Chapter 220: Divide the Troops and March South

With two earls dead in just two years and the loss of most of their power, the Martins family may not have the confidence to manage their territory.

According to normal development, the Martins family will probably give up their status as hereditary earls and retreat to the ranks of ordinary nobles.

Relying on Donny Martins, they achieved a class leap, but the Martins family did not have a deep foundation and could not stabilize the situation at all.

To gain a foothold in the hereditary earl class, at least a legion with strong combat effectiveness must be pulled out. At least 10,000 elite soldiers and hundreds of Warcraft cavalry.

The earls in the south can all pull out a strong force. Even the royal family has to weigh the seven earls together.

The power held by Count Martins is a little worse than that of the Harland family and the Roman family.

If Richard is aggressive, he can expand the army by 8,000 and form a smaller legion, while Count Martins can only train 3,000 troops, and the quality of officers and soldiers and weapons and equipment are very average.

The location of the earldom is also a prominent part, which is easy to be besieged by orcs.

Although King Charles allocated him a large territory, most of it was worthless wasteland. He asked the Donny Martins family to undertake an impossible task, which was actually a performance of failure.

If the Martins family made a scene at the noble meeting and demanded to give up the title, it would be enough to make the Grant Kingdom embarrassed in the Dawn Plane.

Once the great nobles of the Grant Kingdom were worthless, the political influence would be too great.

Richard was not aware of the game in the capital. After returning to Fort William, Richard took advantage of the free time in the war to make enchanted armor.

This time, five orc battalions were surrounded and annihilated, and 200 snake-bodied professionals were killed. These snake-bodied people were basically the results of the soldiers of the Harland Territory, and the scales on their bodies were pulled off by the soldiers.

These scales can be made into more than 300 pieces of enchanted armor.

After the orcs poured in from the Gascoigne Province, they split into two groups, heading west with the strength of two legions, besieging the Flame Castle, sweeping the nearby noble territories, arresting people and robbing gold coins.

The Mad Lion Legion stationed at the Flame Castle, in cooperation with the retreating half of the Redeemer Legion, united the noble private army and the two orc legions, barely maintaining the situation.

Another half-orc legion turned west and began to attack Baron Harden's Castle, wanting to invade the Geda Province from the west to plunder.

The situation became serious, and the commander of the Redeemer Legion, Zakli, immediately asked for help from the Black River Castle.

Stein, the new commander of the Northern Legion, received the letter for help and was immediately in a dilemma.

Because of political infighting, many grassroots officers were dismissed and retired due to too many implicated, and the morale of the Northern Legion was low. Stein did not dare to fight a decisive battle with the orcs.

But once Harden Castle fell, the situation would be out of control.

Last time, he used the noble coalition to hold the front, but this kind of thing cannot be done often.

Once the noble coalition has complaints, does not work hard, and uses the serf army to fool around, the battle situation will be ruined, and he will be mainly held responsible.

After all, Richard and Viscount Roman have already won the battle, so it will be easier to find excuses.

Although he lacks confidence, at this moment, Stein must organize rescue.

He gathered the soldiers of the Northern Legion and began pre-war mobilization.

"Soldiers, officers, I know that during this period, you have suffered a lot of grievances. Many people have been punished, and some have been implicated and driven out of the Northern Legion.

These people can be called excellent officers, and many of them are your old friends and old superiors. But they are politically unreliable, and the stronger their ability, the more they should be suppressed. Who made them not stand firm politically and follow Zakli, the unlucky guy.

Now the orcs have invaded on a large scale. I know that the morale of the army is a little unstable, but we must fight.

The goal of our operation this time is to rescue Zakli, the unlucky guy. He is your old superior, and the officers under his command are all your comrades-in-arms for many years and companions of life and death.

I order the first battalion, the third battalion, and the sixth battalion to be the vanguard echelon, and send troops to rescue today."

The third battalion commanded by William and the sixth battalion commanded by Bernie had no officers implicated because of their correct political stance. These two battalions were the least affected.

The former captain of the first battalion was the deputy legion commander. Because of his high status and average relationship with Zakli, he was slightly less affected.

Now William has been promoted to deputy commander of the army and captain of the first battalion, and Bernie has been transferred to the Crazy Lion Legion. The commanders of the third and sixth battalions were replaced by officers close to Stein.

However, the new captain has been in office for a short time, and William has much more influence on these two battalions.

Moreover, William has the highest military rank, the most senior qualifications, and the strongest strength, so he is the commander of the first echelon.

Black River Fort is 160 kilometers away from Harden Castle, but this section of the road is connected by water.

Board a ship from Black River Fort, go upstream for 100 kilometers, and then sail 80 kilometers along the Kaiya River, a tributary of the Black River, to the west of Harden Castle.

Water transport is not only fast, but also more convenient for transporting various logistical materials.

William commanded three battalions and set up camp by the Kaiya River, forming a corner with Harden Castle to form a complete line of defense.

After the battlefield situation changed, Zach wrote a personal letter to Richard requesting support.

Richard led the soldiers of Harland Territory to Pratos Castle and confronted five orc battalions. Zachli concentrated his soldiers at Harden Castle to hold on and wait for reinforcements.

Richard and William, father and son, were less than 50 kilometers apart. Although they were on the same battlefield, they could not meet because of the urgency of the war.

At this time, a strategic confrontation had formed in the direction of Pratos to Harden Castle.

On the defensive side, the first-line defenders of the Grant Kingdom totaled 19,000. Richard led 5,000 troops, including 3,500 main forces and 1,500 auxiliary troops, stationed in the Pratos fortress group. There were five battalions of orcs opposite Richard, with a total number of about 10,000.

In the direction of Harden Castle, there were 8,000 Redeemer Legion stationed in the city, and three battalions of 6,000 Northern Legion on the river outside the city, with a total force of 14,000, while the orcs opposite them had one and a half legions, with a total number of about 40,000 including auxiliary troops.

However, the Grant Kingdom still had a large number of second-line troops that could be reinforced at any time.

The remaining strength of the Northern Legion was 18,000, and the noble coalition of the Geda Province could also withdraw 5,000 troops. All the troops were gathered together, enough to fight a decisive battle with the orcs.

Outside Harden Castle, the orcs launched several tentative attacks, which were easily repelled by the defenders.

William and Zachley were both excellent officers, and the subordinates they commanded were also elite soldiers and generals.

The three battalions commanded by William were the main battalions of the Northern Legion. The three battalions had a total strength of 6,000 soldiers, more than 400 professionals, and more than 600 pieces of enchanted armor.

These three battalions were very powerful and could defeat the remaining seven battalions of the Northern Legion in one fell swoop, especially the first battalion, which had more than 200 professionals and was second only to the Warcraft Cavalry Battalion in terms of combat effectiveness.

Even in a hand-to-hand fight with the orcs, the combat effectiveness of the troops commanded by William could match that of five battalions of orcs, equivalent to half of the orc legion.

Moreover, the camp built by William was close to the river and could get support from the navy.

The transport ships were equipped with small catapults, crossbows and other heavy weapons. The orcs made two tentative attacks, killing and wounding five or six hundred soldiers, but did not find any weaknesses at all.

If you want to conquer William's camp, you may have to cripple an orc army.

The Redeemer Army commanded by Zakri is not a winning army. This army is organized by nobles who have failed in political standing, especially the southern nobles, who hope to turn over by relying on military exploits, and the soldiers can be said to be carefully selected.

In addition, many officers of the Northern Army who were implicated chose to surrender to their old superiors. These people are very good at fighting, and Zakri knows them very well. He knows people and assigns them to appropriate positions. Although the combat effectiveness of the Redeemer Army is not as good as the main army, it is stronger than the second-line army.

In the orc army tent, the army commander, the ninth-level werewolf Suya Sola, sat in the middle, and a large number of orc senior officers sat on both sides below.

"The battle situation is clear, let's all say what we think."

An orc captain held a whip and said carefully: "The main force of the Northern Army has not appeared yet. We must be cautious in our actions to avoid revealing flaws."

The Northern Army has annihilated the Orc Army twice in a row. The orc senior officers are a little afraid of this army.

Deputy Legion Commander, the ninth-rank dragon vein dog-headed man Usmat, nodded and said, "Through the intelligence sent back by human spies last year, we know that a civil war broke out in the Kingdom of Grant. Prince Roger and King Charles fought for the right to rule the country. In the end, Prince Roger won. The civil war lasted for more than a month. Unfortunately, when the intelligence came back, the civil war had ended. Otherwise, we could have won a brilliant victory during the civil war."

The situation last year was indeed very dangerous. If the civil war lasted longer and the orcs were involved, a large area of ​​the northern border of the Kingdom of Grant would be lost.

When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs be intact? If the overall situation fails, the territory of Harland will not be spared. If things go wrong, the accumulation of many years will be destroyed.

After hearing this, Suyasola frowned and said, "What's the point of saying this? Let's talk about your opinion first. Should we withdraw the main force to attack Harden Castle and fight a decisive battle with the human army?"

"I don't think there is a chance of winning a decisive battle. It's better to split the troops and plunder."

Suyasola turned his head and stared at the other orc officers: "Your opinion is also to split the troops and plunder?"

"Yes, after splitting the troops, we will go south and grab a handful of the Laber Basin. At Harden Castle, just leave one legion."

Although Suyasola wanted to fight a decisive battle with the human army, other orc officers wanted to go south to plunder.

The orcs are a tribal alliance system. Although Sulasola is the supreme commander, he has to listen to the opinions of the majority to a certain extent.

After the orc army discussed, it was decided to split the troops and go south.

The legion commander Suyasola took a main legion of 25,000 orcs to watch the Harden Castle garrison.

The other 15,000 orcs bypassed Harden Castle and began to march towards the hinterland of Gascoigne Province.

The first one to suffer was Baron Paul.

An ordinary barony could not hold off the orcs for a few days.

Although Baron Paul resisted fiercely and fought to the last man with his soldiers, he also killed and injured hundreds of orc soldiers with the help of the catapults on the top of the city. However, the territory was only defended for a day and a half, and more than 10,000 people were captured by the orcs, and the food and gold coins in the territory became the spoils of the orcs.

Next were the four barons Pellet, Wesker, Pete, and Ramos, who could not hold on for a few days.

The orcs moved their troops westward and entered the three baronies of Burnham, Tynes, and Sisse.

The three barons of Burnham, Sisse and Tynes were strong and mobilized 20,000 serfs. These serfs fought bravely. They formed a coalition and fought to the death. They caused the orcs to lose 2,000 soldiers and failed to capture Burnham Castle.

Although they captured five baronies, the orcs had lost 3,000 soldiers at this moment. In addition to the 2,000 soldiers lost in Burnham Territory, the orc army heading south had less than 10,000 soldiers.

By this time, the orcs had already seized a large number of people and supplies and achieved their strategic goals. They were not prepared to fight a hard battle with the soldiers of the Grant Kingdom.

After the orcs divided their troops and went south, Richard did not take the initiative to fight.

In the previous battles, Harland Territory had lost some soldiers. More than 200 soldiers were killed in the previous and subsequent battles, and there were also 400 to 500 wounded soldiers.

Compared with the number of soldiers in the territory, the casualties were not light. If the veteran backbones were killed and there was no virtuous cycle, it would probably take ten years to re-form this elite army.

So Richard tried to avoid the next battle.

The orcs in the north of the Pratos fortress group did not want to suffer too many casualties due to the blockade of the catapults, and did not take the initiative to attack the fortress.

The state of no war on the northern front lasted until June.

In the past three months, the orcs who were divided into troops and marched south have won victory after victory, conquered five baronies, and entered the Laber Basin to rob.

In just three months, the orcs have robbed a population of 120,000.

Such a heavy loss made the capital extremely angry.

King Roger had led troops to fight for many years, and he grasped the key at once. He wrote a letter to reprimand Stein, the commander of the Northern Legion. He asked him to take responsibility and take back the population looted by the orcs, otherwise he would be held accountable after the war and deprived of his hereditary noble status.

At this time, Stein had no reason to avoid the war.

Although the orcs robbed the population of Gascoigne Province, the responsibility seemed to have nothing to do with Stein. The Geda Province also won a victory, and if there is any responsibility to be held accountable, it should be the Mad Lion Legion.

But Roger was experienced in the military and had a correct view of the war situation, so he did not need to listen to other people's opinions.

The reason why Gascoigne Province suffered heavy losses in this battle was because Stein avoided the battle.

If the Northern Army took the initiative to take responsibility, the orcs would not have been able to split their troops, and Gascoigne Province would not have been plundered by the orcs.

Even if he had reasons to avoid the battle, King Roger labeled Stein as someone who did not understand the overall situation.