Knight: Becoming King of the World

Chapter 159: Chapter 138: The Strongest Enemy

The trio walked along the street to the city hall, the only brightly lit place in Hobia.

They needed to meet the Third Prince. The task the Emperor had given them was to support the Thirty-Fifth Legion—or, in other words, to help the Third Prince.

Led by a guard, Henry, Boman, and Fass passed through the long corridors of the city hall. The air was thick with tension and hurried activity.

Guards, messengers, and officers bustled about. Almost one in every three people wore an officer’s uniform. This place felt more like a military barracks than a city hall.

They were led to a room guarded by two Legion infantrymen. Several other officers were already waiting outside.

Henry and the other two stood quietly to one side, waiting. Their eyes swept over the officers holding maps and parchment, and they could feel the heavy pressure weighing on everyone here.

Boman suddenly nudged Henry and glanced at the waists of the Legion infantrymen by the door. Henry took a look and realized the Legion infantrymen were actually using Lizardman weapons.

Fass whispered, "They’re as tall as Array-Breaking Warriors from the Northern Lands. All elite Warriors."

Henry nodded to himself. The Lizardmen’s Obsidian Weapons were heavy for most people. Any human capable of fighting with such a weapon had to be a man of great strength.

Time ticked by. Officers went into the room and left a short while later, their expressions rushed.

The guard finally came out of the room. He glanced at Henry and his companions, then nodded, signaling that they could enter.

The three of them straightened their imperial robes and stepped into the room.

Inside the room, a young man wearing exquisite Scale Armor Half-Chain Skirt Armor sat behind a large desk. His eyes were somewhat vacant, and his face was extremely haggard.

He was none other than the Emperor’s third son, the current Legion Commander of the Thirty-Fifth Legion and the commander of the four Legions in Hobia.

Upon seeing Henry and his companions, the Third Prince stood up. A smile that looked rather stiff appeared on his face.

"Baron Henry, Knight Boman, Knight Fass, welcome. My father has long said that the three of you are outstanding nobles and brilliant generals."

The three men bowed. Henry spoke first, "Your Highness, we have come on the orders of the great Emperor to support the Thirty-Fifth Legion and to assist you."

The Third Prince nodded slightly and gestured for them to sit. After bowing again, the three sat in the chairs opposite the Prince.

"Baron Henry, I’ve heard of you. On the Half-Beastman battlefield last year, you were a shining new star who made a great name for yourself."

Henry waved his hand humbly, indicating that the main credit should go to the Legion’s soldiers, and to the Emperor.

The Third Prince smiled faintly and asked, "Baron Henry, you came from the grasslands. What do you think of the desert environment here? Are you adapting well?"

Henry said bluntly, "We already engaged the Lizardmen on our way here and achieved some results."

"What?!"

Boman continued, "Your Highness, we did indeed encounter a small Lizardman squad on the road and successfully repelled them. However, the Lizardmen’s strength far exceeded our expectations."

Fass added, "Yes, Your Highness. Their Obsidian Weapons are very unusual. Our soldiers were at a disadvantage in the fight, and we hope to learn more about the Lizardman forces so we can better assist you."

The Third Prince clutched his forehead and said, "The desert is the Lizardmen’s home turf, after all. We have no way of stopping them from bypassing Hobia...

"How many Lizardmen did you kill? What were your casualties?"

"Two hundred sixty-three enemies killed, with about eight hundred casualties on our side."

The Third Prince was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "The Lizardman army is massive, and their tactics and weapons are very advanced. We’ve been fighting them here for two months. Although we’ve been resisting, our losses have been devastating."

He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the night sky outside. He continued, "The Lizardmen are not ignorant, backward, and unenlightened, as we once presumed."

Henry and his companions listened intently as the Third Prince continued, "The Half-Beastmen’s language is very crude, their farming ability is abysmal, and who knows how they even get their weapons. Their military structure is like a savage tribe’s—most of the time, they just swarm and charge in the middle of a fight."

"The Lizardmen are completely different. They have a complete language, a strict military hierarchy, and unusual weapons."

The Third Prince slammed his fist against the windowsill and said helplessly, "We’ve captured some Lizardmen. As long as they aren’t killed instantly, even the most grievous wounds will slowly heal. They don’t even seem to need to eat or drink... What in the world are we fighting?"

’The firstborn of the Ancient Saint.’ Henry thought to himself.

Actually, the Third Prince was somewhat mistaken. The Lizardmen did need to eat; it was just that their skin could absorb basic material energy.

"They also have those monsters for mounts. It takes more than ten crossbow arrows to kill one... How are we supposed to win?"

Henry thought for a moment and asked, "Your Highness, among the Lizardmen’s mounts, are there any that can breathe fire or fly?"

"Of course not. Heavens, if they had monsters like that, we might as well just wait here in the city to die."

’So it’s only Cold Lizards? This world is more complex than I thought...’

Henry stood up and said earnestly, "We will do everything in our power to assist you and the Thirty-Fifth Legion."

The Third Prince turned around and nodded. "Good. We need your strength. Tomorrow, I will arrange for you to meet with the Legion’s other commanders to discuss our next battle plan in detail."

The Third Prince sat back down, his expression one of indescribable exhaustion. He muttered to himself, "This is the most powerful enemy the Empire has ever faced."

When Henry and his companions left the city hall, the night had grown deep. Starlight twinkled in the desert sky, adding a touch of tranquility to the tense atmosphere.

They crossed the empty streets and returned to their encampment near the east gate. Inside, soldiers were gathered around bonfires, some talking, others quietly eating their dinner.

The tents were already set up. Wisps of smoke from cooking fires curled into the air, and the aroma of food wafted through the encampment.

Soldiers from other nearby units were annoyed by this group eating so late at night, but seeing the three noble banners, they could only endure it.

As Henry and his companions walked through the camp, the soldiers who saw them stood up one after another to salute.

Around Hobia and the encampment, soldiers patrolled the city walls and wooden palisades, their vigilant eyes scanning the surrounding desert.

The Lizardmen might launch a surprise attack at night, so no one dared to let their guard down in the slightest.

Just then, a few officers found Henry and his companions. Starting tomorrow, a portion of their private armies would need to be integrated into the city wall’s defensive force, participating in the nightly patrols and defense of Hubia City.

Henry and the others understood. If their allied forces were too exhausted, it would be of no benefit to them either.

The three men returned to their respective tents. A full day of forced marching, even with horses, had left them exhausted.

Ailia had already prepared several basins of clean water in the tent for Henry to wash up. Conditions in the desert were limited; there wasn’t enough water to prepare a comfortable bath for him.

That would be too extravagant.

But Ailia still did her best to wash Henry, removing the dust from his body. She carefully scrubbed his arms, neck, and hair, washing away every bit of sand and sweat.

After washing up, Henry changed into clean sleepwear and ate some dried meat and millet soup. This was the standard fare for the soldiers under his command—simple, practical, and providing essential energy.

After eating, Henry lay down on his simple campaign bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he was besieged by a vast number of Lizardmen. Some had green skin, others blue. In the dream, Henry wielded a great axe, hacking and slashing with all his might, but the Lizardmen seemed endless. No matter how hard he fought, he couldn’t kill them all.

His black helmet and armor gradually became deformed in the battle. Just as a huge green monster was about to bite down on him, Henry suddenly woke up from the dream, his heart pounding and his collar soaked with sweat.

He sat up and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

Henry checked his status panel in reality and saw that nothing had changed. After feeling himself over, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a dream and had no physical effect on him.

Henry lay down again and closed his eyes. Although the dream still lingered in his mind, he forced himself to relax. Slowly, he drifted back to sleep.

This time, he didn’t dream again. He slept until the sound of the morning’s wind and sand woke him.

Over scattered fires, pots of steaming breakfast were being prepared. The soldiers ate their meal in silence, their weapons never leaving their sides.

Henry and his companions had a simple breakfast of dried meat, millet porridge, and some dried fruit. Afterward, they entered the city again to meet with the Third Prince and the other Legion commanders.

Compared to the silence of the previous night, the streets of Hobia had a bit more life to them today.

The local commoners had started to get busy. Some artisans were making arrows, while others repaired armor and weapons.

The commoners without special skills weren’t idle either; they were participating in military training, learning how to use weapons and fight.

Every corner of Hobia was filled with the atmosphere of war preparation. At any moment, they could be summoned to the walls to take part in the city’s defense.

The commoners who could flee had already fled long ago. The Free People still remaining in Hobia either had too few savings to survive after leaving or figured it was better to stay in Hobia than to run into desert bandits. With four of the Empire’s Legions stationed here, it was relatively safer than the open desert.

Last night, Hobia was silent. Today, it was deathly still.

When they arrived at the city hall again, a large number of nobles and officers had already crowded into the conference hall.