bookandnovel Chapter 17: War
Chapter 17: War
In the wilderness, Mad frowned slightly as he looked at the slightly covered marks on the ground.
"The number has increased again!"
Shanlier, standing nearby, tensed up somewhat and subconsciously glanced around, but didn't see anything.
Mad said confidently, "Don't look around, we're several miles away from the goblin army, beyond the range of the naked eye."
Sanlir asked curiously, "Uncle Mad, how did you determine the whereabouts of those goblins?"
Mad pointed to a shallow footprint on the ground. Although someone had swept it with a weapon, a faint trace was still left on the ground, which only an old hunter like him, skilled in tracking, could notice.
Sanlir looked at it for a long time, then shook his head, still unable to understand.
Mad laughed and said, "If we follow them a little further, we'll see the main goblin army. At that point, we won't be able to hide them anymore."
Shanlier took out his water bag, took a sip, and handed it to Mad, who in turn took a sip and handed it to another militiaman.
Taking small sips of water can quench thirst, ensure hydration, and reduce water consumption—an essential skill for anyone who comes to the wilderness.
Mad glanced at Shanlier, his eyes filled with envy. This young man had already been noticed by the lord and was being groomed for special training. He was even able to participate in tasks like tracking goblins.
It looks simple, but it's actually very dangerous. However, if successful, the credit will be substantial.
Mad wants to use this opportunity to completely get rid of his criminal status, while Sanlir may also use this opportunity to become a minor leader in the territory, or a close attendant of the lord.
The pursuit was slow; Mad trailed far behind the goblin until he stopped at a small hill.
"Uncle Mad," Sanlier asked疑惑地, "did you hear anything?"
Mad waved to him and said, "You two stay here and keep watch. I'll go up and take a look. The goblins are less than a kilometer away from us. If they have wolf riders, they might be able to smell us."
Mad climbed the hillside alone. He glanced back and saw Shanlier squatting obediently at the bottom of the slope, holding his spear and keeping his eyes on the surroundings.
This kid is obedient; he won't sneak up on us.
Relieved, Mad crawled up to the top of the hill.
In reality, Mad just wanted to take all the credit. Since he was the only one who saw the situation clearly, he was the one who would be responsible for reporting to the lord, which would leave a deep impression on the lord.
After all, they were downwind, and even though wolves have a very keen sense of smell, they couldn't detect their scent, which is why Mad dared to go up and scout.
One kilometer away, a stronghold located on a hillside is being besieged by goblins, and judging by their numbers, there should be over a thousand goblins.
However, the fortress was in a very good location, surrounding the entire hill. Other areas, let alone attacking the fortress, didn't even have a place to stand. The only option was to launch a frontal assault on the fortress gate.
The two sides fought fiercely at the gate, their blood staining the entire entrance area red.
A dozen or so wolf riders were running back and forth around the perimeter of the goblin army, clearly on guard.
Mad quickly counted the number of wolf riders and estimated the size of the goblins, his face turning pale and then red.
"The number of goblins should be over a thousand, no, possibly more!"
As they came down the hillside, Mad grabbed Shanlier, who was trying to climb up to see what was happening.
"Stop looking, hurry back, there are over a thousand goblins attacking that mountain stronghold."
Upon hearing this, Shanlier couldn't help but show a look of fear. He dared not go up to look and hurriedly followed Mad back to the territory.
When Mad and his group went there, they had to both track the goblins and evade their detection, so their progress was slow and it took them almost two days.
However, returning at full speed is quick, taking less than half a day to get back to the territory.
When they returned, it was early morning. Ron had just gotten up when he saw Fanta and his men carrying the three of them to the pit courtyard.
Fanta said with a grim expression, "Young Master, Mad and the others have urgent intelligence."
Before he arrived, he had received news that thousands of goblins were attacking neighboring territories.
Fanta gets goosebumps just thinking about that number of goblins.
"Speak!" Ron sat in his chair, looking calmly at Mad.
Mad felt Ron's gaze and quickly bowed. Although he had been traveling all night and was parched, he still spoke in detail after seeing Ron's calm look.
"A group of about a thousand goblins are attacking the stronghold. More than 80% of them are infantry, 15% are archers, and the rest are a dozen or so wolf riders and other goblins in disguise. However, most of the goblins are standing at the back watching the battle."
Ron quickly made a mental estimate, while Old Hall understood.
"Young master, this goblin tribe should have already produced a goblin king, whose existence is equivalent to our Earth Knight."
Ron looked at Old Hall and asked疑惑地问道, "What kind of goblin wolf rider is that? What are the ranks of goblins?"
Old Hall began to explain: "Goblins are mainly divided into small goblins. These goblins are very weak, equivalent to a human child of about ten years old. One adult can easily defeat a group of them. They are the main cannon fodder of the goblins. Small goblins can evolve into large goblins. These goblins are no more than 1.4 meters tall, but their combat power is no less than that of an adult. Ordinary militia can still easily kill them. They can advance to elite goblins, which are equivalent to our knight apprentices. Most elite goblins are special units, and wolf riders are one of them."
"The next evolution is the Goblin Hero, which is the goblins' own name. Goblins of this level are about 1.6 to 1.7 meters tall and understand most of the common human languages. We call these goblins Goblin Chieftains. Goblin Heroes have the ability to grow and their strength is equivalent to our Apprentice Knights or Earth Knights. Finally, there is the Goblin King. These goblins have surpassed the goblin species. They are two meters tall and from a distance, they look more like trolls than goblins. Most of them are at the Sky Knight level, and a few are Earth Knights."
Upon hearing that the goblins possessed such formidable strength, everyone gasped in shock.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. If goblins were all that weak, they would have been wiped out by humans long ago.
It is only reasonable for such a strong person to exist.
Ron remained silent.
He was silently calculating, a thousand? No, that was just the vanguard.
A tribe with a Goblin King could have a total military strength several times that number.
But the goblins are attacking that stronghold, and their forces have been diverted.
If we don't fight now, and they take over the stronghold, we'll be next.
Fanta glanced at Ron somewhat guiltily. He was only an early-stage Earth Knight, a whole realm lower than a Sky Knight.
He can handle ordinary goblin heroes, but if it's the Goblin King, he'll just want to turn around and run away.
"beat."
Ron's voice was very soft, but everyone in the cave heard it.
"The goblins already know this place is tough to gnaw on. They won't come to test it again; next time, it will be a massive army."
He stood up.
"Instead of waiting for them to come, let's go and stab them in the back before they conquer the stronghold."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the cave changed color.
"Young master, we only have a little over four hundred people in our territory. Even if we mobilize all the able-bodied men, we'll only have less than two hundred. How can we possibly fight against a tribe with a goblin king? The thousand or so are just their vanguard. A tribe with a goblin king has at least five or six thousand men, and they can also rally the smaller goblin tribes around us..."
Ron understood this principle, but he also knew that this battle had to be fought, and that a great victory was necessary.
"A single punch can ward off a hundred more!"
No one in the world has probably heard this statement before, but the principle is sound.
Ron shouted without hesitation, "The goblins have their eyes on us and are probing us. It's only a matter of time before they attack us. Rather than waiting to die, we should take the initiative. Only by hurting this tribe badly, or even annihilating it, can we deter other goblin tribes. The reason why Harland Territory is not afraid of goblins is not because they are so strong, but because they have defeated goblin tribes before."
"Goblins are a bully who preys on the weak. They won't attack cities or fortresses on their own initiative; they'll only attack and raid weak villages and territories. This is our only chance."
"Old Hall, the map."
Old Hall spread the parchment on the stone table, and Ron's finger landed on the besieged hill.
"Before dawn tomorrow, I want to see every road leading from here to here, and every spot where an ambush can be set up."
He raised his head.
"In this battle, we must wipe this goblin tribe off the Blackthorn Wasteland."