Snow fell for three days, and Gloom Forest was completely blanketed.
Kurzadh stood by the second-floor window of the chief's house, clutching a crumpled piece of parchment—this was the map given by the system, and after a year of studying it, he finally understood the nearby territories.
He examined the map.
On the map, the forest they were in was marked "Gloom Forest"; the name alone sounded fierce.
The forest was like a dark green patch, spread between high mountains and plains.
The most prominent feature was a winding yellow line, traversing the forest from east to west, marked "Khyprian road"—this was the only road in the forest that could accommodate carriages and horses.
Last winter, Kurzadh had followed the tracks of a caravan and found that the road was paved with gravel, and though bumpy, it could allow large groups to pass.
"To the north are the dwarves' dens, and to the south are the dark-skinned humans' cities," Kurzadh said, pointing at the map.
The upper left corner of the map showed a smoking castle, labeled "Gezhik—High Mountain Dwarf City-State"; the lower right corner was a square city with a blue flag, inscribed "Katushir—a human city."
He had never visited either of these places, only hearing from passing caravans that the dwarves were very clever, skilled at mining stone and forging iron tools, while the these humans were fierce, with dark skin and archery skills even better than Elves.
"Must stay far away from these two places," Kurzadh muttered.
The dwarves' iron axes were formidable, and the human's archers were not to be trifled with.
Blackrock Clan was still weak and had no need to confront them head-on.
He was more concerned with matters within the forest—whether the mushroom field to the east was sufficient, if the sheepfold to the west needed reinforcement, and the iron spears seized from Giant Wood tribe last time, which needed to be sharpened by the goblin.
Just as he was thinking, Scarface's "squeaking" sound came from downstairs.
Kurzadh peered down and saw Scarface holding a wooden stick, pointing towards the west of the forest, his small face full of panic.
"What's wrong?" Kurzadh put on his animal skin coat and clattered down the stairs.
"Dragu! Wreelx! There's movement!" Scarface tugged at Kurzadh's pant leg, pulling him westward.
Several lookout goblin also ran back, their short legs trembling violently, squeaking and pointing into the depths of the forest as if they had seen something terrifying.
Kurzadh's heart tightened.
In snowy weather, wild beasts generally wouldn't come out; could it be another greenskin tribe? He grabbed the axe from the corner of the wall. "Let's go! Let's take a look!"
He led Scarface and a few hobgoblins, treading through ankle-deep snow, running towards the western outpost.
The outpost was set up under an old oak tree, where the goblin had built a wooden platform, from which they could usually see the entrance to Howling Trail.
Climbing onto the platform, Kurzadh looked towards Howling Trail—and immediately gasped.
In the snow, a team was slowly moving forward.
Leading were several monsters that resembled both wolves and pigs, with black fur and sharp spines on their backs.
Their claws dug deep holes in the snow, and they panted "huff, huff," occasionally lowering their heads to gnaw on frozen meat in the snow—these were Razor beast, which Kurzadh had seen in the system's monster compendium, and they were extremely fierce.
Beside the Razor beast followed dozens of dog-like creatures with mottled fur and red eyes, sniffing around in the snow.
Occasionally, they would raise their heads and let out low "wooing" growls—these were Chaos Warhounds, fiercer than ordinary wolves, rumored to be corrupted by Chaos energy.
Further back were about a hundred monsters that looked like both humans and beasts.
They were not tall, with crooked horns on their backs; some carried axes, others wielded sharpened wooden sticks, wrapped in tattered cloth, shivering from the cold, yet still moving forward step by step—these were Ungor, the lowest-ranking fodder among the beastmen.
In the middle of the procession, a dozen tall monsters stood out.
They were half a head taller than the Ungor, with bulging muscles and thick, straight horns.
They wore rusty iron armor and clutched blood-stained iron spears, making a "thump-thump" sound as they walked through the snow; even the Chaos Warhounds dared not approach them—these were Gor beast, the elite of the beastmen, ten times stronger than Ungor.
And at the very front of the procession, a monster even taller than the Gor beast was slowly walking.
It was covered in black fur, with horns on its head branching like tree branches.
It held a bloody object in its mouth, which looked like a human leg, chewing with a "crunch" sound.
Its eyes were murky yellow, and as it scanned the snow, they held a bloodthirsty glint—it was a Great Horned beast, the leader of the beastmen.
"Damn it, it's beastmen!" Kurzadh's heart sank.
Simply put, beastmen were humans or animals in the Old World corrupted by "Chaos," becoming half-human, half-beast.
For example, some people, originally normal, lived in areas with strong Chaos energy (like large forests); over time, they began to grow horns, hooves, their faces transformed into bestial forms, and their bodies grew fur—thus becoming beastmen.
Not only humans, but some animals corrupted by Chaos could also become capable of standing and walking like humans, gaining a bit of "humanoid" form, eventually also becoming this type of monster.
Unable to live as normal people, they gathered in the forests, forming "herds," surviving by raiding nearby villages.
Moreover, they particularly recognized "Chaos" as their leader, believing themselves to be the "children" of Chaos, and wanted to fight any uncorrupted humans they encountered.
Simply put: Chaos twisted humans and animals, transforming them into fierce and wild half-beast monsters that roamed the forests in groups, causing destruction.
This force consisted of at least two hundred monsters, with Gor beast and a Great Horned beast holding the line.
If Blackrock Clan's few people encountered them, they would surely be beaten until nothing was left of their den.
"Dragu, should we... should we run?" Scarface's voice trembled with fear, his small claws clutching Kurzadh's arm tightly.
"Run my ass!" Kurzadh glared at him, but quietly stepped back. "They haven't found us, let's go back first!"
He led the hobgoblins down from the wooden platform and scurried back to the tribe, crouching low.
A string of footprints was left in the snow, soon covered by fresh snowfall.
Back at the tribe, Kurzadh immediately summoned Wreelx, Dragu, and Zaggur. "beastmen have come from the west! Over two hundred of them! There are Razor beast, Gor beast, and a Great Horned beast leader!"
Upon hearing this, the hobgoblins immediately erupted. "beastmen? How did those monsters get here?" "Will they come to steal our sheep?" "Dragu, why don't we hide in the cave first?"
"Hide my ass!" Kurzadh slapped the stone slab. "How long can a cave hide us? If they find us, they can still trap us!" He stroked his chin, suddenly remembering Katushir on the map. "These beastmen are probably heading for the darkk-skinned humans to the south."
Sure enough, not long after, the lookout goblin ran back to report that the beastmen's force had headed south, precisely towards Katushir.
Kurzadh breathed a sigh of relief, but then frowned. "No matter what they're going to do, we can't let our guard down." He looked at the hobgoblins. "Wreelx, you take the Archers to the western outpost and keep watch. Report back immediately if there's any movement! Dragu, have the goblin reinforce the palisade again, blocking the gaps with stones! Zaggur, find all the iron spears and iron axes and distribute them to the hobgoblins! Scarface, have the goblin roast more dried meat, ready for a fight at any time!"
"Got it!" The hobgoblins immediately responded and went off to busy themselves.
Wreelx ran to the outpost with his bow and arrows, Dragu directed the goblin to move stones to block the palisade, Zaggur rummaged through the sheds for weapons, and Scarface shouted at the goblin to add firewood to the bonfire; soon, the grill was covered with mutton.
Kurzadh stood at the entrance of the chief's house, gazing at the forest to the west.
Snow was still falling, and the direction of Howling Trail was a vast expanse of white, but he could almost hear the heavy footsteps of the beastmen and the "crunching" sound of the Great Horned beast chewing a human leg.
He knew that the peaceful days were over. Now that the beastmen had come, they wouldn't leave easily.
Whether they were going to fight the beastmen or seize territory in Howling Forest, Blackrock Clan had to prepare for a fight.
"Damn it, so what if they're beastmen?" Kurzadh tightened his grip on his axe, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his green eyes. "We hobgoblins are not to be trifled with! If it comes to a fight, I'll let them taste the might of Blackrock Clan!"
In the snow, the cold wind whistled through the palisade, making a "whooshing" sound, as if accompanying the coming slaughter.
Blackrock Clan's hobgoblins were busy, with fear in their eyes, but even more excitement—a fight was coming! They were going to beat monsters! This was the life hobgoblins were meant to live!