Chapter 416: The Commander-in-Chief

"Launch giant arrows? And spear infantry? Is that Baron Mier?!"

Moral was naturally familiar with ballistae and spear phalanxes.

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

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

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

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

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

"Yes, Great Leader!"

Wooooo!

Thus, horn blasts echoed through Bokacheng.

Hearing the horns, the orcs began retreating in unison.

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

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

So even though Gervas and the others wanted to claim more heads, they were soon held back by the servant troops.

The battle ended after roughly an hour and a half.

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 kingdom's army pursued the servant troops for some distance, darkness fell, and the Commander-in-Chief, ever cautious, dared not press the chase.

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

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

"That's right! If Gervas had only arrived sooner to take charge of Stormhold, 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.

Because 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.

After all, among the beastmen of the Northern Region, there was no distinction between civilians and soldiers—all were utterly ruthless.

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

Of course, Layn and the others nearby were equally excited, though they'd only gathered forty-some heads total.

Yet these heads felt like free gains—nothing like the usual cost of heavy sacrifices to earn them.

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

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

"Hah! Commander Layn, why not try to get transferred to the Southern Region? Then you'll have a chance to fight alongside Gervas again!"

"Exactly! Hah! Commander Layn, if you truly want to fight alongside Gervas again, you must get transferred to the Southern Region."

Layn's envy made Mil and the others even happier—after all, following Gervas was unquestionably 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 and saw a messenger.

"Gervas Viscount, Baron Mil, the Commander-in-Chief wishes to see you—please hurry to the gates of Bokacheng!"

"The Commander-in-Chief wants to see us?" Gervas and Mil exchanged glances.

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

Clearly, the Commander-in-Chief summoning them immediately after battle meant only one thing.

And indeed, when the group arrived at Bokacheng's gates with their men, the Commander-in-Chief and two dukes stood atop the walls, overlooking the entire city.

"Your Majesty, Your Grace!"

"Gervas Viscount, Baron Mil, congratulations—you've achieved great merit again!" Duke Hernand smiled at them, and the Commander-in-Chief responded warmly.

"Commander-in-Chief, it's our duty—to fight for the kingdom is our honor!" At this moment, regardless of anything else, flattery was the only proper response.

The Commander-in-Chief grinned broadly, "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 Commander-in-Chief is right. In that emergency, you two stepped forward and turned the tide—not just skill, but 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 Hernand chimed in.

Of course, his focus was squarely on Gervas.

Through this string of victories, Duke Hernand 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 uncanny insight.

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

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

"Yes, Your Grace—I'll work to gradually correct that!" Gervas blinked, but his expression remained respectfully deferential.

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

"Gervas Viscount, Duke Hernand is correct. Elsewhere, I may have no authority—but here in the Northern Region, and during this campaign, I, as Northern Commander-in-Chief, guarantee you will receive precisely the merit you've earned."

"So don't worry that your brilliance will draw envy for your merit!" The Commander-in-Chief assumed Gervas was hiding his achievements out of fear they'd be stolen.

Suddenly, the Commander-in-Chief remembered he hadn't yet asked about each of their battle achievements.

"Lord Gervas, Baron Mil, how many orc heads have you collected today?"

"Commander-in-Chief, I have fifty-eight orc heads!"

"Commander-in-Chief, I have fifty-one orc heads!"

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

Though not many, these heads were certainly not few.

Of course, the Commander-in-Chief and the others most anticipated Gervas's head count.

And Gervas did not disappoint them: "My head count is… about seven hundred and sixty!"