The First Vampire - Chapter 618

Chapter 618: Encounter on Route 616_1
 

In the shaded alley, four knights were escorting Marquis Garcia westward.

Close to noon, Knight Erich pulled the reins of his warhorse, saying:

“Let’s rest for a quarter of an hour before we hit the road again.”

“Yes!”

The knights dismounted and started eating their dried meat and wine.

Marquis Garcia also sat down by a willow tree at the side of the road, but he seemed to have no appetite. He declined the food offered by Knight Erich and just sat quietly, lost in thought.

Seeing this, Knight Erich didn’t insist and started eating by himself.

But before he could finish, he suddenly dropped his food and lay down on the ground, one ear pressed tightly to the earth.

The other knights quickly became alert upon seeing this.

A moment later, Knight Erich’s face slightly changed as he said:

“There’s a convoy heading in our direction!”

Hearing this, the knights immediately mounted their horses and subtly surrounded Marquis Garcia.

Before long, they indeed saw a convoy approaching in the distance.

Knight Erich squinted to see the convoy flags for a moment before he sighed with relief:

“It’s the royal carriage.”

Everyone relaxed, watching as the convoy slowly approached.

Knight Erich clearly recognized the guards in the convoy and hurried to greet them.

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

“Your Highness, the Queen!”

Queen Midela nodded slightly in response to Knight Erich’s greeting, her gaze shifted to Marquis Garcia and asked:

“Are you heading to the Storm Fortress?”

“Yes, Your Highness. By order of His Majesty, we are taking Marquis Garcia for an audience.”

Queen Midela smiled slightly, looked at Marquis Garcia and said:

“Well, we’re headed the same way, brother, join me in the carriage. I have a few words to say to you.”

Marquis Garcia boarded the carriage.

As much as Knight Erich wanted to prevent it, he signaled the accompanying knights and quietly surrounded the carriage.

After all, they were siblings. Who knew if the queen had sentiments for Marquis Garcia and planned to break him out.

The convoy moved on.

“Why are you here?” Marquis Garcia asked flatly, apparently not anticipating his sister’s arrival.

Queen Midela scoffed, “Isn’t it because of you, my dear brother, you turned the war into this mess. Couldn’t I come to the front line to check on things?”

Marquis Garcia retorted calmly, “You don’t understand military matters, better stay at the rear…”

Queen Midela laughed scornfully, interrupting him, “True, I don’t understand military affairs. So, my dear brother, the military genius of the North Territory, can you explain to me your strategy of fleeing the battlefield and causing the fall of the Westland?”

Marquis Garcia seemed rather impatient, but looking at the persistent Queen Midela, he still explained briefly:

“The Sky Breaking Mountain Range is not the ideal battlefield for a standoff. Engaging the orcs there in a war of attrition will only exhaust the Empire’s remaining vitality.

Therefore, we must let the orcs invade and let them occupy a part of the land to vent their accumulated desire for slaughter.

In this way, the fighting spirit of the orc army will be weakened, and more importantly, we can choose a better battlefield for the decisive battle…”

Hearing this, Queen Midela interjected: “I heard that after you withdrew from the frontline, you came directly to Luwal Valley to set up camp, and no matter how His Majesty urged you, you refused to lead the army into Storm Fortress. Could it be that in your heart, Luwal Valley is the best battlefield for the decisive battle?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Queen Midela asked, looking puzzled. “Luwal Valley has no natural defenses, while Storm Fortress is one of the most formidable war fortresses in the empire.”

“Storm Fortress is indeed solid, but it is not a city the orcs must conquer.”

Queen Midela was momentarily taken aback.

Marquis Garcia continued to explain: “You need to understand that the way the orcs wage war is very different from ours. They don’t need logistics, and they live off plunder. Although Storm Fortress blocks the gateway to Westland from the Crimson Flame Territory, it is not a strategic location that the orcs must capture.

They can easily bypass it through the mountains beside Storm Fortress.

The orc army consists solely of light infantry. Having no provisions to carry and all of them being well-versed in mountain climbing, don’t forget that they initially crossed over from the other side of the Sky Breaking Mountain Range.”

Queen Midela furrowed her brows slightly before asking:

“What about Luwal Valley then? Why is it a better battlefield?”

“The one city the orcs must conquer is Dragon City. And to get to Dragon City, the orcs must cross the Luwal River.” Marquis Garcia dipped his hand in a little tea and drew a simple topographic map on the side of the carriage. He continued:

“The biggest problem with the orc army is that they have no ships. Therefore, they can’t cross the upper and middle parts of the Luwal River where the water is deep and the current is swift. Cutting down trees to build ships would take too long, and there may not be many craftsmen in the orc army who know how to build ships.

So their best crossing point is in the meadow plains of the lower Luwal River.

At this point, the Luwal River breaks into countless tributaries. With shallow water and slow current, it is entirely possible to wade across.

If we choose to fight here, the intricate network of rivers will naturally separate the orc army, making it impossible for them to support each other in time.”

Queen Midela, who was still quite puzzled, couldn’t help but ask: “And then? In such an environment, what advantages do us humans have?”

“Cavalry,” declared Marquis Garcia. “Humans have cavalry, while the orcs do not. Therefore, on the meadow plains, we can take advantage of the mobility of cavalry to rapidly concentrate our forces, gain local superiority and annihilate them!”

Queen Midela frowned even more. “But even if we manage to annihilate one or two orc armies in this way, what’s the point? Overall, humans will still inevitably be at a disadvantage.”

Marquis Garcia gave a faint smile and said: “What if the army that’s annihilated belongs to the orc emperor.”

Queen Midela’s eyebrows lifted. She seemed to understand Marquis Garcia’s intentions a little.

Marquis Garcia continued:

“Saruman was born into the Warsong Tribe, so in this vast orc army, the only ones who are truly loyal to him are the members of the Warsong Legion, which constitute about fifty thousand orc soldiers.

If we concentrate our superior forces in Luwal Valley and annihilate the Warsong Legion, or at least severely weaken this army, then even if we lose overall, we have in fact already destroyed the foundation of the third orc empire.

Without his direct forces, Saruman’s control over the other orc tribes will immediately weaken considerably.

The orcs have already conquered all of Westland, and nearly half of the vast Crimson Flame Territory is about to fall into their hands too. Such large territories are enough for these tribes to divide amongst themselves.

Tell me, without the threat of military force, would the orcs from other tribes be willing to risk their lives to continue fighting humans to the death?”

Finally, Queen Midela’s eyes lit up, apparently recognizing the validity of Marquis Garcia’s strategy.

Drawing a deep breath, Marquis Garcia stated adamantly:

“When Saruman gradually loses control over the orc army, that will be the real beginning of the human’s counterattack!”