Chapter 111 - 94 Accidental Situation_2

Chapter 111: Chapter 94 Accidental Situation_2They became the cream filling of a sandwich cookie. On one side was the Blackwell Tribe, whose main forces had yet to reveal themselves, hidden in obscurity. On the other side was the enigmatic Goblin Army, led by the Hobgoblin. For a moment, the atmosphere on the field was extremely heavy. Only the goblins on the battlefield continued to turn and wail. Undoubtedly, the Blood Claw Tribe had also come for the Blackwell Tribe. If the Goblin Army from the Spirit Crystal Mine had arrived a few hours later, the Blood Claw Tribe’s forces would have been the ones to spring the trap for them. This turn of events, even Gaven hadn’t anticipated. Gaven had left a considerable number of sentinels in the direction of the Blood Claw Tribe, and Erde’s half-squad conducted irregular patrols on occasion. From the direction in which the Blood Claw Tribe’s army appeared, it seemed they had taken a large detour to get there. The Blood Claw Tribe’s army, after merely showing their presence, drove those Goblin Rout Soldiers and slowly withdrew into the mountains. Facing the well-prepared forces of the Blood Claw Tribe, Gaven did not rashly send the Gnoll troops to pursue but dispatched an Erde Squadron to tail them from a distance. No sooner had their front ranks left than, under the command of Half-Ogre Roar and Cangya, a group of over a hundred Gnolls burst forth from their ambush, desperately clearing the battlefield; in particular, they delivered the coup de grâce to any goblin soldiers who were not quite dead yet. "Mr. Gaven? What just happened?" Not only were most of the Gnolls confused, but even the Maiden Priestess couldn’t wrap her head around it at the moment. "What happened? Those bastards from Blood Claw wanted to launch a sneak attack on us," replied not Gaven but Artolia, who was perched on his shoulder. "This I understand, even a fool can see that, but what does it mean that they showed up and then retreated?" "Even a fool can see it; they’ve likely been watching the battle from the start and got spooked by our combined land and air combat strategy, especially the aerial bombardment by Erde. They probably don’t have an effective countermeasure. If they charged us and got hit by that bombardment, I reckon it wouldn’t have been pleasant for them, no matter how organized they appear to be now. They’re probably just posturing; they’ve only been organizing for a few days, how could they possibly turn a horde of goblins into an elite force in such a short time? Just as we can’t turn a group of Gnolls into hardened soldiers so quickly." Artolia’s tactical analysis was spot-on. As she was skilled in military matters, Gaven did not interrupt her and let her help clarify the situation. "You’re the fool." The Maiden Priestess muttered under her breath, then asked, "But we don’t have many Tremor Bombs left, do we? The last bombardment used up most of our stockpile." "That’s information you have, but they don’t," Artolia replied with an expression suggesting the Priestess was being dense, "Without accurate intelligence, they wouldn’t dare to let their troops march into a minefield. The wisest choice was to retreat. There’s no doubt that the army’s commander is very smart, someone who knows when to pull back and push forward, proving to be a troublesome opponent whom we need to treat cautiously in the future." Until then, Gaven, who had been silent, let out a long sigh and said, "Not just this army, any potential enemy we face from now on must be treated with caution. We made a grave error in underestimating our enemies this time. Had it not been for luck, if they had really caught us off guard, even if we had repelled them, our losses would have been severe. Their retreat this time is temporary. When they return, they will surely be fully prepared." Overall, we have already achieved our goals in this battle; what remains is to reclaim the Spirit Crystal Mine." Just as the Blackwell Tribe was preparing to adjust their strategy, considering the Blood Claw Tribe as their greatest enemy for the foreseeable future, the Erde Squadron, which was tracking the Blood Claw Tribe, brought back shocking news that stunned everyone from the top down in the Blackwell Tribe. The Blood Claw Tribe had not returned to their territory but, driving the Goblin Rout Soldiers from the Spirit Crystal Mine away, vanished into the depths of the Rocklands via the Rocklands trade route. seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Are you sure?" Gaven asked, somewhat disbelieving. "Positive," Captain Bark nodded earnestly, "We followed them for fifty kilometers, and they showed no signs of turning back. They have definitely abandoned their original territory and entered a migratory state." "Alright, I understand," Gaven waved his hand dismissively. "This Blood Claw Tribe is even more dangerous than we initially estimated. Had we known, we should have fought them, regardless of our losses, to take out their leader," Artolia couldn’t help but express her opinion. The leader of the Blood Claw Tribe was far more decisive and ruthless than they had anticipated. As soon as he realized that the sneak attack had failed and the Blackwell Tribe had displayed their quickly unbeatable tactics, he didn’t hesitate to beat a distant retreat, unwilling to draw things out over this narrow piece of land with the Blackwell Tribe. The Hobgoblins’ lack of interest in farming meant that their attachment to the land was quite low; should the resources in the vicinity become scarce, or the enemy too powerful, they might enter a migratory state, searching for more suitable land to plunder and conquer. Once their strength had increased, they would turn back to conquer their original land—a common strategy of theirs. "Haha..." Gaven couldn’t help but laugh aloud. "What’s so funny? Have you lost your mind with fear?" Artolia asked, puzzled. "This Blood Claw, had he stayed here, might have been a significant burden to us, large or small. Now that they’ve fled, they won’t have the chance to come back." Gaven radiated immense confidence, "When it comes to growth rate, we fear no one, especially not a Hobgoblin war band in a migratory state." After some serious contemplation, Artolia had to nod in agreement. What the Blackwell Tribe needed most now was time, the time to develop steadily and continuously. Just a few months would suffice; even if this place did not become the Blackwell Fortress, it would turn into the Blackwell Stronghold. Most importantly, with the departure of the Blood Claw Tribe, the Blackwell Tribe was free of worries from the rear. Within a dozen or so kilometers, no power could threaten them. The steps they had previously retracted could now be as big and as bold as they wanted—just as long as they didn’t mess things up. Due to the Blood Claw Tribe’s interference, the ambush that Gaven and his men had laid out was not fully sprung, thus the casualties were relatively limited. They only counted six hundred Goblin corpses. In Gaven’s eyes, this result was far from ideal, considering this was a massacre he had orchestrated, even arranging the enemy commander. In the eyes of all the Gnolls, however, it was an unquestionable glorious victory, unprecedented. Not only had they killed a mountain of Goblins, but not a single one of their own had died. The only Gnoll who sustained a minor injury was hit by a bag swung by one of his own comrades with a sling. From top to bottom, morale was high, and even their walking postures changed. Gone was the skulking forward lean; now they stood with chests puffed out and bellies pulled in, straight as poles. They strutted like geese, hop-stepping, a sight that people were unaccustomed to. High morale was a good thing—at the very least, it significantly boosted work efficiency, so Gaven did not puncture their bubble. The number of Goblin Rout Soldiers snatched away by the Blood Claw Tribe compared to this number was only greater, not less. The scattered Goblins who fled into the wild had roughly the same numbers. Except for some particularly foolish Goblins, who kept aimlessly burrowing into the Spirit Crystal Mines. Most fleeing Goblins, particularly those with surviving leaders, were led back to their old lairs. For they knew that the Blackwell Tribe’s ruthlessly cunning human leader would never allow others to occupy the Spirit Crystal Mine—they would be hot on their heels. True enough, the next day, news spread that the Spirit Crystal Mine had been taken over by the Blackwell Tribe. The main force that captured the Spirit Crystal Mine was not the Gnoll army but almost a hundred members of the Wild Wolf Guard Squad led by the Dog Demon. The Dog Demon, significantly smarter than the average person, didn’t hesitate to take his Wild Wolf Guard Squad into the ravines upon noticing a third party’s involvement in the battlefield, depriving the Blood Claw Tribe of the opportunity to recruit them. After the Blood Claw Tribe withdrew, they didn’t come back immediately to claim credit but instead took the Wild Wolf Guard Squad straight to the Spirit Crystal Mine, lying in wait there for the Goblin Rout Soldiers to come to them. They devoured every Goblin that came and pair that entered. Not just the Dog Demon, but the nearly hundred famished wolves were also well-fed and round-bellied. When the Gnolls from the Blackwell Tribe arrived, the Dog Demon eagerly trotted out to meet them. Wagging his tail more eagerly than a house dog, the obsequiousness on the Wolf face was almost dripping as he said, "Leader, I did a pretty good job with the task this time, right?"