"Alright, move forward."
Aven took a deep breath and gave the order.
Soon, the army crossed into Keystone Town's territory, passing over a broad grassy plain.
Keystone Town was one of the wealthiest regions in all of eastern Aspiration City. Aside from its magical beast trade, it also had thriving agriculture and livestock industries.
Moving forward, they soon arrived outside one of Keystone Town's villages.
Looking inward, they saw villagers standing outside with farm tools, watching the horizon nervously.
The villagers looked ragged, thin, and dark-skinned.
Behind them stood knights mounted on Rhyhorns, holding whips with cold, unfeeling eyes.
"Lord Aven, this is Hollow Wood Village,"
Sutter explained,
"Those outside the village are likely serfs of the territory."
In many territories, cheap serf labor was used to cultivate vast fields.
Free farmers and orchard workers were relatively rare.
"Mhm. Let's pick up the pace."
Aven nodded. Some time ago, he had also instructed Phyllis to purchase a number of serfs.
However, due to the lack of ongoing wars, there weren't many channels through which serfs could be acquired, so she had yet to obtain enough of them.
At the very least, I'll let these serfs live like real human beings.
He silently made this promise in his heart.
The convoy continued moving forward, passing through several villages. In the distance, the outline of Keystone Town had already begun to appear.
At that moment, on the not-so-tall city walls outside of Keystone Town, many guards stood holding bows and arrows. In the skies above, several knights riding on Staraptors could be seen.
"The magical beast army from Fruitvale Village... they've really come."
On the wall, Kilton stared at the dense black mass approaching from the distance and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Although he had anticipated the strength of Fruitvale Village, his pupils still shrank slightly upon seeing the sea of magical beasts before him.
But when he noticed that the majority of the magical beasts were just Oddish, he secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it was only Oddish.
During this time, the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild had been investigating the military strength of Fruitvale Village. It was mainly composed of Oddish and Gloom.
They knew these magical beasts fought primarily using Absorb and Sleep Powder tactics. While highly effective for defense, they were notably weaker in offensive combat.
Woooooo—
Just as Kilton had calmed down slightly, he suddenly heard the sound of a war horn blaring from the eastern side of Keystone Town!
The eastern side of the town was precisely where the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild was stationed—this signal clearly meant they were also under threat!
"Why are there enemies on the east side too? Could it be magical beasts from the Black Forest?"
Kilton's face darkened.
"Star!"
Suddenly, the cry of a Staraptor echoed in the sky. A knight mounted on one quickly swooped down.
Seeing the Staraptor land, Kilton hurried over and asked,
"What's happening on the east side?"
"The Nidoking tribe! It's the Nidoking tribe!"
"They've left the Black Forest and are headed straight toward us!"
Hearing this, Kilton's expression changed drastically.
He pressed further,
"The Nidoking tribe? Are they the ones from Nidoking Valley?"
"Yes, the very same Nidokings that had gone missing."
With the knight's confirmation, Kilton's entire body trembled. He then turned his gaze toward the Fruitvale Village army, which had already halted in the distance.
Given the current situation, the appearance of the Nidoking tribe at this exact moment was no coincidence. It was highly likely they were coordinating with Fruitvale Village to attack Keystone Town together!
"Damn it... could it be that Fruitvale Village has tamed the Nidoking tribe?"
Kilton looked extremely grim.
He knew very well just how powerful the Nidoking tribe was—especially since among them was a quasi-king-level Nidoking. He truly couldn't imagine what method Fruitvale Village had used to subdue them!
"Lord Kilton, what should we do now?"
the clerk asked with a trembling voice.
He understood that even without the Nidoking tribe, Keystone Town was already hard-pressed to defend itself against Fruitvale Village—now the odds seemed hopeless!
"Send a messenger to negotiate with Earl Aven!"
"According to the laws of Aspiration City, do they really intend to attack our Keystone Town? Are they not afraid of being tried by the Public Order Court?"
Kilton gritted his teeth. If Fruitvale Village and the Nidoking tribe really launched a joint attack, there was no way Keystone Town could hold its ground!
Woooooo—
Just then, a loud horn suddenly rang out from the direction of the Fruitvale Village army.
After reaching the battlefield, the Fruitvale Village forces immediately launched their assault—without even giving Keystone Town a chance to parley!
…
On the eastern wall of Keystone Town.
President Reagan stood with his magical beast hunters, defending the position.
Woooooo—
At the same time, he also heard the horn coming from the south and his face grew grim.
But before he could make any strategic adjustments, he saw blue and purple silhouettes appearing in the distance.
Upon seeing this, all the magical beast hunters on the wall tightened their grip on their bows, staring at the advancing Nidoking tribe.
Soon, the towering leader of the Nidokings came into view, followed by the vast horde behind it.
"ROARRR!"
Seeing the city walls of Keystone Town, the Nidoking leader let out a thunderous roar.
Raising its head, it spotted the magical beast hunters atop the wall. At the sight of their familiar uniforms, an uncontrollable rage surged in its heart.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The other Nidokings and Nidoqueens felt the same.
Their sole purpose today was to destroy the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild and reduce the walls before them to rubble!
Woooooo—
At that moment, the war horn from the Fruitvale Village army reached their ears as well.
"Roar!"
Understanding that this was the signal to attack, the Nidoking leader immediately led its tribe in a charge toward the wall!
Following the command, Nidokings, Nidoqueens, Nidorinos, Nidorinas, Nidoran♂, and Nidoran♀ all began sprinting at full speed!
"Archers! Archers!"
Reagan's expression was tense. With the Keystone Town knights all stationed at the southern wall, only his unit was left to defend the east!
It was now clear—attacking from both the southern and eastern walls had been their enemy's plan all along. And the sudden appearance of the Nidoking tribe here had completely caught them off guard!
"Loose!"
At the commander's order, the magical beast hunters released their arrows.
A hail of arrows flew toward the charging Nidoking tribe, forming a deadly rain of projectiles!
"Roar!"
The Nidoking leader let out a mighty roar as it opened its mouth and launched a Sludge Bomb.
The corrosive sludge exploded midair, obliterating a large number of incoming arrows!
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
The arrows that hit the ground had already been corroded beyond use and continued to burn through the dirt.
Ting! Ting!
Of course, some arrows made it through and struck the Nidoking directly.
But under its rock-solid armor, the arrows only left faint white marks—they had failed to break through.
"Nido! Nido! Nido!"
The Nidorinos and Nidorinas also opened their mouths and fired Poison Stings.
The barrage of purple needles shot into the sky, clashing with the falling arrows.
"Nido!"
One Nidoran♂ was struck in the right leg by an arrow and cried out in pain.
However, the companions around it didn't pause in the slightest and continued charging toward the wall.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of arrows breaking through the air echoed continuously.
One arrow flew straight toward a Nidoran♀'s head!
In the nick of time, a Nidoran♂ suddenly leapt forward, using its body to shield her from the fatal shot.
Thud!
The arrow pierced its body with a sickening sound as it crashed heavily to the ground with a muffled groan.
"Nido!"
The Nidoran♀ was stunned and rushed over in a panic to check on her companion.
"Nido, Nido?!"
The Nidoran♂ shook its head, signaling that it was fine and urging the Nidoran♀ to keep moving forward!
"Nido!"
(End of Chapter)