Chapter 418: The Orc Main Force Appears!

"Originally, I thought Winterhold would be a battle several times harder than Bokacheng, but I never expected to take it without losing a single soldier!"

"Haha, this time the God of Glory has truly favored our expeditionary army; this is no different than finding treasure for free!"

"Exactly! Who would have thought that one day we could make the orcs flee without a fight? After this campaign, our names will surely ring far and wide!"

On the walls of Winterhold, a group of great nobles watched the endless stream of troops entering the city, their smiles barely containable.

Taking Bokacheng previously had taken only a single day, which already exceeded everyone's original expectations.

Now, the orcs retreated without a fight, directly handing them the strategically vital Winterhold for free, and everyone felt this was truly the gods' favor upon them.

And if things continue to develop this way, driving the orcs out of the kingdom is just a matter of time.

"Everyone, we cannot relax too much due to this orcish rout, because we have not seen the orc main force from beginning to end!"

"It is said that this orc main force is personally led by the Orc King, with no fewer than thirty thousand Behemoth orc warriors, and the vassal army reaching a number of seventy or eighty thousand!"

"With such troop numbers, truly driving them out of the kingdom is absolutely no simple matter!" The President, though happy, also knew he could not be arrogant.

Because from the moment of departure until now, that orc main force had never shown its face.

Only by crushing the orc main force can it be counted as a true victory.

"President, we understand!" The great nobles nodded in agreement, of course, but from their expressions, it was clear they did not truly take it to heart.

The President said no more; when they truly encountered the orc main force, these great nobles would naturally raise their guard.

What the President did not expect was that news of the orc main force, which he had been thinking of constantly, arrived half a day after they moved into Winterhold.

"Report!"

At dusk, a squad of rangers returned in haste.

"President, the orc main force has been discovered thirty li north of Winterhold, with at least forty thousand Behemoth orcs and at least eighty thousand vassal troops! They are heading towards Winterhold!"

"Oh? The Behemoth orcs have appeared?"

The President and the great nobles were stunned together.

We were just talking about the Behemoth orc main force this morning, and yet news arrived by dusk.

A distance of thirty li means that at the latest by tomorrow morning, the orcs will be at the city gates.

"Are you certain the orc main force is heading towards us?"

"Yes, President, the orc main force is heading south, and those orcs who fled earlier have all converged into the orc main force!" The ranger captain nodded very firmly.

"They have come well!" Hearing this, the President could no longer suppress the joy on his face.

The other great nobles looked confused.

The orc main force is coming; they should be feeling nervous, considering you just told us that this morning.

How is it that in the blink of an eye, you, President, are full of excitement?

Seeing this, the President continued to smile and said, "Have you forgotten where we are now? We are inside Winterhold!"

"Under normal circumstances, if that group of orcs had not fled, we would have likely encountered the orc main force outside the city, and at that time, we would definitely have had major trouble."

"But now, we are already inside the city, with city walls; do you think it is a good thing or a bad thing for these orc main forces to come?"

The great nobles were not stupid; they understood at once.

This is naturally a good thing, and a very great good thing at that.

If on the wasteland, fighting the orcs, they would be completely at a disadvantage, needing to use human lives to level the playing field.

But inside the city, they could solve it once and for all, using the towering city walls to erase the disadvantage.

"President, if this orc main force truly arrives, that would be wonderful; if we crush them in one blow, we can completely complete the mission of this expedition!"

"Exactly, if we can achieve this, this would probably be the fastest time in history to resist an orc invasion!"

"Exactly, everyone, if we can crush the orc main force at Winterhold, we might create a new record for the kingdom!"

"So, everyone, let us create this new record together."

"President, please begin making arrangements immediately! We will definitely prepare with all our might!" The great nobles were also stirred by the prospect of creating a new record.

Not for any other reason, but for the future, to walk out with this gold-plated new record of immense value.

And the President did not delay, beginning to discuss the battle plan with everyone.

Because everyone's advantage this time was very great, they no longer thought merely of blocking the orc offensive, but also wanted to take the opportunity to heavily damage the orc main force and drive the orcs out of the kingdom's borders in one blow.

So, the group of great nobles each expressed their own opinions, stating the plans they believed could inflict greater damage on the orcs.

"Blackrye Town, Windmill Town, Baron Kalle's Castle, Dit Valley Wooden Fort, and Wooden Sword Stone Bridge; these locations are all able to bypass the northern roads."

"Stationing small squads in these places can not only prevent orc sneak attacks, but also, when the orcs wish to retreat, allow these squads to circle behind and intercept them!"

"Of course, taking a step back, even if these checkpoints ultimately cannot function, it will not affect the overall situation! What do everyone think of my proposal?" Duke Lieshi stated his proposal.

And upon hearing this, the great nobles nodded one after another, thinking Duke Lieshi's proposal was good.

If the orcs wish to flee at that time, then sending these squads in advance through the small paths to block the northern roads.

Even if they can only delay the orcs for one or two hours, it will allow the main army to kill more orcs.

Moreover, it is indeed as Duke Lieshi said; only needing to dispatch a few small nobles to go, regardless of whether they can play a role, in terms of the overall situation, there will be no impact, and the benefits absolutely outweigh the drawbacks.

"It seems everyone has no objections, then let us add Duke Lieshi's proposal, dispatching one thousand men to garrison each area."

"This way, it will not affect the overall strength, and when we want to intercept the orc retreat, it can also play a significant role!"

Seeing everyone's reaction, the President was decisive and directly made the final decision.

And having confirmed Duke Lieshi's proposal, it was naturally necessary to arrange for small nobles to garrison.

However, as usual, this matter did not require the President to do it personally; "Everyone, I will hand this matter over to the Commandants of the Southern, Western, and Eastern Regions to select shortly!"

"Now, does anyone have any other opinions? If not, then proceed to arrange according to the allocation just discussed."

"Although the orcs are not skilled at siege warfare, we absolutely cannot relax or be careless; we must ensure this campaign is absolutely foolproof!"

The great nobles naturally had no objections; they did not care which small noble was assigned out.

Thus, everyone prepared to respond and disperse the meeting, but just at that moment, Duke Lieshi suddenly said, "President, I still have something to say."

The President paused, "Duke Lieshi, I wonder what other objections you may have; please speak!"

"Mr. President, regarding the minor nobles dispatched this time to garrison, I have no objections to any other candidates, but there is one person whom I believe must appear on this list of those dispatched!"