Chapter 297 Great Victory on the Eastern Front
The three-day fierce attack and defense of the Pratos Fortress resulted in 4,000 casualties among the orcs.
Although the orcs’ culture is barbaric and their ability to withstand casualties exceeds that of the human army, the casualties are close to one-third, which has a very serious impact on the morale of the orcs.
Moreover, there are still human defenders in the Pratos defense line. There are 800 soldiers of the Northern Legion in Fortress No. 3, and nearly 2,000 coalition troops in Fortress No. 9 and Fortress No. 8.
In order to protect the rear, 4,000 orcs must be left to watch this enemy.
Leading 6,000 orcs deep behind enemy lines, the slightest mistake will lead to the annihilation of the entire army. Grodan is a cautious commander and it is difficult for him to make such a decision.
Moreover, the three-day continuous fierce attack has also exhausted the last bit of the orcs’ strength. Grodan is no longer able to continue to advance and can only rest for a while.
After weighing the pros and cons, Grodan immediately wrote a battle report to the commander-in-chief Kiram, reporting the details of the battle, and wrote his own opinions, asking for some reinforcements to be transferred to him. Only by withdrawing the four major battalions of the legion can we be sure to execute the order to insert behind the enemy.
Through the aerial reconnaissance of the harpy, Grodan knew that across the Pratos Mountains was the densely populated area of Harland Territory, where more than 50,000 serfs could be recruited to defend the city.
Although the serfs were weak in combat, they could still kill orcs in the defensive battle as long as they dared to fight. Without enough troops, it would be really fatal to attack castles one by one.
Just as Grodan was waiting for reinforcements to rest, the orc army on the eastern front of Harland Territory fell into a dilemma of being besieged on three sides.
The Gatlin tribe originally planned to advance alone, attract the Grant Kingdom army, adopt the tactics of center blooming, attack the rear of Harland Territory, shake the morale and military spirit of the northern front army, and cooperate with the main force to encircle and annihilate the enemy.
Unexpectedly, after passing through Harland Territory, they fell into the trap of the Grant Kingdom army.
The orcs had just conquered Viscount Nelson's territory and were about to enter the core of Harland Territory along the Black River, but found that the Grizzly Legion had entered Graveson County and was blocked halfway.
After the establishment of Grota Province, the Grant Kingdom had a total of four legions in the northern border, three of which had been put into battle. Each legion had tied down an orc army, and only the Grizzly Legion was still active in the rear.
Although the Grizzly Legion suffered heavy losses in the last war, and more than half of the soldiers were recruits, this army had more than 20,000 soldiers after all, and was equipped with alchemical bombs, and its combat effectiveness far exceeded that of the Gatlin orcs.
The orcs thought that the Grizzly Legion would learn from the lessons of the last war and would not rashly leave the fortress to avoid falling into the orc trap.
Unexpectedly, William took over as the leader of the Grizzly Legion. William had a special relationship with Harland and would definitely cooperate with Harland in the battle.
After the orc invasion, Soros had already informed William of the situation of the Gatlin Tribe through the Lion Duck Knight.
With detailed intelligence, William overcame all objections in the Grizzly Legion, persuaded the main officers, and appeared near Graveson with reinforcements to block the Gatlin Tribe.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Gatlin wanted to return from the original route, but was blocked by Soros. At the same time, the Eagle Corps in the east also blocked the lower reaches of the Black River, causing Gatlin's troops to be surrounded by three armies.
Among the three armies, the Grizzlies Corps in the west had the strongest combat effectiveness, with about 20,000 soldiers and a 300-man Warcraft cavalry. The Soros Corps in the north was second, with a total of 7,000 regular troops from the Harland Territory. Although the Eagle Corps in the east had 12,000 soldiers, its combat effectiveness was the weakest, far less powerful than the Soros Corps.
Gatlin's troops originally had five orc battalions, adding up to more than 10,000 orc troops, but were ambushed by Norman in the Canyon Castle and lost 1,600 people. They also lost more than 700 people when they attacked Viscount Nelson's territory. Now there are less than 8,000 orcs left in the main force.
The 8,000 orcs were besieged by three armies and were immediately in a situation where they could not get any help from the heavens or the earth.
The orcs originally planned to adopt a two-wing tactic, with the main force hoarded in the middle of the Eagle Mountains to contain the army of Harland Territory, with Gatlin and Grodan as the spearheads, inserting into the hinterland of Harland Territory, disrupting the front line of Harland Territory from the inside, and completely destroying this enemy in the rising period.
Unexpectedly, Harland Territory did the opposite, trying its best to delay Grodan in the west, taking advantage of Grodan's cautious character to buy time. In cooperation with the garrison of the Rah Province of the Grant Kingdom on the eastern front, Gatlin's tribe was successfully besieged.
Among the three armies, the garrison of Flying Eagle Castle had the weakest combat effectiveness. This army was difficult to withstand the attack of the orcs in the field. William, who had commanded the Flying Swallow Legion in battle, was not assured of the combat effectiveness of this second-line legion, so he arranged for them to guard Flying Eagle Castle and set up a water fort to block the orcs and prevent the orcs from advancing eastward.
The Grizzly Legion advanced from north to south with the Soros Division, destroying the orc army in the field.
Although Gatlin's army was determined to move forward, they were unwilling to fight with humans and wanted to rely on their marching speed to get rid of the enemy.
However, the Grizzlies and Harland Corps were both elite field armies. Although their marching speed was slightly slower than that of the orcs, they were marching in the interior and could get certain reinforcements. In addition, with their large numbers, they quickly confined the orcs to a small terrain of several square kilometers.
At this moment, Gatlin could no longer avoid the fate of being surrounded.
The spring rain was continuous, and large drops of rain fell from the sky. In this bad weather, humans and orcs had to fight hard.
The orc army was stationed on a ridge and occupied a favorable terrain.
Harland and the Grizzlies had to attack from above if they wanted to eliminate this enemy.
Behind the Soros army, dozens of catapults were assembled by a large number of craftsmen.
Harland has developed for so many years, and has trained tens of thousands of craftsmen, and the industry has also developed to a certain level. Especially the standard equipment, the size and specifications are exactly the same, as long as enough parts are brought, it is very easy to assemble the catapult.
In just half a day, a large number of catapults have been assembled. As the officer ordered, the capstan hand waved the sharp blade in his hand, cut the rope on the catapult, and the huge pole was raised high, and the stone bullets weighing dozens of kilograms hit the orcs like raindrops.
Despite the unfavorable terrain, the orcs lacked long-range projection means. Soros's forward camp was very close to the orc camp, and the stone bullets could still shoot more than 130 meters away to attack the orcs.
In an instant, a large number of orcs were hit by stones, and the orc camp was bloody for a while, and many people were killed and injured.
The orc officers organized several teams, hoping to take advantage of the geographical advantages and launch several counterattacks to drive Harland's army down the mountain. Unfortunately, they could not break through Harland's formation. Instead, they were killed and wounded by arrows and alchemical bombs, with heavy casualties.
Soros alone gave the orcs a headache, and the Grizzlies led by William were not easy to deal with. The orcs could only disperse their forces to resist the enemies on both sides of the ridge.
In just one afternoon, the orcs suffered nearly 3,000 casualties and were squeezed in the small ridge.
"Bang!"
A stone bullet hit the wooden fence, making a muffled sound, and the broken wood pieces flew everywhere, instantly hitting four or five orcs.
The wailing sounded immediately, and the miserable scene affected the other orcs, making everyone fall into fear.
Seeing that the wailing of the wounded affected the morale, perhaps because of too much pressure, a third-level lion officer immediately ran over, waving a long knife in his hand, and killed several wailing wounded soldiers without hesitation. Seeing this scene, the nearby orcs suddenly widened their eyes.
In an instant, the surrounding area became unusually quiet, and the air seemed to freeze.
Most of the wounded killed by the lion officer were werewolves.
In the Orc Empire, there are serious conflicts among the races. If it were not for the pressure of the human empire, the various messy races would not unite to form the Orc Alliance.
The lion officer slaughtered the werewolf wounded, which instantly aroused public outrage.
A werewolf soldier suddenly let out a long howl, raised the iron spear in his hand and stabbed the third-level lion. The werewolves around him had red eyes, and almost without hesitation, they attacked the brutal lion with weapons.
The orc army has clear levels, and the power between superiors and subordinates is seriously unequal, so this kind of thing rarely happens.
The third-level lion man did not react at all, and died in the siege of the werewolf soldiers in the blink of an eye.
Once civil strife occurs, it is difficult to suppress it, and the orc army is still under siege. Gatlin received the news of the rebellion of the werewolf soldiers. He finally suppressed the civil strife, but the human army at the foot of the mountain launched a general attack.
William and Soros are both experienced commanders. They have more than 30 years of military service and have participated in hundreds of battles. They are veterans from the northern border area.
Although the orcs had a short period of civil strife, they seized the opportunity and launched a fierce attack from both the north and south.
Suddenly, fierce drumbeats appeared in the wilderness, and heavy infantry phalanxes organized their formations and quickly attacked the orcs.
"Soldiers, it's time to avenge our brothers and sisters. The orcs can no longer hold on. We must win this battle. Everyone follow me to charge and kill all the orcs."
Soros rode on an iron-horned horse, roared, and took the lead in charging the orcs. He rode on the iron-horned horse, constantly pulling the bowstring in his hand and shooting left and right. Soros's archery has reached the highest level. Among the millions of armed personnel in the Kingdom of Grant, he can be ranked among the top 100.
Every time he shoots an enchanted arrow, he can kill an orc professional.
Although Soros is only a seventh-level professional, his threat to the orc grassroots officers is stronger than that of William, who is a ninth-level professional.
Seeing Soros so brave and killing a large number of his own people, the deputy commander of the orcs, Gatlin, wanted to organize a counterattack to kill this enemy.
Unexpectedly, the Grizzlies attacked the top of the mountain first.
After all, the Grizzlies have a 300-man Warcraft cavalry, which is the core of the Grizzlies' combat power. In the last war, although the Grizzlies suffered heavy losses, this Warcraft cavalry had a faster speed and less combat power loss. After three years, it has been replenished.
When attacking, the impact of the Warcraft cavalry was extremely amazing. Hundreds of Warcraft horses released spells at the same time, causing extremely strong destructive power. Three hundred magic missiles were fired, and with the rain of arrows shot out, they directly defeated two squadrons of orcs.
William led the way, the enchanted sword in his hand turned into a series of afterimages, and rolled up a whirlwind of death on the road ahead. More than a dozen orcs who could not dodge were cut in half by William.
Blood mixed with internal organs splashed out, turning into a hellish scene.
Seeing that the enemy general was so brave, Gatlin had to give up looking for trouble with Soros and fight William head-on.
Gatlin was an eighth-level lion man with very strong power. William was also a gifted person, and his professional level was higher than Gatlin. The fight between the two was extremely dangerous. Every time the weapons collided, there was a thunder-like sound.
But William had countless comrades around him, and he rode on an iron-horned horse under his crotch, while Gatlin had only 20 or 30 orc soldiers around him.
After just one attack, Gatlin had become a lonely man.
Although he was an eighth-level professional and had bloodline spells to use, Gatlin's fate was doomed when he was surrounded by three hundred Warcraft cavalrymen.
Gatlin had just blocked the attacks of several professional officers and immediately revealed a flaw. Seeing the flaw, William raised his enchanted spear and decisively launched a charge. The huge impact force instantly pierced through Gatlin's enchanted armor. Although the eighth-level lion man struggled desperately, he still died in William's hands.
Gatlin's death greatly hit the morale of the orcs. The remaining orcs could no longer organize resistance and wanted to flee down the mountain in a panic.
The orcs had long been surrounded by the human army. Except for a few lucky ones who escaped at night, most of the orcs became prisoners.
After the war, the two armies gathered and captured a total of 3,200 orcs, including more than 200 orc professionals. Unfortunately, there were no eagles among the prisoners.
Richard participated in six orc invasions and was a veteran with fifteen years of military service. He had led his troops to capture the deputy commander of the orcs, but he had never captured the harpy.
The casualties of the two armies were not very heavy. The Harland troops led by Soros lost more than 260 people and 450 people were injured. The Grizzlies under William suffered heavy casualties, with about 426 people killed and nearly 700 injured.
In this battle, the human army suffered 1,800 casualties, nearly 700 deaths, and completely annihilated the 8,000 orcs, killed the deputy commander of the orcs, Gatlin, and captured 3,200 orcs, winning a brilliant victory.
After this battle, half of the orcs were annihilated, turning the balance of victory and defeat a few points.
After annihilating Gatlin's troops, the Grizzlies led by William had no time to rest, and letters for help were sent from the east and west without distinction.
The western part is naturally Harland Territory. Richard sent a letter for help to his father William, hoping to join forces with the Grizzly Legion to defeat the main force of Kiram in one fell swoop.
The letter for help in the east came from Duke Jonathan Territory. The troops led by Prince Macmillan could no longer withstand the attack of the two orc legions, so they sent a letter for help to the Grizzly Legion in the rear.
William is Richard's father and a member of the Harland family. Harland Territory is closer to the Grizzly Legion, so it will naturally support Fort William nearby. Moreover, there are three legions of orcs in this direction, which is more stressful.