173: Chapter 173 Who Cares About the Lives of Their People?

Chapter 173: Who Cares About the Lives of the Serfs?

"Help!"

"Someone, please save me!"

"Ah—!"

In the northwestern part of the Western Frontier Territory, at the Yellow Tide Territory belonging to the Pedan Kingdom, an army of orcs from the Beast Tribe was currently attacking and plundering.

Flames spread across the entire battlefield, and shrill screams echoed through the sky. Emotions like terror, despair, and pain were etched onto the faces of the Serfs like patterns.

Facing the sudden attack of the Beast Tribe, the military defenses of the Yellow Tide Territory were as fragile as a child's, easily crushed in a single encounter.

Chaos and mess were everywhere within the Yellow Tide Territory. A large number of raggedly dressed Serfs scattered and fled, without the slightest thought of resisting.

This was because their Lord, after failing to resist the first wave of the Beast Tribe's attack, had fled toward the rear frontier territories with the remaining viable forces, without the slightest intention of fighting to the death.

The Serfs only wished they had an extra pair of legs right now, as it would increase their hopes of a successful escape.

Looking at the scattering human Serfs, the massive and hideous orcs of the Beast Tribe each revealed bloodthirsty, crazed, and mocking smiles.

"Ohoho~ (This is great! These humans are as fragile as rabbits. I'm going to have some fun with them.)"

"Ahoho~ (Their Lord has already abandoned them. Why are they still running? Truly a foolish human race.)"

"Yahoho~ (Let's have a competition today and see who can kill more humans.)"

The orc language, filled with tones of arrogance and playfulness, continuously rang out among the orc crowd.

At this moment, in their eyes, those human Serfs were toys they could crush at will for their amusement.

And that was indeed the case. Let alone facing those orcs with supernatural powers, even against ordinary orcs, these human Serfs had no ability to resist at all.

With a beastly roar, the orcs swung their cold weapons and began to wantonly slaughter the fleeing Serfs.

The Serfs, who were already underfed and poorly clothed in the cold winter, were caught in just a few moments despite having fled some distance, as they were no match for the energetic orc army.

Puchi—!

The sound of flesh being sliced open rang out repeatedly. Accompanied by shrill wails, Serfs fell heavily onto the cold ground one after another.

Thick blood flowed from the wounds, quickly staining the yellowish-brown soil around the corpses Red.

This feeling of wolves catching sheep made the orc army increasingly excited and reckless, like messengers sent by the God of Death from hell.

However, while slaughtering wildly, those orcs still remembered the orders given by their respective commanders: they could only kill the elderly and the men; the women and children were to be kept.

Women were to serve as playthings for the orcs, while children were gifts to be offered to the High Priest.

A gnoll orc, holding a massive battle-axe, looked at a young mother and child fleeing not far away. With a bloodthirsty smile, he chased after them.

The heavy thuds of his running steps rang out "boom, boom, boom," like a heavy hammer repeatedly striking the hearts of the young mother and child.

Even as the footsteps and beastly roars grew closer, they still didn't dare to look back. They were afraid that if they did, they would see that terrifying, hideous smile, and would no longer have the strength to run.

But reality was just that hopeless!

Even though they were running with all their might, in front of the massive gnoll orc, they were as slow as a crawling tortoise.

In less than a few breaths, it appeared behind the young mother and child, and the dark shadow cast by the sun instantly covered their figures.

Despair filled their faces, and a call to the gods burst forth from their hearts.

Swish—!

A chilling cold light streaked across the sky. The gnoll orc's bloodthirsty, mocking smile froze. With a "puchi" sound of spraying blood, its massive head hit the ground.

This scene was happening across the battlefield; headless orc corpses fell to the ground with a thud one after another.

The sudden deaths of their kin left the other orcs stunned. Before they could react, a voice speaking the human language rang out in their ears like thunder.

"Kill all these damned orcs!"

As the words fell, they were followed by the continuous, heavy, and powerful sound of horse hooves, rising from all directions and clearly reaching the ears of every orc.

Immediately after, knights riding armored warhorses and wearing full plate armor appeared before the eyes of all the orcs.

They gripped their kingdom-issue spears, tucking them under their armpits for stability, and charged fiercely toward the orcs on the battlefield.

A massacre similar to the one before began, but this time, the victims were the orc army.

The battle lasted for about an hour. The orc army of over a thousand, led by a mid-level orc equivalent to a high-tier Silver Knight,

Was completely wiped out by the knight order led by the exceptionally heroic-looking knight on this yellowish-brown land where they had committed their grave crimes.

"Knight Captain Montgomery, all orcs who invaded the Yellow Tide Territory have been slain, totaling one thousand five hundred and fifty."

"Over half of the Serfs in the Yellow Tide Territory are dead or injured, and some have fled to parts unknown. Specific numbers are being tallied urgently."

On a small slope on the battlefield, Montgomery sat on his warhorse, quietly listening to the post-battle report from his subordinate knight.

Several disheveled knights standing beside him lowered their already bowed heads even further upon hearing the report.

After the reporting knight left, Montgomery turned to look at a young man among the several knights and said in a cold tone, "Connie Ward, you are a clever Lord, but not a qualified one."

"I must move on to support other territories. Farewell."

With that, Montgomery tightened the reins, preparing to leave. Seeing this, Connie hurriedly raised his head and asked in a panic, "Lord Montgomery, if you leave and another orc army attacks, what shall we do? Do we still have to defend this Yellow Tide Territory?"

Montgomery paused and said, "I have already sent scouts ahead; there are no signs of an orc army. Your worries are unnecessary."

"As for whether to defend it, that is your freedom. I have no reason to interfere."

After speaking, Montgomery didn't give Connie a chance to continue. He spurred his horse and left quickly, refusing to stay a moment longer, as if there were something filthy here.

Montgomery had seen too many Lords like Connie; they could no longer sway his emotions.

Of course, even if he wanted to punish Connie, he didn't have the authority, or rather, he didn't have a valid reason.

According to the laws of the Pedan Kingdom, any Lord who abandons their Serfs and flees the battlefield will be punished by the higher-level jurisdictional Tribunal.

But this charge did not apply to Connie, because he had indeed led his Knight Squad to resist a wave of the orc army's invasion.

Although they failed in a single encounter and he fled without hesitation, this meant there was no grounds for punishment.

This was why Montgomery had just called Connie a clever Lord.

As for whether to stay and continue the defense, it was indeed as Montgomery said—it was Lord Connie's freedom, and there was no longer any point in defending the Yellow Tide Territory now.

Moreover, kingdom law never stipulated that a Lord must remain in their territory; it was just that after being away for a certain amount of time, a corresponding fine would be charged.

The longer the absence, the higher the fine.

As for the lives of the Serfs, who cared?

Connie, who still wanted to say something with his mouth open, could only watch Montgomery leave. His expression was as awkward as a clown's, but he didn't dare show a hint of resentment.

The Knight Captain beside him stepped forward and asked, "Lord Connie, what do we do next?"

Hearing this, Connie's ugly expression gradually calmed down. After scanning the messy surroundings, he said coldly, "Who would want to stay in such a rotten place that could be overrun at any moment? We are returning to Coridinglo."

After speaking, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache—not for the Serfs, but for the heavy fines he would have to pay next.

"As you command." The Knight Captain respectfully complied. Though he looked pained, he didn't dare to defy Connie's order.

After tallying the battle results, Montgomery consolidated the main force and quickly left the Yellow Tide Territory, ignoring the aftermath.

It was wartime, and Earl Theodore's order to him was to repel all Beast Tribe armies invading the frontier territories; he couldn't afford to waste a single moment.

Furthermore, he had no right to interfere in another's territory. The survival of these Serfs depended entirely on their Lord.

After seeing Montgomery's main force leave, Connie and his personal Knight Squad also quickly left the Yellow Tide Territory, taking what remained of value in the territory with them.

Seeing them leave without any hesitation, the despair on the faces of the Yellow Tide Territory's Serfs gradually turned into numbness.

Only the sound of burning fires and the wails from various wounds remained in their ears.

A few days passed in a flash, and all development within the territory continued steadily.

Accompanied by the sound of the blizzard raging outside the window, Lister sat in his office, focusing intently on his paperwork, with a cup of steaming milk on the desk.

Over the past few days, Lister had learned much about the battles between the northwestern frontier territories and the Beast Tribe through divination information.

Under the continuous support of the knight order led by Montgomery, the large number of invading Beast Tribe forces had suffered heavy blows.

This situation forced the Beast Tribe's army to stop their deep invasion and begin consolidating their forces.

The Grand Commander of the Beast Tribe's invading army knew very well that if they continued to allow their battle lines to be scattered, they would play right into Montgomery's hands and be picked off one by one.

So now they had only one goal: to gather their army and crush Montgomery's relief force.

After several face-to-face engagements, both sides' forces had suffered significant losses, and the battle began to shift toward a war of attrition.

However, Lister knew that this situation would soon undergo a massive change.

Originally, both sides only had one top-tier combatant: one was the Golden Knight Montgomery, and the other was the Grand Commander of the Beast Tribe army, the High Orc Tharos.

It was precisely because of these two that the battle had gradually fallen into a stalemate.

But according to the divination information from two days ago, the Beast Tribe would send a new High Orc to support Tharos.

As a result, under the siege of two High Orcs, even if Montgomery was very strong, it would be difficult for him to deal with two enemies of nearly equal strength on his own.

Although he had anticipated it, Lister was still quite surprised when he saw this divination information.

He wasn't surprised that the Beast Tribe sent a powerhouse as reinforcement, but rather by the number of High Orcs within their ranks.

If the divination information wasn't exaggerated, then there were at least three High Orcs in the Beast Tribe. Red's previous estimate of at least two was clearly quite conservative.

One must know that a Golden Knight was already the top combat power of a kingdom, second only to a Great Knight.

And powerhouses of the Great Knight level, in the public eye of the Pedan Kingdom, excluding the Church and independent transcendents, numbered only three.

Unless it was a major war of the highest level, Great Knights generally would not take action.

Therefore, the top combatants in most wars were Golden Knight-level powerhouses.

And the strength the Beast Tribe was now displaying was already not weaker than the Frontier Earl Theodore, not to mention that it was only a medium-sized tribe of the Orc Race.

Through this divination information, Lister once again updated his understanding of the Orc Race's strength; it was clearly much more powerful than in his memories.

But surprise aside, he didn't feel afraid; instead, he was quite excited.

Because the divination information explicitly stated that the upcoming battle would become a stalemate, and Theodore would issue a military call to arms.

The Beast Tribe would also take this opportunity to send small units to attack frontier territories in other directions to disrupt Theodore's plan to gather more forces for battle.

In this way, the overall trend of the Western Frontier Territory's battlefield was proceeding exactly as Lister, Red, and the others had discussed and predicted.

And at this very moment, his plan could also begin to be implemented.

Just then, Thomas's knock and request to enter came from outside the door.

After responding, the door opened, and Red, Spartacus, Sejin, and Aier, along with Odinton, strode in.

Once the greetings were over, Lister said with a smile, "Everyone, please have a seat."

After the four sat down, Lister looked at Aier with a beaming smile and asked, "Aier, have you successfully advanced to Silver Knight?"

"Yes, I did not fail your expectations, Lord Lister. I successfully advanced this morning," Aier replied respectfully.

Although his expression remained steady, the excitement in his eyes was plain to see.

Lister wasn't surprised by his reaction. After all, this was an advancement to Silver Knight; anyone would be excited, and he was still quite young.

To be able to maintain such a steady demeanor was already very rare, making Lister appreciate Aier more and more.

Nodding, Lister said seriously, "Since you have successfully advanced, Aier, I can now fulfill my previous promise."

"From now on, the position of Head of the Firearms Department is officially yours. I hope that under your leadership, the Firearms Department can become a core force in battle."

Aier immediately stood up and performed a kingdom knight's salute, saying excitedly, "Thank you for your trust, Lord Lister. I will do my utmost to develop the Firearms Department."