Chapter 395: Return to the Main Force!

"Haha, great! Finally, we don't have to stay in this godforsaken place anymore!"

"Yeah! I heard those guys outside Redstone City have it easy—every day they can go inside to drink and have fun!"

"Yeah! Once we get back outside Redstone City, I'm definitely going to drink my fill and pick out two beautiful dancers… hehe…"

Hearing the lewd laughter of Mil and the others, Gervas smiled.

These guys probably have no idea what awaits them after returning.

According to earlier intelligence, since the main army recalled them, they must have finished their rest.

And after resting, they would naturally launch a preemptive strike—directly confronting the forty thousand orcs.

So, after returning, what awaited these men was likely marching straight to the battlefield with the main force.

And the reality matched Gervas's prediction.

When they returned outside Redstone City, the main army gave them not even a moment's rest—immediately began mobilizing.

"Gentlemen, you are the Southern Region unit stationed at Greyrock Bridge, correct?"

"That's right, we are!"

"Gentlemen, please return immediately to your Southern Region unit! The army is about to march—you should register before departure!"

"This… it's already noon! Why must we leave right away? Can't we wait until tomorrow?"

The northern legion cavalrymen looked at Mil and the others as if they were fools. "Apologies, gentlemen, this is the order of the Legion's Supreme Commander—we cannot wait!"

"Ahem, thank you, gentlemen. We understand—we'll find our unit right away!" Gervas thanked them and dismissed the northern cavalrymen.

"Damn it, why won't they even give us half a day to rest? We guarded Greyrock Bridge for so many days and never got a single moment of fun—then we even got ambushed by orcs!"

"Yeah! That ambush—if not for Gervas and that Austen Hou Jue family, we'd probably be dead by now. This is so unfair!"

After the northern cavalrymen left, Mil, Ian, and the others immediately began complaining.

"Gentlemen, with the merit you achieved at Emerald River Valley and Greyrock Bridge, aren't you worried about enjoying yourselves after the battle?"

"So I suggest we all endure a bit longer—kill more orcs now, and you'll have a better time afterward!"

Although Mil and the others were relatively ambitious compared to other inland nobles,

they still suffered from the typical noble flaw of this world: after enduring a few days of hardship, they immediately sought comfort.

After achieving merit at Greyrock Bridge the day before yesterday, they had been fixated on celebrating inside Redstone City—hence their deep resentment today.

"Gervas, we just wanted to celebrate early! But you're right, Gervas—the more heads we take, the more lavishly we can enjoy ourselves after the campaign!"

"Exactly! If each of us can gather two hundred heads, even if we can't be promoted in rank, we might still get a fief!"

"Right! For our titles and lands, let's all work hard!"

…

"Greetings, Commander Kael!"

"Oh, you're back?"

"Yes, Commander Kael. We received orders to rejoin our unit and march with the army!"

"Good. Then rejoin your unit—we're leaving immediately!"

"By the way, Baron Mil, congratulations—you've become famous throughout the army!"

Southern Region noble unit encampment.

When Gervas and the others returned, the camp was nearly packed up.

They went straight to Commander Kael, who oversaw the Southern Region unit.

Commander Kael's tone toward them was far more courteous than before.

Clearly, the news of Mil being publicly commended throughout the army had raised his opinion of them.

"Also, after this, go to the quartermaster's office to register—each of you may claim three barrels of beer. These are special condolence gifts arranged by the nobles of Redstone City to honor the conscripted units!"

"Understood, Commander Kael!"

After greeting him, Gervas and the others prepared to leave.

But as they turned to go, Gervas suddenly felt something and glanced toward the rear of the Southern Region encampment.

He met the gaze of a middle-aged nobleman.

The middle-aged noble wore lavish silk ceremonial robes, his hair slicked with wax and gleaming.

Yet his eyes, fixed on Gervas, were filled with gloom and venom.

Without doubt, this was Farrio's father… Minister Weilade.

And indeed, after carefully studying the man's features, Gervas immediately recognized the threefold resemblance to Farrio.

Meeting his gaze, Gervas showed no fear—in fact, he smiled broadly, radiant and unbothered.

This sight, of course, sent Minister Weilade, already seething with hatred, into a rage—his fists clenched until his knuckles cracked, nails digging into his flesh.

Yet beyond this, neither side made another move.

Soon, Gervas followed Mil and the others away.

About ten minutes later, horns blared, and the army officially began advancing northward.

Their destination was the orc encampment ten miles outside Redstone City.

In just an hour and a half, they arrived.

The orcs had already sensed the kingdom's army's movement.

But the orcs did not intend to defend their camp—they poured out en masse and formed ranks on the open wasteland.

"Order the troops—prepare for battle!"

The Northern Legion's Supreme Commander did not hesitate—he immediately issued the combat order.

Though the enemy numbered over ten thousand orcs, his own side had a full one hundred fifty thousand troops—this advantage was immense.

Of course, the orcs were not mindless brutes; they understood the balance of power.

So, the reason they dared to face the Kingdom's grand army with merely ten thousand orcs and thirty thousand servant troops relied on a river over thirty meters wide between the two sides.

This was the Pearl River, flowing here from the Grey Shiqiao upstream.

Although this stretch of the river was even calmer and narrower than the section at the Grey Shiqiao, to reach the opposite bank, one still had to rely on the great stone bridge on the Pearl River, which was six meters wide.

Thus, the stone bridge above and below was now heavily guarded by orcs.

Among them, at least two thousand Behemoth orcs personally held the bridgehead, truly a case of one man guarding the pass and ten thousand unable to break through.

Of course, since the Northern President had prepared to start the war here, the means to cross the river were also fully prepared, such as a large number of rafts.

These past two days, besides letting the soldiers rest, were actually for preparing these crossing tools.

Woo-woo-woo!

The horn sounded, and the entire grand army began to move.

"Everyone, don't just stand there, act quickly, start advancing!"

The first to be ordered into motion were the conscripted noble squads like Gervas's.

They would undertake the initial river-crossing attack mission.

And besides them, a special squad belonging to the Kingdom's legions in the rear also began to move; that was the catapult squad belonging to the Northern Legion.

A total of five huge catapults were gradually being assembled through the efforts of the craftsmen.