Chapter 61: The Kobolds who were completely defeated!

Outside Vanguard Valley, the afterglow of dusk sprinkled on the corpses of Kobolds all over the ground.

The air was filled with a rich smell of blood, as well as the fishy smell peculiar to Orcs mixed with dust.

Roko rode a Storm Colt, the longsword in his hand still dripping with blood.

Behind him, one hundred Storm Knights were like a steel torrent, having just harvested the last batch of lives from the scattered Kobold troop.

Commander Kaersasi took the remaining three hundred elite Kobolds and ran wildly toward the distance without looking back.

He had never thought that a human lord who looked so young could possess such a terrifying trump card.

The speed of the Storm Colts was too fast.

So fast that the elites he brought, who he was proud of, had no power to resist in front of them.

That was not a battle; that was a one-sided slaughter.

"Master, should we continue to pursue?" Hart came to Roko's side riding a Storm Colt, his face still carrying a trace of excitement and bloodthirst.

He hadn't fought such a satisfying battle for a long time.

Roko raised his hand to stop him.

"No need to pursue."

"They have already completely scattered and are no longer a threat."

Fura also rode a Storm Colt and came to Roko's other side silently.

In her heterochromatic pupils, cold killing intent still flickered.

Martina hugged the ledger and tried hard to follow behind Roko.

Her snow-white small face still carried a trace of lingering pale fear.

She witnessed the terrifying scene of the Storm Knight Order charging.

That was simply a group of human-shaped meat grinders.

"Clean up the battlefield," Roko looked around and issued the order.

"Clean up the battlefield, collect all the Kobold heads."

"For the injured brothers, treat them immediately."

"For the brothers who died, collect their corpses."

"Tonight, we will camp here."

Hart nodded in response.

"Yes! Master!"

He immediately turned around and began to organize the knights and soldiers to carry out post-battle cleanup work.

Martina took a deep breath, forcing herself to recover from the shock.

Now was not the time to be afraid; she had to throw herself into work as soon as possible.

Inventory the spoils, calculate casualties, arrange logistics.

These were all her responsibilities.

Roko dismounted and inserted the longsword in his hand back into the scabbard.

He walked to the side of a Kobold corpse and kicked it.

This Kobold was wearing leather armor and holding a sharp scimitar in his hand.

Clearly, it was one of the elites brought by Kaersasi.

"These Kobolds are different from the ones encountered before," Roko said in a low voice.

"They are stronger and better equipped."

Martina walked over and looked down at the Kobold's corpse.

"It seems the Duke's reminder was accurate."

Her voice was somewhat exhausted.

"The Orcs of the Northland are indeed going to be restless."

Roko nodded, and he looked up at the Orc Wasteland in the north.

A larger storm might be brewing.

However, the current Roko was not completely without means of response.

"We now possess the Storm Knight Order, which is our biggest trump card."

"However, the number of Orcs inside the Orc Wasteland is huge, far from what we can easily solve."

"Continuing to pursue will only make us fall into a passive position, and we might even encounter other more powerful Orc troops."

"Maintaining our own strength is the best choice to deal with the uncertainty of the future."

Martina listened to Roko's analysis, feeling a sense of peace in her heart.

Although Roko was young, his vision and decision-making far exceeded many human nobles she had seen.

"Then these Kobold heads..." Martina asked.

"Of course, they must be collected well," Roko's mouth curled into a smile.

"Wiping out such a large-scale Orc troop is a great merit."

"I want to send these heads to Prada City."

Martina's pure white eyes lit up slightly, and she immediately understood Roko's meaning.

This was an excellent opportunity.

An opportunity to convert military victory into political capital.

An opportunity to consolidate Roko's status in Xin Feng Province.

"I understand, Roko!" Martina's face showed a trace of excitement.

She had already begun to calculate in her mind how many merits these Kobold heads could be exchanged for.

And what kind of benefits these merits could bring to Roko.

The night passed without a word.

Early the next morning, when the first ray of sunlight sprinkled on the wasteland again, the troop led by Roko had already packed up.

They carried a large number of Kobold heads, as well as exhausted but excited spirits, and returned to Vanguard Valley.

At the same time, hundreds of miles away from Vanguard Valley.

Commander Kaersasi sat with a gloomy face, listening to his subordinates report on the casualties of this battle.

"Commander, we lost at least six hundred elite clansmen."

A Kobold reported tremblingly.

Kaersasi's face was even uglier.

One thousand elites, actually lost more than 60%!

This was simply a disastrous defeat he had never had in his Kobold career.

"Damn humans!"

He cursed in a low voice.

"How could they possess Storm Colts?!"

"And in such large numbers!"

"That Cat-kin, her strength was actually so powerful!"

He recalled the sharp sword light of Fura, as well as the terrifying scene when Roko led the Storm Knight Order to charge.

A chill still lingered in his heart.

"Commander, what should we do now?"

Luokesa asked cautiously.

Geluomu, Sika, and other chiefs also looked at him with anxiety.

They had been scared out of their wits by yesterday's disastrous defeat.

Kaersasi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

Surviving was the most important thing.

"That Vanguard Valley is a hard bone."

He said in a deep voice.

"We cannot take it down."

"Continuing to get entangled there will only cause us to lose more clansmen."

"The order of the Orc Kingdom is for us to advance into the human hinterland, create chaos, and pin down their forces."

"It is not for us to die fighting a sturdy castle."

He looked into the distance, in the direction of the human hinterland.

There, there were more weak human territories, more wealth

"Pass on my order!"

Kagerosh said decisively.

"All troops, rest for one day!"

"Tomorrow morning, we change direction!"

"Bypass that damn Vanguard Valley!"

"We head west!"

"Go attack those weak human territories in the Xin Feng Province!"

"Everything we want is there!"

When Geluomu, Sika, and the other patriarchs heard this, a flash of excitement crossed their eyes.

Bypassing that terrifying castle to attack those weak humans—this was exactly what they were good at!

"Yes! The Commander is wise!"

They immediately began to flatter him.

Kagerosh ignored them; he already had a new plan in mind.

He would take back the losses from this crushing defeat twofold from those weak humans.

Vanguard Valley—he had noted the name.

If there was an opportunity, he would return.

With a more powerful army.

After returning to Vanguard Valley, the entire territory was immersed in the joy of defeating a powerful enemy.

Although there were casualties, being able to win against the odds and rout a Minotaur army several times their size greatly boosted the confidence and morale of the residents.

Rocco did not let this joy last too long.

He immediately threw himself into the work of post-war reconstruction and strengthening preparations for war.

Compensation for the fallen knights and soldiers was delivered to their families immediately.

The seriously wounded received the best treatment, and those who had performed meritorious service received the promised rewards.

This made the residents even more convinced of and loyal to Rocco.

Especially those newly joined serfs and free people; they had witnessed Rocco's decisiveness and generosity, as well as the powerful military strength of Vanguard Valley.

They knew they had come to the right place.

The Minotaur slaves led by Talos did not participate directly in this battle, but they played an important role in logistics and city defense.

They saw the strength of the human army and also saw the importance Rocco placed on his people.

This gave them a glimmer of hope for the future.

Martina turned into a workaholic, clutching her ledger and shuttling between the camp and the castle.

She had to count all the spoils of war and calculate all the consumption.

And, most importantly, register those Minotaur heads.

Each head represented a merit.

A merit that could be used to claim credit with Duke August, or even to be promoted in rank.