The gnoll invasion of the Genoa Peninsula lasted for a full month and a half. This long and narrow peninsula once claimed to be a prosperous place in the world, but when it encountered a real war, it fell at an incredibly fast speed.
The army of the Bone-gnawing clan attacked the city and captured territory in this area almost as a way of having fun. One and a half months was only enough for Xu Gesen's side to pass through the filthy swamp and complete the offensive and defensive battle of the Maginot Line, but it was already
It was enough for His Excellency Hermann Gnacker to occupy most of the Genoa Peninsula.
Now its troops have completely occupied the road leading to the Sea of Mist in the south. Except for the Port of Chardoux, which is still holding back, all the other cities, large and small, have fallen into the hands of the jackals. The attack speed in the north is slower, mainly
This is because the land near Lake Shurpers has been set up as a military defense zone by the pioneering corps.
Loren the Short Man obviously does not intend to hide in the Cato area and wait for a fierce battle with the gnolls.
After getting permission from King Louis, tens of thousands of elites of the pioneering army crossed the border of the Genoa Peninsula and began to conduct defensive operations along some of the border cities of the Halflings.
They came on time.
While the Maginot Line of Defense was in full swing, the Pioneer Corps and the Wolfsbane Clan in the Cato region had begun accepting refugees. Most of the residents of the entire northern Genoa Peninsula have now been resettled in the Cato region.
Although this also has objective factors for the advancement of the war, the vicious vision of King Louis is also evident.
Just this wave of refugees on the border, receiving and leaving the country to defend against enemies, has added nearly a million manpower to the Plantagenet Kingdom, half of which are halflings who are good at manufacturing, although these guys will not stay in Plantagenet forever.
Flower Kingdom, but even if only one out of ten remains, the gorse will still make a profit.
Of course, there are disadvantages to accepting so many refugees. For example, the security in the Cato area is deteriorating rapidly.
That place was already a relatively densely populated area, and the sudden acceptance of so many outsiders caused a lot of complaints in the area. Moreover, this kind of refugee reception made the pioneering army be targeted by the barbarians of the Bone-gnawing clan.
The Bone-gnawing King felt that this was the Plantagenets snatching the fruits of victory from his hands. So many slaves that could be plundered were taken away, making the super victory in his eyes incomplete and imperfect.
Under this situation, Gehrman Gnaw took out his anger on the pioneers of the Pioneer Legion. In the past week, there have been four battles involving more than 3,000 people. The frontline strongholds established by the Pioneer Legion were forcibly
After knocking down three of them, the jackals invaded the city and began to massacre it, which directly caused the pioneering army to suffer an astonishing loss of tens of thousands within a week.
This means that if there are no accidents, Marshal Loren's army will soon have a real battle with the Bone-gnawing Clan on the Genoa Peninsula.
However, in this magical continent, it is impossible for things like war to happen without accidents.
The fall of the Lord of the Hunt not only brought peace to the central battlefield, but also directly affected the western front where the Genoa Peninsula is located. Hermann Bonegnasher's violent army could no longer hold on for three full days.
It's not that it doesn't want to continue fighting, it's just that it can't continue fighting.
"Are they still looking half-dead?"
In a destroyed halfling city at the northern end of the peninsula, King Bonegnasher's camp was temporarily placed here. It was only in the early morning that the irritable King Bonegnasher began his "work" for the day.
It sat on its throne decorated with fresh skulls with an angry attitude, and asked several trusted generals under its command:
"The priests still can't come up with a solution? Don't the voodoo priests have any methods at their disposal?"
"No, Your Majesty."
A great warlord holding a strange mechanical battle ax cursed with an unlucky face:
"Last night alone, there were as many as thirty-four blood-scarred priests who chose to commit suicide because they could not get a response from the gods. Without the guidance of gods, those cowards could not even fight, let alone fight, and even survive.
As for the voodoo priests, they were constantly brewing various decoctions. The problem was that those things could only heal the soldiers' bodies but could not inspire their hearts.
Our soldiers seem to have had their spines broken all of a sudden. They are still strong and brutal, but they have lost their goals and minds. They are as confused as if they have not woken up. Your personal guards are better, but this is common in other troops.
to resist the terrible scenes of fighting.
Those bastards would rather lie down in their shacks than get up and do something, even if they whip them, it's useless."
"The hearts of the warriors are broken, my lord."
Another old priest of the Bone-gnawing clan sighed and said:
"It's not their fault.
The scene when the Lord of Hunting fell was imprinted in the hearts of every believer through the connection of faith. Every time they dreamed back at midnight, the terrible scene would flash in the minds of the soldiers. We launched this black disaster to help
Our God was born, but now He has fallen.
The low morale of the soldiers is just the beginning. If this 'spiritual plague' is allowed to spread, your army will completely lose its fighting spirit in a short period of time. By then, I am afraid that the short-manned marshal from the opposite side will lead his troops to kill him.
, these guys will not pick up weapons and will just kill them on the spot."
"It's bad luck, Zhuo! Why did the powerful jackal become like this!"
The bone-crushing king actually understands everything.
But it hopes that its warriors can be as strong as itself. As a chief who talks about the Lord of Hunting but does not believe it at all, it does not think that the death of a god is a serious matter, but at the moment
It also had to face this rapidly deteriorating mess.
It cursed, looked at the old priest who was hesitant to speak, and said angrily:
"Just say what you want, Manuk. You were my mentor when I was a child. You know, I trust you very much. Just say it."
"Your Majesty, although saying this may make me look cowardly, we really should retreat."
The old priest Manuk, who single-handedly brought up Gehrman Bone-gnawing, sighed, and it whispered:
"I know you are definitely not willing to give up. No one is willing to give up at this time, but this mental plague is coming too fast. We must retreat immediately before the other side can react. My idea is to retreat directly to the Dark Mountains.
Return to the ancestral land of the Bone-gnawing clan.
Perhaps time can heal the cowardice in the hearts of the soldiers, and when they come out of that kind of spiritual despair, you can start a war again.
The Brass Fortress is gone, and the road to the Genoa Peninsula is open.
This is our hunting ground!
We can come anytime we want, but”
"But what if we go back?"
The always arrogant and violent Gehrman Bone-gnawing showed a rare sense of reason at this moment. He stood up in a helpless manner, pointed outside the tent, and said:
"Our sudden retreat at this time will only make Loren on the opposite side realize our weakness. In the current state of the soldiers, they will be defeated as long as they are pursued. Collapse syndrome is spreading. It is an unstoppable spiritual plague, a
A rout would trigger a horrific army collapse.
By then, let alone returning to our ancestral homeland, it would be a luxury for us to leave the Genoa Peninsula alive.
Cannot retreat!
At least we can't let the other side see the clues. Let my personal guards go up first and continue to attack the pioneering legion's position so that they have no time to worry about anything else. As for you
Go figure it out!
No matter what method is used, let the soldiers regain their fighting spirit as soon as possible!
Even if it’s evil magic”
This decision made the Grand Overseer and the priests look at each other, but they could not come up with reasons or plans to object, so they could only nod and leave quickly.
After everyone left, in his tent, Gehrman Gnaw grew more and more angry as he thought about it. He roared and punched the table next to him. The explosion of brute force caused the table's HP to drop to the bottom.
, turned into a mass of scrap with a bang.
This shitty fate is really harsh on me!
Hermann thought that he was about to break through the northernmost tip of the Genoa Peninsula and advance into the center of the continent, but the damn spiritual plague suddenly descended at this moment.
To hell with the horse-riding Lord of the Hunt!
Serving this evil god failed to bring him any benefits, but because of its fall, he fell into the dangerous situation he is now walking on thin ice.
But that being said, even if Gehrman does not believe in the Lord of Hunting at all, he can still glimpse the scene of the fall of the gods in his midnight dream. The broken Kingdom of God, the black light arrows falling from the sky and the wailing of the Lord of Hunting seem to
They are all announcing the ominous future of this black disaster.
The bone-gnawing king is not afraid.
But its tenacity alone cannot change the current cowardice and depravity of the group. It must find a way before the overall situation collapses.
"You look troubled, but luckily I've got you a dose of good medicine."
A voice suddenly sounded outside the camp.
Those were the words of the shadow elf, which caused Gehrman Bone-Gripping to pull out his skull sword.
Why do shadow elves appear in my camp?
So this must be an assassin! Those weak halflings dare not stop their army head-on. Similar despicable assassinations have been performed many times in the past. The organization called the "Thieves Guild" under the halflings has been recruiting dead people.
Although he is a soldier, he wants to rely on assassination to achieve success. Even the jackals would find it ridiculous to say this!
"Bang bang"
The sound of the guard falling asleep and falling to the ground made King Bone-Gnapper want to shout for protection, but then he calmed down and sat back on the throne again, leaning on his brutal sword and saying roughly:
"Come in, how sneaky are you like? You said you brought good medicine, okay, then let me see what kind of medicine you are selling in the gourd, you uninvited guy."
"You are worthy of being a legitimate descendant of the King of Bone Grinders. Your courage alone is worthy of the great cause you are performing."
The slave owner still maintained his polite attitude.
He stepped into King Bonegnasher's camp, and the territory of the Bonegnasher clan was very close to the Eternal Rift, so Gehrman Bonegnaler had dealt with the shadow elves quite a lot. He could tell at a glance the elf's dress in front of him.
And the special badge on his chest identified him.
"The warrior chief of the Medjeva family? Tsk, that's amazing."
The bone-gnawing king said sarcastically:
"Shouldn't you be protecting your family and the city? But why did I hear that Medjeva City is finished? So what exactly are you protecting, your Excellency, the Samurai Commander?"
"It has fallen into such depravity that I would rather rebuild it after a complete destruction than defend a worthless regime. Of course, this is not what I want to talk to you about."
The slave owner changed the subject somewhat abruptly.
After just learning that his faction had been wiped out by Murphy with a God's Scepter, he really found it difficult to answer the question confidently: "What exactly did he protect?"
Perhaps it was also because of the impact of this incident that the slave owner lost interest in having sex with the jackal chief in front of him. He said directly:
"I have brought a way to cure the spiritual plague that your soldiers are suffering from. They are not as determined as you. They can only rely on personal goals and ambitions to support themselves in living a good life. Life is always not strong enough and requires a spiritual pillar.
Now that their spiritual pillars have collapsed, they have lost their courage and will to continue.
The best solution is actually much simpler than you think. Since they need to worship something, then just find a new pillar for them after the death of the Lord of Hunting."
"Easy to say!"
The bone-gnawing king sneered and said:
"You should find me a god on this continent who is willing to accept the faith of the jackals! And this conversion of faith does not happen overnight. Guest, if this is the solution you can come up with, then I will
I want to use the knife in my hand to ask you to leave.
What a waste of my time!"
"Well, this matter does involve something as complex as faith. I have no intention of analyzing the nature of faith for you here and engaging in a fruitless Bible debate with you.
All you need to know is that the Lord of the Hunt has transformed the minds of your warriors, making them strong but also weak. When they cannot feel the presence of the gods, they feel as if a piece of their soul is missing.
Therefore, it is more accurate to say that this spreading plague of weakness is not so much a matter of faith as it is a lack of call and feedback.”
The slave owner shook his head and said:
"What your soldiers need is not faith, they just long for a response. No god in this world will respond to the call of the jackals, but there are many forces outside the world that are willing to respond.
For example, the Lord of Darkness is floating in the star realm, or the nightmare tyrant waiting to wake up from his nightmare in the underground palace of Baphomet, and the old gods of the past who are trapped in the prison of the gods. This is really
It's a very easy problem to solve.
But I know that you will not allow your soldiers to worship such a weak master.
Therefore, I have brought you a perfect person to talk to, a benefactor who will respond generously to your soul and heart without giving anything from you.
Not only will it respond to your spiritual call and weakness in longing for care, it will even generously give you more powerful power than the Lord of the Hunt can give.
It’s called ‘Original Sin’”
The slave owner took out a sculpture carved from a strange black crystal from his pocket. It was like a strange aggregation of parts taken from all things in the world.
He placed the thing in the air in front of King Bonegnasher, let it float there, and said to Gehrman Bonegnasher:
"You don't have to believe me. Trust is always expensive, especially for strangers, but you might as well give it a try. Considering the situation you are facing now, I don't think there is much time left for you to hesitate.
.
The most important thing is that if you are already in hell, you can only ask the devil for mercy.
It's not a good thing, but it can help you and it will help you.
Isn't this enough?
Anyway, for a conqueror like you, you have always understood how high the price of victory is, and you are more afraid of failure than failure.
In addition, I would like to give you a very personal gift on behalf of Dusk."
The slave owner took out a potion that exuded amber light from his other pocket and handed it to Gehrman Bonebiter. He said:
"Elixir of Death"
"?You're kidding, right?"
The bone-gnawing king sneered and said:
"The so-called 'elixir of death' is just a nonsense legend!"
"Well, I have a different opinion on the answer to this question. Maybe when you are in a desperate situation, you will hope that it is not just a legend."
The slave owner smiled and said:
"The choice is in your hands. When you encounter the risk of death one day in the future, you can choose to drink it in one gulp, or smash it to the ground, and face the cold and cruel fate with a brave spirit.
die.
But please remember.
If you use this immortal medicine, it means that you owe us a huge favor. The debt of favor needs to be repaid. You will face a choice, and I believe that by that time, you will make the right choice.
.
By the way, Marshal Loren is planning an attack on the front line. They will launch a devastating attack on the two marauders you have deployed on the flanks in six hours.
That means it may be too late for you to start dispatching troops now. Your intimidation tactics are about to be exposed. Once the other party knows the current situation of the Jackals, the outcome waiting for you will definitely not be good."
The slave owner pointed to the black crystal sculpture suspended in the air, and placed a pocket watch with a six-hour countdown next to the sculpture. He said softly:
"Ding ding ding, time waits for no one. My Lord Chief, I don't know how long it will take you to create a miracle, but unfortunately, you only have six hours.
bring it on.
Become a conqueror and shock the world, or become a clown and please the world.”