Chapter 596: Chapter 457, Rhesa Persuading to Surrender_2
He had also mentioned the number of the undead, stating it was hundreds of thousands or even possibly over a million.
They had assumed at the time that the Great Commander had concocted a decent excuse for losing the city. Now, hearing the scout’s report, his mind began to waver again.
But, how could this even be possible?
Even the Skeleton King Odys could not possibly possess such a vast army.
Seeing the scout’s unwillingness to speak, Krat said, “Gather the others, prepare for battle.”
After saying that, Krat left the room, and the guards conveyed the news.
He arrived at the city wall.
The Clan Leader of the Shadow Moon Tribe, Leitoz, and the Clan Leader of the Blackstone Tribe, Andras, were already waiting on the city wall.
The two of them stood on the city wall, their faces shocked as they stared ahead.
Far away, the White Bone Army appeared on the horizon, streaming out of the dense woods.
Slowly inching closer and closer.
The entire forest seemed to be trembling, and the skeletons emerged like waves, making the enemy’s numbers impossible to estimate.
A grave expression crossed Krat’s face. Despite being mentally prepared for this, the sight of such a massive White Bone Army still stirred an uncontrollable surge of fear in his heart.
“Andras, what on earth did you do?” Leitoz, the Clan Leader of the Shadow Moon Tribe, questioned indignantly.
At this point, he was curious as to what Blackstone had done to provoke such a gigantic army.
“What could I have done? You all know about the Dragon Clan’s lost treasure. It was because of this matter that we traced it back to the Undead,” Andras, the Clan Leader of the Blackstone Tribe, explained irately.
“Nonsense! Inquiring about a lost treasure wouldn’t provoke the Undead to mobilize such a large army. You must have done something,” Leitoz shouted.
The Blackstone Tribe had already explained the matter yesterday.
But given Blackstone Tribe’s reputation, Leitoz still suspected that they had committed a more egregious act, provoking the Undead to rise en masse.
To start a war of such magnitude.
Although the Undead Clan also needed gold and silver, in general, they led ascetic lives.
Having obtained longevity, they also lack many significant emotions, their desire for wealth not as greedy as the living creatures.
So, Leitoz did not believe that it was as simple as the Undead starting such a large-scale war over some treasures.
“City Lord Krat knows about this matter. We have been investigating this matter all this while,” Andras continued.
While Leitoz wanted to say more, Krat interrupted their argument, “As for this matter, we’ll discuss it after we survive today’s ordeal.”
Upon hearing Krat’s words, Leitoz ceased talking.
At this point, there was no use in getting angry. Now, they had to focus on how to overcome the immediate crisis.
The skeleton army appeared incessantly outside the city. Worse comes to worst, they could all die here.
Who was right or wrong and how they provoked these Undead were no longer important.
Seeing the massive skeleton army begin to move forward, City Lord Krat ordered loudly, “Prepare for battle and return to your positions.”
The pre-war mobilization had taken place at dawn.
The time that followed would be entirely occupied by the looming large-scale war.
Whether they could survive would depend on whether this skeleton army was as formidable as the Great Commander had claimed.
…
Tasgo City is a large city, unlike Blackstone City, which is just a tribe.
At this time, the city gate was locked tight, and all the troops were within the city, preparing for the imminent battle.
Most of the people here did not know who today’s enemy was.
They just followed Tasgo City’s summon and brought their troops here.
They gathered and, while waiting for orders, chatted to pass the time.
Then suddenly, everyone felt a subtle trembling from the ground.
The place also started to get chaotic up on the walls, and occasionally one could hear words like “undead” and “skeletons”.
“Could there be some large creature approaching outside? Why else would the ground tremble?”
“Did I just hear the runner mention something about ‘skeleton army’? It couldn’t possibly be the undead.”
“I just saw a guy coming down from the wall. He had wet his pants.”
“People from other villages came to ours last night and said that the Blackstone Tribe provoked the Undead. Apparently, Blackstone City is no more.”
“Is that true or false? How could the Blackstone Tribe disappear when there were so many people there.”
“Why do we have to clean up the mess that the Blackstone Tribe caused?”
The city walls became increasingly chaotic, soldiers shuttling about as though faced with a formidable enemy.
The courier dashed down from the city wall, starting to relay City Lord Krat’s commands.
…
Above the city walls, the soldiers assigned to guard them began to grow tense at the sight of the Undead surging from the dense forest like ocean waves.
The sheer number of their enemies was just too overwhelming.
The Skeleton army started spreading out, their number so vast that one can neither see the end nor count them, they surrounded the city from four directions.
The skeletons, holding Beasthead Shields, began to slowly close in their encirclement.
Tasgo City now resembled a lone leaf adrift in the sea, surrounded by white waves crashing towards it from all sides.
All the orcs looked anxious, ready for battle.
However, just when everyone thought the big fight was about to begin.
The Undead army suddenly halted their march.
The Skeleton army parted to reveal three orcs.
The three orcs looked somewhat apprehensive as they quickly walked towards Tasgo City.
Soon, the people on the city walls recognized the identities of the orcs.
The one leading was ‘Rhesa’, the daughter of the Clan Leader of the Blackstone Tribe, and the remaining two were also members of the Blackstone Tribe.
The three orcs, having emerged from the Skeleton army, walked under the gaze of everyone to the walls of Tasgo City.
The orc warriors held their attack, waiting for the trio to declare their intentions.
Standing below the city gate, Rhesa took a deep breath and shouted loudly, “I am Rhesa of Blackstone City, I bring important news, and wish to see my father.”
Due to the tension of the imminent battle, the whole scene was quiet.
Rhesa’s voice clearly reached the ears of the orcs on the city wall.
Before long, after confirming there were no ambushes, the city gate cranked open a sliver, letting the three of them walk in.
As soon as the three of them entered, the city gate closed once again.
The orc guards quickly stepped forward to shackle the three and escorted them to a room.
In the room were the leaders of various tribes.
Clan Leader of Blackstone, ‘Andras’, showed no joy upon seeing that his daughter was alive.
He asked coldly, “Why are you here?”
His tone was curious as to why Rhesa was not dead and why she appeared here.
Rhesa glanced at her father, then turned to the newly resurrected Great Commander.
She spoke bluntly: “Father, the enemy’s numbers are close to a million. Continuing this battle will only send more of our tribesmen to their deaths.”
“Hmm?” Andras frowned, staring at Rhesa.
Taking into account that Rhesa had emerged from the Skeleton army, he had already started to guess some things.
His gaze grew colder, “Rhesa, you betrayed your tribe, did you lead these undead in the attack on the Blackstone Tribe?”
The city vanished overnight, nearly all tribesmen were killed.
And at this moment, Rhesa arrived to persuade him to surrender.
It made him speculate that Rhesa had betrayed the tribe.
“I did not betray the tribe. I only hope that our tribesmen who manage to escape will survive, and not just senselessly head to their deaths.” Rhesa continued.
Bang!
Before Rhesa’s voice had fully faded, a goblet came flying over, hitting her in the head.
The massive force knocked Rhesa onto the ground, making her head spin.
However, she still heard Andras roaring, “Blackstone City is gone, the tribesmen are gone, what use is your survival?”
Blood began streaming from Rhesa’s forehead.
She held her head, climbed up from the ground.
She frowned at her father, whose expression was fierce, not quite understanding the meaning of his words.
If the lives of the tribesmen were irrelevant, then what was the purpose of this city’s existence?
There was a stele in the center of Blackstone City with the inscription ‘seek hope for the future of our race.’
When all Blackstone tribesmen were dead, where was the hope?
“Father, City Lord Krat, you have seen the number of undead. Once the battle begins, the chances of Tasgo City winning are very low. The leader of the undead has made a promise that if we open the gates and surrender, he can assure the safety of everyone.” Rhesa scanned all the individuals present with a somber look as she spoke.