The Black Dragon Rosani curled up like a big cat, hugging its legs, with its wide wings pressed tightly against its body. Its luminous vertical pupils stared at the distant low hills, trying its best to conceal its body within the low shrubs on the grasslands.
The bright night was like water, blanketing the prairie. The river cutting through the grasslands shimmered with moonlight, like a celestial river of stars. The sound of the flowing water concealed the slight agitation of the Centaur Warriors, who were eagerly awaiting the appearance of prey.
These Jackal-Wolf Men preferred to be active at night, always hiding in caves under the hills during the day. This habit made it difficult even for a Giant Dragon flying overhead to spot their traces.
Even if the Giant Dragon discovered these Jackal-Wolf Men, it couldn’t do much, as it wasn’t feasible for the dragon to dig through each hill to drag out and dispose of the Jackal-Wolf Men.
It could only be said that every race surviving in the wilderness had its unique survival tactics.
The tall bodies of the Centaur Warriors were not suited for combat in such terrain. Sending the slender Kobolds and Goblin warriors into the caves would simply serve as a snack and equip these ferocious Jackal-Wolf Men.
These Jackal-Wolf Men loved to eat these intelligent creatures, reveling in the final wails and screams of their prey. Their brutality rivaled that of the Red Dragon.
The Centaur Warriors had once considered using fire attacks, piling wood and animal dung from the grasslands in front of the Jackal-Wolf Men’s caves, and using dense smoke to force them out before resolving them.
However, after careful observation, the Centaur Warriors discovered that this stretch of hills had more than just two or three cave exits. Perhaps all the hills in this area had been connected by these cunning Jackal-Wolf Men, making a fire attack infeasible.
Thus, Chiron chose to launch an attack at night.
Nighttime was the home field of the Jackal-Wolf Men, but Chiron wisely chose to act on this particularly bright night. The skies were starry, and moonlight was like water, allowing even ordinary people to clearly see everything on the prairie. Let alone these strong Centaur Warriors, they wouldn’t lose their advantage.
The Black Dragon Rosani and these Dragon’s Beloved didn’t have to wait long. In the bright moonlight, Jackal-Wolf Men began to appear one after another in the hills, along with packs of Earth Wolves enslaved by the Jackal-Wolf Men, and quite a few Giant Demons and Bear Goblins.
The adult Jackal-Wolf Men were mostly over two meters tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds based on their size, with heads resembling the Earth Wolves they tamed.
The skin exposed outside the Beast Hide wrapping was green-gray or dark green, mostly covered with dirty dark yellow or gray-red manes.
Their heads resembled hyenas of the plains exactly, with yellow teeth and blood-red or bluish-white eyes.
The Black Dragon Rosani and Centaur Warrior Chiron quietly poked their heads out of the low bushes to look. They were not like those stupid Kobolds; they knew how to accurately estimate the number of Jackal-Wolf Men.
"Over 400 Jackal-Wolf Men,"
After observing for a while, the Black Dragon Rosani said, "But I haven’t seen any Jackal-Wolf Men Mages; they must still be inside the caves."
"Judging from the number of Jackal-Wolf Men coming out to hunt, the tribe must have at least over a thousand members, Lord Rosani," Chiron said, pointing at the now-active Jackal-Wolf Men in the distance.
"At the forefront are the strongest Jackal-Wolf Man Barbarian Soldiers with Bone Chain Armor and Great Hammers, and those riding the Earth Wolves are the slender Jackal-Wolf Man Scout Trackers and Sentinels with Wooden Bows. Their leaders and Casters haven’t moved out. It seems that this area is dominated by these Jackal-Wolf Men."
Even though facing potentially several times their number of enemies, these Centaur Warriors showed no fear. The former Ogre Tribe was stronger than the Centaurs, but they still fought them for nearly over a decade.
Moreover, now these Centaur Warriors had upgraded their equipment from bone arrowheads and Wooden Spears to Ironware and Leather Armor. If it weren’t for the limited production capacity of the territory, Karon would have wanted these Centaur Warriors to don Heavy Armor.
"Can you handle these Jackal-Wolf Men?" the Black Dragon Rosani asked, turning back.
"Dealing with these Jackal-Wolf Men is not difficult, but if it draws out the reinforcements hiding in the caves, the warriors will certainly have to bleed," Chiron replied.
"Fighting for the Dragon is the honor and duty of the Dragon’s Beloved," declared the Centaur leader Kali without hesitation. This was also her heartfelt feeling; perhaps these Centaur Warriors were currently the most loyal warriors among the Beloved to the Dragons.
Although Kobolds pledged allegiance to the Dragons, they were also prone to fleeing when faced with disadvantages or life-threatening situations. It was a trait of their race, just like Kobolds were naturally the lapdogs of Dragons and difficult to change.
As for the Green-skinned Goblins, they were even lower than the Kobolds. Without the supervision of the Kobolds, they might run at the first sign of real war, not really a ragtag group, but not much different from scattered soldiers.
"No warrior grows strong without bloodshed; only through the baptism of blood can these riders grow into invincible warriors," Chiron agreed with Kali’s words.
The Black Dragon Rosani swept its gaze over the determined Centaur Warriors behind it and issued the order,
"Go, don’t let the Dragon’s expectations down. Let me see if your bravery is worthy of Karon’s regard. When you draw out the Jackal-Wolf Men’s reinforcements, I’ll look for an opportunity to cut off their retreat back to the lair."