43: The black dog orc has arrived!

"Sinclair, when do you think we can become Apprentice Knights?"

"There will definitely be a chance, Marjorie. As long as we perform well, the Lord will surely grant us the opportunity to become Apprentice Knights..."

"Have you forgotten that just this morning, the Lord bestowed new Breathing Techniques upon Knight Captain Red and Full Knight Spartacus?"

"That is true. Now that you mention it, I am really looking forward to it. With the Lord's magnanimity, let alone Apprentice Knight, maybe we even have a chance at becoming Full Knights."

"When that time comes..."

In the depths of the Ironthorn Forest near the edge of the territory, the patrolling Soldiers Marjorie and Sinclair were chatting idly.

Both of them were Soldiers who had initially followed Lister to the Ironthorn Territory, and after the events of the past few days, they were completely convinced by Lister.

Just as Marjorie was about to indulge in the fantasy of a bright future as a Full Knight, Sinclair suddenly covered her mouth and pressed her down into a crouch.

"Shh!"

Looking at Sinclair, who was making a shushing gesture, Marjorie looked completely bewildered.

The next moment, Sinclair signaled her to look to the front right.

She nodded and looked over. With just one glance, she almost cried out, but fortunately, Sinclair was quick and covered her mouth again.

In a small clearing surrounded by trees to the front right, five huge, dog-headed, bipedal humanoid creatures were sitting together.

They were chatting with each other, tearing off chunks of raw beast meat from their hands with their mouths from time to time.

Orc Race!

Seeing the thought in Marjorie's eyes, Sinclair nodded gently, his expression extremely grave.

He had not expected Orc Race to appear within the territory; not to mention the Orc Race' own lands, the Ironthorn Territory was separated from the kingdom's border by several other territories.

However, he soon thought of what had happened in nearby territories recently...

Sinclair lowered his voice and said: "Marjorie, these Orc Race must be the ones that have been attacking nearby territories recently. You must rush back immediately to report to the Lord, and I will stay here to monitor them."

"I understand. You must be careful, do not die." Giving Sinclair's chest a light punch with her right hand, Marjorie did not waste any more words, bent her waist, turned around, and quickly tiptoed away.

After watching her back disappear safely, Sinclair turned his head and stared fixedly at the five Orc Race not far away.

...

In the afternoon, Lister, having finished his training, was listening to Brutus's daily routine report in his room.

Currently, under his arrangements, the territory had entered a period of steady and rapid development.

Although there were still many shortcomings, as long as the general direction was correct, the overall situation was moving in a positive direction, and those minor issues could be slowly remedied later.

Just as the report was about to finish, Thomas's urgent voice came from outside the door.

"Lord Lister, Soldier Marjorie has an urgent matter to report and is waiting outside the door."

Upon hearing this, Lister frowned and said loudly: "Let her in."

"Creeak!"

As the door opened, a perspiring Marjorie walked quickly to the center of the room.

The moment she saw Lister, she immediately knelt on one knee to salute, and said in a hurried tone:

"Lord Lister, while Soldier Sinclair and I were patrolling in the depths of the Ironthorn Forest, we discovered five Orc Race. Sinclair is currently staying behind to monitor them, and I have specifically rushed back to report."

"Orc Race spotted!" Lister stood up abruptly.

Brutus, who had stopped reporting, and Thomas, who was attending, both could not help but change their expressions.

The former, as a top student graduated from the Church Academy, naturally knew various information about Orc Race and understood their terror well.

The latter knew because he had served Lister's father, the old Viscount, and the old Viscount had died at the hands of the Orc Race.

Therefore, compared to Brutus's purely academic knowledge of their terror, Thomas added a layer of resentment, as the old Viscount had been his great benefactor.

At this moment, Lister regained his calm expression. He was certain about the identity of the five Orc Race; after all, the divination information had already mentioned them twice before.

Without hesitation, he began to give orders: "Thomas, take Marjorie and go to the training ground immediately to notify Red. Tell him to assemble all Knights and Soldiers as quickly as possible, while leaving two Soldiers to guard the castle."

"Hobbes (Brutus), go to the farming area immediately to notify the remaining farmers to return to Ironthorn Town, and carry out necessary appeasement work for all Serfs."

"Yes, Lord Lister." As the words fell, the three of them quickly left the room.

...

Fifteen minutes later.

Lister, Red, and others, dressed in full armor and holding longswords, rushed to the edge of the Ironthorn Forest at the fastest speed.

As for why Lister did not bring a long spear, it was naturally because he had self-awareness; there was no point in bringing out his entry-level spear skills to embarrass himself.

Looking at the Ironthorn Forest before him, Lister did not rashly lead the team inside. After all, they had a large number of people, and entering directly would make too much noise, easily alerting the enemy.

Moreover, he could not accurately estimate the strength of the five Orc Race. There was no way around it; the divination information only mentioned that they caused the casualties of one Bronze Tier 3 Knight and three Apprentice Knights.

Whether they were injured or dead, the exact information was unknown, so he believed it was necessary to act with caution.

Turning his head to look at Red to the side, he ordered: "Red, you and Marjorie go to the location of the Orc Race first to investigate their general strength."

"If they are too strong, we will avoid their edge, but if their strength is inferior to ours, then have Marjorie—no, have that Sinclair come back to notify us."

"After we arrive, we will encircle and exterminate them together."

"Understood." Red respectfully agreed, then dismounted and took Marjorie with him, quickly sneaking into the Ironthorn Forest.

Time passed minute by minute. Lister and the others waited quietly in place, which was different from his calm expression.

At this moment, various emotions appeared on the faces of the surrounding Knights and Soldiers. Except for a few who were excited, most showed nervousness, fear, and other expressions, but there was no intention of retreating.

And this courage came from the tall figure on horseback at the center in front—the Lord, who was blessed by the holy light god.

This deeply ingrained sense of trust was something even Lister himself did not know about.

You have to know that he was only feigning calmness now; in reality, he was panicking inwardly.

After all, these were real Orc Race. Being able to fight against the kingdom in the north for so many years without being defeated or annihilated, their strength must be extremely powerful.

And in Lister's memories, he also had some understanding of their brutality and ferocity.

However, in order to maintain the dignity of the Lord and set a good example for everyone, he naturally could not show cowardice in front of them.

While everyone was lost in thought, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the Ironthorn Forest and then quickly ran towards Lister and the others.