First Probing Attack

About thirty kilometers from the Lake of Star Prayer, over three thousand gnolls had gathered, resting and recovering their strength wherever they pleased.

Inside a dilapidated tent, a gnoll with black fur sat in the main seat, accustomed to the noisy clan chiefs below.

"We are about to enter the human world. Thanks to Lord Valas's grace."

"This time, I'm going to feast. Tender, soft-skinned human nobles... just thinking about it makes my mouth water."

"Wealth, the gold coins of the human world are calling to me."

The clan chiefs of more than ten gnoll clans chattered amongst themselves, each gnoll pursuing different desires.

Just then, a tall gnoll entered, knelt on one knee, and awaited his leader's orders.

The gnoll leader Rogus, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them. A tremor went through the surroundings, and the tent instantly fell silent. Not a single gnoll clan chief dared to speak again.

"Leader, scouts report a human settlement thirty kilometers ahead."

"Time."

The gnoll sitting in the first seat quickly reported, "Leader, it is now six in the morning."

"In one hour, we depart. We will take the human settlement and then eat."

"Yes, Leader."

All the gnoll clan chiefs rose, bowed, and then left the tent.

As the sun rose, over three thousand gnolls ran silently across the wilderness, heading towards the Lake of Star Prayer.

The gnoll leader Rogus rode on the back of a large gnoll, watching the advancing army. Capturing the first human settlement was imperative.

With the wind in his ears, he couldn't help but recall the Battle of Lensa his father had told him about.

A hundred years ago, under the command of the gods of the gnolls and more than ten other wild monster races, all monster clans near the border of the human Kingdom of Isia had gathered their strength. They assembled a million-strong monster coalition and drove millions of goblins eastward.

Initially, they were unstoppable, breaking through numerous human territories and capturing countless slaves and food.

But a turning point soon came. The Goddess of Life, whom the Kingdom of Isia worshipped, personally intervened, causing many monster race gods to withdraw and hesitate to act rashly.

Subsequently, the humans counterattacked and, in the Lensa region, killed the supreme commander of the monster coalition, the Red Dragon Sagus.

Thus, the monster clans retreated, and the humans won the war, seizing large tracts of land that belonged to them.

In recent years, humans have continuously expanded, squeezing the living space for monsters, and another upheaval is on the horizon.

The gnoll leader Rogus looked at the unfamiliar surroundings, clenching his fists. As a gnoll with some status, he knew very well that this operation was merely a probe.

In fact, there would be multiple such probes, and this was just the first.

As for why, he didn't know either.

"Cannon fodder, just cannon fodder."

As a low-level Silver warrior, he wouldn't normally have such a high position or lead a team.

However, since they were cannon fodder and the offspring of the great lords couldn't be sent, it fell to gnolls like him, unremarkable and of middling strength, to lead the troops.

Even the gnoll clans under his command were all destitute fools who had been tricked into coming here.

"Live, survive."

Upon reaching the human border region, his only goal was to survive.

On the castle atop the cliffs of the Lake of Star Prayer, Velin stood at the highest point, gazing at the approaching gnolls. He gritted his teeth, "There are at least over three thousand gnolls. This is a considerable challenge."

At this moment, Belder arrived beside him and respectfully reported, "My Lord, the village has been equipped with various traps. That should give these gnolls a good fight."

"How is the stone supply? Will it be enough for several battles?" Velin turned to Belder and asked in a deep voice.

"My Lord, the stones fill the castle's open spaces, enough to support four high-intensity battles."

Velin nodded upon hearing this and then said, "Have everyone seize the time to rest. We may not have any free time afterward."

"Yes."

Within the castle, in addition to five hundred soldiers, another two thousand young adult males were organized. They held spears, and some were equipped with leather armor and iron swords, serving as overseers and low-level commanders.

The remaining personnel, regardless of gender, were all assigned to logistics, responsible for transporting the wounded, replenishing stones, and providing sufficient iron arrows for the three ballistae.

As noon approached, the gnoll leader Rogus stopped outside the village and shouted, "Halt the advance."

Some gnolls obeyed immediately, maintaining their basic formation. There were about five hundred of them, cultivated by Rogus during their month-long march.

The remaining two thousand five hundred gnolls were noticeably slower, standing haphazardly in place, confused, looking like a disorganized mob.

"Leader, why have we stopped? The human settlement is right in front of us."

A low-level Silver gnoll clan chief stepped forward, his eyes filled with greed as he stared at the distant village, asking in confusion.

Rogus did not speak. He jumped directly from the back of the large gnoll and landed in front of the speaking gnoll clan chief, kicking him away.

A dozen gnoll clan chiefs around them lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

"My word is law." Rogus scanned the surroundings and said coldly, "Now, bypass the village. Our target is the castle on the hill. Take it."

"Yes, Leader." All the gnolls answered loudly, not daring to hesitate.

On the castle walls, Velin noticed the gnolls beginning to bypass the village and said, "Belder, sound the drums. Prepare for battle. We've encountered our opponent."

"Yes, Master."

Seeing this, Belder's expression soured. He hadn't expected them to bypass the village directly. Hadn't they worked for nothing last night?

"Clang, clang, clang!"

"First squad, to the walls. Second squad, rest."

In various areas of the castle, Knights in charge of defending different sections of the walls heard the sound and issued orders to their officers.

The next moment, the silent castle became noisy, with people moving everywhere.

In just ten minutes, over eight hundred people were in position to defend the walls.

It wasn't that Velin didn't want to assign more people to defense, but the outer and inner walls combined could only accommodate so many people fighting at once.

An hour later, a large number of Gnolls arrived within a mile of the castle.

"Those green crawlers, daring to spread false information. Roasting them would be too good for them."

Rogus gazed at the castle, his mood quite foul. He recalled a Goblin tribe they had conquered a few days prior, and the information obtained indicated that this place had been occupied by humans six months ago.

"Damn crawlers, could this castle have been built in six months?"

A Gnoll, looking fearfully at its commander, asked, "Commander, should we attack?"

"Attack. Have the third and fourth brigades advance and test their strength," Rogus ordered after some thought.

"Yes, Commander."

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