Ice Storm secretly compared Meng Chao, herself, and the other rat people in terms of hair.
She had to agree that Meng Chao was an observant person. He was absolutely right.
Even if they could adjust their muscles and bones to mimic the posture of a normal rat people.
But no matter how much mud or dust they smeared on their bodies, they could not completely hide their shiny hair.
"So?"
Ice Storm was puzzled. "There are quite a number of powerful people in the Big Horn Army, just like the temple thieves who snuck into Black Horn City. They are all above average fighters. It's not strange for them to drop a strand of hair, is it?"
"So, I followed this strand of hair and found a footprint."
Meng Chao pointed at one of the messy footprints on the ground and said to Ice Storm, "Take a look. Isn't the contact between this footprint and the ground light and even? It's like walking on snow without leaving a trace?
"You have to understand that after the bloody battle in Black Horn City and a day and night of rapid marching, the normal rat people are so tired that their calves and stomachs are trembling. They can only move forward with their willpower. They can't control their flesh and bones at all. The force exerted under their feet is not even. It's inevitable that one foot is deep and the other is shallow. The footprints are uneven, and they even drag their feet and leave deep marks in the mud.
"This phenomenon doesn't exist in the footprint I found. If I'm not wrong, this is definitely a footprint left by a temple thief."
"I still don't understand."
The Icewind Storm said, "Since the temple thieves succeeded, they naturally retreated to the border between the Bloodhoof Clan's territory and the Golden Clan's territory along with a large number of Rat Folk. This is the last water source before entering the Pitfall Space Grassland, and it's also the only way for the fugitives to pass through. What's so strange about the temple thieves stopping here to fill their water pouches and leave a footprint?"
"Indeed, as you said, it's not strange that the temple thief appeared here and left a footprint among a large number of rat people," Meng Chao said.
"What's strange is that there were so many temple thieves, but only one footprint was left behind."
"…"
Hailstorm did not understand what Meng Chao meant for a moment. She thought about it and said, "Maybe they left more footprints, but they were trampled by the people who escaped later?"
"Or perhaps they've already gotten rid of their traces and only left behind this' fish that escaped the net '," Meng Chao said.
The Ice Storm frowned. "Cleaning up our tracks? There's no need for that. The Bloodhoof Clan already knows of their existence. Even if we erase all our footprints, the Bloodhoof Warriors won't give up chasing them all the way to the Pitfall Grassland!"
"What if they didn't go through the Collapsed Space Grassland?"
"What if the temple thieves did the exact opposite and used everyone's preconceived notions to enter War Drum Forest?
"Then, before entering the forest, shouldn't they clean their footprints?"
Hailstorm's eyes widened.
Next was his mouth.
"I know that you think this is just my speculation, and there is no evidence to support it."
"Then, aside from this strand of hair and half a footprint, I also smell a fragrance. It's the unique fragrance of my tracking powder, and it comes from the depths of War Drum Forest."
The Ice Storm narrowed his eyes and sank into deep thought.
"I still remember that when we encountered the temple thieves who died in battle in Black Horn City, I would secretly sprinkle some tracing powder on their hair. I was hoping that the temple thieves who were still alive would have some tracing powder on them when they moved the corpses. That way, we would be able to find precious traces."
Meng Chao smiled. "Now, it seems like my unintentional action has been of great help!"
"Are you saying that the temple thieves all took the 'dead end' on the right?"
The Ice Storm asked hesitantly. "But in the depths of War Drum Forest, there is an important military town where the elite Bloodhoof Warriors are stationed!"
"That's usually the case," Meng Chao said.
"Over the past few months, all the warriors from the Bloodhoof Territory have gathered in Black Horn City to participate in the Game of the Brave. They also have to arrange seats and swear an oath of allegiance with their blood.
"This is a major matter that concerns the interests of every family. The Bloodhoof Nobles who are stationed in the depths of War Drum Forest will definitely send their elites to Black Horn City to show off their skills.
"I believe that the ones stationed in the depths of War Drum Forest right now are definitely not the elites of these families. The elites are all behind us!
"Besides, hundreds of thousands or even millions of fugitives suddenly rushed into Collapsed Space Plains, which is just one line away from War Drum Forest. Will the people in War Drum Forest not send their elites to stop them?
"If they split up their forces again and again, I think that the number of Bloodhoof Warriors stationed in War Drum Forest will definitely be very few.
"Besides, the Bloodhoof Warriors are already in a terrible situation, and they have to deal with a huge problem."
The Ice Storm asked, "What problem?"
"The rat people in War Drum Forest!"
Meng Chao said. "I think that you underestimated the severity of the Great Horned Rat God's descent.
"Do you think that turning Black Corner City upside down is the greatest result of the battle?
"Wrong. The greatest result of this isn't the number of rat people who escaped from Black Horn City.
"Instead, it's the rat people who live in every corner of Turanze, and their numbers are dozens of times that of the warriors. They suddenly realized that the warriors aren't as invincible as they thought. Their rule, which seems to be as firm as a rock, isn't unshakable.
"The warriors of the clan do not have the blood of invincible glory flowing in their veins, and the rat people are not born cowardly and lowly. Although their bodies and appearances are very different, who doesn't have a body of flesh and blood with two shoulders and one head? If one stab isn't enough, they will stab them again. There is no one who can't be killed!
"This shattering and reshaping of people's beliefs is far stronger and more lasting of a shock than blowing up Black Horn City.
"Even if it's not easy for news to travel in Turanze, the other four clans still don't know about such an astonishing feat.
"But War Drum Forest, which is not far away from Black Horn City, must have received the news a long time ago.
"What do you think the Rat Folk living in the Forest of War Drums would feel like now?
"And after the Blood Hoof Warriors split up again and again, their numbers have been reduced to the point where they can't control so many rat people. How would they feel when they see the rat people surging in the dark and cannot fathom their intentions?"
The more Ice Storm thought about it, the more he felt that Meng Chao's words made sense.
Even though the Blood Hoof Clan's elites had all gathered in Black Horn City, it was not the case for the rat people.
But it was not the case for the rat people.
There were simply too many rat people, and usually, no one would make a record of how many rat people there were.
Regardless of whether it was the rulers of Blackhorn City or the local towns, it was impossible for them to know just how many babies the unrestrained rat people had given birth to in the past fifty years under the nourishment of the incomparably abundant Datura Fruits, and how many babies of babies these babies had given birth to in the short span of a dozen years.
The recruitment team formed by the clan's warriors only roughly combed through the Blood Hoof Clan's territory and captured a large number of strong rat people, enough to be squeezed dry for a while.
Many of the smarter rat people had either heard the news of the "recruitment" by the warriors, or heard from the elders what would happen when the Mandala Flowers bloomed.
Before the recruitment team arrived, they had already fought to harvest all the Mandala Fruits near their homes, and then hid in the mountains, forests, and underground caves.
How could honorable warriors possibly hide in the mountains, forests, or even underground caves to play cat and mouse with these dirty and smelly rat people?
In any case, the rat people who foolishly stayed in their homes were enough to last them for a while. There was no need to care about these hidden fellows for the time being.
When their food was slowly exhausted, they could not help but come out of their hiding places and take the initiative to come to Black Horn City and the other large towns to serve their masters.
Even the rat people who were "honorably recruited" were not all brought to Black Horn City.
Many rat people were brought to the mines scattered throughout the Blood Hoof Clan's territory.
Some rat people also raised totem beasts and ordinary beasts that had been tamed by the clan's warriors on the grassland.
There were also a large number of rat people who had to carefully take care of the accompanying crops of the Mandala Trees, trying to harvest some food from these accompanying crops.
Originally, when the Mandala Trees were full of fruits, the high-level beastmen did not care about these shriveled, tasteless, and low-yield crops.
But since the Mandala Tree no longer bore fruit, no matter how small the grasshopper was, it was still meat. Anyway, the cost of driving the rat people was close to zero. If he could fool the rat people and save a few more Mandala Fruits stored in the warehouse, it would be good.
Therefore, in the current Blood Hoof Clan's territory, there were still ten times more rat people than in Black Horn City.
In this place, the ratio between them and the Blood Hoof Warriors was even greater than the ratio between the rat people and the warriors in Black Horn City.
The War Drum Forest was the most typical example.
It was originally a large granary of the Blood Hoof Clan. In the prosperous era, it naturally gave birth to countless rat people.
Moreover, since it was called a "forest", no matter how sparse the trees were, there would always be many places to hide.
No one knew how many "legal" rat people were living in the War Drum Forest, enslaved and oppressed. They were filled with rage and could not bear it any longer.
No one knew how many "illegal" rat people were hiding in the dark to avoid being "recruited".
If these rat people all heard about what happened in Black Horn City, and were incited by a few "Great Horned Rat God Messengers" …
The Blood Hoof Warriors stationed in the depths of the War Drum Forest were not only badly battered, they could not even protect themselves!
"From what you said, it seems that the War Drum Forest is easier to break through than the Collapsed Space Prairie!"
Icestorm's eyes lit up, then dimmed again. He frowned and said, "If that's the case, why did the Great Horned Army let the fugitives break through the Collapsed Space Prairie?"
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