Chapter 538: Refugee Tide
A few rounds of arrow volleys.
The scattered gnolls fell to the ground.
The enchanted crossbows had an average attack power of 30, and the armor-piercing bolts added +15 damage, which dealt full damage to gnolls without armor.
A grazing hit injured them, and a direct hit killed them!
Gnolls charging head-on into the arrows suffered heavy losses, with over three to four thousand casualties.
Shield-bearing soldiers standing in neat ranks could clearly see the gnolls' frenzied faces.
They held their ground and remained unmoved.
Behind them stood soldiers armed with long spears, their four-meter-long weapons gleaming coldly under the sunlight.
Beelzebub had no intention of acting. When the gnolls reached fifty meters, he gave the order:
"Defensive formation!"
The first two rows of crossbow soldiers immediately set down their weapons and, following their training, moved to the flanks.
Hulking soldiers took their round shields from their backs.
The rest held their spears, bracing them against the ground and angling their tips slightly forward.
The spears glinted menacingly, casting a cold sheen.
The formation change took only a few breaths, showcasing their skillful arraying techniques.
Each soldier was full of fighting spirit, showing no fear—only the joy of rising to a challenge.
The gnolls continued to take steady damage from the constant rain of bolts.
Sparse groups of gnolls came charging up.
They collided headlong with the sharp spears.
Like beasts, they neither dodged nor avoided, recklessly running into the weapons.
The first wave of charging gnolls was instantly slain.
Without expending any effort, Bay Territory's soldiers let the gnolls impale themselves on the spears.
For ordinary soldiers, facing beast-like gnolls…
Might provoke fear and lead to their ranks breaking.
But Bay Territory's soldiers were entirely different. They were well-practiced in fighting gnolls.
As the gnolls crashed into them, they deftly rotated their spears and took two steps back, easily shaking off the bodies.
During this maneuver, reserve soldiers stepped forward to take their places, maintaining the formation's strength.
Squish!
Roar…!
Snap!
Gnoll howls mixed with the sounds of tearing flesh, breaking bones, and shrill cries, creating a chaotic din.
The Bay Territory troops remained silent, their movements swift and synchronized, operating like a precision killing machine.
One gnoll after another fell.
They rushed forward in a mass, only to be pierced through by the powerful bolts, sometimes three or four at a time.
Within minutes, several thousand more gnolls had fallen.
Yet the gnolls didn't think to split their forces to the sides; they just charged blindly ahead, smashing into the formation and leaving a trail of corpses.
Beelzebub cast a cold glance at them, unmoved by pity, only reminded of the chaos of the Scarlet Moon.
Large, hulking gnoll brutes charged in, roaring.
Beelzebub remained unshaken, while a few hulking, heavily armored modified warriors stood at the front of the formation.
Each held a cleaver or raised a greatsword high, radiating a terrifying aura.
Any gnolls that came near were swiftly swept aside.
When the gnoll brutes charged, the modified warriors stepped forward boldly.
In just two exchanges, the gnoll brutes were dealt with.
The strength they prided themselves on was laughable before the modified warriors.
Watching this, Schroder's mouth twitched slightly. He instinctively turned his head to look at the equally stunned adventurers, and said helplessly into the communicator:
"Did you all see that? Enemies that we consider very troublesome are easily handled by Bay Territory."
"In just 15 minutes, they dealt with nearly ten thousand gnolls. The remaining ones won't be any trouble…"
On the other side of the communicator, the lords were silent.
They never expected Bay Territory's troops to be this strong—stronger than they could have imagined.
Wiping sweat from his brow, Schroder glanced at the soldiers clearing the battlefield and murmured thoughtfully:
"It seems now that if we can't have mage support like the Imperial legions, we'd better provide our soldiers with better weapons."
Sending ordinary soldiers, of whom less than a third were professionals, against beast-like gnolls was practically criminal.
An hour later.
Thick smoke rose into the sky.
The scorching flames devoured the piled-up corpses.
Bay Territory's soldiers rested on the spot.
Even after winning the battle, they didn't make noise or commotion, quietly tending to their tasks.
They checked and maintained their weapons and armor.
They performed routine purification and dispersal rituals.
They examined the results, reported the situation.
They quietly discussed and recorded any shortcomings in their combat performance.
From a distance, Alarad City's soldiers and adventurers, observing the scene, thought they were performing some sort of mysterious ritual.
Beelzebub, leading a team of soldiers, ascended the walls. The waiting Schroder quickly handed over a storage belt.
Beelzebub inspected it carefully, confirming the quantities of grain, magical materials, and magical plants matched. He smiled and nodded at Schroder:
"Pleasure doing business."
Before Schroder could invite him in, Beelzebub turned and left.
Intimidated by his imposing presence, Schroder refrained from trying to persuade him to stay. After taking a deep breath, he quickly sent a message to Old John on the other end of the communicator:
"The payment's been made, quality is assured…"
"However, we need a batch of high-quality weapons and equipment, and I hope Bay Territory can send them soon…"
Though he had prepared himself, Old John was still quite pleased at how easily they had dealt with 20,000 gnolls. He responded calmly:
"No problem. We'll send them soon. Here's the price list—it'll be a bit higher…"
Hearing that it would be more expensive, Schroder felt a twinge of pain, but it actually reassured him.
If these items were too cheap, he'd wonder if Bay Territory had ulterior motives.
Looking at the list, Schroder stroked his beard regretfully, but ultimately didn't have the courage to haggle. Silently, he sent his order to Old John.
Old John, upon seeing the order, said with delight:
"Wow, a 500,000-gold order. Schroder's got guts!"
Alice perked up her ears, her mind filling with thoughts.
Could this be part of the lord's plan?
Demonstrate strength while promoting Bay Territory's products?
Alice had originally thought the lord would keep having other territories continuously hire Bay Territory's army.
Old John, guessing her thoughts, explained the situation:
"Selling these weapons and equipment to them is about quickly boosting their strength…"
Sending the order back to Bay Territory, Old John smiled as he stated the ultimate goal:
"That way, when greater threats appear, they'll be able to hold out longer…"
Alice suddenly recalled the existence of the Mad Dragon Maze Lock.
So far, it had only affected kobolds and gnolls. Soon, stronger dragon-blooded creatures would emerge.
By then, these upgraded lordly armies would serve as testing grounds.
If the enemy was too strong, quickly wiping them out…
Then Bay Territory's troops would need to gather more information and use their forces more carefully.
If the enemy wasn't strong, Bay Territory could allocate forces more precisely, achieving optimal training outcomes while showcasing their own strength.
Alice gradually realized that the current display of weakness by surrounding territories was merely because Bay Territory's soldiers were overwhelmingly powerful.
Constant vigilance was a must!
Over the next few days.
Word of Bay Territory supporting other territories spread quickly in the area.
Many lords were astounded by Bay Territory's formidable strength.
They cut off contact with Bay Territory to varying degrees.
Some sought direct support from Imperial forces, while others followed Schroder's example and purchased a batch of weapons and equipment.
In this scenario, the initial technical upgrades prompted by the blockade coincidentally aligned with a surge of substantial orders, causing every factory's machinery to roar non-stop.
Ralph the steward, delighted, cleared out a significant portion of the stored weapons and equipment, making room for the latest batch of enchanted arms and armor.
Adventurers received new assignments.
Transporting weapons, gear, and other supplies to needy lords.
At the same time, they leveraged their initiative to exchange these needed weapons and equipment for goods Bay Territory wanted, earning additional merit and rewards.
As a result, Bay Territory acquired gold, resources, and strategic reserves of new materials.
Adventurers gained gold and merit and found one paying client after another.
The lords secured their safety, preserving their lands and lives.
Only the kobolds and gnolls were the most unfortunate, with most of them reduced to burnt corpses.
This scenario occurred only around Bay Territory.
Wider surrounding regions, however, were thrown into increasing turmoil.
Many minor lords, caught unprepared, were unable to muster troops to clear out the dragon-blooded creatures emerging from the wilderness.
Although the turbulence of the past two years had caught the attention of numerous noble lords, prompting them to invest more heavily in their militaries…
Their efficiency was so poor that many of them fell short even compared to Alarad City's Schroder.
As a last resort, they could only hold fast to their fortifications, leaving the dragon-blooded creatures outside unchecked.
Towns barely had the strength to defend themselves.
With their towering, sturdy walls, as long as the lords and residents weren't particularly foolish, they could generally hold out.
The difference was only in how high the price would be.
The villages, however, suffered terribly.
Wooden palisades and low earthen walls were no match for the fearless dragon-blooded creatures.
Only some exceptionally large villages could resist the ever-increasing number of dragon-blooded creatures.
In just four or five days…
Thousands of villages were breached, causing hundreds of thousands or even millions of casualties.
Provinces previously attacked—such as the eastern province, the Carl Plains, and the western province—fared comparatively better.
In their efforts to preserve their towns and territories, they had poured more resources into military preparation.
Most of them could mobilize troops in time to eliminate any dragon-blooded creatures attempting to gather.
As long as they maintained constant pressure, these scattered dragon-blooded creatures wouldn't pose a significant threat.
It was the central province, long complacent and at ease…
That was caught particularly off guard by this sudden "omen."
This area had the highest concentration of spellcaster lords, as it was closer to Sevinton.
The usually self-assured spellcasters had lately been rather at a loss.
Without many standing troops or regular armies, despite their formidable spellcasting powers…
Against the surging waves of gnolls, casting ten or twenty spells a day would at most kill a few hundred or a thousand gnolls.
To the vast hordes of gnolls, that was but a drop in the bucket.
Even some high-level spellcasters with mage towers in their territories…
Could only hunker down in their towers and clear out the dragon-blooded creatures gathering around them.
This dire situation quickly caught the full attention of the Sevinton Council.
A new round of council meetings was convened.
The Sevinton Council hurriedly debated solutions.
Yet, as in previous discussions, the factions argued back and forth, quarreling noisily.
After all, with no way to eliminate all dragon-blooded creatures in an instant, Sevinton's available resources and manpower were limited.
So which area should be helped first?
Who should receive the largest share of resources?
These matters, of course, needed to be "properly" allocated.
Everyone understood that the longer they delayed, the more the people suffered, and the greater the losses caused by the dragon-blooded creatures.
But no one was willing to compromise their own interests!
After all, those who died were strangers to them.
After all, most spellcasters could ensure their own safety.
After all, most lords and nobles could survive.
Why should they care if a few remote peasants perished?
Compared to the endless arguments in the Sevinton Council…
The discussions in the cities were even more animated.
Many people were poring over the newspapers.
A large number of onlookers usually gathered around them.
"There are so many dragon-blooded creatures—estimated at over 300 million. Getting rid of them is no small challenge…"
"That's right. Unlike the more unified threat posed by orcs, these scattered dragon-blooded creatures are even more troublesome."
"Just as the paper says, towns are generally safe, but the surrounding villages have suffered greatly."
"There's no helping it. The local lords can't just conjure up armies in such a short time."
"What about the adventurers? Isn't this their time to shine?"
"Look at Bay Territory. Most of their dragon-blooded creatures were dealt with by adventurers…"
"Sure, but where's the money coming from?"
"Lords collect all those taxes every year. Isn't this the time to put that money to use?"
"It's a lord's duty and obligation to protect the safety of their subjects!"
"Don't take it too seriously. Just having a lord who sticks to eating, drinking, and partying is already good enough…"
"What makes a bad one, then?"
"Heh, nothing more to say. Better head home and stock up on food; prices will probably rise soon…"
"..."