Holding torches and forming a welcoming formation, the mayor, who had enthusiastically come out to wait for and greet this "human army," was actually sweating profusely inside.
Although this news was revealed to the humans by the Beastmen and seemed to carry goodwill, who knew what was really going on in the minds of beasts?
What if they suddenly flew into a rage and decided to slaughter Samana along with this army?
Although the other party didn't look that insane... well, the mayor, who had hidden behind the house barricades with the militia and watched that one-sided massacre, felt in his heart that these crimson beasts looked even more terrifying on the battlefield than the notoriously savage Greenskins!
On one side was green, destructive brute force; on the other, red and black killing machines.
For Estalia, both were equally dangerous.
A squad of cavalry rode toward them. The spirits of the group from Samana lifted—they had finally seen the Kingdom's army!
These were humans, their army!
But the cavalry were clearly not as enthusiastic. They stopped at a moderate distance, sizing them up warily, obviously on guard against this group of strangers suddenly waiting on their path.
Putting aside his internal suspicions, the mayor immediately shouted: "I am the mayor of Samana, Dubois Karenfell!"
"Everyone here is a resident of Samana, coming specifically to welcome the Kingdom's army! Thank the Goddess, the Kingdom has not forgotten the people of Samana!"
The cavalry lingered. The leader spurred his horse forward a few steps and asked loudly:
"How did you know the Kingdom's army would be coming here!"
The mayor turned his head and locked eyes with the gentry; both sides were somewhat stunned.
How did the news from the Beastman tribe get here?
"Our allies, a tribe from the Piña Forest, informed us!" The mayor already felt something was wrong, but things having reached this point, he could only bite the bullet and continue.
The cavalrymen leaned in and whispered something to each other. The leader frowned so hard he could crush a fly between his brows.
"My apologies, but I have never heard of us having any tribal allies from the forest. Please wait here!"
He yanked the reins, cracked his whip, and galloped back the way he came.
Leaving a few cavalrymen lingering there to stand off against the mayor and the others, who stood in the night wind, completely at a loss.
On the other side, the wolf packs had already scouted the presence of the human army for him.
On the map, they appeared as yellowish-red dots.
By the way, Samana was a mix of blue, green, and yellow.
"Then let's go!"
Al looked back at the crimson legion standing in neat formations on the plain, looking silent, murderous, and incredibly imposing at a glance.
"Let's meet them!"
The Khorngors moved their hooves, silently marching forward.
Al planned to have a face-to-face encounter with the humans right outside the town of Samana. He estimated that the human army probably wouldn't dare stay in Samana, near Al's legion. They would likely choose to travel through the night toward Veling, taking the news back with them.
He intended to make contact with this group anyway. The best-case scenario, of course, was to win their support and push for an alliance with the Estalians. The bad scenario was merely this group overestimating their own strength—which actually wouldn't be too bad; if they attacked Al, the Khorngors could satisfy their thirst for blood and glory.
The worst-case scenario was them being extremely hostile to Al's tribe, running straight back to Veling, and issuing proclamations stating that the tribe and the Greenskins were birds of a feather and mortal enemies of humanity, throwing a massive wrench into Al's plans to absorb the town's manpower and resources for his own use.
But no matter what, Al was absolutely determined to no longer tie his own hands or confine himself.
The same kingdom—if the Greenskins can occupy it, why can't I?
The position of Elector Count—if vampires can sit on it, why can't I?
The Slayer of Kings is sharp! (The weapon of Everchosen Archaon)
My sword has never been unsharp!
Even though this seemed like a rather bad flag to raise, Al decided to plant it here anyway.
The legion composed of a thousand Khorngors marched through the outskirts. Al made no attempt to hide, so the Samanans soon noticed the commotion. The mayor couldn't easily leave, so he tasked the priest and a young gentleman, accompanied by servants, to ride over.
"H-honorable Beastlord, where are you taking this mighty legion of yours?"
The priest sat on his horse, his calves turning to jelly. Facing the chillingly lethal Khorngor legion, the pressure was suffocating.
The young gentleman fared slightly better. Mustering his courage, he dismounted and respectfully asked Al, who was walking at the front, his hands behind his back tightly gripping the hem of his jacket.
Al replied with a rhetorical question: "Can I not go and meet our allies?"
"The envoys sent to Veling won't arrive until the day after tomorrow at the earliest. I believe it is entirely possible to interact with the Kingdom's army and foster goodwill before then. After all, we share a common enemy in the Greenskin mobs from across the sea, do we not?"
The young gentleman slowly straightened his back, nodding repeatedly in agreement, continuously wiping the sweat from his neck and cheeks as he said: "Then your tribesmen..."
Al suddenly flared up, scolding: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"
The Khorngor closest to him snorted scorching hot air from its nostrils, its beastly eyes glowing red. The gentleman was so terrified he stumbled back a few steps, waving his hands:
"I wouldn't dare be so disrespectful! It's just... it's just! When two unacquainted legions meet, misunderstandings might arise. You are the protectors of Samana, the saviors of Estalian land! As local residents, we naturally do not wish for such a regrettable thing to occur!"
After being intimidated by the Khorngor, the gentleman's brain spun rapidly. After choking on his words for a moment, he came up with a fluent excuse.
Al gave him a glance. A clever man; if he understands the times, he might be useful later.
"I can restrain my entire army, as long as the human army doesn't start trouble first... Besides, an army should be welcomed by an army!"
"You go to the front and lead the way. We will welcome the newcomers together."
The gentleman dared not argue further. He had no choice but to rely on his equally trembling and terrified servants to help him back onto his horse, helplessly leading the way forward with the speechless priest.
He secretly grumbled in his heart:
You are also—no, wait, you are the newcomer!
When the cavalrymen saw a group of people suddenly running down from the distant hills, they were instantly on high alert. Seeing this group running toward the mayor and the others in a panic, as if something were chasing them, their eyes filled with even more suspicion.
The ground was vibrating slightly.
A cavalryman seemed to realize something. He dismounted and pressed his ear to the ground to listen.
Quickly, his expression changed drastically!
A massive silhouette stepped onto the hill from the shadows. The silent, oppressive aura instantly enveloped the cavalrymen's hearts upon her appearance.
The horses beneath them whinnied, stamping restlessly. Compared to their riders, mounts could sense the dangerous aura permeating the air much faster. The riders were now somewhat panicked, shouting and pulling hard to control their mounts while slowly backing away.
The giant silhouette in the distance walked down the slope. Behind her, the first row of Khorngors holding torches crested the hill, followed by the second, third, fourth...
A legion!
The cavalrymen were terrified. If they weren't still a fair distance away, they would have whipped their horses and fled immediately.
The mayor wanted to get on the gentleman's horse. This beast had walked all the way with a Beastman vanguard looming over its head; right now, just like its owner, it was shivering all over, unable to bear any more burden.
He had no choice but to hike up his robes and, with a few attendants, run frantically toward the cavalry horses.
"They, they are the ones I mentioned, the tribal allies from the forest!"
The silent legion stood solemnly in the darkness. The flickering, dim torchlight could barely illuminate their blood-red beastly pupils.
The massive leading centaur was clad in armor that was both gorgeous and radiated violence. Wielding a long halberd, she stood at the front of the legion like a giant.
A relatively petite figure rode on her back.