Chapter 220 - Internal Conflict

The entangle spell below was dense and continuous, while arrows ceaselessly filled the sky.Those berserk jackalweres and hyenas, apart from howling to intimidate, had no strategies left and were literally ground to death.

Lord Virginia and Stelina, leading the three Brolans of the Autumnbreeze, picked off stragglers on the periphery, specifically targeting those who thought they had found a way to survive—they were equipped with hawk shoulder guards and were also part of the air force.

This time, the strategy within a strategy involved quite a bit of coincidence.

At least, the young red dragon contacting the Black Reaper and taking mercenary pay for a feigned defection wasn’t Gaven’s idea.

Or to say, whether Roderick truly accepted the Black Reaper’s employment, or if it was a ruse, Gaven wasn’t entirely clear.

Their sudden strike this time was multi-pronged.

First, if the young red dragon truly defected, they would watch from behind the scenes, and then take action later, planning to make use of Roderick and, at a critical moment in the war, control him with the soul totem to deal a fatal blow to the Black Reaper.

Second, if the young red dragon’s defection was fake and the enemy was fooled, honestly handing over the payment, not only could they turn the tables on the plan, but they could also confiscate all the mercenary fees as punishment for Roderick’s underhanded tricks.

Third, it was to guard against the current scenario, where the young red dragon fell into the enemy’s trap.

Unexpectedly, a hasty conflict ended up capturing Nord, the great leader of the Black Reaper, which truly was an accidental gain.

This accidental gain was more about targeting the subsequent potential of the Black Reaper.

In fact, the remnants of the Black Reaper were still very troublesome because they now had considerable size.

The dragon-slaying forces led by Nord, including all the beastly races and abyssal hyenas, numbered just over two hundred.

The rest were still in the Black Reaper camp to intimidate various vassal troops who had been forcibly brought in.

Together with the vassal troops, the entire Black Reaper still had over two thousand combatants.

Gaven planned to use the uniqueness of the existing troops to launch an aerial raid on the Black Reaper, then withdraw and continue to play a defensive battle, waiting for them to choose a new leader to come and lay siege to the city.

Who would have thought that when they arrived at the Black Reaper camp,

from afar, they could see the entire camp ablaze, with screams and shouts piercing the sky, it was complete chaos.

Clearly, the Black Reaper had erupted into internal strife.

Their heavy-handed, despotic style of governance had inherent major issues.

Most of the time, they would wage war to support war, treating these vassal troops as expendables, using them up before they could grow too powerful.

Based on past processes, it would at most take a few days for the Black Reaper to launch a major military operation.

Not for any other reason but because of the excessive number of vassal troops.

It just wasn’t expected that Nord would stumble in a trap he seemingly had complete control over, and at the same time, he pushed Blood Claw, the greatest vassal troop leader, to the edge of a cliff, forcing him to make a choice.

Besides, Blood Claw’s understanding of Blackwell far exceeded Nord’s, and noticing the shift in momentum, he was the first to rush back, leading his trusted Hobgoblin followers from the Black Reaper to stage a mutiny.

At first, Blood Claw had no intention of completely wiping out the Abyssal Jackalweres of the Black Reapers. He simply wanted to take his two hundred elite Hobgoblins and make a break for it while they were not paying attention.

Who would have thought that, at this time, the Soul of Demon Nord was thoroughly eradicated. Sensing this, the Abyssal Jackalweres inside the Black Reaper Camp became uncontrollably bloodthirsty and berserk, their inner Abyssal power acting up and driving them towards a tendency to revert to their animal instincts, killing indiscriminately within the camp.

Deciding to go all out, Blood Claw, while shouting that Nord was dead, led his two hundred elite Hobgoblin Cavalry in a charge against the Abyssal Jackalweres and, after successively felling more than a dozen formal members of the Black Reapers.

The other vassal troops, also ignited with rage, roared and launched a counterattack on the Abyssal Jackalweres around them.

These more than fifteen hundred vassal troops were the remaining able-bodied fighters from various tribes nearby. In terms of individual strength, they certainly were not a match for the Abyssal Jackalweres of the Black Reapers, but they outnumbered them three to four times.

They had not dared to move recklessly before purely because they were deterred by their violence, bloody methods, and also the absence of a leader.

When Chief Gaven arrived with his Air Force, it was right in the midst of the most intense internal strife among the Black Reapers.

The number of vassal troops around Blood Claw had grown to three to four hundred, becoming the most organized military force, and they were pressing hard on those berserk Abyssal Jackalweres.

The remaining vassal troops, either in groups of three or five or in dozens, gathered based on their original tribes and familiarity with each other. They were being pressed and hunted by the Abyssal Jackalweres.

Two or three berserk Abyssal Jackalweres could chase around seven or eight vassal troops, darting everywhere.

As the two fastest dragons just appeared in the airspace above the Black Reaper Camp, a uniform shout rose from below.

"Chief Gaven, we are willing to swear our loyalty to you."

"Chief Gaven, we are willing to swear our loyalty to you."

"Chief Gaven, we are willing to swear our loyalty to you."

Hearing the shouts from below, Gaven was truly startled.

He had not expected that there were those within the Black Reapers who knew his name, until he saw the appearance of the leading Hobgoblin.

Blood Claw.

The former arch-enemy of the Pitfall Tribe.

The leader of the Hobgoblin Tribe bearing the same name that fled in terror from the massacre plot he had designed.

One could not deny that fate was a strange thing.

After making a full circle, Blood Claw and his tribe had ended up returning to this place.

"Kill the Abyssal Jackalweres first!" Gaven gave the war command, regardless of whether the other side was truly surrendering or feigning it, he decided to extend a helping hand.

Gaven did not trust them, but he trusted the silver Milestone of Destiny in his Consciousness Sea. He had overlooked one thing before: the ones whose fate had been reversed were not only the Northern Lands people who had not yet been harmed by the Black Reapers but also included these vassal troops.

"Get ready!"

Gaven, clad in Combat Armor with dazzling light, holding his Keen Edge Longspear, descended from the skies.

Before he had even landed, his Keen Edge Longspear struck first, pinning down an Abyssal Jackalwere, that was chaotically chasing three or four Hobgoblin vassal troops, to the ground.

The moment he landed, his Magic Longsword beheaded an unlucky Abyssal Hyena.

Then, with a "Fairy Step," he appeared behind another Abyssal Jackalwere, a backstab sending him on his way.

His figure fluttered again, appearing next to the Keen Edge Longspear and pulling it out.

A Psychic Bullet knocked an Abyssal Jackalwere who tried to sneak up on him into the air, where it stiffened in death before even hitting the ground.

With the Keen Edge Longspear in hand, Gaven was like a god of death.

His elusive figure shifted rapidly, bringing slaughter wherever he went.

The Abyssal Hyenas could not survive a single thrust or slash from him.

The Abyssal Jackalweres, on the other hand, couldn’t withstand the combined assault of the Psychic Bullets and the Keen Edge Longspear.

The Demon Hunter, in such a setting, displayed astonishing lethality.

Psychic Bullets normally didn’t deal much damage on their own, but if they hit solidly, they would inflict an additional eighteen points of damage.

The same was true for the Keen Edge Longspear. Whether it was a minor cut or a fatal throat slit, an additional eighteen points of damage would be dealt.

This type of damage originated from the Law itself, a forced, hard damage.

Even the fourth or fifth level Abyssal Jackalwere warriors could not bear it; the weaker ones barely had thirty or forty points of Life Force, and the ones with more robust Constitution had only about fifty points at most.

They couldn’t withstand it at all.

Moreover, Gaven was not fighting alone.

Although unsure about this god of death’s origins, it was clear he was an ally.

The Vassal Troops he saved instinctively followed behind him.

On the battlefield, the instinct to follow the strong for survival was natural.

The number of Vassal Troops following Gaven grew like a snowball. In less than a hundred meters, their numbers had already surpassed a hundred.

At that time, a few other gods of death took their positions as well.

The two Giant Dragons occasionally dived, and each time they swept an Abyssal Jackalwere or Abyssal Hyena into the sky before dropping them.

Neither dragon used their Dragon Breath—one had already exhausted it, and the other was concerned about accidentally injuring allies.

Stelina, accompanied by three of Brolan of the Autumnbreeze, formed their own battle formation upon landing.

While their individual attacks didn’t match Gaven’s, who possessed passive Demon Hunter skills, their practiced coordination allowed them to strike with four people and eight swords at a stunning speed. The rate of their killing was likewise not slow, and soon a group of Vassal Troops followed them as well, though they kept a seven or eight-meter distance, uncomfortable under the effect of Autumnbreeze Protection.

Lord Virginia hovered in the air, drawing an exquisite Yaling Longbow and positioning herself above Gaven, picking off the Abyssal Jackalweres surrounding them.

Her archery skills were extremely refined.

And the effects were quite strange.

The Abyssal Jackalweres hit by her arrows were teleported a few meters in front of Gaven—right where his spear could easily reach.

When the first Abyssal Jackalwere was teleported over, Gaven was somewhat surprised.

He quickly adapted and immediately adjusted his tactics, wielding a spear in one hand and a sword in the other.

Focusing not on lethality but on hitting and attack speed, he maximized the effect of his passive Demon Hunter skill.

The last to enter the battlefield was the Martial Monk Flind.

Running on the ground could never be as fast as flying in the sky.

By the time he arrived, the battle was nearing its end.

The Black Reaper members, valuing quality over quantity, were few in number to begin with.

They couldn’t endure such slaughter.

These Abyssal Jackalweres, though governed by anger and Berserk, were ultimately not mindless beasts; their numbers dwindled drastically as their own side suffered heavy casualties.

Many could not bear it and howled, trying to flee the battlefield.

But doing so often resulted in a quicker death; their former prey had turned into the hunters pursuing them.

Most died on the run, and a small number managed to scurry into the wilderness amidst the chaos.

"None of you will escape," the young Red Dragon hissed, his hatred for these Abyssal Jackalweres reaching its peak. Unwilling to let a single one go, he roared, ready to give chase.

"Get back here!" Gaven’s angry shout resounded in his ear.

No.

More accurately, it rang directly in his soul, involuntarily causing him to shiver, and his chasing steps abruptly slowed. The most update n0vels are published on NovᴇlFɪre.ɴet

Ashamed of his guilt, although Gaven did not use forceful measures, the Red Dragon obediently hovered back.

Gaven and the others had indeed appeared at a crucial moment, saving his life.

It also meant that all his little tricks had not escaped the other party’s legal eye, including acts like strategic submission and collecting commission.

This guy was much stronger than he had anticipated, definitely possessing some unknown means of surveillance over him.

By that time, Stelina had already led the three Brolan of the Autumnbreeze to join forces with Gaven, standing behind him with dual swords.

Not far away, Blood Claw led the Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry; their gathered numbers now exceeded five hundred, mostly towering Hobgoblins and half Cavalry, half infantry.

With an organized force of Vassal Troops present, Gaven was not about to fully trust them just because of their few words of surrender, and the binding effect of the Milestone of Destiny.

"Dismount, drop your weapons, hands on your head, kneel down, do not resist," Blood Claw ordered crisply, dismounting from his Ferocious Wolf, dropping his weapons and even immediately taking off his Armor.

His loyal direct followers didn’t hesitate to do the same.

Although Hobgoblins were inherently filled with evil expansionism, it was undeniable that they were one of the best armies among all the Monster Tribes.