196: Chapter 196 Harvest and News

Chapter 196: Harvest and News

The battle was over.

It had lasted less than ten minutes.

The snow-white ground was stained with large patches of warm, dark red blood, and five corpses—four men and one woman—dressed in black robes lay scattered across the ground.

A biting cold wind suddenly swept by, and the lingering warmth on the corpses quickly faded away.

As his gaze swept over these corpses, the scene of the recent battle gradually emerged in Lister's eyes—

This time, he hadn't exerted much effort, merely acting as a rearguard behind the others, especially the several new and veteran Bronze Knights.

The battle ended so quickly not because the enemy was weak; on the contrary, the enemy's strength and combat experience were quite sufficient and seasoned.

During his time as rearguard, he had keenly captured several thrilling moments that endangered their side during the fighting.

Most of these occurred in the battle between the Bronze Knights and the four wizards, especially regarding the few highly talented young knights.

Their youth and lack of practical experience caused them to expose many problems, both large and small, during the fight.

At the same time, these very problems meant that in the end, even though they won, they paid the price with varying degrees of injuries.

Despite having three clear advantages—the prior ambush, close-quarters combat, and superior numbers—it hadn't actually brought them much of an edge.

He believed the key to this situation lay in the undeniable transcendental realms and combat experience.

The massive advantages brought by these two factors were enough to negate the three clear advantages their side had possessed.

Therefore, regarding the battle of the Bronze Knights, he generally felt that the flaws did not obscure the merits, and there were many commendable aspects.

He believed that with their comprehension, they would surely undergo a transformation after experiencing this battle, and perhaps the next fight would bring him a big surprise.

On the other hand, the four people fighting against Gran had fared far, far better than the Bronze Knights, both in process and result.

To say something Gran wouldn't like to hear, he was absolutely the most miserable in this battle—

Facing four Silver Knights of low, middle, and high ranks, Gran, who had strength equivalent to a high-rank Silver Knight...

...had only resisted for less than five minutes before his throat was slit by Spartacus's sharp sword, leaving him to die with an expression of unwillingness.

Before dying, he clearly wanted to use some trump card, but the result was a dud; he couldn't execute anything.

The all-around crushing siege also left the four with almost no injuries; in terms of combat coordination, experience, and decisiveness, they were nearly impeccable.

As someone who was practically a spectator, he had also gained a lot from observing this battle, just waiting to digest it properly after returning.

The blood on the ground had now frozen into ice, and the memories of the battle quietly faded from his pupils.

Starting from the wizard corpse nearest to his feet, he began a very careful inspection (looting).

As time passed minute by minute, his originally calm expression became increasingly joyful—

"These wizards are freaking rich!"

He couldn't help but exclaim softly; he had only finished searching the four wizards other than Gran.

In his hands, there were already four magic wands of both low and middle levels, four enchanted robes of superior material, and three low-level storage rings.

Among them, the storage rings surprised him the most; not to mention the value of the items stored inside, they were also filled with various precious resources helpful for cultivation.

For example, two low-level Wizardry scrolls, three embedded crystals for magic wands with different elemental attributes, and so on.

After completely stripping the four of them and confirming there were no omissions, he walked over to Gran's corpse not far away.

The look of unwillingness from before his death still remained on his face, and those pitch-black eyes seemed to be staring at him, who had come before him, at every moment.

With a slight curl of his lips and after checking that there was nothing special, he took out a piece of cloth and covered it.

Subsequently, he began to perform a full-body inspection of the corpse with peace of mind.

The results did not exceed his expectations; there were not only plenty of good things, but the quality was better than the previous four combined.

A middle-level magic wand, a set of middle-level enchanted robes, a middle-level storage ring, and a parchment letter sealed with a strange black-red unknown creature pattern.

The letter was more conspicuous than the other items, and the lingering body heat attached to it emitted an unknown energy that made him feel unpleasant.

Not in a rush to open the letter, he first inspected the other items, especially the middle-level storage ring with a magical imprint.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, he directly released his Spiritual Power mixed with pure magic to quickly wipe it away.

Although his current Wizardry level was not yet equal to Gran's, he was already a high-rank Silver Knight, and the source of his magic was the White Marsh he had contracted with.

With the bonus of both, it was not difficult for him to wipe away the restrictions set by a transcendental being of equal strength.

As his Spiritual Power swept through the storage ring, his pupils became increasingly bright.

The items inside were piled up like a small mountain; in addition to a large amount of magic cultivation resources, there was also a round badge with the same shape and style as the one he had obtained from the Black Witch Church's Grand Deacon, Mackintosh, last time.

The difference was that the text on the back of this round badge was slightly different; from this, he could determine that this should be their identification tag.

It was just a pity that he couldn't figure out what was written on it right now.

Besides these, the three items that attracted his attention the most were a head-sized transparent crystal ball, a middle-level magic book, and a high-level Wizardry scroll.

He only felt that the transparent crystal ball was relatively precious, but its specific function required further exploration.

The functions of the latter two, however, were clear at a glance, and they made him feel the most pleasantly surprised.

After counting all the spoils of war, he ordered several people to burn the five corpses, which were left only in thin undergarments, to ashes and cleaned up the messy ground.

After perceiving that there were no abnormalities around and no third party had discovered them, he led the group and took the horses of Gran and the other four to leave the place quickly.

The air fell into silent stillness again, as if the fierce battle that had just occurred was merely an illusion.

Coridinglo, Earl's residence.

The soft silver-blue moonlight spilled over the exquisite and ancient stone corridor, and the cold wind gently brushed over the flat stone road, permeating a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Tap, tap, tap~

A burst of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded, ruthlessly breaking the tranquility in the air.

Seeing the appearance of the person who came, the two knight guards outside the Earl's office, where the firelight flickered, immediately bowed respectfully to show their greeting.

Without caring about too much etiquette, Wagner said with an eager expression, "I have an important matter to request an audience with the Earl!"

Daring not to have any hesitation, following a quick report by one of the guards, Wagner walked quickly into the wide office.

Hearing the footsteps approaching, Theodore, who was sitting at the desk handling official business, did not even lift his head and said, "Wagner, what is the matter so late at night?"

"Reporting to the Earl, important military intelligence has arrived from the Pioneer Territory in the direct west." Wagner said while handing the letter in his hand to Theodore and reporting quickly: "The Beast Tribe has dispatched dozens of orc squads to infiltrate and raid; each squad has anywhere from dozens to over a hundred people, and all are led by medium-level orcs."

"A large number of Pioneer Territories in the direct west have been severely damaged. According to their route of advance, the military staff department speculates that they are preparing to continue raiding toward the Pioneer Territories in the southwest."

"What!" Theodore suddenly lifted his head, and the fine quill pen he was writing with snapped with a pop.

He hurriedly took the military intelligence letter handed over by Wagner and quickly opened it to read.

The flickering firelight stretched their figures long, and Theodore's expression became increasingly ugly.

A moment later, an angry shout rang out: "How dare the Beast Tribe! Do they really think I, Theodore, am made of clay!"

With a "bang," he slammed the letter he had finished reading onto the desk, his angry and gloomy face looking as if it were about to drip water.

Not long ago, he had received the good news that Montgomery and Wells had received his message in time and thus had not been ambushed.

Now, not even a day later, the rare bit of good mood he had developed had instantly vanished because of this military intelligence letter.

According to the detailed content written on the military intelligence letter, dozens of elite orc squads had been unstoppable along the way, having successively raided a large number of Pioneer Territories.

Among them, just the Pioneer Territories that suffered devastating damage amounted to more than a dozen.

Moreover, because the elite orc squads were small in number, every raid was merciless, slaughtering the people of the Pioneer Territories extensively.

Although some capable Pioneering Lords had already united with other lords at the first opportunity to conduct defensive counterattacks...

...these elite orc squads seemed to have suddenly become enlightened, not engaging in head-on confrontations with the organized Pioneering Lord forces at all.

With such a huge change in these orcs, he didn't even need to think to know that it was the work of the Beast Tribe High Priest, Bartholomew.

Before these elite orc squads set out, he must have given some important instructions; otherwise, not to mention all of them, the majority of the orcs certainly could not have had such clever ways of dealing with things.

"Earl, I suggest dispatching troops to support immediately; the Pioneer Territory in the direct west must absolutely not become as chaotic as the northwest."

Looking at Wagner's unusually eager appearance, Theodore did not feel surprised or strange, because Wagner's nephew was a Pioneering Lord in the Pioneer Territory in the direct west.

Before becoming his Knight Captain, Wagner was originally a noble of high status, his father being a Viscount in the kingdom.

However, because he had had a huge conflict with his father since he was a child, his right of succession as the eldest son was stripped by his father.

Filled with resentment and not caring about the title, he became a wandering knight in a fit of anger, traveling thousands of miles away from his family to the Western Territory to hone himself.

And his hard work and talent did not let him down, making him a powerful knight, eventually being recruited by Theodore to become his Knight Captain.

However, although he had left the family, the person who inherited his father's title was his closest brother, which was why he had just shown that appearance.

At this time, Theodore, whose mood had gradually calmed down, said with a slightly stern expression, "Wagner, I understand your feelings of worrying about your nephew, but do not forget your current status and responsibilities."

"I am sorry, Earl, I have lost my composure." Wagner was startled and immediately bowed to express his apology.

Without dwelling on it too much, Theodore pointed to a Pioneer Territory on the map and comforted him: "Wagner, you don't need to worry too much. Your nephew's territory was specially selected by me, located at the intersection of the direct west and the southwest; it should not be in any major trouble at the moment."

Wagner's tense expression relaxed slightly; he had indeed been too anxious just now and had forgotten the location of his nephew's territory.

Moreover, the news of the elite orc squad invasion had already reached him here; his nephew's side must have been able to receive it too, and perhaps they had already taken precautions.

Seeing that his expression was no longer eager, Theodore's finger traced a route on the map: "According to the attack route of these dozens of elite orc squads, they have been attacking toward the southwest all along."

"If I am not mistaken, the purpose of this operation by the Beast Tribe should be to drag down those Pioneering Lords who responded to the military conscription."

Regarding the Beast Tribe knowing about him issuing the military conscription, neither he nor Wagner felt surprised; after all, such intelligence was too easy to inquire about.

Moving his gaze to the Pioneer Territories in the southwest on the map, Theodore continued: "There are many Pioneering Lords in the southwest. If they can use dozens of orc squads to drag them down, it will definitely be greatly advantageous for the Beast Tribe's battle situation in the northwest."

"Therefore, no matter from which aspect, we must send troops to intercept those elite orc squads."

"It's just that now they have already infiltrated the Pioneer Territories, and wanting to accurately find them is not an easy thing."

Rubbing his temples, he sighed helplessly: "And do not forget, we are under tremendous pressure on the northwest front."

"Although Montgomery and the others have received my message in time, if there is no action for a long time, the Beast Tribe will definitely detect a problem."

"At that time, if they launch a frontal attack, Montgomery and Wells and their men will absolutely not be able to withstand five High Orcs."

Wagner looked solemn; as Theodore's Knight Captain, how could he not know the stakes involved?

Now, the situation of the entire battlefield can be said to have become very chaotic, and the purpose of the Beast Tribe is obvious: they want to drag them into this quagmire.

"However, we don't need to worry too much now; not long ago, I received news from the northern front."

Mentioning this, Theodore's furrowed brows relaxed slightly: "Although the situation in the north is intensifying and has once fallen into a very deadlocked state, for our side, it is still within an acceptable degree."

"It can be said that now our Western Territory has no need to support the north; we only need to deal with the Beast Tribe's invasion with all our might."

"Moreover, before you came, the person in charge of the royal station sent me a message saying that they have already mobilized three Golden Knights from other territories with full force at the first opportunity."

"If the mobilization is successful, then with me overseeing the situation, we will have one more top-tier combat power than the Beast Tribe."

"In this way, the idea we discussed earlier of confusing the Beast Tribe to carry out a counter-ambush can be implemented."

"As long as the Beast Tribe is hit on the northwest front battlefield, it will inevitably affect those dozens of elite orc squads, thereby reducing the pressure on the raided Pioneer Territories."

"However, we cannot let our guard down; to prevent those dozens of elite orc squads from fighting to the death, we still must send troops to support."

"The purpose of the support is not to quickly annihilate them, but only to hold back their pace of attack."

"The Earl is wise!" After listening to this analysis, Wagner exclaimed sincerely.

Theodore's brows remained furrowed; after all, this was all just his best expectation, and what situations might arise in between remained unknown.

Subsequently, he and Wagner carried out an in-depth plan formulation regarding the matter of intercepting the invasion of the elite orc squads.