'Tubek Fortress' was an inconspicuous small city in Efta's outer defense line.
The entire fortress stood alone on the plains. It wasn't big, and after cramming three thousand people into it, it was abnormally crowded. The walls of the fortress weren't tall, and there weren't any arrow towers or wide moats. It seemed to be one of the weakest fortresses in the entire defense line.
However, it was this solitary fortress that had withstood the continuous attacks of the orcs for three days, and forced them to retreat due to the lack of progress in the battle.
The villagers who had retreated from the outskirts of the city were no longer as flustered as they were at the beginning. They only needed to look at the tall figures on the city walls, and they would involuntarily feel at ease. Because when the enemies rushed up the city walls, these commoners discovered that the so-called 'strong orcs' were actually not as tall as the soldiers guarding the city walls. The screaming orcs didn't even have the time to fart before their heads were smashed to pieces by a group of steel cans.
After that, the orcs retreated, and the world became quiet.
In these three days, the commoners in the fortress even thought that the war had ended. However, when they neared the military camp near the city walls, they could still feel the somber atmosphere. Every time a soldier in silver light armor patrolled past, these commoners would unconsciously lower their voices.
However, the atmosphere within the military camp was at the other extreme.
Due to the sealed stone structure of the fortress, it was cold and gloomy all year round. Thus, the soldiers who were on duty loved to bask in the sun when it was high up in the sky. They looked like animals that had just woken up from hibernation. Chatting under the warm sun had become a daily 'compulsory'.
"Captain David, do you think the orcs will come again?"
Taylor, a recruit who had just joined the army for three months, asked. He was diligently wiping the metal helmet that David had taken off at the side with a cloth. The shiny light was unusually dazzling under the sun.
"If they come, we'll fight. If they don't, we'll just rest. What else can we do?" David didn't even open his eyes as he chewed on a stalk of grass in his mouth. "These green-skinned creatures came and ran away after four or five hundred died. Are they going to gather ten thousand people to attack our small fortress? I don't think they have a chance. "
"Tsk, now that you mention it, Captain, that's true. Apart from having a loud voice, those idiots don't seem to be very powerful. No matter how many of them come, they'll just be giving them away for free."
Taylor was not boasting, he really had this kind of feeling. Although he had only trained for more than three months and fought for three days to defend the city, his mentality had changed from the initial uneasiness to calmness … There was no other reason. After he had easily killed more than ten of the most terrifying enemies in his heart, who would still be afraid?
There were also quite a few new recruits who chimed in. Dai Weian saw this group of new recruits who had never been on the battlefield mature, and he felt a sense of accomplishment in his heart. However, he still warned them, "You bunch of idiots who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Do you really think you're invincible just because you killed a few beastmen? You don't know those fellows we met in the Quiet Forest and the Ice Plains back then. Any one of them could easily squash us to death … "
"Then when we meet such people, we can only rely on Lord Roddy?"
"That's not necessarily true. Look over there —" Dai Weian pouted. The soldiers followed his gaze and saw three mages in robes sitting together and talking. Their clothing style was completely different from the Kingdom of Karen's. They were the mages who came to support Houdini and Roddy after they came to an agreement.
It was also because of the existence of these mages that it was abnormally easy to deal with the beastmen's attack a few days ago. Dai Weian then pointed at the command post. "Lord Sodelor's strength is now unbelievably strong. If you ask me, I think the position of 'First Knight' of Efta … will soon be given to him."
"Captain Dai Weian, you said that our battle strength is much stronger than the beastmen, so why don't we rush out and fight? I heard from the lad on guard that no one in Efta has taken the initiative to attack the beastmen yet … "
Dai Weian spat out the stalk of grass to the side. "Taylor, you have quite a lot of ideas huh? Come, repeat what I emphasized to you when you joined the army? "
"Ah? I … That, it should be 'Resolutely obey the orders of the superior'. "
"So what else do you want? This war is commanded by Knight Titus. Whatever he says goes, understand? Lord Sodelor's principles are stronger than anyone else's. Don't you dare randomly say 'I want to rush out and kill the beastmen', or else I won't care if you get punished by military law. "
"Yes! I won't dare to do it again … "
Time passed leisurely as they talked. Sometimes, war was like this. After a tense battle and a near-death experience, people would always hope for more incidents where they could relax and not care about worldly affairs.
However, the sudden order to assemble caused the camp to become lively in an instant. Jingle sounds of armors and weapons colliding resounded, and the originally scattered open space was instantly lined up in a neat formation. There was not the slightest hint of laziness.
Sodelor's adjutant, Pavini, walked in front of the crowd with a longsword at his waist and raised his voice.
"Level one combat readiness. The person in charge of the team will go to the command post to accept the mission in half an hour. Over!"
"Yes! Sir! "
After the standard order and response, Pavini gave a military salute and smiled. "If you are feeling itchy, you can compete to see who can kill more beastmen."
"Wow!"
Whistles and cheers filled the air. This atmosphere was completely different from the other knight troops. It was probably unique in the entire Kingdom of Karen. Davian was also one of the adjutants. However, he was in charge of the cavalry troops, while Pavini was in charge of coordination and logistics. So, he smiled and went forward to chat for a while. After knowing that it was indeed a proactive operation, he immediately smiled and pulled his subordinates to start a bet.
Pavini knew that they were betting on who could kill more beastmen. He smiled and walked in front of the three Lachman mages to invite them to the command post for a discussion.
The four of them strode into the cold and damp command post in the fortress. Due to the poor lighting, there were many grooves in the command post for holding torches. However, these grooves were now hung with Elson's specialty "crystal energy lamps", illuminating the command post as bright as day.
The three mages were young and strong. Coming from academies, they had never experienced the cruelty of the battlefield. Originally, they looked down on this group of soldiers who only knew how to kill. However, after the beastmen were continuously beaten back, the three mages put away their arrogance.
When they entered the hall of the core area of the command post, even the sound of their footsteps became softer.
Anyone who had seen Sodelor on the battlefield before would feel a sense of reverence in their hearts.
Neatly stacked documents filled the table. A huge and precise sand table was placed in the middle of the room. All these details showed that this general who defended the fortress was not someone who was blind to the world. Sodelor, who was dressed meticulously, was now sitting upright. When he looked over, there was already a faint pressure on the mages …
"Hollier City has given us a new strategic target. I will handle the specific actions at my discretion." Sodelor pointed at the sand table and said softly, "Mage Houdini has already sent us the enemy's position. So … I hope that tonight's ambush will continue to receive the support of the esteemed mages."
The three mages did not say anything else. They bowed together and replied, "This is our duty."
"With the help of the three mages, this ambush will definitely be successful."
Sodelor flattered them in a formal manner. When he looked at the sand table, his originally calm gaze was already burning with a burning desire to fight.
This is the stage where I can display my abilities …
*****
Just as Sauron was setting up a celebratory feast for his army that had finally taken down two fortresses, the army that rushed out of the night had already swung towards the Orc army that had set up camp like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.
Because Eiffta had completely adopted a passive defense in the early stages of the war, the Orcs already had a fixed mindset: the humans would only hide and defend, and would not dare to fight head-on at all.
Since the beginning of the war, the only battle that had been carried out on the plains was when Knight Wellington had come to their rescue. Other times, no matter how the Orcs provoked, the human soldiers would never step out of the fortress. This behavior made the Orcs less and less vigilant at night. At the same time, their defensive measures became more and more sloppy.
Among the entire Orc army, only Sauron's personal guards used a clear defensive formation when setting up camp. After the other Orcs dispersed, they did not consider the impact of the layout of the camp on the enemy at night. As for the Orcs that had just taken down "Pagoda Castle", with the city walls as a barrier, their vigilance was at its lowest.
This castle was taken down because the city walls were low and there were not enough guards. The Orcs did not know how to maintain and repair the city walls at all. Therefore, at night, they only sent a small team to guard the castle. The rest of the Orcs mostly pounced on the women among the refugees in the city, each of them venting their desires crazily. As for the tribal chief guard, Gru, who had made a contribution, he directly enjoyed the "spoils of war" in the castle hall, where the smell of blood had yet to dissipate.
He had already seen his glorious future, and even imagined himself taking over Godard's position as warlord. However, just as he was excitedly sprinting on his white body, there was a burst of strange noise coming from outside the door …
"What's going on?!"
He casually pulled up his pants and shouted at the guards outside the door, "Tell them to be quiet! Are they rebelling?! "
But when he walked out of the castle hall, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Because of his night blindness, he could not see clearly if there were Orcs standing on the distant city walls. However, the rumbling sound of horse hooves was definitely not the sound of a Mount Wolf!
There was actually someone attacking the city? Were the humans crazy? Attacking the city at night?
"Guard the city gates! Go and defend the city walls! "
"But … chief guard, they have already rushed in!"
"Are you all useless? How did they get in?! "
"Yes … No one can explain clearly. They just said that there was an explosion at the city gates, and those people suddenly came in …"
Gru's mouth opened wide, obviously unable to understand the ability of the human magicians.
"Then guard the inner city gates! Go quickly! "
Gru roared and went to get his weapon, but in the next second, he saw a big hole in the inner city gates with a "crash" sound in the light.
Under the light of the torches, the knights clad in shining armor swarmed in. They brandished their swords and easily killed the beastmen that surrounded them. The tall figure wielding a longsword charged straight at him …
"How could this be … we have attacked the city for three days … how …"
Gru's eyes were filled with disbelief, but he had no choice but to fight in a hurry. His weapon was a 1.8 meter long Wolf Fang Iron Mace. Gru, who was proud of his bravery, had always been successful in battle. Within the attack range of the Wolf Fang Iron Mace, anyone who came into contact with it would either die or be crippled.
Facing the charging knights, he roared angrily, squinting his eyes as he tried to identify the opponent's position …
"Die!"
He swung the huge mace and smashed the figure, but the enemy disappeared with a "poof".
Gru was stunned, but he saw a long sword slash across the darkness silently, sending his huge head flying straight into the sky.
Sodelor reined in his horse with one hand and looked at the surrounding Dragon Spear Knights slaughtering the unprepared Orcs in the inner city. He narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly.
"Just so-so."
That night, Pagoda Castle, which had fallen for less than two days, was reclaimed by Sodelor and a team of 500 people led by him. None of the 2,300 invading Orcs escaped.
The next day, the Orc reinforcements who tried to recapture the castle were defeated by Sodelor who rushed out of the city. Only half of the 2,000 Orcs who came as reinforcements managed to escape. The beheaded Orcs' heads were piled up on a small slope outside the city, directly scaring away the other Orc troops who tried to attack.
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