Chapter 363: Chapter 113: The Beastmen of Sri County

The situation in Sri County was far worse than even Robson had imagined.

At first, the situation had been somewhat manageable. There were only a few scattered groups of local Beastman deserters. Though these deserters were elite troops, Robson had shattered their ranks, preventing them from organizing on a large scale. They could only come down from the mountains to raid, fleeing back to their hideouts immediately after.

But as some of these routed Beastmen raided and returned safely, more and more began to test the waters.

Once they discovered that the terrifying human army had withdrawn from Sri County, the Beastmen hiding in the mountains and wilds could no longer contain themselves and swarmed out from the forests.

This caught the nobles of Sri County completely off guard.

If that were all, Sri County might not have collapsed again in such a short time. But then, a horde of goblins and Kobolds appeared from out of nowhere.

The Beastmen in Sri County were already elite soldiers from the previous rout. Now that these elites had goblin cannon fodder, the war returned to a rhythm the Beastmen knew all too well.

Facing a Beastman Army tens of thousands strong, the soldiers of Sri County were no match, and many territories were overrun.

While Robson was rushing over, the Beastmen hadn’t stopped their advance either.

Gazing at the ferry crossing ahead, Mendes finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Mendes had been the second-in-command of Prince Odoruo’s Personal Guard and one of the Prince’s most valued Officers. His assignment to the Personal Guard was supposed to be a simple stepping stone in his career.

He never imagined this "stepping stone" would nearly get him sent to the afterlife by the humans.

The once-invincible Prince’s Guard had been utterly routed by the blades of those human Soldiers. The lucky ones in the guard managed to find His Highness the Prince and followed Prince Odoruo back to the north.

Clearly, the great Beast God had not favored Mendes this time.

However, it seemed that when the Beast God closed a door, he opened a window. After crushing them, that human army had withdrawn.

Mendes didn’t know the full extent of the psychological trauma that human army had inflicted on the Beastman Officers.

All he knew was that when everyone learned the humans had retreated, they all cheered with joy. The reason was simple: as long as that human army was around, they had no chance of survival. But with that army gone, they had a chance to get home.

Because Mendes had served under Prince Odoruo and held some prestige, the routed Beastmen now looked to him as their leader.

"Sir, this... Forgive me, but I don’t understand. We’re ignoring all that human territory ripe for the taking to come all the way out here?"

Just as Mendes was observing Bai Ma Ferry in the distance, pondering where to begin his attack, an earth goblin Chieftain beside him grew restless. He stood up, his tone tinged with doubt.

Hearing this, a flash of impatience crossed Mendes’s brow.

This earth goblin’s name was Blake. He was originally from Auric Province but had been driven to Ehrlichland by the nobles there.

If this were the past, and a goblin had dared to speak to him this way, Mendes would have, without a second thought, shown him on the spot exactly how the Purple-blooded Beastmen secured the Empire’s throne.

Unfortunately, times had changed. Setting aside the decline in the Purple-blooded Beastmen’s status, right now, Mendes needed Blake.

His target was the goblins and Kobolds under Blake’s command. While goblins might be simple, earth goblins and extraordinary goblins were not. They were synonymous with cunning.

For instance, this rabble had already united and elected Blake as their leader.

It was a clear statement that they intended to challenge Mendes’s authority and refused to be mere cannon fodder.

"I have my own plans, of course. Bai Ma Ferry connects the north and the south. It must be taken," Mendes explained.

"Huh? Sir, my tribe’s brothers haven’t plundered nearly enough! We finally find a fat prize, and you want us to just let it go?"

For a moment, Mendes didn’t understand what Blake meant.

Then it dawned on him. Blake thought they were going to capture Bai Ma Ferry just to retreat north to the Beastman Grassland.

"Of course not. To the north, there is a formidable human army. His Highness the Prince was... ah, ambushed by them and forced into a narrow defeat.

That human army is not to be trifled with. My plan is to block this ferry crossing so they can’t cross the river easily. After that, we can take our time and plunder to our hearts’ content," Mendes said slowly.

It was a nice speech, but Mendes’s real plan was to seal off Bai Ma Ferry to prevent that elite human army from crossing the great river, while he himself used the time to flee via a different route.

Although the route from Bai Ma Ferry to the Beastman Grassland was the shortest, Mendes had scouted it out clearly: that human army was heading north of the Largus River.

Since the human army was heading north, Mendes had no choice but to find another way back to the Beastman Grassland. This decision had already been approved by the other routed Beastman soldiers.

The impression that human army had left on them was simply too profound. Most of them had been beaten into a state of fear. They would all rather take the long way around than face that army again.

Mendes was a man who told people what they wanted to hear, but he had no intention of sharing these details with the goblins.

For one, it was a matter of a Purple-blooded Beastman’s pride; he disdained associating with this pack of goblins. For another, judging by their recent performance, these goblins were good for nothing but causing trouble.

Conveniently, Mendes needed some cannon fodder to cover his retreat, and this group was the perfect fit.

"Rest assured, we certainly won’t give up on plundering so easily. Isn’t our mission from His Majesty the Beast Emperor to raid human lands?

I recall you saying before that you were driven here by the humans from the west, correct?

Although you are goblins, you are still subjects of our Beastman Empire. Such a grudge must be avenged. When the time comes, I will personally lead the vanguard. After we’re done looting here, we will sack their lands as well," Mendes said with a smile.

Hearing Mendes’s promise, Blake’s eyes lit up.

He had been driven out by those humans from Auric Province, and naturally, his heart was filled with resentment toward them.

If Mendes and these Beastmen and Dwarfs were willing to help, they could surely give those humans a savage beating.

If a goblin didn’t hold a grudge, he couldn’t be called a goblin.

"Of course, Sir. We’ll follow all your arrangements," Blake said, flashing a sycophantic smile—standard for a goblin—at Mendes.

Mendes looked at Blake and sneered inwardly. ’Of course I’ll help these goblins "deal with" those humans.’

After all, there were plenty of humans in the west. To ensure their own smooth escape, they needed a way to draw the attention of all those humans.

These greedy goblins were, without a doubt, the perfect expendable assets.

"In that case, let’s attack the fortress at once. We must take Bai Ma Ferry and burn the boats inside before the humans from the north arrive," said Mendes.

Mendes had already scouted ahead and confirmed it: that terrifying human army was not garrisoned at Bai Ma Ferry.

Without that army, to be honest, Mendes didn’t give a damn about the local nobles.

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