Chapter 450: Chapter 198: The Confused Centaur

Robson was stunned by the sight.

This situation was certainly a hassle.

The meeting had to start. Left with no choice, Robson took the initiative and pointed at Viscount Keanan.

"Keanan, you tell me. What are you all doing gathered here instead of getting your work done?"

"Lord Viscount... Sir, I..."

Being put on the spot, Viscount Keanan wanted to cry but couldn’t shed a tear.

This time, Robson had truly picked the wrong person.

Heaven knows, he, Keanan, was actually a loyalist. He hadn’t stood with Bo Yang and the others, but that was mainly because the voices of opposition were too loud. Besides, Earl Uman was standing right next to Bo Yang.

However, since he had been called out, he couldn’t remain silent.

Viscount Keanan took a deep breath.

"Lord Viscount," Viscount Keanan began with a bitter smile, "I... we heard that you recently recruited many non-human fighters out on the plains?"

Robson nodded.

He produced two documents.

"That’s right. I am acting on His Majesty’s orders."

"Here is His Majesty’s decree, along with letters of approval from the Kingdom’s Noble Council and the Archbishop. Does anyone have an objection?" Robson asked.

Louis III was the true reigning Monarch of the Frank Kingdom.

The Kingdom’s Noble Council, the Kingdom Government, the Kingdom’s Archbishop—a trifecta of divine, royal, and council authority.

Louis III wanted Robson to handle this matter without worry, so he had procured all the necessary credentials at once.

The noble lords who had come to force his hand were already feeling apprehensive.

Seeing these documents, who would dare voice an objection?

The whole farce ended as absurdly as it began.

Robson didn’t want to say more. ’When I earn my own fiefdom elsewhere in the future, I’ll definitely replace this whole lot.’

....

After dispersing the crowd, Robson led a few key figures to the Central Army Camp.

Robson produced a Memory Stone and had a guard spread out a map.

Everyone knew from the scene that this was about the previously mentioned attack from the Tiger Race.

"Gentlemen, according to reports from the front lines, the Tiger Race is currently advancing on our position rapidly."

"And it’s not just the Tiger Race. Mixed in with them is a contingent of Wind Purple-blooded Beastmen, about twenty thousand strong, all of them elites," Robson said.

Upon hearing this, all the Officers couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

In truth, it wasn’t just them. Even Robson himself had never encountered a Beastman Army of this scale since the beginning of his career.

He had fought against elite Beastmen in the past, but they had been exhausted at the time.

Now, with twenty thousand elite, regular Beastman troops bearing down on them, no one dared to claim it would be easy.

Everyone looked to Robson, waiting for him to speak.

Robson didn’t stand on ceremony.

He immediately began pointing and gesturing at the map.

"Right now, we have twenty thousand troops on paper. But in terms of actual combat-ready soldiers, we really only have about eight thousand. Even if we include other combatants, the total is only around ten thousand," Robson said.

Everyone, of course, understood what he meant. In the eyes of Robson and his subordinates, the troops belonging to the other nobles—aside from his own corps—might as well not exist.

"Sir, what are your arrangements?" Earl Uman asked.

"We have only about ten thousand troops. Before us are nearly twenty thousand elite Beastmen, and behind us is the entire Centaur King City, which still holds about a hundred thousand Centaurs."

"Fighting a war on two fronts is basically impossible. Therefore, my plan is to have the Human Corps temporarily withdraw from the Centaur King City."

"The Tiger Race Royal Court isn’t far from us. The fact that they’ve been marching for so long shows that this army has no intention of fighting to the death. As long as we put on a show of force, we might be able to create a stalemate," Robson said.

Earl Uman’s eyes lit up with understanding.

"So, your recent recruitment of those non-human soldiers from the plains... you want them to attack the Centaur King City?" Earl Uman asked, a mix of shock and suspicion in his voice.

It was obvious. Robson’s strategy was not particularly brilliant; in fact, many had already guessed his intentions without him having to say a word.

Robson nodded.

"But... can these non-humans actually defeat the Centaurs?" Earl Uman asked doubtfully.

That was the question on everyone’s mind.

If the Gnolls were capable of defeating the Centaurs, they wouldn’t have been the ones oppressed by them in the first place.

However, Robson was quite confident on this point.

He had already tested it: a Tier 5 Jackal Wolfman Warrior could fight a Tier 4 human Soldier to a standstill.

He now had over two thousand Tier 5 Gnolls under his command.

During this time, Robson had compiled data on the Centaurs killed by the Magic Crystal Cannons, and most of them were civilians.

The Centaur Royal Court had already sent civilians to man the walls of the Royal City, which meant their military must be in a state of scarcity.

The only thing to worry about was whether the Gnolls would lose their nerve at the sight of the Centaurs and refuse to fight.

But that was no longer a concern. The Gnolls under his command had since been trained to be courageous.

"There is no need to worry about any of that."

"All of you, go and make preparations. Bo Yang, Uman, the two of you will be in charge of preparing the army’s withdrawal."

"Remember, your primary objective is to create a standoff with those Tiger Race People. Don’t let them reach the rear of the Centaur King City."

....

After the military conference, Robson dismissed everyone to begin their preparations.

Although Robson had presented the King’s decree, the other nobles were still clearly uncooperative.

Robson wasn’t worried, however. He simply used his authority as general to keep the nobles by his side, then had his own men take command of their troops.

The nobles could hardly say anything about it.

Preparations were underway, proceeding with great urgency.

That same day, the Centaur Warriors stationed on the walls of the Centaur King City discovered some exciting news.

The humans were withdrawing their army!

Once this news spread, the Centaur army, from the highest to the lowest ranks in the Royal City, erupted in cheers.

When Prince Feiseli received this news, his face lit up with joy.

If the humans hadn’t withdrawn, the Centaur King City would have run out of Magic Crystals. When that happened, he wasn’t sure the Centaur’s Royal City could withstand the bombardment from dozens of the humans’ Magic Crystal Cannons.

However, their joy was short-lived.

Everyone discovered that when night fell, the human camp was still brightly lit—in fact, there were even more lights than before.

Hearing this, a chill went down the spines of the Beastmen living in the Centaur King City.

Not only had the humans not withdrawn, they had actually brought in reinforcements.

Prince Feiseli’s expression changed drastically once again, assuming human reinforcements had arrived.

This feeling of dread lasted the entire night, until the dawn of the next day.

Prince Feiseli sent out his last few Thunderhawks to scout, wanting to see what was really going on outside.

The Thunderhawks brought back news.

Now, surrounding the Centaur King City, was a horde of... Gnolls?

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