Chapter 76 - 72: Come to My Tent Tonight

Chapter 76: Chapter 72: Come to My Tent Tonight

The soldiers of the Southern Army cheered, swarming around Lian and Sophie.

Sophie, a bit unused to such fervor, suddenly remembered something. She lifted her small face and looked at Lian with a wronged expression.

Lian then realized that during the retreat, no one had helped Sophie carry her fish tank.

Her fish tank had most likely been destroyed by a Tree Monster or a retreating Guard. Of course, it was even more likely that Sophie herself had frozen it into an ice sculpture.

When Lian and Sophie found the fish tank, it had already been reduced to a pile of broken glass.

The 96 goldfish and tadpoles had all prematurely entered the embrace of the God of Tiger.

Sophie shut down completely.

The corner of Lian’s mouth twitched.

He had originally thought Sophie had at least a one percent chance of keeping a single fish alive, which was why he had specifically picked out 100 for her. Now, it seemed even a one percent chance was an overestimation.

Still, he couldn’t entirely blame Sophie. After all, he was the one who’d dragged her onto the battlefield.

"Sophie, maybe raising fish isn’t for you. You could try raising a turtle."

Lian stroked his chin. "They have hard shells and hide when they sense danger. They’re a very resilient species, and they live for a very long time."

Sophie looked up, a glimmer of what could only be called hope shining in her eyes.

’Turtles sound nice, too.’

"Once we’re done here and we get back to the Green Shade Territory, I’ll personally pick one out for you right away."

Lian promised.

Sophie nodded slightly, already looking forward to returning to the Green Shade Territory.

"Kob, have your men clean this area up. Check the northern region for any surviving Tree Monsters. If you find any, they must be captured alive."

Lian wasn’t ready to give up on the Green Shade Territory’s pillar industry, still clinging to a sliver of hope.

Kob immediately had the Guards start clearing the battlefield and searching for any surviving Tree Monsters.

Lian entered a makeshift tent, pulled out a map, and began to ponder his next strategic move.

His original plan had been to scare the Tree Monsters so badly they would flee into other regions. They would then fight other Monsters for territory, sparking an internal war within the Bone Forest that the human army could exploit for profit.

He never expected Sophie to just drive the Tree Monsters to extinction, completely upending his plan.

The five southern sectors were the Goblins’ habitat, the five western sectors were inhabited by Corpse Monsters, and the five eastern sectors were ruled by Skeleton Monsters.

Besides the Tree Monsters, the only other race incapable of communicating with humans was the Corpse Monsters.

But Goblins were also a tricky species. Their reproductive capabilities were formidable; they frequently abducted females of all kinds, and their population far surpassed that of the Skeleton Monsters, Corpse Monsters, and Tree Monsters.

They also had their own language and culture, built villages, and maintained a complete social Order. Even though their combat strength was far inferior to the Tree Monsters’, they still managed to occupy a quarter of the Bone Forest.

The mere mention of them made the people of Green Shade Territory turn pale.

According to the Green Shade Territory’s case files, Goblins were inextricably linked to the disappearances of many villagers.

They were infamous and, what’s more, seemed unable to distinguish between human men and women.

Therefore, anyone who fell into Goblin hands was unlikely to meet a good end.

Subjugating these vile Goblins couldn’t be done with persuasion alone; it would inevitably require force.

But in a direct confrontation, it would be hard to guarantee the Guards’ safety. A scattered Guard might be dragged into the woods and forced to endure the unthinkable.

’In that case, I’d better stick to the original strategy and find a way to incite a civil war in the Bone Forest.’

’It just needs a slight modification. I can’t use the Tree Monsters this time.’

’Time to resort to human scheming.’

’First, destroy a small Goblin village and frame the Corpse Monsters for it, inciting hatred between the two races.’

Lian drew circles and lines across the map, formulating a preliminary plan.

He worked until Kob’s familiar voice sounded from outside the tent.

"Lord Lian, Father Simo and Sister Sally are back."

"Oh? They’re back sooner than I expected."

Lian was a little surprised.

’I can’t believe those two were sensible enough to come back on their own. I won’t have to send men to "invite" them back.’

"They have a group of Corpse Monsters behind them."

Kob continued.

Lian immediately strode out of the tent. "Kob, next time, could you not pause? Just say it all at once."

Sophie followed Lian out of the tent as well.

"My apologies, Lord Lian. Our elite squad is already engaging the Corpse Monsters."

"Let’s go."

Lian gestured for Kob to lead the way.

The two of them followed Kob to the front line where the Guards were fighting.

Lian saw the legendary Corpse Monsters for the first time.

Each Corpse Monster looked different from the next. Their heads resembled those of vultures, while their bodies were stitched together from the limbs of animals and humans. Some had only one arm, others had eight. The number of legs also varied. They moved incredibly slowly, and their poorly coordinated bodies caused them to stumble and fall every few steps.

The Corpse Monsters’ bodies were coated in a toxic mucus. This corrosive fluid caused the surrounding plant life to rot and decay.

They emitted a foul stench from head to toe, like a can of fermented herring being opened in a sealed room.

They loved to eat all living things, but their absolute favorite was tender-skinned, soft-fleshed humans.

Lian covered his nose. Looking at the twenty-odd Corpse Monsters, he suppressed the urge to gag and said to Sophie,

"Freeze them for me. And don’t kill them."

Sophie nodded slightly and encased the Corpse Monsters in ice with her Freezing Magic.

Simo and Sally breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief. They were finally saved.

’If we’d known Lian was still alive and kicking, why would we have bothered running away?’

Sally was not a Succubus skilled in combat. Worse, she had no sense of direction.

She had fled with Father Simo, only to unexpectedly stumble into the Corpse Monsters’ territory.

And as a result, she had led Father Simo right back to where they started.

Of course, her original intention had been to lead Simo back to the Green Shade Territory.

"Lord Lian, I figured you might need some Corpse Monsters, so I brought them over for you."

Sally said, her expression perfectly straight.

Lian raised an eyebrow. "You sure you didn’t just get lost after you fled?"

"Of course not. Even if I don’t know the way, you think Simo doesn’t?"

Sally crossed her arms.

Simo wiped the sweat from his brow. ’Of course he doesn’t,’ he thought. ’Her terrible sense of direction is my fault.’

When Simo found Sally, she wasn’t a Succubus who got lost. But after spending so much time with him, she became just as hopeless with directions.

"Lord Lian, I see many of the Guards are injured. Sally and I should go help treat them first," Simo said, awkwardly changing the subject.

Lian nodded. "Go on. Come to my tent tonight. We’ll have a little meeting."

"Just me? Or Simo too?"

Sally asked.

"Both of you."

Lian replied.

Sally flashed a wicked smile. "So, Lord Lian is into that sort of thing."

The corner of Simo’s mouth twitched. He hurriedly dragged his Succubus away, getting her out of Lian’s sight.

"Sir, do we need to skin, juice, and de-heart these frozen Corpse Monsters too?"

The prematurely balding Robson asked curiously.

He assumed that Corpse Monsters, like Tree Monsters, had value in being dissected and processed.

"No. Take them to the Goblin village. We’re going to give the Goblins a big present."