Chapter 207: Personally Taking Part (2)

Under Su Chen’s constant, unyielding urges, Anubi had finally decided to personally make an appearance at the front line.

The entire Ravager kingdom gladly welcomed this change.

The Ravagers were a hot-blooded, combat-loving race with an unquenchable thirst for victory and glory. His Majesty’s declaration only caused their blood to boil even more fiercely. 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 his support for this idea when he heard of it.

Averigus was one of the only loyal subjects of the empire who truly lived according to a set of strict principles, and what he hated about Anubi was his lackadaisical attitude.

As such, when Anubi declared that he was going to personally lead an expedition to the forefront of the war, Averigus’s first thought was that it was better that he dared to take such a risk than be too afraid.

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, that was not important. Having an unyielding, zealous fighting spirit was the most glorious way someone could live their life.

Even a brilliant individual like Averigus had this kind of attitude.

This was related to the culture and fundamental thought processes 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 him. Not only that, but he was actually promoted to cavalry leader. This was an actual official position amongst the Ravagers, and with it, Su Chen would command a squad of over five thousand Ravagers. This was not a minor position — the holder of this title possessed real power. Even if Su Chen had managed to “train” these seventy-three humans to a level beyond all expectation, which clearly demonstrated his skill, Anubi handing him this rank was still a bit much.

But wasn’t this the whim of an incompetent ruler anyways?

From an incompetent ruler’s standpoint, this royal subject that he favored so much only controlled slightly more than five thousand soldiers. This was already very wise, in his eyes. If it weren’t for the fact that so many of his military officials had opposed this move, he would have put Su Chen in command of a hundred thousand soldiers.

I have gotten much wiser recently; now, I can even calmly listen to others criticize me, Anubi thought to himself.

If there was one thing to be unhappy about, then it was the Head Ancestor of the Divine Shrine’s attitude.

The Head Ancestor had decisively refused his proposal to bring the Origin Bone Scepter or the totems into battle. He felt that this was too risky.

However, in this matter there was no discussion to be had.

Even without Su Chen’s suggestion, Anubi would have tried to bring the Origin Bone Scepter with him. This was obvious given that he had brought it with him just for a trip to the Origin Energy Temple.

The term ‘rejoicing in shows of grandiosity’ perfectly described people like him.

Since the Origin Bone Scepter ostensibly belonged to the imperial household, Anubi was able to take it with him without needing any justification. The Head Ancestor’s opposition actually didn’t have much meaning at all.

However, the Head Ancestor could influence any decisions related to the Three Great Totems.

Even though Su Chen, as Anubi’s emissary, had emphasized and described the importance of taking the totems with them in detail, the Head Ancestor still refused to bow his head in this matter.

He had been alive for far too long, and his temperament had also calmed down considerably. He didn’t really care too much about the glory related to killing a Demonic Emperor; ensuring that the country’s greatest treasures weren’t lost was what he really cared about.

Perhaps all older individuals would develop this kind of attitude.

Anubi had flown into a rage three separate times, killing twelve of his subordinates in total 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 also the most suitable one for the Ravagers’ needs.

Its totemic power could bestow its target with 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 his unwillingness.

That morning, the sky was clear in all directions, making it auspicious weather to set out on an expedition.

The two hundred thousand strong army gathered together, then set out after engaging in a few traditional military rituals.

As their march was underway, 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 those slaves along with you. Leaving them in this army is like throwing a giant chunk of juicy meat into a pack of starving wolves. How can you expect the wolves to focus on the battle?”

The speaker’s name was Blatch, Su Chen’s deputy general, and a Quindicus.

Quindici, according to Ravager lingo, referred to people who did not have pure bloodlines.

But Blatch was not a mix between the Ravagers and some other race. Here, Quindicus referred to the fact that their bloodline stemmed from the Inferno Tribe as well as another foreign Ravager tribe. The social status hierarchy was quite similar for Ravagers to that of the humans and Harpies. There was a lot of emphasis placed on carrying on a certain kind of lineage.

“If this chunk of meat can lead the charge and wipe out our enemies by serving as a kamikaze unit at the very front, then they do have some value. As a general, all you need to consider is whether or not your subordinates will listen to your orders. As for what race they 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 other Beasts, so of course we can use humans to deal with humans as well. However, we need to consider not only strategic value but also our army’s morale.

Su Chen nodded. “Yes, there does seem to have been some effects on our morale. But unlike you, Blatch, I think that these soldiers will 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 thrown into a battalion, most Ravagers will ignore them out of disgust, right? This is why you think it will lower group morale.

Blatch replied, “Yes, that’s correct.”

“But what if 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, “Then I would probably feel uncomfortable.”

“Yes, you would feel uncomfortable, dissatisfied, or even angry. But as long as you control this anger carefully, then on the battlefield, you can convert it into hotly burning flames of heroism, might, and tenacity…… until you finally become the nightmare of our enemies.”

Blatch instantly understood. “You’re quite right! Ravagers, who emphasize victory and achievements in battle, will definitely not allow human captives to surpass them. This will stimulate their desire to fight, raising their morale essentially by provoking them. How did you think of this method?”

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 too pretentious of him, and even Blatch required some time to respond. Eventually, he managed to stumble out, “General is truly wise and farsighted!”

Even though most of it was just flattery, Blatch did also recognize the merit behind Su Chen’s plan.

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 shore of the Flying Overflow River was lined with all kinds of vegetation, as it was a rare opportunity for life to flourish in the barren wasteland that belonged to the Ravagers. It was, in a sense, the source of life for the northern regions, so the tribes living in the area also called this river the River Mother.

However, the Flying Overflow River was not gentle like how a mother should be. From the higher plains in the west, it flowed to the east, easily traveling over 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 its width and depth — a result of tens of thousands of years of conflict between Origin Qi Scholars — the Flying Overflow River often flooded over.

Here in the River-Gazing Plains, the river was exceptionally narrow. At other areas, the river was over three thousand feet wide, but after passing through the River-Gazing Plains, the river width would shorten to a hundred twenty feet, which meant that its flow rate increased significantly, making earth-sculpting floods a common appearance here.

This was also why the Flying Overflow River was named as such.

Past the Flying Overflow River were the Elmtree Mountain, Lump Mountain, and Miwo Mountain, collectively known as the Flying Overflow Three Mountains.

And 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 had 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.

However, the Scarlet Heart hadn’t left because he had gotten wind that Anubi was taking the Origin Bone Scepter and the Vitality Totem with him to personally make an appearance.

More 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, merely confirming this fact was more than enough to send him into a frenzy.

As such, the Scarlet Heart had no choice. To him, his fellow 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 back into their old tribes. There was actually no need for the Scarlet Heart to feel much pain over sacrificing these kinds of underlings. At most, it 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 sacrificing his rule 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 processes 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 gain 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 reorganizing themselves near the River-Gazing Plains, the two hundred thousand man army began their final 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 intensely out into the distance from on high.

This time, however, the Ravagers were the ones attacking.

While the Beasts were the ones defending.

“I’m going to catch them all in one net,” Anubi said, his pride beginning to surge.