This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Hoffman hadn't expected Dick's reinforcements to arrive so quickly. Three thousand elite cavalrymen arrived on the third day after he sent out his plea for help. The key was that not only were the mounted cavalry fast, but the infantry were only half a day late.

Many of the soldiers produced in this support operation were former guards recruited by Dick.

These veterans, having fallen from the prestigious royal army to become private troops under local nobles, felt a sense of loss. They also looked down on the local troops to some extent, believing that they were poorly equipped, poorly trained, and their pay was certainly not as generous as that of the Imperial Guard, which was backed by the national treasury.

But they were proven wrong shortly after arriving in Laguge!

In terms of equipment, the armor rate of the Ragug private army is no lower than that of the Royal Guard, and every ordinary recruit can receive a decent set of armor. Although it is not as gorgeous as the Royal Guard's standard dark gold armor, veterans can tell it is good quality as soon as they touch it. Moreover, the style has been optimized and improved compared to the traditional armor of the Empire, making it more comfortable and flexible to wear.

In terms of daily training intensity, Lagug's private army places great emphasis on physical fitness. It is not difficult to see from the highly targeted training programs that their military philosophy values ​​soldiers' endurance and obedience more than combat skills.

But what truly shocked and broke the hearts of these veterans was the soldiers' treatment.

Because of the high-intensity physical training they maintain daily, the soldiers of Laguge have excellent food. Not only are they able to eat their fill at every meal, but they also have meat at dinner. Their barracks are also very clean and tidy, and the army has strict internal regulations that require strict adherence to rules from top to bottom.

The key thing is the military pay. Not only was it paid on time, but there was not a single deduction!

It's important to understand that while the Imperial Guard enjoyed high pay, many bad habits existed. Drinking soldiers' blood was an almost tacitly accepted and common practice, so much so that everyone was used to it and numb to it.

Whenever the military pays the soldiers, the money is reduced every time it passes through a different hand. If half of it is left in the soldiers' hands, it's considered that the officials are kind-hearted.

In the army of Laguge, the soldiers' pay did not pass through the hands of officers. Instead, the lord's mansion set up an account for each soldier in a local bank, and the pay was directly transferred to this account. The amount was exactly what was said, not a penny less.

So even though Lagug's pay was only 60% of that of the Royal Guard, the money he actually received was more than when he was a Royal Guard.

As the saying goes, everything is subject to comparison. With the tangible benefits right in front of them, these former Imperial Guardsmen quickly and completely changed their allegiance, clearly realizing whose food and pay they were now receiving! When it came to fighting, they were willing to fight with all their might, displaying the fierce spirit of the old Imperial Guardsmen!

Compared to two years ago, the orc soldiers have indeed made significant progress. They have better weapons and more thorough training. However, when they encountered the Northern Alliance army led by the Ragug private soldiers again, they found that the combat power of these human soldiers seemed to have improved even more rapidly than their own.

It should be noted that during the last battle, the human infantry dared not leave their fortified fortresses to engage in open field battles with the orc soldiers. When the numbers of both sides were roughly equal, the orcs could often easily tear apart the square formations formed by the human infantry and then slaughter them like tigers among sheep.

But this time, the human soldiers no longer showed the fear they once had. They strode forward with steady steps, facing the orcs head-on without fear. The orc soldiers roared and charged forward, only to be smashed into the ground like their skulls hitting a boulder, their heads bleeding profusely.

"Remember your training: fear not these beasts. Kill!"

Within the ranks of the army, Dongfeng Wuxi, who had commanded a large-scale army in battle before, took the lead, wielding her cross spear with the ferocity of a whirlwind, reaping the lives of orc soldiers like mowing grass.

In Dong Ma's view, the combat power of ordinary orc soldiers was not even as good as that of the ugly ghost in Shanghai. Only a few warriors who had practiced martial arts could barely exchange a few blows with her, but only for a couple of blows.

Just as Dong Ma was feeling a bit bored, a group of human cavalry charged out from behind the orc army, forming a pincer attack with the infantry regiment led by Feng Wuxi.

The orcs' situation deteriorated rapidly, and they were quickly routed and forced to flee.

Looking up at the white-haired man riding over to greet her, Dong Ma knew that the siege of the Earl of Hoffmann's territory had been lifted.

Chapter 304: Murderous Intent Arose

The orcs who burned, killed, and looted in Count Hoffman's territory were not the main force, numbering only three or four thousand. However, because they appeared directly on the east side of the Nie River, they caught Hoffman's private army off guard.

After all, before this, the defensive focus of Earl Hoffman's territory had always been in the northwest. Not far to his east was Ragug, and to the south was the heartland. He really didn't expect that the orcs would have a hidden passage for smugglers through the narrow mountain range between his home and Ragug.

Before the cavalry of Ragug arrived, the orc army had already dealt a heavy blow to the count's private army, which had hastily returned to reinforce, in the field battle, and at one point they were at the gates of the city, forcing Count Hoffman into a desperate situation.

Then the soldiers and civilians of the Earl's territory saw thousands of cavalrymen charging in from the east like a tidal wave, sweeping away the orc army like a whirlwind, completely losing the imposing manner they had displayed when they were beating them up.

"These are Lagug's cavalry? I haven't seen them for two years, how come they're even more courageous!?"

Two years ago, Dick led his troops to support the Hoffman family for the first time. At that time, the quality of the private armies of the two families had not yet diverged. Hoffman always felt that Dick's strength lay in his own Saint rank and the fact that he had several other Saint rank generals under his command. If they were to fight with conventional forces, Hoffman's army could at least fight Ragug to a draw.

Now that they meet again, Hoffman no longer has the courage to say it's a "50/50" match.

Often, being down is not a feeling, but a trend. Just like unlucky people don't always have their luck turn around, but instead become more and more unlucky.

In that instant, Hoffman felt as if the breath he had been holding onto had finally been released.

There's no point in arguing anymore; we simply can't win.

After successfully relieving the siege of Hoffman's territory, the reinforcements from Ragug, following Dick's orders, defended the Nie River, cutting off the retreat of the orc cavalry that had already advanced south, while also resisting the orcs from the northwest.

The defensive strategy remains the same as it was two years ago, and the Hoffman family has been working hard to improve the Nye River defense line for the past two years, building a large number of permanent fortifications along the river.

With no worries about the future, these fortifications can all be put to use again.

As for Lord Harvey, who was besieged in the town of Eideid on the other side, Dick could only say that he was powerless to help.

It's not that I'm unwilling to help, but the orcs are just too powerful!

At this moment, Harvey was no longer the arrogant man he once was in Ideide. His four thousand men were completely surrounded by tens of thousands of orcs. Those ferocious beasts seemed to know no fear, launching more than a dozen attacks on the dilapidated town in just two days.

The Imperial Guard was indeed elite, but they were not invincible. After more than a dozen battles over two days, the number of dead and wounded had exceeded a thousand in the blink of an eye. Even the toughest soldiers could not withstand such continuous and fierce fighting.

"My lord, let's break through! If we don't leave now, it will be too late!"

Several officers of the Imperial Guard were advising Harvey that while they still had fighting strength and more than two thousand horses in the town, they could at least fight for survival. Otherwise, if they dragged on for another two or three thousand, they would have no chance once they suffered more than half their casualties.

Harvey certainly wanted to run away, but there were still things they had painstakingly looted in the town, so much money and food that they couldn't take them with them when they broke out. Not only would it benefit the orcs, but how would he explain it to the big shots above him?

Seeing Harvey still hesitating, the officers were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, wishing they could go up and knock the cabinet minister unconscious with a big shovel, and then carry him out of the encirclement.

"My lord, there's no time!"

"Is it really impossible to call for reinforcements? What about the border legion?"

"The border legion had no idea we were here. They sent out several groups of messengers before, whether they were cavalry on the ground or mages flying in the sky, but none of them were able to get out!"

The guards were also quite frustrated. Although the orcs outside the city were not as well-equipped as they were, their troops were really diverse, including all sorts of monsters and demons.

Wizards, shamans, and druids—these orc spellcasters are indeed slightly inferior to human mages, who are descended from elves, in direct combat. However, they are masters of trickery and underhanded tactics.

Those orcish curse sorcerers could actually contaminate groundwater with evil magic, poisoning the city's wells from a distance. These Imperial Guard soldiers, long stationed in the capital, had never seen such a sinister tactic before.

As the group was talking, shouts of battle rang out outside again, indicating that the orcs had attacked once more.

The defenses of Ideide Town were severely compromised, and the orcs were not stupid. They had already figured out where the weaknesses were and began to launch targeted, high-intensity, attrition warfare, aiming to give the human defenders in the city no chance to breathe and to fight until the defenders collapsed.

On the orc side, two black-robed advisors accompanying the army were observing the battle from afar on the city wall. They had confirmed that the human army trapped in this dilapidated city was the so-called Imperial Guard, the elite force of the empire. They also learned from intelligence provided by the Dry Tree Party that these guards had come to the north to collect taxes.

The city before them was piled high with the wealth they had plundered from the people, so they strongly urged their commander to take the city at all costs, and it would be even better if they could annihilate the city's garrison.

If a 3,000-strong guard could be systematically annihilated by orcs, the news would be a severe blow to the reputation and morale of the Empire.

These black-robed advisors were Earthlings who escaped imperial enslavement with the help of the Dead Tree Party. Because they were enslaved as soon as they were summoned, many of them suffered inhuman abuse and hated the brutal Black Forest people to the core.

Therefore, even though these orcs were not of the same race and even ate people, they were still willing to help the orcs develop, all for the sake of revenge against the Black Forest Empire.

"All Blacksens must die!"

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the battlefield, the sisters Kasumi and Ayane stood atop a tall cedar tree, surveying the entire battlefield. They had been ordered to scout ahead, and an army disguised as the "Border Legion" was on its way. However, Dick's orders to this support force were to wait for the right moment and not to engage in battle prematurely.

The ninja sisters watched the battle in the distance with cold eyes. Ayane had a black bead hanging on her chest, which at first glance looked like an eyeball, and it was firmly set between her deep cleavage.

At that moment, Dick's voice came from inside the bead.

"It seems that the Imperial Guard won't last much longer. They haven't been in the north for very long, but I didn't expect their combat effectiveness to decline so quickly."

"It's no wonder his fighting ability has declined after following that Harvey around, bullying men and women and committing all sorts of evil deeds."

Ayane had been active in the Northwest region these past few days, secretly keeping an eye on the tax collection team. Naturally, she had witnessed all their misdeeds and felt contempt for these depraved soldiers.

After understanding the situation, Dick had no intention of recruiting these clearly corrupt guards to his side, as he had done in the south. It was better to let them die a worthy death than to give them a way out!

"Slaughter them all, wipe them out on both sides!"

Chapter 305: Attacking Friendly Forces

Suddenly, both sides in the battle in Ideide Town heard a muffled rumbling sound coming from afar. The sound seemed to be coming from a very distant place. The orcs were somewhat confused, but many of the guards holding the line in the town suddenly changed their expressions.

They recognized the sound – it was the firing of a large-caliber magic cannon! The sound travels faster than a projectile that arcs through the air, but only by a couple of seconds at most; the projectile arrives in an instant.

"Lying down..."

Before the experienced veteran could finish saying "lie down," shells rained down from the sky, indiscriminately covering both the attacking and defending sides.

Frederick the Great's eight 406mm main guns, with just one salvo, covered most of the battlefield with devastating force. Twenty seconds later, a second salvo followed, then a third, a fourth...

Despite being pregnant, it did not affect the Emperor's mother's firepower output at all; in fact, due to the high mood brought about by full favorability, she even received a certain performance boost.

After firing eight rounds in succession, the firepower almost leveled the town's outskirts, destroying a large amount of the city walls and "accidentally" injuring many of the town's defenders.

However, the shelling carefully avoided the center of the town and did not affect Harvey or the supplies stored there.

Once the bombardment ceased, a still-shaken Harvey hurriedly ran out of the protective barrier erected by the mage and climbed to the top of the town's tower to observe. He could see that the besieging orc army had suffered heavy casualties, and the remnants had begun to flee.

This delighted Harvey, who concluded that the shelling was fired by the Border Legion, who must have received the plea for help and sent troops to rescue him!

As for the artillery bombardment affecting the front-line troops on the city walls, causing numerous casualties among the Imperial Guards, Harvey did not care about the lives or deaths of those soldiers.

When firing cannons, it's common for the shot to miss.

As if confirming Harvey's guess, a large number of human troops soon appeared at the edge of the northeastern woodland. They wore the same standard equipment as the guards and carried the banners of the border legions. They attacked the orc soldiers who were already in disarray. Musketeers in standard line infantry squares walked at the front of the ranks and fired seemingly endless volleys at the orcs.

Seeing the orcs who had nearly killed him being slaughtered like grass, Havil laughed heartily, feeling as if all the pent-up frustration in his chest had been swept away, and he was in a very cheerful mood.

But the commander of the Imperial Guard beside him frowned as he looked at the "friendly force" not far away, because his intuition told him that the soldiers of those border legions didn't seem like "one of their own".

"My lord, this is a rare opportunity. Why don't we break through?"

"Breakout? What kind of breakout is this! Reinforcements have arrived, what am I afraid of?"

Harvey was somewhat confused about what his deputy was saying. There were indeed a few remaining orcs in the town putting up a last-ditch resistance. They had avoided the artillery fire because they had broken into the town.

But these orc remnants only numbered two or three hundred, and they could handle the situation on their own without the help of outside reinforcements.

By this time, the battle on the outskirts had basically ended. With the combined efforts of musketeers and cavalry, the remaining orcs were quickly wiped out. Some infantrymen began to go forward to finish off the remaining orcs, but the main force maintained its battle formation and moved closer to the town of Edede.

Harvey immediately tidied his appearance; after all, he was a special envoy from the capital and couldn't afford to lose face in front of the border troops.

However, at that moment, the border legion soldiers who had surrounded them opened fire.

Because the city wall was severely damaged by the shelling, the border troops entered the city directly through the breach. Upon seeing the guards still fighting the orc remnants in the streets, they raised their guns and fired without saying a word.

On this narrow and sheltered street, a dense hail of bullets indiscriminately pierced through every body that dared to stand in their way, felling large numbers of both orcs and humans in an instant.

The Royal Guard's reaction was even more bewildered than the Orcs'. Some soldiers shouted, "Don't shoot! You're shooting friendly fire!" But the second group, who were taking turns firing, pulled the triggers on these shouting guys, showing them with their actions that they either fired accidentally or on purpose!

"Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

The officer in charge of the musket squad shouted out the order, his cold eyes showing no mercy.

At the same time, multiple forces poured into the dilapidated town of Ideide from all directions, while cavalry patrolled the perimeter and mages patrolled the air to ensure that no living creatures could escape from the town.

Seeing that the reinforcements had turned into the enemy, Harvey was stunned. His deputy, meanwhile, directed his personal guards to try to find a way to break through the encirclement.

His bad premonition unfortunately came true! But he really couldn't understand why the border troops had defected.

Was their rebellion motivated by sympathy for the people of the North, and a desire to avenge them?

Are you kidding me?!

There were no attempts to persuade them to surrender, only cold-blooded killing. Some of the tax collectors' guards launched suicidal counter-charges in despair, but they couldn't even touch the musketeers.

Some people tried to hold their houses and put up a stubborn resistance or hide, but these "border soldiers" would thoroughly clear out every house. They carried magical items that could sense living things, all to ensure that no one was left alive.

In the chaos, the second-in-command led Harvey into the sewers. They had less than ten soldiers left with them, but they hadn't gone far when they ran into several orcs hiding there.

These blue-faced, fanged beasts no longer displayed their previous madness and bloodlust; their scarlet eyes now revealed the same fear as the others.

The two sides came face to face, and Harvey was so frightened that he almost screamed. Fortunately, a guard next to him quickly covered his mouth, so he didn't make too much noise.

The two sides stared at each other, tense but no one dared to actually make a move. The second-in-command could tell that the other side didn't want to fight either, so he nodded to the strongest orc on the other side as a gesture of goodwill, and planned to lead his men back to another fork in the road.

But at that moment, several ninja flashbangs were thrown into the middle of them. The intense light that exploded instantly blinded everyone present. The second-in-command heard screams all around him, from both humans and beastmen. Then he felt a sharp pain in his back, as if a sharp blade had pierced through his chest.

The second-in-command was a warrior with high-level strength, but his exhausted body was ambushed, and he died a miserable death. Not only that, he didn't even get a clear look at the assassin who killed him.

In the chaos, Harvey was the only survivor. He collapsed into the sewage in the sewer, crying and screaming like a terrified child.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I am the heir of the Harvey family and a special envoy from the capital!"

"You are the special envoy from the capital?"

Harvey, whose vision had not yet returned, heard a cold female voice in front of him and immediately nodded repeatedly in terror, as if he were a drowning man grasping at a straw.

Harvey thought that the other party wanted to confirm his identity, perhaps to take him hostage, which meant that his worthless life still had value and a chance to survive.

However, before he could continue speaking, he suddenly felt his head spinning, and just as his consciousness was about to fade, he heard the woman speak.

"Then that's it!"

Chapter 306: I'm the Good Guy and the Bad Guy

"Harvey and his tax collection team were wiped out. The culprits were the brutal orc army. The border legion, which arrived after receiving the distress signal, was too late and could only annihilate the orcs to avenge Lord Harvey... Release tomorrow's news based on this."