Section XVI Scouting

In summer, the sun is far less intense in the mountains than in the plains or cities. Sheltered by shade trees, peaks and other shades, it is much cooler to walk in the mountains than on the plains.

A group of humans appeared in a mountainous area on the outskirts of the Iron Claw Mountains.

This is not a caravan trying to take a shortcut, nor is it a lost hunter or anything like that, in this team, all the members are soldiers, everyone is fully armed, carrying a variety of weapons, and a considerable number of people are leading their horses. Every member of the team is very vigilant, and whenever there is a disturbance, they will make all kinds of preventive postures. Their sophistication and vigilance amply illustrate that this is a squad of scouts.

It's greenskinned territory. Both orcs and goblins are known for their hospitality, and they are best at keeping their guests here forever.

"There's a camp up ahead!" the scout in the lead warned the rear. This news caused everyone to immediately find a hidden place to hide until the next news came.

"It's an abandoned camp, and it looks like Greenskin is long gone. ”

The group set off again, and in a few minutes arrived at the abandoned camp. It can be seen that this camp once belonged to a sizable greenskin tribe with at least a few hundred members.

"Search for it. An officer leading the team ordered.

The soldiers searched around, and soon all kinds of useful and useless information came in.

"Well, it looks like Greenskin has been out of here for at least a month. The two officers sat together, studying the information they had received. "From the moment we entered the mountains, we didn't even encounter a single green skin. And many of the abandoned camps we found had been abandoned for more than a month. This only says one thing!"

"Does that mean that Greenskin has abandoned the area?" asked a young officer who had just had a touch of fluff on his mouth.

"No, this means that the information we got earlier may be correct. The older officer in the lead replied. "Zhilu said, why do we want to come here to reconnoitre?"

"Because the activity of the greenskins has increased dramatically?"

"No, it's because the activity of the greenskins has been greatly reduced. The older officer pulled out a sheepskin map from his bosom, which depicted the entire Iron Claw Mountains, including the peaks and the surrounding important passes and castles.

"This, this, and here!" the elder officer's finger pointed across the map. "It's always been a key area for the greenskins. Because although the castle we built here can stop the Greenskins, there is nothing we can do about these small tribes that have infiltrated them. Cannons can't hit flies. So these places can only rely on patrols to deal with, so skirmishes are very frequent. Of course, these little greenskins are just a nuisance to us, not a threat. But. He sighed heavily. "The situation has changed markedly lately. The steady decline in greenskinned activity has been going on for at least three months, and even sightings of greenskins have disappeared in the last month. ”

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Abnormal things usually don't bode well. It doesn't matter if it's an orc or a goblin, it's impossible to suddenly become a pacifist. From our reconnaissance over this time, it can be seen that the reason for the decrease in Greenskin's activity is due to the Greenskin's departure from the area. But why did the greenskins leave the area?" sighed the older officer. "I hope it's not the worst reason. ”

"They probably had a big civil war! There are a lot of civil wars between the greenskins. ”

"That's what I'm worried about. What will be the outcome of a large-scale civil war in the greenskins?" the older officer looked up at the sky. "But...... It's been almost fifteen years since the last big war...... Should it come, will it come again at last?"

There was a fluttering sound, and it was a whole flock of birds flying into the sky.

"What's wrong?" the young officer stood up and looked in the direction of the voice. It was a dense forest, and it was impossible to see the details inside. But it's probably because some wild beast is moving, so it scares the birds.

His naïve thoughts lasted only a second, and then he felt a cold, sharp object hit his neck, hitting him where his armor was not protecting, and the force of the impact nearly knocked him out. His neck muscles contracted violently, and the stiff sensation instantly dominated his throat, and then he couldn't let out a single scream.

An instinctive fear made him try to make another sound, but he opened his mouth and spewed out a column of blood.

"Enemy attack!!" He heard screams around him, and the scouts scurried around, looking for cover. But there were already many crudely made arrows stuck in the ground. Then he realized that he had been hit by an arrow in the neck.

It was the only arrow that hit in the rain of arrows, but it was also a fatal one.

A savage, furious beastly roar came from the other side of the forest. Then, in front of people's vision, countless Scroogs appeared, and these creatures rushed out of the forest, leaping towards the scouts!

Now, even the sluggishest have reacted - they've been raided by the Greenskins!

"Captain! it's Scroog!" a scout shouted in alarm. It only takes one glance for everyone to understand that they can't win this battle. There are too many of Scroogs, and they continue to rush out of the dense forest, not to mention the green skins that still hide arrows. Everyone knew how dangerous this bouncing monster was in the mountains—the area was full of rocks and weeds, and Scroog was as fast as a fish in water in the terrain, running as fast as a flat road.

"Soldier, defend on the spot with bows and arrows!" the older officer, the captain, judged in a matter of seconds that his group had little chance.

The scouts responded with their short bows, and the Scroog in front was shot down, but the Scroog in the back continued to rush past the corpses of their kind. Each Scrooge opened their mouths wide open, revealing their sharp teeth, desperate to bite something off.

The captain did not participate in the battle, but calmly took out his paper and pen.

"Your Excellency General Bayral: I am afraid that when you see this letter, you will never see me again. Unfortunately, your old hunch seems to have come true. All relevant evidence obtained after descending into the mountains indicates a large-scale migratory movement of green skins. I can only infer that a new greenskin boss has been created and that war will be inevitable. ”

He hurriedly signed his name and time behind the bottom of the paper. When he had done this, he rolled the letter into a roll of paper and took the time to look around. Ahead, his men were already engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Sgurg. The soldier at the front drew his sword and slashed three Sgurgs in a row, but the last one was still knocked down by the hordes of Scroogs. Scroog was then piled up on him, the shrill grinding of sharp teeth and steel armor mixed with screams.

Behind them, a group of greenskins could already be seen outflanking them. He recognized it as a group of goblins, at least five times more numerous than they could see. The goblins have blocked the scout's retreat. If they are in a flat and spacious place at the moment, they may also be able to try their hand at riding a horseback to break through. But with this uneven ground and rocky terrain, horses have not yet been able to run fast.

He didn't know when he fell into the goblins, but Scroog must have a part to play in it. This monstrous creature has a very keen sense of smell.

The captain very calmly took off a cage from the saddle of the war horse beside him, and in the cage was a white pigeon. When the white dove fluttered into the sky with his letter, he calmly drew his sword and turned to face his fate. As a soldier, he should be aware of the sacrifice of his life on the battlefield.

......

Around the Iron Claw Mountains, a series of military castles have been built. Without exception, these castles are all located in the key areas, firmly guarding the choke point into the mountainous area of the city.

On this day, in one of the castles, a man was sitting in the hall eating breakfast.

The man wore an extremely ordinary sleeveless linen blouse, trousers of the same texture, without any additional floral ornaments, just like the clothes of an ordinary peasant. His breakfast consisted of a piece of hard bread and a handful of gravy, as ordinary servants did. If it weren't for the fact that he occupied the entire large table alone, and his demeanor was leisurely, perhaps anyone would have thought that this was just a civilian.

The man has a long beard and no wrinkles, making it difficult to tell how old he is at a glance. However, gray hair has appeared on his sideburns, and only this feature reveals his true age. If a stranger had looked at him closely, he would probably have announced that he was about forty years old.

"General Beller!" a voice remembered, and then a young man, who was probably fifteen or sixteen years old, hurried in through the door, clutching a piece of paper in his hand.

"What's wrong? "This man, who is called a general, does not have the temperament of a soldier in a sense. He smiled kindly, wiped the corners of his mouth with his hand, and then took the note from his attendant's hand.

"Ah...... Ah......h "Damn! Old Carrey is finished...... I shouldn't have sent him!" He put the note on the table, his head bowed, and the regret in his heart clearly appeared on his face. "I've lost my best scout!

The general's extremely emotional behavior made the young entourage not know what to do for a while.

"What should we do?" it took a few minutes for the attendant to realize that he had to ask the general what he was going to do next.

"Of course, I'm going to prepare for the funeral right away...... Although it can only stand on the mound of clothes...... Damn! those damn greenskins......"

"What else?" asked the attendant further. "We Should ...... According to the Covenant"

"Ah, yes, and the Covenant. Old Carrey can't die in vain. Robin, immediately inform the other nations that the Greenskins are about to launch a large-scale offensive, and tell them to be prepared. That's it, right?"

"We ...... Shogun. The young man named Robin cautionously reminded the general. "We should immediately mobilize our forces and prepare for the invasion of the Greenskins. ”

"What if the Greenskins don't invade? That's not a waste of manpower and money. Bayral sighed.

If it weren't for his retinue as Bayor, Robin would probably have been unable to resist the outburst. How did this guy with a bit of a head off the line become a general?