Knight: Becoming King of the World

Chapter 155: Chapter 134: Discovering Traces of the Lizardmen

"It seems the situation here is more complicated than we thought."

Boman nodded. "Yes. The sheer number of gangs here shows that order has completely collapsed."

Fass, however, was more focused on the gangs’ weapons and equipment. He noticed that while their gear was a motley collection, there were some fine weapons among them.

’Where did these gangs get their weapons? Is there a greater power backing them?’

The three of them took a turn around the city. After seeing the tightly shut gates of the city hall, they returned to their camp. There, they summoned their officers and Quartermaster to discuss their next course of action.

They had to heighten their vigilance against the unexpected.

"We must proceed with caution, Henry. The situation here is more complicated than we imagined."

Fass agreed with Boman. In a place so full of uncertainty, they had to remain vigilant and be prepared to deal with any eventuality.

Henry nodded without saying much. ’It’s always better to be careful.’

During their two days camped outside the city of Razekh, Henry, Boman, and Fass witnessed its chaos and disorder.

Every day, the streets were scenes of robbery and violence. Innocent citizens lived in fear. Shops were smashed, property was stolen, and some people were even killed in broad daylight. All of this seemed to have become the norm.

Razekh’s garrison was appallingly weak. They looked like mere Militia, and some didn’t even have Cotton Armor.

These few hundred men could barely protect three key locations: the city hall, the warehouse, and the public square. They were powerless to maintain order in any other area.

The city’s order had collapsed. Gangs had become the new law, running rampant and committing every imaginable crime.

Under these circumstances, Razekh’s Civil Servant sought out Henry and his companions. He brought with him over thirty camels and eight hundred Dinars, begging Henry’s army to enter the city and help crush the larger gangs.

These gangs were numerous, with some boasting memberships in the hundreds. Their existence posed a grave threat to the city’s safety and order.

"My three esteemed lords, I beg you! For the sake of the great emperor, please, help me."

The Civil Servant bowed deeply, nearly falling to his knees.

Two days prior, an army three to four thousand strong had suddenly appeared outside Razekh, startling him. He had thought it was a rebel force.

But when he discovered it was the Private Army of an imperial noble, en route to reinforce Hobia, he breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he still didn’t dare to ask for help proactively. The empire’s nobles were a mixed bag. It wasn’t unheard of for a Private Army to plunder everything in its path as it passed through a territory.

Only after observing them for a day or two did the Civil Servant dare have someone escort him out of the city to plead for help in person.

"If I may ask, why is Razekh’s army so weak? Razekh is supposed to be a major city on the Inner Sea’s desert route."

The Civil Servant sighed and began to explain.

It turned out that the current garrison was indeed just promoted Militia. The original garrison had been completely transferred away by the Hobia Legion.

After a brief discussion, Henry, Boman, and Fass decided to accept the Civil Servant’s request.

They dispatched their respective Personal Guards, fully armed, to sweep through the city.

These Personal Guards were all well-trained Warriors with excellent equipment. Against gang members who had no armor, it was practically a one-sided slaughter.

Though the gang members were numerous, they were utterly powerless before the hammer of a true army.

Within a few hours, the city’s large-scale gangs were eliminated one by one. The bodies of over a thousand gang members were dragged into the streets and burned, and order was briefly restored.

The Civil Servant’s head was spinning. It had all happened too fast. From the moment the three nobles before him gave the order to deploy troops to the end of it all, it felt as if he had only taken a short nap.

Henry, Boman, and Fass also reaped considerable rewards from this swift operation. The wealth the gangs had accumulated, originally extorted from the citizens, now fell into their hands.

After some discussion, they decided to use this money to purchase supplies from the city hall’s warehouse, especially camels.

The Civil Servant was endlessly grateful for their help. The deaths of so many gang members would serve as a deterrent for at least a month. As long as the warehouse and the public square could be protected, the city could continue to function.

The three nobles declined the Civil Servant’s invitation to a banquet, as they were scheduled to depart the next day.

The next day, Henry, Boman, and Fass led their army, along with their newly acquired camels and supplies, and continued their journey toward Hobia.

Under the desert’s merciless sun, the armies of Henry, Boman, and Fass advanced slowly. Their forces seemed insignificant in this vast, boundless sea of sand.

On their march, they occasionally encountered desert bandits, but these bandits kept their distance, clearly wanting nothing to do with such a powerful force.

One evening, as the sun began to set and paint the clouds gold, a Scout came across a settlement of Bedouins.

About eighty or so people lived there. They had survived in the desert for generations and understood it more deeply than anyone else.

The Bedouin leader returned with the Scout, wanting to trade with Henry and his men.

The Bedouins quickly realized that Henry and his men were not locals; they could hear something distinct in their accents.

Thus, the leader proposed a trade: he would serve as a guide for the army in exchange for some camels and some information about the Lizardmen.

Boman confidently stated that they had detailed maps, sufficient to handle any situation in the desert.

But the Bedouin chief shook his head. He explained that the desert’s climate changed very quickly. Without a local guide, it was easy to run into sandstorms, get lost, suffer from hallucinations, and other dangers.

"The route from Razekh to Hobia is especially prone to shifting sands that can obscure the path."

Henry thought for a moment, then said, "Two camels to hire you as our guide."

As for the information about the Lizardmen this Bedouin mentioned, that was just an incidental bonus for him.

’After all, how could these Bedouins’ knowledge of the Lizardmen possibly be more detailed than that of the Hobia Legion?’

The leader’s face broke into a wide grin, revealing white teeth against his dark skin. He introduced himself, "My lord, my name is Salim. I know the desert like the back of my hand. My eyes can see through sandstorms, and I can always lead my people to water."

Henry and the others didn’t pay much mind to Salim’s bragging. If Salim’s subsequent performance didn’t match his claims, it wouldn’t be surprising if another body ended up in the sand.

Fass crossed his arms and looked at Salim. "You say you know about the Lizardmen. How? Have you seen one?"

Salim nodded confidently. "I have seen Lizardmen. I’ve even killed one with my own hands."

The three men exchanged a glance and motioned for Salim to continue. They had only seen artists’ renderings of Lizardmen and read descriptions in books; they had never seen one in person.

Salim scratched his nest-like brown hair and gestured wildly as he spoke. "Those Lizardmen have sharp teeth, eyes like snakes, and long tongues. Their skin is covered in scales, green or blue.

"They’re usually between six and eight feet tall—very large. They’re strong, powerful, and agile, with long tails. Oh, right, they also decorate their heads with feathers and bones. They look terrifying."

The three exchanged another glance, nodding imperceptibly.

The description was more or less consistent with what they had studied. This Salim must have actually seen a Lizardman.

As for whether Salim had learned this from a book, that was fundamentally impossible. Within the empire, Bedouins had no right to education.

"Keep going. Tell us what the Lizardmen you’ve seen wear, what they use, and how they fight."

"The Lizardmen wear light armor made of scales, bone, and plants. Their main weapons are spears, swords, axes, and bows. These weapons are usually made of bone, stone, or metal, and they’re carved with strange totems and symbols."

After finishing, Salim suddenly remembered something and added, "There’s one more important thing, though this is just my own guess. A Lizardman’s skin probably gets rougher and harder as it ages."

Henry looked at the somewhat scrawny Salim and asked, "How did you kill a Lizardman?"

"With arrows. It took seven or eight of my arrows before that Lizardman stopped moving."

Henry waved his hand, dismissing Salim and giving him an extra few pounds of dried meat. Salim bowed repeatedly and left happily.

"Henry, this isn’t good news," Boman said. "According to him, the Lizardmen are just a bit thick-skinned. Their weapons and armor aren’t even as advanced as the Half-Beastmen’s. How could they possibly hold back an imperial Legion?"

Henry shared the intelligence he had received, such as the fact that the Lizardmen had special mounts this time, which left Boman and Fass deeply worried.

In the following days, under Salim’s guidance, the army avoided several potential snake dens and even a sudden sandstorm.

Salim also taught them how to find water in the desert and how to identify plants and animals that seemed harmless but could actually be deadly.

This allowed Salim to stand tall, having proven he was no liar.

However, just as they were approaching the border of Hobia, Henry’s Scouts brought back an alarming piece of news.

Behind a sand dune, they had discovered a small detachment of Lizardmen, about eight hundred Warriors strong. They were all infantry; the terrifying mounts Henry had mentioned were nowhere to be seen.

The news immediately put Henry, Boman, and Fass on edge. This could be their first real battle against the Lizardmen.

"The enemy’s numbers aren’t large," Henry said. "Archers, Crossbowmen, and Cavalry can play a major role. In this kind of open terrain, we can use our mobility to strike at them."

Fass nodded but added more cautiously, "Henry, we can’t underestimate them. The Lizardmen might have other reinforcements, or they could have special tactics for this desert."