Chapter 29: Seeking Their Own Doom
In reality, trouble arrived swiftly. After the territory’s bountiful harvest, news spread quickly. After all, the surrounding neighbors weren’t dead. Regularly dispatching scouts to peek into their neighbors’ lives, to see what they ate, what they used, whether they had struck it rich – this was commonplace. Especially with the drastic changes in the Hydra family territory over the past year, they wouldn’t just sit idly by. After all, even though they had merely added insult to injury back then, they couldn’t detach themselves from Hydra I’s death. How could they possibly watch the Hydra family rise again?
They didn’t believe the Hydra family would show mercy, so they had to strike first to gain the upper hand.
Those who dared to venture deep into the Northland as lords were all audacious individuals. Expecting them to be well-behaved was simply impossible. Back then, Hydra I had relied heavily on military force to bully them, so when they learned of the Hydra family territory’s harvest and the signs of their resurgence, it only took half a month for a coalition army, composed of three barons and one viscount, to take shape.
Owen had long been aware of this. After all, there were no telephones in this era. Communication methods were extremely primitive. If they were in the Empire, they would need to consider magical means. In the Northland, it all relied on people. Even carrier pigeons were out of the question. So, messengers traveling back and forth were like busy bees, buzzing across the Northland wilderness. Even if the other party tried to stay hidden, the scout cavalry weren’t incompetent. They noticed something was amiss almost from day one.
Despite their lackluster combat abilities, the scout cavalry truly excelled at tracking and pursuit. They discerned the anomaly from the traces left on the ground and immediately reported it to their lord.
Upon learning this, Owen wasn’t flustered because he had anticipated this. He hadn’t expected to keep the territory’s changes a secret forever. Therefore, in addition to ordering the scout cavalry to intensify their surveillance, he also began to strengthen the forces at his disposal.
Owen had some grasp of the situation regarding his four neighbors. They were Viscount Flying Dragon, Baron White Wolf, Baron Wild Bull, and Baron Swan.
This was a characteristic of Northland border nobles, most of whom used the names of magical beasts and animals. For instance, the Hydra family was initially called Nine-Headed Serpent. Later, someone told them that the Nine-Headed Serpent was also called Hydra, and they found the latter to sound better and more elegant, so they adopted “Hydra.”
Among these four nobles, Viscount Flying Dragon was the most powerful. Just as Hydra I had distant ties to a certain noble in the Empire, Viscount Flying Dragon also hailed from a noble family in the Empire. Therefore, compared to other Northland border nobles, he had a slightly stronger foundation. This foundation was the difference, the class, the dividing line between a viscount and a baron.
Unfortunately for Viscount Flying Dragon, he had encountered Hydra I. He had been thoroughly defeated, and in the end, after having a certain treasure stolen, the robust Flying Dragon I died from spitting blood in anger. Thus, the Hydra family and the Flying Dragon family were sworn enemies.
Therefore, this time, it was Flying Dragon II who initiated the conflict. He had the capability and the standing to do so.
As for the three barons, they weren’t just making up the numbers. Baron White Wolf came from a mercenary background. Although he didn’t have many soldiers, their combat strength was the strongest. However, after so many years, the original veterans had died or become disabled. How much of their strength remained was unknown.
Baron Wild Bull had some Northland Barbarian blood. As a result, he had a few Northland Barbarians under his command and connections with the Northland Barbarian tribes.
Baron Swan had the best background. He was a minor noble from the Empire. Unfortunately, his family had fallen into decline and offended someone powerful, forcing him to flee to the Northland. Therefore, he had arrived the latest but had developed well. He was also the one Owen knew the least about.
Together, the four of them could muster one or two hundred soldiers, along with a considerable number of militia.
Based on the troop types he could exchange through the system, Owen categorized soldiers worth one progress point as “ordinary,” three points as “veterans,” five points as “elite,” and ten points as “elite,” which were knights.
Given the resources of the four lords, most of their soldiers should be ordinary soldiers, with only a small number of veterans. As for elites, apart from the few Northland Barbarians under Baron Wild Bull, there probably weren’t many. Regarding knights, Owen didn’t know how many there were.
Initially, Owen thought knights were just strong, skilled in martial arts, and possessed some knowledge of leadership and governance. In reality, it wasn’t that simple.
True knights all mastered Battle Qi, exceeding the limits of human strength. Each one was a match for a hundred men.
Take Charle as an example. Although she hadn’t learned Battle Qi, she was exceptionally talented. Coupled with the Templar Knight template and the Iron Cloth Shirt enhancement, she also surpassed human limits. It was just that she had chosen the path of physical strength instead of Battle Qi.
This showed the true power of knights or Battle Qi. Among the four nobles, Viscount Flying Dragon and Baron Swan had Battle Qi inheritance. Baron White Wolf was a veteran mercenary, so Owen wasn’t sure if he had Battle Qi inheritance. As for Baron Wild Bull, he probably didn’t know Battle Qi, but he had Northland Barbarian blood, and his combat strength was equally formidable.
The Hydra family originally had Battle Qi inheritance as well. Otherwise, how could Hydra I and his sons have consistently suppressed those four families? But now, it was gone.
Not only was the Battle Qi inheritance lost, but the few items that could be considered treasures in the Hydra family were also gone, including the Dragon Egg snatched from Flying Dragon I.
Owen knew exactly how they had disappeared. They had been taken by his ruthless mother.
After learning about his neighbors’ movements, Owen dispatched scouts from the Magic Horn Forest Wooden Fortress to enhance surveillance.
Interestingly, the location they chose for their gathering was right next to the Magic Horn Forest.
However, it wasn’t surprising. The Northland was vast and open, and only the Magic Horn Forest could provide cover. Unless they planned to alert Owen by gathering right under his castle walls, or to march for a day before the battle, this was their only option.
“You’re truly seeking your own doom,” Owen said softly. He had been prepared for a siege battle and had resigned himself to losing everything outside the castle walls. Who would have thought they would choose this location? It would be a disservice to their kindness if he didn’t take this opportunity to bury them there.
This much time was enough for Goblin General to establish a foothold in the Magic Horn Forest and subdue a considerable number of Magic Horn Goblins.
Magic Horn Goblins were also goblins. Faced with Goblin Warriors and Goblin General, who were of a higher life level, they had little intention of resisting to the death. After all, this was an internal struggle, and obeying the strong was also a goblin’s nature. Therefore, the problem Goblin General faced wasn’t how many subordinates he had but how many goblins he could feed.
Even though goblins could eat even rot when they were starving, they weren’t insects after all. For long-term survival, they needed a proper food source.
The problem was that goblins had no talent for farming. They couldn’t even herd. Apart from gathering and hunting, they only knew how to plunder.
But the Magic Horn Forest was a special case. There was nothing to plunder there. There were targets outside the forest, but the closest one was the Demon Lord’s territory. Other human territories were a bit too far. This gave Goblin General a headache.
Goblin General now commanded all the monsters under the Demon Lord. However, he hadn’t forgotten that all of this was bestowed upon him by the Demon Lord. This meant he could be replaced at any time, so he desperately wanted to prove his abilities to the Demon Lord.
Fortunately, the opportunity arrived. After receiving the Demon Lord’s command, Goblin General excitedly blew the horn. Countless cunning eyes opened in the dark Magic Horn Forest, and the goblins began to gather.
