But this is reality, not a game, Richard cannot act that way, though caution and suspicion are inevitable.
Where there are people, there is a community; where there are people, there is politics. Laine knows that every kingdom has its unique political situation, like the Prince-Elector system in the Empire, or the many Duchies and the Lake Fairy faith in Brittania.
Laine is not a barbarian; he cannot simply annex an area like a barbarian and declare that yet another territory falls under my control. Doing so would make enemies of the world, and the Chaos Evil Gods, Khorne and Tzeentch, would be very pleased, as they would gain a lot of energy from such actions, watching humans fight amongst themselves and waiting for the chance for a fatal blow.
The road is still long; becoming a Baron is just the beginning.
Laine lifted his head; the summer moon was gradually becoming rounder, emitting bright light that nurtured the dark earth.
Wait, gradually becoming rounder?
......
Deep within the Arden Forest, the same moonlight shines upon the heads of the Beastman horde.
The Ten Thousand Demon Rock, also known as the Chaos Core, is the sacred totem of Beastman power and faith. In the camp, various supplies are piled here to appease the gods and gain favor. Weapons, armor, banners seized from defeated enemies, and the dismembered corpses of enemy soldiers surround these stones.
The Ten Thousand Demon Rock always stands where the Magic Wind converges, usually a place where ominous meteors fall.
Today, a grand Beastman feast is taking place deep in the forest. The Screaming Shaman "Heart-Eater" Groz, standing over three meters tall, is presiding over this assembly.
Captured Brittania knights are dragged before the Ten Thousand Demon Rock with screams, gutted, then generously rewarded to all the sturdy Beastmen attending the alliance.
"We... eat! We... kill! We are strong!!!" The Beastman Beast King "Blood Horn" Maras, nearly four meters tall, with two huge bull horns and wielding a War Axe, yelled: "Kill!!!"
With that, the Beast King bit and crushed the head of a captured knight, brain matter splattering everywhere.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Thousands upon thousands of Beastmen surrounded the Ten Thousand Demon Rock, while more Beastmen kept arriving from afar, filling every corner of the dark forest with these terrifying creatures.
The earth shook, the forest wept.
The flames of the assembly illuminated the sky, burning fiercely around the Ten Thousand Demon Rock, the Shamans threw hallucination-inducing herbs into the flames, large amounts of colorful smoke dispersed in the jungle.
The firelight, the scent of rotting flesh, attracted Beastmen throughout the Arden Forest to converge upon the Ten Thousand Demon Rock, gradually forming a massive torrent of flesh and blood. Each arriving Beastman Leader engraved their name in primitive Beastman script on the Ten Thousand Demon Rock, pledging allegiance to the mighty Beast King "Blood Horn" Maras.
Three thousand, five thousand, eight thousand, ten thousand; the number of Beastmen grew every second. Horned Beasts with sharp horns, towering Giants, fierce Doomsday Bulls, Chaos War Dogs, Razor Beasts, Harpies, Centaurs, and the most terrifying Cyclops and Four-armed Bull Demons.
"Knights... have arrived! Beastmen... kill them! Ugh ahhhhhhhh!!!" The Beast King raised his War Axe, emitting a thunderous roar: "Kill them!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Responding to the Beast King's call, innumerable Beastman warbands, war gangs, and War Beast Groups exceeding twelve thousand surged forth, while countless more Beastmen from afar were joining them: "Slaughter the... Knights! Kill the... Pseudo-God in the Lake!"
"The season of rest... has passed... now... it is the season of slaughter!"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.