Chapter 163: The War Comes

The first river-crossing attack was completely crushed by Zhenbei City. However, the Orc Alliance did not give up. The Red Sand River and the White Water River could not stop such a large army.

The Northern Wilderness had a cold climate. Only the area around Zhenbei City, because of the Harvest Altar, had melting snow and ice. But further away from Zhenbei City, the two rivers had frozen over again. The cold weather of the Northern Wilderness allowed the army to simply walk across the ice.

So after seeing the failed river crossing, the Orc Army did not force another crossing. Instead, they moved downstream along the river, looking for a solid enough ice surface to cross.

Su Lun was not surprised by the Orc Army’s actions. While most Orcs were not very smart, the Shaman Priests among them were cleverer than most humans.

It was hard to hide an army of five or six thousand. Su Lun’s Scouts easily kept watch on their every move. Also, all the soldiers from Zhenbei City had horses, so they could move much faster than the Orc Alliance. Su Lun did not follow them closely.

Su Lun sent Harrison back to Zhenbei City with the Militia and two thousand Militia to guard the city. Then he led his own army and started moving downstream.

After flowing past Zhenbei City, the Red Sand River and the White Water River went in different directions. The Red Sand River went south, and the White Water River went east. Once away from Zhenbei City, the rivers had frozen over again. The Orc Alliance wanted to find a solid ice surface, cross the river, and have a final battle with the humans from Zhenbei City.

The cold wind howled! Night had quietly fallen.

After a day of fighting and marching, the Orc Alliance set up camp in a dense forest on the north bank of the White Water River, about three kilometers away.

They cleared a space among the trees. Many bonfires were lit in the camp. The Orc Alliance had only a few tents. The other monsters had to sleep in the snow. Luckily, there were many pine trees around. The strong bonfires kept the cold away.

In the central tent, a bonfire was burning. Some meat was roasting over it, and the smell of meat filled the tent. Several large Orcs sat scattered inside. They were silently chewing their food.

The Orc Alliance did not have their own food supply. Their food came from other monsters—Goblins, Kobolds, and Gnolls. These were killed when they gathered the monster army. In fact, the Orc Tribe had already run out of food. To win, they had started killing other monsters for food.

The gathered monsters not only served as cannon fodder, but after death, they also became food. No one among the monsters objected to this cruel method. Actually, some monsters would even kill their own companions and eat them.

The cold north wind blew through the forest, making the bonfires crackle. Except for the Orcs on night watch, all the other monsters had gone to rest. As descendants of the Firesword Tribe, they knew the difficult situation their tribe faced. Without more food, they would likely lose the war against the Centaurs.

To defeat the Centaurs, they had to rely on themselves to plunder. The humans had the most food around. Their target was Zhenbei City.

Chewing on his roasted meat, Sarong Firesword coldly watched the other monsters in the camp. Gnoll meat did not taste good, especially from Gnolls that had been hungry all winter.

The meat was tough and dry, with a foul smell. He preferred the meat of the Great Horned Deer. The juicy meat of the Great Horned Deer, roasted over a bonfire, dripped hot, sizzling fat. Just thinking about it made his mouth water.

As intelligent beings, Orcs also disliked eating other humanoid creatures. But in hard times, when there was no other way to get food, they would not refuse. The tribe’s food was almost gone. All the remaining food was given to the Warriors. The women, children, and elderly could only eat one meal a day.

Some of the weak had already died during the winter. The survivors looked thin and pale. As the second son of the tribe chief, Gorong Firesword, and a high-ranking member of the Firesword Tribe, he knew very well what this war meant for the entire Firesword Tribe.

For the Firesword Tribe to grow and become strong, they must defeat the Centaur Tribes. Only by defeating the Centaurs could they get enough land. If they failed, they would be driven away. The Firesword Tribe would have to wander and fight other tribes for more living space.

As a key part of this war, defeating the humans to get enough food was now the most important task. Only with enough food could the Firesword Tribe continue, and then completely defeat the Centaurs.

They could not fail! They had no right to fail!

If they did not get enough food this time, the Firesword Tribe would have to watch helplessly as the Centaurs won. Having lost many Soldiers and suffered heavy losses, the Firesword Tribe would have to flee from the pursuing Centaurs. Without vast grasslands to raise livestock, many tribespeople would freeze to death every winter, and heavy snow would kill many animals.

Hunger and cold made the Firesword Tribe weaker and weaker. If no strong leaders appeared in the tribe, the Firesword Tribe would eventually die out or be swallowed by a stronger tribe.

Now the hope for victory was right in front of them.

The humans had plenty of food. Moreover, the land they occupied was magical. In the cold Northern Wasteland, it was not covered in snow and ice. If they could take this place, the whole tribe would no longer worry about children freezing in winter. Their cattle and sheep could also spend the winter safely here.

More importantly, after capturing this place, the Firesword Tribe could attack the Centaur Tribes from two sides. Then the Centaurs, who were already at a disadvantage, would have no choice but to retreat.

After fully occupying this land, the Firesword Tribe only needed a few years to rest and recover. Then they could grow and become the most powerful tribe in this part of the wasteland.

For the struggling Firesword Tribe, this was a rare opportunity. They might even lead more Wilderness monsters further south, defeat the humans, and take even better places.

…

In Su Lun’s tent.

After gathering all the information, Su Lun began to think. He was not afraid of the Orc Alliance in front of him. Although they had large numbers, in his view, except for the thousand Orc Warriors, the rest were just a disorganized mob. Besides, he was a Legendary Power. The Firesword Tribe also had Legendary Powers, but with the Centaurs nearby, they could not spare them.

“Are those Drow Elves all settled?” Su Lun asked, enjoying a massage from Chris.

“They are all settled.”

For this war, Su Lun had asked the Drow Elves to send many people to fight. Actually, Su Lun did not trust these Drow Elves very much. In the System interface, most of the Drow Elves had loyalty levels around sixty-five to seventy. Only a few had loyalty above seventy-five.

These Drow Elves were skilled in many ways, but their loyalty was low. Although they had not done anything wrong yet, Su Lun could not be sure they wouldn’t stab him in the back if his Territory was in danger. This war was a test for them.

This test would show how loyal they really were. If they could not learn their place, the privileges they enjoyed now would soon be taken away. He did not want an army without loyalty, even if that army was very strong.

The most loyal Drow Elf was Aydin, the first one who pledged loyalty to him. After joining Su Lun, his strength had broken through to the Third Tier, and his loyalty reached 92. Even the Drow Elf Scouts under his command all had loyalty above 80.

Male Drow Elves generally had higher loyalty than female Drow Elves.

Su Lun tapped his fingers on the table lightly, then said seriously, “Has all the Fire Oil from storage been brought?”

“It has all been brought.”

“Tomorrow we will give those Orcs a surprise.”

…

After passing Zhenbei City, the Red Sand River flowed south. About thirty kilometers from Northguard Keep, the river turned south, and the water became calm. With the cold north wind blowing over the Northern Wasteland, the river here had completely frozen over. The Orc Alliance chose this place to cross the river.

Su Lun and his army were already prepared. In the distance, the Orc Army crossed the ice of the White Water River and continued toward the Red Sand River. The Red Sand River was the battlefield both sides had chosen.

“Ding! Detected a large number of hostile monsters near the host’s army. Host, please be careful.”

“Ding! Our army has spotted the Orc Alliance. The encounter has officially begun. Enemy numbers exceed five thousand. Our participating forces number 302.”

Su Lun opened the Strategic Map and immediately saw a large red area made up of many red dots. They had already crossed the White Water River and were moving toward the Red Sand River.

“My lord!” A Scout galloped over on horseback, the horse breathing out puffs of white mist. After rushing close, the Scout dismounted and said, “Five kilometers northeast, a large group of enemies is coming. Most are Gnolls and Kobolds, with a small number of Orcs. Among them are two hundred Worg Riders!”

“Go and rest!” Su Lun waved his hand, sending him back to his unit.

By now, Zhenbei City’s army had finished forming their battle lines. To be honest, their battle formation was very simple. The first row was Longbowmen. Behind the Longbowmen were fully armed Barbarian Warriors. Finally, there was the Spearman formation.

Their attack plan was also simple. When the enemy charged, the Longbowmen would first rain arrows on them. When the enemy got close, the Longbowmen would retreat, then the Barbarian Warriors would launch a counter-charge. The Spearman formation would advance, and the Longbowmen would shoot arrows again from behind. Though the plan was simple, it worked.