Confident Humans

Marquis Prague quickly returned to the camp as well. He understood the severity of the situation and did not act recklessly just because of his strength.

Twenty-seven nobles gathered in the conference room, all wearing grim expressions. Many of their Knights were injured, while more than a dozen elite soldiers had been killed.

One bruised noble spoke up. "Those Centaurs are too strong. And these are only small tribes on the outskirts. We are severely lacking in strength!"

Although they numbered fewer than a thousand, this pioneering force had gathered all their top combatants. The larger forces arriving later would only add ordinary soldiers; there would be no more high-level fighters.

The other nobles voiced their opinions as well.

"Indeed, the Centaurs are strong, but their weaknesses are obvious too. According to the information provided by the captives Marcus brought back, they have no formal nation or alliance. They all fight on their own!"

Another noble immediately agreed. "Right. We can defeat them one by one and slowly encroach upon Centaur territory!"

"Too naive! If the Centaurs were that easy to defeat, why would the orcs have been driven back?"

Marcus retorted loudly, "The Centaurs also have large tribes at the top that rule over them. This area belongs to a tribe called the Thunder Tribe. It is fine if we make small moves, but what if killing too many Centaurs draws that large tribe here?"

"Relying on ourselves alone is too risky. We need help from other Demi-human races!"

Marcus once again entertained the idea of requesting support from the dwarves and elves. He had already felt that pioneering with only twenty-some noble families would result in excessive casualties, and after witnessing the Centaurs' strength, he believed it even more strongly.

Several nobles agreed with Marcus. "Yes, the Thunder Tribe has nearly ten thousand Centaurs, and their overall quality is likely far above these smaller tribes. It will be difficult for us to confront them head-on!"

Seeing everyone's low morale and how they had encountered trouble at the very first step of pioneering, Marquis Prague spoke to encourage them. "Do not worry. Although all Centaurs are warriors and possess formidable strength, they have no high-level experts!"

"I have wiped out seven or eight Centaur tribes in total, and not a single enemy among them could be considered strong. Not to mention us nobles with awakened Heroic Bloodlines—even Knights with Glory could easily defeat them!"

"We have the advantage in high-level combat power! As long as we lead the Knights as elite troops to crush them, even ordinary soldiers will be able to charge alongside us and slaughter the Centaurs!"

That was true enough. Although humans were a weak race, their powerful high-level fighters had always been their advantage. Even among the orcs, there were few who could defeat a Bloodline Noble alone.

Not to mention a Legendary Expert like Marquis Prague. The reason the orcs held the upper hand in their war against humanity yet could not completely crush them was Grand Duke Lance at the Legendary Level.

Unfortunately, there was only one Grand Duke Lance. He could withstand enraged, berserk orcs charging at him without regard for their lives, but the others could not.

Even a Legendary Expert could not fight ten thousand enemies alone. If they could not kill you, they could exhaust you to death. Once all his allies were dead, facing an endless army of orcs alone, he could only carve out a bloody path and retreat.

Although Centaurs were no weaker than orcs individually, they lacked the orcs' military discipline. They were merely a disorganized rabble. Small-scale clashes were one thing, but their weaknesses would become apparent in large-scale army battles.

Marquis Prague continued to rally everyone, repeatedly stressing his own immense strength and the Pioneering Alliance's formidable overall power. They could defeat the Centaurs!

Setting aside the cost of seeking aid, Marquis Prague had two other reasons for not wanting reinforcements. First, he was extremely confident in his own strength and did not believe aid was necessary.

The other reason was political. As a Legendary Expert with the largest number of soldiers and Knights, he was the Alliance's absolute leader. The other nobles were all half a rank beneath him.

Once a new nation was established, he would become King without any doubt. But if the elves and dwarves intervened, matters would become complicated.

It had to be said that the prestige of a Legendary Expert was extraordinary. Several nobles who had lacked confidence earlier regained their spirits after Marquis Prague's encouragement.

In the end, everyone reached a decision: with Marquis Prague at the center, they would work together to drive out and exterminate the Centaurs, while also assessing the Thunder Tribe's strength. Then they would establish an outpost and bring over the main force.

The Eastern Lands were vast. The Thunder Tribe's territory alone far exceeded that of the Kingdom of Lucanir, and the Pioneering Alliance had no intention of trying to swallow everything in one bite.

It would be enough to defeat the Thunder Tribe and occupy this territory. They would avoid provoking other large tribes if possible.

Marcus left the conference room in frustration and returned to his resting area. Starting tomorrow, his troops would have to coordinate their movements with Marquis Prague's.

That night, Marcus could not sleep, so he called Harrot over for a talk.

"Pioneering is even more troublesome than I imagined!"

"My lord is troubled by more than just the Centaurs, isn't he?" Harrot was sharp-minded and had roughly guessed what was troubling Marcus.

Marcus was highly ambitious. He could not possibly be content with serving as Marquis Prague's subordinate and supporting cast.

"That is right. I am worried about Marquis Prague. He is too strong, and too confident!"

"Even I have little say within the Alliance. Marquis Prague basically makes all the decisions by himself!"

Harrot did not answer. He did not know how to respond. After all, Marquis Prague was the ruler of the Eastern Province, the initiator of the Alliance, and a Legendary Expert with overwhelming strength! Marquis Prague's leadership was unshakable!

Marcus continued, "It is not that I want to fight him for power. I know my own worth. But if that is the case, what is the point of my coming to the Eastern Lands to pioneer? It is no different from when I was in the Northern Province!"

Harrot thought seriously for a moment before comforting him. "My lord, although Marquis Prague currently has the final say in every action the Alliance takes, that may not remain the case later!"

"Once the Alliance suffers a major setback, Marquis Prague, who has been directing all of its actions, will have to take responsibility and relinquish power!"

Marcus sighed and replied, "As long as the pioneering ultimately succeeds, the nobles can accept casualties and losses. Setbacks and mistakes will not shake Marquis Prague's position!"

Harrot shook his head. "That depends on whether the pioneering can succeed at all! If it fails, the autocratic Marquis Prague will have to give all the Alliance's nobles an explanation!"

Marcus raised a brow and asked, "You think the pioneering will fail? Is there something wrong with Marquis Prague's plan?"

Harrot nodded firmly. After humans in this world had been driven south by the orcs and established their nations, they had remained isolated and insular, rarely venturing out to explore the world.

As a transmigrator, Harrot's experiences from the internet and books in his previous life gave him a far broader overall perspective and strategic vision than the humans of this world.

Could a powerful race that had repelled the orcs, a powerful race that had ruled this land for thousands of years, truly be as unimpressive as Marquis Prague believed?

This was merely the outer region of the Eastern Lands. It was perfectly normal for the Centaurs here to lack strong experts. What expert would enjoy hiding away in some remote backwater? This was not a martial arts novel.

The Centaurs had no mature social structure or national system, so how had the Thunder Tribe grown into a tribe of ten thousand?

Strength! The Thunder Tribe's leader had to be a top expert far stronger than ordinary Centaurs. Otherwise, it was difficult to imagine bloodthirsty, savage, disorderly Centaurs forming such a large tribe.

Harrot shared his analysis and views with Marcus. After pondering for a long time, Marcus slowly said, "That makes sense. Your assessment makes a great deal of sense! I originally thought that no matter how strong the Centaurs were, they would only cause us greater casualties. Now it seems we truly underestimated them!"

Harrot hesitantly asked, "Should we remind Marquis Prague about this?"

It was difficult to say. Marcus and Harrot were both conflicted. If they warned him and prevented Marquis Prague from making a grave mistake, it would be difficult to shake his position. Yet if they said nothing, they would not be able to live with themselves.

In the end, Marcus made up his mind. "We must speak up. If the Alliance is crippled, there will be no point in even thinking about pioneering. Besides, if I know there is danger and deliberately keep silent, I would look down on myself!"

Harrot was quite glad to see Marcus warn Marquis Prague. He did not want the noble he served to be someone who cared only about profit.

Unfortunately, Marcus was being too sentimental. Marquis Prague said he was completely worrying over nothing and would not listen to him at all.

Marcus did not say any more. Since Marquis Prague would not listen, he would not shamelessly beg him to. He had done what he needed to do, and his conscience was clear.

The collective sweep began. Marquis Prague and his Knights took the lead as everyone slaughtered Centaurs. In half a month, they thoroughly cleared everything within a hundred li of the camp, leaving no trace of any Centaurs.

The nobles held a banquet to celebrate their victory. They felt that everything was so easy. Centaurs were no different from wild beasts, and with Marquis Prague holding the line, this sweep was effortless!

Even Marcus, who had always advocated caution, became a laughingstock in everyone's eyes. It seemed that the hero who had fought the orcs for years was nothing special after all!

The nobles became somewhat carried away. Even Marcus himself was surprised by how smoothly the pioneering had gone. If they had not consistently encountered anything but forces that were not the Thunder Tribe's regular army, he would have begun to doubt Harrot's judgment.

Harrot, on the contrary, became even more concerned about the Thunder Tribe's strength. In just half a month, thousands of Centaurs across their territory had been slaughtered, yet the Thunder Tribe's response had been outrageously slow. For a force with such poor military discipline to resist the orcs only further proved how powerful they were!

Harrot's worries soon became reality. The Thunder Tribe's Centaurs did not allow the nobles to remain arrogant for long.

Just as Marquis Prague led them in preparing to continue eastward, the Thunder Tribe's elite forces arrived!