Chapter 398: The Noble Who Carried the Lightning!

Wuuu wuuu wuuu!

The kingdom's army also sounded their horns again.

But this time, it was the Northern Legion and the Great Noble Legion that launched the assault.

"Look over there! Why are even the Northern Legion moving out?"

"Yes! In the past, they only deployed at the critical moment!"

"I get it—look, they're heading straight for the Shiqiao!"

"Huh, true—but there are two thousand beastmen holding that bridge! Attacking head-on now will cost us dearly!"

"There's no choice—look at the forces on the other side. Without support, they'll be crushed by the beastmen!"

The minor nobles immediately noticed the movements of the Northern Legion and the Great Noble Legion.

After a brief moment of shock, they all understood why the Northern Legion and Great Noble Legion had launched so early.

But the beastmen on the opposite bank had clearly anticipated this, and the two thousand beastmen had held the bridgehead since the beginning.

Soon, fierce combat erupted, the cries of battle drowning out those from other sectors.

Although the Northern Legion and Great Noble Legion had deployed a total of twenty thousand troops,

unfortunately, the Shiqiao restricted their deployment, rendering their numerical advantage useless.

Of course, both legions also dispatched elite units to risk crossing the river and attack from the flanks.

But the beastmen had long been prepared: within two hundred meters on either side of the bridge, trenches had been dug and wooden palisades erected.

Thus, once these elite units reached the far bank, they too became locked in brutal combat.

Even the beastmen's slave troops and wolf riders occasionally launched flanking strikes against them.

Though the elite soldiers wore armor, they were still at a severe disadvantage against wolf riders, and the losses among the river-crossing troops soon surpassed those on the bridge itself.

When slave soldiers died, the great nobles didn't care.

But when these elite guards were sent as cannon fodder, the nobles began to feel the pain.

"Commander-in-Chief, this won't work! Even our elite soldiers in armor can't stand against wolf riders—they'll be slaughtered, and our losses will be catastrophic!"

"Exactly! Commander-in-Chief, these elites aren't slave soldiers—they're our key to defeating the beastmen later! Letting wolf riders pick them off like this is a waste!"

"Gentlemen, I know these losses are unsustainable—but if we rely only on the bridge, we'll never break through in time, and we simply can't afford to wait. If the minor noble forces collapse, this battle is lost!" The legion commander sighed helplessly.

He, too, grieved for his elite subordinates.

But he had no solution.

The Shiqiao offered limited space; to swiftly overcome two thousand beastmen by frontal assault alone was nearly impossible.

Thus, flanking attacks via river crossings were unavoidable.

"Commander-in-Chief, why not deploy the third wave of minor nobles? That would divert the wolf riders and slave troops, leaving our elite units unharassed!" Duke Lieshi suddenly spoke up.

Everyone froze, then fell silent.

Of course, they all knew Duke Lieshi's proposal was sound.

Sending the third wave of minor nobles across would bring the total slave force to eighty thousand.

The wolf riders and slave troops would then face renewed pressure and have no spare capacity to target their legion soldiers.

But this move directly traded the lives of minor nobles for the safety of their own men.

So no one dared be the first to endorse the proposal.

"Gentlemen, there's no time to hesitate—do you want to watch your elite soldiers die?" Duke Lieshi didn't care.

Hearing this, the other nobles finally broke their silence: "True! Slave soldiers are expendable! Even if we preserve their strength now, we'll still need our elite legions to defeat the beastmen later!"

"So I support Duke Lieshi's proposal!"

"Me too. Letting the minor nobles suffer temporary losses ensures we can drive the beastmen out of the kingdom!"

"Commander-in-Chief, give the order!"

Facing the nobles' demands, the legion commander held back his reply and turned to the silent Duke Hernade.

"Commander-in-Chief, while Duke Lieshi's plan is feasible, it will provoke outrage among the minor nobles! Right now, we're deliberately trading their lives for our own—this is unjust!"

"Of course, everyone has spoken, so clearly none of you care—but I must warn you: this plan carries risk. What if the third wave crosses the river…"

"... but the bridge still isn't broken through? Then our losses will be even greater!" Clearly, Duke Hernade opposed shifting the burden onto the minor nobles.

After all, the minor nobles had already sacrificed too much.

But Duke Hernade's compassion drew little sympathy.

No sooner had he finished than Duke Lieshi laughed and retorted: "Duke Hernade, there's no justice here—was it fair to send the minor nobles across first to attack?"

"As for risk—sixty thousand losses versus ninety thousand? It makes no difference!"

Duke Hernade offered no rebuttal, nodding: "Duke Lieshi is right—I was hypocritical. If so, I have no objection."

Seeing this, the commander no longer hesitated: "Then deploy the third wave of nobles!"

Wuuu wuuu wuuu!

Soon, Gervas and the other third-wave nobles heard the horns.

"Huh? What's going on? They're ordering us to attack too?"

"Yes! With the situation on the other side, sending us over just means giving the wolf riders a few more heads!"

"Exactly! Even the elite legion guards can't hold against wolf riders—how can we?"

The minor nobles who had been watching the battle were caught off guard, unable to fathom the purpose of sending them across now.

But some clever ones understood: "Of course—they're sending us as cannon fodder to distract the wolf riders so they won't slaughter the legion guards and great noble troops!"

"This… this is fucking disgraceful!"

"Yeah! These rotten-ass great nobles—do their men's lives matter more than ours?"

"Right! Even in normal combat, letting our men die as cannon fodder is bad enough!"

"But now, to preserve their own strength, they're making us into shields—this is utterly shameless!"

Instantly, as Duke Hernande had said, the minor nobles burst into furious curses.

Although they had always been cannon fodder.

But the problem is, normal cannon fodder is customary—it's just a division of labor with the great nobles.

At critical moments, the subordinates of the great nobles must also make sacrifices.

But now, it's time for the subordinates of these great nobles to step up.

Yet they, to reduce their own losses, shirked responsibility and kept forcing us minor nobles to bear the brunt.

All the benefits go to them; all the losses fall on the minor nobles—of course the minor nobles have strong grievances.

But military orders are as unyielding as a mountain; the minor nobles could curse all they wanted, yet they couldn't refuse the command.

They could only grit their teeth and order their subordinates to begin the assault.

At that moment, Gervas sensed a pair of venomous eyes glaring at him from afar—it was Minister Weilade.

Of course, Gervas didn't care at all; instead, he turned his gaze toward Mil and the others, who were also cursing loudly.

"Gentlemen, this mission carries risk, but also opportunity. When the battle begins, keep your subordinates close to my troops—you might even gather a few orc heads!"

Hearing this, Mil and the others fell silent, nodded in agreement, and ordered their subordinates to follow Gervas's unit's instructions.

Gervas then began briefing Lei Meng on the battle situation.