Chapter 428: Victory, shift! Then it's victory, shift!

Nightmare.

If Boge were to use language to describe what he has seen and heard over the past few days, the only word he could think of would be nightmare.

……

Actually, as a veteran who had once stepped onto the battlefield and clashed head‑on with the enemy, and who had earned a knight's title through glorious military exploits, he did not think this expedition that would directly penetrate the enemy's heart would go smoothly.

So when he bid farewell to the Earl, aside from the one thousand conscripts purely meant to be cannon fodder, the only troops he took with him were a little over a hundred elite equipped cavalry.

Furthermore, he also brought twice as many warhorses as replacements, so that at a critical moment… he could escape a bit faster.

Otherwise?

There aren't that many children of fate in this world; most brave people die on the battlefield.

So don't be fooled by Boge's tall, sturdy build and his seemingly frank demeanor; deep down he is also a sly, cunning survivor of the Dao, just hiding it better.

However, reality is even crueler than he imagined, because these so‑called allies are even more laughable than he thought, and the Pioneers' power is even greater than he imagined.

Seven days, merely seven days!

Having tightened the bandage on his arm, Boge, who had temporarily escaped with his life and could finally rest a little, couldn't help but recall that night seven days ago.

Although after the Divine Selection issued its orders, the vast majority of the allied forces immediately set out, heading deep into the forest to hide.

But such a loose alliance naturally cannot have everyone obey orders and follow commands; there will inevitably be troublemakers.

For example, the priest leading a team from a small church might be dissatisfied with his current loot, or perhaps his defeat in the recent scramble for that string of jewelry left him embarrassed.

In short, under the banner "There should be other goblin villages nearby," he rallied his men and together they broke away from the main force to seek their own fortune.

And it was precisely this group of extremely foolish short‑sighted people who became the first battle losses of the allied forces after they entered the wilderness.

Although no one directly witnessed their deaths, when the allied forces climbed the nearby hill and saw flickering firelight in the valley, and that church person never appeared again, everything went without saying.

What's worse is that this bunch of cowards, in order to save their lives, would surely have immediately revealed the direction they had fled.

Thus, all they can do now is hurry their steps, trying to slip into the deep mountains and old forests to escape with their lives before the Pioneers catch up, and then seek other options.

They thought so, and they acted accordingly, but the increasingly rugged, hard‑to‑traverse mountain terrain, together with the lagging, disorganized troop, was practically stacked with debuffs.

Thus, in the latter part of the night, when the allied forces, after trekking over mountains and ridges for a long time, finally caught their breath and found a water source to prepare a brief rest.

They had just boiled some water, and hadn't even had time to bite into their dry rations, when they saw a faint firelight coming from the forest across the valley.

"Shh, is someone over there?"

"We're done, they're here!"

"Put out the fire, quickly put out the fire!"

The camp, which had just quieted down, instantly erupted: some intended to dodge, some prepared to counterattack, and others began gathering gold, silver, and trinkets ready to flee and sell, a chaotic mass.

Moreover, at the same time, a large commotion of unknown origin came from the darkness on the flank of the camp.

"Uh, thinking optimistically, it could also be a herd of wild boars… or something like that?"

However, optimism was useless, because the next second a flying axe shot out from the woods and instantly blew the head off the companion beside the optimistic guy.

Bright red blood mixed with a milky spray shot out, and the sound of the headless corpse collapsing to the ground was like the unsettling score of a horror film, foreshadowing the arrival of danger.

Thus, slowly emerging from the darkness was a goblin whose stature was even more exaggerated than that of a giant goblin, fully armored.

Just this iron‑tower‑like towering physique would leave even Andre off the ground, let alone the fact that his head bore a crown inlaid with various gems.

Taking the great axe from a goblin warrior beside him, the green‑skinned king's voice rang like a great bell.

"Shameless wretches, I haven't even had time to rip off your heads, yet you dare to come kill our people first!"

Having said that, he raised this weapon, which, judging by his proportions, could only be called a hand axe, and brought it down on the humans before him.

This fellow, speaking honestly, was still quick‑eyed and quick‑handed; without a word he grabbed the shield beside his companion's corpse and slammed it onto his own head.

But it was useless, useless is useless; aside from adding a creaky, crisp sound of iron and wood being neatly sliced to his death, it meant nothing.

Even if it had been useful, it wouldn't have mattered, for the attackers were not just this great green brute but also countless shadows that silently emerged from the darkness into the camp's firelight.

They were one after another of goblins clad in heavy armor, almost turning themselves into cans, kobolds, and even hunchbacked troglodytes.

Moreover, they did not charge like hunters in a wild rush; instead, with an obviously professionally trained method, they swiftly and efficiently divided the battlefield before them.

The humans in the camp were like slices of bread neatly cut, being lifted and killed with ease by a large group of small creatures whose individual combat ability was inferior to theirs.

This situation was truly terrifying for everyone in the allied forces; by conscience of heaven and earth, and according to the common sense of the kingdom's people, these filthy, stupid little things could never possibly overcome humans.

Yet the fact is exactly so, and not only that—rabbit folk, sheep folk, turtle folk… those battlefield beings born with the weak label now suddenly exhibit explosive combat power, and their numbers keep growing.

Because after months of development, the 【Slayer Goblin】 has nearly become the overlord of all demihumans on the entire wilderness, and indeed of all weak races.

That crown, jointly presented by the elders of all the tribes, is the symbol of his authority and achievements.

As long as he wears it, it maximally enhances his persuasiveness and influence over those races.

Therefore, if we look solely at numbers, his "Logistics Network Kingdom" should be the strongest force among players, yet also the one with the smallest player share.

And precisely for this reason, during this period he made two very important decisions.

The first was to inherit the legacy of his great predecessor Ji, who once occupied the same post, and decisively resign to Manager Sun, thereafter becoming a professional player.

The second was, starting from the root problem, to popularize basic education, eradicate illiteracy, give the tribespeople a brain‑boost, and strive to train demihumans with higher IQs.

Thus, the village slaughtered to the last by the southern allied forces was in fact not an ordinary goblin village, but a model village showcasing the wise goblin exemplar of the Emerald Emperor!

This is no longer ordinary hatred; it is… it is like killing someone's thesis as a down‑drink, a deep‑seated grudge!

"Damn it! Is bullying little green skins fun, huh?"

Therefore, upon receiving this news, Sha Ge was nearly exploding with rage, crawling all over the ground to the point of almost gnawing the table before him raw.

He didn't even care about those damned Lingxi people; he summoned the Minister of War and declared, 'Now immediately muster thirty thousand troops—I will personally lead the campaign!'

Moreover, as he kept cutting, he, already fully immersed in the role, didn't forget to throw a punch and strike a pose that could win a Pulitzer if photographed.

"Soldiers, follow me in killing! Collect the heads; after the battle we'll discuss merit, conduct, and reward!"

One cannot deny that the Qin dynasty's twenty‑rank military merit system works well; now, soldiers eager to earn distinction and rise above others charge even more fiercely.

But although each member of the allied forces has his own little calculations, they also deeply understand that, with a great enemy before them, if they lose unity they will inevitably be defeated one by one.

So seeing the Goblin Earth King's aura swallowing ten thousand li, leading a horde of madmen-like beastmen soldiers charging head-on, they seemed poised to break their formation in one breath.

Among the allied forces, a few experts, fearing our morale would collapse, exchanged a glance and jointly stepped forward to block Sha Ge.

As top-tier players, practically boss-level existences, even if these few joined forces against him, it would still be hard to do anything to Sha Ge.

But who made this allied force consist not only of nobles but also of all sorts of strange Evil God Cults?

One moment with a pop, it summoned a few screaming black-haired vengeful ghosts; the next with a clang, it lifted a fairly intact corpse and turned it into a walking corpse.

Occasionally it could also pull off teleportation and turning substance into illusion—nasty tricks that left one unable to defend or cope, evoking a feeling of being unable to strike back for fear of hitting something else.

Moreover, though Sha Ge is strong, now that he has a big family and big business, who wouldn't fear overturning his own cart?

If he capsized in a gutter here, losing a level's worth of experience, a day's activity time, or even ruining later plans, it would be a loss not worth the gain.

……This is also the fundamental reason why Ji Ming set up the two penalties: a death-resurrection cooldown that lengthens with level, and a death-resurrection downgrade that always reduces by one.

To newcomers, they are almost nothing, wanting to adventure and play casually; to veterans, they weigh as much as Mount Tai, requiring careful consideration every step.

But this doesn't mean Sha Ge would really be stopped by a few rotten tomatoes and spoiled potatoes—after all, bullying the few with the many… clearly ought to be the players' privilege.

Therefore, as the chaos here gradually expanded, other players who had merely been wandering nearby also discovered the whereabouts of the Southern Coalition Army.

Moreover, these are mixed units of humans and beastmen, originally possessing decent combat strength, and as players they also have the latest automatic weapons.

Then, with a few illumination shells exploding overhead, instantly like the clock striking midnight on New Year's Eve, sharp gunfire rang out incessantly.

Although set in a magic world, these low-damage light weapons actually could not do much to many people, only managing a slight firepower suppression effect.

Yet facing such attacks, one must expend mana to raise a shield, while they merely need to flick a finger to change a magazine—battlefield consumption is terribly unequal.

——Isn't this just bullying the honest?

"My lord, we……"

So, as a warmonger, Andre was originally still persuading the God's Chosen to fight the Pioneers here to the death, achieve victory in one battle; seeing this scene, his eyes widened.

"My lord, please hear me out!"

The Advocate of Temporary Avoidance of Sharpness, Bogo, seeing this, hurriedly spoke, saying our forces are unfamiliar with the terrain here, and now with the enemy hidden and us exposed, night fighting is disadvantageous; better to swiftly shift strategy.

However, as the Decision-maker Ji Ming had no urgent need to reply—after all, it wasn't our own people dying—he first opened the map for a glance.

Don't look at the players now chasing and fighting fiercely; actually this only happened this afternoon—no matter how they mobilize, how many could they really gather?

Moreover, the arrival of the Lingxi People is currently their strategic focus; if that village weren't Sha Ge's heart's desire, the allied army might not even have been pursued today.

Therefore, let alone elsewhere, the other player forces from around this area, these nameless nobodies—just how strong are they?

Even if Sha Ge, enraged, claimed thirty thousand, after a forced march plus night raid, the active troops on the battlefield now number no more than five thousand.

If the allied forces now went all out, attacking left and right, they could surely counterkill, cut off all surrounding scouts, and then vanish into the vast wilderness to prepare the next raid.

So……

Withdraw.

After a token resistance, the Southern Coalition Army began an elegant, measured victory advance.

Under the superb command of an unnamed Micro-Operation Master, they merely dropped a few thousand unlucky souls, then slipped away under cover of night.

Thereafter Ji Ming poured even more energy into military affairs, successively winning the great victories of the Rose Town retreat, Peace Valley retreat, and Tiger Fang Peak retreat.

According to Logistics Minister Andre's statistics, they captured a total of 5,876 prisoners, 1,542 head of livestock, weapons and equipment too numerous to count, and supplies and transport too numerous to count.

The troops' morale also saw great improvement—look, everyone's so happy they have free time to gather and dig moles for fun.

"My lord, we've been out of food for two days; I just saw a soldier trying to catch a mole rat to eat."

Hearing Bogo's report, Ji Ming pushed the biscuit tin under the table a bit further in.

"No food? How could there be no food!"

He stood up and pointed randomly in a direction.

"I clearly gave you the allied army's last bit of fodder the day before yesterday—where is it?"

"This……"

Bogo was momentarily at a loss for words, but actually he didn't need to answer.

Because this was the point Ji Ming personally reported to Sha Ge, who personally taught the little green skins to sneak in and burn it—how could he not know?

But failing to guard the fodder is the responsibility of Bogo and Andre; considering Andre had an arm crippled in the previous battle and is still recuperating, that responsibility falls on him alone.

"Although this is my responsibility, not the soldiers', please, my lord, think of a way—see if we can squeeze some out from somewhere!"

Frankly, though somewhat impolite, Ji Ming unconsciously thought of that beastman squad member who could independently produce various potions—the pure love milkman.

……

Eh?

Ji Ming looked at the map and found that the beastmen's industry nowadays seems to be nearby.

Why not…… set the decisive battleground here?

(End of chapter)