Divine Kingship

Chapter 541 All Sacrifices
The infernal vampire orc was no match for the White King, Berlan.

However, as an orc close to the king, he did cause some trouble for Berlan. Once someone gets close to the king, they are not easy to kill.

Far inferior to Rommel, the King of the Blue.

However, the White King's ice spear is difficult to hit easily, and even if it does, it is unlikely to cause fatal injuries. Berlan's ice wall will be broken, and to a certain extent, the cold air formed by the cold weather controlled by Berlan is also unlikely to cause damage to orcs of this level.

Normal attacks are generally ineffective. Of course, if Berlan really goes all out, this orc probably won't survive long against Berlan. Even if you think highly of him, he'll only survive for half a day at most against a fully-powered Berlan.

With Rand's assistance, this infernal vampire orc will probably die even faster.

Rand doesn't need to be too stingy with his control abilities now. His "Outsider" trait after becoming a high-level professional allows him to ignore cooldowns to some extent. Of course, this doesn't mean he can unleash them indefinitely. If he could, even the White King Berlan would be at his mercy. However, he can still unleash control three or four times in a short period of time.

Berlan is now gradually increasing his efforts, and the reason he is not immediately going all out is to guard against other possible means by the enemy.

The infernal vampire orcs held back the White King to some extent, but he also knew that he was no match for the true king, so he decisively retreated after fighting for a while.

The White King then seized the opportunity to deliver a follow-up ice spear.

Ice spikes pierced through the body of the infernal vampire orc, exposing the veins, muscles, and flowing, magma-like blood within, before freezing them.

However, this was not a fatal injury. The distortion of the orc's body by the transformation into a purgatory and a vampire had completely alienated it, so what would be a serious injury to a normal creature was nothing to it.

However, compared to Rand's rapid recovery, this vitality is still several levels below.

The war continued into the night, and the orcs, leaving behind a trail of corpses, retreated to a point where their defensive offensive was difficult to penetrate.

The northern defense line was long, and the sounds of battle from other places had not yet subsided. Rand, riding his flying bull, patrolled the defense line with Ellie and Berlan.

Not all sections of the defensive line were defended as smoothly as this one. In some places, the walls were even captured in a short period of time, but they were quickly recaptured.

As for the more distant sections of the defensive line, they were coordinated by generals from other kingdoms, as Rand simply didn't have the time to get there.

The northern defense line is a very complex, long-distance defensive line; it is not a single city wall, but a defensive complex.

Walking along the roads of the defense line could take a week, and even riding flying oxen and horses would take a day and a night to complete the inspection.

All Rand could do was determine the orcs' main attack direction and then deploy the maximum defensive force in that direction; nothing more.

The orcs' offensive was not fierce, but it was sustained.

This has been going on for several days.

This puts considerable pressure on humanity, but if this intensity continues, and the battle drags on, humanity will clearly emerge victorious.

The humans already outnumber the humans, and they also have powerful figures like the White King assisting them. If the orcs continue to use this method of attack...

The orcs are now theoretically fighting to the death, but this method of fighting is completely unreasonable.

“If the orcs maintain this offensive momentum today, then we can begin our counterattack. Theoretically, we can crush them.” Rand rubbed his temples. “This is too bizarre; this kind of attack is practically like…”

“Deliver the vegetables,” Ellie answered for Rand.

“Yes, delivering food. I don’t know why the orcs are doing this, but we have made all the necessary preparations and there is no need to delay any longer.” Rand thought. “Their attack is indeed strange. A normal general would not use such a foolish attack method to attack a heavily fortified line. But since they have given us the opportunity, we should seize it and crush them.”

Rand no longer hesitated: "We should attack now, let's not wait any longer."

There are indeed many doubts now, and because of these doubts, Rand has made many precautions and backup measures, but Rand, the White King, and Ellie are not people who are too cautious.

The preparations are complete, so there's no need to hesitate any longer.

……

The people of the Northern Union, especially the soldiers, knights, nobles and generals, were already accustomed to guarding the front lines.

All the nations of the Northern Union, including the southernmost Frostmoon Kingdom, bear the heavy responsibility of guarding the frontier. The nobles of the Northern Union have also come to the North to fight against the orcs to varying degrees.

Even if they were just sent here to gain experience, they still got to experience the atmosphere of fighting orcs.

Humans tend to be more united and experienced during such times.

The orcs in their infernal form are indeed much stronger than ordinary orcs, but they can still be wounded by swords. Holding the line is difficult, but it is still achievable.

Another dawn is about to break.

A young knight and an older knight are cleaning their weapons.

"Orcs are truly formidable opponents," the young knight remarked, having encountered infernal orcs on his first visit to the northern border.

"They weren't this powerful before. You're just unlucky," the older knight sighed. Before the orcs had the ability to transform into infernal beings, although they were already difficult to deal with, they weren't as troublesome as they are now.

The infernal orcs are incredibly powerful, making it impossible for three or five ordinary soldiers to get close. Their pain perception is also weakened, making them extremely ferocious on the battlefield. Even a fully armed knight could be turned into a twisted corpse by an infernal orc if he is not careful.

"Can we win?" The young knight looked at his still-new armor and the somewhat dilapidated city walls.

The walls of the northern border are repaired every year, but they still cannot withstand the fierce fighting between the two sides.

In particular, the presence of orcs of near-king level on the enemy side caused significant damage to the city walls.

“Then we can definitely win.” The older knight tapped his shield with the small hammer he carried with him, flattening the bulge, before continuing, “Thinking about it that way, your luck isn’t so bad. The great White King will lead us in battle… and also…”

The older knight stretched his neck, his gaze beneath his mask fixed on the distant platform, then clicked his tongue and said, "Oh, what a lucky day. Look over there."

The young knight looked in the direction the older knight was pointing and saw several elderly generals and a few young men and women.

The elderly generals surrounded young men and women.

“Do you see that young, dark-haired man?” the older knight said. “You should have heard of him; he is Rand Nicholas.”

The young knight nodded: "I know he married Ellie, the sister of the White King."

The older knight frowned slightly: "You only know this kind of news, right?"

They weren't knights from the White Kingdom, so it seems this young knight must have once had designs on Princess Ellie from another country.

The young knight chuckled awkwardly.

As a knight, his intelligence network was certainly not as extensive as that of a nobleman. Although knights were the lowest rank of nobles, even barons or viscounts might not know much about international affairs, let alone knights.

The older knight continued to explain: "Back then, it was he who led the knights to annihilate the orcs of the Takagi Kingdom. Now you can call him the Duke of the Moon Phase."

"So powerful, and... so young?" The young knight's eyesight was quite good. Although he couldn't see the specific details of Rand's face clearly, he could still tell that Rand was very young.

The young knight was quite envious, but not overly admiring.

To be a duke at such a young age is clearly an honor from one's ancestors. The fate of such a naturally noble person is different from that of ordinary knights like them.

No wonder Rand was able to marry Ellie, the jewel of the White Kingdom.

The older knight was well aware of Rand's experiences; he knew the incredible power that allowed him to stop the orcs from landing in the Kingdom of Takagi during their first invasion after the orcs gained the ability to transform into inferno.

He had even heard that Rand wasn't even a nobleman ten years ago, but the older knights didn't quite believe it.

The older knight glanced at the young knight with envy in his eyes, coughed lightly, and said, "The orcs are about to attack. Get ready."

The young knight snapped back to his senses and checked his weapons and armor again.

Meanwhile, Rand was listening to the advice of the veteran generals in front of him.

These veteran generals were key figures who had guarded the front lines for many years.

"Duke Rand, we actually think that we can wait until the orcs have exhausted some more strength before launching an attack, and strive to defeat and annihilate the orcs in one fell swoop, leaving them no chance to develop again."

“These are wise words of wisdom for governing the country, but I don’t think they’re suitable for the present.” Rand first praised it, then explained, “The present situation isn’t purely about war; there’s also war between us and the orcs, war between the main world and Purgatory, and war between humans and Grand Duke Vladimir.”

These old generals' opinions were actually quite reasonable. If it weren't for the demons of Purgatory and Grand Duke Vladimir's covetous eyes, allowing the orcs to wear down their strength through this fighting style would be the way to wage war with the fewest sacrifices and the greatest results.

Unfortunately, this war was not pure.

With the White King's prestige, he could actually ignore the opinions of these old generals and launch an attack directly. However, if he could persuade these old generals, it would definitely be a good thing to unite more and more forces. Moreover, these old generals made this judgment out of consideration for the interests of the human side.

So Rand, Berland, and Ellie were all quite patient in persuading these old generals.

The old generals exchanged opinions with Rand and then reached a consensus that if the issues of Purgatory and Grand Duke Vladimir still existed, it would indeed be inappropriate to drag things out for too long.

In fact, the old generals were well aware of Rand's prowess. Through years of training, Rand's military skills had improved significantly, and with the powerful high-altitude perspective of Crow Cola, he could make many accurate judgments without having to think too much.

Ellie and the White King certainly knew that Rand possessed Raven Vision, but these old generals did not; they could only admire Rand's exceptionally accurate decision-making and judgment.

In their eyes, Rand was truly a young hero.

If they also knew those wonderful native words of Rand, they might even praise them with a phrase like "A great reputation is well-deserved."

Soon, the order was given: at dawn today, a general offensive against the orcs would be launched.

As dawn breaks, the wispy clouds unfold like a translucent veil, following the folds of the wind.

The snow stopped today, but beneath the beautiful sunlight lies a battlefield filled with the stench of blood.

The young and older knights, who had been preparing for a long time, were somewhat surprised to receive orders to launch a general offensive today.

However, loyal knights would not question their commander's orders; they only needed to prove their honor with the heads of their enemies.

The knights and soldiers launched a full-scale attack on the orcs without hesitation.

Rand continued to observe the battlefield and ponder the doubts that had arisen recently.

The infernal vampire orcs reappeared on the battlefield, and the White King, Berlan, had already gone all out.

In the aftermath of the battle, Rand finally discovered the reason why the orcs were using this "suicide attack" tactic.

From Crow Cola's perspective, a siege catapult is overturned by the aftershocks of the battle between the White King and the Hellish Vampire Orcs.

Then Rand noticed that the chassis of the catapult already had an altar deeply rooted in the earth.

The orcs actually used siege engines to cover up the transport of the altar.

That was a very smart decision.

The reason for transporting the altar to the battlefield is also obvious.

Sacrifice.

Whether human or beastman, they were all sacrificed when they died.

Indeed, the sacrificial offerings must be alive and incapacitated.

But wouldn't a severely wounded and dying soldier meet the criteria?

Even if one suffers a fatal injury, one will not die immediately. Within this short period of time, the conditions for sacrifice are met.

On the chaotic battlefield, some "corpses" that were constantly trampled disappeared due to sacrifice, and even Rand, who had the perspective of a raven, could hardly find them, let alone other human generals.

The orcs were very careful, and the amount of sacrifices was not large. If they continued at this pace, they could probably achieve their goal gradually.

Unfortunately, Rand's decisive decision, the massive aftershocks of the battle between the King and those close to the King, and Rand's raven perspective allowed him to discover the orcs' plan.

During the battle, many enemy siege weapons were destroyed, but not all of them concealed the altar. The destroyed siege weapons could also become natural ruins that concealed the altar.

The problem shouldn't be too big.

Fortunately, Berlan's planes and Ellie's planes had already destroyed a large number of altars before, so even if they are well concealed this time, it is estimated that not many altars will be transported to the front line. In order to avoid being discovered, the orcs will not offer many sacrifices.

"Destroy all the enemy's large targets; there's a likely altar at the bottom," Rand ordered immediately after observing the results.

And Rand's roar could be heard by the White King, Berlan.

In an instant, the clear morning sky turned back into a bitterly cold, snowy day.

(End of this chapter)