"Your Majesty."
Craig, Level 16 wolfman, Temple Warrior of the Dawn Order. This warrior, who had been deployed by the beastmen, had somehow miraculously appeared within Risel City.
And behind Craig stood over a hundred beastman warriors clad in dwarf-forged armor, recruits from the rebuilt Lionmane Tribe.
If Risel City's army had discovered this scene, it would've shocked them to their core. The beastmen had already infiltrated the city without anyone noticing.
"The city wall has been blown open. What's your situation here?"
Li De wasn't surprised by what he saw. After using faith energy to communicate with Craig yesterday, he had already learned why Craig hadn't been able to contact him earlier.
The beastmen had set their sights on Risel City as early as half a year ago. After Craig was drafted, he was secretly smuggled into the city through a highly concealed tunnel.
Since he was deep within a human city, he naturally couldn't reach out to Li De.
And Craig's unit was just one of at least twenty similar infiltrator teams.
When Li De first heard this, he was stunned. What the hell? Since when did beastmen, creatures known for their brawn-over-brains approach, become so proficient in underhanded tactics?!
Even more shocking was that Risel City hadn't detected such a high-level infiltration at all. It was unbelievable.
Once he received this intel, Li De had immediately begun drafting a series of plans, one of which was to rely on Craig as an insider. After Risel City fell, Craig would move in first and extract the goblins.
But what he hadn't expected was that the beastmen would flip the table before his plans had even begun. This sudden offensive had completely thrown things off. Based on his original estimates, the beastmen shouldn't have breached the city for at least two more days.
"We received word from the beastmen prince. The moment the wall collapses, initiate the assault and create as much chaos within the city as possible."
Li De nodded. The beastmen had prepared thoroughly for this assault. From the moment the city was surrounded, its fall had been inevitable.
In fact, if the beastmen had wanted to, they could have taken the city on the very first day of attack.
According to Craig's report, the reason the beastmen didn't storm Risel City immediately was due to the undead threat in the north.
The northern front was growing more unstable, and Green City had already shifted most of its attention toward the undead.
The longer the beastmen dragged things out, the less seriously Green City took them. After all, if a city of 500,000 could stall an army of hundreds of thousands for over half a month, how much of a threat could the beastmen really be?
The beastmen were happy to see this narrative play out. The more brutal the northern undead became, the less pressure they faced.
After learning this, Li De crafted a new plan, under the cover of darkness, extract the goblins unnoticed. As long as the operation remained discreet, no one would notice a group of beastmen carrying off spoils of war amidst the chaos.
After all, the beastmen weren't exactly known for strict military discipline. Many were invading simply due to lack of food, and pillaging resources to send back to the barren wastelands was routine.
In that sense, this plan, though simple and risky, was highly executable. All they had to do was secure the goblins.
Once the chaos broke out, who would care if a bunch of goblins suddenly vanished?
But now, the beastmen's sudden advance had completely disrupted his plan. Li De couldn't even be sure if Yor had made it back to the goblin tribe yet.
This massive shift forced him to revise his strategy immediately. If he didn't act fast, once the beastmen fully breached the city, the goblins might no longer belong to him.
"Craig, how many Lionmane warriors have entered Risel City?"
"Your Majesty, six hundred beastman warriors, all between Levels 7 and 9, the finest fighters the Lionmane Tribe has to offer."
Six hundred? Li De's eyes lit up with delight. He hadn't expected Craig to be this reliable, but the surprise wasn't over yet.
"I've also arranged for our tribesmen. Once the city falls, they'll regroup with me immediately. I carry the unique scent mark of wolfmen, any warrior within twenty li will be able to smell it.
So we only need a bit of time, and we'll have over 5,000 warriors ready."
Li De was overjoyed. Six hundred versus 5,000, those were completely different numbers. That was more than enough to execute his full plan.
He made a decisive move on the spot.
"As soon as chaos breaks out, gather the Lionmane warriors and seize the goblins." As he spoke, Li De pulled a small bat from his cloak and handed it over.
"This bat has been specially trained. It will lead you to Emi, who is currently tracking the goblins."
"Emi is already on their trail. All we need to do now is wait for the chaos."
After finishing, Li De turned and walked briskly toward the exit.
"I'll head over to Emi first. Once the bat alerts you, move immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Craig responded respectfully.
Li De didn't hesitate either. He transformed into a swarm of over a hundred bats that surged into the air, vanishing into the unknown under the cover of night.
At this moment, Risel City had already descended into massive chaos.
Countless beastmen burst forth from hidden tunnels and houses, ferociously charging out, their torches wantonly setting the city ablaze. Flames raged across the streets.
In just over ten minutes, the blazing infernos lit up half the sky.
Shouts of battle, women screaming, men cursing, children crying, dogs howling, every kind of noise clashed together. The city was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, exploding into frenzy.
The city guard, already in disarray from the collapse of the city wall, was now struck with a brutal sneak attack from the rear by beastmen.
Panic immediately spread. An unavoidable crisis erupted.
Small riots turned into major uprisings, which in turn struck at the military that was trying to maintain order.
Once the military collapsed, the entire city plunged into even greater chaos.
At this moment, hidden cultists of evil gods and members of underworld criminal factions took the opportunity to unleash their desires in this horrific chaos.
Looting, torture, murder, arson, their methods were even more brutal than the beastmen.
With the beastman army pressing in from the front and an internal collapse in the rear, and with over ten days of non-stop beastman assaults leaving the city in a constant state of agitation, an inevitable catastrophe erupted.
This ancient city, with thousands of years of heritage, had entered an irreversible path toward destruction.
Craig was still dutifully following Li De's order, not yet making his move. He was waiting, waiting for the moment this city fell into utter chaos.
The beastmen had laid out their plans half a year in advance, and their strength utterly overwhelmed Risel City. With such a disparity in power, this city had been doomed from the start.
Even if Green City's Transcendent mage intervened now, it might not be enough to stop the invasion of an army several hundred thousand strong.
When numbers reached a certain threshold, they turned into a qualitative force. Especially when those numbers were composed of powerful beastman warriors, most of whom were above Level 5.
Li De had the rare honor of witnessing the fall of this city from the skies.
The beastmen's carefully woven scheme was beyond what ordinary people could undo. Unless a legendary figure or three Transcendent powerhouses descended at this moment, an unrealistic fantasy.
A vision of that crimson cloak, like blood, and the silver-haired girl suddenly flashed through his mind.
In this battle, none of them would survive, would they?
A pity, for that piece of legendary equipment.
Just as this thought passed through Li De's mind, he suddenly sensed a summons from Emi.
The swarm of bats veered sharply and sped off in another direction.
And at that moment, BOOM!
An even louder explosion rocked the air. Li De's bats immediately turned their gaze toward the source of the sound. Then, a colossal creature appeared in view.
A hulking beast, over ten blades tall, covered in thick black fur, was striding upright through the city. Every house it passed was reduced to rubble, the streets littered with ruins.
Two massive fangs in its mouth gleamed with bloodthirsty cold light. Its limbs were thick and muscular. Its forelimbs, like massive arms, ended in claws like steel spikes, gouging the ground beneath it.
Even a knight's armor was shredded like paper before those claws. Not even dragon scales might withstand that sharp edge.
The organized troops of Risel City were like ants before the behemoth. With a casual swipe, dozens were crushed. In less than a minute, a regiment of over a thousand men had completely collapsed.
One name suddenly surfaced in Li De's mind.
Behemoth.
The Behemoth before him moved with an ape-like hunched posture, but its terrifying physique far surpassed any known lifeform.
Suddenly, the Behemoth seemed to sense something. Its gaze snapped toward Li De's swarm of bats.
In that instant, a chill ran down Li De's spine.
A surge of lethal danger exploded in his heart.
The Behemoth had locked onto him.