Chapter 371: Your Heroic Form, We Have Witnessed With Our Own Eyes!

"Coming from outside the camp? How is that possible? Isn't the area outside filled entirely with orcs? The orcs' voices… uh! What's going on?"

The nobles still wanted to claim they could distinguish between human and orc battle cries.

But before their words had even faded, shadows of human soldiers indeed appeared outside the camp.

Their figures and the gleaming silver armor confirmed they were genuine humans.

And right now, amid the battle cries, they were charging after the retreating orcs.

This left the nobles utterly incredulous.

"Ah! It… it looks like Baron Mil!"

"This… it really is Baron Mil! He… he didn't die?"

"Yes! Baron Mil not only didn't die—he actually drove off the orc force?!"

Then came an even more shocking development for the nobles.

The Baron Mil they had believed dead now appeared at the rear of the pursuing force.

Just moments ago, they had sworn he was dead—yet now he was the one chasing the orcs.

Captain Ryan's face was also filled with shock and confusion, but his reaction was swift.

Regardless, those soldiers outside were human—meaning the orcs' retreat was indeed legitimate.

"Everyone, what are you standing around for? Don't you see our human soldiers chasing the orcs outside? Quickly, go support them!" Captain Ryan shouted.

Only then did the nobles realize, their eyes lighting up, "That's right! With Baron Mil and his men out there, the danger must be minimal—we're perfectly positioned to pursue now!"

"Exactly! Chasing the fleeing orcs is far better than just watching their report… ahem, sorry, sorry, slipped my tongue—let's pursue quickly!"

"Right! Let's begin the pursuit!"

Immediately, the main camp sprang into action, rushing out in a swarm of three to four thousand.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to send more.

Rather, their pursuit was purely for show—too many would only cause chaos.

Better to keep some troops behind to guard the camp securely.

Next, the human and orc forces engaged in a chase, covering three to four li in distance.

Throughout this, both sides moved with perfect tacit understanding, maintaining a steady distance of roughly seven to eight hundred meters.

When they reached a great river three to four li away, the orcs pulled out hide-covered rafts from the nearby forest.

Originally, the orcs had infiltrated deep into enemy territory by traveling upstream along the Black Stone River.

They hid by day and rowed by night, slipping past human checkpoints along the way.

Their goal had been to ambush the human vanguard and deliver a warning blow to the human reinforcements.

But they hadn't anticipated this raid would go awry.

After boarding the rafts, since they were now going downstream, the orcs vanished quickly into the night.

Seeing this, the nobles didn't feel disappointment—they each let out a deep sigh of relief.

The performance was finally over.

"Hah! The orcs have finally run! This battle is over!"

"Yes! This battle is truly over—we've won! Hahaha!"

Of course, the happiest among them were undoubtedly Mil and his men.

Their final pursuit had also been merely for show.

But their efforts tonight were genuinely real—so the orcs' retreat meant their achievements were now fully secured.

"Baron Mil!"

"Hm? Captain Ryan, everyone—what is it?"

As Mil and his men cheered, the main camp's troops, having regained their senses, immediately surrounded them!

Seeing this, Mil noticed their intense gazes fixed on him and his men, and instantly tensed.

In battle, stealing credit was not uncommon.

Though these men likely didn't dare be so bold—after all, he had a large force with him; they couldn't possibly eliminate him and his men.

Still, he couldn't afford to be careless.

But soon, Mil realized he had overthought it.

The next instant, the nobles from the main camp all placed their right hands over their chests and bowed deeply to him.

"Baron Mil, allow us to express our respect to you!"

"Yes, Baron Mil, allow us to express our respect to you!"

"Huh? Express respect?" Mil froze.

"Baron Mil, your bravery we have witnessed! Especially you—twice now leading the charge to draw off the orcs, showing utter disregard for death—this is true knightly spirit!"

"Exactly! Baron Mil, you had every chance to flee, yet you chose to stay—and even helped us drive the orcs away. This is the very model of valor!"

"And those vanished orcs—weren't they eliminated by you and your men? That greatly reduced the pressure and losses on our main camp!"

Only now did Mil and his men understand what was happening.

But they dared not accept this credit.

Especially Mil.

Heroism? Fearlessness of death? These had nothing to do with him!

Without Gervas, they would have fled long ago.

Mil's face flushed red. "Gentlemen, please don't say that—I didn't do anything…"

"Baron Mil, don't deny it—your heroic form, we have all seen with our own eyes!"

"Exactly! Baron Mil, come on! Let's return to camp—let's properly celebrate this victory!"

Milton sighed helplessly, "Everyone! Listen to me—the greatest contribution actually…"

"Cough! Mil, since the nobles and Commander Lyen have all said so, just go back with them!"

Just as Mil was about to speak Gervas's name, Gervas arrived precisely then and gave him a quick glance.

Mil hesitated, his words cutting off instantly.

In that moment of pause, the crowd had already surrounded Mil and was escorting him back toward camp.

"Lord Gervas, why didn't you let Mil reveal the truth? After all, the greatest contribution tonight belongs to you—we were merely assistants!"

Watching Mil being pulled away by Lyen and others amid a crowd, Yen felt puzzled.

In the past, they had only ever seen people fighting to claim honor for themselves.

But to push it away—he had never seen that before.

"Whether he speaks or not doesn't matter—as long as when we register, the proper credit and headcount are attributed to me!"

Gervas had his own calculations.

People fear fame; pigs fear growing fat.

The last battle had already provided a cautionary example.

Freya had led a band of tribal warriors on a long journey to infiltrate his castle.

Had he not had his intelligence network, the danger level would have been far too high.

Of course, besides fearing enemies targeting him, he also feared those he had offended.

Like Solit, like Minister Weilade!

So, he might as well let the nobles remain mistaken.

After all, when registration time comes, Mil can simply explain the truth to Commander Lyen.

This avoids losing any real benefit while also preventing him from becoming the target—two birds with one stone.