This is the central command tent of the large camp, and the people who are eligible to be present here are all the lords of the new empire, including the three dukes and their lieutenants, nine noble marquis and viscounts, plus three archmages and two imperial electors, and the entire tent is already slightly crowded...... It's just that for the scene just now, obviously no one is interested in expressing an opinion.

They all have a tacit understanding, and they hide their opinions in their hearts.

Since Burgundy was able to produce a large amount of armor in a very short time, it was not a strange problem to be equipped with a large number of crossbows - some large force field circle or the like was an excuse to cover up the failure - it was indeed absurd that the creation of magic could be defeated by ordinary weapons, but in essence, it was only the inevitable result of arrogance.

But this failure doesn't hurt either...... At the very least, hopefully the three old guys can be honest.

Three archmages who don't understand war and don't obey orders are simply a burden for a war. No, it's a disaster! Who knows how much their stupid decision will incur losses on their troops? And who will bear the responsibility? Even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would certainly understand the problem and will not pursue it, the attrition of the soldiers will be quite painful for every nobleman with real power.

"Three masters, if there is such a ...... Well, how much impact will a force field array have on our offense tomorrow?"

The silence continued for a moment before Sukhoi asked.

He didn't have much excitement about this defeat - although these gargoyles were the property of the archmage himself, they were also made with the resources of the empire after all, and each one was worth a thousand gold. Now that the losses are so great, the force of the empire is also severely weakened.

"The impact shouldn't be significant. Archmage Matthew responded, "Just plan to go smoothly." After a few hourglasses, we can rest in the city. Well. It is not too early for us to take a break in order to prepare for tomorrow's spells, and I hope that you will do your best to complete your duties and lay a solid foundation for our victory. ”

He stood up and nodded to everyone, and then the three archmages walked through an arbitrary door at the same time and left.

"For our victory? except for losses. What else did they dare?But if they win this time, won't all the credit go to them?" Looking at the disappearing light and shadow of the three old mages, Nicole standing behind Sukhoi finally couldn't help but sneer: "No wonder everyone wants to be a mage, this life is really smooth......"

"Nicole, don't talk nonsense. ”

The female knight's words caused a burst of suppressed laughter in the tent, but Sukhoi only frowned, and then nodded to several nobles: "We will also prepare for the siege tomorrow." I will take my leave, Excellencies......"

"What do you really want to do the same way they do?"

The Scarlet Knight is the main force of the attack. The tent was arranged in the center of the camp, not far from the commanding tent, but as it approached, a faint cacophony of voices made the female knight look up in one direction—the light of the portal flickered in that direction. The night sky was also lit up in a dark red, and the wind was mixed with subtle shouts and shouts. There are also sounds that resemble the howling of wild beasts, like weeping. Her expression changed slightly: "Isn't it too cruel? they are not soldiers, and there are ...... women and children."

"We paid them enough. All who survived. can all be free. Sukhoi replied: "True freedom, to return to their land, to be with their kind." ”

But this answer obviously did not satisfy the knight: "What's the use of that? they will die if they go back to that barren place! And they will starve to death! It is crueler than dying in battle!"

"What's wrong with you?" Sukhoi stopped and turned to look at her, "If you're tired, rest early, we'll have to fight tomorrow." ”

"I'm just ......" Nicole lowered her head, seemingly confused by her reaction: "I just think this method of warfare is too cruel...... It's too ...... It's despicable, and it's all a deception!"

"I know you pity those ...... Person. But no matter what, we need a batch of these ...... It is much better to sacrifice them than to sacrifice your own soldiers. In fact, even if they continue to work in those parts of the quarry, they are doomed to die, but sooner or later. Sukhoi said softly and slowly, then took a slow breath, "Since you are destined to die, then you ...... And why care about them anymore? Don't forget what they really are. ”

"But ......"

"Nicole, we are now shouldering the heavy responsibility of His Majesty, and acting willfully will put the entire army in danger. ”

The knightess's shoulders trembled slightly.

She looked at the figure in front of her...... At some point, the child, who was younger than her, shorter and thinner than her, and who often followed her and called her sister, had disappeared. Only this young man, who was already taller than her, thriving and strong, and decisive, was left, the man, His Excellency the Legion Commander.

Somewhat unfamiliar.

She knew that his decision could no longer be changed at will, and he was no longer thinking about whether to tolerate his 'Sister Nicole', but for the sake of his emperor, his country, and his legion...... His sister is just a part of this legion, or maybe he still occupies the most important place in his heart, but after all...... Not a qiē.

Or never again......

This is inevitable, teenagers cannot always be teenagers, and the fortitude and decisiveness of young people also have a side that makes her fall in love...... But the inexplicable feeling still made her difficult to let go. She hardly knew how she had returned to her camp or how she had ended up in bed, but in any case, the cries and wails that had been lingering in her ears.

In fact, the source of the sound was two or three miles behind the camp, and the distance made the sound indistinct, but she knew it was a cry and a wailing...... Because she had seen it in the evening.

She jumped out of bed anyway.

Quietly tidied up his knight's uniform. Put on the cuirass and bring the sword. But after a moment's hesitation, she didn't hang up the other parts of her armor. Gloves and shins, as well as a pair of soft deerskin boots, quietly walked out of the camp tent and ran in the other direction of the camp.

The three dukes had excellent private soldiers, and the camp was quite well-built with many guards, but it was not difficult for her to pass through - each campfire was a convenient space door for the Scarlet Knights, so in a few moments, she had already reached the rear of the camp. That noisy core area.

There was no tent here, but there was an earthen embankment about two men high, made of magic, which circled the land about a mile in circumference, and above the earthen embankment was a man as wide as a man, with torches, and soldiers with spears in their hands guarded it, and beyond their figures, one could see the center of the land. A gate constructed of light is constantly being sent out by some 'people' in Dijiang and hoarded inside. Countless shouts were boiling here, but at the moment they were not so noisy.

Nicole stopped.

A terrible smell was waking through the air. It was the smell of sweat, the rancid stench of sludge, the heavy, dry smell of blood, a strange mixture of something. Not even the summer night breeze could blow away, and they rushed sticky into the nose of the female knight. made her dizzy, and subconsciously reached out to cover her mouth and nose.

She shook her head. It wasn't until he barely got used to the smell that he walked up the embankment to the place where the torches gathered.

By the light of the fire, she looked at the people beneath the earthen embankment.

The firelight reflected one by one, slumped, curled up figures, and they formed a small circle in twos and threes, sitting or lying. There are strips of cloth hanging from his body. But in reality, Nicole knew, they were naked—the strips of 'rags' were actually long and short hairs, mixed with felt rolled out of clay.

They are orcs.

Orcs are terrifying creatures for humans, or most of the creatures on the continent.

They live in the deep mountains of the central mountain range, they eat a huge amount of food, eat a variety of foods, and their bodies are far beyond ordinary people, they once built their own barbaric kingdoms on the earth, but they do not produce, do not know how to live, can only hunt and enslave other races...... For humans, they are equated with bloodthirsty monsters, flies and maggots.

The way orcs survive is always to plunder, using their minions for luck. Every few years or so, when a new generation of orcs grows up, they leave their nests and scatter and loot - that's the only reason they're close to humans, because humans mean gold, food, and even everything.

But the humans still crushed them, and the sophisticated weapons and powerful magic made them only turn into what they seem......

Slave.

A werewolf curled up under the earthen embankment, covering his body with his dusty tail, as much as possible to shrink into a ball, the summer night was not cold, but the blood flowing from his back consumed his last body temperature, and the wound that I don't know whether it was pulled open or cut was constantly pouring blood, infecting the hair with a dark red mud mass, and his body twitched, unconsciously raised his head. The turquoise eyes met Nicole's gaze.

The female knight subconsciously turned her head.

The numbness, and the fear, stung her like a blade.

"These guys haven't eaten?" she summoned a small team leader to her side.

"These animals usually eat only one meal a day, and they have not been fed since yesterday, so they have no strength to resist. There is no one who does not know the deputy head of the Scarlet Knight, and the inquiry of a beautiful female knight naturally made the squad leader extremely excited, he nodded and agreed, but the next sentence of the female knight made him dumbfounded: "Then you give them something to eat." ”

"What?" the team leader's face was earthy: "This and this...... Your Excellency, Deputy Commander, we have not received an order...... And it's about the mobilization of military rations, which is very difficult to do......"

"Won't my orders work?Or, I'm not a third-class marquis, and can't I call in some military rations?" Nicole's face sank, and her voice was still faint, "Or, do you think I don't have the right to punish generals?"

"This, this, this...... Don't say that......"

The faint threat in his words made the squad leader suddenly almost cry: "This, Your Excellency the Deputy Legion Commander, this ...... You know. Orcs are like wild beasts, they are fierce even after a few days of hunger. If you really resist, I'm afraid ...... None of our thousands of brothers are knights. Can't get the orcs...... I can't be the master of this matter, you better talk to our thousand-man chief, no, Lord Duke, talk about it......"

Nicole frowned.

She was about to speak, but a gentle voice rang out, and she couldn't help but be shocked by the familiarity in it.

"Tomorrow they're going to war, and you want to send this half-dead creature to the archmage for dispatch? ”

She turned her head. looked at Sukhoi, who was already standing behind her at some point. The familiar, yet somewhat unfamiliar figure made the female knight's nose suddenly a little sour.

Even with the permission of one of the Electors, the rations given to the orcs were not much.

In fact, no one was prepared to give them any food, and it was not easy to transport and distribute the rations of 10,000 people...... Even Sukhoi's order ended up being only an hourglass of food for about 4,000 men - the dry rations that had been prepared for the 4,000 servants of the rearguard. As for the food that the dukes prepared for their elite warriors, they could not be used casually.

For the soldiers who had been robbed of their rations and had to carry them overnight, the bread and dried vegetables were dry and coarse. 'Even the dogs don't want to eat it', but at least it's food, and it's really fed to a pack of wild beasts. It was really incomprehensible to them, so when it came to shipping and distribution. They're going to roll these things on the ground a few times 'carelessly'...... Or some oats and beans that were fodder for horses and cattle were 'mistakenly' sent to the earthen embankment.

Thereupon. This mixture of dirt, beans, oats, or weeds, and a stream of water that was brought into the earthen embankment, became the last meal of most orcs in this world.

Yes, the last meal......

No one knew what the three archmages were trying to do when they ordered these orc slaves to be gathered, their orders were simple and vague, just a simple order to transfer more than 10,000 people from among the slaves of the new empire. As for how to use it, the three archmages were equally strict with the nobles who led the troops.

However, the purpose is not difficult to guess...... It's nothing more than trying to use these orcs as death squads to drive them to attack the city.

Of course, if it's such a simple way, then it's actually quite stupid.

The strength and physical strength of orcs are indeed far superior to those of humans, and in the western foothills of the central mountain range, it is not uncommon for orcs to attack human cities, and it is not uncommon for those monsters such as half-blood orcs and half-orcs to jump over the defense of a city of more than ten feet - but in the face of Burgundy, a city armed with sixty-foot-high walls, mass-made weapons, and grand magic, how much can these unarmed orcs do with their flesh and blood...... It's a completely unknown question.

It's hard to even launch a decent charge with these orc slaves who have been enslaved and half-dead, right? Sending them to the city would consume some of the city's arrows and magic at best, but since Burgundy has a magic core, those things are almost infinite.

Even if there was a real chance that they would be able to storm the walls, it would not have really caused much damage to Burgundy - don't forget that behind the first wall, there was a wall that was one layer higher, and the narrow space between the two walls was an obvious place of death, and even if they rushed into it, it would only make it easier for the enemy to concentrate their killing...... Unless the defenders of Burgundy would be wary of the civilians there.

But do they really care about the outcasts collected from the lands of the Empire?

Or, the methods that the archmages were able to come up with should not be so simple...... Perhaps, these orcs are just a tool for casting spells, something like summoning...... In the end, the archmages will use their lives to unleash their immense power and destroy the city in one fell swoop?

A chaotic night passed in the speculation of countless people.

When the morning light had just shown a glimmer in the sky, the empire's camp had already begun to move.

The orcs were driven out of the enclosure of the earthen embankment and walked slowly from the side of the camp towards the city. Despite exhaustion, restlessness, and fear, their dust-covered bodies were driven away by those sharp swords, like a gray torrent, slowly but surely moving forward...... There seems to be some power in it, too

Smoke and dust billowed as the knights of the empire rode through the ranks shouting loudly, driving their troops forward, and behind them banners fluttered in a crowd of elite knights of varying numbers, swords and spears spread an arc-shaped blockade, ready to defend their lords against the enemy or with deserters.

Every year in the Empire, the armies of the nobles enter the northern foothills of the Central Mountains in the form of military training, and their 'trophies' are orc slaves. For the new empire that has obtained the land to the west of the empire and borders the central mountain range, the more than 10,000 orc slaves here are not a new thing, but generally speaking, this number of orcs will not be gathered together, even if it is a slave farm such as a mine, the number of orc slaves used is often not more than 1,000, because the individual number of orcs is too strong, if there is a real riot, it will be difficult to suppress (to be continued......