Chapter 868: Schemes and Deception—Who's Afraid of Whom?
The Undead Tribe was already quite familiar with Toril's goblins.
The crucial problem with these little dwarfs was not their lack of fear, but their inability to judge whether their opponent was stronger... When their numbers seemed endless and countless, goblins always felt themselves invincible.
Of course, if there were goblins behind them, then they would be unbeatable!
With goblins numbering thousands, possibly even tens of thousands, on the Giant's Ridge Mountain Range, they had the courage to battle deities... merely Elves, they were not even half their number!
As for the level gap, who cares!
Faced with these monsters charging straight down from the mountainside, the Undead Tribe seemed a bit panicked... Of course, they were not afraid of the goblins, but these small creatures always carried a pungent stench with them, and the more fastidious Undead Tribe would rather have their opponents be enormous Divine Beasts; they could handle tens of thousands of those.
Between being fought to death and stunk to death, they chose the more tiring task.
Prince Holmes, watching the battle from the open top of a carriage, was actually a bit surprised; he felt that the Undead Tribe's attitude was much more serious when facing goblins than when dealing with Demon Followers.
Especially the mages who always seemed indifferent; the Meteor Fire Rain was being cast all over the sky as if it did not consume any mana.
Yinbutu Crown Prince was a bit puzzled about where the Teraxil Elves' focus lay.
He wasn't surprised by the mages' lack of action. No matter how many mages there were, they had to consider whether they were counting their magic slots or their mana points day by day. Even if they had enough of both, spellcasting materials were an expensive expenditure for anyone.
So unless the warriors were overwhelmed, most mages were unwilling to take action themselves.
But... did the Teraxil Elves have a different judgment on monsters? Why did they think goblins, which the warriors could handle with a single strike, required the mages to take action more than Demon Followers?
Elf Warriors were not without armor, and the stones and small wooden clubs that goblins wielded couldn't even scratch their skin.
Prince Holmes observed from the corner of his eye the commander standing beside him, Mr. "Snow Cloud Peak," who was smiling cheerfully, not at all feeling that the mages had done anything wrong.
Yinbutu Crown Prince lowered his head to ponder for a moment, feeling that something was a bit different from what his think tank had thought, because the Elves had fought a great battle with Divine Beasts in Kalinsan before choosing to come to Yinbutu, so the aides thought these Elves might have over-consumed and were short on money.
But now it seemed this judgment was obviously biased; unless the Teraxil Elves could all cast without materials, they were not here for the money.
He didn't even know which kind he hoped the Teraxil Elves were... but he knew very well, regardless of which kind, they posed a significant threat to Yinbutu.
Although the Elves didn't seem to pay much attention to Yinbutu... this was something Prince Holmes could still understand.
Except for these commanders around him, most of the Elves were quite simple in character.
No, it wasn't that, they just didn't care much about the feelings of the Yimbutu Nationals and spoke audaciously.
But Holmes also understood, this was the privilege of the strong.
Even if the Teraxil Elves pointed at his nose and cursed, what could he do? Just awkwardly smile.
Prince Holmes resolved to completely separate the Yimbutu Nationals from these Elves... The offspring of the Great Nobility could generally be flexible, speaking appropriately to both humans and ghosts.
But minor nobles and nouveau riche... especially those landowners who made a fortune charging tolls, sometimes really couldn't figure out the situation and acted recklessly.
The East Ferun Region hadn't seen Elves for a long time.
Even the well-informed Yinbutu Crown Prince was momentarily distracted upon first seeing these diverse and graceful Teraxil Elves, let alone those local bullies.
For them, teasing a lone Elf was simply a matter that spending money could clear up.
But Prince Holmes wouldn't see it that way; even after some basic communication with these Elves, he didn't think it was a problem that money could solve.
Then he couldn't help but frown as he looked at the opposite mountain range.
The goblins emitted ear-piercing wails as they frantically fled the range of these large-scale spells.
Although they had no concept of many things, they could still see their comrades dying.
But as the goblins scrambled upward from the mountainside, others unaware of what was happening squeezed out from all nooks and crannies carrying stones and rushed downward.
The Giant's Ridge was in turmoil.
The current rulers of the Giant's Ridge Mountain Range were finally alerted by the frantically fleeing goblins... A group of fully armed, riding various enchanted beasts, robust and hairy goblins appeared halfway up the mountain.
From their formation, it's clear that these Goblins consist of three groups... with the Commanders holding double-handed weapons and riding on Earthwalking Dragons easily identifiable, with some Black Warriors standing beside them... as the army guarding the Queen of Succubus, one can imagine the type of Divine Arts they could use.
Then there are the lined-up several centuries-old veteran regiments, and a large group of recruits waving their spears, chasing after the small frantically running cousins.
The Goblin Commander is clearly cursing furiously; they probably didn't expect the Undead Tribe to be so powerful.
"Why did they only come out now?" Prince Holmes seriously asked 'Snow Cloud Peak' standing beside him, "From my understanding of the Goblins, their military acumen is high. Facing such a formidable enemy, logically, they wouldn't have just the Goblins engage."
"Just now, our Mage's Meteor Fire Rain probably wiped out millions of Goblins instantly," 'Snow Cloud Peak' said calmly. "But look at that mountain range, isn't it still covered with small heads?
It's likely that the Giant's Ridge Mountain, even the grass roots have been gnawed away by these Goblins.
Although the Goblins still have meat to eat now, in the future, due to Goblin reproduction, they will either have to gnaw on rocks or descend the mountain into the forest.
During this period, it's likely Goblins and Demon Followers have already clashed. Otherwise, during our attack, being subordinates of the same Queen of Succubus, the Goblins wouldn't have offered no help at all.
One should know, in the hearts of the Goblins, the Queen will return... Goblins as creatures, as long as their masters are stronger than them, before a successful rebellion, they will still follow certain rules.
I've always had people guard the direction of the mountain range, fearing they would charge down directly during our battle, but they surprisingly didn't.
They have been continuously observing us here, but they absolutely won't believe that we have cleared out the Rolins Forest entirely."
Prince Holmes exclaimed: "Do they want us to eliminate the Demon Followers first, and then snatch the Rolins Forest from our hands?"
"In their eyes, these Demon Followers can be killed at any time," 'Lu Huayu' said with a chuckle, "but considering the Queen of Succubus who might return, the best move is for someone unrelated to them to take action.
Then they only need to seek revenge."
Prince Holmes thought of something, nodded gloomily... it seems the Yinbutu people once considered taking action themselves.
No matter what the aide who proposed this suggestion was thinking, his political life is completely over with the Yinbutu Crown Prince.
'Snow Cloud Peak' quietly changed the subject: "Although these Goblins appeared, they don't seem to plan to descend the mountain now. Perhaps they intend for us to lend a helping hand, first clearing out a portion of the Goblins, and by the way, deplete our Mage's mana."
Prince Holmes hesitantly glanced at the mountainside, quickly trusting the Teraxil Elf Commander's words... The new Goblin recruits waved their spears, driving those Goblins downward again.
But not a single Goblin planned to follow down the mountainside.
"So what do we do?" Prince Holmes anxiously asked... Clearly, he is worried about these Goblins depleting the Undead Mage's Mana Points.
'Snow Cloud Peak' looked at the Yinbutu Crown Prince with a proud gaze: "Our Teraxil Elves' Mana Points, aren't so easily exhausted."
Prince Holmes watched the flames ignite the sky once more, a trace of worry crossing his expressionless face.
But in this situation, regardless of his inner concerns, he can only hope the Teraxil Elves attain victory.
Heaven knows, when he discovered the mountains filled with Goblin heads, his mind was a flurry of thoughts... Prince Holmes's first reaction was to hang all the Royal Family's intelligence officers when he returned!
They were either too foolish to take this matter seriously, or they were bribed by those magic towers in the Giant Valley!
From the fact that the Yinbutu Royal Family still contemplates moving to reside in the Rolins Forest, one can see they were unaware of the true number of Goblins in the Giant's Ridge Mountain.
If... not for inviting the Teraxil Elves, the Yinbutu Royal Family would probably have no choice but to cede this territory to the Giant Valley in exchange for their assistance.
Otherwise, with the Goblins leading billions of Goblins out of the Rolins Forest, would there still be a way for Yinbutu to survive?
Holmes glared sharply towards the east of the forest, suddenly turning to 'Snow Cloud Peak,' saying: "Sigh! If only we had several Great Magic Towers like the Giant Valley."
Several Dragon Liches from Yinbutu prefer seclusion, unlike those from the Giant Valley, who have close ties with the Lord of the Undead and gain many benefits from Sel, beneath their magic towers is essentially a small-scale Undead Scourge.
We wouldn't have to struggle to handle even a few Goblins like this."
'Snow Cloud Peak' glanced bewilderedly at Prince Holmes: "No worries, after we thoroughly clean up this time, you just need to send people to sweep the mountains twice a year from now on.
Even if the Goblins reproduce quickly, they still need some time."
Prince Holmes smiled: "Yes! Thankfully we have your help! Genuine friends are rare to come by."
'Lu Huayu' slightly curled his lips, clicking his tongue, one more hypocritical than the other.