Chapter 374: The Northern Frontier Map Is in Hand!

"Lord Gervas, please wait a moment!"

"Captain Lide, what is it?"

As Gervas was stepping out of the meeting tent, Captain Lide came walking toward him.

He was holding a flask of wine in his hand.

"Lord Gervas, thank you for your warning today—without you, my men would never have stumbled upon the orc ambush; tonight's losses might have been incalculable!"

"I have nothing valuable to offer, but this is a flask of rum from the royal capital—it was awarded to me by the Legion Commander earlier, and now I present it to you, my lord, hoping you won't refuse it!"

Gervas nodded, but did not take the flask. "Captain Lide, I truly don't care for alcohol, so please, let's leave the wine be."

The taste and flavor of wine in this world clearly paled in comparison to his past life, so Gervas genuinely had little liking for it.

He only drank sparingly at banquets or similar occasions.

Now Captain Lide was at a loss—he had no other gift to offer.

But Gervas continued: "Captain Lide, if you truly wish to show gratitude, I have a request—could you possibly accommodate me?"

"Huh? Lord Gervas, what is it?" Lide was puzzled; he was merely a cavalry captain, and there were few things he could do for a noble like Gervas.

"Captain Lide, you know war demands knowing both yourself and your enemy—that's how victory is secured."

"I've gained some understanding of the orcs' combat strength, but my current trouble is that I know nothing of the Northern Frontier's terrain."

"So I heard that your cavalry units, aside from the commanders, are among the few who possess maps."

"Could you possibly make a copy for me? That way, when dealing with the orcs, I'll be better prepared no matter what happens."

"A map?" Captain Lide stared at Gervas in surprise—he never expected such a request.

After a moment's thought, Captain Lide nodded. "Lord Gervas, had this been any other noble, I wouldn't dare leak a map—it's against royal law, and I'd risk the enemy's spies getting hold of it."

"But your actions tonight have assured me there's no danger of this map falling into enemy hands, so I'll help you, Lord Gervas."

Gervas's face instantly lit up with a smile—his long-sought map was finally in his grasp; future intelligence wouldn't sound like gibberish anymore.

And this was worth the favor he'd shown Captain Lide earlier.

Just as Gervas was about to take his leave and return to camp to fetch parchment and ink.

Captain Lide added: "Lord Gervas, no need to copy it—I happen to have an old map right here. Though the edges are worn, it's far more useful than any copy."

Then Captain Lide led Gervas to his tent.

Inside the tent, Gervas saw the old map Captain Lide had mentioned.

It was a full map of the Northern Frontier, five meters long and two meters wide.

Good heavens! Gervas blurted out in astonishment.

He had assumed it would be a small map, maybe one meter by one meter at most.

But this map completely surpassed his expectations.

And though the drawings were still crude, the level of detail reached village and town scale.

"Lord Gervas, though our cavalry is small in number, we are the most vital unit in the entire Legion—without exception."

"We are the eyes of the entire army."

"Besides gathering intelligence, we sometimes risk crossing enemy-held territory to deliver critical military reports."

"So we must know every inch of the Northern Frontier, and every squad on mission must carry an accurate route map!"

"That's why this full Northern Frontier map allows me to instantly copy any section for my men on missions." As if sensing Gervas's shock, Captain Lide explained.

"Captain Lide, are you certain it's safe to give me this map?" Gervas had indeed planned to obtain the map from Captain Lide,

but if the risk was too great, he'd have been satisfied with just a map of the immediate war zone.

After all, he couldn't exploit a favor to force someone to risk his life in gratitude.

"My lord, under normal circumstances, I absolutely couldn't give you this map—even a damaged one."

"It must be submitted for official records. But last night's orc attack created an emergency—I ordered my men to destroy the old map on the spot to prevent it from falling into orc hands…" Lide didn't finish, but his meaning was clear.

Gervas's eyes filled with gratitude. "Captain Lide, I will remember your help."

Lide nodded, saying nothing more.

Though the map was indeed invaluable,

had it not been for Gervas's warning last night, which reduced losses in the vanguard camp, he would almost certainly have been punished upon return.

The least punishment would have been demotion—to a hundred-man captain, perhaps.

After all, no matter the excuse, failing to detect the orcs in advance was the gravest sin a cavalry unit could commit.

…

Forty li behind the vanguard camp, the main army was advancing.

With over a hundred thousand soldiers, the entire force stretched into a dragon-like line over ten li long.

At the front of the column, the Southern Theater Commander, Duke Hernade, Duke Shiestone, and several marquises and earls rode together.

As they marched, they discussed the orcs' likely next moves.

"Do you think the orcs' rush toward Redstone City is just a feint—meant to distract our attention so other orcs can raid elsewhere?" asked one marquis.

"I think that's possible. After all, Redstone City has eighteen-meter-high walls—such a fortress is extremely difficult even for our own people to assault!"

"And orcs are terrible at siege warfare. If they attack, they'll pay a heavy price. So unless they've gone mad, I don't believe they'd make such a choice," added an earl in agreement.

Since this wasn't an official meeting, just casual chatter,

the marquises and earls were relatively relaxed.

But then Duke Shiestone suddenly laughed and spoke: "So you all think Duke Hernade's theory is wrong—that the orcs don't intend to attack Black Dragon City?!"

Instantly, the group fell silent; the marquises and earls clamped their mouths shut.

Though it was casual talk, Duke Shiestone's words had changed its meaning entirely.

And neither of the two dukes before them could be offended.

Seeing the awkward silence, Duke Hernade glanced at Duke Shiestone and said coolly: "Duke Shiestone, you gathered these nobles here to hear their opinions."

"Whatever they say is acceptable—I, Hernade, am not a narrow-minded man."

"Look how they've stopped speaking after your remark!"

"Hah! Duke Hernade, I'm merely stating facts!"

"In the past, when we dealt with orc invasions, we assembled large armies and drove them off quickly—minimizing losses."

"But you've demanded we abandon that method this year, and instead hold fortresses as bases to methodically reclaim lost territory!"

"So I'm simply stating the facts."