Chapter 478

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Muffled impacts rang out, accompanied by the mournful neighing of warhorses.

On the once-flat ground outside the gate, a deep trench had been trampled into the earth.

The trench was five meters wide, five meters deep, and no longer than thirty meters.

Yet this thirty-meter stretch formed a perfect semicircle, completely surrounding the southern gate.

The first twenty rows of the kingdom’s light cavalry, caught off guard, tumbled straight into it.

The cavalry behind them froze in horror and frantically yanked their reins to slow down.

Only then did they narrowly avoid falling in.

Seeing the pit, as deep as a two-story stone house, its bottom studded with sharpened wooden stakes, every cavalryman felt a chill run down their spine.

“Hahaha! Roar! Stupid two-legged sheep! Our great Beast King knew you’d try to break out—he long ago ordered his servant troops to dig this trench!”

“Surprised? Of course you are! Ha! Don’t even think of escaping—you’ll all die here!”

Mocking laughter echoed from beyond the walls and atop the ramparts.

Even though they believed they held the upper hand, the Beast King had secretly ordered the digging of this trap at the southern gate to ensure absolute victory.

To avoid detection by the humans, the digging was done only at night, and the trench was concealed with careful camouflage each morning.

Thus, the kingdom’s army inside Lindongbao remained utterly unaware as the trench appeared.

“Damn it! What’s going on?”

The supreme commander and the high nobles hurried forward.

When they saw the trench outside the gate, their faces turned ashen.

Under normal circumstances, such a trench could be filled quickly—tens of thousands of soldiers could cover it in no time.

But this was no normal situation—it was a desperate breakout.

To reduce burden, the army carried no useless tools; if they tried to fill the trench now, they’d waste precious time.

“What do we do? We have no tools to fill it, and even if we did, the other beastman forces must be closing in by now!”

The high nobles’ faces twisted with panic.

“Head straight for the eastern gate! The beastmen were still coming and going there this morning—it won’t be guarded!” Duke Hernade proposed first.

“There’s no other choice! Quick! Everyone, move to the eastern gate!” The supreme commander knew that fleeing Lindongcheng at maximum speed was far better than waiting to fill the trench.

The kingdom’s army immediately turned toward the eastern gate.

Along the way, many beastmen had already assembled and began blocking their path.

But every soldier in the kingdom’s army knew this was a fight for survival—even minor nobles fought with desperate, blood-soaked courage.

Another half-hour passed, and the kingdom’s army finally reached the eastern gate.

The beastmen defending it were fewer—only a few hundred.

Seeing this, the supreme commander and the high nobles were overjoyed. “Quick! Charge through and open the gate!”

Under the commander’s and nobles’ orders, the light cavalry and guards immediately assaulted the eastern gate.

This time, it took only a dozen minutes to crush the beastmen guarding the gate.

Fueled by renewed spirit, the commander dared not delay. “Open the gate immediately!”

Creak… creak…

As everyone watched with bated breath, the gate slowly swung open.

But as the gap widened, the commander’s and nobles’ smiles faded.

For beyond the gate, instead of open wilderness, awaited them—

A dense sea of beastman soldiers, with the Beast King standing at their front.

“Hahaha! At last—you’ve opened the eastern gate! How’s that, Supreme Commander? How’s that, noble humans? Surprised?”

Clearly, the Beast King had anticipated their next move and had been waiting here all along.

“Beast King, don’t gloat! Our human army will break through!” The nobles gritted their teeth.

The supreme commander knew they couldn’t wait any longer.

The longer they delayed, the more their soldiers’ strength would drain. He raised his sword again. “Valiant warriors of the Griffin Kingdom! This is the moment of life or death! If we break through, you’ll return home safely! Follow me—CHARGE!”

“Kill!”

“Then try it!” The Beast King sneered.

In the next instant, the kingdom’s army charged.

The light cavalry surged out first, followed by the guards.

This time, the eastern gate had no traps.

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

The beastmen responded instantly.

Tens of thousands of servant troops surged from the beastman ranks and formed a barrier before their main army.

Clearly, they intended to use the servant troops to absorb the light cavalry’s charge.

Indeed, moments later, the light cavalry reached the servant troops.

Like a tidal wave, they smashed through and trampled vast swaths of them.

Yet the Beast King and his commanders paid no mind—they watched with smirks.

Only when the three thousand light cavalry, deep within the servant troops, began to tire and slow, did the Beast King act again.

“Deploy the Wolf Riders! These human light cavalry are the only hope these humans have today. Destroy them, and these humans will never rise again!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Amid the horn blasts, hundreds of Wolf Riders charged forth, howling toward the light cavalry.

“Watch out—Wolf Riders!” The light cavalry spotted them immediately.

They abandoned their fight with the servant troops and turned to meet the Wolf Riders.

For if they didn’t stop these Wolf Riders, the entire kingdom army would be shattered by the thousand-strong cavalry charge.

Yet despite the light cavalry’s bravery, the gap in strength made victory impossible.

“Damn it! A thousand Wolf Riders? Three thousand light cavalry can’t hold them! Duke Shatterstone, send your family’s cavalry to reinforce them!” The supreme commander turned urgently to Duke Shatterstone.

For in the entire kingdom army, only Duke Shatterstone still had over a thousand light cavalry left.

“Supreme Commander, my thousand light cavalry are needed to break through the beastmen’s lines—if I waste them fighting the Wolf Riders, we’ll never escape!”

To the supreme commander’s shock, Duke Shatterstone flatly refused.

“Duke Shatterstone, you—” The commander’s face darkened.

Shatterstone spoke with noble pretense, but all knew he simply didn’t want to sacrifice his cavalry against the Wolf Riders.

Perhaps still clinging to some shred of dignity, knowing he couldn’t refuse outright, he ordered: “Shatterstone Light Cavalry—move to the front! Find a breakthrough for the kingdom army!”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

Thus, the Shatterstone light cavalry were sent to the front, replacing the kingdom’s original cavalry.

Of course, the Shatterstone cavalry had moved out—

But whether they could truly open a breakthrough for the army remained uncertain.