Chapter 380: An Alternate Route and Scouting
Time slowly passed, and the night deepened.
In the following days, the Goblin Forest fell into an eerie silence.
The large-scale attack by the Ratmen seemed to be nothing more than a feint.
Their abrupt retreat left the goblins puzzled.
But Li Meng did not let external threats cloud his mind with overthinking.
He continued living his days as usual.
During the day, he worked on engraving rifling runes onto the floating battleships at the harbor.
At night, he engaged in activities with his queens.
Although there were many concerns, life was still enjoyable.
Susan also seemed to be doing well.
Ever since returning to the tribe, she had not encountered any more time reversals.
Morning of a new day.
Throne Tribe, royal palace, upper sleeping chamber.
"My king, it is still daytime!"
By the bed, a gnoll was nestled in Li Meng's embrace.
His hands gently stroked the soft fur on her body.
Male gnolls had rough fur, but female gnolls had softer fur.
It felt very pleasant to touch.
Holding his queen, Li Meng sat down on the bedside.
"It doesn't matter, anytime is fine."
Although he said that, Li Meng did not take things further with the wolf beauty.
He was simply indulging in a moment of relaxation.
After playing with her for a while, Li Meng left the chamber in a good mood.
"Summon your clan chief to meet me."
As he exited, he ordered a lizardman maid outside.
"Yes, my king!"
The lizardman maid hurried away.
Li Meng proceeded to the throne hall.
It didn't take long before Bai Ling arrived.
"Bai Ling, come here."
Seated on his throne, Li Meng patted his leg.
Blushing slightly, Bai Ling, who was visibly pregnant, walked over lightly.
Without hesitation, she naturally sat sideways on his lap.
Her long tail swayed involuntarily.
Holding Bai Ling's cool and smooth waist, Li Meng chuckled.
"Any movement from the humans?"
Half a year ago, Li Meng had ordered Bai Ling to send lizardmen scouts down the Goblin River to investigate human territories.
Bai Ling shook her head slightly.
"The closest settlement to the Ogre Mountains along the Goblin River is Twilight Town. The docks there are calm, with very few large ships. Only a handful of big vessels arrive and depart daily, and there are no signs of military mobilization."
Li Meng's expression grew contemplative.
In hindsight, he regretted calling Sandra over.
With Sandra beside Morris, he could have known every detail of the humans' plans.
Unlike now, where he had lost access to human intelligence.
"So the humans do not plan to use the Goblin River for their attack."
If not by water, then from where would the human coalition invade the Goblin Forest?
From Garrison Fort through Windward Valley?
Impossible, unless Morris had a death wish.
Oaths in this world were bound by divine power.
They were deeply linked to one's faith.
Breaking an oath always resulted in a severe consequence.
"Could the human coalition have found another route through the Ogre Mountains?"
Li Meng thought to himself.
It was highly possible.
The Ogre Mountains were vast, stretching across the Southern Continent and isolating the outer regions.
The section bordering the Irisis Principality alone was nearly a thousand kilometers long.
Finding an alternate route into the Goblin Forest was not an impossible task.
"My king, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, just thinking about how to handle this war against the humans."
"Have you come up with a plan, my king?"
Li Meng gave Bai Ling's waist a light slap.
"I have. As expected, I prefer taking the initiative."
"Go rest, and take good care of our child."
Bai Ling's face flushed, and she nodded lightly.
She stood up and swayed her hips as she left.
Watching her slightly plump figure, Li Meng grinned.
How could he find a lizardwoman attractive?
Li Meng tapped his gauntlet.
The knocking sound made the goblin guards outside flinch.
One of them immediately rushed into the hall.
Sliding onto its knees, it bowed deeply.
"My king, I am here!"
"Summon Gobu Mo."
"Yes, my king!"
The goblin guard scrambled to its feet and sprinted outside.
Within ten minutes, Gobu Mo hurried into the throne hall.
"My king, what do you need?"
Kneeling on the ground, Gobu Mo looked up curiously.
"Order all captains undergoing training to return immediately!"
"Yes, my king!"
Gobu Mo stood up and quickly departed.
Watching Gobu Mo's massive frame leave, Li Meng furrowed his brows slightly.
If possible, he wanted to launch an immediate war against the humans.
To seize control of the Irisis Principality's borderlands.
But his goblin army lacked high-tier combatants.
Goblin variants needed time to grow.
He alone could not be everywhere at once.
Defending was manageable, but launching an offensive posed significant challenges.
Conquering the Irisis Principality's borderlands would mean battling on multiple fronts.
He couldn't be present at every battlefield along the extensive war front.
If the enemy realized that he was the only high-tier combatant among the goblins,
his downfall would be inevitable.
That was why, upon returning from Saint Biron Continent,
Li Meng decided on a few years of peaceful development.
Now, all his queens were pregnant with goblin variants.
However, the barbarian mothers had limited talent.
Although their robust physiques ensured strong offspring,
lacking magic and combat aura would cap the goblin variants' potential.
Unfortunately, goblin variants could only inherit his superior physical traits.
They could not inherit his magic or combat aura.
According to Xiao Bai, those traits could only be passed down through the mother.
Since the body was nurtured in the mother's womb,
magical and combat abilities had to come from her as well.
Magical cannons were powerful weapons, but only useful against regular troops.
Their projectile speed was still too slow.
Any moderately skilled warrior could evade the blasts.
Mages could conjure magic barriers for protection.
After all, the power of magical cannons was only equivalent to advanced war magic.
Their only advantage was the ability to fire a large number of advanced war magic-equivalent projectiles.
A single floating battleship's firepower could rival a hundred war mages.
Time continued to pass, day by day.
Under Li Meng's orders, the floating battleships in training began returning one by one.
Within a month, the throne tribe's river port was filled with dozens of floating battleships.
In less than a year and a half, 121 floating ships had been launched.
Among them, 47 were bombardment-class battleships,
while the rest were transport ships.