First Probing Attack (Lower)

Over a thousand gnolls stepped forward, armed with a variety of weapons.

The tall, imposing gnolls wielded iron flails and maces, while the leaner ones carried wooden maces studded with iron shards. A significant portion held wooden clubs and rocks.

"Attack."

With Rogus's command, the gnolls launched their assault.

Their formation was chaotic, stretching for several kilometers as they charged towards the castle.

At the highest point of the castle, Velin stood, sword in hand, calmly observing the advancing gnolls.

The inner wall was equipped with twenty Three-Bow Ballistas, all ready with their crews awaiting the lord's orders.

Velin raised his right hand, calculating the distance. When the gnoll vanguard was only six hundred meters from the outer wall, he decisively lowered his hand.

Twenty strong soldiers wielding wooden hammers slammed the triggers, and twenty iron bolts shot forward.

"Awooo—"

Several tall gnolls were impaled by the iron bolts, which continued through several more gnolls before losing momentum.

Rogus watched impassively as twelve bloody red paths appeared in his attacking force, his thoughts unreadable.

The scent of blood filled the battlefield, igniting the gnolls' berserk bloodline, stripping them of their last vestiges of reason. They accelerated their attack, heedless of the consequences.

Belder, standing on the outer wall, shouted, "Shields up."

Over two hundred soldiers obeyed, raising wooden shields covered in iron plating and gripping their spears, preparing for the first wave of attacks.

The Three-Bow Ballistas on the inner wall continuously fired, inflicting casualties on the attacking gnolls.

Reaching the wall, some gnolls hurled rocks, while others used their claws to scale the six-meter-high outer wall.

Rocks slammed against the wooden shields with loud thuds. Occasionally, flails and maces were thrown over the wall, smashing the soldiers bracing the shields.

Belder could only sigh in resignation.

Some of these soldiers were newly conscripted serfs and freemen. Although they had undergone some training, they hadn't successfully cultivated the Warrior Awakening Method to become true warriors, making their combat effectiveness less steadfast than that of seasoned fighters.

Seeing some gnolls halfway up the wall, Belder immediately shouted, "Throw stones."

Warriors hiding behind the shields grabbed massive stones and brought them to the edge of the wall, hurling them down.

Many gnolls were hit by the stones, falling from the wall with pained howls.

The battle raged from noon until late afternoon. As darkness approached, Rogus ordered his subordinates to retreat.

"Awooo—"

The attacking gnolls halted, dragging their fallen comrades as they withdrew like a receding tide.

Seeing the enemy retreat, the soldiers defending the outer wall collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and wiping sweat from their brows.

Belder flicked the blood from his Knight Longsword before sheathing it. He began tallying the casualties to report on the defense.

The surviving gnolls, over six hundred of them, dragged their dead back to camp. Waiting gnoll cooks took the bodies and began to prepare a fire for cooking.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author. Perhaps the title has been changed!

During their march, they had subsisted on the goblin and kobold slaves accompanying them, occasionally raiding goblin tribes to replenish their food supplies.

Upon reaching the border of human territory, the kobolds and goblins were all consumed. They had expected to quickly conquer a piece of human territory to solve their food problem.

They hadn't anticipated this situation. With the surrounding area barren, devoid of even tree bark, they were forced to feed on their own kind.

"Commander, food."

A tall gnoll respectfully presented a roasted wolf leg to Rogus.

"This is for you," Rogus said expressionlessly, looking at the cooked wolf leg with disgust.

"Thank you, Commander."

The gnoll took the roasted wolf leg and left joyfully.

Rogus watched the other gnolls gleefully consuming their own kind, his contempt evident. He didn't even consider these beasts his kin.

"Based on this afternoon's engagement, the humans utilized ballistas with a considerable range. I wonder if they are widely equipped or if this is a unique technology of this human noble."

"With ordinary gnolls alone, we certainly cannot take this human castle. We must deploy the chieftains of those smaller clans."

Tomorrow, Rogus planned a probing attack. If they couldn't take the castle in one decisive push, they would bypass it and continue eastward.

He was here on a reconnaissance mission and had no need to engage in a protracted struggle with the humans.

Moreover, if their retreat route were cut off, he could simply abandon these fools and lead his trusted subordinates away.

He refused to believe that humans could completely seal off all passages to the Graylight Wasteland.

Inside the castle, Velin inspected the defenses while listening to Belder's report.

"My Lord, in this afternoon's defensive battle, we consumed one hundred and sixty iron bolts and one-fifth of our stone reserves. We had eighty-six casualties, twenty-three of whom were fatalities, mostly from close combat with the gnolls."

"Additionally, we ventured out under the cover of darkness to collect gnoll heads. We acquired one hundred and sixty-seven common heads and fifty-seven Bronze-grade heads. The enemy retrieved the rest of the bodies. By incomplete statistics, we killed over four hundred gnolls in this battle."

Velin stopped and said gravely, "Today might have been a probing attack. Tomorrow will be the critical day. Have all Knights prepare themselves; Silver-grade gnolls might be deployed tomorrow."

"Also, pickle the gnoll heads with lime. This hard-won military merit should be preserved. It will be valuable for promoting our ranks and selling to other nobles."

"Understood."

After Belder left, Velin wandered around for a bit before returning to his room.

Sitting on a chair, Velin closed his eyes to rest, recalling what he had observed during the day.

"The leading Gnoll possesses a certain level of intelligence. Whether it was taking a detour around the village to avoid unknown dangers, or using cannon fodder to probe the enemy's strength during the attack, it all shows a degree of skill."

This observation did not align with Velin's ingrained impression of Gnolls as savage and mindless creatures.

"I wish they were brainless," Velin said helplessly, covering his head.

To guard against a surprise night attack by the Gnolls, the entire castle was brightly lit. All soldiers kept their weapons close, resting on the city walls with blankets. This arrangement facilitated shift changes and allowed them to engage in battle at a moment's notice.

Belder, the steward of Lake of Star Prayer, even patrolled the outer city walls every two hours to ensure everything was secure.