Chapter 418 - 166: Siege

Chapter 418: Chapter 166: Siege

At first, only a small number of goblins fled. But with the Centaur army having completely withdrawn, the other goblins soon saw that the escapees faced no punishment, and a large-scale rout began.

Seeing the goblins run, how could the human Soldiers on all sides pass up this opportunity for military merit? They latched onto the goblins and refused to let go.

This only hastened the goblins’ collapse.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

"Get the wagons ready!"

Before long, some realized they could now use wagons to give chase.

Within Robson’s army, there were men specifically assigned to protect the warhorses, so the draft horses hadn’t suffered many losses.

"For glory and honor!"

"Victory belongs to Affleck!"

The Soldiers drove their wagons, charging in all directions with loud cries. The already chaotic battlefield descended into an absolute free-for-all.

Unlike earlier in the battle, however, the goblins were now in a full rout, having lost all will to resist.

....

In the distance, Robson no longer watched the battle, instead turning his attention to his Mount & Blade Panel.

There wasn’t much left to see of the battle; the humans had already secured their victory.

He set aside the matter of his other Soldiers’ upgrades for now. The war wasn’t completely over, so nothing was finalized.

To Robson’s surprise, his own experience points were also skyrocketing!

Robson was already at the Golden Eighth Tier. On his Mount & Blade Panel, the progress bar from the eighth to the ninth tier was already more than halfway complete!

This speed...

Robson couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath, a wave of confusion washing over him.

After all, the experience required to get from the eighth to the ninth tier was double that of getting through the seventh.

’Why wasn’t the gain this absurd when I fought that group of Gray Dwarves and Beastmen beyond the pass?’

’This time, I’ve just been watching from the sidelines and giving specific commands. How am I still getting so much experience?’

’Could it be the numbers?’ Robson wondered.

’It seemed that was really the reason!’

’If he quantified the experience, what he’d gained from the battle against the Beastman Prince was only one-third of what he was getting now.’

’The Beastman Prince may have claimed to have a hundred-thousand-strong army, but I knew the number that actually fought me was only around twenty thousand.’

’But this time, even though the enemies were just goblins, there were truly tens of thousands of them!’

Robson couldn’t tell exactly how many tens of thousands there were. The goblins had no formation whatsoever, making them difficult to count.

’Does the Mount & Blade Panel calculate my experience based on the number of beings killed?’ Robson thought.

’If that’s the case, then nothing could be better.’

Future wars would surely be large-scale engagements, and as the Commander-in-Chief, Robson couldn’t afford to rush into the fray himself.

But if he didn’t personally fight within the Beastman ranks, gaining experience would become incredibly difficult.

’If the Mount & Blade Panel awards experience based on quantity rather than quality, then I won’t have to worry about experience at all anymore.’

’How much experience can one person gain on the battlefield, anyway?’

Robson stared at the staggering progress bar as a thought suddenly struck him.

’When this counter-offensive is over, could I... jump straight to the Legendary tier?’

"My Lord, the Count and the others have returned."

At these words, Robson pushed the thoughts from his mind.

’I’ll have to verify how the Mount & Blade Panel works later. Legendary is still too far off.’

Robson glanced back at the battlefield and saw the Fengman Knight Order and Claude’s Cavalry Team already heading back in his direction.

In the distance, humans and goblins were still fighting, but it was mostly a matter of hunting down a fleeing enemy.

.....

"Robson, what’s our next move?"

Valentino was covered in blood. She took off her helmet and faceplate, revealing a head of golden hair that remained miraculously untouched.

Valentino had now completely relinquished her command duties, content to be a general who charged at the front.

"I’ve already sounded the horn to rally the troops. We’ll discuss the specifics once they’re all back. As for now, we’ll charge north of the enemy and completely encircle the Centaurs," Robson said.

Valentino nodded and remounted her warhorse.

.....

Robson’s horns were now enchanted with Magic.

When the horn sounded, the human forces in the distance received their orders. No matter how reluctant they were to give up the chase, they had to obey.

After Robson’s third round of military reforms, there were few in the army who dared to defy a direct order.

Bo Yang and the other generals arrived at the prearranged rendezvous point at the West City Gate, only to learn that Robson had already taken to the sky on his Flying Dragon to scout ahead.

Fortunately, Robson had left orders for Bo Yang to take the lead and begin the gradual encirclement of Julian City.

On the walls of Julian City, Chief Liete watched with helpless fury as the humans below slowly closed the net around them.

"Chieftain, the goblins outside the city have routed. Can we truly hold this city with just our own strength?"

Hearing his adjutant’s question, Chief Liete could only sigh to himself.

"I’ve been hearing a lot of demoralizing talk."

"Chieftain, it looks like there’s a gap in the human encirclement at the northeast corner. Perhaps we could..."

"Silence!"

The adjutant had been about to suggest a breakout, but Chief Liete cut him off before he could finish.

"I am Liete! All my glory comes from the Empire. Now that the Empire is in peril, how can I possibly abandon it?" Chief Liete roared.

His words were only half-true.

In reality, the main reason he didn’t dare to run was that, aside from himself and his eldest son, the rest of his immediate family were currently at the Royal Court.

The Beastman Empire punished any Chieftain who abandoned their territory with extreme severity.

Besides...

"Anyone can see that ’opening’ in the northeast corner. Do you really think the human generals are blind to it?

Sigh..." Chief Liete sighed yet again.

The adjutant’s expression changed.

"Could it be... they’re trying to lure out the Young Master?"

Chief Liete frowned and sighed once more.

"Let’s just wait and see. We’ll wait for Hall. Perhaps there’s still a chance for things to turn around."

Chief Liete could only console himself with such thoughts.

In reality, he knew that with the rout of the goblin horde outside, the defense of Julian City was now on a timer.

’But... what if?’

The unit from the Mountain Rock Bear Race that Chief Liete had summoned had yet to play any part. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Thinking of those dumb brutes, a glimmer of hope actually sparked in Chief Liete’s heart. Those things were so thick-skinned and tough that arrows couldn’t even get through their fat.

Clad them in iron and leather armor, and they were practically terrestrial juggernauts.

"Chieftain, if you’ll forgive my bluntness."

"You raised me yourself, and I would give my life for you without a second thought."

"But do you really think the Centaurs in this city will continue to listen to you?" the adjutant said earnestly.

The Centaur Tribe in Julian City originally had its own Chieftain, but he died in battle. The Royal Court then dropped Chief Liete in to take over. By leading everyone to a life of plenty in Julian City, he was able to stabilize morale.

But in this precarious situation, there was no guarantee that everyone would continue to obey his commands.

Chief Liete looked around. The Centaurs were in a complete uproar. The two words on everyone’s lips were ’humans’ and ’breakout’.

Chief Liete even heard some blaming the impending defeat on his inaction, which made his blood boil.

’When was I ever inactive? Weren’t my elite personal guards completely wiped out? If that force were still here, I would have led the charge myself!’

But at this thought, Chief Liete’s mood grew even darker.

’That’s right... the elite force I personally trained was gone, wiped out completely.’

"Tell everyone to wait for reinforcements! If reinforcements haven’t reached Julian within one month, I will permit a breakout," Chief Liete declared.

With this one-month deadline, Chief Liete wasn’t waiting for Hall, but for an order from the Royal Court.

Retreat or defend—the Royal Court had to give him an answer, right?