This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

The orc city is near a snow-capped mountain, which they call the sacred mountain, and the lake formed by the snowmelt at its foot is called the sacred lake. That sacred lake perfectly suits the needs of the ship girls in their combat formation, and it's right next to their city. Theoretically, Belfast's ship-mounted cannons can cover the city, while the other four ship girls have slightly shorter ranges, but they can still attack nearby targets.

Dick is preparing to bring all his top-tier combatants with him this time, including the Black and White Gunners Artoria, Rita, and Lucoa, who possess quasi-Saint-level strength, as well as the high-level combatants Yoel and the trio of female ninjas.

Honoka's fighting ability is not bad either. She is a genius martial arts girl, at least on the same level as the three female ninjas. However, this girl is a genuine high school girl and has never killed anyone.

Natasha and Shizuka Marikawa will also lead medical teams to the north, but they will not go with the troops to the most dangerous front lines. Instead, they will remain on standby on the relatively safe transport ships.

Everything was proceeding smoothly and according to Dick's plan.

Meanwhile, at the Allied camp on the other side, Richard's recruitment was in full swing, but he was clearly too engrossed in massing troops and forgot to send someone across the river to scout out the enemy's situation.

Otherwise, he would be surprised to find that the orc army on the other side had been reorganized and received reinforcements of eight thousand men. Accompanying these reinforcements were two formidable figures!

These 8,000 reinforcements were drawn by Ramon from the opposing forces on the border. The two heavyweights were both Saint-level powerhouses of the Orc race: a Grand Druid, who is already extremely rare in the world, and a Holy Warrior blessed by the gods.

Ramon sent these two to support the East in order to hunt down the Saint-level powerhouses on the human side, namely Dick, who had previously made a name for himself in the battle.

However, the orcs' intelligence was clearly lagging behind. After arriving in the east, the two experts lay in ambush on the west bank of the Nie River, unaware that their target had already broken away from the coalition due to internal conflicts within the human race.

After several days of preparation, Marquis Richard finally managed to muster his long-cherished "100,000-strong army" and prepare to launch the sacred "war to reclaim lost territory" to the west.

Richard had developed an obsession with proving that he was better than Dick and old Banner, and that he was the most powerful and prestigious lord in the entire northern empire.

However, the army he had forcibly assembled, though seemingly large in number and stretching for several kilometers after departing from the Allied camp, consisted mostly of emaciated refugees. They were underfed, poorly clothed, and armed with extremely rudimentary weapons, forced to advance by well-equipped supervisory teams behind them.

Filled with confusion and fear, they stumbled forward against the biting cold wind. Their numb bodies and minds couldn't even muster the thought of resistance. Many of them were simply praying for a painless release.

Richard himself, surrounded by his family guards, rode arrogantly in the center of the procession on his tall horse. He was smugly imagining that after the victory, if His Majesty the Emperor in the capital learned of his heroic fight against the brutal orcs, would he be promoted to Duke and allowed to settle in the capital.

The northern part of the empire was still rather poor, and it couldn't compare to the dazzling world of the capital!

Meanwhile, the elite troops from the seven lords had already assembled in Lagug. The troops were the most elite cavalry among their respective private armies, and the "cavalry infantry" who had temporarily changed their ranks were also carefully selected, making them the "best warriors" without a doubt.

After the six thousand elite troops were fully assembled, they did not set off immediately. Instead, they underwent a brief training camp in Laguge for several days. Laguge provided all the food, drink and supplies during the training camp. On the night before the expedition, a grand feast was held, with wine and meat served freely.

"The best soldiers deserve the best enjoyment. Tonight, let's drink to our hearts' content. Tomorrow, we will set off on our campaign. Have a good time, everyone! This is the leader's order!"

Amidst thunderous shouts of "Yes, sir!", the expeditionary force's camp erupted in jubilation. Not only were the soldiers completely convinced of Dick's worth, but the other lords, having witnessed the depth of Ragug's power, also admired Dick's magnanimity and boldness, thinking to themselves that this was the kind of person who could accomplish great things.

After the messy infighting within the Allied Forces, the current "Northern Seven" can be considered a second round of selection of staunch allies. After all, some things need to be compared, and compared to Richard, that stubborn and incompetent guy, Dick is clearly a leader who better meets everyone's expectations.

Who wouldn't respect a leader who takes more responsibility and benefits more?

It is worth mentioning that at the banquet, Dick invited a VIP guest and introduced him to the other allies present.

When the lords learned that the gray-robed old man before them was the renowned Saint-ranked Archmage Behemoth, and that he would be fighting alongside them, they were all incredibly excited.

Add Dick himself, and that makes two Saint-level mages! When have these local lords ever fought such a costly battle?!

Seeing how excited they were, Dick was too embarrassed to tell them that there were actually several hidden Saint-level experts in their team.

Since Dick broke through to the Saint rank, thanks to the abundant supply of magic power, the strength of the beautiful girls under his command has also increased accordingly. The former Quasi-Saint rank girls have now all reached the True Saint rank, and they no longer need to fight with the seconds counting down like Ultraman.

Dick speculated that there must be more than one Saint-level expert in the Orcish Capital, and it's even possible that a Demigod might emerge, although the probability is very low, according to Behemoth.

Behemoth volunteered for the battle, partly to defend the dignity of humanity, and partly because the old mage was also very interested in the treasures of the orc city.

Because orcs often worship warp gods, they often possess strange and unusual items, which Behemoth considered quite valuable for research.

The day after the banquet, the expeditionary force boarded their ships at Newport. The fleet leader was even more agreeable than Dick had expected. When Dick asked to borrow their paddle steamers to transport troops deep into the wilderness for combat, the leader agreed without hesitation and even addressed him respectfully as "Young Master."

Ironically, Dick lived in the Duke's mansion for eighteen years, and not only did his half-brothers not treat him as family, but even the servants in the mansion never called him "Young Master." The better ones would just deliberately omit the title, while some arrogant servants dared to boss him around.

So when the Best family suddenly treated him with such deference, Dick wasn't exactly flattered by their kindness, but he genuinely found it quite strange.

The person in charge called himself "Rogland," an orphan adopted by the Best family who swore to serve the Best family for life. However, he had always worked in the family's fiefdom in the south, which was why Dick had never seen him in the Duke's mansion in the capital.

This support for Lagug was personally ordered by the patriarch to the southern fiefdom, requiring them to completely obey any instructions from young master Dick. Therefore, when he needed to call upon ships, Logan naturally did not refuse.

Even if Dick gave the order, the hundreds of sailors in his fleet could take up arms to support the expeditionary force without any complaints.

"Serving you is my duty and honor."

Logan kept repeating this phrase, speaking with utmost seriousness, without a hint of perfunctoriness.

After the fleet set sail, it traveled north along the coastline. The paddle steamers were self-powered and large in tonnage, so they were very stable when sailing in the near sea where the wind and waves were not too big, and very few people got seasick.

The paddle steamer, sailing against the ocean current at an average speed of eight knots, was expected to reach the target landing point in four days. Inside the cabin, Dick led the other lords and his senior officers in repeated simulations on the map, hoping to minimize unexpected events in actual combat.

Meanwhile, the allied forces encountered their first battle the day after they set out.

The vanguard cavalry of the allied forces discovered an orc force of about two hundred men. Upon seeing the human cavalry, the orcs immediately turned and ran away like frightened deer.

When the vanguard cavalry saw that the once ferocious orcs were fleeing in disarray, they assumed that the great victory they had just won had terrified the orcs, and that they no longer had the courage to face the powerful human alliance. So, with the thought of cutting off as many heads as possible to gain the most credit, they chased after them without any regard for the consequences.

Then this vanguard cavalry charged headlong into the orc ambush, where they were surrounded by an orc army eight times their size. The hundred-odd cavalrymen were like pieces of meat thrown into a pack of wolves, almost instantly torn to shreds along with their horses.

When the follow-up troops arrived, following the pungent smell of blood, the ambush site was left with only large patches of blood and a small amount of flesh whose race and location were no longer identifiable. This triggered the most terrifying memories for many refugee soldiers who had barely escaped the orcs' jaws, causing them to suffer from PTSD.

However, this little incident could not deter Marquis Richard's ambition. He had a powerful army of 100,000 men under his command, and the sacrifice of a mere hundred or so men, who were not even his subordinates, was nothing in the eyes of the Marquis.

Chapter 147: The Gap Between Ideal and Reality

The 100,000-strong Allied army marched in a long, imposing procession. Because the force was predominantly infantry, their pace was slow. Adding to this was the fact that it was winter, and they were marching through snow. In two days, they had only advanced less than 30 kilometers, even with Richard constantly urging them on, resulting in hundreds of non-combat casualties.

Many of the refugee soldiers were in poor health. They barely managed to eat a full meal before setting off, but after marching for half a day, their stomachs were growling with hunger again. Some even fainted on the snow and never got up again.

Some officers, unable to bear the situation, reported it truthfully, but received an extremely impatient response from the Marquis, who told them not to bother him with such trivial matters. He wanted to focus his energy on military affairs and, when the time came for a major battle, use his exquisite tactical micromanagement to utterly defeat those ignorant orcs.

Richard genuinely believed he had the potential to become a great general, and he even attended a military academy in the capital. Although the number of times he attended classes was far less than a fraction of the number of times he frequented the capital's nightclubs, it did not diminish his self-confidence.

Richard's first goal was to recapture the central city of Ideid from the orcs, and then use this city as a strategic node to gradually recover the surrounding towns that had fallen.

If Dick were here right now, he would definitely be shaking his head in exasperation at this guy's strategic thinking.

Instead of focusing on quickly finding and annihilating the enemy's manpower, they dragged along a hastily assembled army of 100,000, obsessing over whether they could even hold the city!

Unfortunately, no one could restrain Richard at this point. Dick and Banner had both withdrawn from the Allied Forces, and Hoffman, after providing Richard with enough provisions for ten days, used illness as an excuse not to join the campaign. Instead, he guarded his Ice City and continued to build upon it. The main defensive wall facing the Nie River was now twice as thick as it had been initially, and the wall's height had reached fifteen meters.

Hoffman is also somewhat obsessed with building fortresses; anyone who sees him now would say, "You're a bit too urbanized."

When the 100,000-strong allied army arrived at Ideid, there was no living creature to be seen. There were no humans or orcs, and the entire city was eerily silent.

After the army entered the city, the soldiers routinely conducted a looting spree. The ordinary soldiers searched for food, while the officers hoped to find some leftover valuables, since it was said that orcs had no interest in gold and silver.

Richard, on the other hand, couldn't wait to hang his family crest high in the city, which gave him a sense of being a conqueror.

Over the next two days, Richard's troops only encountered sporadic attacks from orc forces. Although there were some casualties, the overall situation was not serious, so it did not arouse Richard's suspicion.

Among his retainers were indeed some capable individuals who vaguely sensed something was amiss. They suggested that they should find the remaining main force of the orcs as soon as possible. After all, simply occupying cities without much gain would inevitably raise questions about their achievements.

Richard's retainers knew their master well and understood that he was unlikely to listen to direct advice; you had to tickle his sore spot for him to take it in.

And that was indeed the case. Richard wanted fame; he wanted to prove himself better than everyone else, and therefore he couldn't tolerate anyone questioning his "amazing achievements."

To be honest, he had no idea how to find the main force of the orcs. He only regretted that the orcs' skulls were different from those of humans, otherwise he could use the "old method" to borrow heads from civilians.

Fortunately, Richard's predicament was soon resolved; instead of him having to go through the trouble of finding the orcs, they came to him on their own.

On the fifth day after capturing Ideid, Richard sent a troop back to the rear to ask Hoffman, who had stayed behind, for supplies. They had only brought ten days' worth of provisions with them, and now less than a third remained.

As a result, not long after the 5,000-strong supply convoy left the city, it was met with a fierce attack from an orc army of several thousand. The convoy collapsed almost immediately; the refugee soldiers were no match for the ferocious orcs, and were slaughtered in disarray. In the end, only a few hundred men escaped back to Eideid to report the bad news to Richard.

Richard was stunned after hearing this. He hadn't expected that his retreat would be cut off by the orcs so easily. He panicked instinctively, but he quickly remembered that he still had a huge army of more than 90,000 men. Since the main force of the orc army had shown up, it would be a good time to annihilate them!

Richard, quickly rallied, immediately ordered his army to form a formidable battle formation, preparing to annihilate the "remnants" of the orcish sweeping legion from the front.

Even at this point, Richard still believed he could win.

The rebel soldiers who were taking shelter from the cold in various houses in the city were soon forced by officers and supervisors to leave the city and form ranks to prepare to meet the enemy.

Tens of thousands of soldiers lined up in a winding battle line on the plain, shoulder to shoulder. The numerical advantage did indeed boost the morale of the soldiers to some extent, preventing them from being too afraid.

But soon, as horns sounded from the opposite woods, groups of strong, muscular orcs emerged from the forest. They did not form ranks like the human soldiers, but rather howled and charged towards the human army like wolves spotting their prey, their pace changing from a jog to a charge.

Richard ascended the walls of Eideid, surrounded by his retainers and guards. This was not the first time he had seen orcs; Richard's family had once bought some orc slaves to watch them fight for amusement.

But these orcs before him were completely different from the orc slaves he had seen who had been domesticated. Their savagery, their ability to devour people at will, even from hundreds of meters away, made him secretly shudder. What's more, there were thousands of these orcs, charging head-on into a human army of tens of thousands.

"These beasts! Have they gone mad? Don't they know fear?"

While uttering derogatory remarks, Richard unconsciously swallowed several times due to nervousness.

He ordered his honor guard to sound the bugle, hoping to boost his troops' morale, because he could clearly see that the refugee soldiers below the city were restless, and the front line had already begun to become unstable before the orcs even charged up.

"Hold on, hold on! Let the orcs get closer first... Damn it! You bunch of idiots!"

On the city wall, the archers and crossbowmen who had been organized were supposed to wait until the orcs were within range before firing their arrows. However, due to excessive tension, some of them accidentally released their arrows prematurely, which caused others to subconsciously follow suit. This directly resulted in the first volley going awry. Not only did it fail to create a dense rain of arrows, but most of the arrows also landed on the open ground because they were released too early.

This is why Dick only brought elite troops when he took the initiative to attack. The untrained conscripts couldn't even understand the officers' orders. They could only serve as atmosphere support in low-intensity civil wars between lords. Against high-level battles like those against orcs, where individual strength was extremely outstanding, they weren't even qualified to be cannon fodder.

Richard, however, thought that by raising an army of 100,000, he could simply achieve a qualitative change through quantitative change, which was somewhat wishful thinking.

The orcs charged quickly; before the human archers and crossbowmen could fire their third volley, their vanguard had already crashed into the human ranks.

Although the human soldiers formed a seemingly dense spear formation, they were still knocked down by the orcs' reckless charge, whose impact was almost as great as that of the human cavalry.

Some orcs were indeed killed by the spear formation, but others, despite being seriously wounded, forced their way into the enemy ranks, wielding simple yet brutal weapons and wreaking havoc. This allowed the following orcs to file in through the gaps they had created, and the scene quickly became so chaotic that the officers could no longer effectively command them.

The orcs' military skills were indeed rough, but their soldiers were brave enough. Their religious beliefs led them to believe that the souls of the fallen heroes would fly up to the Milky Way and become shining stars, so they fought without fear of death!

Faced with the simple and brutal desperate charge of thousands of orcs, the fragile human army quickly fell into chaos. A large, disorganized mass stretched as far as the eye could see. Orcs were adept at fighting this kind of chaotic battle without any strategy. A few thousand orcs were enough to throw the human army of tens of thousands into disarray, and some areas even began to show signs of collapse.

Seeing the situation deteriorate so rapidly, Richard couldn't help but regret his decision. He shouldn't have sent his troops out of the city to form ranks in the open; he should have defended the city. Even if the walls of Ideide were badly damaged, they were still better than the open plains with no shelter.

"We can't let them get any closer! Close the city gates immediately! Where are our mages? Have them prepare to unleash their spells and teach those beasts a lesson!"

On the city wall, Richard was shouting and trying to demonstrate his command skills, but as the commander-in-chief, his chaotic state was actually affecting the morale of his own side.

Fortunately, the city was in chaos at the moment, and not many people noticed their commander's panicked state.

Urged by Richard, the mage corps, which was originally reserved for crucial moments, was mobilized ahead of schedule. They were Richard's greatest asset and the allied forces' "trump card." After all, heavy weapons such as catapults and ballistae were too cumbersome to move with the main army. Therefore, the mage corps became the only "heavy firepower output unit" of the allied forces that could fight alongside the army.

After the mages climbed the city wall, they were horrified by the chaotic scene outside. They thought to themselves, "The enemy and our side are all mixed up right now. We can't just let them attack indiscriminately, can we?"

However, that's exactly what Richard thought; he didn't care about the lives of the lower classes at all.

But just then, the sound of rapid war drums echoed again from the forest behind the orcs, and a fresh force of orcs appeared before the human alliance. They were clearly more elite than their kin who had charged in haphazardly before, maintaining a relatively intact formation as they marched slowly, showing clear signs of formal military training.

Upon seeing this group of orcs, the mages of the mage corps automatically adjusted their attack targets and began chanting spells without Richard even having to urge them.

However, the mages, who were halfway through their chanting, were suddenly interrupted by a strange cry. The sharp and piercing sound made their minds tremble, and also interrupted the spell they were preparing.

Some people looked up at the clouds following the sound and saw a huge shadow moving in the clouds. Then they saw a huge and ugly bat-like creature swooping down.

Some well-informed mages, upon recognizing the monster, exclaimed in surprise, wondering why a "Nightmare Dragon," long extinct, would appear here, especially since it clearly came to aid the orcs. Its roar was an extremely terrifying wide-area mental attack that could forcibly interrupt spellcasting, making it no exaggeration to call it the nemesis of mages.

Under the sonic suppression of this ominous dragon, the mage group, already dizzy and unable to use magic, instantly became useless wastes.

Meanwhile, the ominous dragon, which resembled a giant bat, circled in the air while howling. On its back sat a burly orc warrior. The two looked around, a question lingering in their minds.

"Where exactly is that human Saint-level expert?"

Chapter 148: Their Blood, Their Land

"This is my first time in such a northern place, it's so cold."

On the deck of the paddle steamer, Dick and a group of Northern Alliance lords gazed at the coastal scenery of the wasteland. They marveled at the cold and desolation, finding it incredible that the orcs could survive in such a dreadful place.

"Actually, the orcs probably don't want to live in this godforsaken place either. I've read some ancient books left over from the time of the Holy Kingdom of the Elves. More than two thousand years ago, during the Middle Ages, the orc race was widely distributed throughout the continent. It was the elves who drove them north of the Central Mountains, and then we, the humans who rose to power later, drove them further to the wasteland with even worse conditions."

"Oh! So they want to reclaim their lost territory?"

"Lost territory my ass! That happened over a thousand years ago! All I want now is to kill their entire family!"

Several lords chatted idly, passing the time, while Dick and Lucoa flew in the sky, searching for the most suitable landing point along the coastline.

The two quickly found a shallow beach with suitable terrain. Dick landed directly and used earth magic to modify the terrain, creating three piers leading into the sea, while Lucoa flew inland to scout out enemy positions.

With the strength of a Saint-level mage, Dick, the civil engineer, built three large piers, each over ten meters wide, in less than half an hour. Lucoa also returned after patrolling the area, indicating that there were no signs of orc activity within a ten-kilometer radius of the landing site.

"The land around here is too barren; only lichen can grow there, and it's not even suitable for grazing. But why don't they fish along the coast?"

"I think the reason might be over there."

Dick pointed to the distant sea, where he could see groups of dark shadows surging out of the water, seemingly giant marine creatures over fifty meters long.

The marine species in this world are far more ferocious than those on Earth. Some legendary, dominant sea monsters can grow to several kilometers long and fight against ancient dragons without being at a disadvantage, truly demonstrating their incredible ferocity.

It is precisely because of the existence of these colossal creatures that ocean exploration in this area is severely restricted. Ships can only sail in coastal waters and must be equipped with magical devices that can repel monsters.

These magical devices, by simulating the magical wavelengths of apex predators, can effectively scare away dangerous creatures active in shallow waters, keeping them away from ships. However, if someone recklessly drives the device into the deep sea, the arrogant magical fluctuations are very likely to be mistaken by a real apex predator as an invasion and provocation from a monster of the same level, and it will charge at you without hesitation.

The ocean is both mysterious and dangerous.