Lord Harland.

Chapter 296
The orcs huddled together in the flood canal and were massacred by long-range projectile weapons. The defenders suffered few casualties and repelled a well-prepared attack by the orcs.

Seeing that the orcs were retreating, Pei Lan decisively rushed out of the city gate with his elite and slaughtered the retreating orcs.

In a war, the most serious casualties are always when retreating.A good soldier is one who can organize a retreat well.

However, because the orcs were negligent in preparing for the siege, the orc captain took the lead in retreating after heavy casualties, causing the troops to fall into chaos and it was difficult to organize an effective resistance.

There were only 300 soldiers leaving the city. They followed the orcs unhurriedly and shot a feathered arrow, shooting the fleeing orcs to death on the side of the road and in the ditch.

The focus of the chasing attack is the orcs who are trying to organize.Many orc officers wanted to organize an army, but Perrin led the pursuers to shoot them in a targeted manner.

Under the rhythmic arrow rain of the chasing soldiers, the defeated orc brigade couldn't organize a counterattack at all.They were defeated all the way, even abandoning the sixth and fifth fortresses.

The orcs lost only 500 men in the siege, but more than [-] orcs were killed in the escape, including eleven snake men.In addition, more than [-] orcs died under their own trample.

Seeing the chaos on the front of the orcs, the defenders stationed in the No. [-] castle bravely rushed out and attacked the orcs from the side.

Being attacked from both sides, the losses of the orc forward group became even more serious.

The front line was defeated, and Grodan, the head of the orc army, immediately sent reinforcements to respond.

The main force of the orcs in the direction of Platos has seven brigades, [-] soldiers, and their strength far exceeds that of the defenders.However, limited by the terrain, they couldn't set up an attack formation, so they could only adopt the tactics of refueling, and constantly dispatched orc brigades to consume the human defenders.

The orcs in front were defeated, and the main force of the orcs in the rear reacted quickly. While sending troops to attack Fort No. [-], they sent troops to climb up the mountain ridge in an attempt to go around and attack the pursuers.

Seeing that the orcs sent reinforcements to respond, Perrin and Lothar were both experienced commanders. They ordered almost at the same time and quickly retreated back to the castle.

In an environment where the enemy is strong and we are weak, the defenders are powerless to fight the orcs.The biggest task of the Pratos defenders is to delay time, hold the line of defense and wait for reinforcements.

The siege failed, and the head of the orc army, Glodan, gave an order to the orc adjutant beside him with a gloomy face: "Go to the fifth brigade and count the casualties."

In the afternoon, when he saw the casualty statistics sent up, Grodan thought to himself: "The Fifth Battalion suffered as many as 400 casualties, and more than 6000 soldiers were killed. The battle lasted only two and a half days, and the casualties exceeded [-]." .According to intelligence, humans have added a thousand soldiers. How many soldiers will be sacrificed to conquer the last three fortresses? Seeing that morale has declined, we must find a way as soon as possible.”

Throughout the afternoon, Grodan continued to send harpy aerial reconnaissance, and did not attack blindly.He kept going to the brigade below, and went to the wounded barracks to give condolences.

The orc camp was gloomy. For the defenders of Platos Castle, today was a double blessing. In the morning, they seized the opportunity to severely injure the orcs, and in the afternoon, they received [-] reinforcements from the Barony of Soros.

Baron Soros has the support of the Earl of Harland, and has developed very rapidly in recent years. He has already armed [-] soldiers. These soldiers are wearing steel armor, and many of them are veterans who have followed Soros for many years. weak.

The enemy was repulsed in the morning, and reinforcements arrived in the afternoon. Two consecutive good news made the defenders relax their vigilance.

The harpy kept watching the human defenders from the air, and found that the defenders were a little bit off. Grodan, the head of the orc army, took the lead and mobilized [-] elite soldiers, and personally led the team to launch a night attack.

More than a hundred elite orc soldiers suddenly rushed under the No. [-] fortress. They carried wooden boards, easily crossed the trench, and built a human wall to climb up the city wall.

Although the sentinels on the city wall were relatively lax, they were on the battlefield after all. When the orcs approached the city wall, they finally noticed the movement.He blew the horn in a hurry, and the high-pitched sound of the horn broke the tranquility of the night. =
Seeing that the action had been revealed, the orc shouted at the top of his lungs: "Kill all the enemies!"

As the orcs shouted, there were many figures in the darkness in the distance, and a large group of elite orcs rushed up with equipment, and launched a full-scale attack on Platos' last line of defense.

Through the Harpy detection, Grodan focused his attack on Fortress No. [-].

Because there are a large number of trebuchets installed in the seventh fortress, it poses the greatest threat to the orcs.Breaking through the seventh fortress, the orcs can pass through the Pratos Mountains unimpeded.In addition, there are a large number of auxiliary soldiers in Fortress No. [-], which is weak in hand-to-hand combat, and it is easier for the orcs to achieve strategic goals.

Hearing the call of the horn, the defenders resting on the city wall immediately got up, picked up their bows and arrows in a panic, and shot crossbow arrows in the direction of the sound.

"Don't panic, light the brazier, keep your hands steady when shooting arrows, and aim at the enemy."

When fighting humans, in order to guard against arrows, the defenders will often extinguish the torches on the top of the city immediately.But when fighting the orcs, because the orcs' long-range projection ability is weak, the defenders will instead light the brazier and aim at the enemy with the firelight.

Hearing the sound of the horn, the grassroots officers immediately organized a team and gave orders loudly.Their voices can make the soldiers under their command stop panic and stabilize their emotions.

The long arrows were shot out intensively, and the screams of the orcs were heard immediately.

There was a bang bang bang sound on the shield raised by the orc soldier, and many arrows shot through the shield, directly killing the shield bearer.

The orc climbed up the city wall with difficulty, and was soon turned into a blood man by the spears on the city. Even a mid-level professional would lose his life if he was stabbed in the vitals by an ordinary person.

Even if you wear enchanted armor and have amazing defense, facing dozens or dozens of spears will consume a lot of grudge.

Even a legendary knight can't defeat an established army of several thousand in a frontal battle.

The corpses of the orcs kept falling under the city wall, but the successors didn't care, and bravely climbed up the city wall, killing and wounding the enemy fiercely.

Because their legion commander, Grodan, has already come to the battle.

Glodan is a rank nine werewolf, wearing ordinary enchanted armor, very sensitive.He stepped on the shoulder of a tauren with a few run-up steps, and easily jumped up the 12-meter city wall. With the sword in his hand, two soldiers had already lost their lives.

Grodan was exceptionally brave after climbing the city wall, and a dozen soldiers were slaughtered by him in the blink of an eye.

In just a short moment, Grodan opened a gap, and more and more orcs climbed up the city wall through this gap.The defenders suffered increasing casualties and pressure.

However, humans and orcs in northern Xinjiang have a deep hatred, even if it is an ordinary person, they will fall to the top of the city with a professional orc in their arms, and die together.

Even though the orcs had gained the upper hand, the soldiers in the castle were still desperately fighting.

In the dark castle, knives and axes were swung, spears stabbed, and arrows made puffing sounds, and lives disappeared in the night wind of northern Xinjiang.

In Castle No. [-], most of them are Harland's leading auxiliary soldiers. Although they are good at manipulating trebuchets, they are not capable of fighting orcs head-to-head.

Soon the soldiers couldn't bear the blood because of too many casualties.

In the end, seeing that the reinforcements were delayed, the commander led some soldiers to escape through the back door of the castle and retreat into the mountains.

Of the 200 soldiers stationed at Castle No. [-], only more than [-] were able to save their lives.

Most of these people were the auxiliary soldiers of Harland's collar. Under the leadership of the officers, they sent messengers to report to the rear.

The military law of the Harland Territory is strict. Escaping from the battlefield will not only kill him, but also hurt his family.

Once the charge of desertion is confirmed, the family members will be reduced to slaves, and it is impossible to turn over within three generations.

Generally speaking, soldiers will fight to the last moment because of the harsh military law.Besides, this is a war with the orcs, and many people will fight the orcs desperately because of hatred.As a person from northern Xinjiang, many parents, wives, children, siblings, and friends died at the hands of orcs.

Although they failed to defend the castle and were forced to retreat, they were unwilling to become deserters and were still doing their duty.

After dawn, the fighting calmed down.

The night attack of the orcs in this battle was very successful. They not only captured the seventh fortress, but also killed more than 800 human defenders.And his own casualties were no more than a thousand people.

Only more than 400 orcs died in battle, and most of the injured orcs survived.

When the fighting calmed down, the remnant soldiers in Castle No. [-] retreated back to Castle No. [-].

After the night raid, the orcs had already controlled six castles and successfully opened a gap in Platos' defense line.

But the most critical castles No. [-] and No. [-] are still in the hands of human soldiers.

The strongholds of the two sides were already intertwined. If they did not conquer Castle No. [-] and Castle No. [-], the orcs would not dare to take the risk of crossing the Platos line of defense and entering the rear of Harland's territory.

The sun was slowly rising from the east, and Perrin stood on the city wall, looking at the slowly receding orcs with a serious face.

At this moment, he felt a little guilty in his heart. In fact, he should bear some responsibility for the failure of this battle.

Perrin has a lot of experience in war. He is a veteran of more than 20 years. Before joining the territory of Harland, he served as a soldier in the Kingdom of Dron for several years.

But his sense of the battlefield is very general, and he has no talent in the art of military command.

Among the officers in Harland's territory, Perrin was a qualified mid-level and low-ranking officer, but when he was left alone, it was difficult for him to shoulder heavy responsibilities.

It was his slack as a commander that affected some of the soldiers below, allowing the orcs to conquer fortress No. [-] with a complete victory.However, the imbalance in the strength of the enemy and the enemy is the key reason for the failure of this battle.

The reinforcements brought by Perrin were only 1000 people, the last line of defense in Platos added up to 300 people, and Baron Soros led 500 private soldiers.

Although Perrin has 160 soldiers in his hands, only the [-] Harland elite soldiers directly under him are really good at fighting. The remaining soldiers are either auxiliary soldiers or second-line armed personnel. private soldiers.

These soldiers met the elite orcs, although they fought very bravely, relying on the natural dangers of the city defense and throwing weapons from a long distance, they killed many orcs.

But once the orcs are desperate, they must be able to achieve their strategic goals.

Even if Perrin didn't relax, the sentinels of Castle No. 300 discovered the orcs in the distance, and the castle's fall was still a foregone conclusion, except that the orcs would kill or injure [-] more people.

After dawn, Perrin immediately dispatched a messenger to ask for help, and asked his adjutant to count the casualties.

"Since we entered the Platos defense line, we have fought two battles. We won the first battle, and only sixteen soldiers were killed in the three castles. We lost the night attack yesterday, with 670 killed Three people, and 140 and two wounded soldiers. The main casualties were in Fort No. [-], because the defenders resisted fiercely, and the orcs slaughtered our prisoners and wounded soldiers."

After yesterday's night attack, Perrin was under a lot of psychological pressure.But as a commander, he kept in mind Li Cha's teachings and could not pass on his decline to the soldiers under his command.Although his heart was very heavy, Perrin still lifted his spirits and said, "How many of the soldiers who were killed or disabled in battle are ours."

"Our people have more than 400 casualties."

Soldiers in the territory of Harland, whether they are field troops or auxiliary soldiers, have pensions when they die in battle.

The pension system of the territory has undergone two or three reforms, and different pensions will be issued according to the age and position of the army. Generally speaking, the pensions for field soldiers will be a little more, and the pensions for auxiliary soldiers will be a little less.

Even the youngest recruits can receive a pension of eighteen silver coins every year.In addition to coins, there will also be material pensions in the territory, and food, woolen cloth, brown sugar, etc. will be distributed before the New Year's Day.

All soldiers who died in battle can receive pensions for 15 years, which cost about [-] gold coins.Disabled soldiers can continue to receive pensions as long as they live.

The soldiers in the Harland Territory are elite fighters, fearless of death, and the pension system is also the reason for maintaining their combat effectiveness.

Perrin was already considered a middle-level member of the army, and when he heard the number of 400 casualties, his mood was even worse.This means that the territory of Harland pays an extra pension of nearly one thousand gold coins every year.

The pension is still a small matter, the most troublesome thing is that the Platos defense line has been penetrated by the orcs.

Castle No. [-] is occupied by orcs, and the orcs can pass through the Pratos Canyon through the ridge on the west side.

Perrin knew in his heart that there were no soldiers stationed at Fort Sophia and Fort Iron Mountain on the east side of Platos Canyon.Fort Vic, Fort Iron Lion, and Fort Rom in the south have only a small number of auxiliary soldiers.

Mesopotamia County, East Canyon County, and Platos South County are about to face the attack of orcs. The most troublesome thing is that these three counties have a population of more than 20.Even if the order to fortify the wall and clear the field is implemented, the economic losses of this battle are extremely serious.

What's more, the appearance of orcs behind Harland's territory will seriously affect the morale of the front line.

Perrin was worried that the orcs would rush into the hinterland of Harland, and Grodan, the head of the orc army, was also caught in a dilemma.

(End of this chapter)