This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Their hero is my enemy.

Meanwhile, on the north shore of the fjord, at the gate of the heavily damaged Orcish Eastern Route Army camp, Commander Negri and his generals knelt on one knee to welcome the Beast King.

Neg kept his head down and heard heavy footsteps walking straight toward him, finally stopping in front of him. In those few seconds, Neg felt the hair on his back soaked with cold sweat, and he was so scared that he didn't dare to breathe.

"I am guilty, Beast King, please punish me."

“Lift your head, my child.”

Nege raised his head shakily, looking at the towering figure before him, which was completely shrouded in shadow, with eyes that were filled with both awe and fear.

Ramon the Beast King, a chosen one of the orcs, seems to be particularly favored by the "Blood God" worshipped by the orcs. He has already been given a strong physique with innate divine strength, but he has also been given an extra intelligence that is not like that of an orc.

Because he is intelligent, Ramon likes to reason with people.

Because of his strength, his own people were also willing to listen to Ramon's reasoning.

Gradually, Ramon integrated the previously scattered orc tribes of the wasteland, transforming the title of "Beast King," which was originally similar to a wrestling champion, into a truly dominant orc king.

Neg grew up listening to the legends of Ramon, and he was proud to have Ramon's blood in his veins. He worked hard to climb to his current position as the commander of the legion.

He was so eager to make a name for himself, but he ended up embarrassing himself in the very first battle. He was filled with shame and, upon learning that the Beast King was coming, he was prepared to be executed in public.

However, Ramon simply looked down at Neg, who was lying prostrate on the ground, and after a long while asked in a muffled voice.

"Tell me about your first fight. I want to know how you lost."

Chapter 122: Our Alliance

Inside the main tent of the military camp, Nege recounted to King Ramon the reasons for his early advance and the details of his failed crossing.

Ramon listened indifferently, occasionally asking about details, his expression suggesting he was deep in thought.

After Nege finished speaking, Ramon remained silent. Nege felt uneasy for a long time before finally hearing the other party speak.

“Neg, as the commander of the legion, you have made a grave mistake and must be punished. Now that your half-brother Nag has died in battle, from now on you will succeed him as the vanguard centurion, and the position of commander of the Eastern Route Legion… will be taken over by Rog.”

As soon as Ramon finished speaking, a burly orc youth entered from outside the tent and knelt on one knee before Ramon. Ramon tossed him the spear that symbolized command, which he had taken from Nege earlier. The young man caught the spear, his fleshy, hairy face beaming with barely suppressed joy.

"I will not let you down, Lord Beast King!"

The three orc armies were led by generals of all ranks who were almost all half-orc offspring of Ramon. These half-orc youths were indeed smarter and stronger than the pure-blooded orcs who were all muscle. Moreover, with Ramon, the Beast King, backing them up, the orc tribes that had been incorporated into the empire dared not openly express their dissatisfaction, even if they were resentful.

However, after Rogge succeeded Neg as the new commander of the Eastern Route Army, Ramon immediately ordered the entire Eastern Route Army to set off, bypass the fjord, and launch an offensive against the northeastern part of the human race together with the other two armies.

Orcs are not good at naval warfare, and given that the enemy has already discovered them, there is no need for them to stubbornly attempt a crossing.

Dick quickly learned of the orc army's detour.

It must be said that the orcs' actions were very wise, but their wisdom was not at all like that of an orc!

"They've really gotten smarter...that's not good news."

At this moment, Dick had more than just the bad news that "orcs have become smarter." The reactions of various forces to the intelligence he had previously sent out were quite bizarre.

Among the noble lords, some, like Count Hoffmann, took it seriously and prepared diligently; some didn't believe it at all and continued playing music and dancing; and some were so frightened that they abandoned their territories and ran away.

As for the border legion responsible for the north, they had been keeping an eye on the north and had already gathered some unusual intelligence. Now, after seeing the information sent by Dick, the legion's command collectively gasped in shock.

In the past, orc invasions were usually carried out by small groups of a few hundred or a thousand men. Although it was troublesome to wipe them out, there was no situation where they were unwinnable.

As a result, the orcs didn't come for seven years, but when they did, they came in a huge wave, with an army of 100,000 pressing on the border!

The border corps only has 30,000 troops on paper, but its actual strength is just over 20,000. As for the missing 10,000 soldiers, they are all in the pockets of the various military commanders.

To verify the authenticity of this intelligence, the legion immediately sent out scouts to investigate. Of the more than one hundred light cavalrymen who went out, only three returned, bringing with them extremely bad news.

A lot of orcs have really come from the north!!!

The generals of the legion panicked. They knew that launching an attack would be tantamount to suicide, so they could only consolidate their forces and hold their fortresses along the border while sending a plea for help to the capital.

Perhaps because the border legion was of a higher rank, they did receive a reply very quickly, but the reply consisted of only four words—"Hold on tight!"

The generals realized that reinforcements from the south were unlikely to be of any use. They were well aware of how inefficient the empire was, and large-scale troop movements would inevitably lead to infighting among the higher-ups. Therefore, there was never a shortage of people who deliberately dragged things down.

"In the matter of resisting the orcs, the northerners will have to rely on themselves."

Soon, the vanguard of the orc army reached the human city, but they did not launch an attack rashly. Instead, they observed from a distance of a thousand meters. This distance was far beyond the range of arrows, and the legion's magic cannons and muzzle-loading muskets were considered "strategic weapons," so they were not used lightly.

The two sides stared at each other for a day until the main force of the orc army finally 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. Therefore, the only way to travel by land is to pass through the west side. As a result, the empire spent over a hundred years building a series of military fortresses along this side of the border. The entire defensive fortification 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 failed to realize this for various reasons.

Therefore, when the orc army pressed in, the fortresses were immediately turned into isolated islands surrounded by enemies.

Instead of blindly attacking these well-fortified fortresses, the orc army left a portion of its forces nearby to surround and monitor them, while the rest of its troops marched deep into the heart of human territory.

This move completely stunned the Legion soldiers who were guarding the city and waiting for the orcs to come and die.

Looking at the humans huddled in the fortress in the distance, Ramon asked a man beside him whose entire body was covered by a black robe.

Are those human fortresses really that hard to attack?

"It's not just difficult, it's incredibly difficult. Each of these fortresses can hold three thousand defenders. The walls were modified into bastions thirty years ago, based on Earthling technology. Each fortress has ten magic cannons and two hundred musketeers, as well as a fifty-man mage team responsible for activating the defensive barrier within the castle, capable of withstanding attacks from Saint-level experts. The orcs lack large siege equipment and cannot take these castles."

"Siege engines? Can you build them?"

"I've built it, but you guys don't know how to use it. You still don't have enough sons."

Upon hearing the black-robed man's words, Ramon didn't ask any further questions. He simply turned and left with his personal guards. He trusted his strategist implicitly, even though he wasn't one of the orcs.

With their overwhelming numerical superiority, the orc army left 40,000 men on the border to confront the human legions inside the fortress, while the remaining 50,000 troops, like a swarm of wolves, rushed into human territory and plundered on a massive scale.

The first to suffer were naturally the territories near the border. These fiefdoms near the empire's borders were mostly occupied by newly enfeoffed minor nobles. The territories were sparsely populated and poorly armed, so they were naturally powerless against the ferocious orc army.

The orc army swept through almost unopposed, slaughtering all those who resisted, and capturing the rest who were enslaved or domesticated by the orcs!

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 one after another, the lords in the north, central west, and east finally realized what was happening. Those who had previously taken it lightly and continued their revelry were now in a panic.

The Earl of Hoffmann's domain is located in the north-central west and is one of the most powerful lords in the area. As a result, many small lords who are unable to protect themselves seek help from the Earl of Hoffmann's family, or simply bring their families to seek refuge there, since the Earl's castle looks very sturdy.

Count Hoffmann did not reject these weak people seeking refuge, but instead publicly called on the surrounding territories to come to his side and gather their troops to form a coalition for self-defense.

There were simply too many orcs attacking from the north, so many that even if Hoffman armed all the able-bodied men in his territory, it wouldn't be enough to fight them off.

Orcs are extremely strong in individual combat. An ordinary adult orc can fight on equal terms with a low-level warrior who has practiced martial arts. When an orc is found alone in an ordinary human village, it often takes a dozen or twenty adults to be able to deal with him, and there is still no guarantee that there will be no casualties on their side.

Soldiers equipped with standard weapons and who have received formal training are slightly better off; they can almost guarantee a victory in a three-on-one situation. But where would the young lord find the funds to support a full-time army?

So despite Hoffman's call to arms receiving responses from about a dozen surrounding lords, the combined force amounted to less than eight thousand men. The majority of them were poorly equipped militiamen with almost no military training, and the regular army numbered only about two thousand, mainly Count Hoffman's private army.

Count Hoffman also sent letters of appeal to the lords in the east, requesting that they build a defensive line along the Nie River within his territory in order to stop the orc army.

The plan was theoretically feasible, but only theoretically. The orcs were advancing so quickly that they had no time to train their soldiers or build defenses.

If the people from the east don't come, the eight thousand soldiers here will eventually be trapped in Hoffmann's castle, just like the imperial legions on the border.

"It's too difficult; we simply can't hold this position."

Looking at the refugees crowding the streets of the city and the conscripts outside the city still undergoing basic training with farm tools, Hoffman felt powerless and desperate.

However, at that moment, a melodious horn sound came from the east. Hoffman and many others who heard the sound looked in the direction of the sound and saw a magnificent and well-organized army marching towards them on the main road in the east of the city. At the head of the procession, a group of knights carrying a large flag were speeding toward the city gate.

Hoffman examined it closely and discovered that the coat of arms on the flag was a circle of bull horns and a snowflake, which was the coat of arms that Earl Dick Best of Lagog had designed for himself.

Dick himself was among that cavalry unit.

“My Lord Earl, it seems I have arrived at just the right time.”

Count Hoffmann never expected that Dick, with whom he had a grudge, would choose to set aside past grievances 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 Lagug, but also called on some eastern lords along the way, bringing the total force to 7,000. Adding the 8,000 from the Earl of Hoffmann's territory, the total force is now 15,000.

Although this number of troops is still at a disadvantage, it is enough to barely hold up a defensive line.

Chapter 123: The Commander Who Recommended Himself

The strong support from the eastern lords greatly boosted the morale of the noble coalition that had gathered in the Earl of Hoffmann's territory.

Hoffman himself jogged down the city wall and looked at Dick, whom he was meeting for the first time but had dealt with before, and was filled with mixed feelings.

“I never expected that it would be Your Excellency who would lend us a helping hand at this time, even going so far as to personally come to the front lines. Your magnanimity makes me feel ashamed. Please accept my gratitude and apologies, Your Excellency Lord of Lagug, Earl Best.”

As Hoffman spoke, he and his retainers bowed deeply to Dick.

Whether genuine or feigned, Hoffman was putting on quite a show, while Dick laughed.

"Lord Hoffman, there's no need for that. I understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.' Besides, it's not just my family from Lagug who came; there are others on their way as well."

With so many lords present, Dick was naturally not foolish enough to take credit for someone else's work. He immediately pulled in the other nobles who had come with him, as they also had "uniting" value for Dick.

Dick also had this in mind when he offered support to Earl Hoffmann's territory.

The principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" is only one aspect; more importantly, it is necessary to build prestige in this military operation.

Dick brought a total of 3,000 men this time, of which 2,400 were combat troops and the remaining 600 were logistics support personnel.

Thanks to the standardized uniforms, armor, and weapons, the private army of Lagug's territory outshone the more "individualistic" ragtag armies around them simply by standing there.

Some lords secretly sighed, "No wonder he is the youngest son of the Imperial War Marshal. Even if he is not the legitimate son, he has learned a lot about military management since childhood. Perhaps this strong army was given to him by the Duke!"

Some young and arrogant people are also sour, thinking that it's useless just because it looks good, and you have to fight in real battles to know if it's just for show.

In short, the team Dick brought was quite impressive, even Hoffman was envious.

The Hoffman family was a well-known powerful clan in the north, with a permanent population of over 100,000 and a standing army of 2,000. With the mobilization for this full-scale war, they immediately expanded their army to 5,000, which was more than the combined total of more than a dozen other minor lords.

Lagug's population is less than half that of theirs, yet they can quickly muster an army of three thousand men, whose training level appears to be even higher than that of their own troops.

Count Hoffmann didn't think the other party was the kind of philanthropist willing to sacrifice his family fortune to help others; these three thousand men certainly weren't his entire fortune.

In fact, of the three thousand men Dick brought, only one thousand were regular soldiers; the rest were armed militia drawn from elsewhere. However, these militia were highly trained, a world apart from the peasants that nobles would temporarily conscript.

Last year, during the anti-bandit campaign, Dick first expanded the size of the militia to improve the self-defense capabilities of local villages. These militia members received training courses set by the Governor's Office and were positioned as reserves from the beginning. Some of them had provided support to the regular army in the anti-bandit operations, so they could be considered to have "borrowed" some experience.

Later, the bandits were almost wiped out, and civilians who had received militia training made up the majority of able-bodied men. While Dick was developing his standard village, he also assigned Tia to reorganize the militia. Some were transferred to police to be responsible for local security, while others were transferred to the reserves. They could do whatever they wanted in peacetime, but they had to receive regular military training for a period of time every year, and they would be given priority for conscription during wartime.

As a benefit of the reserve force, reserve personnel can enjoy certain tax reductions, and the key is that these reductions can be stacked, which makes them very popular among the grassroots.

They were well-fed and warmly dressed, and had received quasi-modern military training beforehand. Some of the reserve soldiers had even seen bloodshed during the bandit suppression campaign, which gave Dick's soldiers a tough and vigorous spirit.

Some of the more mischievous young lords couldn't help but steal glances at Dick, thinking to themselves that this Earl Best might not look very big, but his thighs were really thick, and it would definitely feel very safe to hug him!

Ignoring these fickle minor lords, Dick, at the invitation of Earl Hoffmann, led his retainers into the castle and quickly convened a military meeting.

With the support of the eastern lords, the allied forces now numbered 15,000. Hoffman was conducting further mobilization, expecting to recruit another 8,000 to 10,000 men. However, these temporarily recruited men were less trained than the previous ones, and could even be said to have received no training at all. The Hoffman family did not have enough equipment to arm them, and could only ask the people to prepare their own weapons.

These conscripted soldiers, used only to make up the numbers, can only serve as cheerleaders and atmosphere-building troops even when things are going well. If you really send them to fight head-on against the ferocious orcs, you can imagine what their fate would be!

"Currently, most of the lords in the north are still in disarray. Many lords haven't realized the seriousness of the situation and are only thinking about preserving their own strength, unwilling to respond to the call. And some... are simply cowardly cowards, a disgrace to the nobility! They've abandoned their territories and run away!"

During the military conference, Count Hoffmann, under immense pressure, vented his frustrations as if he were doing so.

Apart from Dike's Ragug, the top-ranking lords in the northern region were all watching from the sidelines, especially those near the central mountains. They seemed to be watching from the sidelines, convinced that the orc invasion wouldn't reach their doorstep. Therefore, they were happy to see these territories further north suffer, so they could send people over to take over and thus gain real control of these lands.

Hoffman knew exactly what those people were thinking, because if the fire hadn't now been burning him, he would have done the same.

His complaints did resonate with many lords present, which to some extent strengthened their unity, but they did little to address the immediate problem. So Dick raised his hand to signal that he should speak.

“Count Hoffmann, I have some questions.”

"Please speak, or just call me Peter."

"I'd like to ask, now that we've formed a coalition, has a command structure been established for this coalition? We can't just line up and fight our own battles, can we?"

Dick's direct question drew the attention of the lords present, as it sounded as if Dick was vying for command from Earl Hoffmann.

In fact, that's exactly what Dick meant!

At this critical juncture, all formalities and political maneuvering are unnecessary. They must race against time to complete the war deployment, and the command system is the nervous system of the army, assisting the commander, the brain, in controlling the body to fight.

So everything else is nonsense. Let's choose the person in charge first. Who will hold the dragon head staff?

The eastern lords who came with Dick naturally chose to support him because they were closer to Lagug. Later, when some fleeing bandits ran into trouble on their territory, it was Dick who sent troops across the border to suppress them. So they had witnessed the strength of Dick's men.