Chapter 40: 039 The Road Home_1

Translator: 549690339

Most monsters in the Thorn Legion did not possess the ability to fly, making their return a slow process.

Gradually, some ordinary monster clans broke away from the legion and returned to their territories.

These were mostly weak monster clans, and their territories lay on the outskirts of the Nolan Forest.

The powerful clans at the core of the legion, such as the Trolls and Serpent Clans, continued towards the Thorn Nest.

Their territories were located at the heart of Cassiopeia’s domain, making their escape more difficult, and some weaker monsters were killed along the way.

Monsters like Gnolls and Kobolds had no power to resist and could only hurry back to their own territories.

Once they left, another group of slightly stronger monsters took their place.

The monster world is cruel; those who had not fallen in the war against the Red Dragon died at the hands of their own kind.

The Lizardman Clan’s journey home was also fraught with danger, as they were attacked by several monster clans that had broken away from the Thorn Legion.

Cassiopeia did not allow her affiliated clans to fight each other.

However, generally speaking, if the deed was done skillfully enough and no survivors could report to her, she wouldn’t ask too many questions.

Moreover, the attitude of the Corrupted Elves towards the Lizardmen had become quite apparent.

Since they had just finished a massive battle, many monster clans had scarce food supplies, making the Lizardmen desirable prey.

If they were killed, it was believed that there would be no punishment.

Saru was a far-sighted lizard.

Before setting out, he had already prepared ample food for his warriors, mainly consisting of the meat of Multi-headed Serpent Lizards.

The main reason was that the Lizardmen’s strength was mediocre.

However, the ample food now became a magnet for hungry wolves.

A pack of hungry Gnolls attacked them, the starving monsters charging frantically towards the Lizardmen’s formation.

With their forces scattered and no formation or discipline to speak of – and lacking proper weapons – the wicked humanoid monsters were driven mad by hunger and bloodlust, relying only on their sharp teeth and claws.

Gnolls did not unite in a single charge; instead, most of them fought individually.

One by one, javelins pierced the bodies of the Gnolls, leaving half of them dead on their way to the frontlines.

The surviving Gnolls endured the onslaught of javelins, only to be blocked by the Lizardmen’s sharp-tipped turtle shell shields at the front.

What awaited them next were the deadly thrusts of spears through the shield wall.

The battle ended quickly; the Gnolls’ greed had led them into the abyss of death.

The Lizardmen swiftly cleaned up the battlefield, retrieving the javelins embedded in the Gnolls’ corpses but not using their bodies as food.

It wasn’t that the Lizardmen despised the foul stench of the mostly-bony corpses; rather, it was Saru’s deliberate order.

At this time, getting home was the most important thing. If they could leave behind poor resources to satisfy some monsters and prevent them from following the Lizardmen, it would be a worthwhile trade-off.

Saru’s plan was a success; the monster corpses left behind by the Lizardmen attracted most of the pursuing monster clans to fight over them, although they still encountered a few more attacks.

Most of these attacks involved small numbers or weak monster clans who couldn’t compete for the resources left behind by the Lizardmen and hoped to test their luck with them.

In the end, their corpses were left behind as new resources.Saru’s magic wand had completely turned into his cane, as he kept walking forward with the help of a lizardman.

Although this journey consumed a lot of energy and faced many risks, overall it went smoothly.

Now, they were not far from the lizardman clan’s territory. Just as Saru breathed a sigh of relief, a lizardman scout he had sent out came to him with a panicked look on his face.

“What’s going on?”

Saru frowned. The scout he had sent out wouldn’t be a coward. Since the scout looked so frightened, he must have encountered some trouble.

Without wasting any words, the lizardman scout said directly, “I encountered a large number of ogres ahead, and they are coming our way!”

“Ogres?”

These big guys were not as easy to deal with as gnolls. Saru hurriedly asked, “How many are there?”

“Fifty!”

The lizardman scout anxiously said, “At least fifty, if not more. When they walk, the ground around them vibrates!”

“This is troublesome…”

Saru looked around. Due to the battle with the Flame Legion and a few subsequent monster attacks, there had been casualties among the lizardman warriors he brought with him.

After a rough count, even including the lightly injured lizardman warriors and spellcasters, there were only a little over two hundred that could participate in the battle now.

Although their number was much larger than the ogres, five lizardmen might not even be able to hold up against one ogre in a real fight.

If the ogres indeed had ill intentions toward the lizardmen, even if the lizardmen were to emerge victorious, there wouldn’t be many left alive.

If they chose to retreat, they might encounter other hungry, cruel monster clans.

If, at that moment, the ogres caught up and surrounded the lizardmen, there would be no way to escape.

As Saru was pondering his tactics, the lizardman scout grew anxious and said, “Chief, what should we do? They will be here soon!”

The old lizardman looked around and saw that the other lizardmen were also waiting for his decision.

He knew that whatever choice he made, they would follow him firmly.

The lizardmen’s survival in the brutal Nolan Forest depended on more than just Saru.

“We can’t retreat. There are hungry monsters following us. We’ll only be safe if we return to our territory!”

Saru made up his mind and chose a few quick-footed lizardmen.

He instructed, “The great Silver Dragon Lord should have returned to our territory by now. When the fight begins, you all run back to our territory and ask for reinforcements. The others will stay with me to hold off the ogres!”

But someone soon raised a different opinion, “Chief, leave this to us. You should go with them and leave this place!”

Saru stared and said, “That’s the final decision!”

Knowing that Saru wouldn’t change his mind, the lizardmen prepared for battle with a sense of tragic determination.

Feeling the slight vibrations on the ground, they knew the ogres were coming…

However, in the end, the lizardmen did not face a tragic and brutal battle. The ogres showed no intention of attacking when they saw them.

“Hey, isn’t that Saru?”

A familiar voice came from the direction of the ogres. Saru looked in that direction and saw Sofia, happily waving at him from atop Mega Fatty.