102: Chapter 102 Arrival at the Minotaur Tribe

Heading due north from Lintian City, the army advanced steadily like a slow but resolute torrent of steel. The dense primeval jungle receded slowly on both sides of the troop.

Since one of the primary objectives of this journey was to temper those 32,000 recruits, the army's marching speed was not fast. Lin Tian intentionally let the recruits clear out the sporadic, low-level Polluted Monsters or wild beasts disturbed by the army along the way.

At first, the recruits' movements were still immature and their cooperation was clumsy; they would even panic slightly when faced with a suddenly lunging black iron-rank Rotten Hound or a Bronze-rank Venomous Spider.

But after engaging in combat more frequently, they quickly began to adapt, with screams and the sounds of monsters falling to the ground rising and falling one after another.

The recruits' levels and confidence were also constantly improving.

Lin Yin always guarded Lin Tian's side, her gaze scanning the dark woods around them alertly most of the time, especially the canopies and shadows, though she would occasionally cast a glance at the recruit squads fighting the monsters.

When she saw someone in a life-threatening situation, her fingers resting on the bowstring would twitch slightly, but she ultimately restrained herself.

This was necessary tempering. Only when a true danger suddenly appeared, threatening a recruit's life, would a Moonlight Arrow—so fast it was a blur—or an eerily space-twisting "Dimensional Rending Arrow" strike first to neutralize the threat.

In this way, clearing and coordinating along the way, by the time the sun had risen to the center-west of the sky, the army had penetrated more than forty li deep into the northern jungle. The smell of smoke in the air grew stronger, even mixed with the scents of leather, ore, and some kind of low-quality liquor.

"One li ahead is the outskirts of the Kamo Tribe." Lin Feng, who had been roaming at the very front of the troop like a ghost, sent someone back to report in a low voice:

"Lin Feng's vanguard is already lying in wait on the outskirts without alerting the enemy. The Void Ranger' 'Dimensional Insight' reports that there are twelve patrol teams on the tribe's outskirts, each with five members, spaced about three hundred meters apart. Due to the distance, the internal guard situation cannot be fully seen for now, but there are dense energy reactions."

Lin Tian nodded and signaled the army to stop behind a slightly elevated forest slope, using the trees and terrain for concealment. Taking Lin Yin with him, he crept silently to the edge of the slope, pushed aside the thick bushes, and looked forward.

The view suddenly opened up. In the distance, on a forest clearing that had been crudely cleared, stood a tribe of considerable scale.

Completely different from the previously messy and dirty Goblin tribe, the buildings here, while still rugged, appeared orderly.

The main buildings were longhouses and shacks built from massive logs and rough stone slabs, arranged relatively neatly.

On the outside was a ring of crude walls about three meters high, constructed from a mix of sharpened giant wooden stakes and stones.

Smoke could be seen rising from some places, which seemed to be blacksmith shops or pottery kilns.

On the open ground, Minotaur women were drying animal hides, young Minotaurs were chasing and playing, and there were squads of burly Minotaur Warriors dressed in simple leather armor and wielding giant stone axes or iron-clad wooden clubs, patrolling inside and outside the walls.

Their steps were heavy and their gazes alert; although their discipline could not be compared to a regular human army, it was a world of difference compared to the lax chaos of the Goblins.

"As expected, it's different," Lin Tian whispered, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes. This Minotaur tribe was clearly better organized and seemed to have higher productivity, which meant its combat power and will to resist would be stronger.

With a slight thought, the light of the Detection Spell flashed through his eyes, quickly scanning the Minotaur Warriors visible within his field of vision.

The feedback basically matched the intelligence Lin Feng had brought back last time. Their overall strength far exceeded that of the Goblins, but compared to the army under his command—which had undergone multiple enhancements and especially possessed many epic-tier units and gold-rank generals—there was still a clear gap.

"The enemy's total combat power is about five thousand; the current assembly speed is unknown. Our strength is superior, but in a head-on assault, even if we win, the recruits' casualties might be difficult to control."

Lin Tian quickly analyzed, turning his gaze to Lin Yin beside him. "Clip their wings and disrupt their formation first. Lin Yin, arrange for the Pale Moon Hunters and Void Ranger to take action. Targets: all outer patrol teams and the observers on the wall's watchtowers. Be fast, be quiet, and try to eliminate these 'eyes' and 'ears' before they can raise a large-scale alarm."

"Yes." Lin Yin took the order. Without even needing to turn around, she simply placed her fingers to her lips and let out a short, sharp whistle like a nightingale's cry, which seemed to penetrate space.

Just as the whistle faded, in the shadows of the forest behind her and on the higher tree canopies, figures that almost blended into the environment silently began to move.

The Pale Moon Hunters, like the most patient hunters, lay in wait at carefully selected sniper points. The Pale Moon Flower insignia on their chests glowed slightly, imbuing their arrows with the effects of "Natural Silence" and "Precision Penetration."

Bowstrings vibrated slightly and almost soundlessly. One arrow after another, wrapped in faint vine phantoms or carrying a cold, sharp edge, swept across hundreds of meters like the gentle breath of the Grim Reaper, accurately sinking into the eye sockets, throats, or gaps in the leather armor of the outer Minotaur patrols.

The struck Minotaurs often only had time to let out a short muffled groan before falling heavily to the ground. Their wounds, eroded by natural energy, were difficult to heal and made it hard to make a loud noise.

And the hunts of the Void Ranger were even more eerie.

They didn't even need a completely direct line of sight. Relying on "Dimensional Insight," they could "see" the outlines of targets behind walls or beside wooden stakes.

The "strings" made of spatial energy in their hands vibrated slightly, and what they shot were not physical arrows, but streaks of subtle, light-distorting spatial energy.

These energy arrows performed unpredictable short-range spatial warps in flight, bypassing obstacles to hit targets from the most cunning angles and causing small-scale spatial tears at the point of impact, instantly taking lives with almost no sound.

On the wall's watchtowers, the Minotaur sentries, who were looking around blankly, clutched their necks or chests where bloody holes had mysteriously appeared and fell in astonishment, not understanding where the attack had come from until the moment they died.

Under the tacit cooperation of the two elite long-range units, the twelve outer patrol teams and several prominent watchtowers were silently cleared in less than ten minutes.

"Advance, approach to five hundred meters outside the tribe's walls."

Seeing this, Lin Tian decisively gave the order. Lin Feng at the front received the signal and led 1,200 elites, using the terrain and forest for cover, to begin creeping silently toward the tribe's walls. Lin Tian and Lin Yin led the 32,000 main army in the center, following slowly at a certain distance.

However, just as Lin Feng's vanguard had reached the designated position and was preparing to find a weak point in the wall or the gate, a sudden change occurred!

"Moo!!!"

A terrified and angry bull roar suddenly rang out from a tall stone observation platform within the tribe!

It turned out that one Minotaur Sentry was not stationed at a watchtower but was lying down lazily in a low spot on the stone platform, which happened to dodge the Void Ranger' assassination. At this moment, he happened to see the many human figures looming at the edge of the jungle below!

"Enemy attack! It's humans! Over there!!" The Minotaur Sentry pointed in the direction where Lin Feng's vanguard was hidden, shouting at the top of his lungs while vigorously beating a war drum covered in animal hide beside him.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

The dull and rapid drumbeats instantly shattered the silence of the jungle and also woke up the entire Kamo Tribe!

"Enemy attack? Humans? Where?"

"Quick! Get your weapons! Assemble!"

"Kill them all and get the reward!!"