Chapter 432: Orc, You

"Solit, do you think the orcs will finally take care of that damn brat this time?"

"Hah! No doubt about it. They already failed once before—if they still don't take this seriously, they're truly idiots!"

Willard nodded, the tension in his chest slowly easing.

Looking at the bone tile in his hand, he felt even more certain this choice was right.

"Willard, aren't you glad you made that choice the night before last?"

"Yes, thank you, Solit, for your suggestion the day before yesterday!"

"Hah, no need to thank me. We're on the same boat now—keep this bone tile safe with you!"

"If the army truly collapses, this will be our lifeline!"

"Don't worry, Solit—I'll keep it safe!"

"Good. Then let's eagerly await the news of that damn brat's death!" Solit nodded in satisfaction.

This time, they were finally free of all worries.

……

"Roar! Chief Moral, look over there! A human castle!"

"That's the place!" Moral gazed into the distance and immediately spotted the small castle atop a hillock.

Such a castle would be hard to take if only dozens or a hundred men attacked.

But they had six thousand men—taking this castle would be effortless.

"Humans, I hope what you said is true!"

About twenty minutes later, the orcs arrived outside the castle.

On the walls, Gervas had been waiting long enough.

"Human, you're Gervas?" Moral didn't launch an immediate attack—he wanted to confirm more information from Gervas.

Gervas knew exactly what Moral was thinking and smiled. "You're Chief Moral, right? Yes, I'm Gervas!"

"I didn't expect you'd actually come. Looks like Willard's scheme really worked!"

Moral froze, then his expression darkened as he swiftly scanned the surroundings.

Fortunately, noble castles were built in open areas—no ambushes visible nearby.

But Moral remained uneasy. "Are you and Willard in cahoots?"

"Of course we are. What else would you think? Chief Moral, do you really believe any human would betray information to you orc scum? Hah—you've been tricked!" Gervas laughed triumphantly.

"Damn humans!" Moral was furious and alarmed.

He immediately snatched the whistle at his waist and blew it into the sky. Instantly, two bloodthirsty bat riders descended, their wingspans stretching eight to nine meters.

"Did you notice anything unusual around here? Or along the way here?"

"Chief Moral, everything around the castle is normal. And along the route we took, there was nothing out of the ordinary!"

"Are you certain? No ambushes? No trackers? That human just claimed this might be their trap!"

The two bat riders exchanged glances, then replied with firm certainty: "Chief Major, we're certain there are no large-scale ambushes within ten li!"

"At least, if two or three hundred men had gathered, our bloodthirsty bats would've spotted them."

"And we found no anomalies along the way—no trackers or spies."

"Good. Thank you both. Keep guarding the army. If I need you again, I'll call for more."

The two bat riders nodded and soared into the sky.

Moral turned his gaze back to Gervas. "Human, I don't care what game you're playing—I want to know: were those battles at Green River Valley and Red Stone City lost because of you?"

"Were those spearmen and swordsmen who could fight our orc warriors one-on-one your men?"

Gervas was utterly baffled. "Orc, are you imagining things? Your intelligence is clearly terrible!"

"The real heroes of those battles were Baron Mil, not me, Gervas. Don't you even know that?"

"Besides, if I really had that much influence, do you think our Viceroy would've sent me here to fight?"

"This is just bait—designed solely to lure you stupid green giants here!"

"Remember the lesson at Gray Stone Bridge? Hah! I never thought you'd fall for it again!"

"Of course, Chief Moral, don't lose heart—my castle does have spearmen and those mighty swordsmen!"

"They were lent to me by Baron Mil. So if you want to taste defeat once more, go ahead and attack!"

Gervas was just making it all up on the spot.

Since Willard had repeatedly leaked secrets to the orcs—and now wanted to use Gervas as leverage to save his own life—

Gervas decided to muddy the waters and ruin their plan.

Maybe after the orcs suffered heavy losses, they'd truly believe the humans had deliberately tricked them.

Then Willard and Solit would have a real problem.

Thinking of this, Gervas felt a small thrill of excitement.

"Roar! Human, I don't know if this is a trap, but you dare to disrespect our orc warriors—I'll kill you all first!"

Since he confirmed no danger nearby, Moral had no intention of retreating.

This mere baron's castle could be taken in half an hour.

So he'd storm in, slaughter everyone inside, and capture Gervas.

Not only would he fulfill the Beast King's orders, but he could also extract valuable information from this noble named Gervas.

Of course, Moral had no idea that this single decision would become his lifelong nightmare.

"Orc warriors, prepare to attack!"

Ooooh!

Horns blared as the orcs formed ranks.

Of course, the main assault force was the vassal army!

In Moral's view, three thousand vassals were more than enough to swiftly seize the castle.

"Kill!"

In the next instant, the vassals charged up the gentle slope, carrying ladders and crude weapons.

Kaller Castle was a standard baronial fortress.

Built atop a hillock with a twenty-meter drop.

Though its cliffs were half as high as Gervas's Stormwind Castle,

twenty meters of cliff plus an eight-meter wall were enough to deter most attacks.

Thus, the only viable path for the enemy was the gentle slope ahead.

"Ballistae, prepare!"

"Archers, prepare!"

As the dense wave of vassals neared the slope, commands rang out from the walls.

Under those orders, fifty archers quickly rose and took aim from behind the battlements.

Ten ballistae mounted on the walls unveiled their covers, fully revealed.

"This…"

Moral didn't care much for the archers.

But the ballistae—he remembered them well.

Last time, several wolf riders had been killed by those massive ballistae.

He'd assumed humans had only five.

Yet now, there were ten.