Chapter 1698 Eversnow Forest
Grefni's clay-headed Hero was called Wu Kai. He came from the Lower Void Great Marshlands, and his origins were mysterious. Thick Earth Attribute aura radiated off his body. Sun Hao could sense that Wu Kai's Earth attribute spells were definitely not weak at all.
Though Wu Kai commanded only two thousand troops, they were all Advanced-level or higher Warriors. The proportion of Elite-or-above Warriors reached an impressive sixty percent; this force was most likely assigned to him by Grefni.
The fish-headed Hero was a female, named Danyu Bai, from the Lower Void Fishmen Tribe. A strong Water Attribute aura constantly surrounded her.
The number of troops she commanded was relatively small, a little over a thousand, and they consisted mostly of women in magic robes.
Together with the over three thousand main force Warriors of the Male and Female Shaman Clan personally led by Grefni, they formed the entire "Dragon Tooth Legion," one of the ten most powerful legions within the Male and Female Shaman Tribe.
After separating from the Dragonborn and Human Clan forces, three massive banners unfurled within Grefni's legion. One was a blue Dragon Tooth banner – on the sharp dragon tooth was embroidered a mysterious witch sitting atop its tip. This was Grefni's banner. Another was an earthen-yellow Quicksand banner – shapes like giant whirlpools swirling in a great marshland. This was Wu Kai's banner. The last was a white Ocean banner, representing Danyu Bai.
The three banners pointed north. Gerlane and Sun Hao followed close behind Grefni, advancing together towards the north.
The legion hadn't progressed far before encountering the first group of relatively weak Undead Warriors. Just as Grefni was preparing to forcefully sweep them away, Gerlane shouted loudly, "Sister Grefni, don't do that! Those are Little Lan's warriors!"
Grefni paused in astonishment, stopping her attack command. Her voice was exasperated as she said, "Little Lan, while our Witch Clan does have some methods to control Undead Warriors, don't you know that having Undead Warriors in the legion affects the morale of the entire group? It unconsciously saps the fighting spirit! How could you just casually recruit Undead Warriors?"
Gerlane frowned deeply. "Sister Grefni, what are you talking about? It's way too deep. I don't understand."
Wu Kai and Danyu Bai, who were listening to their conversation, exchanged a glance, seeing amusement mirrored in each other's eyes.
Grefni rubbed her head, remembering that explaining these principles to Gerlane was utterly futile. She thought for a moment and said, utterly speechless, "Little Lan, order your forces to follow far behind way at the rear of our legion. Don't mess up my formation, got it?"
Gerlane looked at Sun Hao.
Sun Hao nodded and smiled at Gerlane. "Little Lan, our troops are a bit of a mixed bunch. We should follow Sister Grefni's instructions and have them stay way back on standby."
Gerlane mumbled under her breath, "But if they're way back there, we won't be able to achieve any accomplishments."
Grefni rubbed her head, thinking to herself that this was the Battle Realm, no one needed Little Lan to achieve merits. Keeping her safe for a little longer was already a considerable challenge. Out loud, she boomed, "Little Lan, if my legion gets caught in a tough fight, then it'll be your forces' turn to step in."
Wu Kai glanced at the motley crew of barely a dozen stragglers behind Gerlane, curled his lip and said, "Funi, if we're in a tough fight, her dozen or so warriors and those messy Undead Warriors probably won't be any real help."
Grefni quickly made eye-signals at Wu Kai.
Gerlane asked loudly, "What did you say? What's that mean? What's 'messy'?"
Wu Kai shrugged and didn't explain.
Sun Hao smiled lightly and said, "Little Lan, he meant your forces are kinda black, and they have seven or eight pits. They're seriously awesome."
Wu Kai was speechless…
Gerlane beamed brightly. "Thank you, thank you! People who praise me like you, and the warriors behind me, all think the same. They all say my 'Sacred Witch Little Lan Brigade' is incredibly powerful."
Grefni rubbed her head and shouted loudly, "Forward! Forge ahead! Target: North, Eversnow Forest!"
Wu Kai and Danyu Bai found interacting with Gerlane intensely awkward. At Grefni's command, they spurred their mounts forward like arrows shot from a bow.
Beneath Grefni's body appeared Feilien, a cyan ferocious beast with twin wings and a long tail. It too shot forward to follow the other two at high speed. From the distance drifted back Grefni's clear voice: "Lan'er, we're scouting ahead. Be careful and stick close to our legion. Safety shouldn't be a problem."
Gerlane pretended not to hear, turning her head to look at Sun Hao. "Xiaoshan, what Sister Grefni said was really deep."
Sun Hao chuckled and said, "Your Sister Grefni said the heavy responsibility of defending the rear of her legion is entrusted to you. She wants you to guarantee the safety of her back."
Gerlane's spirits instantly lifted. She shouted loudly, "Sister Grefni, rest assured! I will hold your rear firmly! Any enemy daring to attack us from behind will come only to find their doom! Don't worry, Little Lan is absolutely capable of handling heavy responsibility!"
Grefni nearly tumbled off Feilien's back. She shook her head, utterly speechless. But then she thought, actually, if Gerlane got left stuck at the rear, she would become a sort of early warning system. At the very least, if enemies tried a sneak attack, Gerlane should probably spot them earlier.
On the great plains, the Dragon Tooth Legion, led by its commanders, advanced steadily forward at a consistent pace.
The individual strength of the legion's warriors was high. Capable of swift flight and well-trained, they maneuvered efficiently, maintaining a rapid marching pace.
However, the "Sacred Witch Little Lan Brigade" was far less capable.
Behind Gerlane was truly a motley collection of soldiers.
The seven Dwarves and five Half-Elves were relatively strong and could manage to straggle along, albeit without formation.
But the Undead Warriors recruited on the plains simply couldn't keep up with the pace. As they ran, they inevitably fell behind and got lost.
Lying in a comfortable carrying basket behind Sun Hao, Gerlane voiced her worry: "Xiaoshan, does my brigade feel a bit... routed? It feels kind of scattered."
Sun Hao looked back and said, "We call this a 'Single Line Defense Protecting the Rear.' Our forces are stretched into a single long line across the great plain. No enemy could possibly bypass us, right? It's the best, the most classic Little Lan combat style. How could you call it routed?"
Gerlane brightened again. "Oh good, that's good then."
Sun Hao smiled at her, then turned and called back loudly: "Tai'er Tong, what is the Eversnow Forest like? Are there any local warriors?"
Before Sun Hao spoke, the Dwarves behind had been fairly quiet.
As soon as Sun Hao asked his question, the Dwarves immediately came alive. Whoosh! While still moving forward, they crowded around Sun Hao, all chattering loudly, giving their esteemed opinions.
As it happened, Gerlane loved gossiping with these little Dwarves. So, behind Sun Hao, the seven Dwarves and Gerlane were talking a mile-a-minute, holding a grand discussion about the Eversnow Forest, complete with flying spittle.
The five Half-Elves wore bitter smiles, drifting away a bit and hanging even farther back to avoid being deafened by the boisterous little Dwarves.
Sun Hao walked and listened. From the Dwarves' chaotic, fragmented, loud yelling, he managed to piece together the gist of the Eversnow Forest.
The Eversnow Forest was different from the Great Forest.
Because it was in the far north, the Eversnow Forest had perennial snow cover. Yet, strangely, the snow wasn't too thick here, never deeper than a foot.
The relatively cold climate resulted in sparse vegetation within the forest. It was a completely different concept from the dense Great Forest.
The best way for an army to cross the Great Forest was to fly over it.
But for the Eversnow Forest, the army could just march directly through the sparse trees.
Of course, the Dwarves looked up at the tall Sun Hao and also said, "Sir Xiaoshan, if there are too many warriors built like you, many flowers and plants in the Eversnow Forest will get trampled."
The Eversnow Forest did have local warriors – close relatives of the Copper Hammer Dwarf Tribe, the Furnace Dwarf Tribe.
In the mouths of the Copper Hammer Dwarves, those Furnace fellows were nothing but black charcoal lumps. They loved sitting around big furnaces to warm up, loved eating roasted sweet potatoes, and worst of all, they always bragged about how much they could drink, and then proceeded to get disgustingly drunk. Can you imagine how terrible a bald head is when it’s attached to a bright red, oversized beer-nose that constantly belches vile liquor fumes?
After learning this information, Sun Hao gradually formed an idea.
Only after passing through Eversnow Forest would they get close to the outskirts of Angora City, where the real rescue operation would begin.
However, according to the little Dwarves, the Furnace Kegs in the Eversnow Forest had notoriously bad tempers. They were the type to start a fight over the slightest disagreement. Chances were, the Witch Clan forces at the front might very well encounter combat within the Eversnow Forest.