Ch.115Chapter 115: Reinforcements.

“What do you mean ‘it was an Orc Lord’? You speak as if you’ve seen an Orc Lord…”

The captain of the rear unit, who didn’t know Balt well, spoke in disbelief, but no one responded to his words.

By his standards, if someone had seen an Orc Lord, they couldn’t have survived.

What makes Orc Lords terrifying is their overwhelming individual power.

Generally, an Orc Lord possesses strength that can rival even Master-level fighters.

But as far as he knew, there were no Masters here. That’s why he was so shocked that someone had defeated an Orc Lord.

Moreover, the orcs, who normally only knew simple group tactics, were now using some degree of strategy.

The expedition force that Balt belonged to discovered that the orcs had concealed their ability to use magic, planning to catch the expedition off guard and annihilate them.

They had perfectly exploited the fact that humans underestimated orcs.

The orcs’ strategy was to swiftly overwhelm the complacent humans.

Though it ended up being completely shattered by just one person.

Of course, a mountain was also destroyed in the process.

“You may not believe it, but it seems to be true.”

With everyone nodding in agreement, even the rear unit captain had no choice but to believe it now.

“My… my goodness…”

In the face of natural disasters like landslides, everyone becomes equal.

“In any case, we’re fortunate. The fact that we suffered so little damage against an army of 30,000 orcs and an Orc Lord is all thanks to Prince Balt.”

The people here had respected Balt from the beginning. After witnessing his power, that respect had simply intensified.

But Balt was concerned.

Although he hadn’t directly experienced the strength of an Orc Lord, from what they were saying, it was a Master-level entity.

That meant other units could be in danger.

“Is there a possibility that Orc Lords are present with other orc forces as well?”

A question anyone would wonder about came from Balt’s lips.

“I’m not sure. We thought most of them were deployed for the full-scale war between the Eastern Alliance and the main orc army…”

“How many are there?”

“We couldn’t scout properly because it was too dangerous, but we received reports of at least 10 Orc Lords.”

“10 of them…”

Ten Master-level entities could be considered many, but only 10 Orc Lords for an army of one million orcs?

The numbers didn’t add up.

Even here, there was one Orc Lord with just 30,000 troops.

It was a simple speculation without solid evidence, but it was already established that the orcs’ military strength was not just at that level.

“This is troubling. The orc main force must be even stronger, and there are likely Orc Lords in other locations as well.”

But Balt’s assessment seemed overly pessimistic.

“But Your Highness, even an Orc Lord is an entity that appears maybe once every few hundred years. To suddenly have dozens of them…”

People naturally struggle to believe what they haven’t seen.

“By the time we confirm it, it will be too late. How many locations are the orcs currently marching toward?”

Balt had somehow taken charge of the meeting.

The commander marked the orcs’ advance on the central map.

“Including this location, five places in total.”

When he had looked at the map with Grace earlier, he had only given the orcs’ movements a cursory glance, but now he couldn’t afford to do that.

Lisa and Grace had previously concluded in their meeting that this orc legion was meant to be a diversion and a sacrificial pawn.

After all, 30,000 orcs seemed too few for a serious assault force; they appeared to be mimicking human strategy by attacking civilians to divert attention from the main force.

That was the conclusion Lisa and Grace had reached.

Humans don’t abandon their own kind—at least not to monsters.

Therefore, human forces would inevitably be divided, but the orcs’ thinking only went that far.

Even if the orcs operated separate detachments, they would only be able to stall for time.

But if the orc forces were this strong, it was a matter that needed reconsideration.

After staring at the map for a while, Lisa suddenly had a realization.

“Ah!”

Seeing her expression, Balt grinned.

“It seems our adjutant has thought of something. Everyone, listen. She usually has good insights.”

With Balt setting the stage, Lisa explained the current situation, backed by Balt’s authority as the Prince of Gerungtu.

“These orcs’ movements! They’re cutting off supply routes!”

“W-what did you say?”

Even Martina, who had little interest in military operations, understood the importance of supplies better than anyone.

The commander began to carefully examine the map again.

“Hmm… indeed… so that’s it!”

“But isn’t that too far-fetched? Orcs cutting off supply routes…!”

Some affirmed while others denied the reality. Even though an Orc King had appeared, the idea of orcs formulating strategies like humans was unsettling enough.

But Lisa’s opinion had merit.

“They planned to block the main supply routes by dividing them into five sectors. That’s why they even mobilized Orc Lords. Think about it. Would they have attacked through this ravine if they weren’t planning something?”

In response to Lisa’s words, the rear unit captain muttered as if it were obvious.

“No, but that’s because they’re stupid…”

“No, Captain, this is a very meticulous plan. Look. If Prince Balt hadn’t been here today, we would have lost the battle, don’t you agree?”

“Well, that…”

At that point, Ivan, who had been listening silently, stepped forward.

“We would have lost. The key personnel might have survived, but the regular expedition forces would have been completely annihilated.”

Everyone fell silent at Ivan’s cold assessment.

The power of the orcs and their mages was that strong.

And what if an Orc Lord had joined the battle? They didn’t know, but around the Orc Lord were numerous Orc Generals who hadn’t even participated in the battle yet.

Their abilities were comparable to users of the 6th or 7th floor of Aura.

“I learned later that there were multiple Orc Generals. They were all wiped out in an instant by Prince Balt’s landslide… magic.”

This was information only Ivan, who had fought on the front lines, could know.

“Even Orc Generals…!”

There was clearly a qualitative difference between just 30,000 orcs and an orc army that included an Orc Lord and Generals.

From the explanation so far, this force of 30,000 orcs was powerful enough to threaten a small kingdom.

“And there are five such forces!”

As people began to realize the gravity of the situation, Lisa continued.

“What would happen if an elite expedition force of 15,000 were defeated by 30,000 orcs?”

Everyone pondered Lisa’s question.

But Lisa didn’t wait for them to answer.

“The main force can’t be withdrawn. But we’ve lost a supply route after being defeated by 30,000 orcs. We might not have lost it completely, but there’s definitely an impact. Even if just 30,000 orcs set up camp on the supply route, the supplies reaching the main force will be affected.”

“But it’s not like supplies can’t get through at all. Surely there are other routes…”

“Yes, but they’ll be delayed. Do you know how many troops are gathered on that plain right now?”

The Eastern Alliance had mobilized nearly 600,000 troops to face the orc army of one million.

Despite the numerical difference, they believed they could handle the orcs with proper coordination.

“The daily food requirement for 600,000 troops is enormous. What happens if supply routes are extended and supplies can’t be delivered on time? Can you imagine how this small issue could escalate?”

“That’s, that’s…!”

“First, it’s one meal, then a day, then maybe they can only eat once a week.”

But another unit captain continued to object.

“Then what about the orcs!? Don’t they need to eat too?”

“They’re monsters. They eat humans and, if necessary, even resort to cannibalism. Besides, it’s hard to believe that creatures who planned this far wouldn’t have prepared for that.”

Lisa’s insights were chilling.

It sounded like warfare between humans.

Even the commander found Lisa’s words hard to believe.

“I wonder if we’re jumping to conclusions. Do orcs have the means to formulate such strategies?”

“The Dark Council. We shouldn’t underestimate them.”

Whatever methods they used, this war had reeked of the Dark Council’s influence from the beginning.

The thought that everything from the monster wave in the north to the million-strong orc army in the east was their design wouldn’t leave her mind.

“Hmm… this is serious. Grace’s location might be fine, but the other places can’t handle Orc Lords or Generals!”

At that moment, Balt stepped forward as if it were natural.

“If it’s not too late, we should depart now.”

Balt had volunteered himself as reinforcement.