36: Defeat the gnolls

In just a moment, after leaving behind one sentence:

“Damn humans, my kin will not forgive you!”

it turned into a pile of minced meat on the Mountain Giant's fifteen-meter spiked club.

As a result, the Gnolls, who had just rallied their forces, immediately became completely demoralized again.

In fact, this upheaval completely broke their morale, and most of the Gnolls immediately began to flee.

David, Arthur, and the others naturally would not let such a good opportunity slip by, immediately dispatching all their subordinate troops for a full-scale pursuit!

Just like that, time reached noon the next day. The people of Northern Bulwark City pursued the Gnolls for over a hundred li before finally stopping.

During this period, they killed nearly 100,000 Gnolls, with only slightly more than 10,000 Gnolls managing to escape.

Arthur and the others were not prepared to pursue further, because chasing them deeper into the Orc Royal Court would result in being surrounded, which would be a huge loss!

Now, the war between Northern Bulwark City and these hundreds of thousands of Gnolls had truly drawn to a close!

David, Arthur, and the others, who had chased the enemy all night, were physically exhausted, but their spirits were extremely high.

At this moment, they were all beaming with joy, happily chatting as they headed towards Northern Bulwark City.

Now, the hundred or so pioneering lords led by David were clearly more enthusiastic towards Arthur!

The biggest reason was that their ability to turn defeat into victory yesterday relied entirely on Arthur's Meteor Shower Scroll.

Although David paid for it, some things cannot be bought with money, especially given the urgent situation yesterday. Thus, David and the others owed Arthur a great favor.

As a result, Arthur instantly became the center of attention on the way back.

Karona watched quietly from the side. Seeing her favorite Young Master being so impressive, she maintained a faint smile on her face.

In this joyful atmosphere, Butler and Martin also voiced the question that had arisen in their minds a day earlier:

“Baron Arthur, are the special crossbows equipped by your four thousand crossbowmen magic weapons?”

Arthur, having already brought out the gale repeating crossbow, was not afraid of it being exposed, and replied directly:

“Yes, I bought them from a mysterious merchant, and they cost me quite a few gold coins!

That merchant's whereabouts are uncertain; even I cannot find him now!”

“They really are magic weapons! Baron Arthur, the treasures you possess truly appear endlessly!”

Upon receiving Arthur's confirmation, Butler and Martin also let out a gasp of surprise.

But that was all. They found it inappropriate to ask Arthur why he possessed so many gold coins, nor did they find it proper to inquire about the specific origins of that mysterious merchant.

Because the method for making money is something one would never tell others.

Regarding the latter, judging by Arthur's words that the mysterious merchant's whereabouts were uncertain, it implied, in a way, that Arthur did not wish to tell them, so they were tactful enough not to ask for details.

Everyone present was intelligent, and the subsequent conversations during the journey were filled with laughter and joy... Although this was a great victory, the casualties were relatively high, so the victory celebration was not held immediately!

Another day passed, and Northern Bulwark City's casualty report was released!

In just the single night before last, Northern Bulwark City lost over a dozen lords and more than twenty thousand soldiers!

The greatest casualties were among the soldiers defending the South City Wall; the dozen or so lords and over ten thousand soldiers who perished all came from that location.

In response, everyone could only express their condolences and ensure that the pensions were fully delivered to the families of the fallen soldiers.

Speaking of fallen soldiers, the fortunate thing was that there were no casualties among Arthur's subordinates!

...After more than a day, as Northern Bulwark City finalized the casualty figures, the news of their great victory over the Gnolls also reached the besieged City Stabilizing the Wasteland.

While there was cheering inside the City Stabilizing the Wasteland, the Gnolls outside the city began cursing loudly!

Because the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Gnolls was no small number for a Gnoll tribe with only a million inhabitants; it would take them over a decade to recover!

Moreover, Northern Bulwark City's failure meant that their force of Gnolls besieging the City Stabilizing the Wasteland could be attacked by Northern Bulwark City at any time, suddenly falling into a predicament of being caught in a pincer attack.

More importantly, since Northern Bulwark City could decisively defeat those hundreds of thousands of Gnolls, they might do the same to them. Therefore, no matter how unwilling the commander of this Gnoll army was, they could only retreat first.

After returning to the tribe, they would plan their next move!

Just like that, the crisis in the City Stabilizing the Wasteland was also resolved!

Two more days passed, and Northern Bulwark City's South City Wall was finally rebuilt!

During this time, the Gnolls showed no signs of returning, seemingly having temporarily abandoned their attacks on the pioneering human territory.

In fact, Arthur did not know that this was mainly thanks to the two Mountain Giants under his command.

With such powerful individuals present, the Gnolls would have to pay a heavy price again to conquer Northern Bulwark City—at least the lives of tens of thousands of Gnolls!

Furthermore, success was not guaranteed. If they failed again, their greatly diminished strength might even affect their status within the Orc Royal Court, making the effort counterproductive!

After careful consideration, the Gnolls decided there was no need for a death struggle and temporarily abandoned the idea of attacking.

As long as humans did not continue expanding north and encroaching on their territory, it was estimated that they would not quickly decide to attack humanity again!

Since the Gnolls showed no intention of attacking, the remaining issues from the previous war were mostly handled!

It was time to hold the victory celebration!

Aside from the necessary garrison, Northern Bulwark City was brightly lit that night, and the ordinary soldiers were heartily eating meat that they rarely got to enjoy!

As for the leaders like Arthur and David, they planned to hold a party in a castle that had just been built in the past two days.

A party naturally requires women. Arthur, regardless of what others were doing, planned to take Karona as his female companion.

Speaking of Karona, whether it was the influence of Arthur's past memories, their recent constant companionship, or Arthur's own desire since his previous life for a woman who was pure and had eyes only for him.

(It was the kind of affection born of love, not just loyalty, otherwise Arthur could have simply bought a woman using the Portable Shop.)

Karona, this simple and kind girl, gradually found a place in Arthur's heart. Until today, he finally decided to make a move and win her over.

On the other hand, Karona was trained as Arthur's personal maid, and she had always considered herself as such, forming a habit.

A maid is not supposed to harbor feelings of affection for her master; at most, she can warm the bed and sleep beside him. Therefore, she had always suppressed a certain emotion she held for Arthur.

But the current Arthur did not want this. He wanted Karona to change this perception, because in Arthur's eyes, Karona would not be a maid in the future, but his wife.

Consequently, the concept of being a maid, which Karona had internalized since childhood, became a huge obstacle between the two of them.

Initially, Arthur didn't know how to change Karona's mindset, but now, he realized that having Karona accompany him to more such gatherings was a good method.

Karona was strictly against it at first, asking how she, a maid, could possibly be Arthur's female companion?

Arthur had anticipated this and brought up the fact that they were already friends, stating that since they grew up together, their relationship was long past that of ordinary master and servant, so she shouldn't worry about it!

Of course, the above were merely supporting arguments; the most crucial factor was what Arthur said next:

“Northern Bulwark City is on the frontier and doesn't have many girls to begin with. Do you want me to attend the party all by myself?

I'll be laughed at by others!”

“Ah! This...”

Hearing that Arthur might be laughed at, Karona immediately hesitated.

Karona wanted to go because she didn't want Arthur to be laughed at, but the maid education she received since childhood forbade her from doing so.

From this, it could be seen that Karona revolved around Arthur, which was also the reason Arthur wanted to win her heart.

Seeing Karona like this, Arthur knew he was just one step away, and he couldn't help but pretend to be understanding: