Chapter 772: Sent to Die
Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance
This guy’s intelligence far surpassed that of the average Raging Flame Beastman. He knew how to endure and develop, and he was a powerful peak 8th Rank Arch-Warlock. Moreover, he already had a foot in the 9th Rank!
What was the 9th Rank? That was the transition stage to the Heaven Rank. The gap between the 8th Rank and the 9th Rank was the biggest gap in the Archmage realm!
Hoppet, just at the border of the 9th Rank, was already the strongest person on the battlefield!
If it weren’t for fact that Hoppet was careful to not attract the powerhouses of the three major forces and instead slowly coerce the three major forces little by little, this war might have already been over.
Now, the Watson Family and the Black Tower were actually telling the Merlin Family to assassinate that guy? Was there any difference from telling them to throw away their lives?
Thorne Merlin’s eyes widened as he angrily screamed, “Green Watson! You guys are too much! Assassinating Hoppet? That’s impossible! That’s not an assassination, it’s jumping to our deaths! Damn b*stard, you guys think you can kill the people of the Merlin Family? You think you can make me go to my death?”
Green had a cold expression, but he didn’t show any anger. He only said, “This isn’t a matter to be discussed with you, this is an order! Naturally, as the commander of the Merlin Family, you can choose not to accept it, and the cooperation between our three forces will end here. The Watson Family and the Black Tower will withdraw from this war, and your Merlin Family can try to reap the fruits of victory yourselves.
Thorne’s expression changed, and his breathing became a lot rougher and heavier. This sentence was nipping at the fatal problem of the Merlin Family.
The power of the Merlin Family in the Raging Flame Plane was now far inferior to that held by the Black Tower and the Watson Family. Whether it was in terms of the quantity of their forces or the strength of their powerhouses, they were both inferior to the Black Tower and the Watson Family. They simply couldn’t compare. Moreover, the Family had been having a hard time sending reinforcements to help in the Raging Flame Plane.
The Raging Flame Plane wasn’t the only campaign of the Merlin Family, and there weren’t many forces in each plane. Some reinforcements had already been sent to the Raging Flame Plane, and now they could no longer afford to dispatch any more.
But now, because of the Horn of Fertility, the Merlin Family had been dragged into the quagmire of war. Their losses were already disastrous, and if they lost the Horn of Fertility, the Merlin Family would be unable to make up for their losses, so they couldn’t afford to retreat.
If they retreated and ignored the retaliation of the Raging Flame Beastmen, the Merlin Family’s fort would bear the brunt of the attack. And when the time came, their power in the Raging Flame Plane would be destroyed, and the Family’s operations and expeditions over the years would become void. The Family couldn’t endure that kind of loss.
Thorne’s complexion kept changing. There was no sign of the three major forces working together. They were actually all guarded against each other, and now he learnt that the Watson Family and the Black Tower were telling the Merlin Family members to throw away their lives and that he had no other choice but to agree.
Green Watson sneered as he looked at Thorne Merlin’s inner turmoil, and his disdainful smile became even more apparent.
“Sir Thorne, this is the most crucial juncture. It wouldn’t be good if your Merlin Family cowered from this. Our Watson Family and the Black Tower are looking for a powerful cooperative partner that can pull their weight.”
Green Watson was brazenly threatening him.
Thorne Merlin clenched his fists and ground his teeth. Hatred could be seen on his face as he breathed deeply a few times before forcing himself to say, “Okay, Sir Green. I won’t see you out.”
Green snorted and leisurely shared Hoppet’s location before leaving.
Thorne Merlin had a sullen expression. After Green left, he angrily swung his greatsword, leaving an eight-meter-deep hole in the ground.
‘Damned Watson Family, damned Black Tower, greedy, cunning leeches!’
Thorne felt very sullen, but he had no choice but to agree. The Merlin Family had no way out. The Watson Family and the Black Tower would only have to retreat for the Merlin Family to suffer a destructive blow. He knew that they would be throwing away their lives, but they had to go!
Because if they didn’t go, the Merlin Family in the Raging Flame plane would face annihilation!
Thorne Merlin gathered a few higher-ups of the Merlin Family to discuss this matter, to which someone immediately roared, “These damned b*stards, they are sending us to our deaths again!”
“No, we definitely can’t compromise this time!”
Thorne ground his teeth and mentioned the consequences, which silenced everyone. They were all frustrated, but they couldn’t say anything to Thorne.
Losing a plane wasn’t just a loss of resources. It would also cause the Merlin Family shrink, and their development speed would greatly weaken. And if other Families and forces learnt about it, there would definitely be many people trying to suppress the Merlin Family.
The Watson Family and the Black Tower would likely take advantage of this opportunity to quickly develop themselves.
After all, there were many Families with grudges towards the Merlin Family, the first of which was the Watson Family. The Watson Family definitely wouldn’t let go of this chance to suppress the Merlin Family!
It took the Merlin Family several hundred years to overcome their previous plight. It would be really dangerous if they fell into another predicament.
Thorne had a bitter expression. As the commander, he had to see the long-term possibilities. Small sacrifices could buy time for the Merlin Family so that they could fight for more opportunities. Thus, even if he knew that this was a suicide mission, he still had to accept it.
“Don’t be noisy, I’ll personally lead the troops for this mission. Choose some good staff to follow me.”
Thorne’s decision immediately silenced the others, but they had different opinions when it came to manpower.
“Sir Thorne, although those fifty mages sent by the family only recently advanced to the High Mage realm, they are quite good. You should take them along to increase the chances of success,” one of the higher-ups said.
Thorne’s winced slightly as he immediately thought of who that person was talking about.
“No, those fifty High Mages are subordinates of Commander Mafa, I can’t casually order them around. Their task is to guard the fort held by the Merlin Family.”
After pausing, a hint of helplessness flashed on Thorne’s face as he continued, “Moreover, this mission is extremely dangerous. Hoppet is the Tribal Chief of the Fireblade Tribe and is very powerful. We are bound to pay a huge price to assassinate him. We have to leave room for maneuver. Even if we fail and suffer disastrous damage to the point that we have to withdraw from the war over the Horn of Fertility, at least these people will be holding the fort. As long as they remain at their posts, there will always be the possibility of recapturing what we lost. If they also fall, our fort will be in danger…”
Thorne stopped after that, and everyone tactfully remained quiet. If they used all their forces at once and failed, the Merlin Family would be unable to keep their few strongholds under control. That would be a disaster.
On the battlefield, what seemed to be an endless battle was still ongoing.
The Merlin Family transferred a large number of elites and handed the defensive line to the Watson Family and the Black Tower. Flames and ice fragments flew in the air, and a large number of meteors fell down.
Human warriors and Beastman warriors kept colliding, and the sounds of weapons clashing kept echoing, alongside miserable shrieks.
Thorne Merlin led several hundred elites of the Merlin Family to circumvent this battlefield and went to the location pointed out by the Watson Family’s intelligence.
This was a corner of the Horn of Fertility that wasn’t far from the Raging Flame Beastmen’s headquarters. Besides a mountain peak, almost everything was just flat land. Their objective was on the mountain peak and was very easy to find.
Thorne Merlin led his group through brush that was taller than a man in order to not be discovered by the Raging Flame Beastmen’s scouts.
Their progress was slow, but they managed to avoid the patrols and everything went pretty smoothly.
After three hours, that peak was only four to five kilometers away and they could even see some blossoming light atop the peak.
They hurried to the foot of the mountain peak when Thorne was suddenly shocked. He could see a huge array arranged on the mountain peak. The array had yet to be activated, but it was emitting powerful mana fluctuations.
‘Teleportation Array!’
Thorne was taken aback, and moreover, he could see Hoppet’s silhouette on the mountain peak. The Tribal Chief of the Fireblade Tribe could arrange a Teleportation Array, and such a big one!
‘Heavens, such a large Teleportation Array can definitely transport a large amount of troops! It can teleport at least several hundred to a thousand people at once!’
Thorne became pale with worry. It no longer mattered that the Black Tower and the Watson Family had sent them to their deaths.
He could easily guess what would happen if they didn’t destroy this array. The Fireblade Tribe’s power would instantly increase and might suppress the three major forces in a short time. And the Merlin Family’s forces would inevitably be the first to meet their end!
There were only a dozen Raging Flame Beastmen on the mountain peak, and no other Beastman could be seen. Thorne didn’t take much time to think and immediately led his people out.
The group made it halfway up the mountain peak when something unexpected happened.
A large number of Raging Flame Beastmen rushed over from the sides of the mountain peak, and there were also groups of raging Flame Beastmen that appeared behind them at the bottom of the mountain, waiting in tight formation. Hoppet was standing at the peak and was looking down at them with disdain.
