"The Northern Reaches… I never thought I'd come back here again…"
"Orcs!" "Orcs!"
The goblins' shrieks rose and fell through the tall grass and thickets, a tide of enormous malice rolling over Anya and the caravan behind her.
If they failed to project sufficient force right now, the goblins would shadow their every move, probing for the slightest gap in their defenses or waiting for reinforcements. Once they found their opening, they would swarm in and tear every living thing in the caravan into bloody chunks of meat.
"Go!"
Anya knew full well how to deal with them. In fact, before she even had to utter a word, several Knights had already charged forward.
Thundering hooves, fully armored riders, and gleaming blades swinging through the air — in an instant the goblins' cries turned to panic.
"Ha ha… you green-skinned little runts!"
A Knight laughed loudly, his dragon-engraved greatsword hooking several filthy green-skinned goblins right out of the underbrush.
Thud! Thud!
Several wretched creatures were killed outright, and the survivors wailed in agony.
Those piercing screams, steeped in sheer terror, sent the rest of the goblins fleeing in panic. The tall grass rustled in waves as a whole wave of them scattered and vanished.
For any caravan that truly intended to make a living in the Northern Reaches, if they couldn't even handle the goblins and ogres of the Endless Wilderness, it would only be a matter of time before they were devoured and annihilated by rival trading guilds — or simply abandoned by the unforgiving landscape itself. Their bones would be left to bleach across the wasteland.
The loudest-wailing goblins were strung up at the front of the caravan. Their shrieks served as the finest repellant — though admittedly it only worked on other goblins. Still, it saved them plenty of trouble.
Wary of the stench clinging to the green-skinned little brutes, Anya deliberately kept her distance, holding a white silk scarf embroidered with golden trim over her nose.
"Damn it, isn't there a better way?"
Her eyes flicked quickly over several rather ordinary-looking servants, a faint trace of grumble still lingering in her heart: "With them around, even an entire clan of ogres wouldn't be anything to worry about…"
Of course, Anya knew perfectly well that they were already in Beastman Empire territory. If they provoked a Beastman army to surround and attack them, even the support of a legendary powerhouse wouldn't help.
So. She very wisely swallowed those words and kept them to herself.
"Miss Anya, the steward asks that you come with him!" A thin, small servant jogged over, his face still carrying the softness and immaturity of youth, though in his eyes there was a composure and resolve that belied his age.
"What is it?" Anya asked reflexively.
"It's probably about the imminent arrival at the Dark Forest!" the boy dressed as a servant replied at once, prompting Anya to spare him another glance.
"I'll come right away…"
After agreeing, Anya watched the boy's retreating back, and a rare trace of envy flickered through her eyes. "What a lucky little fellow… His name is Lens, isn't it? To have earned my lord's favor…"
She certainly remembered what he had been like when she first met him — a self-doubting child hiding in the shadows.
But now. Not only had his bearing and his body undergone a tremendous transformation, but he had also been brought to the North as a priority candidate for the Church's cultivation.
"I hear he received a divine revelation, even awakened the talent of a Devil Hunter — he may well be taken as a disciple by that legendary figure…"
Anya gazed at Lens's back, and then thought of her own younger brothers who had been sent to the Great Serpent Church. A bitter smile surfaced on her face, though she had no grounds to complain.
She understood the reasons behind it perfectly. The Bane family was a merchant clan — their faith had never been all that steadfast to begin with, and they were converts at that. In terms of devotion, they naturally couldn't compare with the other side.
It seemed that among the heirs, even though they were still young, it was virtually impossible for them to become zealots.
"The only option is to begin cultivating from the next generation of infants…"
Anya knew all too well what one's standing and foundation within the Church depended on.
Contributing to the Church was only one part of it — the most fundamental thing was the solidity of one's faith.
You could lack any special talent. You could be penniless. But you couldn't afford to be anything less than fanatically devoted in your most basic faith!
Anya knew that the Great Serpent Church possessed a unique divine art — the ability to gauge the depth of a believer's faith by the Light of Faith upon their person. This advanced method of assessment filled her with a profound sense of crisis.
"It seems… I should deepen my understanding of my lord's teachings as well… In that regard, perhaps Sister
At the thought of Saintess Barbara, for some reason, a faint blush crept onto Anya's cheeks.
"Father!"
Anya rode up to Felix's side and matched pace with him.
This mission was clearly important — even Felix himself had joined the caravan.
"For the sake of our God, we cannot afford even the slightest mistake this time!" Felix's middle-aged face was etched with solemnity.
"I understand, Father!" Anya took a deep breath.
After Raylin descended with a divine miracle, sweeping up the Black Moon Trading Company, Baron
But no matter how Felix and his daughter looked at it, the Great Serpent Church's actions this time seemed to carry ulterior motives.
Helpless — they had already boarded the pirate ship — all they could do now was follow Raylin down this road to the bitter end.
Felix understood all too well how terrifying the struggles between deities could be, and how tragic the fate of innocents caught in the crossfire became. Even unwilling as he was, he had no choice but to steel himself and press on.
"Father! We've spotted Beastman Empire cavalry ahead!"
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the front, and Anya leaned close to whisper in Felix's ear.
"It's fine!"
Felix glanced at the banner raised on their side — a transit pass issued by the Beastman Empire, enough to guarantee the caravan's safety.
"Howl…" "Howl…"
Amidst the desolate howling of wolves and columns of smoke, the forms of those riders finally came into Anya's view.
— Wolfkin who stood two heads taller than ordinary humans, with green eyes, teal fur, and knotted, powerful muscles, mounted atop massive silver-gray wolves.
"Beastman Empire elites — Wolf Riders!"
A slight change crept across Anya's face. She had a deeply ingrained impression of this type of unit — the only cavalry that could rival human heavy horse. More than that, the Wolf Riders were the nightmare of every resident of the northern lands.
"Howl!"
Under the watchful gaze of the wolf pack, the horses in the caravan grew restless, pawing at the ground with their hooves and snorting thick plumes of white breath from their nostrils.
"Awoooo..." Fortunately, the Wolf Rider commander wearing the golden helmet waved his hand sharply after seeing the banner atop the caravan. The wolves dispersed and cleared the road, allowing the caravan to continue on its way with trembling caution. The commander even dispatched two riders to follow behind as protection.
"Sigh... compared to the Silver Moon Alliance, the Beastman Empire's policies are actually..."
Fixus let out a quiet sigh as he watched the scene, but chose not to finish his thought.
Anya understood what her father meant. The ruler of the Beastman Empire, Saladin, was a wise and far-sighted beastman. After witnessing the prosperity of human society and the advancement of their technology, he had already begun to steer his empire in that direction.
He had even gone so far as to issue protection decrees to underground trading guilds like Nien and the Black Moon, forbidding any beastman military forces from raiding them, mandating only fair trade — all in order to attract more merchants and strengthen the Beastman Empire at the same time.
In comparison, Silver Moon Queen Elastril and the bureaucrats of the Administrative Hall had fallen somewhat short in this regard.
Unfortunately, they were of the human race, and the other side was the beastmen. By nature, the two were opposed.
Even with trade and mutual interest as lubrication, the shadows cast by the previous wars could likely not be bridged.
On the contrary, from the beastmen's recent thirst for refined weapons and magic scrolls, Fixus had deduced that their war preparations had already begun long ago.
"What do you think?"
In the caravan, a tall, thin figure with slightly dark skin looked down at the young boy Rens: "Are you afraid?"
"No! With my God's protection, I have nothing to fear..."
Rens gripped a thick hemp rope around his neck, beneath which something was faintly tied.
"Then what do you think about their policy of protecting trade guilds, absorbing human society, and pursuing civilization?"
The figure seemed to be deliberately testing Rens's capabilities. Such a question would be difficult even for an adult.
"I think..."
Rens lowered his head in thought for a moment. When he raised it again, there was no longer any confusion in his eyes: "The beastmen give me the impression of being savage and bloody. This civilizing effort and learning of technology will certainly benefit their empire, but I can't shake the feeling that... it doesn't quite fit!"
Though Rens had not gone into great depth, the tall, thin figure already wore an expression of satisfaction on his face.
"You speak well! Gennušu is the god of savagery and the beastmen, and the transformation of the entire Beastman Empire fundamentally contradicts the essence of the beastman pantheon. This raises a rather serious question... how many gods would be willing to begin transforming their very nature, shifting from savagery toward order and civilization!"
"That must be terribly difficult, right?" Rens scratched his head. Just thinking about it felt inconceivable to him.
It truly is extremely difficult! Sometimes, changes in alignment and nature are beyond even the gods themselves to choose…
The figure sighed. "And even if Gennushu were to agree to this reform, there would surely still be quite a few savage beast gods who oppose it… This hidden countervailing force would deal a devastating blow to the entire Beastman Empire…"