Watching the giant snakes retreat into the darkness, the leader of the Dragon Nest Legion, Rodney, also breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the Beastman Six Techniques are powerful, Rodney, who has personally practiced these combat techniques, knows well that using the six techniques is extremely taxing on the beastmen's stamina and Fighting Qi. At this stage, the Dragon Vein Officers are not yet capable of continuous combat.
In this dark night, coupled with the thick mist, if the giant snake horde truly charged regardless of casualties, the entire Dragon Nest Legion would probably suffer heavy losses.
"Clear the battlefield, stay alert!"
Rodney waved his hand and issued the command for vigilance.
Although the giant snake horde has retreated, there's no telling if they might make a surprise return attack, so they must remain cautious.
Following Rodney's orders, some beastmen began to clean up the corpses of the giant snakes on the ground, while others lit torches and patrolled the perimeter to ensure the safety of the camp's stronghold.
Just after Rodney had arranged the post-battle matters,
Suddenly, a massive air current stirred in the sky above. The lush leaves and branches split to the sides, casting a massive shadow that descended onto the scene.
"Greetings, Your Highness Austin!" Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Rodney and other high-ranking beastmen quickly stepped forward to greet him, but Austin brushed it off and directly asked:
"How are things going?"
Even before entering the Wet Bone Forest, Austin sensed that although the forest was dangerous, the level of danger did not feel fatal.
At the time, Austin had speculated that the hidden demon beast race within the Wet Bone Forest might not be very formidable; it was just that the surrounding beastman tribe was too weak to discover their true nature, which allowed the forest's fearsome reputation to persist.
However, during the camping experience of the past five days, based on the anomalies from the Blood Wolf and the vague sense from deep within the forest, Austin couldn't help but suspect that perhaps his presence deterred the demon beasts from attacking.
To lure the hidden demon beasts from the depths of the forest to attack, Austin left the temporary stronghold on the sixth night and roamed the perimeter.
The result was as expected, the temporary stronghold in the Wet Bone Forest was indeed attacked.
"Report to Your Highness, three warriors from the tribal army suffered fractures from the impact force on the Bronze Shield, but there were no other major issues. A few contributing officers are slightly exhausted."
This night attack, although seemingly anticlimactic, was only so because the Dragon Vein Officers instantly killed several giant snakes, scaring off the invaders.
The initial black giant snake struck with its tail, and the incredible power not only repelled a squad of more than twenty heavily armored beastman gun shield soldiers, but those who directly bore the brunt of it had their arms dislocated and fractured under the crushing force while holding the Bronze Shield.
Fortunately, the toughness of the bronze alloy was sufficient; if it had been the previous Wooden Shield or Stone Shield, it would have shattered on the spot, and the powerful snake tail would have crushed the beastmen in the front row.
With the introduction of bronze alloy, it gave the ordinary beastmen of the Dragon Nest the confidence to confront such massive creatures like the giant snakes in group combat.
"Hmm, make proper arrangements for the injured warriors' recovery and discuss the next steps of our battle plan."
Austin nodded and said solemnly,
Instructing Rodney to take care of the current post-battle cleanup, then later convene to deliberate on the forthcoming strategy.
The fact that the demon beast in the Wet Bone Forest turned out to be a horde of giant snakes was unexpected, yet within reason.
Snakes inherently favor dark and damp places. This Wet Bone Forest, due to its environment, is enshrouded in thick mist year-round, the air inside is very humid, and the tall trees block out the sunlight, making it an ideal habitat for snakes to thrive and reproduce.
The occasional disappearances of inhabitants from the beastman tribe on the forest's outskirts are likely the result of giant snakes sneaking out at night, silently slipping into homes, and silently strangling and devouring the sleeping beastmen.
No wonder that after the Dragon Nest Legion's large-scale advancement into the Wet Bone Forest, the Blood Wolf grew increasingly uneasy, and Austin faintly sensed the surveillance from deep within the mist.
Snakes have nearly zero vision, relying instead on infrared sensing abilities, so the dense mist permeating the Wet Bone Forest's air is essentially irrelevant to them, enabling them to monitor the Dragon Nest Legion's every move from the unseen periphery.
Judging by tonight's attack, there must be a particularly intelligent leader among these giant snake hordes.
Fortunately, after tonight's attack, Austin and the Dragon Nest Legion now know precisely what lurks within this Wet Bone Forest, which is better than fumbling blindly.
As long as they know what demon beast race resides here, they can devise countermeasures accordingly.
"...If we want to conquer the Wet Bone Forest, we must completely eliminate the giant snakes hidden within the mist... Due to the nature of snakes, able to "see" other creatures in the dark, nighttime is their most advantageous battleground, so we must achieve victory during the day when we can exterminate the entire horde, ensuring none escape and hide in the jungle."
Within the temporary camp, the high-ranking officers of the Dragon Nest Legion gathered together, discussing the next direction of advancement. Former Mercenary Deputy Captain Gory spoke eloquently before Austin and the beastman officers.
The Wet Bone Forest itself is shrouded in thick fog, leaving visibility hazy and limited to a range of ten meters, and at night, one can only see vague silhouettes in the dim light from flames.
Such an environment is naturally a snake's home terrain. At night, the Dragon Nest Legion is at a disadvantage; thus, war must be waged during the day.
"If a few giant snakes unfortunately escape and hide within the forest, it will be incredibly difficult to root them out, which would be detrimental to future resource development in the Wet Bone Forest."
Gory had some speculations about why Austin was sweeping through these dangerous areas.
To exploit the resources within the Wet Bone Forest, killing all the threatening giant snakes would be the best course of action.
"In that case, we must find the lair where the giant snake horde gathers, but this Wet Bone Forest is vast, with the thick fog hindering scouting, so how can we locate it?"
"How about luring the giant snakes into another attack, then send people to follow after they retreat?"
"No, the giant snakes' vision in the dark isn't impacted, and we wouldn't see anything without a light."
For a moment, the venue was abuzz with discussions, but most beastmen were frowning, unable to come up with a solution.
How exactly can they find the lair of the giant snake horde?