Chapter 615 - 614: The Bottom Line of Defense

Chapter 615: Chapter 614: The Bottom Line of Defense

"There’s far more to it than that. Remember I told you we’d have to go back one day, Colin, my friend?"

Kase said, his tone serious, "This is no joke. My ancestors told me we are destined to be the key to stopping them, not just participants. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Your ancestors can still talk to you... Never mind that. We’re not planning to counterattack all the way into the Orc Wilderness, are we?" Colin asked, turning to Albert, who was sitting next to him.

"That’s right. The main army definitely won’t be going. The budgets of the various Earls simply aren’t enough to cover such an expense."

Albert continued, "I’ll add another hundred Gold Coins to your reward once we return. It’s what you’ve earned, and you can consider it compensation. I don’t believe this Orc Chief had any Magic Items on him.

Furthermore, thank you for everything you’ve done. Without a doubt, if the two of you hadn’t killed that Orc Chief, our casualties would have been far greater."

"Hmm... thank you for your generosity," Colin said.

"Enough talk about destiny and Orcs," Dorn grumbled, picking up a wooden bowl and beginning to ladle stew for the others. "Come and eat some hot stew. We won’t have the strength to travel otherwise, and if we get ambushed by Orcs again, we’ll be in real trouble."

"There won’t be that many Orcs," Colin said as he took his stew.

"You never know," Dorn snapped back.

Albert pushed himself up by his knees, walked off to the side, and said, "I’ll go find you all some beer."

Colin watched Albert’s back as he walked away, a sense of foreboding stirring deep inside him.

「Several days later.」

As the column marched on, the weather gradually turned foul.

Colin gazed up at the dark, gloomy sky.

If he hadn’t just climbed out of his sleeping bag a few hours earlier, he would have sworn it was already evening, not high noon.

Gusts of bleak, cold wind swirled the fallen leaves, sweeping them across the road at the company’s feet.

The Recruits marched with their heads hanging low, the morale boost from the beer long since eroded by the endless days of marching.

After rounding a stand of coniferous forest, a massive castle loomed into view without warning. It was a behemoth built of stone blocks, sprawling horizontally along the bank of the North River, a heavy weight on the horizon.

The river’s water had been channeled into canals around the walls, forming a deep moat.

The moat, along with three layers of walls and dozens of towers, constituted the castle’s defensive system.

Figures could be seen moving faintly upon the walls, where long, narrow arrowslits stared out like hostile eyes, fixed upon the castle’s surroundings.

The Giant Crossbows and catapults mounted on the towers were especially conspicuous.

Piles of Crossbow Arrows beside the Giant Crossbows glinted coldly, and next to them were stacks of neatly cut, square stone blocks.

Other towers had beds of soft straw and take-off platforms, likely for housing Griffins.

The spires of the main keep and several Divine Halls pierced the sky like Daggers, their grayish-white color standing out starkly against the gloomy heavens. On the shorter buildings below, rows of small chimneys stood, from which wisps of pale cooking smoke drifted lazily toward the sky.

In the sky above, Griffin Knights patrolled in formation, the sight of these warriors atop their giant beasts as awe-inspiring as ever.

Even from a distance, Colin could faintly discern the Magic Radiance enveloping the castle.

He mentally estimated the castle’s size.

This castle was immense, seemingly even larger than Horn Castle in the heart of Thousand Masts City.

’But the Magic Radiance within Horn Castle is much stronger than this castle’s.’

’That means the Magic Arrays of the two castles aren’t even in the same league. In terms of both defensive power and sheer might, this castle is far inferior.’

’Of course, Horn Castle is part of Thousand Masts City, so it’s not really fair to compare its size or Magic Radiance with this castle. They’re just on completely different scales.’

"This is Marlin Castle, the core fortress in the Defense against the Orcs," Albert explained with a smile. "Not a single Orc has managed to breach it in several hundred years."

"That’s truly impressive," Colin nodded.

"This is the defensive heart of the Northern Lands," Albert said quietly. "The worst outcome we can tolerate is the Orc tribes reaching the foot of this castle, only to meet their end here. No one can accept anything worse."

The column slowly approached the front of the castle.

Because the Scouts had already announced their arrival, the Guards on the gatehouse didn’t question them.

The Recruits at the rear of the column immediately began unloading tents from the wagons and setting up camp outside the castle.

For a variety of reasons, such as the limited coverage of a Magic Array and supply requirements, castles in this world were never built to be excessively large.

It was said that the largest castle in the world could garrison a maximum of only ten thousand people. If the elite soldiers were to be housed comfortably, the Recruits would have to make do with less.

Colin followed Albert on horseback, crossing the drawbridge at the main gate and entering the castle.

Just inside the gate, he saw numerous porters in short tunics busily hauling goods. The road was lined with facilities like stables, bakeries, and breweries. Several blacksmiths were hammering away in their forges.

At first glance, the area was no different from a small town.

"We generally call this the ’Lower Castle’," Albert explained. "The living conditions here are a little worse. If the army isn’t too large, the Recruits are quartered in this area.

It mostly houses non-essential production facilities. Even if it’s breached, it won’t cause catastrophic losses to the rest of the castle."

While explaining, Albert led the group to the stables to see to their animals.

The group then proceeded through the second wall.

Within this wall stood several tall buildings. People who had clearly undergone military training walked about, as did several Priests in robes.

At the same time, suits of Full Plate Armor appeared along the sides of the road, displayed like decorations.

’Setting aside the fact that I can see the Magic Radiance on them, no normal person would display Plate Armor outdoors. One look is all it takes to know something is off about them.’

At the same time, he noticed Runes carved into stone blocks, ivy clinging to the walls, an inconspicuous brick here and there...

’Gods know how many Magic Items are in this place,’ Colin realized.

"I’m guessing this must be the ’Middle Castle’," said Dorn, still mounted on his goat.

"Correct," Albert replied. "This section primarily contains the dining halls and granaries, as well as facilities like the reception halls and treasury. It’s a rather important area."

They hadn’t gone much farther when Colin suddenly noticed someone by the side of the road waving at him.

He looked closer and saw that the person waving was Sela, dressed in a sky-blue robe.