Chapter 53: Gnoll Scout Squad

"Sha Lu Te, the Tusk Legion suffered heavy casualties this time. Although injured and disabled soldiers can be repaired through the Regeneration Furnace, we still lost 【number】 warriors. According to the Grand Duke's instructions, we need to establish a new legion. You pick half of the people from the Tusk Legion."

"Master Braga, rest assured, the formation of the new legion is left to me. I guarantee that the Iron-Cast Legion will form effective combat power within a year and will not affect next year's Abyss training plan."

"Not bad, I believe in your ability. Deputy Legion Commander Orwell, the supplementary training of the Tusk Legion is left to you. Although the Tusk Legion has a fixed organizational structure, the losses and transfers this time are relatively large, and your task is also very heavy. Don't be careless."

"Master, rest assured, Ogres never fear any difficulties. I guarantee that the Tusk Legion will always be the Grand Duke's most combat-effective tusks, and next year in the Abyss, we will continue to write the glory belonging to the legion itself."

"Not bad, the Grand Duke's territory needs people like you. Alright, I won't say much else. You start picking new recruits. When the warriors come back from vacation, you have to start training. Good luck.

Fenoda, have the demon corpses been classified this time? This must not be careless, the pollution of demons is very dangerous."

"Master, rest assured! When have we Deep Gnomes ever let you down? They have all been registered and put into storage, and Clausuna has also sent people to check. For those we can process, she will send a list within a month, and for those we cannot process, we have already contacted various forces to prepare for sale."

"Lady Tali, according to the Grand Duke's order, we will carry out an Underworld cleanup operation in the near future. Firstly, to deter the forces that are ready to move, and secondly, to train the troops of the Rapid Response Division. Do you have any problems there?"

"No problem, but because the situation in the Underworld is complex, I plan to lead the team myself to avoid accidents like Five-Colored Dragons or Mind Flayers. The Rapid Response Division was built by me single-handedly."

"No problem, but you must understand that the Rapid Response Division is not an army. Don't attack the cities of Drow Elves or Gray Dwarves; leave that to the Garrison troops. Your main task is to clear out forces like Hobgoblins and Kuo-toa."

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The vanguard scouts of the Rapid Response Division were a squad of twelve most elite Gnolls. Their gray fur almost blended into the rocks of the Underworld, and the special soft pads on their boots made them walk silently.

Beside the main road leading to the Black Claw Fortress, Captain Broken-Tooth discovered an abnormality first. He raised his left hand, and the entire squad instantly fixed in place. He pointed to the ground where a few seemingly ordinary broken stones were scattered. But Broken-Tooth sniffed lightly, then used his claw tip to carefully push one aside, revealing a thin, taut wire that was almost the same color as the ground.

"Goblin 'Tripwire Mine'." Broken-Tooth passed the information through gestures, "Connected to the rockfall net on the rock ceiling above. Step on it, and we will become meat paste." They bypassed the trap, but their mood was heavy. The cunning of Hobgoblins was well-deserved, and this was just the periphery.

To avoid the increasing number of traps and patrols on the main road, Broken-Tooth decided to lead the squad to dive into the natural stalactite forest known as the "Thousand Cave Maze." Here, stone pillars stood in great numbers, and the passages were intricate and complex, which was a perfect hidden path. However, this was also a paradise for Hobgoblin dark sentries.

While passing through a narrow rock crevice, the Gnoll at the end of the line suddenly felt a chill on his neck! He ducked his head sharply, and an almost invisible metal wire sliced horizontally through the position where his throat had just been, embedding itself deeply into the stone pillar beside him; it was a throat-wire set by a Hobgoblin Razor Hunter.

Almost at the same time, the heavy sound of metal boots stepping on broken stones came from the front! A Hobgoblin patrol was walking from the opposite corner, less than twenty meters away. It was too late to retreat, and the footsteps were close at hand. Exposure meant the failure of the entire operation.

Broken-Tooth did not hesitate and made an extremely risky decision. He issued a short, squeaking sound mimicking a startled rock bat. The entire squad was pressed like a pause button, and all members immediately relied on instinct to start looking for the nearest shadow. They either curled up in the depressions of the stone pillars, or lay close to the gullies on the ground, and one member even lay directly into a pool of cold stagnant water, exposing only his mouth and nose.

The Hobgoblin patrol walked over with torches. The firelight jumped, almost illuminating the back of the stone pillar where Broken-Tooth was hiding. A Hobgoblin soldier seemed to notice something, sniffed, and looked suspiciously in the direction they were hiding for a few seconds. At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

Broken-Tooth could hear his heart beating wildly in his chest. He gripped the blackened short knife tightly, ready to launch a kill shot the moment he was exposed. Fortunately, the Hobgoblin just muttered "damn draft" and followed the team away.

Until the footsteps and firelight completely disappeared at the other end of the passage, the Gnolls slowly oozed out from the shadows like stone statues resurrected and continued to move forward. Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

After drilling out of the intricate "Thousand Cave Maze," Broken-Tooth and his team members were faced with a relatively open slope covered with craggy strange rocks and glowing fungi. The Black Claw Pass stood at the end of the slope, built relying on the natural rock wall of the Underworld. On the high city wall, the rough orders of Hobgoblins came vaguely.

Crossing this open ground directly was no different from suicide. Broken-Tooth's nostrils twitched slightly. In addition to the smell of sulfur, the air was also mixed with the unique body odor of Hobgoblins and the metallic smell belonging to traps.

He made a few complex gestures, and the squad immediately scattered like gray smoke, adopting the "Ghost Jump" style of advance. They used the shadows of every rock, every shift of the patrol's line of sight, to carry out short, high-speed sprints, and then instantly solidified at the next cover point, blending into the rocks. Their movements were swift and silent, with only the heavy beating of hearts in their chests.

On the way, relying on their keen sense of smell and vision, they discovered and bypassed three pressure pedal traps laid by Hobgoblins and an almost invisible tripwire. During one transfer, they almost ran into a Hobgoblin patrol coming out from the side. Broken-Tooth pressed the head of his companion beside him hard, and several people lay close to a rock crack, listening to the heavy footsteps and armor collision sounds passing a few inches away, even smelling the heavy sweat odor on the other side.

After experiencing dangers, they finally arrived at the predetermined reconnaissance point, an abandoned ventilation duct exit that could overlook most of the interior of the fortress. Through the rusted grid, the scene made Broken-Tooth's pupils shrink slightly; the strength of the Hobgoblins far exceeded the intelligence display.

On the internal drill ground, at least five or six hundred Hobgoblin soldiers were training, the formation was fairly neat, waving standard long swords and spears. More soldiers were walking in the barracks, carrying city defense equipment and supplies. A rough estimate was that the permanent garrison was no less than 1,500, not including those who might be resting or stationed in other areas.

They saw four tamed war wolves covered in simple iron armor, locked in special giant cages, obviously used for assault or pursuit. Outside the command post at the highest point of the fortress, they saw a Hobgoblin who was taller than other Hobgoblins and wore leather armor embedded with iron pieces. He was roaring at several subordinates who looked like captains, obviously deploying defenses.

The city wall was not only high, but also covered with barbs and caltrops. The only city gate was a heavy iron-clad wooden door, which looked extremely sturdy. Several rough but powerful catapults and ballistae were fixed on the wall, and ammunition was piled on the side.

Most importantly, they saw watchtowers at the four corners of the city wall, which not only had fixed sentries, but the tower body was also embedded with huge, unstable green light crystals, which were inferior versions of the Eye of True Sight, capable of detecting invisible units and posing a huge threat to stealth troops.

The wide main slope led directly to the city gate, but it was completely exposed to the defender's firepower and covered with traps, which was undoubtedly a suicide choice. He noticed that on the southeast side of the fortress, there was a section of the city wall built relying on the natural rock wall. The rock wall was steep but not impossible to climb, and because the terrain was dangerous, the number of defenders above and the attention of the watchtowers were significantly lower. Below the rock wall was a huge pile of rubble, which could provide an excellent gathering and hiding place.

In the northwest corner of the fortress, there was a huge drainage channel, and the iron fence was severely rusted. Although there might be stagnant water, silt, or even guards in the channel, it was undoubtedly the best channel to sneak into the interior and create chaos.

The fixed sentries seemed very lazy and often dozed off. The mobile patrol circled the city about every forty minutes, the route was fixed, and when passing that section of Shadow Attack Cliff, it would speed up because the terrain was complex, and the observation was also more rough.

The peripheral patrol was mainly carried out by Hobgoblin infantry, the team size was 8-10 people, the route seemed random, but tended to be active between several fixed water sources and high ground with open vision. The patrol interval was about one and a half to two hours.

Broken-Tooth recorded everything he saw on a special black sheepskin paper that did not melt when it met water, using symbols and simple diagrams that only Gnoll commanders could read.

Force: About 1500 Hobgoblins, including war wolf units and a high-level chieftain.

Defense: Reinforced city wall, catapult/ballista, Eye of True Sight tower.

Weakness: The defense of "Shadow Attack Cliff" on the southeast side is relatively weak, and "Filthy Path" on the northwest can be infiltrated.

·Patrol: City wall 40-minute cycle (cliff section is slack), periphery 1.5-2 hours.

He rolled up the skin paper, stuffed it into a hollow tusk container, and handed it to "Gray Shadow," the most agile and silent member of the team. Gray Shadow took the tusk and disappeared silently on the path he came from, like a ghost truly blending into the shadows.

Broken-Tooth and the remaining team members continued to lurk like stone statues. They had to confirm the specific situation inside the drainage channel and the next move of the Hobgoblin chieftain. Their mission was far from over, and every heartbeat was still dancing with the rhythm of death. But the intelligence they brought back had become the key to whether the Rapid Response Division could take down this hard bone at the minimum cost. ===== CHAPTER 54 =====