Chapter 485

Has the army really arrived?

Did these griffins not lie?

Now, no noble, high or low, had any doubt left.

After all, the orcs’ actions spoke for themselves.

Although the orcs still maintained a loose encirclement around them, it was no longer as tight as before.

So unless the Orc King had lost his mind, he would never do something like this.

“Tell me, which army has come to reinforce us?”

“No idea. But I just remembered—the Orc King’s sudden departure might have been because this army arrived!”

“That’s right, it’s entirely possible. Who could lead an army so fearsome to the orc race? How many men could it possibly have?”

“Perhaps the Viceroy of the Western Frontier received the King’s command and came to rescue us. After all, that griffin knight said they came from the west!”

“Exactly! Only this makes sense. If the Western Frontier mobilized, it could bring over a hundred thousand troops. The orcs must have realized their rear was cut off, so they dared not move again!”

The nobles buzzed with speculation, now trying to guess the identity and size of the army coming from the north.

The most common guess was that it was the Western Frontier’s reinforcement force.

After all, given the orcs’ caution and the griffin knight’s report, there was no other possibility.

“General, should we coordinate with the Western Frontier army and launch a counterattack against these orcs?”

“Yes! If the Western Frontier army exceeds one hundred thousand, combined with our own numbers, a two-pronged assault could crush the orcs!”

Many high nobles now entertained other thoughts.

If we’re rescued now, we’ve still lost this northern campaign.

Not to mention punishment.

We’ll get no credit.

And every family has suffered heavy losses.

But if we crush the orcs now, the glory we gain could make up for those losses.

“Don’t act rashly! We still don’t know the full situation! And just preserving the remaining army is already a massive improvement over what we had before!”

The General was far more cautious—he now only hoped the remaining sixty thousand men could return safely.

“Look over there on the high platform—the Orc King has returned!”

“Huh? There’s a human figure beside the Orc King. Look closely—is that one of our kingdom’s high nobles? Or the Viceroy of the Western Frontier?”

At that moment, cries of shock rang out from the crowd.

On the distant orc high platform, the Orc King had returned and climbed up.

Following him were a group of humans.

Though the orcs had servant troops, they were lowly and could never ascend the Orc King’s viewing platform.

So it could only be the commander of our kingdom’s army.

But the distance was great, and the crowd thick—they couldn’t identify the human’s identity in such a short time.

As for how they recognized the Orc King’s identity—

It was simply because of his attire and position.

“Wait—I feel one of those humans looks a bit like Gervas!”

“Adam, don’t talk nonsense!” Austin immediately whispered to stop Adam.

After all, this was no time for jokes.

Adam himself thought he’d mistaken the figure, so he fell silent and dared not speak again.

In fact, not just him—Mire and the others were also whispering among themselves.

“Damn it, I feel that human beside the Orc King looks a bit like Gervas!”

“I think so too, but I can’t see his face clearly—I just think his build and black cloak resemble him.”

“Right! Most of our kingdom’s nobles wear red cloaks—only Gervas wears black!”

“Last time I asked him why he wore black. Red’s far more handsome, but Gervas said black was more discreet—less likely to draw attention on the battlefield.”

“So it’s probably just a coincidence. After all, the reinforcements are from the Western Frontier!”

Of course, even after Mire and the others debated endlessly, none dared to believe the distant figure was Gervas.

They dismissed it all as coincidence.

Clip-clop! Clip-clop!

At that moment, a ten-man wolf knight squad rode up to the nobles.

“Human nobles, our Orc King invites you to the northern high platform.” The wolf knights halted before them and called out.

“Wolf knights—is the Orc King inviting me?” The General stepped forward to ask.

But to his surprise, the wolf knights shook their heads: “No—all of you nobles!”

“All of us?” The high and low nobles exchanged glances.

The General paused, then said: “My lords, what do you think? There is some risk, but I still propose we go together.”

The Orc King’s platform lay deep behind the orc army, so going there still carried danger.

If this was a trap, we’d be surrounded.

“General, we must go! The orcs just surrounded us with their Mordo giant lizards—why would they go through so much trouble if they meant to ambush us?”

“Exactly! If we refuse now, we’ll look cowardly! And what if that reinforcement army is real...?”

“Fine, gentlemen, let’s go!” The General wasted no more time.

“My lords, follow me!”

The wolf knights swiftly led the way.

Soon, hundreds of nobles began moving toward the northern platform.

As they passed through the orc army, the orcs automatically parted to let them through.

Once the nobles had passed, the orc ranks closed again behind them.

The nobles felt the hostile stares all around them. Though prepared to die, they still felt tense.

Fortunately, the orcs made no attack—not even a single unnecessary movement.

After four or five minutes, they finally reached the platform.

“Orc King, the human nobles have arrived,” the wolf knight reported upward.

“Good!” A faint voice came from the platform, followed by the sound of footsteps descending stairs.

But the stairs were on the opposite side of the platform, blocking the nobles’ view—they couldn’t see the Orc King or the human commander’s faces.

Of course, that didn’t matter—because the answer would be revealed in moments.

So whether the General, Duke Hernade, or the low-ranking nobles—all stared fixedly at the platform’s side, waiting for the Orc King and the commander to appear.

Finally, the sound of footsteps on the stairs faded, replaced by footsteps on the ground.

The next instant, a tall figure appeared around the platform’s corner—it was undoubtedly the Orc King.

Many lesser nobles saw the Orc King’s face up close for the first time, and couldn’t help but glance twice.

But they only glanced twice—because the moment the Orc King appeared, a human figure slowly emerged beside him!

In an instant, every eye turned to that human figure.