Chapter 59 - 59 56 The First Sortie Please Follow_1

59: 56 Chapter The First Sortie (Please Follow)_1 59: 56 Chapter The First Sortie (Please Follow)_1 Andy was in a great mood. More accurately, for the past twenty days, Andy had been in a great mood, and today, he was simply in an even better one. Andy had not expected that those shiny stones could be exchanged for grain, let alone that the fierce-looking human would keep his promise. Not only did he actually exchange the grain for them, but he also agreed to a one-time exchange for three cartloads. What a fool. No matter how pretty those stones were, they couldn’t be eaten. How could they be more practical than grain? With these three cartloads of grain, more goblins would join his tribe. With these three cartloads of grain, he could get his people to mine enough shiny stones to exchange for six cartloads of grain. Then use the six cartloads to mine for stones to exchange for twelve cartloads of grain. And so on and so forth. Andy’s fingers were limited; he couldn’t continue to calculate this transaction further, but in any case, when the time came, he would have lots and lots of grain and also lots and lots of tribespeople. Everything was going to be infinitely wonderful. Andy declined the half-ogre’s protection. This time, he learned to be clever and brought enough of his people with him. With the half-ogre escorting, Andy felt even less at ease. That guy was famously greedy, and for all Andy knew, he might turn around and snatch all the grain away. The three large carts of grain from the Blackwell Tribe were loaded onto Andy’s own makeshift goblin trolleys, amounting to more than twenty carts total. Under the escort of nearly a hundred goblins, they chattered away as they headed for the Spirit Crystal Mine. Like Andy, all the goblins were seeing this much grain for the first time. Many crowded around Andy, chattering in their impoverished language, lavishing praise on Andy, believing that it was only under his brilliant leadership that they had obtained so much grain so smoothly. Andy was floating on air, reveling in the flattery. “Leader, there are many goblins from other tribes following us behind. They won’t be trying to steal our grain, will they?” A goblin’s reminder interrupted Andy’s reverie. Andy turned his head to look around. Indeed, there were quite a few sneaky figures trailing their caravan, all unfamiliar goblin faces. “These greedy creatures, they actually want something for nothing.” Andy ground his teeth in hatred; he had nothing but contempt for such goblins. If you’re capable, go rob the grain from the Blackwell Tribe, where the piles of grain are as high as mountains. What skill is it to rob from your own kind? “Quick, quick, tell them to speed up, to get back to our lair sooner. Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Once we’re back in our lair, we’ll be safe,” Andy urged hastily. He was somewhat regretting not having the half-ogre’s protection now. If the half-ogre had been there, those scoundrels definitely wouldn’t have dared to mess around. But it was obviously too late to go back and call the half-ogre now; it would be faster just to hurry on their way. As the number of goblins following the grain convoy grew, they became more and more daring. Some were following at a trot, some were throwing stones to intimidate. These were all the goblins’ petty and sneaky tactics. Andy had his people respond with a volley of stones from slings, hitting so many of the overly close goblins that their heads swelled with bumps. This method was indeed effective against the scattered and unorganized goblins, but when a sizeable goblin tribe appeared, this form of attack, more threatening than lethal, became completely ineffective. “Charge… steal the grain, the grain is ours… ours…” “Grain… so much grain… all ours… charge…” As the goblin tribe leader screamed, he waved his makeshift weapons and small round shields, leading the charge. Whether they were from their own tribe or not, the Goblins seemed to have received a signal, their little short legs moving as they charged towards Andy’s grain convoy. Even though occasional slingshot stones hit them on the head, they didn’t care at all. Their thirst for food far exceeded this bit of pain. “Don’t panic, don’t get disorganized, guard the food, guard our food, it’s ours, drive them away…” Andy shouted hectically. It was unclear whether it was his orders that had an effect, or if the grain was too attractive, but Andy’s tribe of Goblins were reluctant to give up. They guarded the carts of grain and kept slinging stones back at their attackers with slingshots. However, these ranged weapons were limited in their lethality, barely bringing down even the fragile Goblins. On the contrary, the Goblins charging at them were everywhere, in droves, appearing out of nowhere. Ooo… Ooo… The low and prolonged sounds of a cow horn came from behind the Goblin grain convoy. “Cangya attacks.” Followed by a robust command. Unified growls of Gnolls resounded at the same time. Squads of Gnoll soldiers charged out from behind the hillside. These Gnoll soldiers wore leather armor of various colors and styles, some of which even appeared ill-fitting, yet over seventy percent were indeed armored. Leading the front two rows were Gnolls wielding long spears. The middle two rows held a shortsword and a small wooden shield. The last two rows had a pair of daggers in their belts and threw stone projectiles with slings as they charged alongside the others. Compared to the stones from Andy’s people, their stones were both more accurate and vicious. They weren’t just rocks picked up from the roadside but specifically polished waste from iron mines, much heavier than ordinary stones. If hit by these stones, it wasn’t just a matter of a bleeding head; many Goblins had their bones shattered immediately, and some even had their skulls cracked open on impact. What truly shocked these Goblins was the organized formation of the Gnolls, they marched so closely together that there was no more than one person’s distance between them, moving unexpectedly in sync. Twelve Gnolls in a row advanced towards the closest Goblins and shouted in unison before lowering their bodies. They thrust their long spears forward at an angle, easily piercing the backs of the Goblins in front of them as they charged. The Goblins who had just dodged the thrust couldn’t even begin to feel relieved before another row of Gnoll spearmen, no more than five steps behind, charged forward and skewered them like candied haws. Even if they managed to dodge this wave of attack, two more waves of sword and shield slashes followed. Four waves of assault came like layers of waves, one after another. The scattered Goblins at the forefront had no chance to form an effective resistance before being crushed on their assault path. The attack of the first row of Gnoll spearmen was only delayed when they encountered a more densely packed Goblin Tribe. This delay wasn’t due to any organized resistance; it was purely because they used Goblin lives to fill the gaps. The Goblins were too crowded, preventing the first row of Gnoll spearmen from breaking through. Immediately after, the second row of spearmen thrust into the gaps, toppling a heap of Goblins. At that moment, the Goblins who had come out to rob the convoy began to realize the situation. “It’s the Blackwell Gnolls, that Ogre must be coming…” “Run, it’s the Blackwell Gnolls…” The Goblins who recognized their identity scattered in all directions. The sharp offense of the Gnolls was one aspect, but the fierce reputation of Half-Ogre Roar played a major part. “Is it over already?” The eager Half-Ogre, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, watched the Goblins scattering like rabbits all over the hills, slightly dumbstruck. He hadn’t even joined the fight yet.