On the bank of the Sushui River, in the camp of the human army, many knights and generals gathered around a military map.

"Viscount Pedi has sent news that the orcs are storming Byan City, and he has warned us that Byan City will hold out for up to three days, and at the same time, the Punk knights of the Highland Fortress have also sent back news that his outer defense line is basically lost, and it is only a matter of time before the fortress falls. ”

Raina made a brief intelligence introduction at Gray's signal, "That is, if we can't defeat the orc army in front of us in a short period of time, in five days at most, we will face at least 50,000 orc troops?"

"Even if we can defeat the orcs in front of us, we will not be able to face the orcs that will follow. A freelancer offered his opinion, his thick grayish-brown eyebrows furrowed together.

As soon as Robert finished speaking, he said: "I can't say that, the orcs belong to the expeditionary force, and they will definitely suffer heavy casualties when they storm the city of Bien, as long as we defeat the orc army in front of us, coupled with their poor logistics and supplies, I dare to conclude that the orcs will not be able to continue their march within a month." ”

"What if the orcs force their way in?" asked another freelancer.

"Then they will lose a lot!" said Robert, affirmatively.

"Even with the heavy losses, it was the orcs who won in the end, so we can't hope that this battle will solve everything. The freelancer, who had begun to speak, spoke again.

Rena suddenly interjected: "Everyone, don't forget the information that Your Excellency Erfei brought a few days ago, the orcs have increased their troops, although the information has not been verified, but I don't think he will joke about this kind of thing." ”

Rena's words stunned the three arguing people, and also made the other generals who were about to speak swallow their words back into their stomachs.

After a short silence, Hanks suddenly said, "Our current forces are simply not enough to support the next war, my lord, I suggest that we recruit troops as soon as possible." ”

Gray glanced at Hanks, "I'll think about it." ”

"Conscription is possible, but it will not be able to form combat effectiveness in a short period of time, because the military supplies of the entire southern border have been exhausted in the past few months, so there is no surplus equipment to arm the soldiers now. An old freelancer looked at Hanks with a slightly mocking smile, "Unless you want the soldiers to take bamboo spears against the orcs' battle axes." ”

Hanks glared at the other party, "That's stronger than now, and it's their obligation, according to ancient laws, when the orcs wage an all-out war against the human kingdom, every citizen of the human kingdom must unconditionally obey the call of the local lord." ”

The knight snorted coldly, looked at Hanks coldly and said: "Bullshit law, I think you are so frightened by the orcs that you don't even have the courage to hold a sword, do you want those poor innocent people to charge into battle for your cowardice?"

"Are you questioning my honor? Goddess, I'm going to duel you. ”

With that, Hanks was about to walk towards the old freelancer.

"In the name of my family, shut up!" Gray roared, interrupting the argument between the two.

"I'm very sorry, sir. ”

"Please forgive my faux pas, honorable Viscount Cage. ”

Gray ignored the two of them, and he turned his gaze to Robert, "Is it possible to recruit the militia of the Covinder Order?, if my prediction is correct, there are at least five militiamen with simple equipment in each village of the Covinde Order, and I asked Viscount Keith, the cost of these militias is not less than a copper coin per year." ”

Knight Robert was stunned, he obviously didn't expect Gray to ask this question, he thought for a few seconds and then replied, "I'm afraid this is a bit difficult, because many villages, after hearing the news of the orc attack, have moved into the dense forests of the Anku Mountains according to custom. ”

"Oh?" Gray tapped his fingers rhythmically on the wooden table where the map was placed, "how many people do you estimate you will be able to recruit?"

Robert thought for a moment and said, "Less than a brigade..."

Gray was stunned for a moment, he turned to look at Rena, who shrugged helplessly.

Gray secretly estimated in his heart that according to the report of Sir Errich, the new Prime Minister of Covinde, the total military expenditure of the militia reported by each village every year is about 500 gold coins, and the militia does not need a salary, but after joining the militia, their families can reduce their taxes by 30%.

So all this money is spent on the maintenance of their weapons and equipment,

Moreover, the five hundred gold coins do not need to be paid by the territorial treasury, but only need to be deducted from the village's taxes.

In this way, the total number of militia in the entire Covinde should be about five thousand.

Originally, the total number of militias in a corps shrank by nearly eighty percent all of a sudden!

However, this can't be blamed on Knight Robert, Gray had heard some things about the militia when he was leading the knight guards in Herien before, and most of the village affairs officers would use the militia quota to do tricks on taxes for some personal gain, so there was basically no real militia in many villages.

Robert Knight said that it was the limit to be able to recruit a brigade.

The reason why Gray asked Robert about the militia was that he wanted to fight a large-scale war of attrition with the orcs, and the militia was the best cannon fodder unit.

But Robert's answer frustrates Gray's plan...

Al and Eric were also eligible for the meeting, and both of them stayed in an inconspicuous position in the corner.

Al shook his head as he listened to the generals' discussions.

He was going to say something, but when he saw Hanks arguing with a freelancer, he swallowed back what he wanted to say.

"Al, if you have an idea, it's best to say it. Eric suddenly whispered, "This is a war with the orcs, not a scuffle between the lords for their own selfish interests, didn't you say it some time ago, this is a war involving the entire human kingdom, now, you have a chance to change this war, you should do something." ”

Al's face was stunned by his friend's words, and he turned to look at Eric, who grinned and then shrugged.

Al was silent for a while, then lowered his voice and said to his friend, "It's not you who persuaded me, but the blood of the Covance family that persuaded me. ”

"As you please, my friend!" said Eric, who didn't care.

Al smiled faintly and began to tidy up his appearance, "Everyone, we should pay attention to the supply problem of the orcs, just a few days ago, the orcs sent a large number of teams to search for supplies along the Sushui River. ”

Unfamiliar voices always attract attention, and Al's voice was so loud that he overpowered all the quarrels, so at this moment, everyone in the hall subconsciously turned their heads to find the source of the sound.

Gray followed the prestige, and caught his eye on a very familiar person, who was Rena's new retinue yesterday, and when Gray looked at Rena with a slightly puzzled gaze, the man said, "My name is Al, Al Covance, and I have been drafted into your army by the laws of war, Viscount Cage." ”

At this time, Rena possessed Gray and whispered to El in her ear.

"With all due respect, Viscount Cage, we don't have to compare our military strength with the orcs. Al used his diminutive body to squeeze into the front, "The orcs are holding them back from poor supply lines, and I have a suggestion... Kindness... Just advice. ”

"Now, Baron Eyre, give me your advice. Gray stared into the other's eyes.

"First of all, it can be seen from the performance of the orcs on the battlefield today that they are not ready for a big battle at all..."

"You're a fart, if the orcs aren't going to fight a big battle, what are they doing here? Are they here to enjoy the scenery of Garmic Falls?" interrupted Al.

The knights of the clan are always unreasonably hostile to strangers, and they like to find fault with them.

"Dear Mr. Knight, I'm talking about that they are not ready, not not ready to fight. Al smiled humorously, and when the knight wanted to refute, Al preemptively said: "I have looked through the information of the orcs on other battlefields, and with all due respect, the combat effectiveness of the orc army is much stronger than ours..."

"So, under normal circumstances, the orc troops can take on twice their human troops, except, of course, the hoplites and hoplites, and today, as you see, the orc army is doing badly. ”

"Are you negating the results of our soldiers?" the cold words of the Hansk knight suddenly sounded.

"No, no, no!" Al shook his head repeatedly, "You misunderstood me, Knight Hanks, I will never forget the heroic appearance of you and your soldiers, I am just doing a normal analysis. ”

"You—" Hanks' face turned grim, he felt that Al was laughing at him, because he was almost captured by the orcs today, and he wanted to say something, but the Robert knight next to him was holding his arm, he turned his head, and the other party motioned for him to look at Gray.

Gray seemed to be very interested in what El thought, he glanced at the knights around him, and said, "Baron Eyre, you go on, I promise that no one will make any comments in the future. ”

Hearing this, Al lowered his head slightly, "The poor supply lines of the orc troops have made their soldiers hungry, if my expectations are correct, the supply of this orc force in front of us is completely based on local materials..."

"Yes, our scouts have seen it with their own eyes, and they eat everything but their own corpses. Rena replied.

Al smiled faintly, "With such a large Sushui River, it shouldn't be difficult to feed an army of more than 10,000 people, especially like an orc... Kindness... Intelligent creatures with better appetites. ”

"What do you want to say?" Gray had already guessed what the other man wanted to say, but he wouldn't say it himself.

Al looked at Gray with a slight smile and muttered for a few seconds before saying, "Don't you have a team of magicians? ”

"Goddess above, Baron Eyre, do you want us to destroy the entire Sushui River for your conjecture?, do you know how many people depend on it for their survival?" said an old knight in a low tone.

Al smiled humbly, "First, this is not my conjecture, send your scouts, within an hour, they will bring back accurate information, second, I have not thought about destroying the Sushui River, I like this river more than you, although the poison configured by the magician is extremely poisonous, but it does not have any polluting side effects, at most a month, the turbulent river can restore the Sushui River to its previous state." ”