Chapter 1616: Chapter 74:
“How did this happen? Why did the enemy catch up so quickly?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, King Centipede realized he had misspoken.
The four elders who had retreated from the battlefield, along with Marshal Howell, who had just awoken from his coma, all showed displeasure in their eyes.
The situation certainly collapsed a tiny bit faster than expected, but they had done their best!
Other than not fighting to the death, they did everything they could.
When infantry encounters cavalry, especially extraordinary cavalry, defeat is almost inevitable.
Not to mention three under-strength corps fighting for a whole night, even if it were ten main army corps, they could only struggle a bit more in such a situation.
Asking such unrealistic questions not only erases all their efforts but also labels them as ineffective.
“Your Majesty, now is not the time to blame the pursuit.
The enemy is coming aggressively, and they are all cavalry, I’m afraid the rearguard won’t be able to entangle them for long.
The most pressing matter is to quickly prepare to meet the battle, or else there will be endless troubles!”
Seeing the atmosphere was not right, Prime Minister Javat hurriedly changed the topic.
External enemies are already troublesome enough, if internal strife breaks out, the situation will completely collapse.
This is not the Earth Core World, where you can immediately recuperate after internal strife. If heavy losses occur now, they might not even have the chance to return to the Earth Core World.
In fact, the Conservative Faction within the clan had long suggested abandoning the surface world and retreating to the Earth Core World to regain their strength.
The main problem stopping action was not the obstruction from the War Faction but their lack of an Earth Core Passage.
Choosing to cooperate with the Demonic Crocodile Clan was purely out of necessity.
“Yes, I was too impatient!
The enemy is about to charge in, let’s think of a way to meet the battle together!”
King Centipede immediately changed his tone.
As the situation has worsened to this point, Marshal Howell indeed bears some responsibility, but his responsibility as the king is no less.
Now he was dissatisfied with Howell, and many clansmen were also dissatisfied with him as king.
Especially those Conservatives who opposed going to war with the Human Race, privately derided his decisions as utterly worthless.
Faced with the facts, even explanations were pointless. For the sake of internal unity, King Centipede had to play dumb.
Compromising once will lead to a second, and a third time…
The public stance at this moment was essentially King Centipede’s political self-rescue.
He could let Marshal Howell take the blame, but dragging the four elders into it would be big trouble.
If they were pushed too hard and several sides united to launch a coup to remove him from the throne, it wasn’t impossible.
In the history of the Giant Centipedes, there were more than a couple of kings who lost their thrones due to coups.
With the enemy at the doorstep, no one had time for turmoil; after King Centipede made a concession, the tense atmosphere relaxed considerably.
However, how to “meet the enemy” became the new conundrum for everyone.
“How many troops did the enemy dispatch in total?”
Elder Golan’s question broke the silence.
“The enemy’s dispatched forces are not many, probably only eight or nine thousand, but these soldiers are all cultivators, including a thousand Magical Beast Knights.
In terms of combat power, they surpass the Hundred Thousand Army!
The enemy launched just one charge, and the three rearguard corps were defeated, completely without resistance.
Even without using the Magic Crossbows, these Knight Corps are our greatest threat!”
Marshal Howell replied with lingering fear.
Only by experiencing it firsthand could one understand the terrifying might of the enemy’s Knight Corps.
In comparison, the cavalry that fought yesterday seemed like child play.
After receiving the answer, the high-ranking members of the Giant Centipedes became distressed.
The enemy’s “mounted archery” was already troublesome enough, and now there’s an enhanced version.
Even if the elites among them were deployed, they would likely suffer great losses against these enemies.
Understanding the severity of the problem, no one dared to take it lightly.
“We all saw it, the enemy’s Knight Corps is indeed formidable.
The Human Race could secure their position as the continent’s overlord for good reason. If all were as easy to bully as the Kingdom of Black Forest, they would have been exterminated long ago.
We don’t have the time to prepare now.
There’s no better way to deal with these knights than to fight to the death!
No matter how powerful they are, human strength is limited, and we will fight them to the last.
As much as a knight can endure battle, I don’t believe the warhorses can as well!
Drag them out for a few hours, wait until their stamina is exhausted, and the cavalry will become infantry.
If necessary, we can also take action.
To ensure everything goes smoothly, first, draw two hundred eighth-order strongmen from the clan to act with us.
If we can kill Hudson, the battle situation will immediately clear up!”
Master Seyam said murderously.
He was cautious but definitely not weak. When facing a racial crisis, he could still step up.
To gain support for the plan, he even painted a big picture—killing Hudson!
They had already received information from the Demonic Crocodile Clan that the Alien Coalition had placed a significant bounty on Hudson’s head.
Anyone who could accomplish it, regardless of species or background, could request the Alien Coalition to help with one matter.
Perhaps asking the Alien Coalition to join the war might not be possible, but the Giant Centipede joining the Alien Coalition surely faces no obstacles.
“Master Seyam, suddenly drawing so many strongmen from the army might affect the normal operation of the various units.