Green Monster Epic

Across the lush, thriving farmland, a dense throng of people rushed, leaving chaos in their wake.

Ahmad and Howell led the last of their ten thousand soldiers, continuing their march across human lands. Behind them, in the direction they had come, magical energy surged, with bursts of golden light—the great deity of the Centaur race was fighting fiercely, covering the retreat of this isolated force.

Ever since they had captured and destroyed that prosperous, unnamed city, the Centaur Legion's leisurely pace had been completely disrupted.

The heavy losses prevented the Legion from targeting large human cities; they could only plunder the scattered manors around the cities. Because the manors had small populations, the Legion couldn't use corpses to activate flesh-and-blood altars to temporarily shake off the human pursuers, rest, and escape.

Forced to march on foot, the humans, who had been unable to track the Centaurs, could finally mobilize and set up blockades ahead, forcing the Centaur Legion to engage in skirmishes with human armies time and again.

Even though the humans knew they were at a disadvantage fighting in the open plains of the central region, they steeled themselves and made this decision to wear down the Centaur Legion and reduce losses in the empire.

News of the Centaur Legion's rampage spread throughout the empire, causing unrest and panic. Countless families from manors and villages fled to the big cities, hoping for a better chance of survival.

Compared to the rudimentary defenses of the manors and villages, which even bandits could easily breach, the tall, imposing city walls offered the common people a greater sense of security.

However, they didn't realize the cost of seeking refuge in these large cities was beyond the means of an ordinary family.

The sudden influx of people strained the supply of essential resources, and merchants, driven by profit, didn't hesitate to raise prices. The increased labor pool made the few available jobs highly competitive, driving down wages, yet people still flocked to them.

Within a month or two, many ordinary families with some savings had exhausted their reserves in the crowded, ruthless urban jungle, falling from modest prosperity into abject poverty.

Those who started with nothing were driven down a path of no return by the pressures of life and hunger.

Some sold their children, hoping to give their families and themselves a chance to survive, even if it meant a life without dignity or hope. Others took desperate measures, joining the gray economy, turning from law-abiding citizens into cutthroat thieves and robbers.

The nobles at the imperial court were temporarily unaffected, but their extravagant lifestyles depended on the taxes collected from their fiefs each year. Without the foundation of manors and villages, their incomes would inevitably decline, greatly impacting them in the long run.

The influx of refugees into the cities brought instability and disrupted order, affecting urban development to some extent.

Of course, for some unscrupulous and greedy nobles, this situation presented an opportunity to seize farmland and employ farmers at lower wages.

However, the risks were high. As long as the Centaur Legion wasn't eliminated, no one would risk living near the cities; otherwise, they wouldn't have abandoned their homes in the first place.

Therefore, whether for the sake of their fiefs' tax revenue or to convert the war's fleeting gains into real wealth, the Centaurs were an obstacle that local nobles couldn't ignore.

Once the local power-holding nobles and the royal family reached a consensus on their mutual interests, issues such as troop mobilization and resource allocation were easily resolved.

The losses suffered by the empire in blocking the Centaurs in the wilderness were painful, but preserving the manpower in the cities and gaining the support of local nobles made the sacrifices worthwhile.

The Centaur Legion was already deep behind enemy lines, and this expedition was composed of elite warriors carefully selected from the three royal courts. With a total population of only fifty to sixty million, the loss of two hundred and fifty thousand soldiers was a heavy blow, making reinforcements unlikely.

Each Centaur warrior killed weakened the Legion. Over three months and more than a hundred battles, the survival of over ten thousand soldiers was a monumental achievement worthy of being recorded in the annals of history.

Ahmad estimated that the cities and manors they had destroyed involved a population of over twenty million. Including the ruined farmland and crops, there would likely be no yield this year, affecting an even larger population.

In any case, the common people of the Dawn Empire would have a hard year.

On the horizon ahead, a vast human army appeared, its dense banners spreading in all directions, stretching for ten miles and creating an intimidating spectacle.

Looking back, this isolated force hadn't rested for seven days and seven nights. Everyone's exposed faces were weary and desolate. Ahmad finally turned his gaze to Howell, his last remaining legendary companion.

"This campaign has been a glorious slaughter!! My life has been worth it!!"

Sensing Ahmad's gaze, Howell turned back, laughing heartily and saying heroically.

"It's an honor to fight alongside you, General!!"

Howell understood the unspoken words in the Centaur leader's eyes as their gazes met.

"I am also fortunate to experience such a magnificent event in my twilight years, and even more fortunate to be with you and the brave warriors of our Centaur race, creating a great war!!"

"After today, we may no longer breathe this free, fresh air or experience the beauty of the world!!"

"But!!! We have reclaimed a bit of the blood debt owed to our countless Centaur brethren who have been sacrificed at the hands of humans for countless years!! At the same time, we have bought more time for the future continuation of the Centaur race!!"

"Our sacrifice today is the price for our descendants to grow strong and roam freely on the Centaur Plains tomorrow!!"

“I am proud of you all!!”

“Blood of the great Ranger Lord!! Raise your chests and lift the lances in your hands!!”

“Let the cowardly humans taste the taste of blood again!!”

“Blow the horn!! Charge!!!”

“Kill!!”

“Kill”

In the Year 13704 of the Orc Calendar, the main force of the Dawn Empire of Humanity, numbering 230,000, under the command of Grand Marshal Ai Pu, besieged the remnants of the Centaur Legion that had invaded the empire's interior in the Eastern Ping Province.

The battle lasted for a day and a night. The entire Centaur Legion was annihilated without exception. The only two legendary commanders, even with their troops exhausted, fought to the death and did not flee. In the end, they were burned to ashes by the human marshal Ai Pu using the legendary fire magic -- Blazing Sky -- for two magical hours.

The avatar of the Centaur God was finally besieged and killed by nearly thirty legendary human powerhouses. The battle lasted a full four days and four nights, until the god's avatar exhausted its divine power and qi and blood, and finally self-destructed its avatar, declaring the end of the battle.

Afterwards, the Dawn Empire summarized the battle losses. A total of fifteen human powerhouses were killed, and more than 500,000 human soldiers were killed or injured. Nearly 10 million ordinary people were killed or injured, affecting the livelihoods of at least 30 million people in the empire for many years. The empire's direct and indirect wealth losses exceeded 200 million gold coins. History remembers this as the Centaur Disaster.

The news of the annihilation of the Centaur Legion reached the border of the Centaur Grassland more than ten days later. At this time, the Wilderness Allied Forces were preparing to march again, far to the northern border of the Rose Principality, which had not yet recovered from the previous war.

After fierce competition among several camps, the position of commander of the Allied Forces was finally occupied by the Kobold Legendary Knight Aaron. Ao Cong, the Gnoll who had returned under the escort of his personal guards after experiencing hardships, once again partnered with Aaron due to Aaron's guilty conscience and the support of the Bully Ken demigod pillar behind him.

It was also because Bully Ken and Da Vinci, the two pillars, saw the firm attitude and demands of their younger generations that they once again jointly promoted the appointment and removal of the second batch of Allied Forces commanders, allowing Aaron and Ao Cong to get their wish.

Of course, in order to appease the dissatisfaction of other camps, several more Allied Forces deputy commanders were added this time. Each of them firmly controlled the military authority of their own camp's tribal forces, making it impossible for Aaron and Ao Cong to cooperate and firmly grasp the entire army in their hands like the previous Allied Forces.

Over the past two months, the alliance has mobilized more than 300,000 troops to the south. In the next two months, there will be nearly 200,000 more troops completing their assembly and heading south to join Aaron and others.

The Green Field Tribe and other tribes of the Thorns Ring organization were also unable to escape the dispatch of troops to the south this time. The six tribes, plus the Hothia Drow Federation, formed a separate army of 15,000 soldiers and arrived at the Centaur Grassland front a month ago to join Allen.

Because of the pleasant experience of cooperation in the last war, as well as the existence of elite backbone warriors who had withdrawn from the Allied Forces, Allen handed over the command of this army to Aaron and Ao Cong, allowing them to reorganize and train this mixed army composed of six major races and mixed with four or five other races.

After experiencing the last war, everyone not only recovered enough spoils of war, but also gained a lot in how to deploy troops and maximize the abilities and talents of the wilderness race warriors.

In the long history of the wilderness spanning over ten thousand years, it is impossible that there is no experience left on how to form a joint army for combat. However, leaving knowledge and experience is one thing, and how the main general can show them in actual combat is another matter.

Roughly speaking, in the history of the wilderness within thousands of years, it seems that only after the crisis of the Demon Tide appeared hundreds of years ago did the wilderness organize a large-scale joint army.

Now, many years have passed since the two defeats. Most of the commanders who commanded the last war have died, and the new generation of legendary knight generals like Aaron and Ao Cong are basically on the battlefield for the first time and command such a large army. In the wilderness without a complete military education system, everything starts from scratch.

Aaron and Ao Cong are considered to be talented generals. Through repeated hard battles, they have honed and learned, allowing them to form their own unique ideas on army formation, professional matching, and so on.

For example, Ogres, who are burly, tall, and have amazing strength and endurance, are most suitable to be built into a heavy infantry. Wearing heavy armor that other races' soldiers find cumbersome, the momentum of charging head-on is no weaker than that of ordinary heavy cavalry.

If suitable mounts can be found for such a group of Ogres, then the heavy cavalry created in this way, I am afraid that even legendary-level powerhouses can only avoid their edge and run away.

In addition, the bloodthirsty and crazy Gnolls, the brave and extraordinary Bear Goblins and Earthlings, will not have much difficulty in tearing apart the enemy's formation after the Ogres tear apart the enemy's formation and continue to tear and expand the gap.

As for the Trolls, who have tenacious vitality and good resilience, and the Lizardmen, who are born with a layer of fine scales and have good protection, are most suitable for building a stable formation when they fall into a stalemate.

Of course, there are also Orcs, Stoneblind Barbarians, Half-Elves, and other races with smaller populations, each with their own advantages.

Therefore, when forming a mixed army, how strong their actual combat effectiveness is often depends on the general who trains them. The focus of the army they want to build is different, and there is a great relationship.

Allen certainly knows the principle that the control of the army cannot be easily given to others, but he also knows that whether an army is strong or not depends on whether the cooperation of this army is skilled and whether the professional matching is reasonable.

Aaron and their own abilities have already been verified. At the same time, they now have a backbone of elite warriors who have survived hundreds of battles. Instead of keeping the army of the Thorns Ring organization in their own hands and not letting them experience the baptism of real war, it is better to hand them over to professional generals and let them train these warriors well.

With himself sitting in the rear, even if Aaron and Ao Cong have any crooked thoughts, I am afraid they will not and dare not put their attention on the army of the Thorns Ring organization.

As for normal battles and reasonable troop deployment, Allen is even more confident that the warriors sent by their organization will definitely be able to handle it.

Of course, the most important point is that most of the more than 10,000 soldiers dispatched by the Thorns Ring organization this time are basically recruited from the affiliated tribes of various races, not the elites of their own tribes. Even if all of them are sacrificed, it seems that Allen will only feel a little regret in his heart.