Chapter 23
After continuously losing troops and generals during the late-night march, the Wald Brigade quickly reacted and gathered the main force at Vicksburg. At this time, there were only three squadrons of soldiers left in the Wald Brigade, and the total did not exceed 500 orcs.
The legion's direct reconnaissance brigade commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Marvin suffered very little losses. It participated in two battles in a row and annihilated more than 300 orcs, with only about 40 casualties.
Counting the mounted infantry commanded by Richard, Lieutenant Colonel Marvin had more than 200 soldiers under his command. In addition, Haddon Castle dispatched more than 60 auxiliary soldiers to escort grain and grass and cooperate with Lieutenant Colonel Marvin's operations.
Seeing that the orc soldiers were hiding in Vic Castle like hedgehogs, Lieutenant Colonel Marvin could only station himself in a village more than ten miles away from the castle to monitor the orc army.
The orcs avoided fighting, and Lieutenant Colonel Marvin would not choose to attack the city. They carried rations for ten days, and it was relatively close to the rear grain storage area, so there was no problem of food shortage for the time being. It can be consumed with the orcs.
Moreover, the Grant Kingdom is fighting on the inside. Not to mention other directions, the Guanglach Province Flying Eagle Legion has not yet participated in the war.
Although the combat power of the Flying Eagle and Feiyan Legions is not as good as that of the main army, they are also regular armies of the kingdom. The addition of the Flying Eagle Legion as a new force is enough to change the situation on the battlefield and repel the orc attack.
If the Orc Empire does not spend money and invest more power, it will be difficult to open up the situation in the north and defeat the hundreds of thousands of Grant Kingdom troops.
Just like the previous wars, it only consumed some of the national power of the northern princes. If all the national power is mobilized for invasion, other human forces in Dawn Continent will not sit back and watch the orc empire grow, and will definitely send troops to assist the northern prince of Dawn Continent.
A racial war breaks out between humans and orcs. The orc empire is no match for the sacred glorious empire.
Even if the Church of the Seven Gods does not intervene, it will be difficult for the Orc Empire to win. If we can't make a real fire, there is a high probability that the orc empire will be destroyed.
There are many smart people in the Orc Empire, who have a full understanding of the balance of power between the enemy and ourselves. Every time they invade, they invest only slightly more force than their opponents.
Most of them are just to capture human slaves and rob production materials, which will never threaten the survival of the Northern Kingdom.
The senior officials of Grant Kingdom are also aware of this situation. This kind of tacit understanding among high-level officials was unknown to low-ranking officers like Richard.
What the people of Northern Xinjiang can see is that the orcs are burning, killing and looting, causing them to fall into a cruel war. Every northern Xinjiang person has a hatred for the orcs in their genes.
After returning to the camp, Richard took off his armor, carefully maintained it, and then put it into a large suitcase.
According to Richard's level, he already has two guards with him. Such matters can be left to the guards.
It's just that Richard has a modern soul in his body. He likes to handle his belongings by himself and doesn't like to trouble others.
Moreover, the maintenance of weapons and armor should have been done by oneself to avoid being fooled by the guards. If weapons and armor are not properly maintained and something goes wrong in battle and you are killed by the enemy, it would be an injustice.
Unlike Richard, perhaps because of the clear hierarchy in this world, officers such as Marvin and Diarra almost entirely left such trivial matters to the guards. Not only to maintain weapons, but also to wash underwear and put on clothes, guards need help.
Many officers do not even regard soldiers as human beings in their hearts. Although Richard couldn't stand all this, he could get used to it.
After staying near Vic Castle for seven days, and it was about to enter late May, the orcs of Wald's brigade remained unmoved.
Vic Castle has stored a lot of food. The food in the baron's warehouse is enough to feed hundreds of orcs for ten years. Moreover, even if the food is exhausted, the orcs can still eat humans.
Lieutenant Colonel Marvin's men were all cavalry, and they were not familiar with how to attack a city.
Richard commanded half a squadron of soldiers who were considered mounted infantry and were proficient in siege tactics, but the number was too small and there were no siege equipment to use.
Making siege equipment takes a long time and requires craftsmen with good skills. The conditions for siege in a short time are not mature.
After careful consideration, Lieutenant Colonel Marvin decided to lead his troops to leave, cross the Platos Mountains, cooperate with Baron Harden in fighting, and attack the orc transport team.
Before crossing the Platos Mountains, Lieutenant Colonel Marvin decided to return to Haddon Castle and replenish some of the food beasts. They carried food for fifteen days. In an emergency, they could kill the packhorse for meat and still last for ten days.
The upper half of the Platos Mountains runs east-west, and the lower half runs north-south. If viewed from a high altitude, it looks like a 120-degree arc, and its end point is connected with the Eagle Mountain Range.
The Platos Fortress Group is located in the middle of the mountain range, turning from east to west to north and south. There is a canyon valley connected to the Castle of Baron Harden.
If you want to bypass this valley road, you need to go east for a hundred kilometers and bypass the Platos Mountains from the direction of Black River Fort.
The direction of Heihe Fort was the main battlefield of the battle. Going to Heihe Fort with this small group of cavalry was not only very dangerous, but also of no use at all.
After destroying the kobold squadron, there are no orc defenders in the canyon passage. Lieutenant Colonel Marvin decided to take the risk and march under the orcs' noses.
As night fell, everyone walked along the canyon passage and approached Platos Castle.
The canyon passage is about 30 kilometers long. The road was just renovated last year and is not very difficult to walk. In the middle of the night, Lieutenant Colonel Marvin led his troops to the vicinity of the Platos fortress complex.
After holding on for more than a month, six of the nine castles have been lost. Most of the defense lines have been lost and fell into the hands of the orcs.
Now the two incomplete orc brigade besieged the remaining three castles and continued to attack every day. It was difficult for the eighth brigade to hold on.
In order to encourage the defenders, Lieutenant Colonel Marvin personally led the reconnaissance team. After returning, he said with a serious expression: "I plan to attack the orc camp early in the morning. Everyone take a moment to relax and recuperate. Richard, please lead a sentry to prevent being caught by the orcs." Scouts come up."
"Lieutenant Colonel, how many troops are there in the orcs?"
"The orcs are all in the camp, so we can't tell yet. But judging from the flags, camp size, stoves, and lights, there are no more than two brigades at most. ."
Richard is very mentally strong and energetic. He personally stands guard for everyone and is very focused.
At dawn the next day, I was still very energetic.
Lieutenant Colonel Marvin's subordinates were all veterans with rich war experience. Even under the eyes of the orcs, they were still able to sleep. They rested for two or three hours before dawn and regained some energy.
On the contrary, except for half of the soldiers under Richard's command, the rest were nervous and especially sleepy at dawn.
Seeing that the orcs had come out of the lost castle, they formed a formation and attacked the remaining castles No. 6, No. 8, and No. 9 in a scattered manner.
A few scouts also spread out to investigate the enemy's situation in all directions.
Lieutenant Colonel Marvin no longer hesitated and immediately commanded the cavalry to charge.
This time, because the soldiers under Richard's command were in poor condition, Lieutenant Colonel Marvin asked them to act as a reserve team to monitor the enemy.
Richard asked Ron to command the troops, and he took the initiative to ask Lieutenant Colonel Marvin to fight, hoping to participate in the operation.
"This attack is different from the previous ones. The enemy situation is unknown, and the orcs are very powerful. I'm afraid there will be greater sacrifices."
Richard said firmly: "The people of the Harland family are not afraid of death, they are just afraid of not being able to make meritorious deeds!"
"Since you persist, I will approve you to join the battle with us. I hope you can survive the war and make military exploits."
(End of Chapter)