The fugitives, who had just escaped and were about to embark on a brand new journey, were filled with curiosity about the Big Horn Army, which claimed to belong to the rat people.
Everyone fought to talk to the baby-faced warrior called "Round Bone Club", hoping to get more information about the Big Horn Army from him.
Meng Chao and the Ice Storm pretended to hurry on with their heads lowered, but they pricked up their ears and heard the conversation between the crowd and the two Big Horn warriors.
"Round Bone Club, does the Big Horn Army really have more than a million people, just like the master said?"
One of the fugitives eagerly asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.
In truth, the fugitives did not really understand the term "more than a million".
They just copied the description of the Big Horn officer, and subconsciously thought that it meant "many, many, many, many, many".
"You're asking the wrong question!"
Round Bone Club said with a grin. "First, it's not 'your' Big Horn Army, it's' our 'Big Horn Army — our glorious and powerful army belongs to all the rat people, including everyone here!
"Second, in the Big Horn Army, there's no such thing as a 'master'. Forget the captains of hundred-man or thousand-man squads, even the general who can command an entire battalion isn't a 'master'. He's a warrior who, like a normal soldier, does his best and piously fights for the Big Horn Rat God and all the rat people!"
"Ah …"
The rat people had never heard of such an army.
They looked at each other, confused and excited.
"But you're right about one thing. The Big Horn Army does have more than a million soldiers, and as time passes, all the rat people in Turanze will be awakened and saved. Our numbers will only increase until we can't even count them all!"
Round Bone Club saw the confusion on everyone's faces, as if they couldn't quite understand the concept of "more than a million". He thought about it and added, "I was once trained in a camp set up by the Big Horn Army in a valley. It's said that there were three to five thousand people stationed in that camp. As far as the eye can see, the entire valley is filled with people, and even the tops of the mandala trees are filled with our warriors!
"And there are thirty to fifty camps like this in the north, south, east, and west of the entire Tulanze!"
"Ah …"
The rat people sighed with emotion again.
The detail of "the treetops were filled with people" finally gave them a vivid picture of the scale of the Bighorn Legion.
Although he still couldn't quite understand just how powerful an army of a million soldiers could be when they advanced, he still couldn't understand.
The sense of security in his heart increased, more or less.
Only Meng Chao and the Ice Storm exchanged glances. Their interest in the Big Horn Army had become much stronger.
The two of them observed his expression and felt that this young soldier named "Round Bone Rod" did not seem to be lying.
He must have been trained in a camp with three to five thousand soldiers.
Although the Bighorn Legion might not have as many as thirty or fifty similar camps.
However, even if there were only eight to ten camps, it was not easy to gather thirty to fifty thousand elite soldiers.
Any army with more than ten thousand people would not be able to completely hide its tracks.
No matter how hardworking high-level Orcs were, they were not skeleton soldiers who did not need to eat, drink, and poop.
The weapons, equipment, supplies, personnel recruitment, and traces of the marching of such a large battle group …
It was very difficult to hide from the eyes of the observant.
Meng Chao could not imagine how the rat people, who had nothing, could build up from scratch in the cracks of the five great clans and create such a huge army that could shake the ruling order of Turanze.
Of course, if the Big Horn Army had the secret support of some ambitious people from the five great clans.
The conclusion would naturally be different.
"Round Bone Rod, how did you join the Big Horn Army? Can anyone join the Big Horn Army?"
At this time, a few strong rat people could not hold back the boiling passion in their hearts and asked the baby-faced warrior.
"As long as your belief in the Big Horn Rat God is pious enough, and you have the courage to fight for freedom and dignity, yes, anyone can join the Big Horn Army!"
Round Bone Rod said firmly.
After a pause, he pointed to his chest and said, "Take me for example. I used to live in a town at the junction of the Bloody Hoof Clan and the Dark Moon Clan. The one who ruled that damn town was the lizard warriors of the Dark Moon Clan.
"As you know, the Dark Moon Clan is a bunch of deformed, ugly, dark, and damp reptiles. Lizardmen, crocodile-men, snake men, and so on.
"They are bloodthirsty and cruel. They have ten times more ways to torture us rat people than the Blood Hoof Clan!
"Also, the warriors of the Dark Moon Clan have a very evil hobby. They like to raise real snakes, insects, rats, and ants as pets. They also have all sorts of secret techniques passed down from thousands of years ago. They can make snakes, insects, rats, and ants even more ferocious than wolves, tigers, and leopards. They also carry strong acid and poison. They are definitely monsters!
"My previous master loved to raise lizards.
"The lizards he made could grow to the length of three to five arms. They were colorful and looked very beautiful, but they carried poison. Regardless of whether you were bitten by the lizards' sharp teeth, claws, or scales, if you didn't take the antidote in time, your body would fester and you would die of pain!
"In order to keep the lizard cage clean and tidy all year round, my previous master ordered us, the rat people, to go into the cage every day and clean it in front of the Seven-colored Poisonous Lizard.
"Although we've learned some ways to control pests, and we wear leather armor, headgear, and gloves that are tightly wrapped from head to toe, accidents still happen from time to time.
"Whether it's the venom shot out by the lizard, or if it accurately hits the eyes and causes the eyeballs to corrode while they're still alive.
"We were still knocked to the ground by the lizards. They tore apart our cowhide armor and left deep wounds on our bodies. Our bones were so rotten that we could see the marrow.
"It's all the usual stuff.
"Every year, there would be at least eighty, if not a hundred, Rat People who died in the lizard cages. However, Master would never take it to heart. Anyway, there were plenty of Rat People in the cities. Once the Rat People in the cities were used up, Master would command the lizard army to go to the countryside to capture them.
"Who asked us to live in the border area between the two great clans? We don't know who we should belong to. If it is not consumed by the Dark Moon Clan in time, it will benefit the Bloody Hoof Clan for nothing! "
The round bone club made it sound easy.
But Meng Chao knew that there were blood and tears hidden behind those words.
Leaf had once told him that among the Rat People, the ones with the most tragic fates were those who lived at the border area between two or even three clans.
Leaf's hometown, Half Mountain Village, was located in the heart of the Bloody Hoof Clan and was under the effective rule of Black Horn City. Every year, they had to harvest a large number of supreme-grade Golden Fruits among the Mandala Fruits as taxes. When the Bloody Hoof Warriors came to the countryside, they also had to take on the responsibility of being guides and help the Bloody Hoof Warriors search for Totem Beasts.
The conditions might seem harsh, but it also guaranteed that they would be of some use to Black Horn City. They were considered an asset of the Bloody Hoof Clan.
Unless it was the Glory Era, when the entire Bloody Hoof Clan had to prepare for war at full force and march north.
Otherwise, no matter how brutal the warrior masters were, in a relatively stable and prosperous era, they would not kill the goose that laid golden eggs and easily destroy the source of taxes and assets.
But the Rat People who lived at the border between the two great clans.
Because their ownership was not clear.
Usually, they had to endure exploitation and oppression from both sides.
And when a certain clan was too far away and could not maintain its ruling power over the border village for a long time and the ability to collect taxes.
Then, it was possible to kill all the Rat People in the entire village in one fell swoop, so that the other side would not benefit.
It was sad to be treated as an asset.
But if it was not even an asset, it was even more impossible to control the treacherous and unpredictable fate.
Many of the Rat People knew this.
In this hundred-man team, there were quite a few Rat People who, like the round bone club, came from the border between the Bloody Hoof Clan and the other four great clans.
They had suffered the most grievous sufferings.
They had also stimulated the strongest spirit of resistance.
Many people clenched their fists when they were halfway through. Their knuckles and the gaps between their fingers were creaking, as if they were trying to crush Fate's throat.
"Sometimes, the master happened to see the struggling and wailing of the Rat People in the lizard cages. Not only was he not in a hurry to save them, he would laugh and watch with relish. When the Rat People were bitten by the lizards and rolled on the ground in pain, he would unhurriedly whistle to chase the lizards away."
The round bone club continued, "At that time, even if the Rat People were saved and the antidote was applied, the poison would invade their bones and organs. Their incomplete limbs would not be able to grow back, and they would be completely crippled.
"We often wondered if the master deliberately sent the Rat People to their deaths in the lizard cages just to enjoy the fight between the Rat People and the Seven-colored Poisonous Lizards, as well as the heart-wrenching screams we let out.
"But no one dared to voice out their suspicions, and no one dared to refuse the master's order to 'enter the lizard cages to clean up'.
"If anyone dared to refuse, the master would break their limbs, cut dozens of wounds on their bodies, and throw them into the breeding pool where hundreds of small lizards resided.
"When the small lizards smelled blood, they would scramble to crawl over and tear off the flesh of the rejecter.
"Because the small lizards had not grown up yet, the toxicity was not strong, and their claws and teeth were very tender, their tearing and gnawing would usually last for a few days and nights.
"Even when the rejecter was gnawed alive and turned into a skeleton, he might not be able to die a quick death.
"This is how the 'masters' of the Dark Moon Clan deal with the Rat People!"
The Rat People who lived in the territory of the Bloody Hoof Clan had heard of the cruelest punishment on a daily basis. It was nothing more than being trampled to death by their masters.
Such a horrifying torture made their hair stand on end, and then they flew into a rage.
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