Not long after this hastily assembled unit bearing an important mission set out, the vanguard of the Greenskin and pirate allied forces had already passed through the Demontrei-Veling path and approached the walls of Demontrei. After the fall of Veling and Magus, this city had
become the final gateway to the North. If the Greenskins breached this place, then the only obstacle on the road to Bilbali would be a medium-sized city of modest scale, Sahagun.
The Northern Council was continuously reinforcing Demontrei's defenses and evacuating the civilians there. At the same time, about a hundred kilometers to the east, at the junction of the Safro Hills and the Great Piña Forest, they were building a fortress named the Bulwark of Saint Monna.
Because the Invincible Armada was annihilated and naval supremacy was lost, the enemy could use their fleet to land and flank them from the rear at any time. Therefore, the Northerners dared not place all their hopes on Demontrei holding off the Greenskin attack. The Fortress of Saint Monna, situated at the border of the hills and the dense forest, did not have this flaw. Being close to Sahagun, it could easily receive reinforcements if besieged; with hills on one side and dense forest on the other, the complex terrain made it easy to defend and hard to attack.
The Northern Council dispatched envoys riding at top speed to urge the vanguard legion Will was in to move faster. The trend of the Greenskins heading north was imminent, and they had to buy as much time as possible.
Thus, before Will even had time to regain his feel for military life, he followed the legion on a forced march for several days, covered in dust and dirt the whole way. At first, it was fine; there was no shortage of human habitation along the way, and while the entertainment was dull, it wasn't lacking. As they continued advancing, for the vast majority of the time, it felt as if they were the only ones left in the world. Occasionally encountering a village or town would excite Will for a while.
Later, after entering that forest that left him with such massive negative memories, there was nothing but marching, marching, and more marching. Will felt like he had been stuck with another terrible chore.
The arrogant and jealous young man once again began to feel deep animosity towards his cousin in his heart. But he knew that this might be his very last mission accompanying the expedition south. If his performance was terrible again, Rein—who already hated this annoying relative of his—would definitely, without even needing to act himself, have Old Hart kick him back to Altdorf.
His glory, his dignity, his competition with Rein... everything would be ruined!
So, despite complaining endlessly in his heart, Will swallowed his pride, trying his best to fulfill his mission as well as he could, suppressing his arrogance to befriend and build good relationships with his subordinates.
Another two days and two nights of travel, constantly on the move, and through complex forest terrain at that. The army's morale was somewhat low. The Priests of the Church of the Goddess of War had to advise the generals to stop and make camp to let the troops rest for a while. Otherwise, continuing in this state, if they encountered an emergency ahead, there was a danger of a mass rout and the entire army being wiped out.
The officers of the vanguard legion considered it, based on the reports from the returning forward scouts. They had encountered an outpost claiming to be the tribe's northern watch, meeting with the so-called "tribal Beastmen" there and a few refugees. The other party stated they would immediately report the news back to the main tribal camp, but due to supply shortages, they couldn't send a large force to rendezvous for the time being.
Currently, they had only sent a squad of werewolf scouts and a few hunters from among the refugees to act as guides.
Confirming that the matter of friendly tribesmen seemed to be true for now—as for the specific details, that awaited further contact—the generals breathed a sigh of relief, feeling this long journey had finally yielded results. After estimating the distance, even if they rushed, burdened by supplies and logistics, it would take at least two more days to finish the journey. So they temporarily stopped to rest, while dispatching capable personnel and the diplomatic team to hurry to the tribe to gather more information and prepare for understanding and communication in advance.
Will also breathed a sigh of relief. Constantly traveling, having just broken away from wine and women, his hollowed-out body was struggling to bear it.
Because the Goddess remained silent, the importance of the Church's Priests had also been weakened, stepping back from being the core of a unit to the second line. They now served a staff role, providing spiritual comfort, boosting morale, and using the military strategies and knowledge they had studied to assist the generals.
As for the armed forces directly under the Church, the formidable Knightly Orders: some were in the New World colonies and the Araby coast colonies across the sea, launching crusades of expansion and conquest in the name of the Goddess, seeking glory; some were in the Empire, acting as a force semi-independent from the Southern Church system; some were trapped in the capital Magritta, likely already annihilated in the siege; some were wandering the world; and the final portion, under the instruction of the Northern Sect's Grand Master of War, was defending the second largest city, Bilbali.
Until the Goddess answered prayers, or unless the situation became exceedingly desperate, the Northern Grand Master did not intend to mobilize these most crucial forces.
Up to now, the entire North had scraped together a massive army of nearly a hundred thousand men, and was still continuously conscripting and training militia everywhere. Half of these hundred thousand men were currently stationed in Bilbali City, undergoing intense assembly and drilling.
The armed forces controlled by the Church of the Goddess were in a semi-independent state. Including spontaneous pilgrims, followers, etc., they numbered around twenty thousand, but only a third could be called well-trained Warriors of the Goddess; the rest were militia and reservists made regulars.
Originally, this number would have been far greater. But because there was no word from the Goddess, many believers grew disappointed and turned to the secular legions instead. During its peak, the Church of Myrmidia controlled the military forces of the entire kingdom, except for some private armies. From marshals to soldiers, almost everyone in a legion was a believer of Myrmidia, the "Lord of Ten Thousand Armies and Ten Thousand Victories, the Southern Goddess governing all." But now, this influence was continuously waning due to the Goddess's silence.
Unlike Estalia, the neighboring country Tilea had highly independent city-states, a prevalent mercenary culture, and internal strife and warfare were commonplace. Even after the Great War, when various races and factions began to develop ideological trends of "Reflection - Review - Reform," the Tileans still maintained the independence of their respective cities. So, under sudden attack, they fought independently, but each possessed enough strength to barely protect themselves, making it hard for the Greenskins to chew them up quickly.
Tilea had established a loose, nominal federal council, but it was mostly a place to spit at each other, throw documents, and smash shoes, inheriting the true essence of the Elves.
Estalia, on the other hand, was generally more centralized. Political, economic, military, and cultural power was mainly concentrated in the southern city of Magritta and the northern city of Bilbali. Compared to their neighbors who loved using mercenaries in war, the Kingdom of Estalia focused more on building a standing army. However, due to the influence of a century of peace, their combat strength had been declining, and they were caught completely off guard by the Great Warboss's WAAAAAGH!.
Losing cities and territories, the capital besieged, losing command everywhere; ultimately half the country fell, the state was in turmoil, and the peril of total destruction was imminent.
Conversely, the Tilean city-states—with their tradition of independence, vitality injected by mercenaries, and competition between cities—performed well under the sudden attack, although this was also partly because Tilea was not the main direction of the WAAAAAGH!'s attack.
Will walked to the stream with his attendants. The young man gripped his sword hilt, looking down at the water surface from the bank. The rippling water reflected the sunlight piercing through the thick foliage, sparkling brilliantly.
In a trance, he thought of the past.
That small stream, that pack of filthy, fierce beasts, the ugly, vicious Shaman...
That centaur, that human-like boy, and that daughter of Julius—who, by blood, could be considered his distant cousin—who gave Will a thrill of revenge but also made him feel pity.
Will had some resistance in his heart toward entering the Piña Forest this time. He didn't know what had become of that Chaos tribe that, under heavy siege, still managed to break out and escape led by that blood-red centaur and a group of monsters, but his intuition made him full of vigilance and fear toward this forest.
He instinctively felt that those terrifying beasts wouldn't just remain in obscurity.
Will believed that beasts were grudge-holding creatures. The Imperial Expeditionary Force had slaughtered their tribe in this forest. Celestine had tried to dissuade Rein, and after returning to the human side, knowing Zhakun was dead—even though there was an Al who might be hundreds or thousands of times more terrifying, the Child of Darkness born from her womb—she still hoped the matter would end there.
But the stubborn Rein insisted on deploying troops to exterminate that tribe. They killed many Beastmen, most of which were believers of the All-Father. As for the Chaos Beastmen driven by Al as cannon fodder, very few survived until the Genesis Herdstone appeared, or actively "awakened" and switched to the path of the Four Mother Goddesses behind the Everchosen.
The old Joy-Singers tribe could basically be considered completely wiped out. The Beastmen left by Thar under Al's command also mostly converted or submitted to the lifestyle incorporating the Four Gods' faith, becoming something distinct from Chaos beasts and All-Father Beastmen: the New—Four-God Beastmen.
They became a "tribe" belonging entirely to Al.
The hatred that Al once viewed as an opportunity to avenge to fully win over the tribe's hearts had also been diluted to a negligible degree due to the rapid expansion of the tribe. However, regarding the past event of his potential tribe being slaughtered, forcing him deep into Piña, if the opportunity arose, Al was still willing to teach the man commanding the Expeditionary Force—who could barely be considered his "uncle"—a profound lesson.
After the Battle of Veling ended, Celestine retreated north with the main body of the Expeditionary Force. There was definitely no opportunity south of Demontrei, so urged by Rein, they returned to Bilbali, leaving only a small number of people in Veling, nominally acting as a volunteer force.
Al watched the departure of his biological mother through the Griffon's eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to worry about the problems he'd face if his identity was exposed—or perhaps, that strong-willed woman had already guessed something, but smartly kept it to herself.
To Al, the meeting with Celestine was sudden, and the separation was also sudden. But he had a premonition that in the future development of the situation, Rein's Expeditionary Force would definitely play a significant role.
At that time, it was highly likely he would face off against the legion his biological mother was in.
And the other person who could be considered to have a tiny bit of "destiny" connecting him to Al—though neither side was aware of it, a faint connection through maternal bloodlines—Will Julius, was exactly a member of the legion entering the Piña Forest seeking cooperation with the tribe.
He was currently looking at the calm lake surface, stopping his attendants who wanted to go down to fetch water and bathe, staring blankly in silence.
Will recalled the village girl with huge breasts he had caught a fleeting glimpse of in that camp before.
Like a flower of the high peaks drifting out from castles and courts, taking root in the fresh countryside of Bretonnia, suddenly entering his world, and then suddenly blowing away with the wind, leaving an unsoothable mark.
Will sighed. The beauty was far gone. Silently, with the help of his attendants, he undressed and walked towards the water.
In the dense forest on the opposite shore, a pair of eyes was staring intently at this human.
The lips parted slightly, revealing red flesh and a strong, pungent metallic scent.