Chapter 86: Chapter 28: Emergency War Mobilization
Within the vast Border Prince’s Territory, dangers lurk everywhere. In the eerie woodlands, deep valleys, and the expansive lands among the various Pioneer Territories, it is the home of various raiders: wolves, goblins, green skins, beastmen, undead, and so on.
And currently, the greatest threat to Hesse Territory undoubtedly comes from the massive Goblin Broken Toe Tribe in the Blood Pine Forest.
The goblins of this world are not the perverse creatures from some other worlds that only appear in elf maid art books.
Like their distant relatives, the beastmen, they have green skin and are spread across the world. Being combative and cruel are their basic characteristics. Stirring up wars and celebrating the defeat and conquest of enemies is their greatest pursuit.
War is their greatest pleasure, so wherever there is war, these belligerent creatures might joyfully join in.
As long as they can enjoy battling, they don’t care who they fight. Even in the absence of a common enemy, they quickly become bored and turn against each other. The fierceness they show in fighting their own is no different from when fighting humans and dwarves.
More crucially, alongside their aggressiveness, their cunning minds are extremely flexible, knowing to take all measures to ensure victory. They would bribe the dim-witted giants, cultivate huge Arachnary spiders, and recruit equally battle-loving beastman warbands to join their ranks.
Thus, this goblin force of 5,000 is of terrifying combat power, enough to sweep across many Pioneer Territories unopposed. Just handling the three Arachnary giant spiders is very difficult for the Hesse Territory. Aside from Knight Oerstein being able to counter one, the other two can only be dealt with by the knights risking their lives.
So, after setting aside matters of the throne, Su Li said sternly, "Let’s put the throne matters aside for now. Hilude, immediately gather all my attendants, lords, and armies. You will personally go to the west of the territory and invite the chief of the Half-Elf family, Hartskline, to our domain. If you encounter the pilgrimage group of the Sun Goddess there, invite them to visit our territory to help us combat the monster invasion."
"Avril, you go notify the Minister of the Seal and the Minister of Agriculture to immediately halt all construction and cultivation, and summon the young and strong for military training. Notify them that every slave who kills a monster on the battlefield can be exempted from one instance of the death penalty under the Power Field Technique. If they kill three monsters, I will personally free them from slavery."
This time, even Hilude couldn’t help but cover her wide-open mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with shock, completely unprepared for the Lord’s swift transformation.
One moment they were discussing ascending the throne, and the next moment they are faced with a life and death crisis for the territory.
Ceasing all internal development, summoning all civilians and slaves for emergency military mobilization, it was evident that a massive external invasion was imminent.
By now, Hilude and Avril had long been utterly convinced by Su Li. When Su Li mentioned he might ascend the throne, they were both shocked first, rather than amused, which showed their inner attitude.
Hearing Su Li’s stern commands, neither dared to hesitate, they immediately got up to execute the orders and began to arm themselves fully.
Hilude donned the War Pattern Crimson Vibranium Rune Armor, holding the golden glowing Rune Sword, while Avril equipped herself with a heavy, exquisite full-body heavy armor. The two left the castle with a chilling aura, immediately alarming the entire territory.
Even Death’s Claw, lying in the stables, was awakened, crawling into the castle and rubbing its head against Su Li’s leg.
Its four legs were each tied with a Dragon Blood Stone, and with the enhancement from these four Dragon Blood Stones, it didn’t look like a two-month-old small griffin at all, but instead was as large as a mighty lion.
Its daily task was to practice hunting various small animals in the pasture, with its predatory skills improving by leaps and bounds each day.
Occasionally, it would try to carry Su Li into the air, but this was a challenging task for it. A griffin the size of a full-grown lion couldn’t carry a person to run or fly.
It also sensed the atmosphere of an impending war from Su Li, so it chirped excitedly. With its abilities, it could still manage to kill one or two goblins.
However, Su Li had not yet crafted a set of heavy armor for its entire body, so he didn’t plan to take it to the battlefield for now.
At least wait until its size stabilizes a bit before custom-making armor for it.
Su Li had just interacted with Death’s Claw for a short while, when the Hesse Territory’s Military Commander, Knight Oerstein, was the first to enter the castle. He was training soldiers on the training grounds in the southeast of the castle, which was connected by wooden walls, making coming and going very convenient.
Upon learning the news, he immediately came to the castle, appearing very excited as he asked, "My Lord, is there a war? I heard you’ve ordered the assembly of all military forces within the territory?"
War is what excites this Military Commander the most, especially large-scale wars, which can make his Knight’s blood boil and offer more opportunities for advancement. He followed Su Li away from home to this perilous Border Prince’s Territory precisely to engage in more intense battles.
This was the first time he truly fulfilled his duty as a Military Commander since following Su Li into the Hesse Territory.
Unlike the usual mundane battles, which mostly mobilized only the Lord’s directly affiliated Attendants, this time it was a full-scale mobilization of all military forces in the Territory, including civilians, slaves, and the troops from the affiliated Manor.
Commanding so many diverse troops is where his value as a Commander-in-Chief lies. Previous battles only mobilized the Knights and at most reflected the authority of High-level Attendants Chief Hilude.
Su Lie took a deep breath and held his breath. This battle would also mark his first true battlefield encounter since his transmigration, quite unlike prior minor skirmishes with only a hundred or so participants.
He solemnly said, "My dear Military Commander, there is no room for complacency. A goblin tribe of five thousand is about to invade our territory. We must give it our all, sparing no expense to crush them. We have no choice but victory, only victory!"
"A goblin tribe of five thousand?" This number made Knight Oerstein serious; many ants can bite an elephant to death, not to mention these belligerent goblins?
This Fierce Sun Lion immediately showcased his extraordinary talent as a Commander-in-Chief and asked in detail: "Lord, is there any more detailed information about this Green Tide? What units are they composed of, and how many elite troops do they have?"
Su Li shook his head and said, "There is no more information at the moment. I only foresee the monstrous Green Tide about to swamp our territory, and among them, the most notable are undoubtedly the three Anarrech giant spiders."
"Three Anarrech giant spiders!" Knight Oerstein’s pupils contracted; with his knowledge, he surely understood one of the most formidable predators in the forest. They could grow larger than a windmill with wings, and in the dense forests where the sun struggles to reach, these massive crawlers could track and lure entire Beastman tribes or Bear Goblin settlements. A breeding female spider would even actively hunt juvenile dragons or adult Elephant Mastiffs, which are even larger prey.
The goblins both breed and raise these giant spiders and venerate them like Divine Spirits. Each goblin tribe that raises an Anarrech giant spider introduces it with their chests puffed out proudly, emphasizing with fanatical, sharp, and reverent tones: "This is the Spider God! Our eight-legged Heavenly Father!"
These giant spiders, after thousands of years of worship, have indeed proven worthy of the goblins’ reverence, allowing them to construct massive crossbow platforms on their backs with grass and spider silk.
They usually dwell and slumber in bottomless giant spider pits, where the air is thick with a foul, putrid odor, enough to asphyxiate any intruder within minutes.
For the Forest Goblins, these bottomless giant spider pits are the most sacred places. When the help of such ancient monsters is needed, the Goblin Shaman conducts an ancient summoning ritual for the Giant Beasts, and the Arachnary giant spiders will respond to the call, crawling out from the massive pits. Equipped with platforms tailored by the Forest Goblins for firepower projection and the Spider God’s altar, the colossal specter stumbles forward, once again bringing terror to the surface world.
To deal with these terrifying monsters, even a champion level Knight has to fight desperately.
Others can only pour their lives into the battle, with a multitude of Elite Knights charging courageously, their lances piercing like through walls, making impact after impact on its massive mill-sized body for a chance to slay it.
This battle was indeed extremely perilous, necessitating all efforts.
Knight Oerstein hadn’t had time to devise a winning strategy when the anxious footsteps of Lauren and Vandar echoed outside the hall.
"Lord, what has happened? Why the sudden halt on all internal development, awaiting orders?" Lauren asked urgently as he entered the castle hall.
Su Li straightforwardly stated, "The next three days will decide the life and death of our territory. We must completely gear up and prepare for the battle to fend off the impending invasion of the 5000-strong Green Tide."
"A Green Tide with numbers reaching 5000?" Lauren’s eyes widened in disbelief. Such a scale is enormous, ten times what the previous Lord encountered. Are we about to witness our homeland’s destruction and fall into slavery once again?
Vandar, who had also seen the terrifying scale of the Green Tide in the forest, was initially filled with anger at the Lord’s rough halt to their agricultural efforts. However, upon hearing this, his fury vanished instantly, and he immediately declared, "Our Dawn Church will fully support the Lord’s decision, following you to defend this territory to the death, not allowing any monster to ravage our home."
Lauren’s expression grew alarmed as he asked, "Faced with such a scale of the Green Tide, shouldn’t we hold the castle to the death? Isn’t the urgent task to transfer the wealth of the residential areas on the south bank of the river to the north bank of the Black Water River?"
Vandar immediately flared up, asking, "If we abandon the south bank and huddle within the castle, what about our fields? If the crops and villages are burned, most people will starve. How will we last until the next harvest?"