Chapter 608 - 607: Overview of the War

Chapter 608: Chapter 607: Overview of the War

"I hope we don’t look like a bunch of country bumpkins," Colin said. "Let’s keep moving, sir."

Dorn muttered under his breath, "At least I’m certainly no bumpkin."

’That’s true, since you didn’t see a thing.’

Colin grumbled to himself, then hurried to catch up with Mikhailo up ahead.

The group passed through the gatehouse and into the castle’s main keep. As the keep was built on higher ground, it could only be accessed from the city walls, which was part of its Defense.

They passed through the main doors and entered the keep.

Beyond the doors was the castle’s banquet hall. A long wooden table stood in the room, and the Flame in the fireplace radiated waves of warmth.

Albert was sitting at the head of the long table, with piles of Scrolls and documents before him. He looked completely swamped.

Mikhailo turned and perched lightly on the edge of the table. "Albert, look who’s here."

Albert looked up, his eyes instantly lighting up.

He said with some surprise, "Colin? I thought it would take you at least another ten days to get here. I didn’t expect you to be so fast."

"We are Adventurers, after all," Colin replied, then asked, "I hear this business is related to the Orcs. What’s the situation exactly?"

"Have a seat first. Have you had lunch?"

"Uh, not yet. We just had breakfast."

"No rush. Sit down and have something more to eat. The weather has been quite cold lately. Eating more will warm you up."

Albert glanced at the maid standing by the door and gave a slight nod. "Bring our guests some hot stew, black bread, and some cold beer from the cellar."

After the maid bowed and withdrew, he smiled at the group. "Have a bite to eat, and I’ll fill you in."

The group found some chairs and prepared to sit, while a few servants came forward to take their luggage.

A short while later, several maids brought out the food.

The stew looked rather Ordinary, likely not prepared especially for them, but the bread was fresh from the oven and still steaming when it arrived.

Once Colin and the others were seated, Albert cleared his throat and began. "What do you know about the Orc raids?"

"I know a little," said Colin. "Sometimes, the Orcs of the North unite under a single tribal Chief and begin raiding southward. Generally, the probability of them raiding south increases significantly after a harsh winter."

"Well said. The primary reason for Orc raids is their innately warlike nature. The secondary reason is a lack of food in their lands, forcing them to raid the south.

At the same time, however, even when they plunder enough food, the large-scale raids don’t stop. At that point, their sole purpose becomes expansion and waging more war."

Albert continued, "This has been a problem for us for many years. I originally thought the Orc invasion would happen last year, but strangely, we only recently discovered signs of them massing.

In this matter, Kase’s tribe has been a great help. Their Half-Orc Scouts can travel deep into the wilds where the Orcs live and gather intelligence without arousing suspicion."

Colin took a CRUNCHy bite of the warm, crisp bread and followed it with two spoonfuls of stew.

"The number of Orc tribes gathering this time is greater than ever before. That’s why some time ago, I and several other Earls decided to conscript soldiers to face this long-overdue war."

After swallowing his food, Colin asked, "So how many troops have we raised? And how many Orcs are there?"

"The Orcs have no fewer than sixty thousand troops. We, by mustering all our strength, can gather twenty thousand. This isn’t just a matter for the Weston Clan; the other noble families of the Northern Lands have also sent their own armies.

The Dwarves from Lonely Castle and Gleamhold, as well as the Elves from the Supreme Forest, have all sent reinforcements. Troops from Rommon, Holy Tear City, and the Holy City Cadopolis are also among them, though their numbers aren’t as large."

Albert sighed, then added, "If last year’s harsh winter hadn’t been so sudden, we would have more troops now. Furthermore, the cost of mobilizing so many soldiers is astronomical. If the war drags on for more than three months, things will become very tricky."

Hearing this, Colin suddenly felt he might have underestimated the situation.

It seemed the scale of the coming Orc war would be anything but small.

"Twenty thousand... How many is that?" Kase asked, a little confused.

Colin said, "Probably several hundred times the number of people in your tribe."

Kase muttered a few more words, but from his expression, Colin could tell he still had no concept of the war’s scale. The Half-Orc had probably never seen even ten thousand people gathered in one place in his entire life; imagining such a thing was likely asking too much of him.

Ale suddenly spoke up. "Who is leading the reinforcements from the Silver Star Court?"

"That would be Leiowyn Windbranch. The lady is the Ranger Captain of the Silver Star Court. Is she an acquaintance of yours?" Albert asked.

"Not really."

After speaking, Ale let out a faint, almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

"What about the Dwarves? Did the Shield Dwarves send reinforcements?" Dorn asked, not to be outdone.

"The Dwarves are led by the Shield Dwarves’ Fourth Prince, Gron Warhammer. However, they sent fewer reinforcements this time than usual—only six hundred Dwarves in total. With the four hundred Elves, it’s just enough to make a thousand."

Albert frowned. "I suspect they may have their own troubles, but those Dwarves are being very tight-lipped about it."

"How many powerful individuals are participating in this battle?" Colin asked the question that had been on his mind. "Will any of the Legendary Figures of the Northern Lands be coming?"

"This battle is just a squabble between mortals. It’s not yet at a stage that requires Legendary Figures to intervene. However, if the situation worsens, that will be another matter entirely.

Frankly, I hope we don’t have to fight alongside those living legends. That would mean our opponents would have Legendary Figures of their own, and that would be a huge problem.

On another note, Thousand Masts City did indeed send four Gray Squads to assist us. With them, plus your group and the other hired Adventurer squads, we have a good number of skilled fighters on our side," Albert said.

Colin nodded silently.

The others exchanged glances.

None of them had expected to be considered top-tier combatants in a war involving tens of thousands of soldiers.

"Right now, we are in the phase of conscripting soldiers and gathering supplies. The real fighting probably won’t begin for another month, or even longer. During this time, you can all stay here in the castle with me to rest and build up your strength."