Strange Land King's Journey

  In the following half month, everyone went through a bitter and extraordinary march in the wilderness. Fortunately, they had an excellent scout like Bastar, as well as Robard who knew the way, and managed to evade several groups of Verona's wolf riders sent to hunt them down, finally reaching the border with the Ice Plateau.

  Learning that Amada was safe, the Minotaur leader Moro immediately led his people to welcome him, while the Lionman leader Aigude led his troops to continue confronting the barbarians.

  At this time, the latest situation of the entire Beastman Empire also gradually came.

  Under Verona's patronage, Haken declared himself the King of Beastmen. To eliminate opposing voices, they purged the entire city of Gnarl, and all the Bimon tribes loyal to Amada were either killed or fled, with the entire beast now thoroughly under the control of the rebels.

  At the same time, Verona's betrayal also had a profound impact on the entire Beastman tribe. The Lionman tribe split into factions supporting Haken and Amada, engaging in fierce battles. The Beastman tribes scattered throughout the northern wilderness were either drawn into the rebellion or annihilated for resisting, during this period Moro accepted many dissatisfied tribes.

  The barbarians, who had learned of the beastmen's civil war, immediately increased their troops on the border. Fortunately, Moro and Aegode were heavily guarded, preventing the barbarians from taking advantage of the situation, but the flames of war were already about to erupt. Meanwhile, Verona seemed to be intentionally using the barbarians to consume them, busy consolidating her territory around the Wolf's Fang City, without sending troops to attack.

  In short, the situation is extremely unfavorable for Amada and his men.

  At the same time, something big happened at Amada's place. To be exact, it was about Raymond's situation.

  That night, the events that took place in front of the Temple of War also gradually spread to the military. The consequence was that apart from some soldiers who also questioned Amada's authority, more were rumors about Raymon, this "cursed child".

  About his peculiar physical condition; about him killing the war god-possessed priest; about him toppling the statue of Phares; even about his attitude towards dog-headed people...

  Everything is making the beastmen feel incredulous. If previously, the sense of alienation from Prince Raymond was only private, then now it has been thoroughly made public. Even many people have already acknowledged that he is the "Cursed Son", and are convinced that his existence will only lead the beastmen to extinction.

  For a time, it was noisy and chaotic, even Mo Luo couldn't calm it down.

  And Raymond is right in the center of this storm, bearing even greater pressure than before.

  "Look, that is the cursed child."

  "After all, it's nothing like us beastmen."

  "I heard he even dared to commit sacrilege, trampling on the statue of Phrygian gods, and those cynocephali..."

  "Shh, keep your voice down, don't let him hear you, do you want to be hanged?"

  ……

  These days, wherever Raymond went, similar discussions followed. The indignant Bastar tried to pull out those soldiers several times, but was stopped by Raymond. Because he understood that doing so would only bring greater backlash.

  Although he successfully escaped from the Beastman City, what Raymond did that night thoroughly pushed himself to the opposite side of the beastmen. In a sense, Haken's wish had already been fulfilled halfway.

  What am I among the beastmen? Raymon fell into a deep confusion about this.

  Until one day, Amada gathered the soldiers and gave a speech to put down the rebellion. When he saw the passionate beastmen cheering for Amada, who also had a human appearance, Raymond couldn't help but ask Rutz: "Why does Mother look like a human too, yet the beastmen acknowledge her?"

  Lutz said calmly, "Because that's just the appearance of Her Majesty. When she transforms into a beast, it will make all the beastmen overlook this matter and realize that she is one of us, a beastman who shares the same blood as us."

  In an instant, Raymond was as if struck by lightning, and many days of troubles that had been plaguing him suddenly became clear.

  Yes, why should I be obsessed with not getting their recognition? Whether it's physical or mental, I don't qualify as a beastman, what's the point of desperately seeking their identity? From the start, I didn't belong to this land.

  Go, leave here, go to a place where no one knows your identity, go to a place that is close to your body and mind, find the stage that belongs to you!

  Then a voice began to rise in Raymond's heart, getting bigger and bigger, unstoppable...

  That night.

  "Mother, are you there?" Walking up to Amada's tent, Raymond took a deep breath and firmed his resolve before calling out.

  "Come in." A voice came from inside, Amada's.

  Raymond walked into the tent, only to see Amada sitting at a simple desk, head down processing documents. Although the injuries on her body had not fully recovered, she had been completely devoted to busy government affairs for some time.

  "Is there something?" Amada said without raising her head, stretching out her hand to point at the chair and gesturing for Raymond to sit down.

  "I have a few things I'd like to say," said Raymond. "Firstly, it's about the Dog Heads, and I hope you'll treat them kindly from now on."

  "I didn't expect my son to bring this up first," Amada frowned and put down the feather pen in her hand. "Are you still infatuated with those guys? Don't be naive, kid. They're Dog Heads, a lowly race destined for mediocrity. Do you want me to treat them like Ox Heads or Lion People?"

  "Mom, haven't you seen the great potential of the dog-headed people? Although they are stupid and weak, their numbers are the largest among all beastmen. They may only do humble tasks such as servants, slaves, and laborers, but think about it carefully, if there were no dog-headed people, how much would the army be affected? The entire logistics and war preparations might even become paralyzed."

  "I'm willing to risk everything to rescue Dave, not because of personal preference or sympathy, but because they have real help for you. As long as the Dog Head people completely abandon the rebels, Verona will suffer an unprecedented blow, and his army will become a group of weak and disorganized mobs with no ability to sustain themselves, and failure is inevitable."

  When Amada first heard such remarks, she was stunned for a moment, and then showed a thoughtful expression. Raymond continued: "I'm not asking you to treat the Dog Head People and the Four Great Beastmen Tribes in the same way, they can't bear it, and it will also cause dissatisfaction among other beastmen, causing unnecessary chaos. But at least give them the most basic respect, no longer treating them as disposable trash."

  "If you do this, you will win this war."

  Actually, with Amada's brain, after Remon mentioned it, she immediately recognized the key to this. And before that, she couldn't think of this point at all, which was completely limited by the traditional concept of the beastman, and didn't take those dog-headed people into consideration, so naturally she didn't realize their huge potential role.

  It's all the more astonishing that Raymond was able to keenly notice this point.

  "I'll consider it." After a moment, Amada nodded slowly and said, "What about the other thing?"

  "Also, if you want to end the rebellion as soon as possible, you must first resolve the threat behind it."

  "Are you referring to barbarians?" Amada's eyebrows rose slightly.

  Raymond nodded, "That's right, if you want to go all out against Verona, I suggest you immediately sign a treaty with the Barbarians. Otherwise, holding on for a long time will eventually give Verona an opportunity."

  Amada sighed, "How could I not have thought of this? But all along we've been the ones to take the initiative and attack the barbarians. Now that internal strife has occurred, it's the perfect opportunity for the barbarians to exact revenge. How would they be willing to negotiate?"

  "Of course, they would never give up on revenge. However, heh heh, just need to let them change the object of their revenge a bit." Raymond's eyes narrowed slightly, giving him a hint of slyness.

  "Change objects? What do you mean?" Amada was taken aback.

  "Tell them that if they are willing to attack the werewolves' territory, we will provide full assistance and all the land they conquer will belong to them."

  "What did you just say!?" The words were so astonishing that even Amada's old cunning couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

  "She couldn't help but say: 'Are you daydreaming? How could a barbarian possibly help us attack the wolf people.'"

  Raymond shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "Just tell them that if they don't agree, we'll go down with the barbarians and in the end, only benefit the Wolf Tribe. With the temptation of land added to it, they will definitely agree to our terms."

  The stronghold of the Wolf Clan is also located in the area bordering the Frozen Highlands, but it is to the north of the Beastman Empire and far away from Ramon and his group. Due to their physical characteristics as wolf cavalry, they are well-suited for battle in snowy conditions, so the Wolf Clan has always been the main force attacking the Barbarians, with whom they have a deep-seated grudge.

  Amada said in a low voice: "Even so, is it worth exchanging for land?"

  "Right now, please prioritize the bigger picture and don't worry about the gains or losses of one city or land. After all, compared to losing some land, quelling the rebellion is currently the most important thing; as long as we can defeat Verona, any cost is worth it."

  He smiled and said, "Besides, who says that those lands will be given to the barbarians forever? You know, the barbarians have just established their country, and their foundation is very weak. Moreover, they are only used to fighting in the snowy wilderness and are not adapted to the climate of the northern wasteland. Their supplies are also very difficult to replenish. Once they come to our land, all the conditions will be unfavorable to them."

  "So, even if they occupy a part of our land, they will not be able to hold on to it. Once the rebellion is put down, we can easily take it back. Moreover, we can take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate the barbarians' military strength and weaken their country. It's a good thing that we should do."

  After listening to Raymond's words, Amada looked at her own son with a surprised expression as if she was seeing him for the first time. Even losing their homeland could become a good thing in his mouth, and Amada had no idea what to say anymore.

  Suddenly, a person's figure involuntarily emerged in her mind. In some ways, it really was too similar...