Ch.135Chapter 135: The Decisive Battle in the East (3).

However, to say that this sorcery is of no help would be absolutely incorrect.

This force, which now includes Valt, could be considered no less powerful than a decent kingdom.

Already, there are two Master-level powerhouses, along with Valt, Lilith, Arias who specializes in healing, and Lisa who knows the geography well.

These are talents who can enhance Grace’s original forces several to dozens of times over.

Needless to say, skilled powerhouses have an enormous impact on a military unit.

This is because a few skilled powerhouses can either eliminate the enemy’s leadership or cast powerful support magic to strengthen soldiers, which is far more efficient than simply gathering several times more ordinary soldiers.

A moment later.

Grace, having finished communicating with her home country, returns to where Valt’s group is waiting.

Everyone should have been waiting for Grace’s news, but instead, Grace comes running in breathlessly, asking what happened.

“What on earth was that roar? It was loud enough to be heard at the communication post.”

Everyone looks at Valt and Luktan.

Raindhi explains on their behalf.

“Hmm… Indeed… Gerungtus! To implement sorcery just by observing it!”

Grace knows very well.

How much of a game-changer these two Gerungtus will be in the war against the Orcs.

It was obvious that any unit they belonged to would not be overwhelmed by the Orcs.

***

Jerdin Lucas.

He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Alliance forces and the king of the Lucas Kingdom, a significant power in the eastern region.

With his extraordinary personal strength, he is the one who elevated the small Lucas Kingdom to become a central pillar of the Eastern Alliance.

In truth, he has been in a good mood lately.

This is because after reaching the Grand Master level he had so longed for, there was no one who could match him.

Of course, there are many powerful individuals on the continent, but none who would cross paths with him.

How could the Emperor of the Empire or the Seven Heroes of the continent engage in duels or wars over personal feelings?

So he acted as if raising his martial prowess to even greater heights was his sole purpose in life.

Of course, a king is busy.

But there’s no need for him to personally handle everything.

Since the glory of the Lucas Kingdom was built on his martial prowess rather than his administrative abilities, no one expects such things from King Jerdin.

Just overwhelming strength.

That was his only reason for existence.

That’s why the appearance of the Orc King was extremely welcome to him.

No matter how much one-man-army strength he possessed, he couldn’t ignore the dynamics between nations.

The East was a place where many wars occurred, and while the Lucas Kingdom was considered powerful, it too had reached its limits.

A time when some new change was needed.

He thought that time was now.

Even if ten Orc Lords came at him, they would be no match for him.

But the Orc King.

If King Jerdin could defeat that strange being that no one else could harm, his position and that of the Lucas Kingdom in the East would rise to a level similar to the Empire.

No, there was hope that he could even create another empire.

Jerdin, who looked younger despite being at the Grand Master level, asked the adjutant who came to report:

“So, Lord Veron, the Orc forces have halted their advance?”

“Yes, Commander-in-Chief. It seems they are preparing for a decisive battle here.”

It was strange.

Given the Orcs’ marching speed, a decisive battle with them was expected tomorrow.

Because those foolish Orcs would never stop their advance.

But they stopped?

King Jerdin frowned slightly at this behavior that seemed almost human-like.

“Hmm, so what of it?”

The man before him is Veron Haint, a strategic advisor from the Solteria Kingdom.

His position in the Solteria Kingdom was that of a military officer who manipulated battlefields with cunning rather than strength.

In fact, this man was known for employing such underhanded tactics that there wasn’t a country that hadn’t been backstabbed because of his strategies.

However, in a large-scale battle like this, his cunning was of little use.

He shines in small-scale, localized conflicts where strategy has a significant impact.

In a massive battle of this scale, the importance of strategy inevitably diminishes.

Even if one were to defeat the opponent with bizarre schemes, their impact would be minimal.

Veron didn’t particularly like these large-scale battles that eventually boiled down to a contest of raw power.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t do nothing.

Even if the opponent was Orcs, he faithfully carried out the tasks assigned to him.

Although there was infighting due to the checks and balances between kingdoms, with information being omitted and marginalized.

“We need to reorganize the troops. The current kingdom-centered formation could make the war situation difficult.”

The forces at the Grasein Plains are gathered by kingdom.

This might seem efficient in some ways.

It’s much better to fight alongside soldiers from your own kingdom who work well together than with soldiers from other countries who don’t.

But in a battle of this immense scale, Veron believes that’s not the case.

Moreover, the enemy is suspicious.

They might employ human-like strategies. No, according to the reports he received, those Orcs were using strategies similar to humans for some reason.

If they were just low-intelligence monsters, this kingdom-centered formation would be perfect for crushing them.

But assuming they use tactics, such an arrangement is dangerous.

The biggest reason is the command structure.

An army is like a single organic being.

An army that doesn’t follow the command structure is nothing more than a disorganized rabble.

It transforms into a powerful force only when it moves organically as one unit, following orders.

But with a kingdom-centered formation, whose orders would the soldiers follow?

The Commander-in-Chief? Or the military officer?

Not necessarily.

If the king of their country orders a full charge, those soldiers would naturally have to follow their king’s orders.

Moreover, they wouldn’t fear punishment because their king would take responsibility for everything.

In such a situation, Veron thought it was the alliance, not the Orcs, that couldn’t use tactics.

“Reorganize the formation?”

“Yes. If we keep this formation, the command structure will collapse and…”

Tap tap tap-

Jerdin sits, lightly tapping the desk.

It was a small gesture, but his subtle aura and displeased attitude were more than Veron, who had only mastered the 2nd level of Aura, could withstand.

“Kuh, kugh…!”

“Huh? You’re really weak, aren’t you? I wasn’t even exuding much aura.”

Jerdin didn’t like this so-called military officer who was suffering from the aura he had unintentionally released.

“I-I’m sorry. The Commander’s aura is too powerful…”

“Tsk tsk, what use is a man so weak? You need to train your body too. Anyway, there will be no change in troop formation.”

“But the Orc forces are clearly unusual. This is a report sent directly by King Rient of the Oscar Kingdom. It states that the Orcs use tactics similar to humans and a unique magical system called sorcery.”

This was the information that Grace had conveyed to her mother, which Rient Oscar had passed on to the military officer Veron.

“Oh, Rient? A strong woman. But did Rient fight the Orcs first? As far as I know, she should be here.”

“This information was discovered by her daughter, Grace Oscar, when she defeated an Orc detachment. So this is reliable information.”

At the mention of Grace’s name, Jerdin’s expression becomes full of interest.

“Yes, I’ve heard the rumors. The child who might surpass Rient and show the ultimate form of the Oscar spear technique. Hmm… Still, there will be no change in troop formation.”

“……”

Seeing Veron’s dissatisfied face, Jerdin provides a justification.

“Think about it. I may not be well-versed in military strategy, but at this scale, tactics become meaningless. Isn’t that right?”

“…That’s true, but…”

“See? The Orcs’ tactics are obvious. They’ll weaken us with sorcery while strengthening themselves to face our forces. But do you think we’ll lose to such predictable tactics?”

However, Veron didn’t back down from his opinion against the Commander-in-Chief.

“But the magical system of sorcery is difficult to counter. Breaking it is even harder. To counter an unknown power, we need to activate an organic system to quickly relay commands…”

But Jerdin had no intention of listening to Veron’s words to the end.

“I’m not unaware of that. Alright, let me ask you this. Can you convince the representatives of the Eastern Alliance out there?”

Jerdin’s point was valid.

Even for a Grand Master like Jerdin, it seemed impossible to convince all the representatives of the kingdoms outside and reorganize a force of 600,000 in just one day.

“If not everything, we should at least reorganize the main force. Gather the powerful individuals…!”

“Listen, military officer.”

“…Yes, Commander.”

“I know you’ve risen to this position with that brain of yours. But this isn’t the Solteria Kingdom. I don’t doubt your abilities, but these are people who have secured their positions through their own capabilities. It’s impossible to convince them.”

This is the problem with humans.

When they want to do something, they calculate gains and losses and never do anything that would cause them to lose first.

There’s a reason for the old saying about fixing the barn after the horse is stolen.

In this situation, changing the troop formation and tactics would only be possible if the human side suffered significant damage.

But Veron didn’t want that either. He could only hope his predictions were wrong.

“…Then I won’t speak of it further.”

With those words, Veron leaves the commander’s room.

“Ah, instead of sending messengers to monitor enemy movements, why don’t you move around yourself?”

“…I will do so.”

***

Meanwhile, Valt and Grace’s group had been moving diligently and arrived at the Grasein Plains.