Chapter 57: The Kobolds

About an hour later.

The vast Kobold army finally appeared on the open ground outside Vanguard Valley Castle.

Those dense gray figures were like a moving dark cloud, bringing huge pressure.

Commander Kaersasi stood in front of the army, looking up at this castle that had taken initial shape but appeared exceptionally sturdy.

A trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

This castle was larger and sturdier than he had imagined.

He didn't launch a general attack immediately.

He needed to probe the defensive capability of this castle and the strength of the humans inside first.

"Geluomu!"

He pointed at that fanatical chief.

"You take one thousand clansmen to attack that castle!"

"Remember, don't get entangled; find out their bottom line!"

Geluomu showed an excited expression on his face.

"Yes! Commander!"

He immediately turned around and shouted, gathering one thousand Kobolds with mixed equipment.

These Kobolds held all kinds of weapons—some had rusty axes, some had simple spears, and some Kobolds only held sharpened wooden sticks.

Their leather armor was tattered, and some Kobolds had no protection at all.

This was a typical cannon fodder troop.

Kaersasi watched their figures charging toward the castle, with no pity in his eyes.

For war, some deaths were unavoidable.

"For wealth!"

"For glory!"

"Kill all the humans!"

The Kobolds let out fanatical roars, rushing toward Vanguard Valley Castle like a tide.

Castle wall.

Roko looked at the Kobolds rushing over like a gray tide below, his face calm.

"Hart."

He didn't look back, just said lightly.

"The first wave of attacks, leave it to the arrow towers and archers."

"Let them taste the power of our Vanguard Valley."

"Yes! Master!"

Hart immediately took the order and left.

"Shoot!"

Following Hart's order.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Countless arrows poured down from the arrow towers and city walls like raindrops.

These arrows were all meticulously crafted by Dwarf craftsmen and were extremely sharp.

The Kobolds rushing at the front couldn't react at all before being shot through the body by the arrows.

Screams rose one after another.

Immediately following was the dull sound of the bed crossbows.

"Hum!"

The huge crossbow arrows whistled and shot accurately into the dense crowd of Kobolds.

Each crossbow arrow could pierce through several Kobolds' bodies, pinning them to the ground.

The archers on the city wall were all strictly trained, and their archery was precise and lethal.

The Kobolds' simple leather armor couldn't block their attacks at all.

The first wave of impact caused dozens of casualties to the Kobolds.

However, the Kobolds, stimulated by the smell of blood, became even more fanatical.

They ignored the corpses of their companions, let out even higher-pitched howls, and frantically rushed toward the city wall.

"Charge up!"

"Climb the city wall!"

"Tear the humans apart!"

The Kobolds waved the weapons in their hands, attempting to climb the steep city wall.

"Throw stones!"

Hart issued the order again.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Huge stones rolled down from the city wall, smashing into the Kobolds climbing up.

The impact of the stones smashed the Kobolds' bones, and they fell from the city wall, wailing.

Under the city wall, Hart commanded the soldiers and the newly recruited reservists to form a shield wall on the outer city wall to resist the Kobolds attempting to ram the city gate.

"Hold steady!"

"Don't panic!"

Hart's voice was like a pillar of stability, stabilizing the morale of the soldiers.

However, the Kobolds' impact was too fierce.

Some defensive lines composed of new recruits and serfs suffered casualties under the huge pressure.

After all, they had never experienced such a bloody battle.

Roko stood on the city wall, taking all of this into his eyes.

He saw the fear of the new recruits and the tenacity of the veterans.

As well as the fanaticism of the Kobolds and their miserable state of death under the rain of arrows.

This was a cruel war.

There was no retreat, only life or death.

Fura gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, looking coldly at the city wall below.

She was ready to rush down at any time to clear all obstacles for Roko.

Martina hugged the ledger; although afraid, she still tried to remain calm.

What she could do now was to stand by Roko's side and give him support.

The battle lasted for a whole day.

The Kobolds were like tireless machines, impacting the city wall wave after wave.

But the defense of Vanguard Valley was far sturdier than they had imagined.

Arrows and stones never stopped.

The knights also took turns to go into battle, using their strength to repel the Kobolds attempting to climb the city wall.

At dusk.

Commander Kaersasi looked at the large number of clansmen's corpses lying under the city wall, a trace of irritation flashing in his eyes.

Half of the one thousand people he sent had died.

And that castle still stood there, motionless.

Today's probing was enough.

"Retreat!"

He issued the order to retreat.

The Kobolds that had rushed over like a tide retreated like a tide.

They let out unwilling howls and quickly disappeared into the twilight of the wasteland.

The retreating Kobolds didn't forget to take away their clansmen.

They dragged the dead clansmen and left the battlefield with stumbling steps.

Commander Kaersasi looked at the figures of the Kobolds dragging the corpses, with a look of disdain in his eyes.

These idiots even dragged the corpses of their clansmen back as food.

It was simply barbaric to the extreme.

His calculations in his heart gradually became clearer.

That castle was a hard bone.

If it couldn't be taken tomorrow, he would never waste time here.

He would take his troop, bypass this damn place, and continue to advance into the human hinterland according to the Orc Kingdom's order.

Surviving was the most important thing.

Inside the castle.

The lights were bright.

The air was filled with the smell of blood and exhaustion.

Roko sat in the council hall, listening to Hart's report on the battle situation.

"Master."

Hart's voice was somewhat low.

"In today's battle, we lost fifty-six men, twenty-six were seriously injured, and forty-three were lightly injured."

"On the Kobold side, we conservatively estimate that we killed or injured at least five hundred."

"The recovered Kobold heads total over three hundred."

He paused.

"Arrows and stones were consumed quite a bit, but there are still reserves in the warehouse."

Roko listened to Hart's report, his face calm.

Fifty-six dead, twenty-six seriously injured, forty-three lightly injured.

This number was within his expectations.

Even better than he had anticipated.

After all, the Kobolds in front of him were not the weak Kobolds encountered during the initial development.

These Kobolds had a large number of Orc warriors who mainly cultivated their bodies!

Especially the Kobold leader; Roko vaguely felt that guy's strength would not be weaker than Hart's.

"For the brothers who died, give their families double the pension according to the previous promise."

"For the injured, treat them with all your might."

"Hart."

Roko looked at him.

"Register the recovered Kobold heads."

"This is military merit, which must be redeemed according to the promise in the future."

"Yes! Master!"

Hart nodded in response.

"Today's battle was just a probe."

Roko said in a deep voice.

"That Kobold commander is not a reckless guy."

"He didn't let all the Kobolds rush up together, nor did he let those Kobolds who looked stronger go into battle."

"He just wanted to see our reality."

"Tomorrow, he will definitely launch a fiercer attack."

"He might even change his tactics."

He looked at Hart, Fura, and Martina.

"Everyone, keep your spirits up."

"We'll prepare tonight; tomorrow will be a more cruel battle." ===== CHAPTER 58 =====