Beneath the Red Dragon-Chapter 103 - 52: Gray Wolf Knights and Centaur Cavalry
The sky was spacious and blue, with occasional clusters of white clouds, vast prairie stretching beneath, beasts roaming in all directions.
A White Dragon spread its wings and flew high overhead, and the gale stirred by its wings shattered the clouds in the sky, the massive Dragon casting a swiftly moving shadow upon the ground.
Chiron, the Centaur Warrior, led the Centaur Cavalry galloping across the prairie, seemingly chasing the shadow cast by the Dragon above.
These robust Centaur Warriors were each selected as brave and agile warriors from their tribe, with an average height reaching three meters, their muscular limbs bulging, showcasing their powerful strength.
Led by the Dragon-blooded Centaur, these warriors trampled the plain with their hooves, their wild and fierce aura causing all the beasts in the grassland to flee in all directions.
Even those ferocious creatures of the fierce species would avoid these numerous Centaur Cavalries from afar. These fierce creatures, beginning to develop intelligence, knew that the well-armored, sharp-weaponed Centaurs in front of them could crush them into bloody pulp with just a charge.
Scattered around these swiftly galloping Centaur Warriors were over a hundred Kobold warriors and Green-skinned Goblin warriors riding on prairie Gray Wolves.
These relatively strong warriors, carefully selected from their respective tribes, rode the captured and tamed prairie Gray Wolves, galloping alongside the Centaur Cavalry all the way.
Although these prairie Gray Wolves were not as fast as the Centaur Warriors, they excelled in endurance, keeping pace with the Centaur Warriors.
However, these Kobold warriors and Green-skinned Goblins wore only leather armor and tough beast hide, and their weapons were just short bows made from a type of durable wood in the forest, accompanied by a few short-stocked shotguns.
"Ha, stop," shouted Chiron, the Centaur Warrior in the front, covered with a layer of fine red scales. His sturdy right hand held up a refined iron long spear, slowly pulling to a halt.
Following Chiron’s rhythm, all the Centaur Warriors gradually came to a stop within a few steps. These Centaur Warriors were still in the process of perfecting their coordination and discipline, but their reflexes were quick.
Even this degree of coordination would require those elite human cavalry to train for a long time, and this was under the circumstances where these Centaur Warriors had to familiarize themselves with the commander’s orders.
Chiron stepped forward, finding the massive corpse of a beast lying on the prairie, the corpse of a prairie giant elephant, with long ivory reaching near two meters.
The gnawed-clean bones measured nearly eleven meters from head to tail, and the scattered flesh and bones emitted a fierce aura. This was of the fierce species, even the leader of an elephant herd.
"Woof woof, chitter-chatter,"
As the Centaur Cavalry came to a halt, the Gray Wolf Knights following behind also gathered around. Appointed by Chiron as the Gray Wolf Knight Captain, the Kobold clasped its gray wolf’s fur, using Dragon Language and the Kobold tongue to communicate with Chiron, who was crouched on the ground examining the scene.
"Speak in the common tongue," Chiron stated sternly, "You Kobolds as scout cavalry shouldn’t only communicate with the Dragon Descendant Species, in the future, under Lord Karon, there won’t just be these species of beloved,"
"There will be more and more other races pledging loyalty to the Giant Dragon. Every one of you scout cavalry needs to learn the common language. Those who can’t should crawl back into the dark caves to mine."
"Yes...Chiron sir," the Scout Captain Kobold stammered in the common tongue, requesting from the Centaur, "Next...what should we...do next?"
"Take these Gray Wolf Knights and split into teams of three to five to scout the surrounding area," Chiron said gravely, "We’ve already found many giant elephant corpses along the way, and now we find a formidable fierce giant elephant. This is the leader of the elephant herd, surely there are creatures or tribes more dangerous than this giant elephant nearby,"
"If you find anything, report back immediately. If you encounter danger, shoot a whistle arrow, and I’ll rush over at once."
This area was already at the edge of the Dragon Group Territory, surrounded by low rolling hills. It’s Chiron’s first time leading these Centaur Warriors out for training, so there must be no mistakes. He decided to let the galloping Centaur Cavalry rest in place to recover their physical strength, to respond to any potential dangers.
"Yes, Chiron sir." The Kobold Captain received the order and guided his gray wolf in passing the commands among the Gray Wolf Knights, who quickly dispersed in teams of three to five amid barking mixed with the common tongue.
Chiron and the other Centaur Warriors stayed put to rest, as he looked up into the sky. The immense figure of the White Dragon loomed above the distant clouds, providing him with some reassurance.
"Captain, these Kobolds and Green-skinned Goblins may not be reliable, should we send some more warriors to scout," Kali, leader of the Centaur Tribe, walked up and asked.
The elite warriors selected this time were the strongest batch in the Centaur Tribe, so Centaur leader Kali and her mate, the male Centaur Zogo, were also included.
All except the Centaur Maiden Suniya, who could not leave her post as the town sheriff, nearly all the formidable warriors were here.
For ease of management and command, these outstanding warriors were appointed as squad leaders by Chiron. Each squad leader was in charge of twenty knights, with Karon, Zogo, and the Centaur Tribe’s Warrior Chief Oni each commanding twenty knights.
However, this effectively divided the power of the Centaur Tribe, and over time Chiron’s position was bound to replace the original Centaur leader Karon.
But Karon seemed to have no objections to this. On one hand, these loyal Centaur warriors have always regarded the will of the Red Dragon as a sacred rule, showing no resistance.
On the other hand, Chiron is also a member of the Centaurs, and as the Young King of the orthodox Centaur Tribe, a direct descendant of the once most powerful Centaur hero Chiron, his lineage is nobler than ordinary Centaur warriors. He brought the missing heritage to the Centaur Tribe here, so he encountered no resistance, but was instead very much supported.
"No need, as the mightiest warriors, our task is to maintain energy and fight with all our might," Chiron shook his head and said, "We must learn to utilize and trust other comrades, only then can we unleash the greatest power."
After years of war with the Gata Empire, Chiron now has some insights of his own. He has begun learning some human training and combat tactics, no longer as chaotic and disorganized as the original tribe.
Whistle,
A whistle arrow shot up from behind a distant hill, the sharp sound instantly alerting the resting Centaurs. Without needing Chiron’s reminder, these valiant warriors immediately stood up, gripping their weapons tightly.
"Let’s go, take a look," Chiron, the strongest Centaur warrior, remained at the forefront of the cavalry line-up. Under his command, two hundred Centaur cavalry spread out in an attacking triangular wedge formation, charging fiercely towards the location from which the whistle arrow was fired.
After a brief rest, the Centaur cavalry recovered some physical strength, thus their speed was incredibly fast, trampling with four hooves as they quickly crossed the hill.
Chiron immediately spotted the Kobold scouts frantically riding back, originally in groups of three or five, now only two lucky Gray Wolf Scout Knights remained, followed closely by a pack of Earth Wolves.
These creatures, resembling hyenas, weren’t particularly large, being even smaller than Gray Wolves, but their temperament was extremely fierce and cruel.
Driven by the Wolf King, this group of fifty-plus wolves bit fiercely at the rear of the Gray Wolf Knight, attempting to tear the two scout knights apart.
With a wave of Chiron’s sturdy arm, the other Centaur cavalry under his command shifted from a triangular wedge formation to a single line, then took out their longbows slung across their waists and backs, aiming at the chasing Earth Wolf pack.
"Release," with Chiron’s order, these elite divine archers comparable to elves released their bowstrings. Swish, swish, swish, countless sharp arrows rained down like arrow showers.
These iron arrows tore through the air obstruction with a strong whistling sound, piercing effortlessly into the running Earth Wolves, remarkably none missed. Each Earth Wolf had at least two sharp arrows embedded in it, with the luckier ones receiving five or six arrow feathers.
These Earth Wolves mostly had their eyes or ears pierced through by the sharp arrows, collapsing onto the ground without uttering a single scream, only the strong leader hiding at the back of the pack emitting a low wail amidst the Earth Wolf corpses.
Karon sprinted out from the troops, bringing back the Earth Wolf leader still holding onto a breath, tossing it at Chiron’s feet.
Bang, the sharp arrow in the Earth Wolf leader’s head smashed onto the ground, instantly piercing its ears, silencing its low wail, and with a twitch of its limbs, it immediately expired.
However, the rope-made collar on the Earth Wolf leader’s neck drew Chiron’s attention. He bent down, snapping the collar off the Earth Wolf’s neck, inspected it carefully, and sniffed it. A peculiar stench rushed into his nose, making Chiron frown.
"These Earth Wolves are enslaved by other creatures, judging by the collar on their necks, it should be a humanoid race," Karon also concluded.
Chiron nodded, saying, "This rotten smell, it might be a Giant Demon and Jackal-Wolf Man, or perhaps a Half-Beastman and Ogre. From the traces on this Earth Wolf’s body, there should be a Caster within this race, we need to be careful."
"Shall we find their lair now and launch a direct attack," asked the robust Centaur warrior Zogo as he stepped forward. These Centaur warriors are belligerent, pursuing bloodshed and indulgence.
Chiron looked up at the gradually slanted sunset, shook his head, and said, "Night is about to fall, which is unfavorable for us Centaur warriors. The dark night makes powerful Centaur warriors lose grip, and our bows and arrows can’t maximize their advantage,"
"We’ll come back tomorrow directly, but leave some Gray Wolf Scout Knights to monitor and observe from afar."
Zogo nodded, these warriors have become accustomed to obeying the leader’s orders, a necessary rule for survival in the wilderness.
"By the way, bring these Earth Wolf corpses back. Their pelts can be stripped to make winter clothes, or sell them to humans in the towns. Although we don’t like eating these foul creatures, those Green-skinned Goblins don’t care."
Centaur warrior Chiron ordered his cavalry to collect all the Earth Wolf corpses, knowing well how to cherish food from his time managing the Dragon’s Beloved. Although Centaurs relish in pleasure and indulgence, they never waste.
