Chapter 2352: Chapter 1050: War Mobilization (Part 2)

The Hobgoblins who responded not only had no complaints, on the contrary, they were overjoyed and itching to get going.

Not only because it meant there was a battle to fight, but also because it meant extra money to earn.

This kind of Road Rescue was not free; it had clearly marked prices, and every deployment came with a corresponding expedition subsidy.

In Blood Gorge City, the Road Protection Guard was an out-and-out cushy post, not fixed, but on rotation.

Originally, Gaven had wanted to treat this kind of Road Rescue as a free benefit.

But after repeated study and discussion, he ultimately adopted a fee-based model.

The reason was simple: the quality of those travelers and merchants varied wildly. Once it was free, they’d call for rescue over every trivial little thing, and some would even make false reports.

And the Divine Nature Force on the Road Idols was limited, with a daily cap on usage, and maintaining the Road Protection Guard also cost money.

As for the cost in faith that Gaven cared about, in the eyes of those merchants, it was completely worthless.

The fee schedule was the threshold that filtered out most non-urgent situations.

It both ensured that the Road Divine Power was used in the most suitable places to help the most desperate people, and kept the Road Protection Guard running normally, so that it would not become a burden on the city finances, but rather enter a virtuous cycle.

And this was a model example.

In the future, even if Gaven’s Road Idols and their supporting Road Protection Guard construction standards were separated from towns, they would still be able to operate normally, and might even use a Road Idol as the core to establish a roadside town, or even a city.

If operating independently away from a city, the Road Protection Guard would no longer be a simple Road Protection Guard, but a Monastery or Gaven’s Paladin Order.

The surrounding constructions all adopted straight lines and angles in their design, with no superfluous decoration, displaying a kind of strict discipline.

Street lamps imbued with Everbright Flame stood on both sides of the Path like upright warriors in neat ranks; their light was cold, without the slightest hint of warmth.

At nightfall, the city lights flared on all at once, instantly turning this place into a City of No Night.

The Hobgoblins along the way were all in a hurry, moving at a quick pace, almost like jogging. Every face was marked with seriousness; they held their heads high, chests out, eyes fixed straight ahead, silently radiating a sense of pride.

In such a city, life itself seemed to have become a kind of military operation. Everyone acted according to established rules, every movement carefully calculated. Even the dust motes floating in the air seemed to be stirred by this solemn atmosphere, not daring to drift about lightly.

Even the words and mannerisms of Hobgoblin women and children were all in military style. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The only uncontrollable factor here was probably the crying of Hobgoblin infants. There were quite a lot of them, forming a continuous chorus. They had been concentrated in the innermost part of Blood Gorge City, the safest area.

Seeing this scene, Katherine couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

Hobgoblins really were born soldiers; this had already been completely integrated into their lives and bones.

Even her Fortress of Strategy couldn’t reach this extent; it had to maintain a balance between tension and relaxation.

After inspecting Blood Gorge City, Katherine took the initiative to speak: "I trust you’ve already received the General’s orders. How do you plan to act?"

Blood Claw General answered respectfully: "Whatever plan you have, my lady, just give the word. We of Blood Gorge City will unconditionally obey your deployment."

The command system of Gaven Territory had already become highly integrated with the organizational structure of the Church of the Lady of Strategy.

In the eyes of every Disciple of the Lady of Strategy, Gaven was the First Lord Knight of the Yin Hong Cult.

In the eyes of the Knights in Gaven Territory, Katherine was the second-in-command of the entire territory, her status second only to Gaven, and her orders carried absolute weight, especially in the army.

The Hobgoblin Army of Blood Gorge City was no exception. They were the very first new-model army in Gaven Territory to receive ideological remolding from Strategy Priests and arm themselves with strategy and tactics.

Katherine pondered briefly, then said: "Blood Claw General was one of the earliest veterans to follow the General; your loyalty is beyond doubt. I’ll tell you the real objective of this operation.

The General has already, in the Bottomless Abyss, declared war on the Jackalweres’ God of the Race, Jackalweres King Yenogu. We are fighting a Divine War on the Material Plane in coordination with him. The other Monster Tribes are just incidental; the Jackalweres and Ghouls are our true combat targets."

Gulp!

Blood Claw couldn’t help letting out a loud swallow, his face full of disbelief as he said: "The General has gone to war with the King of the Jackalweres? How is that possible? That’s a God of the Race, a Demon Lord, an Abyssal Demon God..."

It wasn’t as if the Hobgoblin Warlords hadn’t heard the various rumors about Gaven; there had even been more than one wave of lobbyists.

There were those from the Allied Alliance of the cities along the Giant Dragon Coast, from the Sambiyan Business Council, from the Am Six Council... all sorts of so-called monsters and freaks crawled out of the woodwork.

Their goal was only one: to have Blood Claw lead Blood Gorge City in defecting from Gaven and joining their camp.

The answer Blood Claw gave them was simple and crude.

He simply chopped off all those lobbyists’ heads and hung them on the city walls of Blood Gorge City.

Blood Claw considered his greatest strength to be having a clear sense of his own limits.

The reason he had today’s status and power was not that he was particularly outstanding, but that he had made the right choice and followed the right man.

It was the other party who had forcibly pushed him to where he stood now. Without that person, he figured he’d probably still be just a Great Goblin Tribe Chief in the Rocklands. If he managed things well, having a few thousand combat strength would already count as success.