Volume 3, Chapter 25 – The Skullcrusher in Thought

The number of Half-beasts had reached two hundred thousand.

This was directly double the amount reported in the previous intelligence, and the information revealed by that report was undoubtedly extremely troublesome.

Of course, Grinrui trusted it only partially.

Even if Yeluo, the chieftain of the Half-beast race, had absolutely no motive to deceive him, and even if what she said was the truth, Grinrui still did not want to accept the words of a single Half-beast at face value.

After all, as a high-ranking commander, he could not fully trust intelligence obtained from a lone individual.

Moreover, this matter was simply too shocking.

Two hundred thousand Half-beasts…

A number like that was no longer something that could be “sacrificed” as easily as before. Sacrificing one hundred thousand already risked crippling the Stronghold’s foundation. But two hundred thousand…

Such a loss was absolutely incomparable to the value of merely seizing the Northern Fortress, the Kingdom’s entry point.

And although the immediate priority was indeed the occupation of the Northern Fortress, a separate squad still needed to be dispatched to further evaluate the city known as Eden.

At the same time, the possibility that two hundred thousand Half-beasts had defected from the Stronghold had to be reported immediately. There was no room for delay.

With these thoughts forming in his mind, Grinrui’s expression gradually turned grim.

“You may withdraw for now, Half-beast. I have understood all of this intelligence…”

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As the commander of the Beastman army and as a Beastman himself, Grinrui instinctively regarded Yeluo, the Half-beast chieftain, as an outsider.

It was precisely for this reason that he dismissed her so directly.

Naturally, Yeluo, knowing she had no further role here, retreated sensibly.

But not long after Yeluo left, a Beastman soldier, whose build was far more “slender” than most Beastmen, came running over in a panic.

“General! General! Urgent intelligence!”

Under the guidance of the guards, the flustered Beastman soldier was brought before Grinrui.

“What is it?”

Grinrui’s mood was not good at this moment.

After all, the intelligence about the two hundred thousand Half-beasts was far too different from what he had been told before setting out. It was only natural that he was upset.

And now, at this moment, a Beastman soldier was running over in a panic shouting about urgent information…

It would be strange if his mood improved…

However, once he saw the Beastman soldier clearly, Grinrui recognized the soldier’s identity.

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A scout from his Skullcrusher Legion.

Of course, it was not that he recognized this specific Beastman personally. It was because most of the scouts in the Skullcrusher Legion were unusually “skinny,” making them easy to identify.

Because he recognized the soldier’s role, even though Grinrui’s mood was poor, he restrained himself.

“General! According to the intelligence passed on by the brothers ahead… human paladins have been sighted near the Northern Fortress…”

“Human paladins? Is this information reliable?”

Perhaps because Yeluo’s earlier report had shocked him too much, Grinrui subconsciously questioned the scout upon hearing the report.

“General, to confirm the accuracy of this information, two Beastman warriors have already died under the swords of those human paladins…”

“Paladins…… why would they suddenly appear near the Northern Fortress?”

Once he confirmed that the scout was not lying, Grinrui could not help falling into deep thought.

He did not consider, even for a moment, that these paladins were actually the Kingdom army’s “scouts” sent to gather intelligence…

After all, Grinrui had once fought the Kingdom’s human armies, so he had heard of the Kingdom’s paladins.

Paladins followed the so-called knightly code, and on the basis of that code, they generally would not participate in internal wars of annexation within the Kingdom.

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On the contrary, not only would they refuse to take part in what they viewed as unjust wars, they would even band together and incite civilians to “cause trouble” in order to stop such unjust conflicts.

Because of this preconceived understanding, Grinrui believed he was very familiar with the modus operandi of paladins. Thus it did not occur to him that these paladins might be reconnaissance scouts deployed by the Kingdom army…

“But if there are traces of human paladins, then once we seize the Northern Fortress… the Kingdom will immediately notice…”

“This is troublesome…”

Indeed, the Beastman King had previously mentioned negotiating with the Kingdom.

However, Grinrui knew very well that even though the Kingdom’s internal forces were still divided, wary of each other, when it came to major matters, they would stand united.

Thus, the negotiation the Beastman King spoke of would only succeed after the Stronghold first seized the Northern Fortress and completely repaired it.

Once the Stronghold captured and repaired the Northern Fortress, the Kingdom, which had already been weakened by the undead war, would have no strength left to send troops to retake it.

Unable to retake it, they would then sign an agreement allowing the Stronghold to “borrow” the Northern Fortress. In this way, the Kingdom would at least retain some dignity as one of the Eight Great Factions.

“There is no solution for now… I can only report this information along with the Half-beast intelligence…”

After thinking everything through, Grinrui ultimately decided to send both pieces of intelligence, the presence of paladins and the report of two hundred thousand Half-beasts, together with a messenger.

However, Grinrui did not know that this seemingly decisive and rational decision was already a mistake…

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……

Meanwhile, on the other side, the knight girl leading the army was drawing closer and closer to the Northern Fortress.

At that moment, she received new information from the frontline scouts, the paladins led by Lancelot.

“Sighted Beastman soldiers, and killed two.”

Without a doubt, these were Beastman scouts sent out to probe the area and gather intelligence.

After receiving this information, the knight girl passed it on to the paladins beside her to read.

“So the Beastman army is almost here?”

This was the unanimous reaction of the paladins after reading the report the knight girl handed them.

“Yes… everyone, it seems that once we reach the Northern Fortress, we won’t have any time to rest…”

The knight girl took up the conversation again. Her gaze was unwavering.

“Very soon, we will be facing a fierce battle!”