Red Dragon Emperor

Whispering Forest.

The Whispering Forest is located on the border of the Fusei Empire and at the junction of the Chogor Mountains. It is the isolation zone between the two behemoths of the Fusei Empire and the Red Nest.

The Fusei Empire and the Red Nest are not friendly neighbors. In the border areas, conflicts of all sizes have never stopped, and the Whispering Forest is the main battlefield for the conflicts between the two sides.

There are too many dead bones buried in the forest, whether they are the warriors of the Fusai Empire or the monsters of the Red Nest. Whenever night falls and the night wind blows, the leaves in the forest make a rustling sound, like the whispers of the dead.

"...So, we named this forest the Whispering Forest," Barton, the gnoll ranger, explained the origin of the Whispering Forest to the recruit Danzi who was following behind him.

"This is where our Third Legion of the Fusei Empire is stationed. We follow the powerful Jackal leader, Lord Hogg, to guard the borders of the empire and station in this forest to prevent the barbarians from the Red Nest from breaking into the empire and breaking the peace of the empire."

Barton taught the young gnolls behind him earnestly: "Boys! Guarding the Whispering Forest is a responsibility, and it is also an honor. Your families will be proud of you, and the children will look at you with admiration."

"Please don't live up to this honor!"

"Don't worry, captain, we will never let the Red Nest bastards cross the forest!" Following Barton, a young Jackal cast his gaze into the forest, his eyes full of determination to defend the Fusei Empire.

Around him, other gnoll recruits were doing the same.

Therefore, all new Jackal recruits, without exception, have received education from Imperial schools since childhood, and their loyalty to the Empire has long been rooted in everyone's minds.

Coupled with the half-year recruit training, the recruits are now full of energy and confidence. They are eager to perform meritorious service on the battlefield, and they can't wait for the Red Nest bastards to jump out and fight with them.

Patton saw the performance of the recruits in his eyes, and a smile appeared on his lips. Standing with the recruit Danzi, he would always think of himself.

I used to be so ambitious, dreaming of fighting bravely on the battlefield and making achievements.

He had been stationed at the border for eight years and fought bravely to kill the enemy. The opportunity to be promoted to an officer was also placed in front of him, but he refused. He could not forget his hatred.

In that night attack, a terrifying and majestic Red Nest Ogre rushed into their camp. All his comrades who lived together day and night died in front of him, and he was the only one to escape.

Patton is not a man who lives in an ignoble way;

He vowed to kill the ogre, cut off its bloodline, and avenge the sacrifice of his companions.

For this reason, he refused the great opportunity to be promoted to officer and stayed in the rear camp, just to fight on the front line of the Whispering Forest, hoping to find the ogre enemy and kill him with his own hands.

Now five years have passed since the ogre night attack. Barton has experienced hundreds of battles and has grown from an intermediate ranger recruit to an experienced high-level ranger elite.

In the powerful Third Army of the Empire, high-level rangers are definitely considered elite. With Barton's strength and qualifications, as long as he nods, he can easily become a mid-level officer, go to the rear towns, sit in the office and drink You can command your soldiers to move with a cold drink, without having to sleep and eat in the wild in this primeval forest.

But every night, his comrades who died in battle would appear in his dreams, or they would recall the happy times they spent together in the past, or they would turn into resentful spirits and ask him why he lived alone.

As a jackal born into an aristocratic family, Barton's knowledge is comparable to that of ordinary people. He understands that this is his obsession, or inner demon. If he does not complete his revenge, this inner demon will follow him for the rest of his life and become his professional practitioner. The biggest obstacle in the road.

Godal Broken Bones, I will kill you sooner or later!

"Woooooo~," suddenly, the giant cyan wolf following the high-level ranger stopped, its cyan wolf eyes stared at the forest, and a threatening growl came from its throat.

Barton quickly raised his hand to signal the recruits behind him to be quiet.

Although everyone was new recruits, they had also received good military training, and they immediately formed a battle formation with the high-level ranger as the center.

Barton quickly put the arrow on the bow string and scanned the forest at the same time. No abnormality was found, but he understood that his beast partner, the Wind Wolf, would not be wary for no reason. The only explanation was that the extraordinary beast with a keener sense than the high-level ranger discovered it. Exception.

He pointed in the direction of the wind wolf's roar, set up his bow, pulled the string, and roared: "Come out!"

"Relax, my friend," Under a big tree in the Whispering Forest, the shadows squirmed, and a Jackal thief wearing the standard leather armor of the Third Legion appeared.

Seeing the familiar uniforms of the Third Legion, all the recruits breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed their hands holding their weapons.

As an experienced veteran, Barton would not easily trust a stranger. After all, there were many cases of Red Nest bastards changing into the clothes of their fallen comrades and sneaking in.

He still did not relax his fingers holding the arrow. He carefully observed the sudden appearance of the Jackal thief and found that the legion emblem on the chest of the Jackal thief was somewhat different from that of ordinary soldiers. There was a black dagger in the middle of the emblem, which was the trump card of the Third Legion. The emblem of the Scout Brigade, this mysterious team is directly subordinate to the commander of the Third Legion - Hog Riverpaw.

Being directly commanded by Lord Hog Riverclaw, the famous leader of the Third Legion in the Empire, everyone in this team is an elite, or at least a high-level professional.

It is also very simple to identify whether the identity is true. The emblems of the Ace Scout Brigade are all specially made, and they immediately seal the magic mark that only the person can activate.

"Soldier, activate your emblem."

The Jackal thieves felt very aggrieved. It was just a matter of showing their identity when entering and leaving important places of the Third Legion. Being forced to reveal their identity by a border patrol was simply a shame.

However, what is more humiliating than showing off the emblem is being shot by a companion.

He could feel that the ranger in front of him was very strong. The wind wolf was not an ordinary mid-level extraordinary beast. It was taller and had sharper eyes than the ordinary wind wolf. It might have the blood of the Wind Wolf King.

According to the tradition of the ranger training camp, the winners have priority in choosing animal companions. All this shows that the ranger in front of them is no ordinary character.

"Well, it seems that you are the ogre killer - Barton Demon Hunter. I have heard your story. You dared to hunt the Red Nest Ogre alone and escaped unscathed. You are very strong. "The jackal thief activated the emblem worn on his chest, and the emblem lit up with a gleam of light.

The brilliance was fleeting, but it was enough to prove his identity.

Barton then relaxed the bowstring and inserted the arrow into the quiver.

"But, I'm curious, how did your wind wolf find me?" The thief was puzzled.

As a member of the ace scout team, he was very confident in his own strength. He even applied odor-masking powder specially developed by a pharmacist on his body. However, he was still discovered by his companion Wind Wolf.

Fortunately, he was discovered by his own comrades. If he went deep into the enemy camp and was discovered by the enemy, death would be the next best thing. If he alerted the enemy and affected the high-level plan, that would be a big deal.

Barton came closer, sniffed his nose, and immediately understood the situation: "Have you been to the Chogor Mountains?"

The ranger did not expect an answer from the thief. After all, the ace scouts often had important tasks when they were dispatched, so they could not reveal the details of the tasks at will.

He continued: "You stepped on a blue wildflower in the Chogor Mountains. This wildflower is not found in the Whispering Forest. The fragrance of the flower remains on your boots. For some reason, my partner and I were in the Chogor Mountains. I’ve been in the mountains for a while and I’m very sensitive to this floral scent.”

"So that's it," the thief suddenly realized.

"Thank you for answering my question. In return, I will also tell you a piece of information. Your enemy, the son of Chief Boneshatter Ogre - Godal Boneshatter is now in Fortress No. 7."

When Barton heard this, his entire aura became sharper, as if an arrow was about to be shot.

"Relax, my friend. The ogre is now under the protection of the army. Revenge requires a little patience." After saying that, the thief did not stop and escaped into the shadows and rushed towards the Third Legion station.

Senior Ranger——Barton took a deep breath and suppressed the urge for revenge in his heart.

As the unknown gnoll thief said, the ogre enemy is now in the enemy fortress and is powerful in itself.

"Revenge requires a little patience..." Barton muttered to himself.

Although the gnoll thief did not say it clearly, he also revealed a message to him in a subtle way. It was very likely that the higher-ups would take action against the Red Nest Fortress in the near future.

The ranger cast his gaze towards the Whispering Forest not far away. As if through the layers of trees, he saw the border of the Chogor Mountains, the city walls between the mountain cols, and the Red Nest border guards behind the walls.

Compared to the Fusei Empire, the Red Nest had an advantage in terrain. They built city walls one after another among the mountains, and stationed troops behind the city walls. There were also war fortresses built for combat behind them.

As for the Empire, there was no danger to defend. The Third Legion had to lay traps in the Whispering Forest and set up border patrols and sentry towers to prevent enemy invasion.

No matter how dense the traps in the Whispering Forest are, a small number of Red Nest bastards can still get through, and Barton's patrol was destroyed because of this.

Barton clenched the bow and arrow in his hand and shouted: "Boys! We continue to patrol! We must not let the Red Nest bastards break into the empire's territory!"

"Okay!"xN

The ranger and his team set out again, along the edge of the Whispering Forest, to inspect the section of road they were responsible for.

Barton glanced at the veterans in the team, who understood and tacitly stood on the side of the Whispering Forest, protecting the new recruits behind them.

This is the tradition of the Fusei Empire. Veterans guide new recruits through the most dangerous early stages of military service, imparting experience through words and deeds. The lessons learned by these seniors in exchange for their blood can greatly improve the chances of survival of new recruits in their subsequent military careers.

…………………………

On the other side, the Jackal thieves hurried back to the headquarters of the Third Army, an important city on the border of the empire - Wolfheart Fortress.

The Wolf Heart Fortress was built inside the Modo Peak Forest, not far from the Whispering Forest. The empire spent a lot of time and money on this fortress.

In order to build this fortress, the empire dug out several quarries. The fortress walls are six stories high and are made of huge and hard bluestone bricks. The stone bricks are connected by special magic adhesive, making The entire city wall is integrated.

There is also a magic circle built with heavy money inside the city wall, which not only enhances the magic resistance of the city wall, but also plays a reconnaissance role, discovering enemies in advance, providing accurate enemy positions to the city defense cannons on the city wall, and delivering devastating blows.

Tall city walls, wide moats, elite defenders, and sufficient strategic supplies in the fortress...

If Red Nest invades on a large scale and fails to capture the Wolf Heart Fortress in time, then the Wolf Heart Fortress will become a nail driven into the enemy's rear and hammered into the enemy's heart.

Passing through the suspension bridge on the moat, passing through the heavily guarded city gate, and passing through layers of patrols, the Jackal thieves made their way unimpeded to the core of Wolf Heart Fortress, the city within the city - Wolf Heart Castle.

Wolfheart Castle is the residence of Hog Riverclaw, the commander of the Third Legion and the famous gnoll leader of the Fuse Empire. It is also the brain of the Third Legion.

When we arrived at Wolf Heart Castle, the guards were obviously much stronger. As far as I could see, there was no one below the middle level, and high-level guards were also more common.

As an ace scout affiliated with Hogg, the Jackal thieves could have unimpeded access to Wolf Heart Castle. They successfully entered the interior of Wolf Heart Castle, passed through the rock corridor, and came to a room inside Wolf Heart Castle.

Hog Riverpaw is different from most of the empire's top officials. He doesn't like bright and spacious offices. Instead, narrow and dark places give him a sense of security. This is related to his long-term stationing in the Underdark.

Pushing open the door, the Jackal thief saw an exceptionally tall Jackal. Even if this Jackal was sitting on a chair and burying his head behind the pile of documents on the table, he was still taller than the average Jackal. .

They are simply two different species from ordinary jackals!

In fact, the dragon-veined dependents who have been transformed by the dragon-vein can really be regarded as two different species from the ordinary tribesmen.

Facing the strongest jackal in the empire and the new legendary warrior, the proud thief lowered his arrogant head and said: "Dear Legion Commander, I have brought you the latest information."

Behind the stack of documents, the Jackal raised his head, and the fanned candlelight illuminated his face, solemn and majestic.

"Say," the hoarse voice was like a dagger cutting through pig iron, and the short words carried an unquestionable meaning.

The jackal thief lowered his head even lower: "Master Legion, I was ordered to investigate Red Nest Fortress No. 7, and accidentally discovered a secret..."

After saying that, the jackal thief retreated automatically and closed the door.

In the room, the tall jackal's eyes flickered in the candlelight.

The elite jackal thief just now was just an inconspicuous member of the scout group he sent. If the jackal hadn't claimed to bring special news, he would never have been summoned by the commander of the third legion.

"The smell of death, what's up with the Red Nest?"

Hog Riverpaw leaned back in the chair behind him. In order to be fully prepared to attack the Red Nest, he had not rested for five consecutive days. Even he, a newly promoted legend who had been promoted for half a year and had already consolidated his power, felt a little overwhelmed. .

"Forget it, the master's grand plan is unstoppable..."