Chapter 508: Chapter 242: Departure

The soldiers of the First through Third Regiments were sent ahead, naturally, because of the Extraordinary Soldiers.

After taking the Tiger Race Royal City, Robson still hadn’t dealt with advancing the over one thousand Extraordinary Soldiers.

Robson gave the order, and the entire army sprang into action.

However, Robson frowned.

Anyone with a sharp eye could see that the army’s organization seemed to have declined.

It was a contradiction. The quality of the soldiers had clearly improved, yet the army’s organization had declined.

Specifically, the army no longer mustered with its former speed. While they were still fast, they had lost some of their edge.

Robson looked at his grand army and sighed. ’It can’t be helped.’

The war had dragged on for a year and a half. Forget the common soldiers; even he, Robson, was growing weary of the fight.

Now, no one in the entire army had morale over eighty. Even the First through Third Regiments were only at seventy-eight or seventy-nine.

Moreover, the fighting had gone on for so long that the army’s lower-level command structure had been damaged. If this were a protracted defensive war like the one on the Western Front, Robson could have taken his time to make adjustments. But now, they were in an urgent pursuit...

Of course, this was where another benefit of the military merit system became apparent. Robson could promote veterans with high merit to fill the junior officer ranks at any time.

’In any case, this is the last battle.’

Robson shook his head. ’This past year and a half has really put me, Lord Robson, through the wringer. It’ll be a travesty if the Royal Family doesn’t give me something to show for it.’

......

By the time Robson’s army set out, Beast Emperor Kemal had already been on the move for some time.

On the battlefield between the Gray Dwarves and the Centaur Royal Family.

With a roar of defiance, a general from the Centaur Royal Family was cut down and killed on the battlefield by a group of Gray Dwarf Barbarian Bear Knights.

King Monroe watched quietly from afar, a part of him still in disbelief.

’How many years! How many years has it been!’

’After so many years of bitter feuding between the Centaur Royal Family and the Gray Dwarves, I, Monroe, can finally say it: the Centaurs, that thorn in our side, have been dealt with in my generation.’

’Truly, hard work is no substitute for a gift from the heavens.’

When Monroe first raised his army, he was still obsessing over how to deal with the Centaur Royal Family. Then, the humans charged onto the Beastman Grassland. And they didn’t just charge onto the grassland—they even captured the Centaur King City.

Immediately after, those same humans took the Tiger Race Royal City.

Just like that, his two greatest threats had been dealt with for him.

Seeing their king’s expression, the nearby Gray Dwarf generals bowed and offered their congratulations.

The hatred between the Gray Dwarves and the Centaur Clan was nearly as deep as that between humans and Beastmen.

King Monroe’s reason for intercepting the Centaur Clan was, in fact, his fear that they would regroup and rise again once they returned to their homeland.

King Monroe thoroughly enjoyed the flattery from his subordinates.

"Your Majesty, on this campaign you’ve directly crushed Edwin and those parasites of the Empire!"

"They’re the ones who constantly delude His Majesty, causing him to make such foolish decisions."

King Monroe knew who was speaking without even looking.

It was the Dark Giants from the north.

The Dark Giants were also a branch of the trolls.

The trolls’ main territory was a federation of a dozen or so troll nations in the continent’s southwest. No one knew how these Dark Giants had ended up so far north.

The Dark Giants were originally a vassal race of the Elf Empire, but they had since been driven out and had joined the Beastman Empire.

As for why, their story was no different from that of the Gray Dwarves. The Dark Giants were the Gray Dwarves of the Giant Demon Realm, infamous for betraying their benefactors.

For this reason, the Dark Giants were not counted among the Ten Great Royal Families.

After all, one race of Gray Dwarves was already enough of a headache for the Beast Emperor. He certainly didn’t need a race of Dark Giants causing trouble as well.

This, however, worked out perfectly for King Monroe.

When King Monroe first raised his army, supporters were few and far between. But now, after the incidents at the Centaur King City and the Tiger Race Royal City, real powers were finally beginning to declare their support for the Gray Dwarf clan.

That’s right. This person was the chieftain of the Dark Giant clan, Floyd.

"That’s right. Nine out of ten of the current Royal Families are nothing but useless bootlickers.

This balance of power has been unreasonable for a long time, but His Majesty is being coerced by those people. He’s completely unable to hear the cries of us common Beastmen.

When we meet His Majesty, we will surely have him reform the system and make the Empire great again!" Monroe declared.

After some time for reflection, Monroe had figured things out. The Purple-blooded Beastmen had ruled the great grasslands for a long time. ’Why was I in such a hurry to start a new dynasty?’

’Rebellion is an art in itself. For now, at least, I need a clever pretext. I, the great King Monroe, haven’t raised an army for my own ambition, but to lead the Empire to glory. The Empire is infested with vermin, and I must be the one to purge them and restore order.’

Once he started using this pretext, the situation improved significantly.

Although no one had offered any material support, at least some had begun to voice their encouragement.

’If I can just win one more time...’

This final victory, it went without saying, had to be against Beast Emperor Kemal.

As long as he could defeat Beast Emperor Kemal’s army, the glory of the Purple-blooded Beastmen would be shattered completely!

At that time, the entire Empire would surely erupt into chaos. And as long as the situation was chaotic, the Gray Dwarves would have a chance to seize the imperial crown.

The only slight headache was that human commander. A human who could command other races was something completely unheard of among the tribes of the Beastman Grassland.

But he had a plan for that as well.

When the time came, if the human army couldn’t hold out, Monroe would simply eliminate both sides. If the two fought to a stalemate, he would let them wear each other down.

And if the human army gained a decisive advantage, Monroe would proceed according to his original plan.

’As for morality and honor? The Gray Dwarves never had such things to begin with.’

Of course, Monroe had no idea that Robson was thinking along very similar lines. Robson, however, had one backup that Monroe lacked: the Human Alliance Army!

When it came to cooperating with the Gray Dwarves, Robson didn’t dare to trust them completely.

Just as King Monroe was lost in his ambitious daydreams, a subordinate rushed to his side.

"What is it?" Monroe asked, frowning.

"Chieftain, the imperial traitors holding His Majesty the Emperor hostage have reached the Bronze Plains."

"The Bronze Plains?"

Floyd’s brow furrowed upon hearing this.

"Didn’t you say they would pass by Velda Mountain?" Floyd asked doubtfully.

The Bronze Plains were the vast grasslands behind Bronze Pass, while Velda Mountain was a mountain range in the western part of the Empire.

"They were supposed to go by way of Velda Mountain..."

King Monroe was also confused.

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