Chapter 207: Personally Taking Part (2)
Under Su Chen’s constant, unyielding urges, Anubi finally decided to personally make an appearance.
The entire Ravager kingdom welcomed this change.
Ravagers were a hot-blooded, combat-loving race. Their desire for victory and glory was unquenchable. His Majesty’s declaration was causing their blood to boil. At least in the short term, their morale and power had greatly increased. In this regard, Su Chen’s analysis was spot on.
Even Averigus showed support for this idea when he heard of it.
Averigus was one of the only loyal subjects that truly lived by a set of principles, and what he hated was Anubi’s lackadaisical attitude.
As such, when Anubi declared that he was going to personally lead an expedition, Averigus’s first thought was that it was better that he dared to do it than not.
This was the difference between a smart Ravager and a smart human.
A human would definitely immediately think of all of the horrible possibilities that might occur if the emperor himself took to the battlefield.
To the Ravagers, however, this was not important. Having an unyielding, zealous fighting spirit was the most important.
Even a brilliant individual like Averigus had this kind of attitude.
This was related to the culture and fundamental thought process of their race as a whole. It had nothing to do with intelligence.
With the support of the masses, Gullan Castle’s armies set out.
As Anubi’s head of internal servants and the one who had proposed this expedition, Su Chen naturally accompanied me. Not only so, but he was actually commissioned as the cavalry leader. This was an actual official position amongst the Ravagers, and Su Chen would have command over a squad of five thousand Ravagers. This was not a small position – the holder of this title possessed real power. Even if Su Chen had managed to “train” these seventy-three humans beyond all expectations, clearly demonstrating his skill, Anubi handing him this rank was still a bit much.
But wasn’t that the style of an incompetent ruler anyways?
From the incompetent ruler’s standpoint, this royal subject that he favored so much only had control over five thousand soldiers. This was already very wise, in his eyes. If it weren’t for the fact that so many of the military officials had opposed him, he would have put Su Chen in command of a hundred thousand soldiers.
I have gotten much wiser recently; now, I can even listen to others criticize me, Anubi thought to himself.
If there was one thing to be unhappy about, that was the Head Ancestor of the Divine Shrine’s attitude.
The Head Ancestor decisively refused to allow him to bring the Origin Bone Scepter or the totems into battle. He felt that this was too dangerous.
However, in this matter there was no discussion to be had.
Even without Su Chen’s suggestion, Anubi would have brought the Origin Bone Scepter with him. This was obvious given that he had brought it with him just in a trip over to the Origin Energy Temple.
Rejoicing in shows of grandiosity referred to people like him.
Because the Origin Bone Scepter belonged to the imperial household in name, Anubi was able to rightly take it with him. The Head Ancestor’s opposition actually didn’t have much meaning at all.
The Head Ancestor could, however, make a decision concerning the Three Great Totems.
Even though Su Chen had emphasized and described the importance of taking the totems with them as Anubi’s emissary, the Head Ancestor refused to bow his head in this matter.
He had been alive for too long, and his temperament had also calmed down. He didn’t really care much about killing a Demonic Emperor; how to ensure that the country’s important treasures weren’t lost was what he really cared about.
Perhaps all older individuals would have this kind of attitude.
Anubi flew into a rage three separate times, killing twelve of his subordinates before the Head Ancestor finally agreed to hand over a single totem.
The Vitality Totem.
The Vitality Totem was the most valuable totem amongst the remaining Three Great Totems, and it was the most suitable for the Ravagers’ needs.
Its totemic power could bestow upon its target a powerful lifeforce, giving them an almost endless amount of lifeforce.
The Head Ancestor had actually handed over the most important totem over to Anubi.
In spite of how unwilling he was to do it.
That morning, the sky was clear in all directions, making it a great time to set out on an expedition.
The two hundred thousand man army gathered together, then set out after participating in a few military traditions.
Su Chen sat on the back of an Iron-Boned Bristlewolf. Behind him rode five thousand Ravager warriors, along with the seventy-three human soldiers he had trained.
“I don’t know why you insisted on bringing along these slaves with you. Placing them in this army is like placing a giant chunk of juicy meat amongst a hungry pack of wolves. How can you expect the wolves to focus their attention on the battle?”
The speaker’s name was Blatch, Su Chen’s deputy general, a Quindicus.
Quindicuses, according to Ravager lingo, referred to people who did not have pure bloodlines.
Blatch was not a mix between the Ravagers and some other race. Here, Quindicus referred to the offspring of a member of the Inferno Tribe and some other tribe. The social status hierarchy was quite similar for Ravagers as for humans and Harpies. There was a lot of emphasis being placed on carrying on a certain kind of lineage.
“If this chunk of meat can lead the charge and wipe out our enemies, serving as a kamikaze unit at the very front, then they have some value. As a general, what you need to consider is only whether or not your subordinates will listen to your orders. As for what race the come from, whether they are humans or Ravagers, or even Beasts……”
Su Chen patted the iguana beneath his feet and cracked a smile. “None of that matters.”
Blatch nodded, “You’re absolutely right, sir. The Ravagers can control Beasts to attack Beasts, so of course we can use humans to deal with them as well. BHowever, we need to consider not only value but also morale.
Su Chen nodded. “Yes, there do seem to be some effects on morale, but unlike you, Blatch, I think that these soldiers will only raise morale, not lower it.”
“Raise morale?” Blatch was stunned.
Su Chen said, “Yes, raise morale. Think about it. With a group of human soldiers suddenly stuck into a battalion, most Ravagers will ignore them and dislike them, right? This is why you think it will lower group morale.
Blatch replied, “Yes, that’s correct.”
“But what of this group manages to make contributions on the battlefield? What if they are loyal to the letter, totally unafraid of death and willing to pay any price to slaughter their opponents?” Su Chen asked.
Blatch said, somewhat dazed, “I would probably feel uncomfortable.”
“Yes, you would feel uncomfortable, dissatisfied, or even angry. But as long as you control this anger carefully, you can convert it on the battlefield into hotly burning flames of heroism, might, and tenacity…… Until you become the nightmare of our enemies.”
Blatch understood. “You’re quite right! Ravagers, who emphasize winning in battle, will definitely not allow human captives to win against them. This will stimulate their desire to fight, raising their morale essentially by provoking them. How did you think of it?”
Blatch sent some flattery Su Chen’s way in a timely manner, a skill every talented vice commander needed to have – even if they were Ravagers.
Su Chen raised an eyebrow. “Normal people see what’s in front of them. Wise people see into the future.”
This was a bit pretentious of him. Even Blatch required some time to respond: “General is truly wise and foresighted!”
Even though most of it was just flattery, Blatch did also recognize the merit behind Su Chen’s words.
However, he obviously didn’t know an old human proverb: all disastrous plans seem perfect before they turn disastrous.
Seven days later, the army arrived at the River-Gazing Plains.
A large river passed through the region. It was the Ravagers’ well-known Flying Overflow River.
The Flying Overflow River was lined with all kinds of vegetation, as it was a rare opportunity for life to flourish amongst the barren wasteland belonging to the Ravagers. It was, in a sense, a life source for the northern regions, so the tribes living in the area called this river the River Mother.
However, the Flying Overflow River was not gentle like a mother should be. It flowed down from higher ground to the east, traveling 10,000 kilometers in the process and carrying with it large quantities of mud, since the river was exceptionally turbulent. Because the Flying Overflow River was extremely uneven in terms of river width and depth – a result of tens of thousands of years of conflict between Origin Qi Scholars – the Flying Overflow River often flooded.
The river was exceptionally narrow in the River-Gazing Plains. The river was at times three thousand feet across before this point, but after passing through the River-Gazing Plains, the river width would shorten to a hundred twenty feet, increasing the speed at which the water flowed and making earth-sculpting floods a common appearance.
This was also why the Flying Overflow River was named such.
Past the Flying Overflow River was Elmtree Mountain, Lump Mountain, and Miwo Mountain, known collectively as the Flying Overflow Three Mountains.
At the center of these three mountains was the Three Mountain Castle.
That castle had been seized by the Beasts not too long ago.
After taking the Three Mountain Castle, the Beasts did not continue their advance. Instead, they set up camp there – after such a long battle, the large number of casualties they had suffered made it impossible for them to continue their offensive.
Perhaps this would be the final battlefield for them.
The Scarlet Heart didn’t leave because he had gotten wind that Anubi was taking the Origin Bone Scepter and the Vitality Totem with him to personally make an appearance.
Most importantly, he could sense the aura of the treasures he had lost.
It was amongst the Ravagers.
Even though he didn’t understand how the treasures that had been stolen away by a human would suddenly appear amongst the Ravagers, confirming this fact was more than enough to send him into a frenzy.
As such, the Scarlet Heart had no choice. To him, the Beasts weren’t actually all that important, but those treasures were crucial.
The Beasts lived in an even more chaotic environment than the Ravagers. Most of the Beasts here were not his direct subordinates; they had gathered because of the might of the Demonic Emperor, and they were attacking because of their thirst for flesh and blood. Once they retreated, they would naturally separate. There was actually no need for the Scarlet Heart to feel much pain over sacrificing these kinds of underlings. At most, they would just make it a bit difficult for the Scarlet Heart to withstand the challenges of other Demonic Emperors.
However, the Scarlet Heart had already decided that he would absolutely reclaim the treasures he had lost, even if it meant that he would no longer be the emperor of the area to the west of the Ravagers’ borders. Resources were equivalent to strength.
And in the Beast world, strength was king.
These two kinds of different environments and thinking styles made it so that, even if the Scarlet Heart knew it was going to lose, it wouldn’t try to escape.
He would take back what had been lost, and perhaps obtain even more.
To achieve this goal, he was willing to pay any price!
Under these kinds of circumstances, a fate-deciding duel was absolutely going to happen.
After spending a day to reorganize near the River-Gazing Plains, the two hundred thousand man army began their advance towards the Three Mountains.
Within the Three Mountain Castle, large hordes of beasts were beginning to gather. They stood guard atop the city walls like the Ravagers had in the past, staring intently out into the distance from on high.
This time, however, the Ravagers were the ones attacking.
The Beasts were the ones being attacked.
“I’m going to catch them all in one net,” Anubi said, his pride beginning to surge.
