Xiao Xun understood his meaning, of course. He instructed Ji Funi, "This is the reward I promised the trolls."
Ducal glanced at Sasha. As a prince of the Blazing Moon Kingdom, he had naturally interacted with the trolls of Pots Island.
Frankly, he harbored no goodwill towards trolls.
In his memory, the forest trolls of the Blazing Moon Kingdom, much like goblins, were a greedy, cunning, and cruel bunch, having destroyed countless homes of his people. It would be absurd to like them.
Hating the crow, he naturally had no fondness for these forest trolls' close relatives, the Frost Trolls.
Ji Funi, however, was indifferent. After receiving the order, she walked towards the back.
Unexpectedly, Sasha spoke up, "No, Your Highness, I am not here for a reward."
Ji Funi stopped and turned to look at Xiao Xun.
"Oh?"
Xiao Xun looked at Sasha with slight surprise, gesturing for Ji Funi to halt, "Then what do you mean?"
"I am willing to pledge my loyalty to Your Highness from now on and advance and retreat with you," Sasha said, his eyes filled with expectation.
"As far as I know, your Frost Troll tribe has lived in this region for a very long time, hasn't it?"
He was extremely surprised by Sasha's decision. After saying this, his expression turned playful, "Since you've been living well here, why would you leave with me?"
"You must understand, I will be facing the terrifying Four Great Demon Kings. Following me will undoubtedly involve constant battles and sacrifices."
Although he didn't understand why this fellow had suddenly become so brave in the previous night's battle, it wasn't enough to change Xiao Xun's previous assessment of him as 'timid and fearing death.'
Ji Funi and Ducal also looked at this troll lord with surprise. Ducal even wondered if this was the legendary kingly demeanor.
"This place, Pabor, is no longer habitable."
Sasha heard this, his gaze flickered, and finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "That evil magic that reanimates corpses... it's too terrifying. Our shamans cannot deal with such dreadful magic, and our tribe cannot possibly fight such an enemy!"
Xiao Xun stared at him without speaking.
"Your Highness, you have witnessed the combat strength of the Frost Trolls. They can definitely become a powerful asset to you. We only need food, and we will have no other demands!"
He vowed earnestly, "I can use my soul to guarantee my absolute loyalty to Prince Svein!"
Xiao Xun pondered for a moment and understood Sasha's intentions.
It was not shameful to seek refuge with a more powerful force. Not to mention the power Xiao Xun currently wielded, any single A-class legion of Saint Román could easily destroy ten of Sasha's tribes.
However, he did not agree immediately, instead contemplating whether trolls could be accepted by the people of Saint Román.
Although the trolls of Pots Island were certainly going to be eliminated, these Frost Trolls had long since severed ties with them. They had even become a race with completely different skin colors, so how could there still be a connection?
It was just their appearance...
And the brutality of creatures like trolls was evident to all.
"If I asked you to lead your tribesmen to attack another troll tribe, would you do it?"
"I would do it without hesitation!"
He answered with unwavering resolve, "There is only one Frost Troll tribe in all of Pabor. The other trolls have no relation to us!"
Hearing this, Xiao Xun asked with a stern face, "How many people are in your tribe now?"
The Frost Troll told Xiao Xun, "Including women and children, there are eighty-nine in total." His tone was filled with guilt, "I am very sorry, Your Highness, I did not bring all my people out..."
"It's alright, I priced it based on the number you provided. Go and inform your tribesmen. They must arrive before tonight. They don't need to bring anything; our ship has ample supplies."
Sasha was overjoyed and, mimicking the soldiers, awkwardly gave Xiao Xun the Saint Román military salute, "Thank you, Your Highness!"
"You don't need to thank me. I just want more people to fight for me. Hurry up and come back before tonight; I don't have much time for you."
"Ji Funi, have the soldiers prepare some things for him that he might need on the journey."
Sasha hastily stood up and then turned to walk out. Ji Funi followed him.
Xiao Xun turned his head and saw that Ducal's face still held a look of displeasure.
He said to Ducal, "Go down and rest. You fought all night yesterday; you have dark circles under your eyes."
"Your Highness..."
His heart was complex, "I..."
"Go back quickly; I need to rest as well."
Ducal nodded, gave a solemn military salute, and then turned to leave.
Xiao Xun watched his retreating figure, hoping that these actions would have an effect.
After three days of sailing, Xiao Xun and his party left Windbreak Bay. However, they did not leave Pabor. Instead, after circling around, they re-landed on the other shore of Pabor.
More than a dozen large ships carried sufficient materials, and the soldiers could also gather resources locally, so a simple port was quickly established.
After docking the ships here, Xiao Xun led his soldiers to advance towards the enemy's main camp. The undead seemed not to have anticipated their marching route, so they did not encounter any attacks on the first night.
This suggested that the situation of encountering a small number of undead attacks on the first night after landing at Windbreak Bay was likely a coincidence.
However, on the second night, undead appeared.
Of course, it was still a small-scale skirmish. With the cooperation of dispelling magic and artillery fire, the Saint Román army achieved victory with only minor casualties.
Yet, Xiao Xun repeatedly emphasized increasing patrols during the day.
Ducal and the others, though puzzled, did not question this decision. After all, caution was always wise. But even so, he still approached Xiao Xun once and asked, "Your Highness, why are you so cautious?"
Xiao Xun naturally denied their assumptions, "This is a deliberate attempt by the enemy to mislead us. The undead never tire. If they had sufficient troops, they could maintain their attacks until they wore us all out."
Xiao Xun understood this principle better than anyone. When dealing with the undead, the quality of the troops was more important than quantity. Even an army of ten thousand could not compare to a professional squad of a thousand.
This is because those twenty-five people could directly strike the enemy's main camp and kill the King of Pride, causing the entire Scourge Legion to collapse instantly, which ten thousand ordinary soldiers could not achieve.
Therefore, Xiao Xun was so eager for the soldiers to march.
The sooner they reached the enemy's main camp by one day, the sooner he could kill the King of Pride. If the King of Pride died, most of the northern and western regions of Saint Román would gain long-term security.
By noon on the third day, they were ambushed by the undead during their march.