Chapter 396: The Fierce Battle Begins!

Soon, Gervas and the other nobles from the Southern Region were assigned their positions, located on the left battlefield of the main army.

Their contingent of minor Southern Region nobles totaled thirty thousand men, divided into three batches.

Because Gervas and his group had previously joined the Vanguard Camp and engaged in several battles, Commander Keller personally assigned them to the third batch.

This also meant they would enter the fray last.

As everyone knows, the later one enters the battlefield, the fewer casualties one will surely suffer, so this counts as a special favor.

However, regarding the favor Gervas received, surely someone was unhappy.

"Everyone, as the Battle Supervisor, I warn you all here: ensure your subordinates do not retreat!"

"If anyone dares to retreat, then I, this Battle Supervisor, will absolutely show no mercy!"

"At the same time, you lords will be recorded in the registers and sent directly to the Royal Capital after the battle, where His Majesty the King will punish you personally!"

After arranging the formations, Commander Keller hurriedly headed toward the central army.

At this moment, Minister Weilade, serving as the Battle Supervisor, arrived before the assembly of nobles and began his speech.

However, during his speech, his gaze seemed to fixate on Gervas, though faintly.

Gervas knew this fellow likely had some purpose in targeting him.

Sure enough, once the speech concluded, as he walked to Gervas's side, he suddenly said, "Very well, I shall now arrange the order of the formations again. Viscount Gervas, is it not? As a viscount, your subordinates' combat power must surely be stronger than those of barons."

"Therefore, I hope you will lead your subordinates to the foremost position, so you can play a greater role in the battle! Assist the other noble contingents!"

After Weilade finished speaking, the surrounding nobles were stunned, then immediately turned their heads to look at Gervas.

Obviously, since Battle Supervisor Weilade personally spoke to arrange this, Viscount Gervas must have offended him.

The pitying expressions in everyone's eyes immediately turned toward Gervas.

But contrary to everyone's expectations, Gervas remained incredibly calm, showing no intention of obeying the order, and not even the thought of responding to Weilade.

Weilade waited for a moment, receiving no response; his eyes turned icy cold. "What? Viscount Gervas, do you intend to disobey the order?"

Pfft!

Gervas suddenly laughed out loud. "Order? Your Excellency the Battle Supervisor, what order are you speaking of?"

"I told you to lead your subordinates to the first row; did you not hear?"

"Oh, that. However, Your Excellency the Battle Supervisor, if I recall correctly, your duty is merely to supervise the battle. If I were to become a deserter on the battlefield, you would have the authority to record it!"

"But regarding the order of deployment for today's battle, that is not within your jurisdiction, is it? If you wish to manage it, then you must have Commander Keller readjust it! Otherwise, I will not listen!"

"You..." Weilade was instantly choked up; he never expected that this Gervas would not fall for this trick.

And what he least anticipated was that Mil and the others stepped forward directly at this moment!

"Your Excellency the Battle Supervisor, Viscount Gervas speaks the truth. If you wish to change our order, you must have Commander Keller do it. Our positions were arranged by Commander Keller, so Viscount Gervas cannot arbitrarily change positions!"

"Exactly. Viscount Gervas and we have already fought the enemy fiercely three times in the Vanguard Camp. This position is one that Viscount Gervas and we have both earned!"

In the past, Mil and the others might have been intimidated by Minister Weilade's title as a Cabinet Official and dared not speak up to support him directly.

But after several great battles, the fact that they survived to the present was largely due to Gervas's role, and moreover, he had helped everyone achieve considerable merit.

Such a life-and-death bond and the immense benefits Gervas brought them were enough to make them step forward without hesitation to help Gervas oppose Weilade.

"You..." He was filled with burning rage.

"Your Excellency the Cabinet Official, do you have any other questions? If not, then do not block our way; beware that we might go to the main camp later and accuse you of hindering our battle!" Gervas, completely unconcerned, continued to mock with a smile.

As for this Weilade, once this war ends, he certainly will not be let off.

After all, he has tried to kill Gervas several times already; this is now a matter of life and death.

If they were not currently in the military camp, perhaps Gervas would summon Akali to test the true capabilities of the Night Elves.

Weilade, unaware that he was already on Gervas's death list, still thought this damn minor noble was so arrogant that it was a path to death.

His eyes turned sinister. "Good! Very good!"

After speaking, Weilade gritted his teeth and left.

Seeing this, the surrounding nobles looked at Gervas and his group with expressions of both surprise and pity.

Woohoo!

"The President has issued an order: the first wave of the attack begins!"

The dispute between Gervas and Weilade was naturally a minor interlude; the wheels of war finally began to turn after the main army completed its preparations.

Following the order, the first batch of noble contingents lifted the rafts prepared long ago and began charging toward the Pearl River, over a hundred meters away.

Roar roar roar!

Roars and curses from the Orcs also came from the opposite side, as the servant armies approached the riverbank.

When both sides reached the riverbank, the ranged attack units immediately moved into action.

Over three hundred Orcs were seen holding javelins, throwing them with all their might toward the noble contingents.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Thud thud thud!

Amidst the piercing shrieks, the wooden spears easily crossed the thirty-plus meters of river and landed within the dense ranks of the serf soldiers.

Instantly, screams erupted in waves; the unlucky ones without reliable armor were easily pierced by spearheads made of sharpened bone, groaning as they fell to the ground.

In this wave, there were at least over three hundred casualties among the serf soldiers.

Of course, the human side also launched a counterattack. "Longbowmen, fire!"

Following the order, the longbowmen drew their bows and nocked arrows, releasing a rain of arrows in return.

In an instant, screams and groans also came from the opposite bank.

However, because the killing power of longbow arrows could not compare to that of javelins, the longbowmen's kills were far fewer, absolutely not exceeding one hundred and fifty.

The other half of the arrows either missed or were blocked by the servant armies' crude wooden shields.

Overall, in a battle between equal numbers of archers, the human side was still at a disadvantage.

But soon, several thunderous booms rang out, and the battle seemed to return to a fair balance.

It turned out that the five catapults in the rear had finally launched.

As multi-ton counterweights pressed down, the fifteen-meter-long throwing arms snapped upright, hurling the suspended stone projectiles outward.

One by one, stone balls weighing over ten catties each traced clear arcs and roared toward the orcs' positions, watched by all.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Muffled thuds echoed, accompanied by bursts of brilliant, flower-like blood mists rising.

These were real blood mists, for neither the beastmen themselves nor their vassal troops could withstand the force of the stones.

Even a glancing blow from a stone meant death or crippling injury.

And these catapults fired scatter shots—each could launch at least seven or eight stones, and nearly all struck true.

Each stone inflicted at least three or four casualties among orcs or their vassal troops; with good luck, seven or eight could be killed at once.

Because even when a stone didn't strike an enemy directly upon impact,

its momentum caused it to bounce and strike another unlucky soul behind.

This volley of catapult fire killed over one hundred and fifty to sixty enemies, including seven or eight beastmen.

This haul exceeded that of three hundred longbowmen.

Of course, in open battle, the catapults' greatest impact lay not in kills but in the overwhelming Magistrate Poli they inflicted on the enemy and the morale boost they gave their own side.

"See? Our catapults are in action! Charge forward and slaughter these orcs!"

"Kill!"