Chapter 359: Deploy to the Vanguard Unit!

"Gervas, look—those guys are the heirs of the noble families conscripted this time. These fellows aren't here to fight; they say since arriving in Black Dragon City, they've been indulging in wine, women, and song—basically on vacation!"

At that moment, Mil and the others pointed toward several long tables nearby.

Those tables were positioned closer to the bar, surrounded by numerous dancing girls.

Sitting at them were young men dressed in lavish, refined attire; their unrestrained, debauched expressions made it clear they were no different from tourists.

And when Mil and the others pointed at them, their gazes naturally carried varying degrees of envy and admiration.

"Huh!" At that moment, Gervas suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

It was that bastard Adams.

Adams himself was dressed in a luxurious formal suit, surrounded by dancing girls just like the others—arguably one of the most striking figures in the hall.

Of course, Gervas could faintly tell that Adams looked distinctly uncomfortable; his expressions while conversing with the other youths were stiff and unnatural.

"How about it, Gervas? Should I call a few dancing girls over to help you relax?"

At this point, Mil and the others, noticing Gervas's prolonged gaze in that direction, misunderstood him.

"No, forget it. Tomorrow's the conscription deadline—we'll likely be fighting soon. Let's save our energy for battle!"

"Alright, Gervas!" Mil and the others, hearing this, thought it made sense.

After all, they were not like those noble heirs.

Those noble heirs, after their drunken revelries, had their fathers and family knights fight for them.

They'd easily earn merit when the time came.

But we petty nobles? We're risking our heads on our belts.

Thus, this time the group restrained themselves far more than they had in the Western Frontier—only sipping a few cups before returning to camp to rest.

As Gervas and the others left, Adams turned his head in confusion.

Because just now, his peripheral vision had seemed to catch a familiar silhouette.

Unfortunately, when he turned to look closely, all he saw was a bustling crowd.

"What's wrong, Adams?"

"N-nothing!" Adams shook his head, convinced he'd imagined it.

"Adams, aren't the two fiery dancing girls beside you enough? Should I call you a few more?"

"Yeah! Adams, I can tell you're distracted—you must be dissatisfied with these two women!"

"No, gentlemen, I'm just thinking—we're truly departing tomorrow, so I want to rest up."

"Hah! Adams, what joke is this? Even if we depart tomorrow, it's not our concern!"

"Exactly! Adams, come on, have another couple drinks…"

…

【Ding! Daily Intelligence System has refreshed…】

【Intelligence One: As of today, all nobles who received conscription orders have arrived.】

【Intelligence Two: The total force assembled through conscription now reaches two hundred thousand.】

【Intelligence Three: In addition to the conscripted noble troops, the Kingdom will deploy thirty thousand elite soldiers, the Dukes' families twenty thousand, combining with the two hundred thousand conscripts to form a total of two hundred fifty thousand troops.】

【Intelligence Four: With the army fully assembled, departure begins this morning!】

【Intelligence Five: Due to Willard's manipulation, your Storm Legion has been assigned to the more dangerous and grueling vanguard unit, tasked with scouting ahead for the main force.】

【Intelligence Six: Tonight, a band of orcs will appear in the Verdant River Valley, numbering at least a thousand.】

【Intelligence Seven: Tonight will be a clear night with bright stars and a full moon!】

【Ding! Daily Intelligence refresh complete!】

The next morning, Gervas awoke to the sound of horns and commotion outside the camp.

Soon after, the day's intelligence voice echoed in his mind.

Just as when he had departed for the Western Frontier, the system's daily intelligence focus had shifted.

It no longer emphasized nearby valuable items, but now prioritized war-related information.

Of course, these war reports were sometimes useful, sometimes misleading—Gervas had to judge for himself.

For instance, the intelligence had informed him that Willard had manipulated his assignment—placing him in the vanguard unit.

Though serving in the vanguard didn't guarantee certain death,

the danger level had still risen significantly—this was undeniably a hard duty.

And this piece of intelligence was genuinely useful—at least it concerned him directly.

But the report about orcs appearing in the Verdant River Valley? Gervas couldn't determine its value.

Because he didn't know the surrounding terrain at all—he had no idea where the Verdant River Valley was.

"I'll need to find a map of the Northern Frontier," Gervas muttered as he rose.

Of course, saying so was easy—actually obtaining a detailed map would be extremely difficult.

In this backward world, maps were unquestionably military secrets.

"My lord, are you awake?"

At that moment, a voice called from outside the tent.

"Yes, Isabella!"

"My lord, may I enter to assist you with your morning ablutions?"

Soon after, Isabella entered the tent, carrying a copper basin.

Yes—it was Isabella the witch, not Carolyne, nor Rebeca.

Gervas had brought Isabella along originally to serve as the unit's medic.

But since the campaign began, Isabella had voluntarily taken on the task of assisting Gervas with his morning ablutions.

Gervas had intended to refuse—it was a waste of her talents.

But Isabella insisted she had nothing better to do.

And as his subordinate, serving him was no problem.

Hearing this, Gervas reluctantly accepted.

"Are you the Lord of Stormhold, Viscount Gervas Gale?"

After finishing his ablutions and eating his meat broth, a messenger arrived outside the camp.

"That's me."

"Viscount, here is your latest order. You must reach the designated location within one hour!"

"Thank you," Gervas took the scroll from the messenger.

He unrolled it—and as expected, it was the order transferring him to the vanguard unit.

Of course, the signature bore the seal of the Northern Frontier Army's Supreme Commander; there was no trace of Willard's meddling.

And that was normal.

The supreme commander of this great war would certainly be the Northern Frontier Army's Supreme Commander and the two Dukes.

But they were merely high-level decision-makers.

When it came to execution, the assignments had to be handled by the commanders dispatched from the Southern, Eastern, and Western Frontiers.

After all, the conscripted forces from the three regions totaled two hundred thousand.

If the Northern Frontier Supreme Commander personally handled every assignment, even just selecting names from the list would exhaust him.

Far better for him to issue broad orders, leaving the actual troop deployments to the Southern, Eastern, and Western commanders.

This method was faster and more efficient.

Moreover, these regional commanders understood their own territories better—and could assign troops more suited to the mission.

Hence, Willard was able to manipulate Gervas's assignment precisely because of this system.

The commander of the Southern Frontier contingent this time was Deputy Commander Keller.

Keller clearly didn't know Gervas—so the vanguard assignment must have been Willard's initiative.

And Deputy Commander Keller didn't wish to offend Willard, the Cabinet Official, over a few unknown nobles.

Thus, the decision was made.

"My lord, what's wrong?"

Milgen and the others noticed Gervas staring at the scroll for a long time without speaking, and asked curiously.

"Hurry up and pack the camp—we've been reassigned to the vanguard unit. We must reach the designated location within an hour, departing ahead of the main force!"

"The vanguard unit? This rotten duty fell to us?" Milgen and the others clearly knew this wasn't a good assignment—they immediately grumbled.

"Enough. We're here to earn merit. Think positively—when we reach the vanguard, we'll be the first to claim the rewards!"

Gervas immediately calmed his subordinates.