now stepped forward.