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After a short rest, the Empire's troops stationed on the beach immediately began to study the current situation.
In the largest tent in the camp, everyone gathered to discuss the next step of the Empire's Luscia Expeditionary Force.
In the meeting was the Empire's vanguard officer, Captain Richard of the Empire.
General Alaric of the Empire, from the Riker Dominion.
General Erik Von Schangel of the Empire, from the Empire's famous Marshal Hunter Markus Wolfhart's hunting group.
Since Markus Wolfhart was conferred the title of Marshal Hunter of the Empire by Karl-franz, he gained the right to recruit soldiers. This sanctum powerhouse was considered one of the Empire's most trusted aides, and he personally formed the Markus Wolfhart Hunting Group.
The elite hunters of this hunting group were handpicked by Markus from within the Empire. The entire hunting group was filled with excellent hunters from all the provinces of the Empire. Although the hunters of Midden Dominion always looked down on the hunters of Ivy Dominion for their simple hunting methods (on the contrary, the hunters of Ivy Dominion always looked down on the hunters of Midden Dominion for being poor), and the hunters of Riker Dominion always looked down on the hunters of Steyr Dominion as a group of uncultured country bumpkins. However, under the leadership of Marshal Markus Wolfhart, these excellent hunters from all over the Empire gradually united during battles and hunts. They also quickly cultivated a close relationship with each other, thus eliminating their dissatisfaction and geographical differences.
With their efforts and the strong leadership of Marshal Markus Wolfhart, the Wolfhart Hunting Group quickly became the most powerful magical beast hunting group in the Empire. Whether it was the claw beasts of Steyr Dominion, the ice dragons of Oostermark Dominion, the large-horned bulls of Drakwald Forest, the four-armed bull demons of Rikwald Forest, or the Chimeras entrenched in the Black Mountains, the Wolfhart Hunting Group had successfully completed their hunts. This earned them glory and status. Emperor Karl-franz had more than once rewarded these excellent hunters of the Empire and promoted some of them to Marshal Hunters.
In this expedition to Luscia, apart from providing a certain amount of military supplies and gathering a portion of the provincial soldiers and militia, the nobles naturally knew that it would be very difficult to conquer Luscia with just these basic troops. However, the price to mobilize the elite imperial troops was especially high. Not only did they have to convince the Emperor to approve, they also had to fork out enough gold and silver to hire them. This was not worth the loss for an expedition that would not yield any results for the time being.
Therefore, the nobles of Rik Dominion decided to form an expeditionary force to explore Luscia, build a few outposts, and try to enter the jungle to search for ruins in order to get rich rewards. As long as they could prove that the expeditionary force could bring rich rewards to the Empire, then the Empire would naturally send more elite reinforcements.
Some of the nobles of Rik Dominion even hoped that the Hunter Marshal could personally participate in this expedition. However, this was obviously impossible. As the only two illegal Sanctuary powerhouses under the Emperor's direct command (Flag Bearer Ludwig and Hunter Marshal Markus Wolfhart), how could the Emperor of Karl-franz let Wolfhart personally take action for such a matter?
Only the Emperor or Wolfhart himself would have a problem with their brains if they let the Hunter Marshal go on an expedition to Luscia.
Therefore, the nobles of Rik Dominion paid a large sum of money to hire a Hunter Marshal in the hunting group, whose fixed annual salary was as high as 1,000 gold marks, to go on an expedition to Luscia.
In the large tent, three officers surrounded a huge wooden table and a map on the wooden table.
"Although the expeditionary force has built an outpost here, our situation is still not good." The vanguard of the Empire, Richard, pointed at the map and said, "Look, we only have a base on the coast. We don't have a sufficient source of food, nor do we have enough strategic depth. Although the soldiers of the Ashes Legion came to threaten us, some of their words are not without reason."
"What do you mean?" Hunter Marshal Erik asked. "How much do you know about the current situation?"
"Since we arrived here, we have sent out many scouts. A lot." Vanguard Richard placed his finger on the map and said, "As everyone knows, the location we are at is called the Tokan Temple, but in fact, the coast is still 60 kilometers away from the ruins we found.
"According to the Ashes Legion, the east is the territory of the Vampire Pirates. We are not sure if it is true, because the scouts we sent out have not returned at all."
"In the west, as they said, there are traces of the Green Skin Tribe. Those Green Skins are very special. Some of them are completely blue, and their combat power is not to be underestimated. As for the south, the scouts only entered the temple ruins to plunder some treasures before retreating. However, we still lost half of our men."
"As for the north, currently, Forgen and his Ashes Legion have occupied three coastal towns, namely Skogi City, Marauder Port, and Marsh Town, which are across the sea from us," the vanguard continued. "After many replacements, the Ashes Legion now has close to 40,000 soldiers, and they also have a population of about 100,000. They seem to have reached some kind of agreement with the Lizardmen. They rarely enter the forest, and the Lizardmen are relieved to have the coastal ports under their jurisdiction. Both sides have set up several trading points near the forest. The Ashes Legion uses seafood, livestock, and wood to trade with the Lizardmen, and the Lizardmen provide them with gold, silver, top-grade medical supplies, magical jewelry, and even some domesticated cold lizards."
"Damn it, damn traitors!" General Alaric of the Empire shouted in dissatisfaction. The veteran hammered the wooden table and gritted his teeth. "Sooner or later, we will bring all of these places into the arms of the Empire. We are the ones who will bring civilization to these ignorant and backward places!"
The hunter general and the vanguard were also jealous of the rich profits. Alaric took a few deep breaths and wanted to say something, but the vanguard hurriedly said, "No, we can't start a war with the Ashes Legion now. When we first arrived here, they were the ones who provided us with a guide. Furthermore, we don't have enough food supplies at the moment, so we have to rely on the Ashes Legion to buy them!"
The two generals of the Empire, Alaric and Alaric, frowned at almost the same time. Alaric hesitated for a moment before telling the vanguard, "How about this, can you send someone to Marauder Port to tell Commander Forgen that if he is willing to hand over all his troops and towns, I can propose to the Emperor to guarantee him the title of Viscount of the Empire?"
Vanguard Richard smiled bitterly. "General Alaric, if you were in his shoes, would you be willing to do that?"
The hunter general was silent for a few seconds before shaking his head self-deprecatingly. "Alright, then there's no need to say more. We traveled from the Empire to this place by ship for several months and lost a lot of troops. If we don't gain anything, how can we face the expectations of the nobles and the people of the Empire who support us?"
Eric shook his head when he thought of the astonishing wealth and large number of soldiers that the Ash Corps possessed. He thought that after the Lizardmen were eliminated, these towns and residents that did not submit to the Empire's management were destined to be defeated by the Empire's army and obediently hand over their wealth. Yet, these people were still kind enough to warn him of the danger. Eric shook his head. "We are the elite Empire's army. How can we be compared to your motley crew that is temporarily put together by conscripts and weak mercenaries?"
"Let's talk about other things later. The first thing we need to do now is to get enough loot. How about this? We'll rest for another day, and then I'll lead two thousand men south to plunder the Tokan Shrine. We'll take all the treasures in the ruins for ourselves. We'll talk about the rest later," the Hunter General made his decision.
"Yes, sir!" The military meeting came to an end, and the three officers walked out of the tent.
Vanguard Richard led the hunter general to an open space in the camp. "Look at this, general. This thing can be completed today. It will definitely help you in this war!"
On the open space, the craftsmen of the Empire were finishing their work. A chariot made of wood was undergoing its final test.
"The old Empire chariot is something that has long been eliminated by steam tanks. I didn't expect it to be so useful in the jungle," Vanguard Richard said to the hunter general. Vanguard Official Richard said to the Hunter General, "The warhorses provided by the mainland are too few. We can't form a strong cavalry at all. However, we can use a mix of workhorses and warhorses. We can let the gunners stay in the relatively safe chariots. It's good for maintaining firepower and retreating."
"Very good." Alaric nodded. "Let's get ready!"
"The only regret is that the expedition knight has left." The Empire general was a little disappointed. He was a peak legendary master.
"Don't count on those Brittany knights. In our long history, we have not always been friends," Alaric sighed. Eric sighed. "In this dark age, we can only rely on ourselves."
"This is the Empire!"
… I am doing this for the division line of the Empire …
A day later, on a forest path in the northern part of Luscia.
More than two thousand Empire troops were slowly advancing in the tropical rainforest.
The muddy ground, the humid air, the annoying mosquitoes, and the lush vegetation.
Green, endless green, towering trees, extremely lush shrubs, and sticky wet moss. The soldiers of the Empire who were used to the climate of the Empire's Dark Forest felt extremely uncomfortable. Although it was not very hot in November, almost all the soldiers of the Empire were sweating profusely.
The hunter general Alaric held an enchanted bow in his hand and walked at the front of the troop. Behind him were several rows of Empire lancers, followed by archers and crossbowmen, followed by Empire swordsmen and two Empire chariots.
"Attention! Do not try to pick any fruits. Do not eat anything that looks edible, "the hunter general ordered. The Hunter General kept giving orders, "Don't be left alone. Gather together. No one knows what's in the forest. Stay alert!"
"Yes, sir!" The troops of the Empire were quite cautious. They looked around cautiously. Many of the Empire soldiers had never seen such an environment before and did not dare to act rashly.
"It's surprisingly quiet." They had been marching for hours, and the whole army had not met any enemies. Eric took a few soft breaths, and his hands held the big bow tightly, which made him feel better.
According to the information gathered by the Empire, Luscia had a large number of carnivorous plants and animals. Vines, bloodthirsty spores, and spiky plants were all looking for careless victims.
Large cats, man-eating monkeys, and swarms of humming giant insects constantly appeared in the jungle. Even more deadly were the ancient giant beasts in the jungle. These reptiles should have been completely extinct over a long period of time, but in fact, they still appeared in the jungle and were at the top of the food chain.
As the hunter general, Alaric could not wait to have a good fight with these legendary beasts.
However, everything was very quiet. Giant banana leaves, vines, and shrubs filled the vision of the Empire's army. The difficult climb of old vines and branches, the damp heat of the sun, drowned everything from the eyes to the soul. Various layers of very clean green surrounded the expeditionary army from all directions. The fragrance of the trees mixed with the smell of decay. In this forest that had lived for hundreds of millions of years, time seemed to have stopped. Occasionally, small fragments of sunlight would leak through the dense foliage and slowly move through the forest covered in fallen leaves.
Something seemed to be moving in the depths of the forest. One of the Imperial Hunters immediately turned around in shock and pointed towards a direction in the forest. "Who's there?!" He shouted as he drew his short bow to the maximum.
There was nothing. The forest seemed to have quieted down again. There seemed to be fog in the forest, making everything illusory.
"There?" When the Empire hunter turned around to check the other line of defense, a blow dart suddenly flew from the distant canopy and pierced into his back. The Empire hunter cried out in pain. Just as he was about to retaliate, an intense numbness engulfed him.
"There's … poison." The excellent Empire hunter spat out the last word and died on the spot.
"Enemy attack!" The Hunter General let out a sharp warning, and the imperial army immediately woke up from their panic. The pikemen and swordsmen lined up in two rows, and the archers and musketeers immediately opened fire in the direction of the blowdarts. Hundreds of arrows and dozens of bullets whizzed into the depths of the forest.
However, nothing happened. They only blasted down a bush and shot through some leaves.
The canopy in the distance swayed under the attack.
Then, silence returned. A faint whisper came from the depths of the forest. The hunter general drew the bow in his hand several times, but could not find the target. He had no choice but to put it down. "Keep moving!"
What he did not notice was that not far away, on top of the canopy, a chameleon saw the human army moving forward. It stuck out its tongue and held a hollow branch in its hand. It jumped lightly and took out two poisonous darts from its bosom and disappeared into the canopy of another giant tree.
"Pfft!"
"Ahhh!" Another Empire soldier was hit by a poisonous dart! The poison on the dart killed him instantly.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! "The Empire's army opened fire in panic again. But it was to no avail.
Just like that, in the next two hours, the entire Empire's army was hit by blow dart and poison dart. They died painfully under the effect of the poison. The soldiers were panicking and their morale was low. In the special environment of the forest, although the losses were not great, everyone was in danger. The soldiers huddled together and looked around in fear.
It was as if every tree, every bush, and even every vine had become a terrifying threat!
"Hiss, hiss, hiss …" The whispers of the reptiles surrounded the forest, sometimes far and sometimes near, sometimes not.
"Stay in formation and observe the surroundings!" At this time, Eric was already sweating profusely. He could always feel that there was something in the forest that was watching them.
That kind of gaze was chilling.
Fortunately, after a long journey, they finally arrived at the ruins of the lizardmen. The legendary Tokan Temple appeared in front of the Empire's soldiers. Just like the legends said, the ruins were full of gold, silver, enamel, and all kinds of gemstones. The ruins were covered with moss and vines, and there were also collapsed walls and trees. They could vaguely see that this was once a glorious temple, but for some reason, it was reduced to this state.
"Oh! Oh my god, so much gold. Lady of Wealth above, I have never seen so much gold in my life! "
"Charlemagne, bless us!"
"We are rich!"
"This is great! This gold is mine! "
"This is enamel! I like it! "
The Empire's soldiers immediately panicked when they saw such a shocking amount of wealth. The soldiers who had spent two hours in this oppressive and suffocating atmosphere could not suppress their madness. They desperately took anything valuable and stuffed it into their bags, pockets, and even their armor. Many soldiers simply threw away their weapons when they could no longer walk. The originally neat formation had now fallen apart. All the soldiers were busy looting, and some even fought because of it.
The Hunter General wanted to stop the chaos, but there was nothing he could do. At this time, the Empire's soldiers only had eyes for gold and gemstones. Even Eric himself could not help but dig in the ruins. A piece of gold that was bigger than a fist made him smile. "His Majesty will like this."
"Roar, roar …" Just as the Empire's soldiers were in a mess and greedily taking the wealth in the ruins, wave after wave of roars came from the depths of the forest.
The next second, dozens of giant beasts rushed towards the ruins from all directions. These giant beasts were made up of lizards, ankylosauruses, tyrannosauruses, and fire-breathing salamanders!
Behind these giant beasts was an army of thousands of lizardmen! They released wild howls and joined the battlefield with shields and maces in their hands!
"Roar, kill these hot-blooded bastards, for the sake of the big plan!" Surrounded by hundreds of temple guards, the great white lizard Rock and the two spirit lizard priests saw with satisfaction that the human army had fallen into a trap. Rock held the ancient sacred artifact Urumak's hammer in one hand and the ancient sacred artifact Shield of the Generations in the other. He pointed at the Empire's soldiers who were still busy looting in the ruins and ordered, "Advance! For Itazar, for the big plan, for Lord Kroc! "
The response was the roar of the giant beasts that could be heard more than ten kilometers away.
The forest trembled, and the lush forest swayed back and forth without stopping for a long time.
The Empire's army was surrounded by the lizardmen.
When the first lizard knocked over and crushed several of the Empire's spearmen on the spot, the Empire's army had only just reacted.
Seeing the army of lizardmen coming from all directions like a tide, the Hunter General Eric only had one thought left in his mind.
"The hunter will eventually be the prey."
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