The night wind was howling, and on a small hill in the wilderness west of the Broken Mountains, Aaron Brennus, dressed in a black coat, was coldly looking at the light of the fire not far away, calmly saying nothing.

Not far away, there were more than a dozen knights who accompanied him on war horses, and Noldor hunters who were crawling in the grass and clutching their bows and arrows, surrounding him like stars holding the moon. But these excellent warriors were not as calm as the Duke who had just succeeded to the throne, and cold sweat was already soaking their backs.

The wilderness, which was once unobstructed, was full of roaring bonfires, tattered leather tents, and herds of cattle, as if orcs from ancient mythology were all over the place, and even covered the entire field of vision!

What a terrible sight, what a terrible sound, the deep sound of leather drums, the roar of the madman, the whispering of the ox, filled their ears, the blazing flames and the overwhelming tide of orcs, as if even the sky had been buried, as if the monsters had discovered themselves and were ready to rush over to feast.

"There's at least twenty or thirty thousand, right?" said a handsome Noldor Elven Hunter in astonishment, "We're going to fight them?!"

"Twenty or thirty thousand? Aaron retorted softly, "There are only 10,000 orcs at most, right? If there were really twenty or thirty thousand, you wouldn't be able to see the edge by now. ”

"It doesn't look like it's the way we thought, these guys aren't an army at all. Aaron curled his mouth and smiled, "The livestock, the tents, and the orcs." They're a whole tribe, they're on the move!"

"You mean they're looking for a new home?" the hunter asked, "But, perhaps, it might be abrupt to say so, but they have taken over the whole of the South, how could they need more land?"

"I don't know, maybe we can ask them?" Aaron, who was on his horse, smiled half-jokingly at the Noldor Elf who was squatting in the grass, "but it won't be easier!"

"A small tribe of 10,000 orcs will not be able to serve as warriors at best—old men, women, children, and slaves. These are all counted in it. Aaron said, "As long as our offensive is fierce enough, it is not particularly difficult to eliminate them. ”

"But the question is, is there only one orc tribe heading north? Aaron said to himself: "The preparations for this war have been too hasty, and the North is not really ready for war. ”

"Rangers, go and tell Lord Theodore Julian that the Forward Sentinels have discovered an orc camp in the wilderness west of Broken Mountains, and that a tribe of about 10,000 orcs is moving north. Aaron shouted softly, "And, it's likely that there are more orc tribes heading north!"

"Understood, Lord Mithmech!" the Ranger who commanded the order immediately rode his horse and galloped behind him, quickly disappearing from everyone's view.

"What should we do now?" asked the Noldor Elf, "raid this orc tribe's camp?" or wait for the right moment. Catch them and interrogate them?"

"No, I don't think any of us understand the strange prophecies of the orcs - all kinds of roars. Aaron shook his head regretfully: "As for the raid camp, the night vision of the orcs is quite powerful, and I am afraid that even if they rush in, there will be no return, so ...... No, it doesn't. ”

"Retreat for now, and wait until tomorrow to decide what to do. Aaron said in a deep voice, "In any case, we must not be too careless until we retake the fortress - there are definitely more enemies than that, and the orc army that can capture Severcro is definitely not enough." It must be even more terrifying than we thought!"

——————————————————————————————————————

When the herald arrived at the coalition camp, it was already late at night, but such important news still made Theodore, Bran and the others hurry up and listen to the intelligence from the front army in the Chinese army's tent.

After learning that the enemy is not an orc vanguard at all, but a small tribe wandering north. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at first, no matter what, it was great to be able to face the entire orc race without having to face it now.

But soon everyone became nervous again. Although the overall strength of the enemy is certainly not as strong as that of an army composed entirely of adult orcs, it is in a sense more difficult.

If it is said that it is a pure army. They must have been very poorly fed, or simply for the sake of plundering, and would have pounced on them like hungry wolves without being lured by the coalition forces—just like Kosai and his army of the Tar tribes. Fight before you raid, these beasts are wise in this regard and know how to deal with their worries first.

But if it is a tribal migration, the sense of battle is definitely not so strong, and because of the herd, the need for supplies will be reduced. The purpose is likely to be to occupy a piece of land with fertile water and grass and then slowly recuperate, and the possibility of not being able to hold on is greatly increased.

But the most troubling question is what if the enemy does not have only one tribe, which is likely to move in more than one direction, and if it were to fight, the coalition forces would likely be reckless, or even exhausted without knowing the exact location of the enemy.

If you want to pursue the enemy, you must divide your troops, but the division of troops will cause Liliang to weaken, and fighting against the orc tribe alone will cause considerable losses; if you insist on acting together, it is likely that the war here is not over, and the orc tribe will go north to attack the northern hinterland- The coalition army is marching from the west side of the Fault Mountain, if the orcs advance from the east, they will enter the area of the Kwyn River in the east, and the lords of the Kwyn River who have just surrendered to Theodor will definitely be in a hurry, even if Theodore wins, it is difficult to say whether these lords who have suffered heavy losses will continue to support.

Several people were silent around the map, swiping their fingertips back and forth on the map from time to time, but they quickly shook their heads, vetoed their own ideas, and the beads of sweat on their foreheads accumulated more and more.

Probably because children love to sleep, the little Duke Bran soon couldn't help it, rubbed his eyes tiredly and sat aside, took a sip of water to refresh himself, and took the lead in proposing: "Can't we gather more troops?" ”

"That's right, we need more troops to form a defensive circle. If you rush back to Salion now, you may be able to recruit the garrison on the banks of the Vistula. Salald nodded, and agreed with Bran's proposal: "I'll go in person, but the time is so short, I'm afraid ...... In short, don't get your hopes up. ”

"I'm sending to the Kwyn River to warn the lords to step up their defenses against a possible invasion. Theodore smiled helplessly: "It's better than nothing." ”

"The castle of Laria still has 5,000 troops to garrison, but it's too late. Bran couldn't help but yawn slightly, and deliberately looked at others with half-open eyes, and put his right hand in front of his mouth: "If you are urgently recruited, I'm afraid that only those knights who are cruising outside can be summoned, although the strength is relatively unsatisfactory, but it is a fairly high level army." ”

"I'm still very strange that they would suddenly go north? weishenme they have to take the fortress of Severcro desperately, and desperately march north?" Theodore became more and more confused: "What is going on in the south, or what have they discovered?"

"Because they're afraid!" An aging voice suddenly came from the curtain of the tent, and the familiar voice made everyone can't help but turn their heads, and the old Malcius walked in slowly with a wooden staff, bending down and nodding slightly to Theodore: "Salute to you, Honorable Emperor Bixia." ”

Seeing Malcius come in, Bran, who was a little unnatural, got up slightly, and Salald on the side made way for the old man, looking at him with a confused gaze.

"Salute to you as well, Venerable Prophet Malcius. Theodore replied slightly, and then quickly asked, "You said that they were afraid, so they headed north." But what are they afraid of?"

"Perhaps you think that the humans of the north are gaining victory little by little, and that sooner or later the scattered orcs will be crushed by the liliang of the humans and their allies. Maltheus smiled wryly and said, "As far as I know, most of the northern humans think so, and they believe it very well. ”

"You're saying they'...... Towards unification?" Salald said incredulously, "Seriously, I don't really believe your word - it's, it's incredible!"

"The crushing defeat of the Taal tribe in the Silent Forest has given the most powerful of the orcs, the Balitu tribe, a huge capital, and the capital to declare war on all the orc tribes - perhaps their khans have had the ambition to become the ruler of all orcs in the past, but they just don't have the opportunity to sight. "At the same time, our victory has made them realize that they are completely surrounded, and it is no longer possible for either the dwarves or the Noldor elves to stand idly by—both good and bad. ”

"The Balitu tribe ......" Bran suddenly narrowed his eyes, and his voice was a little cold: "Excuse me, is their leader called Ashina?" ”

"You know it?" Salald looked curiously at Duke Bran Elfwan, who suddenly became extremely cold, "What's the matter, do you know this guy?"

"Even if I die, I won't forget this name. Bran seemed to grit his teeth with hatred, his burning eyes were filled with bloodthirsty liliang, and his voice burst out with coldness: "This bastard who has defiled Elfwan's bloodline has killed my aunt's demon......!