bookbashuk Chapter 50 Where Did the Nomadic Cats Come From?
Chapter 50 Where Did the Nomadic Cats Come From?
In the main castle courtyard, Yi Yin sat cross-legged on the ground, smiling as he spoke to Durotan.
"I'm sorry, but my height makes it difficult for me to get in and out. I can only ask you to come into the courtyard to talk."
Durotan stood before Yi Yin, looked at the tall human, and shook his head.
"My lord, you are too kind. What would you like to know?"
No human would communicate with the cat race as equally as Yi Yin. Even the kindest humans only treat the cat race as pets, as tools to soothe their own mental state.
The two sides are vastly different in strength, and their relationship is inherently unequal. The cat race instinctively fears the human race, a capricious being who could destroy them at any moment, and whose fate is uncertain.
But Yi Yin gave the cat a strange feeling. He seemed genuinely willing to sit down and discuss things with the cat race, unlike the human race's domineering attitude of being high and mighty and having the final say in everything.
Perhaps it was because he was weak? Or perhaps he came from a more peaceful and tolerant era, and was willing to treat different intelligent races with a more equal attitude?
The Ironthorn Knight, accompanied by several Cat Knights, gazed at Durotan from afar.
The existence of the human knight Yi Yin caused Marquis Iron Oak a great headache, forcing him to send his most powerful Ironthorn Knight as a guide to monitor this strange human who liked to huddle together with cats.
However, the Ironthorn Knights were powerless to resist the demands made by the powerful human race.
Putting aside whether this seemingly kind man is strong or not, let's just talk about his wife, who is none other than Ilya Onyxia, the infamous "Walking Calamity" among the cat tribe.
So when Yi Yin wanted to meet Durotan, the Iron Thorn Knight could only make arrangements.
Durotan, who was under house arrest, unexpectedly met a human and was even more surprised to find that this human was the last human knight of Mankikon.
After glancing at Princess Sophia, the dwarf cat beside the human, Durotan calmed himself down and, as Yi Yin had requested, recounted the entire incident in detail.
As Yi Yin listened and pondered, the short-legged cat beside him couldn't help but tremble.
"Sophia, what's wrong?"
"Morga. Darkclaw, the Grand Judge of the Imperial City, it was he who plotted the massacre of the royal family for Duke Shadowmoon and ascended to the throne of regent. It was all his conspiracy."
He... might be an even more terrifying mastermind than Grand Duke Shadowmoon.
Yi Yin frowned.
"This High Judge of the Royal City went to the Great Plateau with the Circuit Court, and then Ner'zhul defected to the Burning Army... no, to the Dark God."
So, you suspect he's a minion of the God of Darkness?
Sofia looked at the courtyard; the spring breeze had warmed the trees, and several new buds had sprouted, but her heart was ice-cold.
"The rumors of the return of the two gods have been circulating for a long time. Whether it is the royal family, the royal family, or the great nobles, they have become numb to these rumors."
But in the unseen shadows of the mainland, the cat race, who worship both the god of light and the god of darkness, has been steadily increasing, forming an undercurrent.
Bell nodded and chimed in.
"That's true."
Cats today are not like they used to be; their faith in the Earth Mother Goddess has been weakening, and there have even been underground societies formed by heretics.
There has been ongoing debate within the church about this trend, and moderate conservatives like us at Jin Yan naturally hope for a peaceful resolution.
But those extremists in Ash... well, it's a long story."
Yi Yin frowned.
"Following your line of reasoning, the Regent's massacre of the royal family might not be a simple secular coup; could it also be mixed with the malice of the Dark God's followers?"
Sofia said coldly.
"It's not just believers; there may also be the power of a dark god at work behind the scenes."
If the two gods are truly going to return, their greatest fear is that the King of the Otherworld will also be able to return.
Therefore, the Mankikang royal family, who can summon the king of another world, became the biggest thorn in the side of the two gods.
This is not a long-standing grudge, but a real threat rooted in the present.
No wonder... No wonder the Regent, a mere cat, could so easily overthrow the royal family and slaughter the entire royal clan.
Even if the royal family is weak, it is still a royal family with a long history and profound heritage. How could it be easily overthrown and wiped out in one day?
I finally understand. The Imperial City Chief Justice, the Seven-Tailed Council, and many more cats bewitched by the two gods... they were all the masterminds behind this coup.
Yi Yin shook his head.
"The reasons have been clarified, but the question now is how to deal with it?"
There's something I don't understand. Eagle's Beak Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Would a pack of nomadic cats really come here to their deaths?
According to the Ironthorn Knight, this is a fortress painstakingly built by the nobles of the Shattered Hills. Even if the nomadic cats swarm out, they cannot break through the impregnable walls of Eagle's Beak Pass.
Despite the noble cats' constant mockery of Durotan, Marquis Ironoak had clearly taken it to heart. Once a soldier like him became vigilant, the nomadic cats had virtually no chance of launching a sneak attack.
So, how do nomadic cats invade the scree hills?
Durotan said solemnly.
"I've thought about that too."
All clans are now in dire need of food. They will surely give most of their stored grain to the women and children in the rear, while the soldiers will carry only a small amount of dry rations and eat wherever they fight.
They must break through the defenses of the rocky hills as quickly as possible, infiltrate the heartland, and obtain the much-needed food supplies.
Yi Yin spread his hands and asked.
"So, are they really going to come to Eagle's Beak Pass and get themselves killed?"
Durotan shook his head.
"No, I think they will go to the oasis settlement, bypass the Eagle's Beak Pass from the northeast, go straight to the Sentinel River, take the Golden Corridor over the Cat North Mountain and Green Mountain, and quickly penetrate into the heart of the scree hills."
Sofia frowned and shook her head.
"impossible.
The Sentinel River basin from Catback Mountain to Emerald Mountain is flat and rich in territory. It connects to the southernmost oasis of the boundless plateau in the north and the city of Starfall Plain in the south. This golden corridor is indeed feasible.
But how did the nomadic cats cross the Sentinel River?
Centered around Nutao Lock, Tielu Ferry, and Dijiao Shoal, water transport was the main mode of trade along this golden corridor, and all ships were controlled by the 27 noble alliances headed by Duke Snowclaw.
The oasis settlements are teeming with scouts in the rocky hills, and whenever there is a large-scale troop movement on the other side, all the ships on the Sentinel River will be held captive on the opposite bank.
Across the vast river, could the nomadic cats possibly fly across?
Moreover, Duke Snowclaw was leading a coalition of nobles from the southern part of the Shattered Hills, who were assembling and on guard there, making the riverbank defenses impregnable.
Durotan shook his head.
"The Sentinel River is just a tributary of the Broken Ridge River. No matter how rapid the current is there, it can't be as powerful as the Eagle's Beak Pass."
For thousands of years, the scree hills have stood adjacent to the boundless plateau. The nobles of the scree hills have been researching how to defend against the nomadic cats, while the nomadic cats have been researching how to break through the defenses.
Compared to the treacherous Eagle's Beak Pass with its high mountains and swift rivers, the Golden Corridor is undoubtedly a weaker point in the defenses that is easier to breach.