Chapter 416: The Viceroy

"Launch giant arrows? And spear formations? Is that Baron Mil?!"

Moral was naturally familiar with ballistae and spear phalanxes.

Had that sudden force not caused the Wolf Riders to break, we would have lost the last battle.

He clearly remembered the cheers of "Long live Baron Mil!" echoing behind him as he left.

And today, the fall of Bokacheng—again, it was this noble named Mil!

"Great Leader, what do we do now? Without the city walls, the humans keep pouring in—our orc warriors and servant troops are suffering heavy losses!" Seeing Moral pause, his subordinate couldn't help asking.

"Follow the original plan: retreat immediately, and send fast riders ahead to inform His Majesty the Beast King of our situation."

"Yes, Great Leader!"

Wuuuuh!

Thus, horns blared within Bokacheng.

Hearing the horns, the orcs began retreating.

"These bastards are running—hurry up, harvest more heads!" Gervas heard the horns and knew the chance to claim heads was slipping; he immediately urged everyone to move faster.

Yet as the orcs retreated, their servant troops fearlessly held the rear.

So even though Gervas and his men wanted more heads, they were soon held back by the servant troops.

The battle ended after roughly an hour.

All the orcs withdrew calmly under the cover of their servant troops.

Only after the orcs were gone did the servant troops begin their own retreat.

Though the royal army pursued the servant troops for some distance, darkness fell, and the Viceroy, ever cautious, dared not press the chase.

"Ha! Fifty-eight orc heads—perfect, absolutely perfect!"

"Ha! I got fifty-one—definitely perfect; I'm one step closer to becoming a Viscount!"

"That's right! If Gervas had only come to Stormhold earlier as lord, we'd have earned enough merit through earlier battles to be promoted to Viscount already!"

With the battle over, though Gervas felt unsatisfied, Mil and the others were thoroughly content.

Looking at the pairs of beastman ears in their sacks, they were overjoyed.

For each pair of beastman ears represented one head.

After all, in the chaos of battle, cutting off heads outright—as before—would have been impractical to carry.

So the kingdom permitted the use of beastman ears as proof of heads claimed.

After all, among the northern beastmen, there was no distinction between civilian and soldier—all were utterly ruthless.

Mil and the others each claimed forty to fifty heads, advancing their merit significantly.

Of course, nearby Lan and the others were equally excited, though their total head count was only forty-some.

Yet these heads felt like free gains—nothing like the heavy sacrifices required to earn them in the past.

And divided among them, these heads were enough for their three hundred-plus men to claim generous rewards.

"I envy you so much—if only we could fight alongside Gervas Viscount every time from now on!" Lan sighed, and this wasn't flattery—his envy was plain in his eyes.

"Ha! Commander Lan, why not arrange a transfer to the southern border? Then you'll have a chance to fight alongside Gervas again!"

"Exactly! Ha! Commander Lan, if you truly want to fight alongside Gervas again, you must be transferred to the southern border."

Lan's envy made Mil and the others even happier—after all, following Gervas was undoubtedly the best decision they'd ever made.

"Gervas Viscount? Baron Mil?" At that moment, a voice called from behind them.

"That's us!" They turned to find a messenger.

"Gervas Viscount, Baron Mil—the Viceroy wishes to see you. Please hurry to the gate of Bokacheng!"

"The Viceroy wants to see us?" Gervas and Mil exchanged glances.

"Congratulations, Gervas Viscount, Baron Mil—you'll be praised again!" Lan immediately offered his felicitations.

Clearly, the Viceroy summoning them immediately after the battle spoke volumes.

And indeed, when the group arrived at Bokacheng's gate with their men, the Viceroy and two Dukes stood atop the walls, overlooking the entire city.

"Your Excellency, Your Grace!"

"Gervas Viscount, Baron Mil, congratulations—you've earned great merit again!" Duke Hernade smiled at them, and the Viceroy responded warmly.

"Your Excellency, it is our duty—to fight for the kingdom is our honor!" At this moment, no matter what else, flattery must be delivered outright.

The Viceroy beamed, "Gervas, Mil—if other nobles had your level of dedication, would we still need to worry about these northern orcs?"

"We'd have driven them into the frozen wastes long ago."

"The Duke is right. In such an urgent situation, you two stepped forward and turned the tide—not just with skill, but with fearless courage."

"So don't be modest—accept the honors you deserve."

"Especially you, Gervas—you're so young, yet so solemn. It's almost unbecoming of a youth!" Duke Hernade added.

Of course, his focus was squarely on Gervas.

Through this string of victories, Duke Hernade grew ever more convinced that this minor Viscount named Gervas was no ordinary man.

Not only was he humble, but he commanded formidable subordinates.

Beyond that, he possessed extraordinary boldness, exceptional wisdom, and keen insight.

In short, such a fine young man would be extraordinary even among ducal or marquis families.

Yet here he was, emerging from a minor noble house—it was almost unbelievable.

"Yes, Your Grace—I'll work to gradually correct that!" Gervas blinked, yet bowed respectfully.

Duke Hernade was far too astute not to hear the loophole in his words, but he chose not to expose it, only shaking his head in silence.

"Gervas Viscount, the Duke is correct. Elsewhere, I may have no authority—but here in the northern border, and during this campaign, I, as Viceroy of the North, guarantee you will receive exactly the merit you've earned."

"So don't worry that your brilliance will draw envy or cause others to covet your achievements!" The Viceroy assumed Gervas was hiding his glory out of fear his merit would be stolen.

Suddenly, the Viceroy remembered he hadn't yet asked for their head counts.

"Gervas Viscount, Baron Mil—how many orc heads did you claim today?"

"Your Excellency, I have fifty-eight orc heads!"

"Your Excellency, I have fifty-one!"

"I have forty-three…" Mil and the others answered in turn.

These head counts, while not enormous, were certainly substantial.

Yet the Viceroy and the others most eagerly awaited Gervas's number.

And Gervas did not disappoint: "My head count… is seven hundred and sixty-some."