Al wanted to know the secrets the knights harbored, but the All-Knowing Mom didn't tell the boy all the mortal secrets she grasped.
Sometimes, knowledge itself means power. It requires him to discover it himself, and it will undoubtedly be accompanied by many dangers.
The retreating figures of the knights disappeared at the end of the horizon. Outriders were whistling as they galloped back and forth on the flanks, maintaining order within the column.
Al received a report that further ahead, they would reach the coastline.
He had led the Beastmen and the Expeditionary Force all the way west. Although a week of searching and fighting had slowed their pace, they had covered a sufficiently long distance.
The search mission could be considered a complete success. Al didn't have a detailed count, but a rough estimate showed that over the past few days, the main force he led alone had already gathered nearly three thousand refugees, the vast majority of them from Magus.
Al didn't know the situation of the other detached forces for the time being. Through the All-Knowing blessing, he could barely observe that they were basically all advancing steadily without excessive casualties.
Heading further south, he would face a very important question.
To save Magus, or not to save Magus?
According to the information brought by the most recent batch of refugees, the city seemed to still be in a difficult but persisting siege.
The fleet's suicidal assault had routed the pirate fleet, buying the city a momentary breathing space.
But this opening only brought Magus a few days of relief. They sent out more non-combatants and took in more refugees from the surrounding areas arriving by sea—then sent them north along the previous route. Who knows how many would survive.
The men who still had the strength to fight mostly stayed behind. After a vote, the Magus city council decided to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements from Veling and Demontrei.
They expelled the pirate envoys sent by the Greenskins, blockaded the port, rallied all capable fighters in the city, and prepared to fight the invaders to the death.
And right now, the closest force to them was the Beastman legion led by Al.
Although Magus had been heavily besieged previously, because of the close distance, they still managed to receive some information from the outside world, including the lifting of the siege of Veling—and the reinforcements that emerged from the Piña Forest.
Naturally, they didn't care whether that so-called "tribe" consisted of Beastmen or Orcs. As long as they knew Veling had been relieved and that this force had the strength to save them, that was enough.
The hope for reinforcements, combined with the passion to resist the invaders, were the two main pillars supporting the Magus people's resistance. It could be said that losing either one would make the city's fall inevitable.
And the only person who could currently decide the survival of Magus was naturally:
The Gelder of Beasts, the Death of Beasts, the Butcher of Greenskins, the Griffon Rider, the Commander of the Beast Vanguard, the Giant Hunter, the Chief of Chiefs (King of Kings), the Follower of the Expeditionary Force, the Protector of Refugees, the Savior of Veling, the Heaven-Sent Great Man of the Estalians, the Flawless Man Through the Ages——
The Supreme Commander of the Tribe:
Al!
Making a grand entrance!
He considered it for a moment and felt that if Magus could be saved, it would hold significant value for his united front strategy regarding the Estalians.
Moreover, its geographical location was also very important, guarding the central western gate and being a port city.
But that was for the future. For the present, where the tribe's only surface naval force consisted of canoes parked on a lake, competing with the Greenskin-Pirate allied forces for naval supremacy was out of the question. Even getting close to the coastline required guarding against ambushes.
However...
Al was torn: should he save Magus or not?
If he smashed another massive northbound Greenskin army, although there were many benefits, his presence would become too obvious and flashy, conflicting with his grand strategy of "letting two tigers fight while the fisherman catches the fish."
If the Greenskins got hit hard, they might either dive into the forest to cause trouble for him first, or refuse to march north, staying to wreak havoc in the south;
His idea of waiting for the Greenskins to march north, leaving Estalia teetering on the edge, before leading his army south to open a second front, annexing the Southern Realms in one fell swoop—or at the very least, massively absorbing the population—would fall through.
Right now, the Greenskins were in a state of reckless, boar-like charging, advancing aggressively and taking cities and strongholds. But their destruction of productive resources and population hadn't reached an extreme level yet. Once they stopped and scattered into the wilderness to find targets, massacring four villages today and burning eight stockades tomorrow...
By then, the entire south would be nothing but a barren wasteland. Even if he used the carrot and the stick to beat every Beastman in the Piña Forest into converting to the Four Mothers and enriching his main force, what use would it be?
Was he supposed to become a nomadic warband dragging women and children along from then on?
But if he didn't save them... first, standing by and watching from right next door would make the Estalians feel anxious. It might not completely erase the gratitude for saving their lives, but it would always leave a lingering dissatisfaction.
Furthermore, Magus was a major city, at least much larger than Veling. The latter, including refugees and routed soldiers, had barely gathered a population of nearly a hundred thousand before the siege.
The vast majority of them were women, children, the elderly, and the weak.
Magus's population, in comparison, was absolutely larger, not smaller. Given roughly the same distance, a relatively famous major city that was also coastal and had port ships to board was definitely more attractive than an obscure city that many Estalians didn't even have a deep impression of.
At its peak, this Port of Magus, which historically had a maximum population of sixty to seventy thousand, reached a massive figure of nearly three hundred thousand. Although most fled north via ships before the blockade tightened, there were still as many as a hundred and fifty thousand who didn't manage to leave in time. Because they had constantly been taking in refugees, Magus's food reserves were also on the verge of exhaustion.
Over a hundred thousand human lives...
Al sighed, pressing his body against the centaur girl's back, breathing against the cold armor.
Although he repeatedly warned himself that if necessary, he would just be a murderous tyrant, that he should be cruel when needed, because this was Warhammer, a place with no average morality or universal values...
He still couldn't harden his heart.
Al thought for a moment. The Grand Sister ran briskly to the centaur girl's side.
"The Estalian troops wish to return to Veling to gather forces and rescue Magus."
She said to Al. The centaur girl didn't stop, continuing to walk forward, so the Grand Sister had to jog alongside her to keep pace.
"It will take a lot of time, they probably won't make it,"
the Sagegor advisors chimed in. These Beastmen, who loved formulating all sorts of plans but were indeed wiser than ordinary humans, were the brain components of Al's future nation.
They were also a major pillar within the legion.
So Al had specifically brought them along, considering it early training for their abilities as advisors and legion mages.
"If Magus has already fallen, then both the legion and Veling will be threatened."
They were very good at guessing their superior's intentions, deducing from Al's expressions and demeanor what the Everchosen was feeling conflicted about. But they dared not overstep their bounds, only able to beat the drum from the sidelines, echoing the Everchosen's thoughts.
Of course, not all Sagegors had this kind of personality. It was only the more active ones. There were also many with scholar or philosopher templates who either disliked talking or loved talking too much; in short, they weren't very popular, inferior to the Shamans who worshipped the Merciful Earth Mother.
The Grand Sister naturally knew these issues, but her purpose for coming was already obvious.
Even if she worshipped a Chaos God (which was probably how the mortal realm viewed it), she had chosen to walk this path in pursuit of her true faith.
Those were over a hundred thousand people.
Actual, living lives, not just the unrecordable consumables (complaining about GW's math) left to die after emperors, generals, dukes, and nobles launched an expedition and lost a battle.
Al smacked his fist into his palm.
The scouts sent back a new message.
"The whole army accelerates north to rendezvous with the detached forces and rescue the refugees!"
"After this battle, we retreat to Veling to gather the army. We depart to rescue Magus!"
Wanted to go, but it wasn't a good idea to go.
Didn't want to go, but had to go.
Then let's compromise. I hope the Estalians' Goddess Myrmidia blesses them this time.