Chapter 611 - 610: The Real Battle

Chapter 611: Chapter 610: The Real Battle

Colin sighed and began to explain. "The ones setting out now are the Recruits gathered from the surrounding area. Since the various nobles are arriving at the front lines at different speeds and via different routes, and because the front needs soldiers on hand just in case, they have to depart in batches.

"Also, this way, the army can use the supplies from the castles along the route while they’re marching. Staggering the departures also gives the castles time to gather food from the surrounding manors, making the resupply process smoother."

’Of course, the main reason is that the Northern Nobles lack centralized authority, so they can’t coordinate everything uniformly.’

’If it were possible, mobilizing food and troops all at once would certainly be more convenient, but not even Albert can directly interfere in the internal affairs of the nobles.’

’If he did, all the Northern Nobles would surely object, as it would be tantamount to weakening their power.’

"Mhm." Kase nodded, saying with an expression that showed he didn’t understand at all, "Got it."

"Alright, I’ll just assume you got it."

"Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, Colin?" Kase said, a little disgruntled.

Colin just gave him a couple of perfunctory replies.

As the group chatted, the column slowly advanced.

After a while, the few of them at the front ran out of things to talk about and fell into a silent march.

As they advanced, murmurs would occasionally rise from the rear of the column. Colin glanced back at the Recruits behind him.

Most of the Recruits following them looked listless, staggering and swaying as they walked.

Rather than an army preparing for war, they looked more like a group of elementary schoolers on a field trip. Even the better-equipped city Recruits were no different.

It wasn’t that Colin wanted to blame them; he just felt that these people should never have been part of a war in the first place.

He felt the [Burning Blood] hanging at his waist grow a little heavier. Perhaps Veteran John and Davin had been brought to the battlefield just like this, and that was how their tragedy had occurred.

But it couldn’t be helped.

The pillaging Orcs wouldn’t spare them just because they didn’t stand up and fight. Even if their lives were spared, these people would starve to death after the Orcs plundered their food.

After several days of marching along the main road, the column drew closer to its destination, and the villages they saw along the way became fewer and farther between.

The march was much like when Colin and his group traveled on their own.

The only difference was that there were basically no animals to be seen along the way; most monsters would avoid such a large concentration of human activity.

Perhaps the biggest benefit was that their small party didn’t need to send out scouts to reconnoiter ahead. That duty fell to the followers of the Manor Knights.

Additionally, Colin and the others no longer had to pay for supplies; they could get them directly from the villages or castles along the route.

This made things much easier for the party.

「One afternoon.」

Colin was organizing his Spellbook on horseback when Kase’s voice suddenly came from beside him. "Why is there black smoke in the distance?"

"Perhaps there’s a fire or something," said Dorn, who was riding his goat. "I’m guessing it’s the work of an Orc raiding party that came here through the underground tunnels."

No sooner had he spoken than a figure on a Warhorse appeared ahead of the column, galloping rapidly toward them.

A closer look revealed it was one of the Knight’s followers who had set out this morning to act as a Scout.

Before he even got close, the man shouted from a distance, "There are Orcs attacking a village up ahead, my lord!"

"To arms!" Albert immediately shouted to the rear.

The Manor Knights at the back immediately spurred their horses toward the rear of the column, shouting for the Recruits to retrieve their Heavy Armor, Long Spears, and other gear that was inconvenient to carry on the march from the wagons, while quickly donning their own Armor.

Albert, too, dismounted.

Several followers came forward with his equipment and helped him arm himself quickly.

’Seeing this, Colin couldn’t help but think that his [Empowerment Armor] Specialty was really convenient. At least he didn’t need several people to help him put on his Armor every morning when he got up.’

Once the Scout drew near, Albert asked, "What’s the specific situation?"

"There’s definitely a large number of Orcs besieging the village. I didn’t get an exact count, but there are definitely more than a hundred of them. They don’t have many Warg Riders among them.

"The Orcs are using their war wagons as siege hammers to attack right now. The village has a wooden palisade for Defense, but it definitely won’t hold for much longer!"

"It seems Mr. Shadow Anvil was right. We’re in a perfect position to deal with this problem," Albert said.

Dorn shot Colin a knowing glance. "It’s not that strange to guess something like this once you know the pattern."

Just then, Mikhailo rode up from the rear and asked, "Tell us the key objectives for this engagement, my lord."

"Try to capture an intelligent Orc. I need to know which direction they came from. Also, remember to take men to cut off the Orcs’ retreat. Don’t let them escape into the forest; that would be troublesome," Albert instructed. "Leave a contingent behind to guard the baggage train. We only need five hundred men."

"As you wish, my lord."

Mikhailo gave a slight nod, then rode into the column, calling out to others to help relay the orders.

Meanwhile, the Scout spurred his horse toward the front of the column, likely to relay orders to the followers up ahead.

This time, the Recruits got their gear ready much faster than before.

It took only ten minutes for everyone to grab their weapons and form up into ranks under the direction of the Knights’ followers.

"Advance!"

Albert, now clad in Full Plate Armor, mounted his horse and then gestured forward.

Seeing the signal, the Knights at the rear began shouting commands. Amidst the cries, the Recruits advanced slowly, weapons in hand.

Kase looked around excitedly and said, "Now this is more like it! What was that pathetic display the other day?"

Colin, however, couldn’t feel excited at all.

Although the numbers weren’t massive, a genuine battle was about to unfold before his very eyes.

He had led merchant caravans against Orcs before, but back then, they were the ones being ambushed, not a formal army going into battle.

The Recruits advanced slowly in a rectangular battle formation. After marching for about a kilometer, they arrived at the top of a gentle slope.

Below them was the village, currently under siege by the Orcs.

The village wasn’t particularly large, but despite that, a sturdy log wall had been erected around it, and the villagers were fighting for their lives on top of it.

The black smoke was from the Orcs, who were setting fires along the wall, trying to breach it with Flame.

Upon seeing the square formation appear on the slope, several Orc lookouts stationed at the perimeter broke into a run toward their own troops, shouting loudly to alert their comrades as they went.