Green Monster Epic

Chapter 404: Small Group

The next day, Allen stayed in the castle and didn't go out. Seemingly aware that Allen didn't like being attended to, there weren't even any servants arranged around his residence, which made Allen feel quite comfortable.

He spent his time meditating until he heard footsteps outside the door. A half-elf female servant stood outside the door and gently knocked. After hearing Allen's response, she softly spoke her purpose: "Honorable guest, Chieftain Beryl requests your presence at a banquet."

"Okay, I will be there."

Allen straightened his clothes and slowly walked out.

The so-called banquet wasn't quite accurate. Strictly speaking, it should be an important gathering, held in Chieftain Beryl's study on the second floor of the castle. When Allen approached the study, he noticed several unfamiliar faces. Some resembled desert snake people, with smooth, elongated heads and forked tongues that flicked out from their mouths. There was also a lizardman with a forked tongue, and a kobold with small, pointed ears and a narrow nose, a face Allen had once loathed…

The round table wasn't large, but it was enough to accommodate six or seven people. Besides Allen, there were also the two legendary figures from the Ajina tribe, Beryl and Mano, two unnamed lizardmen, a kobold, and an ogre who nearly occupied two seats by himself, a mountain of flesh.

While Allen was observing the unfamiliar faces, the unfamiliar natives were also scrutinizing the newcomer. Some had a provocative glint in their eyes, but it didn't cause Allen the slightest ripple.

"Allen, you've arrived. Come, come, sit here."

Beryl didn't stand up, only gave Allen a slight smile. Mano, on the other hand, enthusiastically stepped forward, pulled out an empty chair next to him, and invited Allen to take a seat.

"Let me introduce you all. This is my tribe's ally, Chieftain Allen Wright from the Greenwild Plains. Although you may not have met him, you should have heard his name."

After Allen was seated, Beryl slowly began to introduce him. When Allen's name was mentioned, the expressions on the unfamiliar faces varied. Some seemed to have guessed Allen's identity long ago, while others had a look of sudden realization.

Allen's glorious feat of single-handedly killing a human legendary on the grasslands had only happened a few years ago. As tribal dignitaries, they naturally paid attention to this rising star. Now, seeing Allen in person and hearing Beryl's introduction, they couldn't help but cast various glances at Allen, wondering why this hobgoblin, who didn't look like a hobgoblin, possessed such formidable strength.

After learning Allen's identity, the contemptuous and provocative looks in the eyes of the unfamiliar faces were withdrawn. This was the best business card for the upper-level rulers in the wilderness when they first interacted.

"Allen, this is Jeron Bunnira, the commander of the Aman Shah tribe from the Barrenwood Forest in the southeast of your Greenwild Plains. The lizardman beside him is Janrei Al'Ghan, the Great Elder of the Al'Ghan tribe from the Damo Swamp in the southwest."

"The kobold across from you is Chief Zorf Uruk of the Uruk tribe, an allied tribe from the southern Cato Mountains."

"As for this strong ogre, he has a similar identity to you, Chief Nicol Nica of the Wildheart tribe further south. Although only Chief Nicol has been promoted to the legendary rank in their tribe, the advantages of the ogre race are obvious. The Wildheart tribe, with more than 10,000 people, is not to be underestimated."

"In time, I believe that Chief Allen's tribe and Chief Nicol's tribe will surely have a place in the Mansa Alliance. When the time comes, if my tribe needs to introduce you to the alliance, I would be very happy."

Hearing Beryl's words, Allen and the mountain of flesh ogre across from him lit up, their faces showing a bit more brilliance, and they thanked him one after another: "Then we'll have to trouble Chieftain Beryl at that time!"

For Allen, who has always liked to plan ahead, even if the tribe's development still needs some time, and it will take countless years of struggle to meet the conditions for joining the alliance, it doesn't prevent Allen from laying out in advance and finding suitable allies for his tribe.

And the ogre chieftain from Wildheart across from him, with better strength and development than Allen, was naturally more eager, and such a performance at least showed that the two tribal leaders who could run their tribes to their current state were not easy to deal with.

On the other side, the higher-ups of the three Mansa Alliance member tribes were calm, watching Allen and the others' somewhat excited expressions.

"Of course, with these few witnesses, there's no possibility for me, Beryl, to go back on my word, is there?"

Beryl laughed heartily, pointing to the surrounding legendary figures, and answered with a hint of regret.

"But it's a pity that a friend from the north didn't come to this gathering, otherwise there would be one more witness."

"I say, Beryl, you called us here, not just to have us witness for you, right?"

The kobold on the side showed a hint of impatience in his eyes. His tribe had some friction with the Aman Shah tribe in the Barrenwood Forest across the way. Being able to sit together peacefully at this time was already giving Beryl face. Hearing their rambling made the kobold, who was already impatient, unhappy.

"Hahaha, well then, let's get down to business this time."

Beryl didn't mind. Since he had urgently called the surrounding tribes with legendary figures over, he did have his own plans.

"I don't need to say much about the current situation in the wilderness. You should all know it in your hearts."

"Since Lord Silvanus fell into slumber, the situation in the wilderness has been in chaos. The Church of Nature, behind the scenes, has inherited most of Lord Silvanus's divine authority. Its voice in the natural divine system has become more important, and it has gradually gained the momentum to dominate the natural divine system."

"Although Ladies Mielikki and Shiallia are Lord Silvanus's daughters and have inherited many legacies, their strength hasn't improved much due to different authorities and divine duties…"

"Lord Obad-Hai's character and philosophy are very different from Lord Silvanus's. This can be seen from the Church of Nature's past actions. In the past, there were not a few tribes that were exterminated by the Knights of the Church of Nature for excessively destroying the natural environment."

"If the Church of Nature controls the power of the Wilderness Alliance, then they may truly implement more radical measures…"

In front of Allen and the others, Beryl said a lot about his judgment of the current situation. In fact, the few rulers present had their own views on this matter and had been paying attention to it all along. At this time, hearing Beryl's views, some couldn't help but nod slightly to express their approval when he said something that resonated with their own thoughts, while others squinted slightly, their eyes showing disagreement when he said something that contradicted their own judgment.

Allen was also listening attentively. Although the chaos in the wilderness seemed to have nothing to do with the Greenwild tribe, in fact, if there were any major actions in the wilderness, the Greenwild tribe would not be able to stay out of it. As more and more tribesmen went out to adventure and travel, and opened noodle restaurants, the Greenwild tribe's intelligence gathering channels were also being laid out. Although they couldn't access more secret things, most of the rumors actually contained a lot of real intelligence.

"Since you've said that the rise of the Church of Nature is an irreversible situation, then do we have any other options?"

The lizardmen of the Aman Shah tribe and the Al'Ghan tribe are said to have once been a branch in ancient times. Later, because the region was barren and unable to support too many people, one branch migrated to the Barrenwood Forest in the east and settled down as a branch of the main Al'Ghan tribe.

But no one had expected that, hundreds of years after the separation of the two lineages, no legendary figure emerged from the generation of seeds that the Al'Ghan tribe, the main lineage, had originally placed high hopes on, while the Aman Shah tribe, as a branch, suddenly cultivated two legendary figures from the descendants of the migrated population after reproduction and multiplication.

The main lineage's descendants were cut off, and the leader in charge of the power could only re-cultivate talents, instead of recalling the legendary lineage from the branch, which was almost equivalent to being demoted, to inherit his power and status. The legendary leader of the branch also didn't want to go back and become the running dog of the main chieftain, who still had a hundred years of life left. The relationship between the two sides suddenly became tense.

After the Al'Ghan tribe finally passed their period of decline and re-cultivated a legendary successor, the Aman Shah tribe was also growing rapidly. In the end, the two tribal branches, which originally shared the same ancestral bloodline, eventually became ordinary neighbors.

Of course, compared to ordinary neighbor relations, the relationship between the two tribes was a bit more complicated, being both trusted allies and competitive opponents.

However, in major matters, the two tribes maintained a posture of advancing and retreating together, which was also the reason why they were able to occupy two vast territories with decent water resources.

At this time, when Jeron frowned slightly and questioned, Janrei, who was beside him, also looked at Beryl with questioning eyes.

"Why can't there be other options?"

Beryl's voice suddenly rose a few degrees, his tone revealing dissatisfaction with the Church of Nature.

"Before, in the Demon Tide, the Evil God's Rebellion, the Human Invasion, and the Devil's Descension, in each great battle, countless warriors from your and my tribes, under the mobilization of the Alliance Council, went south one after another, but how many of the warriors who eventually returned to their tribes are left?"

"If the Church of Nature seizes power this time and controls the Alliance Council, then, according to their slogans and ideals, they will inevitably launch a counterattack against humans again. Once the war horn is sounded, it will be difficult to stop. And to counterattack the powerful human nations, the number of troops and supplies needed is not a small number!!"

"When the time comes, will we all respond to the call, and send troops and supplies?"

"We've only just had a period of peace and stability; we can't let our brave children sacrifice themselves in vain again!!"

Bile's voice grew louder, and his expression of grief resonated with everyone. Several tribal leaders couldn't help but nod slowly, as his words truly struck a chord in their hearts.

"Therefore, we must unite, so that our voices can have power!! When the ground envoys of several other Lords within the Natural Shrine system speak out in support, many things will likely be different!!!"

"… …"

"… …"

The group fell silent, each bowing their heads in thought, analyzing the possibilities. Until Zorf, the Chieftain of the Kobold tribe, frowned slightly and asked, "Although Lady Mielikki and Lady Sharess don't seem to have any intention of avenging Lord Silvanus, they also want the wilderness to send troops to support the disadvantaged side fighting against humans and elves, to continue maintaining the balance between the two continents!"

"So, in the end, aren't we still going to have to send troops to fight?"

Indeed, the war between the two continents had become increasingly fierce. The elves and humans had been plotting for a long time and finally seized a great opportunity, launching a full-scale attack from the very beginning of the war.

In the north, the Elven Kingdom sent over a million troops at once, their attack aimed directly at Red Flame Volcano Fortress, the largest stronghold of the Shield Dwarves branch on the Dwarven Kingdom's front line. After a year and a half, and losing over 40% of their forces, they finally leveled Red Flame Volcano, using powerful legendary magic to completely block the volcano's lava通道leading to the surface.

Except for the 130,000 women, children, and elderly who were sent to the rear of the kingdom at the last moment, a million Shield Dwarves died in battle at Red Flame Volcano Fortress and the surrounding strongholds.

In the south, the Human Kingdom Allied Forces annihilated over 300,000 remnants of the demon army led by the Demon Lord Asas, and then continued eastward along the direction of the demon rout, until they encountered the Beastman Empire's strongest army – the Behemoth Legion.

The two armies, each exceeding two million, faced each other across the wide river channel bordering the Sanggan River. Commanders and generals displayed their talents, fighting each other along the hundreds of miles of confrontation line. The banks of the Sanggan River were like an invisible meat grinder, constantly devouring the lives of soldiers from both sides.

For several months in a row, the abundant water of the Sanggan River was dyed bright red by the blood of warriors from both races, allowing countless carnivorous fish to gorge themselves, growing fat and large.

In the end, the commanders and generals of the Human Allied Forces proved to be more skilled, using an isolated army of 200,000 as bait, breaking into the eastern Sanggan River, directly into the heart of the Beastman Empire, forcing the commander of the frontline Behemoth Legion to change his expression immediately, and hastily redeploy troops to encircle them.

Just as the Beastman commander redeployed his forces, disrupting the troop deployment on the front line, the Human Allied Forces, led by the elite main forces of several major empires, suddenly launched a clustered charge, breaking through the Beastman positions on the eastern Sanggan River. Human legendary mages, warlocks, and other powerhouses took action simultaneously, holding back the powerhouses of the Beastman Empire. By the time the Beastman Empire's powerhouses, who had a numerical and strength advantage, broke free after several days of entanglement and returned to the front, the situation was already beyond their control.

After years of hard fighting, the powerful Behemoth Legion finally collapsed. Of the million troops, including auxiliary legions and logistics units, less than 300,000 ultimately escaped the pursuit of the Human Allied Forces.

Since then, the situation on the two continents has become increasingly clear. Although the other two major civilizations have become more resilient and determined after shrinking their battle lines, it is a foregone conclusion that over a third of their territory has been swallowed up, and the hope of recovering it is probably slim.

It is precisely because of the defeat of the Dwarf and Beastman civilizations that, within the Temple of Nature, in addition to the voice of the God of Nature preparing to launch a revenge attack against humans, another group of old allies of the Father of the Oaks, led by the Ranger Goddess and the Sprout Goddess, are also loudly calling for the wilderness to organize legions to support the Dwarves and Beastmen in the north and south, to consolidate their positions and prevent further failures.

"Although Lady Mielikki and the others also want to call on the wilderness legions to send troops, their purposes are different. The God of Nature is determined to counterattack humans, and will not rest until they are completely defeated; while the ultimate goal of Lady Mielikki and the others is only to support the Dwarves and Beastmen in counterattacking, regaining lost territory and returning to the previous situation."

"The real protagonists of the battle will naturally not fall on our wilderness allied forces. The main thing is to show our wilderness's attitude to the humans and elves, so that they have some scruples!!"

"You weigh it up, which Lord's purpose is relatively simpler?"

Obviously, the content that Bile was saying at this time could not have been figured out by himself. If there were no messages revealed by the high-level members of the temple, he probably wouldn't have understood it so deeply.

Everyone had different thoughts. Allen looked up at the earth goblin compatriot who was talking eloquently, with a hint of confusion in his eyes. After all that, what did he really want?

Allen knew a little about the two lizardmen camps next to him. They used to be on the side of the balance camp that leaned towards the Temple of the Oak. Now, perhaps with the slumber of Lord Silvanus, the camp has wavered, but looking at Bile's intention to invite the other party, at least for now, they have not sided with the God of Nature.

Gnolls and kobolds have violent personalities, and in general, most of them have radical and xenophobic behaviors. Presumably, Zorf is mostly from the radical and exclusive camp. As for that ogre, like himself, he hasn't really entered the eyes of the wilderness camp. At most, he is being favored by the temple forces and is in the process of cultivating a relationship.

"Therefore, when there is no way to escape, we need to choose the side that is relatively more beneficial to us and join it. But if we want to avoid suffering big losses and strive for greater voice, we must unite together!!"

"I suggest that all of us here form a small cooperative group, speaking with one voice, so that our strength will have a certain deterrent effect, and our voices will not be ignored!!"

"If everyone is willing to join, then my clan is willing to provide 10% of the daily taxes of Nasir Fortress as activity funds for everyone after the alliance is formed!!"

Hearing Bile's words, everyone's eyes lit up. Although it was only the tax revenue from one fortress, with the caravan traffic in Cato Gorge, it was also a considerable profit.

"… … Okay, on behalf of the Heart of the Wild tribe, I am willing to accept Chieftain Bile's suggestion and join the alliance you established!"

While others were still considering, the one who jumped out to express his position first was the ogre chieftain Nicol, who had always seemed very quiet. Under his seemingly honest appearance, a pair of bright eyes represented a gambler's adventurous heart.

"… … Since Chieftain Bile has made such a big sacrifice, what else can I say? Naturally, I agree!!"

Subsequently, Kobold Chieftain Zorf also nodded slightly. He had coveted the interests of the two fortresses of the Ajina tribe for many years, but he had never been able to intervene. Now that the other party had taken the initiative to invite him to join, it would be foolish for him to refuse!!

On the other side, the two lizardmen legends whispered to each other, discussing in low voices, and did not express their position for a long time. Others could not say anything, after all, the relationship between the two races was close. Even if they refused at this time, they would be helpless, so they all turned their attention to the last person who had not yet expressed his position.

Allen was still thinking about the pros and cons, originally wanting to wait until everyone had expressed their position before making a decision based on the situation, but now, facing the gaze of several legends, it seemed that he had to express his position.

"… … Then count my Green Field tribe in too!"

"Good, I knew Chieftain Allen you would agree!"

Mano smiled happily. Allen, after all, was now the legend among the few legends present who had a closer relationship with the Ajina tribe. Compared with other legends, Allen was more worthy of Bile and Mano's trust.

After a long time, the two lizardmen finally finished their discussion and nodded slowly. Under the general trend of the Wilderness Alliance, a hastily established small group was born.

Tsk tsk tsk, the new book doesn't seem as easy as I imagined. I feel that I am still suitable for a world without a framework, relying entirely on my imagination. In the urban background of the new book, just the beginning makes me hesitate. If it weren't for the outline being prepared and I personally believing that the novel has some content, I would really want to give up the idea of the new book and continue with a fantasy book!!