Chapter 1217: A Complete Loss of Decorum
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the series of b.l.o.o.d.y battles, the most tragic battlefield was near this area.
In the mountains, forests, and swamps, the corpses of wolves and rat people were lying everywhere. After being burned by flames and soaked in rain water, they became a feast for snakes, insects, rats, and ants.
Red Bear, Mountain Dog, and the others had left, and the depths of the forest gradually returned to peace.
Meanwhile, the Three-headed Lizard, whose belly had swelled to a translucent state, could not finish the mountainous piles of rotting corpses.
As a result, the Three-headed Lizard’s vigilance had been greatly lowered after the past few days of feasting.
Its bloated body, which had been filled with the flesh and blood of advanced orcs, had also lost its previous agility.
By the time, it heard a series of dense iron hooves approaching from afar like sharp arrows, it was too late to dodge.
Ta ta ta!
The roaring sound felt like three iron hammers, hitting the top of its three heads.
There was a rat warrior wearing a helmet in front of it, and in a panic, the Three-headed Lizard rushed into its empty eye sockets.
It tried to use the hardness helmet and skull’s hardness to resist the iron hooves’ stomp.
Unfortunately, it had greatly underestimated its enemy’s strength.
Its enemy did not have to use any strength at all. With a crack, his iron hooves, which were embedded with metal claws, easily pierced through the helmet, crushed the skull, and crushed the hidden Three-headed Lizard in the skull into meat paste.
The Three-headed Lizard did not even have time to shriek before it died.
Its six eyes that had lost their l.u.s.ter could only see a bunch of armor, strong bows, and unsheathed sharp blades. However, the armor, blades, and arrows were all carefully smeared with mud, concealing their sharpness. There were also vines and branches wrapped around them. At first glance, they looked no different from the bushes in the dense forest. They moved as fast as lightning and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest in the blink of an eye.
About half a minute later, the group of cavalrymen flew away.
They were not far from the Three-headed Lizard’s corpse that was as rotten as mud.
Two heads popped out from the bushes and slowly exhaled their first turbid breath.
Meng Chao used both his hands and feet and crawled on the ground. Like a reptile that was magnified tens of times, he sneaked onto the pile of decomposing corpses.
Using a pair of temporarily modified long-handled tweezers, he carefully lifted the Three-headed Lizard’s corpse and placed it on the inside of a chest plate that he had polished until it looked new. It was as if he had placed it on a sterilizing plate used for surgery.
After sneaking back into the bushes, Meng Chao flicked out a few razor blades, which were as thin as cicada’s wings in various shapes, from between his fingers. With the help of the gaps between the branches, mottled sunlight was able to shoot in, and he focused his attention on studying the Three-headed Lizard’s corpse.
“The destination of these wolf cavalry soldiers is nearby. They must be carrying out a crucial mission.”
After a moment, Meng Chao came to a conclusion.
“Why do you think so?” Ice Storm asked.
“We have been following the wolf cavalry for a day and a night. We know that they’re all the trusted soldiers of ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s, the expert among the experts.”
Meng Chao explained, “The wolf cavalry who grew up on the backs of wolves since they were young and the mounts that they raised themselves have been connected by blood for a long time. As one with the wolf, they have a set of skills to precisely control every nerve cord and muscle fiber around a wolf’s body.
“Usually, even if they are as fast as lightning, it is not easy for them to leave traces. At most, they will leave footprints that are not much deeper than the falling leaves.
“The traces that we observed at the beginning were like this. Through exquisite control, we can offset the impact of the Mount Wolves’ stomping on the ground and save the strength of the rider and the mount as much as possible. At the same time, we can maintain the claws of the mount. Even if we have to travel hundreds of kilometers, we don’t need to rest.
“However, since they received the order from the arrow on the way, they obviously increased their speed. They were no longer stingy with the strength of the wolf. It seemed that they were determined to reach a certain place before the appointed time.
“Just now, the soldiers of the Wolf King accelerated again. This time, they did not hesitate to inject their spiritual energy into the body of the wolf beneath them, increasing their speed to the maximum again and again.
“Look. The Three-headed Lizard that they stomped into a meat patty looks ordinary at first glance. However, after careful dissection, I’ve discovered that the organs on the left side of its body have been stomped into mush, with traces of burning flames remaining. The organs on the right side of the body have only been shattered into pieces by the shock wave, and there are no signs of liquefaction or burning.
“This means that the wolf knight who stomped it to death was no longer able to perfectly control his own spirit magnetic field and his Mount Wolf’s. There are signs of spirit energy disorder and imbalance.
“This can also be proved by the footprints of different depths that they left behind.
“You must know that the footprints that we observed before were all tiny, like dragonflies skimming the surface of the water.
“Here comes the problem. According to the intelligence we extracted from the lone wolf soldier, the last of the Great Horn soldiers, who are loyal to the Ancient Dream Saintess, have also broken out of the encirclement last night and gone all the way south. Yet, ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s has not given the order to continue chasing.
“Logically speaking, ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s has already summoned most of the Great Horn Army’s troops and subdued the lost land in this area. He has also guaranteed the safety of Hundred Blade City. There is no possibility of him continuing to deploy troops in this area on a large scale.
“However, all the signs indicate that the cunning Wolf King is still mobilizing troops, a.s.sembling troops, and preparing for war. There are no signs of a victorious return at all. Instead, it seems that a new, more intense, and truly b.l.o.o.d.y battle is about to begin.
“Even the Wolf King’s personal guards, who should have been close to him in theory, are so anxious that they are willing to exhaust their own vitality and their mounts’, leading to the disorder of their spirit energy.
“Where exactly are they going and what are they going to do?”
Ice Storm narrowed her eyes and pondered for a moment before she said, “Is that why you think that they’re going to deal with the lions and tigers?”
“I don’t think, I’m certain of it.”
Meng Chao said, “From the moment ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s swallowed most of the Great Horn Army’s remnants without any bloodshed, he was destined to have a falling out with the lions and tigers.
“The reason is very simple. The Wolf Clan is already the clan with the largest number of people in the Gold Clan and the greatest threat to the Lion and Tiger Clans.
“The Lion and Tiger Clans forced the Wolf Clan to encircle and annihilate the Great Horn Army, with the intention of letting them exhaust each other to the point that both sides would suffer heavy losses.
“Now, not only have the Wolf Clan and the Great Horn Army not been able to exhaust each other, but their troops have merged together and become a force that is firmly controlled by ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s. That’s enough for him to become the Gold Clan’s chief, or sit on the Picturesque Orchid Lake’s supreme throne.
“However, that’s something the Lion and Tiger Clans will absolutely not tolerate.
“It’s also something that a Wolf King who’s willing to be a puppet and be loyal to the Lion and Tiger Clans will absolutely not do.
“If ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s is really a puppet of the Lion and Tiger Clans, even if the Great Horn Army is willing to surrender, he absolutely has no qualifications, no guts, and no capital to agree.
“I can only fly to Red-gold City and let the strongest experts in the Lion and Tiger Clans decide.
“Even if the Great Horn Army is really allowed to surrender, the ones who surrender should still be the Lion and Tiger Clans’ special envoys. All the rat soldiers who’ve surrendered should be divided up by the Lion and Tiger Clans to enrich their strength.
“Therefore, after the chaos that night and the annexation of more than half of the Great Horn Army, the Wolf King’s ambition has already been made clear.
“Plus, no matter how his wolf cavalry patrolled around and locked down, the news of the Great Horn Army establishment surrendering and the return of peace in Hundred Blade City’s vicinity cannot be sealed for too long.
“Sooner or later, Red-gold City will learn of this unexpected news. The strongest experts in the Lion and Tiger Clans will immediately detect ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s’ ambition and make a bold move in an attempt to nip his ambition in the bud.
“An ambitious man like ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s will never allow his own legend to fall into a pa.s.sive stalemate at the beginning of the battle.
“Since he has already revealed all his disguises and completely shed all pretenses with the Lion and Tiger Clans, he must have already set up an interlocking trap. He is at least seventy percent confident.
“Therefore, I believe that while the Great Horn Army was in chaos, a shocking change that exceeded everyone’s expectations must have happened in Red-gold City.
“The rumors about the war between the Lion and Tiger clans might not be groundless. The alliance that has been working together in good faith for three thousand years might not be as unbreakable as it appears.
“Speaking of which, due to our intervention, ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s should not have completed his final arrangements. There might be loopholes in his seemingly perfect plan.
“The Wolf Clan, the Lion Clan, the Tiger Clan, and the rat people…
“There are also the Blood Hoof Clan, the Dark Moon Clan, the Thunder Clan, and the Divine Wood Clan that are eyeing us like tigers watching their prey.
“‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s wants to turn so many chess players into chess pieces and play them in his hands. No matter how brilliant his card skills are, there will always be times when he is fl.u.s.tered and his strength is insufficient.
“Therefore, we can’t follow the Great Horn Army’s remnant soldiers led by Red Bear, Mountain Dog, and the others all the way south, then wait for the dust to settle in the battle for supreme power in Picturesque Orchid Lake.
“Also, we have to go against the current and appear before ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s when he’s at his most nervous, weakest, and critical moment!”
Ice Storm nodded slowly, deep in thought.
“Generally speaking, I agree with your judgment.”
She said, “There’s only one thing that I still don’t understand. In your opinion, ‘Jackal’ Ka.n.u.s seems to be the smartest, most powerful, and most likely legendary figure in Picturesque Orchid Lake who will become the War Chief and lead the Turan Army?”
Meng Chao nodded. “He is indeed.”
“Then why did you seem so hostile toward him from the very beginning?”
Ice Storm frowned and said, “A hungry wolf wants to eat a man, and a lion and a tiger also want to eat a man. You are not an enemy of the Holy Light humans or advanced orcs. Does it matter to you who becomes Picturesque Orchid Lake’s War Chief?”
“It doesn’t matter who becomes the War Chief, except if it’s Ka.n.u.s, the Jackal. It’s very important to me.”
Meng Chao paused for a moment and continued. “That guy is indeed extremely smart. To a certain extent, one can even call him a ‘brilliant and wise man..’ However, it’s usually such a person who will cause a world-ending catastrophe. Even if an idiot wants to destroy the world, he wouldn’t have the ability to do so!”