Although Isaac's life was not in danger in Dick's hands, he was often interrogated and lived in fear all the time. The mental pressure made him want to commit suicide.
This guy even took the initiative to express that he wanted to surrender to Dick, recognize him as his new master, and then help him deal with his old master Hoffman.
When Dick learned about this, he couldn't help but sigh.
"The foreskin guy who can't be tamed is still like this in another world!"
Okis recognized the unshaven Isaac, but after looking at Dick who had a half-smile on his face, he wisely pretended not to know the man and ignored Isaac's cry for help.
"I'm sorry, he's a lunatic I'm holding here, and he behaves like this to everyone he sees."
"So he's a lunatic, no wonder."
The two smiled knowingly and continued to walk deeper into the dungeon. Soon they saw the high-ranking orc captives who were being "taken care of". There were eleven of them in total, all tied up like dumplings with metal chains.
Dick pointed at the eleven beasts and introduced their names and positions one by one.
"The orcs seem to have followed our human military system and have set up various arms and corresponding positions for their army. The highest commander of a front is called the 'commander', and below him are positions such as vanguard, infantry, and beast cavalry. The military ranks are centurions of ten, hundred, and thousand. For example, this guy is the younger brother of the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army, and he is a vanguard centurion."
The guy Dick was pointing at was the orc leader that Hongye had captured.
Don't be fooled by the fact that these orcs seem to be ferocious and as crazy as rabid dogs. But Dick has a confession drug in his hand. No matter how unruly you are, one injection will turn you into a husky in seconds.
In front of Okis, Dick had someone demonstrate the effect of the confession potion, because he had already learned from Isaac that Count Hoffman also had an alchemical potion with a similar effect. This kind of potion with a mind-control effect is a prohibited item in the official laws of the empire, but the actual situation... all I can say is "those who understand will understand."
After letting Okis personally interrogate several orcs, Okis's expression became more solemn.
The Empire has indeed been too careless over the years. It has not noticed the progress of the orcs and still thought that they were still the stupid beasts of the past.
"I never expected this, I really never expected that... such an incredible person would appear among the orcs!"
"There's nothing incredible about this. The overall level of civilization of the orcs is indeed not as high as that of other races, but as the population base increases, a few geniuses will appear sooner or later."
"He must be eliminated!"
When Okis said this, he gritted his teeth with a hint of ferocity. Dick also admitted that from the perspective of the human race, they really could not allow such a powerful being to exist among the orcs!
His hero is my enemy.
At the same time, on the north shore of the fjord, at the gate of the severely damaged Orc Eastern Army camp, the Corps Commander Neg was leading his generals to kneel on one knee to welcome the arrival of the Lord Beast King.
Neg lowered his head and heard a heavy footsteps coming straight towards him and finally stopping in front of him. Neg felt that the hair on his back was soaked with cold sweat in just a few seconds. He was so scared that he dared not breathe.
"I am guilty, Lord Beast King, please punish me."
"Lift your head, my child."
Nag raised his head tremblingly, and looked at the tall figure in front of him that completely enveloped him in shadow with eyes filled with awe and fear.
Beast King Ramon is the chosen son of the orcs. The "Blood God" that the orcs believe in seems to have a special preference for this guy. He has obviously given him a strong body with innate supernatural powers, but also given him an additional smart mind that doesn't seem like that of an orc.
Because he is smart, Ramon likes to reason with people.
Because he is strong, his fellow tribesmen are willing to listen to Ramon's reasoning.
So slowly, Ramon integrated the originally scattered orc tribes in the wasteland, turning the honorary title of "Beast King", which was originally similar to the wrestling champion, into a truly dominant orc king.
Neg grew up listening to the legend of Ramon. He is proud to have Ramon's blood in his body, and has worked hard to climb to his current position as the commander of the legion.
As a result, he who was eager to show off ended up exposing himself in the first battle. He was so ashamed that he knew that the Lord Beast King was coming in person, and he was mentally prepared to be executed in public by him.
However, Ramon just looked down at Neg who was lying on the ground, and asked in a muffled voice after a long time.
"Tell me about your first battle. I want to know how you lost."
122. We unite
Inside the big tent of the military camp, Neg repeated in front of the Beast King Ramon the reasons why he advanced early and the process of his failed crossing.
Ramon listened indifferently, occasionally asking for some details, with an expression on his face that seemed like he was thinking.
After Neg finished speaking, Ramon remained silent. Neg was uneasy for a long time before he finally heard the other party speak.
"Neg, as the leader of the corps, you have committed a serious mistake and must be punished. Since your half brother Nag died in battle, from now on, you will take over as the vanguard centurion, and the position of leader of the Eastern Corps... will be taken over by Rogge."
As soon as Ramon finished speaking, a sturdy young orc came in from outside the tent and knelt on one knee in front of Ramon. Ramon directly threw the spear that symbolized the command authority that he had taken from Neg to him. The other party took the spear, and his hairy face full of flesh was filled with uncontrollable joy.
"I won't let you down, Lord Beast King!"
The generals at all levels of the three orc armies are almost all Ramon's mixed-blood descendants, because these half-orc youths are indeed smarter than those pure-blooded orcs with brains full of muscles, and their strength is not bad either. What's more, they have Ramon, the Beast King, backing them up. Even if the orc tribes that have been integrated into them are resentful, they dare not express their dissatisfaction openly.
However, after Rogge succeeded Neg as the new commander of the Eastern Corps, Ramon directly ordered the entire Eastern Corps to march out, bypass the fjord, and launch an offensive against the northeast of humanity together with the other two armies.
The orcs were not good at fighting on water, so there was no need to force a crossing once they had been spotted by the enemy.
Dick soon learned about the orc army's detour.
I have to say that the orcs' actions were wise, but their wisdom was not like that of orcs at all!
"They've really gotten smarter...and that's not good news."
At this time, Dick had more bad news than just "the orcs became smarter". The reactions of various forces to the intelligence he had sent out before were all kinds of strange.
Among the noble lords, there were those who took it seriously and made active preparations like Count Hoffmann, some who did not believe it at all and continued to play music and dance, and some who were so frightened that they simply abandoned their territories and ran away.
As for the border corps stationed in the north, they had been paying attention to the north and had already detected some unusual intelligence in advance. After seeing the information sent by Dick, the commanders of the corps collectively took a breath of cold air.
In the past, when orcs invaded, they would just be small harassment groups of hundreds or thousands of people. Although it was troublesome to wipe them out, it was not impossible to win.
As a result, the orcs came in a big wave after not coming for seven years, with an army of 100,000 troops approaching!
The Border Corps only had 30,000 soldiers on paper, but only a little over 20,000 in reality. As for the missing 10,000 soldiers, they were all in the pockets of the various military leaders.
In order to verify the authenticity of the information, the legion immediately sent out scouts to investigate. Among the more than one hundred light cavalrymen who went out, only three came back in the end, and they brought extremely bad news.
There are really a lot of orcs coming from the north!!!
The generals of the legion panicked. They knew that taking the initiative to attack would be tantamount to suicide, so they could only withdraw their troops to defend their circle of fortresses on the border and send letters for help to the imperial capital.
Perhaps it was because the border corps was of a higher level, they did receive a reply very quickly, but the reply message contained only four words - hold on firmly!
The generals realized that they could not rely on reinforcements from the south. As they were in this system, they knew very well how inefficient the empire was. Large-scale troop mobilizations would inevitably lead to conflicts of interest among the top leaders, so there was never a shortage of people who would deliberately drag their feet.
"When it comes to defending against orcs, the northerners have to rely on themselves."
Soon, the vanguard of the orc army arrived at the human city, but they did not launch an attack rashly, but observed from a distance of one kilometer. This distance was far beyond the range of bows and arrows, and the magic cannons and muzzle-loading muskets in the hands of the legion were "strategic weapons", so they were not easily taken out and used.
The two sides stared at each other for a whole day, and finally the main force of the orc army arrived.
Due to the limitations of the terrain, this part of the empire has a fjord on the east side that serves as a natural moat, so the only way to travel by land is from the west side. As a result, it took the empire hundreds of years to build a series of military fortresses on this side of the border. The entire defensive system was called the "Wilderness Barrier" by the empire.
It is worth mentioning that in the empire’s original plan, they wanted to build a “Great Wall” here, connecting various fortresses with tall walls, but ultimately it failed to materialize due to various reasons.
Therefore, when the orc army approached, the fortresses suddenly became isolated islands surrounded.
The orc army did not blindly attack these strong fortresses with powerful artillery, but left a part of its forces nearby to encircle and monitor them, and then let the rest of the troops march straight into the heart of human territory.
This move stunned the legion soldiers who were guarding the city and waiting for the orcs to die.
Looking at the human race huddled in the fortress in the distance, Ramon asked a man beside him who was covering his entire body with a black robe.
"Are those human fortresses really that difficult to attack?"
"It's not very difficult, it's extremely difficult. Each of these fortresses can accommodate 3,000 defenders. Thirty years ago, the city walls were transformed into bastions based on the technology of the Earthlings. Each fortress has ten magic cannons and 200 musketeers. There is also a team of fifty magicians responsible for driving the defense barrier in the castle to resist the attacks of Saint-level masters. The orcs lack large-scale siege equipment and cannot take these castles."
"Siege engines? Can you build them?"
"Even if I made it, you wouldn't be able to use it. You still have too few sons."
After hearing what the black-robed man said, Ramon did not ask any more questions, but turned around and left with his guards. He trusted his military advisor very much, even though he was not a fellow orc.
Relying on the huge advantage in military strength, the orc army left 40,000 troops on the border to confront the human army in the fortress, and the remaining 50,000 troops rushed into the human territory like a pack of wolves and looted.
Naturally, the first to suffer were the several territories near the border. Most of these fiefs near the border of the empire were inhabited by newly-crowned small nobles. The population in these territories was sparse and their military preparations were lax. They were naturally powerless against the ferocious orc army.
The orc army almost pushed forward all the way, and all the rebels were slaughtered. The rest were captured alive and became the orcs' slaves, or livestock!
The very few survivors who managed to escape brought the bad news and fear to other territories.
As the territories in the western region fell rapidly one after another, the lords in the north, central and western regions, as well as the east, finally reacted. Those who had previously taken it lightly and continued to play music and dance, were now in a panic.
The Earldom of Hoffmann is located in the central and western part of the north. It is one of the most powerful lords in this area. Therefore, many small lords who have no ability to protect themselves have turned to the Earl's house for help, or simply brought their families to seek refuge. At least the castle of the Earl's house looks very solid.
Count Hoffmann did not reject these weak people seeking asylum, but openly called on the surrounding territories to move closer to him and gather their troops to form a coalition to protect themselves.
There were so many orcs invading from the north that even if Hoffman armed all the men of military age in his territory, they would not be enough to fight against the orcs.
The orcs' individual combat capability is extremely strong. An ordinary adult orc can fight back and forth with a low-level warrior who has practiced martial arts. When an ordinary human village occasionally finds a lone orc, it often takes a dozen or twenty adults to be sure of dealing with it, and there is still no guarantee that there will be no casualties on their side.
Soldiers equipped with standard weapons and formal training are slightly better, and they can almost win with three against one. But how can a small lord afford to support full-time soldiers?
So even though Hoffman's call was responded to by more than a dozen lords in the surrounding area, they could only form a coalition force of less than 8,000 people. Most of them were militiamen with poor equipment and almost no military training. There were only more than 2,000 regular troops, mainly Count Hoffman's private army.
Count Hoffman also sent a letter for help to the lords in the east, relying on the Nie River in his territory to build a defense line in order to stop the orc army.
This plan was indeed feasible in theory, but it was only in theory because the orcs were advancing too fast, so fast that they had no time to train soldiers or build defenses.
If the people from the east did not come, with only the 8,000 soldiers here, they would eventually be trapped in the Hoffmann castle like the Imperial Legion on the border.
"It's too difficult. It's impossible to defend it."
Looking at the refugees clogging the streets in the city and the conscripts outside the city who were still undergoing the most basic training with farm tools, Hoffman's heart was filled with powerlessness and despair.
However, at this moment, a melodious horn sounded from the east. Hoffman and many people who heard the sound looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a magnificent and well-organized army marching towards them on the avenue east of the city. A group of knights at the front of the team carried large flags and accelerated towards the city gate.
Hoffman carefully identified it and found that the family emblem on the flag was a circular bull horn and snowflakes, which was exactly the family emblem that Count Dick Best of Lagog designed for himself.
And Dick himself was among that group of cavalry.
"My Lord Earl, it seems that I have arrived at the right time."
Count Hoffman never expected that Dick, who had a grudge against him, would choose to put aside the past grudges and lend him a helping hand at this time, and even lead his troops to the front line.
Dick not only brought 3,000 reinforcements from Laguge, but also called on some eastern lords along the way. The total number of troops was 7,000, plus the 8,000 from Count Hoffmann, there were already 15,000.
Although this amount of troops is still at a disadvantage, they can barely support a line of defense.
123. The self-recommended commander
The strong support from the eastern princes boosted the morale of the noble coalition that had gathered in Earl Hoffmann's territory.
Hoffman himself trotted down from the city wall, looking at Dick, whom he met for the first time but whom he was dealing with more than once, with mixed feelings in his heart.
"I never thought that you would be the one to lend a helping hand to us at this time, and even come to the front line in person. Your broad-mindedness makes me feel ashamed. Please accept my gratitude and apology, the respected Lord of Laguge, Earl Best."
Hoffman said this, and together with his retainers, he bowed deeply to Dick.
Whether sincere or not, Hoffman was making a big gesture at this moment, and Dick smiled.
"Lord Hoffman, you don't have to do this. I understand the principle of the lips and teeth being cold. Besides, it's not just my family that's here. Some are on the way."
With so many lords present, Dick would naturally not be stupid enough to take credit for himself. He immediately pulled along the other nobles who followed him. For Dick, they also had value in "united front" work.
2. Dick also had this consideration in mind when supporting Earl Hoffman this time.
The loss of one's teeth is only one aspect; what is more important is to accumulate reputation in this military operation.
Dick brought a total of 3,000 people this time, including 2,400 combat troops and the remaining 600 were logistics support personnel.
Thanks to the unified uniforms, armor and weapons, Laguge's private army alone could easily outshine the surrounding overly "individualized" ragtag armies.
Some lords secretly sighed that he was worthy of being the youngest son of the Empire's war marshal. Even if he was not born of a legitimate wife, he had learned a lot of skills in commanding the army through being influenced by his family since childhood. Who knows, this strong army might be given by the Duke!
There are also some young and energetic people who are jealous, thinking that it is useless to just look good, and that they have to fight in actual combat to know whether it is just for show.
In short, the team Dick brought was quite eye-catching, even Hoffman was jealous.
The Hoffman family is considered a well-known powerful family in the north. The permanent population of their territory is over 100,000, and they maintain a standing army of 2,000 men. During this total war mobilization, they immediately expanded their army to 5,000 men. The number of his family members is larger than that of the other dozen or so minor lords combined.
While the population of Laguge was less than half of theirs, they were able to quickly gather a team of 3,000 men, and their training level seemed even higher than his own.
Count Hoffmann did not think that the other party would be the kind of philanthropist who was willing to sacrifice his family fortune to help others in need. These three thousand troops were definitely not all his assets.
In fact, among the 3,000 men brought by Dick, there were only 1,000 standing troops, and the rest were armed militiamen. However, the training level of these militiamen was not low at all, and was far different from the farmers temporarily conscripted by ordinary nobles.
Last year, Dick first expanded the size of the militia during the bandit suppression campaign to enhance the self-defense capabilities of local villages. These militiamen received training courses formulated by the Governor's Office and were positioned as reserve forces from the very beginning. Some of them provided support to the regular army during the bandit suppression campaign, so they also gained some experience.
Later, the bandits were almost wiped out, and civilians who had received militia training accounted for the majority of the male adults of appropriate age. While Dick was building his standard village, he commissioned Tia to reorganize the militia. Some of them were transferred to police to be responsible for local security, and some were transferred to the reserve force. They did what they were supposed to do in peacetime, but they had to receive regular military training for a period of time every year, and they would be recruited first during wartime.
As a benefit of the reserve force, reserve soldiers can enjoy certain tax reductions, and the key is that this amount can be stacked, so it is very popular among the grassroots people.
