The changes brought by the Dragon Blood were immense—a miraculous, world-shaking transformation. The once-listless Kobold had become a majestic, powerful warrior. He wore a slightly old set of full Cavalry Armor, his gaze as sharp as a hawk’s and as fierce as a tiger’s. His upright posture atop his mount revealed the calm courage of a peerless hero.

This was a true Warrior, with a confidence honed over an undefeated career—a quality possessed only by the greatest heroes of the age. Coincidentally, the Lord was just such a heroic figure himself.

The Giant Dragon Corps’ formation began to spread out. As expected, the Goblins and Kobolds formed the vanguard, while the Lizardmen and Leopard-headed People watched menacingly from the rear.

They clearly didn’t take High Cliff Castle, with its mere few hundred people, seriously. Some of the Kobolds and Goblins were even laughing and joking, their relaxed expressions making it seem like they were on a picnic.

’Trying to use a gentle slope to stop a charge?’

Gorgon could see the humans’ intention on the hillside with a single glance, but he merely scoffed at it.

No matter how hard a praying mantis tries, it cannot stop the rolling wheels of a cart.

Admittedly, while this group of humans was small, numbering only around four hundred, their equipment was exceptionally fine.

At the very front were rows of Steel Shields planted in the ground, like an indestructible city wall. Gleaming pikes poked out from the gaps, forming a spear phalanx that would make one’s blood run cold.

At the highest point was a group of Human Archers in Light Armor, each wielding a Purple Longbow nearly as tall as a man. They were clearly no mere decoration.

But it came back to the same thing...

An individual’s prowess cannot determine the outcome of a war.

These humans were indeed elite; one could tell they were no amateurs. But their numbers were far too few. Compared to his army of some four thousand, they were, at best, a slightly stronger praying mantis.

’Their equipment and numbers are much better than I expected, but compared to us, they’re still not worth mentioning.’

Gorgon stared at the Armor glinting in the sunlight, a bone-deep greed filling his eyes.

’Once I have that equipment, the Giant Dragon Corps will be unstoppable.’

’By then, I will surely have conquered a vast territory before Lady Sophia awakens. And I will become her most loyal and valuable right-hand man.’

Gorgon had his own schemes as well. In Lady Sophia’s name, countless powerful experts would flock to follow him in the future. But before that, he had to accomplish something world-shaking on his own.

Only then could he secure his place in the future to come.

And High Cliff Castle was the beachhead for him to begin this great undertaking.

Seeing how few people the enemy had, the Giant Dragon Corps’ Jackal Wolf Scouts rode forward to taunt them. They deliberately lingered at the edge of the hundred-pace range, waving their Rusted Iron Blades and howling like mad. However, they hadn’t expected the Federation Archers to be ruthless characters empowered by System Power. Combined with the fine Purple Robe Longbows in their hands, a dozen or so were instantly shot down, falling from their mounts.

Terrified, the pack of "wolf pups" spurred their mounts and scattered like a flock of birds.

"By the Flame God, my Lord, look at that banner!" a Kobold Personal Guard in Leather Armor exclaimed, pointing to a thick, long wooden stake planted in the dirt on the opposite slope, a banner hanging from it. "Are these humans trying to insult us? To insult you, my Lord?!"

Behind the Federation Archers stood a wooden stake five or six men high. A blue-backed banner fluttered from it in the wind. Oh, and there was also an old human man, holding a Kobold head in his arms, his torso tied to the stake, an expression of utter despair on his face.

This was a tactic the Wilderness People often used after capturing humans—using their heads to intimidate Mercenaries into surrendering.

Gorgon never thought he would see the day humans would use his own kind in an attempt to provoke him.

But this little scheme was clearly useless against him.

"Only the weak resort to such devious tricks. The strong disdain them," Gorgon sneered, cracking his horsewhip. "Have those Leopard-headed People shoot that human dead first!"

For a fleeting moment, a flicker of rage did inevitably rise within him—not for the dead Kobold, of course, but because these humans dared to use a Kobold to represent him.

Possessing the Dragon Vein, he never considered these weak Kobolds to be his kin.

This act by the humans was a blatant humiliation to him.

But on second thought, only the weak would use such tactics to seek victory. These humans obviously didn’t think they could win either, which actually improved his mood considerably.

Sam, who had been personally tied to the flagpole by the Lord, felt that aside from the slightly strong wind, the view was quite open. Gazing out from this high vantage point, the beautiful scenery filled his vision.

He comforted himself that a wide view had its advantages. For instance, he could clearly see a figure who was obviously the leader in the center of the vast, swarming army pointing right at him.

Not long after the pointing, a small squad of Leopard-headed People archers began staring at him with ill intent.

Wait...

’I’m just an innocent old man tied to a pole, why is everyone coming after me?’

Sam’s whole body stiffened. He had a very bad feeling about this.

"Prepare the attack! Send the Goblins up first to expend the Debei People’s arrows and stamina, then have the Lizardmen charge."

At Gorgon’s command, the Jackal Wolfman Cavalry acting as messengers hurriedly relayed the order.

The Goblins and Kobolds, who had been advancing at a leisurely pace, quickened their speed. Facing a sparsely numbered, if well-equipped, enemy, the densely packed ranks around them gave them a false sense of security, making them fearless.

Unfortunately, this false sense of security shattered when they advanced to within sixty paces. A sky-blotting volley of arrows rained down, and their companions fell in droves.

Clad in nothing but ragged strips of cloth, they had no way to block the arrows. In that moment, their lives became as cheap as weeds. Terrified, they burst into tears, clutching their heads and dropping to the ground.

This was their usual life-saving technique. They were just insignificant pawns; as long as they gave up any intention of attacking, no one would usually waste energy on them. And, as it turned out, that was indeed the case.

After they dropped to the ground covering their heads, the dense rain of arrows thinned out. The Goblins and Kobolds knew the archers were now picking off anyone who tried to get back up. As long as they stayed on the ground, they would be safe. They couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"A bunch of trash."

Gorgon’s brow furrowed. From his perspective, the humans had only fired four volleys of arrows, felling five or six hundred Goblins, and already these rat-like races had surrendered, cowering on the ground.

They didn’t even charge up that small, gentle slope.

He wasn’t too concerned, however. He never had high expectations for these creatures to begin with. Forcing the enemy to expend some arrows was clearly the most they were capable of.

"Send the Lizardmen in to charge."

At this moment, Gorgon was still at ease. The true outcome of the battle would be decided by the races that could actually be called Warriors.

Goblins and Kobolds truly were cannon fodder that could never be presented on a grand stage.

The next moment, however, his relaxed mood came to an abrupt halt.