Seeing such a pure and lovely young girl with their own eyes, the grown men were collectively stunned.
That indescribable beauty seemed as if it had been meticulously crafted by the Creator, a distilled essence of all the beauty in the world.
It took several seconds before the fat noble, Count Hai, took a deep breath and recovered his composure.
Amelo curled his lips into a smile and gestured with his hand. “Everyone, this is our Princess of Clear.”
“Her Highness?”
Although he still harbored doubts, her silver-white hair and world-toppling beauty were certainly not faked.
He finally offered a bow.
“Your Highness, forgive my bluntness, but the gnolls are formidable. I fear a few magic beasts won't be enough to deal with them. Over the years, we eastern lords have united more than once, yet we have always been helpless against those creatures.”
“It's not a big problem. This time, I've come with the intent to wipe them out until not a single one remains.”
She turned her head to look to the side. A massive zergling opened its hideous maw and flexed its scythe-like claws as it ran over from the distance.
“This...”
Several nobles instinctively stepped back a few paces.
Naturally, there were some among them stronger than a zergling. If they truly fought, they could still win. However, encountering such a terrifying creature so suddenly gave them all a start.
“The Zerg. I have brought them back with me. Thousands upon thousands of insects will eliminate the main force of the gnolls for you. Your task is merely to block small enemy units from different directions to prevent them from entering your respective territories.”
“Where... where did these things come from?” one noble could not help but ask.
“You don't need to worry about that. You just need to trust me unconditionally.”
“Do you understand?” Amelo shouted cheerfully.
The more these people had looked down on him earlier, the more embarrassed they were now.
“Understood. We will have our armies prepare immediately.”
These lords had no choice but to take action.
In truth, they still didn't quite believe Xia Jin could have a sufficient number of obedient magic beasts.
While the zergling before them was real, controlling a few was a completely different concept from controlling hundreds or thousands. For the lords, they truly couldn't afford to gamble on this battle.
They couldn't rule out the possibility that Amelo was using this opportunity to weaken everyone.
It was this suspicion and lack of trust that made them feel there was some conspiracy afoot, even when faced with the reality of the situation.
Ten minutes later, facing the assembling legions, Count Hai narrowed his eyes and looked seriously at the six or seven other lords.
“Do you think this is reliable? Did that little Princess truly command a force that even the gnolls fear?”
“It's likely Amelo's conspiracy. Our relationship has been strained for years. It wouldn't be impossible for him to use a girl with dyed hair to deceive us, taking the chance to weaken both our strength and the gnolls at the same time,” a viscount said languidly.
“Do you even believe that yourself? A girl of that beauty isn't someone you can just find anywhere. I'd rather believe she is the Princess. The crime of dyeing one's hair white to impersonate royalty is no less than treason.”
...
The nobles might have been cautious and afraid to speak out, but the common soldiers didn't care.
Those men were down there spinning all sorts of conspiracy theories, filled with unease over the rumors that the Princess had brought monsters as reinforcements.
“According to the usual way the higher-ups do things, they're sending us to our deaths. In the army, whenever the superiors make all sorts of generous promises, you have to be careful, hehe. For example, if you hear them say everyone gets a ten-gold reward after this battle, you probably won't live to see that day.”
“Damn it, don't scare us.”
“Who would joke about something like this? I want to live too, damn it.”
Walking out of the tent, the conversation of the soldiers in the distance caused Count Hai's face to darken.
“These cursed fools. Why are they disturbing morale at a time like this?”
The viscount beside him smiled. “If you don't believe it, why don't we just go see the Princess's army? We'll have to see them sooner or later anyway. Seeing them early will let us prepare mentally in case there really is a problem.”
“Fine.”
Just as they were speaking, a thunderous sound suddenly echoed from the distance.
One after another, hideous and terrifying insects, hydralisks with an even more intimidating appearance, and other bugs with even more frenzied looks all approached from afar.
The soldiers were dumbfounded by the sight.
These insects quickly approached the young girl not far away.
The silver-haired girl reached out her hand, and a zergling obediently lowered its head, allowing her to stroke it.
“This... this!”
The numbers were terrifyingly high.
Such a scale left the lords present in silence.
There were likely, truly, thousands upon thousands.
Even if there weren't, they would still be an unimaginable aid to the current lords' legions.
Xia Jin jumped lightly, landing on the back of the insect. Sitting sideways and gently swinging her legs, she leisurely gazed at the scenery in the distance.
Because of her high vantage point, she could clearly see the situation of the entire field.
The lords' legions were not gathered in particularly large numbers.
“It seems these guys are still afraid; they don't dare to concentrate too many people.”
She also understood. After all, the relationships between these nobles couldn't be described as good. If they sent their main forces just because of a word from Amelo, they would have no one to cry to if it turned out to be a trap.
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