"Xiaodie, you can begin now." Xi Qianxue, who had had her eyes closed, suddenly opened them and addressed Lan Xiaodie.
Indeed, looks like Xi Qianxue has her own methods of scouting. As such a capable woman, it would be a joke if she didn’t prepare a special method of reconnaissance for herself.
Upon hearing this, Lan Xiaodie sprung up as if electrified. She took out a scroll and began reciting a spell towards the front.
"Now can we know what on earth this thing is for?" Du You asked, looking at the scene before him exasperatedly. Get full chapters from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩
From the very beginning, when they began setting traps, Xi Qianxue had some mages continuously inscribing a magic array on the ground at the weak point. This magic array was sizable indeed, with a diameter of some thirty feet.
While the inscriptions were being made, they also filled it with a certain powder. The powder contained large amounts of Crystal Coins. There were even some Crystal Coins that were used as power sources and placed at various nodes of the magic array.
Du You did some calculations. This magic array used a total of about a thousand Crystal Coins. Of course, these were traded Crystal Coins, otherwise, even Xi Qianxue wouldn’t be able to afford it.
Despite that, the sight of so many Crystal Coins was still glaringly attractive to many, who had been Awakeners for a long time but had never seen so many Crystal Coins. Du You, however, had seen this many before so he was not too taken aback, only curious as to what they were trying to do.
"With Lan Xiaodie’s summoning ability, you’ll see soon enough what this is about," Daniu said with a low voice.
At this point, the Half-Beastmen army was already approaching – over three thousand in number. Although this wouldn’t constitute a large army in Beastmen standards, it was still an overwhelmingly large number.
After the Beastmen entered a defensive state, there hadn’t been such large military operations in several years.
The person leading them was none other than Lucas, a Half-Beastman hero. Lucas was a rare example of a Half-Beastman who had become a Formal Professional, meaning that he was part of their upper class. His level wasn’t low either. But the native levels were entirely different from their own levels – these only indicated combat prowess, not potential.
Even so, with someone like Lucas leading, these Half-Beastmen displayed a certain degree of discipline. They were no longer as disordered as they had been before. However, being Half-Beastmen, they still didn’t have a strong sense of alertness.
When the Half-Beastmen at the front rushed into the dense forest, they soon let out screams of agony.
"It must be the humans’ doing. But don’t worry, the humans couldn’t have known about our operation. The route we chose was also spontaneous, so it’s likely only some patrol squads in this area."
"In that case, what about the stationed troops up ahead? Can you tell me what’s going on?" A tall Half-Beastman spoke loudly. This was none other than Lucas, the Half-Beastman hero.
Lucas, who was far taller than other Half-Beastmen, had remarkably developed muscles and was overflowing with a wild aura. He wore no armor, only animal skin, and his weapon was a pair of large battle axes, the most valuable things he owned. His mouth was fitted with two sabertooth tusks, one of which was broken, enhancing his rugged appearance.
"Perhaps a squad originally stationed here, the size of the gap here calls for human attention," another suggested.
"Really? This place is at the border between Wood Shield City and Border City, an area that is usually neglected. Who’d station troops here? Prepare yourselves, we might be in for trouble," Lucas roared. The surrounding people nodded in agreement. As the screams from up ahead reverberated once again, a Half-Beastman came over to report to Lucas.
"Chief, we’ve found a large number of traps left by humans up ahead. Many of the traps seem cleverly designed, more like temporary settings than long term arrangements," a Half-Beastman reported as he knelt before Lucas.
Lucas nodded: "Looks like the humans have found out that we are passing through this place by some means. Everyone, prepare yourselves, and follow me to break through."
"No way, how could the humans know we were coming."
Lucas scoffed: "Have you forgotten why we are here in the first place?"
Everyone closed their mouths immediately. Their presence here was due to Lucas. More specifically, someone wanted to see Lucas die here and never return.
Half-Beastmen were the offspring of Beastmen and humans, despised by Beastmen and not accepted by humans. Therefore, Half-Beastmen have always been cannon fodder for the Beastmen, but they had a high reproduction rate.
As a result, there were a lot of Half-Beastmen. On normal days, they were made to do all sorts of heavy and dirty work by the Beastmen. Yet among them suddenly appeared a hero, Lucas, who organized the Half-Beastmen. Through military exercises, he trained many powerful Half-Beastmen. Gradually, some of the upper class Beastmen began to feel a threat – a threat coming from the Half-Beastmen.
The Beastman upper-class members who didn’t want the Half-Beastmen to escape their control sent Lucas to cause havoc behind human lines.
It was dangerous to operate in this area; once a major battle broke out, they’d be the first to die.
However, the Half-Beastmen were too weak, and Lucas’s own power wasn’t enough, so he had to agree to this command. Otherwise, the Beastmen would find an excuse to kill Lucas on the spot.
On the other side, the human army also saw the arrival of the Half-Beastmen. At the same time, the traps began to work.
"These Half-Beastmen... why is their fighting style different from ours?"
"Indeed, it seems these Half-Beastmen are organized, stronger, and more formidable. If you observe their actions, it seems they even have a vague battle formation." those who fought the Half-Beastmen a lot spotted the anomalies.
These people were the ones who had been exterminating the Half-Beastmen in the backdrop.
"See, that’s Lucas’ elite half-beastmen army, also the most powerful force among half-beastmen. At least in this world, that’s the case. So don’t let your guard down."
Those Half-Beastmen, though also at level 2, were better at applying their powers and skills. Even some level 3 Half-Beastmen seemed more like Semi-Professionals.
Half-Beastmen even remotely like Professionals, apart from Lucas, were frankly nowhere to be found. It was much harder for Half-Beastmen, whose living conditions were poor, to become close to a professional than other Beastmen.
Slowly, the Half-Beastmen were cautiously drawing near while disarming the traps along the road. From Du You’s side, they could also see the ferocious Half-Beastmen now.