Green Monster Epic

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

Countless javelins rained down from the sky.

The first wave of attacks from the Centaur Legion bloomed into sprays of blood within the human army, causing slight disturbances in their formation.

This was followed by wave after wave of javelin throws.

Before the Centaur Legion engaged in close combat with the humans, they had essentially exhausted the seven or eight javelins they carried on their backs.

The vanguard human cavalry, as the primary focus, suffered considerable casualties despite their decent defenses.

In particular, each time a cavalryman fell, the charging cavalry behind him often had to swerve or take other evasive actions, causing their formation to develop flaws even before they clashed with the enemy.

Boom!

Boom boom!

Continuous impacts of flesh and metal occurred in the confined space.

With better preparation, greater impact, and superior numbers, the Centaur vanguard put the human cavalry at a disadvantage from the very beginning.

More centaurs galloped forward, skillfully avoiding the battlefield where the human cavalry clashed, and instead targeted the larger human army behind them.

The human commander anxiously shouted, various orders being transmitted to every corner of the army.

Well-trained human soldiers quickly adjusted after the initial chaos and began to build defensive lines on the spot, preparing to meet the enemy.

"Shoot!"

Almost simultaneously, the human and centaur legion commanders roared thunderously as the enemy entered their respective ranges.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

A rain of arrows and javelins filled the sky, arcing to their highest point before falling gracefully.

The air was filled with the sound of tearing.

Puff puff!

Clang!

Puff puff!

Blood bloomed, and people fell in response, collapsing on the ground.

Then countless large feet trampled over them.

The surrounding warriors maintained grim faces and focused intently, paying no attention to the fate of their companions around them.

"Brace for impact!"

"Ha!"

Clang clang clang!

Clang clang!

Various flashes of swords and blades brought streaks of blood into the air, which then turned into drops of rain falling among the chaotic crowd.

Shouts, the clash of weapons, and the sound of bones breaking all converged, forming a cruel symphony of slaughter.

Ahmad wielded a large sword, slashing left and right, and no one could withstand him.

Under his leadership, the centaur cavalry tore a gap in the weak human defense line in an instant.

The subsequent flood of centaurs widened the gap further, until the human army was divided into two different battlefields, making it difficult for them to support each other.

The centaurs who had charged out of the formation first followed the commands signaled by the flags.

A portion continued to pursue and kill towards the rear of the human army, while another portion slowly drew an arc and accelerated once again to charge back.

Puff puff puff!

The human army resisted the centaur onslaught with all their might, but the absolute difference in strength between the two sides in terms of troop types and terrain made their resistance seem so weak.

The human army was once again divided by the centaurs, eventually turning into groups upon groups, submerged under the iron hooves of the centaur warriors.

After the better part of a day, an army of over 30,000 regular soldiers and 20,000 logistics laborers that the Rose Duchy had painstakingly gathered was completely buried on this land, with only a few lucky ones fleeing in panic.

"Clean up the battlefield, first take away the food supplies, and burn all the remaining materials that cannot be taken away!"

This was the second human army ambushed by Ahmad's centaur army.

Relying on their superior speed, the 200,000 centaur soldiers were divided into three groups, lurking in the south, southwest, and southeast directions of the Ceris Fortress, clearing human villages while waiting for the arrival of human reinforcements.

The wasteland and the centaur staff clearly analyzed that unless the rulers of the Rose Duchy were willing to give up nearly 2/5 of the territory in the entire northern region, they would have to send reinforcements to Ceris Fortress before it was breached.

Regardless of the Rose Duchy's final choice, as long as the three armies of the Centaur Legion guarded the front line, it would always be a gain.

Even in order to give the Rose Duchy hope, the intensity of the siege operations against Ceris Fortress by Aaron and Ao, who led the Wilderness Allied Forces, was consciously controlled within a certain range.

This not only avoided more casualties for the allied forces but also allowed Ceris Fortress to continue to exist, serving as bait to lure the Rose Duchy's reinforcements.

"Presumably, no more human troops will go north to reinforce for the time being!"

Ahmad stood on the bloody battlefield, watching plumes of dark smoke rise, and the mountains and fields were filled with a chilling atmosphere.

He couldn't help but look south and muttered.

"..."

The deputy generals and guards guarding Ahmad's side did not respond, but stood solemnly not far from him, quietly waiting for his next instructions.

The rulers of the Rose Duchy were not fools.

After suffering losses in several directions, even if they were to send reinforcements north again, they would probably gather a complete army in the rear before taking action, instead of directly choosing the assembly point for reinforcements from various provinces on the border of Vanas Province, more than two hundred miles away from Ceris Fortress, as they were doing now.

"Tell the brothers to be quick, and depart on time after half a magic hour to meet up with other troops!"

"We'll go find some more fun!!"

"Yes!"

A mighty army escorted a large amount of supplies along the main road, and behind them, more baggage that could not be taken away was being reduced to ashes in the raging fire.

As for the tens of thousands of humans, except for those who were lucky enough to escape without being caught, the remaining ones, as long as they had a breath left, were pierced through the heart by a centaur warrior after the battle.

Not a single living prisoner was left behind.

"Damn it!!

The alliance is just unreliable.

We have sent so many letters asking for help, but we have not received a definite answer until now!!"

"Have they abandoned our duchy!!"

Johnson, the middle-aged Grand Duke of the Rose Duchy, looked anxious, sitting on the throne as if sitting on pins and needles, fidgeting non-stop, and complaining incessantly, venting his anger on the group of important officials below.

"Your Highness, the war in the east is in full swing and at a critical moment.

It is understandable that the alliance cannot spare much force to reinforce us for the time being."

"Although our duchy is relatively weak, it is wishful thinking for that lone army in the wilderness to completely occupy our territory."

"We can now shrink our forces first and build a line of defense before our capital, exchanging the land of the northern provinces for time.

When the alliance frees up its hands and the support from various countries arrives, we will definitely make them repay us twice as much for the territory we lost."

Minister of Military Affairs Humphrey stood up and comforted his Grand Duke in a deep voice.

"Hmph!"

Grand Duke Johnson did not speak. On the other side, Gary, the Minister of Commerce whose family fief was in the northern provinces, immediately retorted angrily.

"To abandon the three northern provinces so easily, how do you expect to resettle the millions of people who have retreated? Can you guarantee that the Alliance will really send troops?"

"Even if the Alliance eventually mobilizes its forces to support our country, when will they be able to retake our land? A year? Two years?"

"For such a long time, what will the Duchy use to support the people who have retreated from the north?"

"These are all homeless people. Any negligence in taking care of them will lead to trouble!"

Gary couldn't help but be anxious. If Grand Duke Johnson really listened to Humphrey and temporarily abandoned the land of the three northern provinces, it would mean that everything the Gary family had built up over thousands of years would be reduced to nothing.

Even if the Human Alliance eventually sent reinforcements to the Duchy, completely driving the wasteland army out of the Duchy, or even taking the opportunity to counterattack the wasteland and seize more land in the Human-Horse Plains, everything the Gary family had invested would never return.

At least for the next few decades, the family would no longer be able to obtain income from the fief. Instead, they would have to reinvest resources and manpower to restore the family's former glory.

Making a scorched-earth policy for the sake of the Duchy and relocating the people from the fief to the central region temporarily was already the greatest sacrifice the northern nobles could make for the Duchy. Now that everyone had finally reluctantly accepted reality, the southern nobles actually wanted them to make further sacrifices. How could this be possible?

Who didn't know what those southern bastards were planning? Weren't they just coveting the free labor that would come from the three northern provinces?

If the enemy invading the three northern provinces could not be resolved for a long time, then these relocated people would inevitably have to find a way to settle down, at least to have a way to make a living.

Relying solely on the Duchy's support was unrealistic. The Duchy's royal family and treasury reserves were not enough to bear such a heavy burden. Therefore, the final destination of these people would naturally be the central and southern provinces.

The central region was the political core of the Duchy. Although commerce was developed, there were actually not many industries that could support a large population. On the contrary, the southeastern provinces, being close to the Central Plains, were the Duchy's major agricultural and livestock provinces, which happened to need a lot of labor to help with production and work.

By then, once these people moved south, settled down, and had a job, it would not be easy to mobilize the people back and forth like they were now.

After all, this mobilization and relocation in the three northern provinces was due to the threat of war, a matter of life and death. Even under such circumstances, there were still a significant number of people who did not act, and now most of them had become ghosts under the knives of the wasteland natives.

"Baron Gary, you speak so lightly. We don't want to give up the three northern provinces either, but the reality is like this. We have so few troops that we can mobilize. We also have to leave enough troops to protect the safety of the capital. How many troops can be spared? This is all out in the open."

"Do you think that with the existing mobilizable troops, the Duchy alone has the ability to retake the three northern provinces?"

"Before, we managed to mobilize 100,000 soldiers to the north to reinforce, but they didn't even see the walls of the Cerise Fortress before they were wiped out!"

"Without solving the centaur legion, which has advantages in the field and is mobile, the Duchy would have to mobilize and gather an army of 200,000 to the north at once, otherwise there is no possibility of breaking through the centaur's blockade."

"The 100,000 troops that were reinforced from the east and west were also recruited from the fiefs of the major nobles over three months. Now, it is very difficult for the local nobles to recruit and replenish soldiers to respond to the Duchy!"

"Isn't there still the Alliance? Isn't there still the Empire? We..."

"We have asked the Alliance and the Empire for help, but where are the reinforcements? Every time the envoys were sent out, they were fooled!"

"If you don't want to give up the three northern provinces, then find a way to get them to send troops!"

"You are selling out the country..."

"You are putting the Duchy and the royal family in danger..."

The two interest groups became more and more excited. The huge palace was as noisy and chaotic as a vegetable market. King Johnson, who was sitting on the throne, was already anxious, and now his expression became even more livid. If anger could manifest in reality, the entire palace would probably be plunged into a sea of fire.

"Enough!"

"Get out of here!"

"Get out!"

Looking around, unable to find anything to throw, the irritable Johnson simply drew the dagger decorated around his waist and threw it directly into the ministers below, regardless of the consequences. The minister who was facing the sharp dagger was so frightened that he rolled and crawled to dodge.

Clang!

The dagger fell on the ground, and a group of important ministers also went out of the palace gate in silence, anyway, this court meeting did not seem to produce any results.

Before the local powerful nobles reached a consensus and made concessions, even with King Johnson presiding over the strategic layout, there would basically be no results.

After the ministers left, King Johnson, panting heavily in the empty palace, took a long time to calm down. Until reason returned to his body, his face was once again filled with sorrow.

"Someone!"

"Your Highness, I am here."

"Go and invite Bishop Maccaro of the Dawn Temple to have dinner with me."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Johnson seemed to understand that the ministers up and down the entire Duchy had their own plans, and none of them were considering him and the overall situation of the Duchy.

To unite this group of guys, either the entire Duchy really had to be occupied by the wilderness, after all, these barbarians would not accept human service, and the human nobles could not put down their status to rely on the barbaric natives; or a powerful external force was needed to help.

As a vassal state of the Dawn Empire, the church with the most believers and the greatest influence in the Rose Duchy was still the Dawn Temple, which served Losanda, the Lord of Dawn.

Although the headquarters of the church was not in the Rose Duchy, Maccaro, the bishop they sent to the Rose Duchy to spread the light of dawn, not only had a significant influence in the Rose Duchy, but also held a pivotal position in the church and was one of the candidates to inherit the position of Pope in the future.

If he could be persuaded to stand with him, it would not only deter the nobles in the country and have a greater impact, but also put pressure on the Dawn Empire and the senior leaders of the Alliance, so that the Duchy's situation would receive more attention.