Chapter 417: Lindongcheng!

Whoa!

Seven hundred and sixty heads?

Upon hearing Gervas's answer, the knight guards accompanying the Commander-in-Chief and the two Dukes all erupted in shock.

If this were a ten-thousand-man army, or even a five- or six-thousand-man noble force, such a tally might be acceptable.

But Gervas's forces—everyone had just seen their numbers—had killed nearly twice as many beasts as their own strength.

That would mean each of his men had killed an average of two enemies.

In past times, only the beast tribes ever fought humans with fewer numbers; never had humans defeated beasts with such odds.

"Gervas, did I hear you right? Are you certain it's seven hundred and sixty beast heads?"

The Commander-in-Chief's eyes shone with brilliance, yet he forcibly suppressed his excitement and confirmed again.

If Gervas truly achieved this feat, perhaps I could petition the capital to bring his accomplishments directly before His Majesty the King.

After all, such a talent is undoubtedly a blessing to the kingdom.

Upon hearing this, Gervas waved his hand toward a nearby spot, and two knights carried forward two large sacks.

When the sacks were opened, they revealed pair after pair of green bear-man ears.

Looking at the two bulging sacks,

the Commander-in-Chief no longer doubted; his gaze burned hotly toward Gervas. "Gervas, don't think me overly cautious—I've already decided to send this news, alongside the victory report from Bokacheng, straight to the King's desk!"

"Also, Gervas, I will announce your valor to the entire army so that every noble here knows your name."

"Let them all learn from you, Lord Gervas!"

"Uh!" Gervas's smile froze instantly. "Commander-in-Chief, please don't!"

The Commander-in-Chief frowned in confusion. "Gervas, I already said—with me here, no one will steal your glory! So don't worry!"

Gervas knew well that the Commander-in-Chief's promise held weight.

But his real fear was that if word of his deeds reached the capital, it might draw the Second Prince's attention.

Imagine: the Second Prince didn't know Gervas was in the Northern Frontier, didn't know he was achieving great feats.

But if he found out—what would his reaction be?

Let Gervas grow stronger, let him earn the chance to become a Marquis?

Gervas didn't need to think hard—he knew the Second Prince would likely send assassins to kill him outright.

Right now, only Willard and Solit were threats; Gervas could handle them.

But if the Second Prince himself intervened, things would be far from easy.

So to gain momentary glory and draw the Second Prince's notice? Absolutely not worth it.

"Your Excellency, I'm not worried about my glory being stolen—I fully trust your promise!"

"My real concern is drawing the beasts' attention. The incident at Graystone Bridge happened just like this—if we hadn't luckily received aid from the House of Austin, we'd have been doomed!"

"So I beg you, Your Excellency, to keep my deeds quiet for now, and don't inform the capital."

"Of course, once the war ends, if you still wish to commend me then, I'll be deeply grateful—I'll host a grand feast with fine wine and food, just for you!"

The Commander-in-Chief glanced at Duke Hernade, and they exchanged puzzled looks.

"Gervas, how do I even respond to you? You've been slaughtering beasts without mercy since the start."

"Your personal tally of beast heads already exceeds those of all the great noble armies combined!"

"Yet you claim you fear the beasts learning of your existence… Hmm, fine. Who are you if not a hero? I'll oblige you."

"Once the war ends and the beasts are fully driven from the kingdom, I'll write the letter to His Majesty myself!"

"Thank you, Your Excellency!"

…

Thus, after registering the heads, the day's battle came to a close.

At Gervas's request, the Commander-in-Chief abandoned his plan to publicly commend him to the entire army.

Afterwards, Gervas and his men were assigned quarters in the southern district of the city.

After a night's rest, the army set out again the next noon, continuing northward.

The reason they didn't rest longer was this:

Having just defeated the beasts repeatedly, the army was riding a surge of momentum—the Commander-in-Chief refused to waste this opportunity.

He intended to press the advantage and drive the beasts out of the Northern Frontier in one decisive push.

For the next three days, they marched continuously.

Along the way, every town they passed lay in ruins, all scorched and looted by the beasts.

No living souls were to be seen—only the gnawed bones and corpses of the dead.

"These damned beasts—I wish the day would come when our people exterminate them utterly, sparing the Northern Frontier from the annual slaughter of tens of thousands of serfs and peasants!"

Even nobles, who normally viewed serfs as mere property, felt no pity.

Yet as they saw the scattered body parts amid the rubble, even they burned with rage.

The beasts were utterly inhumane—no gender, no age, no mercy: every human they found met the same fate.

Of course, those who somehow survived the ruins were surely captured and taken back to the Northern Wastes.

Their fate would be little better than being killed on the spot.

After two more days of travel, a city finally appeared ahead.

This city was called Lindongcheng, once home to a hundred thousand civilians.

It was also one of the most prosperous cities along the Northern Frontier.

Reaching here meant half the land seized by the beasts had been reclaimed.

Originally, the nobles expected a brutal battle to retake this key border stronghold.

But to everyone's surprise,

when the army was still ten miles from Lindongcheng, a scout galloped back with news that stunned them all:

The beasts inside Lindongcheng had fled!

"You're certain?" The Commander-in-Chief could hardly believe it.

"Your Excellency, I'm certain! When we arrived, the beasts in Lindongcheng had just escaped—same as the ones we crushed earlier!"

"The city gates were wide open. We checked inside first."

"Finding no beasts within, we immediately shut the gates and raced back to report!" The scout's face glowed red with excitement.

"Dukes, what do you think?" The Commander-in-Chief no longer doubted; he turned directly to the two Dukes.

Duke Hernade frowned slightly, but after a moment's thought, said: "This is incredible—but if Lindongcheng truly holds no enemies, we have no reason not to enter."

"I agree," said Duke Lishi. "Perhaps the beasts, terrified by our victories, realized they couldn't hold the city and fled early."

The Commander-in-Chief nodded. "Then, Dukes, I'll order the army to advance at full speed!"