"Woooo..."
Less than 1,000 meters from the forest's northern edge, forty Pigman and Lizardman scouts had just followed the sound of the Demon Ape into the forest when they spotted faint lights up ahead.
The Pigman scout exchanged a nod with the Lizardman captain beside him, confirming they had found the place: the Elf bandits' camp.
The Pigman pulled out a small bottle of Magic Potion. After drinking it, he began silently chanting the name of his god. With a series of "crack, crack" sounds, the hair on his arms visibly puffed up, while his shoulders and legs grew a size larger. He felt strength surging through his entire body.
The Lizardman's golden pupils stayed fixed on the Pigman. He knew this was the Pigman's god blessing him, temporarily strengthening specific parts of his body.
"Attack!"
At the scout's command, dozens of soldiers charged forward. They crossed several bushes and a low earthen slope, and a crude camp came into view.
The camp covered a sizable area. From treehouses in the canopy to half-underground huts, there were dozens of dwellings of all sizes, with several fire pits scattered between them.
Amid the Beastmen's shouts, the Half-Elves, Beastmen, and humans in the camp hurried out of their underground burrows, scrambling to grab their weapons and fight the Beastmen soldiers clad in Iron Armor.
"Roar!" The Pigman scout let out a beastlike cry. He charged at a burly Half-Elf, swinging his axe down with his right hand and felling him, then striking with his left to bring down another human.
"Hahaha! Take as many alive as you can!" The scout and the Lizardman captain killed every opponent who dared resist, then glanced at the bodyguards behind them.
One of the bodyguards pulled a bullhorn from his belt and was about to call