Chapter 457: Why Is This Happening?

“Migen, the Western Frontier isn’t much better—you probably don’t know about the orc Moral behind us.”

“Because he couldn’t catch us, and feared we’d circle around from the west, he already sent men to the Western Frontier to alert other orcs to block us!”

“Even if there are only six or seven thousand orcs in the Western Frontier, they don’t need to annihilate us—just show up on the wasteland and block our path!”

“Then hold us off for a few hours, and Moral’s ten thousand orcs will surround us from behind!”

Gervas had long known from his intelligence network that Moral had already alerted the Western Frontier orcs to block them.

Moreover, some of those orcs had even arrived at the border wasteland before Moral’s forces.

So now, leading his troops westward would be like walking straight into a trap.

“My lord, then… the orcs to the east—surely they won’t be easy to deal with either…” Migen and the others turned pale.

To them, it seemed they had already reached a dead end.

Whether they went west or east, death was certain.

“Not hard to deal with—impossible to deal with!” Gervas smiled.

If they truly thought they could fight their way out by slaughtering enemies, only fools would choose the east.

And now, after the blue-scaled sea beast scale powder exploded in Snowplain City, their stock was exhausted.

The remaining blue-scaled sea beast scale powder could sustain only one more major battle.

Once the orcs exceeded two or three thousand, and the powder ran out, the cannons would become nothing but oversized firesticks, and the Storm Legion would have to rely solely on ballistae to brawl with the orcs.

“My lord, then why are you still choosing to head east?”

Here, Gervas no longer hid it. “I’ll tell you: I chose the east because Zhuiyue uncovered intelligence—a beast king’s royal encampment lies behind the eastern orc army!”

“You’ve all heard that the Beast King likes to bring his consorts along on campaign.”

“So that royal encampment is where he keeps his consorts. If we capture it…”

“This… this is true? My lord! Zhuiyue really found the royal encampment?”

“Yes! If this intelligence is accurate, we’re in luck! Even if we can’t force the orcs to retreat, at least we can secure our escape!” Migen and the others weren’t fools.

Before Gervas finished speaking, they had already grasped his plan.

Their eyes widened, faces alight with joy and excitement.

Raid the Beast King’s royal encampment, kidnap the consorts inside as hostages.

Even one would be enough to guarantee their safety.

“Of course it’s true. When has Zhuiyue’s intelligence ever been wrong?”

“Once we seize the consort, we turn back west—do you think Moral and the others will dare block us then?” Gervas smiled.

“They wouldn’t dare! The Beast King might abandon his consort to kill us, but Moral and the other orcs wouldn’t dare act without his orders!” Migen and the others answered firmly.

Clearly, even Migen and the others could be certain of this.

If Gervas’s raid on the royal encampment succeeded, their safety would be guaranteed!

“My lord, should we set out immediately?”

His subordinates were eager to move.

“No. Before we depart, we must do something else—we wasted several hours in Snowplain City; Moral’s army is now no more than two or three hours behind us.”

“At this distance, we have too little time—anything could go wrong!”

“My lord, what do you need us to do? Give your orders.” Migen and the others immediately pleaded, knowing their lord had already prepared a flawless plan.

Gervas wasted no time and ordered his men to begin deployment.

The method was simple: create false trails to make Moral believe they were heading west, luring him to pursue.

The chance of success was very high.

Moral would never suspect they had learned of the royal encampment—or that they intended to strike it.

So they would chase west first.

By the time they realized the deception and turned back, the time lost would give Gervas ample opportunity to attack the royal encampment.

Soon, Gervas’s orders were carried out.

Two hundred cavalry, a hundred infantry, and over a dozen empty wagons formed the decoy force and headed west.

Gervas, meanwhile, led the remaining men eastward, carefully erasing all traces along the way.

…

“Is Snowplain City nearly ahead?”

“Yes, Great Leader Moral! Snowplain City is just five li ahead!!”

“Good. Speed up. Order the entire army to prepare for battle!”

“Yes, Great Leader Moral!”

On the road five li from Snowplain City,

Moral’s orc army removed their weapons from their backs and readied for combat.

About twenty minutes later, they had covered half the five-li distance.

Ahead rose a dirt slope—beyond it, the entire Snowplain City would come into view.

“Orc warriors, prepare for battle!”

In Moral’s eyes, Snowplain City would present no surprises.

After all, he had sent Bloodfang Bats to report the situation—and even to aid in battle.

With such strength, if Gervas had still managed to capture Snowplain City in half a day, he’d truly be a god of war.

As Moral watched eagerly, the vanguard neared the slope’s crest.

The squad leader roared, “Orc warriors, charge! Kill all these—uh—”

The orc captain’s voice cut off.

The other orcs, moments ago roaring with excitement, froze.

Had there been no prior incident at the fortress, Moral would have scolded them for hesitation.

But now, with the earlier disaster fresh in mind, his heart lurched—a dark premonition gripped him.

“Get out of my way!”

Without asking, Moral spurred his Snowplain Gray Wolf forward, charging recklessly up the slope.

When he reached the top and gazed at the distant city, his fists clenched, his eyes turned red.

“Roar! Why is this?!”

His furious roar echoed across the Snowplain wasteland, making every nearby orc captain shrink back.

They had never seen Great Leader Moral this enraged.

“Advance! Keep advancing!”

Moral was furious, but he knew what mattered most.

After a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and ordered the advance again.

Soon, the orc army reached the city walls.

Seeing the collapsed breach, the captains stared in shock.

What force could have shattered such walls?

Moral clenched his teeth, staring long at the breach.

“Enter the city. Search thoroughly. If you find nothing, head north immediately—pursue Gervas!”

“Yes, Great Leader!”