Zhao Fu watched some of the buildings slowly disappear and knew the outcome was settled. He immediately ordered his men to retreat. When his forces pulled back, the Kobold chief was somewhat surprised, but he then resisted the Orcs with everything he had, buying the remaining Kobolds a little time to escape.
At that moment, the Kobold chief drew his greatsword and personally engaged the Orc chief, Otis, in a fierce duel.
"Why did you ally with the humans and attack our Kobold Tribe?" the Kobold chief shouted angrily as he swung his blade at Otis.
"Why did you kill my younger brother?" Otis glared at the Kobold chief, his eyes filled with hatred.
Unfortunately, Otis spoke Orcish, while the Kobold chief spoke Kobold. Neither could understand the other. They were simply enemies meeting on the battlefield, their hatred all the more intense for it. They fought desperately, never imagining that a hidden hand was controlling everything.
Zhao Fu also noticed the Kobolds fleeing from the other side. His gaze shifted to the Kobold chief, fighting amid the bloodshed. He was willing to sacrifice himself just to let the remaining Kobolds escape.
The countless fleeing Kobolds watched the chief fighting desperately at the center of the battlefield, tears in their eyes. He seemed to radiate a kind of light. Perhaps that was what it meant to be a hero.
Zhao Fu watched the Kobold chief too. He had already been struck by several axes, and blood had stained his body red, but he continued to fight with all his strength. His stamina was failing, though, and the outcome was obvious.
"Sigh!"
Zhao Fu sighed as well. In this turbulent age of endless warfare, if he didn't grow strong, he would meet the same fate—or worse. Anyone who didn't strive for strength would be devoured by those who did.
He turned his gaze toward the roughly three hundred Kobolds who had fled and ordered his men to pursue them.
"Humans! Why won't you leave us alone?"
Zhao Fu was now on a narrow path. Nine hundred soldiers had surrounded the three hundred fleeing Kobolds, and their leader shouted angrily at him.
"I want you to surrender to me. As long as you do, don't worry—I won't harm any of you." As Zhao Fu spoke, Duo Ke translated his words for the Kobolds.
"Haha! You joined forces with the Orcs to attack our tribe and killed so many of our people. And now you want us to surrender to you?" the Kobold mocked with a cold laugh.
Zhao Fu showed no expression. He looked at the Kobold and said coldly, "First, I didn't ally with the Orcs. Second, if I hadn't brought you to this point, when you were so powerful before, would you have surrendered to me? Third, I'm not negotiating with you. If you refuse to surrender and want to die, I'll grant your wish right now!"
At Zhao Fu's words, all the archers and crossbowmen aimed their arrows at the Kobolds. One order from him, and they would fire.
The Kobold leader's face darkened. The chief had entrusted these people to him, and now they were facing certain death. After hesitating for a while, he chose to surrender. He knelt on one knee and handed Zhao Fu a cube radiating blue light.
The battlefield was now divided into three main fronts!
Zhao Fu's front had ended perfectly, and the battle at the Kobold village was nearly over. Only one group of Kobolds was still fighting desperately. In the end, all the Kobolds were killed, including their chief, because the Orcs had come seeking revenge and refused to accept their surrender.
The Kobolds on this front were all dead, except for the ones Zhao Fu had subdued. Of the more than four thousand Orc Warriors, a thousand had died, and most of the rest had suffered some injuries.
Otis had wanted to keep pursuing the three hundred fleeing Kobolds, but they had nearly wiped out the entire Kobold village, so he considered his revenge complete. Seeing how exhausted his men were, and thinking that the Kobolds had already gotten far away, he gave up the chase.
Suddenly, several Orcs reported that they had seen some humans, though there had been very few of them.
Zhao Fu's group had acted very discreetly, but a few Orcs had still spotted them. Fortunately, Zhao Fu had split up his forces, so the Orcs had seen only a dozen or so humans.
After hearing their report, Otis thought it over and didn't pay much attention to the dozen or so humans. Perhaps a nearby human village that had appeared recently had been attacked by the Kobolds, who had captured a dozen humans as slaves.
The third battlefield was led by Bai Qi, with nine hundred soldiers attacking the Orc Tribe while it was short on defenders.
At the front, Old Luo led the Goblins in a feint. On the flank, Bai Qi and the others hid in concealed positions and began systematically shooting the elderly Orcs and the young.
Zhao Fu's tactics were certainly ruthless. But if he had to choose between losing his own soldiers and killing the elderly and young Orcs, he wouldn't hesitate to choose the latter.
Bai Qi's forces made it look as if the Goblins were attacking the Orc Tribe. After seeing that most of the elderly and young Orcs had been shot dead, and that the tribe had become a living hell, Bai Qi set several fires to enrage the Orcs even further.
After that, he went south and ordered the Goblins to leave plenty of tracks, making it look as though a large force of Goblins had attacked the Orc Tribe. He was directing the blame toward the Goblin village to the south.
Meanwhile, the more than three thousand Orcs had wiped out the Kobold village. They had avenged themselves, but their hearts were heavy, since nearly a thousand Orcs had died too.
What they never expected was that, upon returning, they would find something that filled them with boundless fury. Old people and children lay in pools of blood throughout the village. They had stopped breathing and were nothing but corpses. They were all their loved ones!
The surviving Orcs cried out in grief, saying that the Goblins to the south had done it. Since Bai Qi had only let the Goblins at the front show themselves while everyone else stayed hidden, the Orcs had seen only Goblins attacking them and then heading south. Naturally, they concluded that the Goblin village to the south was responsible.
After hearing this, all the Orcs picked up their weapons once more. Ignoring their exhaustion, they surged south toward the Goblin village, their killing intent boiling over.
Elsewhere, Zhao Fu met up with Bai Qi, and they began marching toward the Elf Village to the east.
A little later!
Riding Little Black, Zhao Fu brought five hundred soldiers to the Elf Village. Since their goal this time was to lure the Elves out, he had brought only a small force.
Zhao Fu also got a look at the Elves. Just as the stories claimed, they were all handsome or beautiful, men and women alike. They had pointed ears, fair skin, and delicate features.
Zhao Fu brought his soldiers to the Elf Village in an imposing manner, and the entire village went on alert. Its defenses were decent: besides a wooden palisade, it also had several arrow towers.
Another thing Zhao Fu hadn't expected was that the leader of the Elf Village was a stunningly beautiful female Elf. She looked to be just over thirty, with golden hair falling to her waist. She wore leather armor that perfectly displayed her mature figure.