A Call for Help

After repelling the Centaur attack, all the nobles quickly assessed their losses, tended to the wounded, and began an emergency meeting.

The meeting was brief, the decision decisive: retreat!

The fact that the Centaur leader was a legendary powerhouse severely undermined everyone's confidence, including Marquis Prague himself. He had fought the Centaur leader to a standstill for quite a while, but the Centaur leader had unleashed a powerful attack at the very beginning of the fight, disrupting their formation. In terms of actual impact, Marquis Prague was less effective than the Centaur leader.

The Centaurs' collective combat strength also sent shivers down the nobles' spines; a mass charge by over a thousand Centaurs was truly terrifying.

They, the top-tier combat force in the Pioneering Alliance, had nearly been routed even when outnumbered by a small margin.

One could only imagine the consequences for ordinary soldiers facing Centaurs—it would be an absolute massacre!

Now, with one noble dead, over 20 knights fallen, and elite soldiers almost completely wiped out, whether they sought aid from demi-human races or negotiated terms with the King, they had to retreat and recuperate first!

They also abandoned the so-called outpost plan; even if they built one, they couldn't defend it. The Pioneering Alliance rested for one night and then immediately set off on the road back to the Kingdom of Lucanir the next day.

Marcus's outstanding performance in this battle astonished everyone, and Marcus's earlier opinions now seemed incredibly reasonable.

Coupled with the active performances of Harrot, The Bald Man, and other knights, Marcus achieved his wish of becoming a core figure in the Alliance. Marquis Prague's misjudgment and leadership also made many realize that strength doesn't necessarily equate to strong leadership.

Although Marquis Prague's status remained high, the others would no longer unconditionally support his decisions.

Marquis Prague himself reflected deeply. After becoming a legendary powerhouse, he had indeed lost too much reverence, almost causing all the nobles and knights to be wiped out.

While the Pioneering Alliance experienced a major setback, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Afterward, they could adjust their mindset and approach pioneering more cautiously. Furthermore, the core bloodline nobles and transcendent knights suffered few casualties, with only four or five hundred elite soldiers killed, which wasn't too great a loss.

What excited everyone most was that two of the three most crucial herbs needed to make Hero's Water had been discovered in the Eastern lands!

The three herbs naturally thrived in similar environments. With two found, the third was highly likely to be located as well. Even if it couldn't be found, other herbs could be used as a substitute, meaning humanity could once again possess Hero's Water to produce new heroes and noble bloodlines!

Marcus was also incredibly relieved. Besides the discovery of the herbs and his becoming a core figure in the Alliance, a more important point was that the Pioneering Alliance's resolve remained firm.

Even after learning that the Centaur leader was a legendary powerhouse and the Thunder Tribe was incredibly strong, not a single noble suggested withdrawing!

Humans might be a weak race, but they were not a timid one!

When everyone returned to the Eastern Province, the other nobles of the Kingdom watched with amusement. They had left, over 800 strong, looking magnificent, but returned, only over 300, looking disheveled.

The King sent envoys again to negotiate terms. They adamantly refused to budge on the crucial land sharing and boldly demanded nearly half of the herb production, as if they had the Pioneering Alliance cornered. The nobles gnashed their teeth and refused to cooperate with the King.

This meant they had to request assistance from other nations and demi-human races.

Marquis Prague had a good relationship with the Dwarves' kingdom and went to ask for their aid, offering the vast mineral resources of the newly opened lands as a price.

Marcus, who had the highest charisma among the nobles, went to the Elves' forest to seek their help, offering the "Sun Orb" as a price.

Harrot finally understood what the "Sun Orb" was. It was said that after a Sun Priest died, their soul would ascend to heaven, and their body would be incinerated into a bead containing mysterious power.

This was the "Sun Orb." However, it was regrettable that humans had no information about the Sun Orb's specific uses. Apart from the Elves, no other race knew its purpose.

Anyone would know it was undoubtedly a treasure, but the Elves were only willing to trade this treasure with humans and would absolutely not reveal any information.

Humans had no choice; they dared not offend the Elves by forcing information out of them. The Elves in this world mastered magic! Unlike Magical Warhorses, which instinctively used one or two spells, Elves possessed a complete magical system that could be learned, studied, and enhanced through practice!

The Elves' racial combat strength was undeniably at the peak of the continent, but due to their smaller population and preference for staying in the Elves' forest, the Orcs held the position of continental overlord.

If it came to a fight, even a million Orcs couldn't breach the Elves' forest. The three human kingdoms were located north of the Elves' forest, between the Elves and the Orcs.

To some extent, humans were also protected by the Elves from being annihilated by the Orcs. The Red Orcs had no intention of attacking the Elves, which was why they focused their main forces on the war against the Green Orcs to the north. The Orcs to the south were mostly small to medium-sized tribes.

As for other demi-human races, either their relations were lukewarm, or they were too far away. Besides seeking aid from demi-human races, the Pioneering Alliance also sought help from other human kingdoms.

Nobles from other countries, constrained by law, couldn't join their Pioneering Alliance, but they provided substantial support in terms of supplies, equipment, and weapons. After all, this pioneering effort was a rare opportunity for humanity to obtain Hero's Water, and many were willing to do a favor.

Especially the Kingdom of Qiat. As the main force against the Orcs for many years, the nobles of the Kingdom of Qiat had suffered heavy casualties, with only half of their 200 noble families remaining. They yearned for Hero's Water intensely. If there were large reserves of Hero's Water during the next Orc invasion, it would not only help them better resist the Orcs but also increase the number of nobles significantly.

Several great nobles of the Kingdom of Qiat collectively provided 300 Magical Warhorses, and the legendary powerhouse Grand Duke Lance was willing to help deal with the Centaur leader. These were the Kingdom of Qiat's two strongest trump cards; the legendary powerhouse goes without saying, and the Magical Warhorses were also treasures.

Normal magical beasts rarely underwent large-scale domestication because their offspring couldn't inherit mutations and they were typically ill-tempered and difficult to train.

However, several core families in the Kingdom of Qiat possessed the secret of transforming ordinary horses into magical beasts, allowing them to artificially acquire Magical Warhorses.

These Magical Warhorses not only had far superior strength and speed compared to ordinary horses but could also use some low-level magic, making their combat power extraordinary when paired with transcendent knights.

Unfortunately, their numbers were extremely small. Even at the Kingdom of Qiat's peak, there were only a little over a thousand. Otherwise, under the leadership of Grand Duke Lance, they wouldn't have been suppressed by the Orcs. This time, bringing out 300 Magical Warhorses and sending Grand Duke Lance to help was truly going all out.

If not for the highly imbalanced male-to-female and population ratios in the Kingdom of Qiat, and the need to reclaim vast territories occupied by the Orcs, they likely wouldn't have just sent aid but would have put their entire nation into pioneering themselves.