116. Enemy Situation
The next morning, Dick took a small entourage and rode on horseback to patrol along the southern shore of the fjord.
The fjord in the north of Laguge is a natural moat. Most of the banks on both sides of the fjord are straight and steep, as if they were cut by a knife, and are almost 90 degrees perpendicular to the water surface below.
Unless one can fly, it is difficult for ordinary people to climb.
But natural walls always have defects. There are relatively low gaps in some sections of the shore, and some of the tributaries also have beaches for landing.
For example, the place where the new port was built was a semi-enclosed harbor, which had been controlled by fjord pirates for a long time. Even if the previous governor's office knew about it, it did not dare to send troops to manage it.
Now the news from the north forced Dick to worry about the defense in this direction.
Lagug currently has 1,500 private soldiers and about 2,000 militiamen who have received basic training and are lightly armed. If a full mobilization is carried out, it is expected that another 8,000 conscripts can be armed within a week. This is almost the limit of Lagug's war potential at this stage.
But if, as they worry, a large army of orcs crosses the fjord and lands on the south bank, entering Lagug to plunder, then only three thousand beasts will be enough to wipe out all their achievements this year, and no pioneers will be willing to settle here in the future.
So even though the orcs might not really come, Dick didn't dare to gamble at all!
Assuming the orcs invaded, the best countermeasure would be to prevent them from even coming ashore, but the fjord, which stretched for hundreds of kilometers, had far more landing sites than imagined. It was almost impossible to arrange sufficient garrisons to defend all of these sites.
Moreover, Dick soon thought that with the orcs' exaggerated physical fitness, the cliffs that ordinary humans could not climb might not be insurmountable dangers for them.
"It's a bit troublesome!"
"Master, my suggestion is to first strengthen the surface patrols and set up observation posts on the shore, and then deploy our cavalry units to the rear. This way, once the enemy is discovered, we can quickly reinforce the scene."
"This plan is indeed the safest at this stage, but... it is still too passive."
The road conditions in Laguge have indeed improved this year, but it is not a substantial improvement. It is winter now and heavy snow may block the road at any time, which is a negative impact on the military's dispatch and logistics.
At this moment, Dick suddenly saw something flying in the air from the opposite bank. When it got closer, he finally saw clearly that it was Lukoya, who had been sent by Dick to the north bank to perform aerial reconnaissance.
Among all the girls around Dick, she has the best flying ability.
When Dick saw that it was her who came back, he waved and shouted at her.
Lukoya flew across the fjord and landed directly on Dick's horse, pulling Dick into his arms to keep him warm.
The cold winter in Laguge did not cause any substantial harm to Lukoya, but as a dragon girl, she naturally did not like the cold, so she hugged Dick and was unwilling to let go.
"Ah~~! It's so warm, I really want Dick-kun's heater!"
"????"
Ignoring Lukeya's inappropriate dirty talk, Dick hurriedly asked her what she had found on the other side. Lukeya immediately reached into her cleavage and pulled out a small notebook and handed it to Dick, flipping through one of the pages and pointing to the marked topographic map on it and said.
"Just as you guessed, there are indeed orcs on the other side. They set up camp less than 60 kilometers away from here, and the camp is quite large. I wanted to get closer to observe, but I was accidentally discovered by the orc shaman inside. The power they use is very special, with a bit of divine power, but also mixed with other things... In short, it is very dangerous."
Lukoya said this and showed Dick the black spots on her arm. There were many curved lines, like black poisonous snakes wrapped around her forearms, giving off an ominous aura.
Lukoya said that this strange power carries a strong resentment, and the effect is similar to a curse. If an ordinary person gets a little bit of it, they will die instantly. Although she can withstand it, this arm is now completely numb. It will take a lot of effort to get rid of these evil things.
So even though Lukoya looks calm at the moment and speaks as slowly as usual, she is actually seriously injured.
After hearing this, Dick frowned.
You have to know that Lukoya is a real goddess. Even if she uses a clone that suppresses her power to the holy level in order to adapt to the world here, she cannot be easily hurt by just any nobody.
But at this moment, Dick suddenly felt his space bracelet shaking, as if something was about to come out. Then he just started it, before he could use his mind to take things out, a pitch-black box automatically appeared in his hand.
Looking at the box, Dick was stunned for a moment, and it took him three full seconds to remember that this was a parting gift given to him by the old duke the night before he left the imperial capital, asking him to open it when he returned to the territory. As a result, Dick was busy with other things and forgot about the box.
But Dick forgot about the box, but the box didn't forget about him and popped out by itself!
"What the hell is this?"
When you open the lid of the box, you will see a piece of black broken horn embedded in a groove. It is shaped like a sheep's horn and is more than three inches long.
It is worth mentioning that there is only a piece of black horn in the box, but there are two symmetrical grooves on the left and right, which means that there is actually a pair of sheep horns, but the other one is not here.
Dick studied it for a moment, frowning and muttering.
"This seems... to be the horn of a succubus?"
Dick was about to take the black horn out of the box, but Lukeya suddenly reached out and closed the lid of the box, whispering in his ear.
"Don't do it here. Study it when you get back."
Dick immediately led his men back to Newport, and at the same time, on the other side of the fjord, a group of orc cavalry riding wild beasts had just reached the edge of the cliff. The fog that had lingered above the fjord for years obscured their vision, but all the orc cavalry looked south with bloodthirstiness and greed.
At this time, a young orc, who was slightly thinner than the others, stood out. He was wearing metal armor, with two long swords on his waist, and was accompanied by a hunchbacked orc shaman. Unlike the other orcs who could only scream and howl at the other side, he had deep eyes and frowned as if thinking about something. He then shouted loudly to shut up the other orcs, and then turned to the old shaman and asked in a low voice.
"Teacher, if we let that woman run away, will it affect our plan?"
"That human magician has been hit by my blood curse, she will definitely die! But there is no guarantee that she will not be able to bring the news back. Just in case, let's start early here."
117. Physical Curse Removal
In the sauna room that was built not long ago in Xingang, Lukoya, who had difficulty moving due to stiff limbs, was supported by Dick and Befa. She slowly immersed her body in the warm water and immediately let out a very comfortable moan.
"Ah~! I'm finally alive."
"Is this...really nothing?"
Dick looked up and down at Lukeya's naked body, but his eyes were full of worry, because Lukeya's originally white and creamy skin was now covered with wriggling black lines, which looked like there were living parasites moving under the skin, which made people feel very worried.
But Lukoya said that it was not a big problem. The cursed powers did make her very uncomfortable, but it was far from fatal. Even if she did nothing, she would recover naturally in half a month at most.
Of course! There are ways to speed up recovery.
Lukoya asked Dick to take out the box again and pointed at the succubus horn inside.
"This thing is called the Crown of Seduction, and it is a sacred object of the succubus clan. When people of other races wear it, they will turn into succubi, and when a succubus wears it, it can greatly enhance the succubus's own abilities. Logically, it should have two horns on the left and right, but there is only the left horn here, so the effect should only be half as good."
"How do I wear it?"
"Just put it on the left side of your head."
"Is it that simple?"
"How complicated do you want it to be? Do a blessing dance in front of the holy object?"
Following Lukoya's instructions, Dick placed the succubus's holy relic on his head, and it immediately became one with his head. He stretched out his hand and pulled it, but it didn't move at all. However, as long as he silently told himself to let go, the thing would fall off directly. It was very convenient to wear.
Theoretically speaking, this thing is the "special weapon" of the succubus. The old duke gave it to Dick and specifically told him to wait until he returned to Laguge before opening it. This obviously confirmed what Hamuradi had revealed. He knew early on that Dick's mother had half succubus bloodline, and naturally knew that Dick also had a quarter of it in his body.
With the bonus brought by this half of the holy relic, the part of Dick's ability that belonged to the succubus was greatly improved, so he began to help Lukoa to "break the curse of the body".
The master and servant kissed each other in the misty bathtub. The huge difference in body size made Dick feel like he was being buried in soft flesh. In the words of Earth, Lukoya was the ceiling of the slightly plump world. Her beautiful body was fat but not greasy, and a pair of big melons gave Dick a maternal feeling.
"Like a little baby, so cute."
Next to the two people entangled with each other, Befa tried her best to be a quiet bystander. After all, Dick was helping Lukoya "heal" at the moment, which was considered a serious matter. A perfect maid would not interfere with her master's work because she could not control her desires.
However, at this moment, because Dick was wearing the holy object, his charm was greatly enhanced. Even with her self-control, she felt her heart fluttering and there were signs that she was about to lose control.
For this reason, Befa planned to remind Dick after his treatment was finished, that he should try to wear this holy object as little as possible unless it was necessary. She was afraid that some guys in the team would not be able to resist attacking the young master!
But as the saying goes, what you fear will come to you. Just as Dick in the pool began to work hard, preparing to inject the first dose of antidote into Lukoa's body, the bathroom door opened and a group of ship girls rushed in.
The one walking in front was the female pirate leader Golden Deer, who made Befa most worried. As soon as she saw the situation in the bathtub, she screamed exaggeratedly.
"Wow! You guys had a party and didn't invite me! That's too much!"
As Jin Lu said this, he tore off the bath towel and jumped into the pool.
However, the other three ship girls behind her were not as unrestrained as Golden Deer. They looked at each other for a moment, standing there with red faces, in a dilemma.
The three of them couldn't take their eyes off Dick for a moment. They felt that the commander with a horn on his head was more charming than usual, making them blush and their hearts beat fast just by looking at him.
"Strange? What's going on?"
"Pirates have their own rules... We have to follow the rules here one by one, right?"
"Commander, you smell so good!"
Looking at his three colleagues who were "killed instantly" like Hood, and the Golden Deer which was eager to join the "big melee", Befa couldn't help but hold his forehead and let out a long sigh in his heart.
"Do whatever you want!"
Just like that, the original one-on-one treatment turned into a navy party. The small bathtub seemed to have become the Solomon Sea. Dick was forced to transform into a ghost and defeat the surrounding ship girls one by one.
"So why did things turn out like this?"
In the bedroom, Dick looked at the ship girl lying beside him and couldn't help but fall into deep thought, trying to recall at which step he started to lose control last night?
Lukoya, who was lying on her side lazily and elegantly, rested her head on his hand. The black lines of curse on her body had been completely eliminated, and she had fully recovered.
She reached out and pulled Dick into her arms, her slightly opened eyes filled with gentle love.
"Don't think too much. Anyway, everyone is satisfied and happy. Isn't this good?"
"That's what I said..."
"watch out!"
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
Using her "huge advantage", Lukoya blocked Dick's mouth with force. She turned her head and glanced out the window. The sky near dawn was still gray, and the window was rattling in the cold wind.
At the same time, on the other side of the fjord, an army of orcs was marching through the snow.
A cold wave arrived quietly last night. In just a few hours, the temperature dropped to minus twenty degrees Celsius and is still continuing to drop.
Even the orcs would find it difficult to endure such low temperatures.
But the orc leader didn't care about these. Since the shaman said they should act early, the sooner the better, and not even a minute could be wasted.
This orc army has more than 20,000 people. According to the order of the "Beast King", they will cross the fjord in winter to attack the territory of the human empire. Moreover, this attack will no longer be the kind of looting and running in the past, but will continue to fight to the pass and occupy all the human bases north of the central mountain range.
The Orcs had been preparing for this over a decade ago, and had completely stopped looting seven years ago, in order to lull the Humans into complacency. When the time was right, they would mobilize the entire tribe to launch a full-scale invasion.
In addition to this legion, there are two other orc legions of comparable size advancing at the same time, aiming to catch the human race off guard.
118. Strike While Crossing the River
At dawn, the orc army arrived at the northern shore of the fjord. The sea was covered with thick fog, reducing visibility to less than ten meters.
The heavy fog also had a significant impact on the orc soldiers marching at night. In order to prevent anyone from falling behind during the march, all soldiers were required to stand close to each other and put their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them.
After the army arrived at the edge of the cliff, they immediately took out the prepared thick ropes and sent a few nimble guys down to check the situation on the sea. After a while, someone climbed up from below and reported to the orc general riding on a huge pack beast.
"Commander, the sea is indeed frozen, but the ice is very thin. I'm afraid the army can't pass through."
"Got it... Teacher, I'll have to trouble you from now on."
The young orc leader looked at the old shaman beside him. He accepted the other party's suggestion to advance the battle in advance. According to the original battle plan, the eastern army led by him would have to wait at least another month before they could start the action. First, they had to wait for supplies and follow-up troops to arrive, and second, they had to wait for the temperature to drop further and become cold enough to completely freeze the sea surface of the fjord.
However, plans could not keep up with the rapid changes, and their camp was "accidentally" discovered by a human female magician, which forced them to take action in advance.
As for the problem of the ice not being thick enough, the old shaman said that he and his people could handle it.
Although the witchcraft of the orc shamans is not as varied as human magic, they still know how to use freezing magic. The entire Eastern Army has more than 50 shamans, and the old shaman leading them is a Saint-level warrior. It is no problem for them to freeze an ice road on the sea for 20,000 troops to pass quickly.
Of course! This also comes at a price, that is, a large amount of magic power consumption will cause the shaman group's combat power to drop significantly, leaving no spare energy to protect the orc warriors.
However, in the eyes of the orc leader, this was not a problem. The human territory on the other side had only 50,000 residents and less than 2,000 soldiers, while the eastern army he led was ten times the size of the enemy!
As long as the army crosses the fjord, they can sweep away everything even without the help of shamans.
Soon, the shamans went down to the ice at the bottom of the cliff. The temperature drop brought by the cold current did freeze the sea surface, but in just one night, the thickness of the ice layer was very thin. When they walked on it, they could hear a crisp cracking sound with every step. And because the sea water was flowing, the freezing was not very uniform everywhere. What was even worse was that the water in the middle of the fjord was still turbulent, and the ice layers on both sides were not connected at all.
The old shaman stepped on the ice and took the cane from his waist, swinging it and dancing, while humming the shamanic spell. The wave of magic spread from his feet, releasing a chill that was even colder than the temperature.
Other shamans followed suit, and the number of people formed a witchcraft formation, which further enhanced the power and range of the freezing spell and continued to extend forward.
The section that the orcs chose to cross was less than three kilometers away from both sides of the river, and there was a slope of about 40 degrees on the other side. Although the slope was still very steep, it was not difficult for the orcs to rush up with their physique.
Less than two kilometers west of this steep slope is the unfinished new port. Intelligence from previous reconnaissance shows that there are about a thousand people stationed there. The orc leader thinks it is a good opportunity to train with these humans, have a snack and solve the problem of insufficient military rations.
Soon, the shamans finished reinforcing the ice surface, freezing a bridge more than one meter thick and nearly fifty meters wide. A small group of beast riders had already passed through, followed by a small number of infantry. Seeing that the ice bridge was very solid, and many shamans continued to cast spells to widen and thicken the ice bridge, the orc leader immediately ordered the main force to start passing.
The orc leader thought that they should rush the army to the other side as soon as possible before the enemy noticed. Although the individual combat effectiveness of human soldiers was not as strong as their powerful orc warriors, those guys could build large ships and had several powerful "Sirens (ship girls in the eyes of orcs)", so they should avoid fighting at sea.
As long as the army reaches the south bank, no matter how powerful your human navy is, can you chase us inland and attack us?
