Chapter 448: Gervas Has Been Captured?

Facing the Grand Commander's head-on torrent of abuse, the subordinate kept his head tucked in and didn't dare respond at all.

After waiting a full moment and confirming the Grand Commander had no intention of continuing the tirade, the subordinate finally continued in a small voice: "Grand Commander, I've already ordered men to conduct a full search inside Lindongcheng Keep, hunting for any orc spies who might have set the fire!"

"What's the point of searching now? Even if you catch them, can they bring back the army's provisions?"

For the current Grand Commander, even capturing the arsonist could no longer make up for the shortage of provisions.

"Grand Commander!"

Just at that moment, another subordinate's report suddenly sounded from outside the door.

"What is it?"

"Grand Commander, there's a situation outside the city — you may need to come see it yourself!"

"Situation? What situation?" The Grand Commander had no intention of paying attention at all.

Compared to the provisions, as long as the city wasn't being breached, nothing outside the walls was a big deal.

Who would have thought the report from the doorway continued, "Grand Commander, it seems to be the nobles who were sent out a few days ago — they've all been captured by the orcs. The Beast King has them escorted outside the city, displayed at a spot five hundred meters from the city wall!"

"What?" The Grand Commander, who had been unconcerned a moment ago, instantly changed color.

Duke Hernande and Duke Lieshi likewise furrowed their brows deeply.

Immediately, the few of them could no longer sit still and rushed straight to the front wall of Lindongcheng.

Several minutes later, the Grand Commander and the two dukes arrived at the front wall riding swift eagles.

And by now, the front wall had already erupted into an uproar.

The reason was simple: at that moment, five hundred meters outside the city, a row of humans dressed as nobles were being held under orc guard.

Although these people had disheveled hair and their faces couldn't be made out clearly, their clothing and the few banners placed beside them by the orcs couldn't be faked.

And to the side of these human nobles, the Beast King sat atop his mottled fierce tiger!

"Haha! Grand Commander of the Legion, you've finally come! I heard Lindongcheng City caught fire again last night — I wonder how much grain you still have left to eat?"

With the appearance of the Grand Commander and the two dukes, the Beast King perked up and, laughing heartily, called out his question to the Grand Commander.

"Lord Beast King, that's none of your concern. The provisions of our kingdom's army are more than enough to hold out here in Lindongcheng for two months. So I advise you to withdraw sooner rather than later!"

"Otherwise, once our reinforcements from the rear arrive, that will be the doomsday for you orcs!"

Naturally, the Grand Commander of the Legion could not possibly reveal the true situation to the Beast King.

Even if the Beast King might already know the news that the provisions had been burned last night.

Of course, the Beast King didn't care either, because the firelight at Lindongcheng Keep at dawn had already made everything perfectly clear.

Therefore, the kingdom army's shortage of provisions was already a foregone conclusion — it didn't matter even if the Grand Commander refused to admit it.

"Haha, Grand Commander of the Legion, you say your provisions are plentiful — then I'll take what you say at face value!"

"And now, let's get to the main business. I'm preparing to send you a grand gift — I hope you'll like it!"

As the Beast King spoke, he pointed toward the dozen-plus human nobles off to one side.

"These nobles — I think you, Grand Commander of the Legion, should be very familiar with them. They're the very nobles you sent out of the city a few days before our orc army arrived!"

"Originally, your plan was to scatter them in various places, and then when our orc army was routed, have them take detours to ambush us!"

"But who would have thought that not only was our orc army not routed by you, we're now on the verge of breaching Lindongcheng!"

"Haha, Grand Commander of the Legion, I wonder if I'm right?"

The Grand Commander's face was ashen, his gaze sweeping carefully over the dozen-plus nobles in the distance — but unfortunately he couldn't make out their true faces.

Moreover, he wasn't familiar with the vast majority of these conscripted minor nobles.

"Beast King, I did indeed send nobles out of the city before, but the nobles I sent were the finest of humanity. Don't think you can fool us by finding a few servant soldiers to impersonate them!"

"Haha! Grand Commander of the Legion, I long expected you'd deny it. Then let me ask you — when you speak of those 'finest nobles,' does that include a viscount named Gervas?" The Beast King laughed heartily.

The Grand Commander's expression changed drastically, because the confidence behind his previous words had indeed been Gervas.

In his view, while other nobles might be captured by the orcs, Gervas should not have been possible.

After all, given Gervas's excellence and his battle-hardened subordinates, even if they couldn't hold off the orcs, escaping should still have been relatively easy.

But now the Beast King had actually spoken Gervas's name outright — could Gervas really have been captured too?

Were these nobles really all the minor nobles he had sent out earlier?

"Haha, Grand Commander of the Legion, it looks like I've hit the mark! Oh, and besides Gervas, these nobles also include Baron Nack, Baron Telik, Baron Debian…"

The Beast King playfully rattled off more of the nobles' names.

And the more he spoke, the uglier the Grand Commander's expression became.

Even the other nobles on the city wall buzzed with discussion.

The reason was simple: these nobles were precisely the ones who had been dispatched to garrison the five checkpoints outside.

So even though those nobles outside were unkempt and impossible to identify clearly, the Beast King being able to call out each noble's name by heart…

…could only mean he had captured these nobles and interrogated them.

"It's all over now — it looks like those people being held by the orcs really are our army's nobles!"

"Right! So what do we do now? The orcs have captured them and brought them outside the city — what are they planning? Could it be…"

The minor nobles all talked at once, their faces full of unease.

The long siege, coupled with the shortage of provisions, had long since crushed their morale.

Now, seeing so many nobles captured by the orcs only deepened their anxiety over what lay ahead.

"Gervas was actually captured! This… what are we going to do?"

"Those damned orcs, filthy bastards — how could this happen? Viscount Gervas and his subordinates were so powerful — how did they get caught by them!"

Among these minor nobles, there was also a group even more anxious than the rest — naturally, that was Mil and the others.

The moment they heard the Beast King speak Gervas's name, their hearts skipped a beat.

Originally, just like the Grand Commander, they had thought the Beast King might have gotten Gervas's name from somewhere and was deliberately having someone impersonate him to deceive everyone.

But as the Beast King recited the names of every noble, and seeing the Grand Commander's expression, they knew the Beast King might be telling the truth.

And the crowd, who had long since taken Gervas as their pillar, were naturally unwilling to accept such an outcome at this moment.

"Beast King, what exactly do you want?" The Legion Grand Commander did not stop the minor nobles' murmuring, because the current situation simply could not be suppressed.

What he wanted to know now was what the Beast King actually intended to do.

"Legion Grand Commander, what I want is very simple — to give you one last chance to surrender to me!"

"If you agree, then I can mercifully spare these nobles' lives!"

"Otherwise… hehe…"

The Beast King did not continue.

Still, his meaning was plain enough.

But the Legion Grand Commander's answer was equally firm: "Impossible. Beast King, give up on that idea! Not a single coward exists among our human army — we'd rather die in battle than surrender!"

"Is that so? In that case, I won't hold back, and these nobles shall be your ultimate fate!" The Beast King bared a bloodthirsty grin.