Thirty kilometers from Lake of Star Prayer, more than three thousand Gnolls had gathered, resting wherever they could to recover their strength.
Inside a dilapidated tent, a black-furred Gnoll sat in the seat of honor, watching the noisy chiefs of the various clans below. He had long since grown accustomed to it.
"We're about to enter the human world. Thanks to Lord Valas's blessing."
"This time, I'm going to feast. Just thinking about those tender-skinned human nobles makes me drool."
"Wealth. The Gold Coins of the human world are calling to me."
The chiefs of more than a dozen Gnoll clans chattered over one another, each wolf pursuing something different.
At that moment, a tall Gnoll walked in, dropped to one knee, and waited for the commander's orders.
Gnoll Commander Rogus, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them. The sight made everyone around him shudder, and the tent immediately fell silent. Not a single Gnoll clan chief dared speak again.
"Commander, the scouts report a human territory thirty kilometers ahead."
"The time."
The Gnoll seated in the foremost position hurriedly reported, "Commander, it is six in the morning."
"In one hour, we move out. Take the human territory and eat."
"Yes, Commander."
All the Gnoll clan chiefs rose, bowed, and then left the tent one after another.
As the sun rose, more than three thousand Gnolls ran silently through the wilderness toward Lake of Star Prayer.
Gnoll Commander Rogus rode atop a large Gnoll, watching the advancing army. He was determined to take the first human territory.
With the breeze brushing past his ears, he could not help recalling the Battle of Lensa his father had described.
A hundred years ago, under the orders of the gods of more than a dozen wilderness monster races, including the Gnolls, all Monster Clans near the border of the Kingdom of Isia had given their all. They gathered an allied army of a million monsters, drove several million Goblins before them, and advanced eastward.
At first, they had been unstoppable, conquering many human territories in one sweep and capturing countless slaves and provisions.
But the tide soon turned. The Goddess of Life worshipped by the Kingdom of Isia personally intervened, forcing the gods of the various monster races to withdraw their hands and preventing them from acting rashly.
Afterward, the humans pushed back to the front lines and killed Red Dragon Sagus, the supreme commander of the monster alliance, in the region of Lensa.
Thus, the Monster Clans were defeated and retreated. Humanity won the war and seized vast tracts of land that had belonged to them.
In recent years, humanity had continued expanding, squeezing the monsters' living space. Another upheaval was about to arrive.
Gnoll Commander Rogus looked at the unfamiliar surroundings and clenched his fists. As a Gnoll with a bit of status, he knew very well that this operation was merely a test.
There would even be many such tests. This was only the first.
As for why, he did not know.
"Cannon fodder. Nothing but cannon fodder."
As a Low-level Silver warrior, he should never have held such a high position or commanded a force.
But since they were cannon fodder, the descendants of the great lords could not be sent. That left Gnolls like him—unremarkable and neither strong nor weak—to serve as field commanders.
Even the Gnoll clans under his command were all poor fools who had been coaxed into coming here.
"Live. Stay alive."
Once they reached the human borderlands, all he had to do was survive.
At the castle atop the cliffs of Lake of Star Prayer, Velin stood at the highest point and gazed at the approaching Gnolls in the distance. He gritted his teeth. "There are at least three thousand Gnolls. This is no small challenge."
At that moment, Belder came to his side and respectfully reported, "My lord, all sorts of traps have been laid throughout the village. They'll give those Gnolls a taste of their own medicine."
"How are the stone reserves? How many battles can they support?" Velin turned to Belder and asked in a deep voice.
"My lord, the castle courtyard is piled full of stones. It is enough to support four high-intensity battles."
Velin nodded after hearing this, then said, "Tell everyone to rest while they can. We may not have any free time after this."
"Yes."
Within the castle, aside from five hundred soldiers, another two thousand able-bodied young men had been organized. They held spears, while some had been issued leather armor and iron swords to serve as overseers and low-ranking commanders.
Everyone else, regardless of gender, had been assigned to logistics. They were responsible for carrying the wounded, replenishing stones, and supplying the three ballistae with enough iron arrows.
Near noon, Gnoll Commander Rogus stopped outside the village and roared, "Halt!"
Some of the Gnolls obeyed at once, maintaining their basic formation. There were roughly five hundred of them, trained by Rogus over the course of a month-long march.
The remaining two thousand five hundred Gnolls were clearly slower to react. They stood around in a disorderly mess, at a loss for what to do, looking every bit like a ragtag force.
"Commander, why have we stopped? The human territory is right before us."
A Low-level Silver Gnoll clan chief stepped forward. His eyes were filled with greed as he stared at the distant village and asked in confusion.
Rogus said nothing. He jumped straight off the large Gnoll's back, walked up to the speaking clan chief, and kicked him flying.
The dozen or so Low-level Silver Gnolls around them all lowered their heads, not daring to say a word.
"My words are orders." Rogus swept his gaze around and said coldly, "Now, bypass the village. The target is the castle on the hill. Take it."
"Yes, Commander!" All the Gnolls answered loudly, not daring to hesitate in the slightest.
On the castle's inner wall, Velin noticed the Gnolls beginning to detour around the village. "Belder, sound the gongs and drums. Prepare for battle. We've met an opponent."
"Yes, my lord."
Belder's expression darkened as well. He had not expected them to bypass the village directly. Had all their work from last night been for nothing?
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"First squad, man the walls. Second squad, rest."
Throughout the castle, the knights responsible for guarding different sections of the walls heard the signal and issued orders to their officers.
In the next instant, the silent castle became bustling, with people moving everywhere.
In just ten minutes, more than eight hundred people responsible for guarding the walls were in position.
It was not that Velin did not want to assign more people to defend, but the outer and inner walls combined could only accommodate that many people fighting at once.
An hour later, a large force of Gnolls arrived one kilometer from the castle.
"Those green crawlers dared to lie in their report. Roasting and eating them would be letting them off easy."
Rogus stared at the castle, his mood foul. He recalled the information obtained from a Goblin tribe they had conquered a few days earlier, which said that humans had occupied this place half a year ago.
"Damn crawlers. Could this castle have been built in half a year?"
A Gnoll looked fearfully at the commander and asked, "Commander, should we attack?"
"Attack. Send the Third Brigade and Fourth Brigade to attack and test their strength." Rogus thought for a moment before issuing the order.
"Yes, Commander."
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