The First Vampire

Chapter 586: 584 Strategy_1

The remaining sun was as red as blood, illuminating this battlefield that resembled a human hell.

The first battle of the Orc invaders entering the Westland, was this brutal. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The fight had been going on for a whole day, with both sides lumping up about a hundred thousand soldiers. It seemed a lot, but considering this was a national war where two powerful empires were almost all in, this small scene was just a probing battle; neither the Humans nor the Orcs had sent in all their forces.

However, a battlefield with over tens of thousands of people had already become a spectacular sight, stretching for dozens of miles at the foot of the eastern side of the Sky Breaking Mountain Range.

Marquis Garcia stood on a high ground at the rear, riding a white horse, staring deeply at the situation on the entire battlefield.

From the moment the fight started in the morning, he had been standing here, maintaining this position till now.

The sky was gradually getting dark, but the spreading war flames under it dyed the entire sky red.

Under the reflection of the flames, countless corpses were spread out, thickly dotted, too many to count.

In the day-long fierce battle, the formations of both sides got entwined with each other, appearing chaotic and disordered.

But in the eyes of a good commander, the situation on the battlefield was clear at a glance.

Marquis Garcia took in the evolution process of this probing battle, and finally had a clear understanding of the fighting power of the Orc army in his heart.

However, the grave expression on his face was indicating that the situation was not optimistic.

Woo——

The sound of the military horn sounded again.

But this time, it was the signal to withdraw.

Both sides battling started to retreat in tacit understanding, leaving behind a ground of fresh blood and countless corpses.

Marquis Garcia finally withdrew his gaze, drove his war horse, and rushed towards the rear.

Entering the camp along the way, wounded soldiers wailing in pain and busy soldiers were everywhere.

Marquis Garcia, with no expression on his face, hastily passed and arrived in front of a huge tent in the center of the camp.

The guards certainly recognized this Marquis of the North Territory, and immediately saluted to let him in.

Before entering the tent, Marquis Garcia heard the roar of Emperor Reinhardt’s fury from inside.

“…A bunch of rubbish! How could you face me after being beaten up like this…”

Marquis Garcia went in on his own, only to see Emperor Reinhardt scolding several military officers there. Parchment was scattered all over the floor, presumably the battle reports of the daytime battle.

He picked them up, glanced roughly, and found that the situation on the battle reports was about the same as his own estimate.

Indeed, the Humans performed very poorly in this battle. The casualty rate was roughly 3:1, which means, for every Orc soldier they killed, they had to pay the price of three Human soldiers.

Although Orc soldiers indeed had greater individual fighting power than Human soldiers, keep in mind, Humans had better equipment and more superior formation cooperation, not to mention they sent about twice as many soldiers as the Orcs in this battle. The result was truly disappointing.

The number of the Orc army sent this time had also been figured out by the Westland scouts, there were about five hundred thousand in the regular army.

And the number of regular troops gathered on the Human side was one million.

If they continued to fight at this casualty rate, the situation would be bad…

And, Marquis Garcia also very clearly understood, the real battlefield situation wouldn’t evolve according to numerical calculation. That is, even if the Empire of Glory could summon another five hundred thousand soldiers for reinforcements, they wouldn’t be able to repel the Orcs.

Because with such a casualty rate, in not too long, the rapidly increasing casualties on the side of the Human army would quickly break the psychological bottom line of the warriors, causing a large-scale rout.

By then, it would be a total disaster.

Emperor Reinhardt had been swearing for a while, seeming tired, he finally quieted down.

His dark gaze swept over everyone’s faces in the tent, then he sternly asked:

“You are all clear about the situation of today’s battle, tell me, any good suggestions?”

There was silence.

A moment later, a deep voice sounded:

“Your Majesty, the attack of the Orc army is indeed unusually fierce. I think it is not wise to confront them directly in the open field. It would be better to retreat to the sturdy castles behind and use their robust defensive facilities to resist the attack of the Orcs.”

The speaker was Duke St. Rands, the lord of the South Border.

Duke St. Rands was an elegant middle-aged man, his face always wore a gentle smile that could unknowingly make one’s guard down.

No retreat!” Duke St. Gregorian immediately objected when he heard this, “If we can’t block the Orcs at the Sky Breaking Mountain Range, the vast territories of Westland and countless citizens will suffer unimaginable calamity!”

Emperor Reinhardt did not immediately comment on the argument between the two dukes, instead turning his gaze to Count Nicoll and Marquis Garcia.

Although Count Nicoll temporarily holds the power of Eastland, with his status, he naturally does not dare to offend the two real dukes. At this time, he pretended not to see the gaze of Emperor Reinhardt and lowered his head in silence.

Marquis Garcia spoke up, “Your Majesty, I also believe we should temporarily retreat.”

Emperor Reinhardt raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

Everyone in the room also turned their eyes to Marquis Garcia. After all, he was the most knowledgeable about military affairs among the high nobles present.

Marquis Garcia raised the sheepskin scroll in his hand and lightly said:

“Everyone is well aware of the situation of this battle. If we fight directly, we are no match for the Orc army.”

Though this was the truth, it was heart-wrenching, and it made everyone’s faces a bit dark.

Marquis Garcia seemed to disregard the others’ feelings, continuing to say:

“Therefore, Duke St. Rands is right. We must utilize the sturdy city walls and fortresses if we hope to win this war.”

Duke St. Gregorian immediately challenged angrily, “Marquis Garcia, once we retreat, what about the Western villages and small towns without sturdy walls? Are we supposed to sit behind the walls and watch those Orcs ravage Westland?”

Duke St. Rands stepped forward to mediate, “Duke St. Gregorian, I understand your feelings. If you want to minimize the losses in Westland as much as possible, you can organize the Westerners to evacuate as soon as possible.”

Duke St. Gregorian said in a bad mood, “How many people can be evacuated in such a short time? And even if people can be evacuated, what about houses, property, and crops?”

“Those things that can’t be evacuated should be left to the Orcs.” Marquis Garcia said lightly, “The Western people who failed to evacuate in time, can only hope that they could return safely to our Lord.”

Upon hearing that, Duke St. Gregorian’s eyes widened in anger and he immediately bellowed, “Garcia, you are not worthy to be a knight of our Lord! Where is your faith? Where is your protection? Where is your glory?”

With an unchanged expression, Marquis Garcia calmly said, “It is a necessary sacrifice. Which would you rather face, a beast desperate for food, or a beast that is well fed?”

Duke St. Gregorian growled forcefully, “Garcia, why not fill the bellies of this pack of beasts with the Northerners?”

Marquis Garcia sighed, “If we can’t bear to sacrifice a portion of the Westerners now, sooner or later the Northern Territory will suffer too. Not just the North, but Flame Region, Eastland, even South Border may suffer the wrath of the Orcs.

And have you ever thought, in the previous two Orc invasions, has humanity managed to block the Orc army at our door?

Never!

Both times, humans only successfully counterattacked when large territories of the glorious Empire had fallen.

Even though the Orcs are united, each tribe’s chieftain still harbors their own intentions.

When the warfare goes smoothly, they are still willing to obey the Orc Emperor’s orders. But when they have occupied large territories and seized enough wealth, would they still be willing to risk their lives for a few tough human fortresses?

This is why I suggest that we should abandon a portion of the territory, retreat temporarily, preserve our elite forces, and plan to counterattack.”

Emperor Reinhardt was somewhat moved by Marquis Garcia’s words, he asked, “Marquis Garcia, where do you think we should retreat to?”

Marquis Garcia stretched out his hand and pointed to a spot on the military map hanging on the wall, saying:

We should retreat to the Luwal Valley and rebuild our defense line here.”

“No!”

Duke St. Gregorian and Emperor Reinhardt simultaneously opposed.

Because the location pointed out by Marquis Garcia was already in the Flame Region, and it was less than a hundred kilometers away from Dragon City.

This meant that the entirety of Westland had completely fallen, and even more than half of the Flame Region would suffer the devastation of the Orcs.

Such a price was something Duke St. Gregorian and Emperor Reinhardt would never agree to no matter what.

As if Marquis Garcia had expected this, he sighed helplessly and closed his mouth, no longer speaking.