Throne of the North.

Chapter 717 The Second Orc War (Part 3)
"Why did we fail?!"

During the war in the Hot Springs Province, the Orc King Shattered Bones shouted loudly, and Savi was equally annoyed in his presence.

"We didn't realize how powerful humans are. They are so stubborn, and they have become stronger than we imagined."

"I haven't seen such magnificent magic bloom in the sky of this world for over a hundred years, yet humans have managed to do it."

"These are all excuses. The great master does not need such incompetent reasons. His will is only one: to defeat mankind, kill them, and plunder and occupy all of mankind's land!"

A terrifying storm of divine power surged within the Broken Bones. The war sacrifices had granted it immense strength, but it also sensed the displeasure of the great gods. This war was not proceeding according to the gods' will.

That would be the most terrible disaster.

"This cannot continue! Launch more attacks! The great commander bestows upon all orcs great strength! Crush the human fortress!"

The Orc King was furious, but Savi remained relatively calm and spoke:
"I'm afraid that's still impossible. Every time we intensify our attack, the humans will mobilize more human soldiers from the southern lands."

"The orcs on the other battlefields pose too little threat to humans."

"They didn't put in any effort at all; the Royal Court of the Terror Rhinoceros alone was not enough to break through the human defenses."

"After all, we haven't seen a human legend emerge yet."

"Your Majesty, perhaps we should retreat."

"retreat?"

Shattered Bones stared intently at Savi, his eyes filled with a chilling mockery.

"Impossible. We have no chance of retreating. The great gods will not allow us to fail unless you are willing to die."

"Go and bring the other five royal courts here!"

The six royal courts of the orcs, except for the werewolf royal court which was being targeted, all gathered in the north of the Hot Spring Province within a few days.

The Orc King's orders, due to the existence of the will of the gods, were still difficult for the other Orcs to refute.

Most importantly, that overwhelming divine essence truly terrified the orcs and inspired them to fervently worship it.

Why couldn't you break through humanity's defenses?

The Orc King Shattered Bones loudly questioned, while the Behemoth King sneered, standing atop the Behemoth, still the highest in the sky.

"Just like last time, the Behemoth Royal Court was fully capable of crushing the human empire's fortresses and invading human lands. Why couldn't they do it this time?"

Shattered Bones looked at the Behemoth King, who gave a lukewarm response.

"Your Majesty, humanity's strength is increasing. You must know that when I led the orcs to attack the human empire last time, they didn't have so many mages and knights. Those extraordinary legions composed of knights and magical beasts didn't even appear last time."

"What about the Splendid Royal Court? Why has the war there stopped? Have you lost your faith and loyalty to the great god?"

On the other side, the fierce tiger-men's eyes turned cold and hostile, but that was not important. What was important was that in the middle of this group of colorful beastmen stood a headless beastman, which made the other beastmen who saw this scene feel fear. Even the Behemoth King couldn't help but be shocked. When he curiously wanted to get closer, the Behemoth beast under his body kept giving warnings.

The Splendid Royal Court said nothing, but the Orc King Shattered Bones ultimately didn't ask any further questions. The headless Splendid King, wielding a terrifying greatsword, was truly... frightening to the Orcs.

"Are you still capable of carrying out the will of the great orc god? Are you still capable of conquering the fortresses of the human empire?"

"We cannot break through the human empire's fortress in a short time."

The Behemoth King did not answer the first question, but replied that he was not in a position to obey Bonecrusher and that it was impossible for him to follow Bonecrusher's orders and have the Behemoth royal family recklessly attack human fortresses.

His people are very precious; the Behemoth royal court, where only a few newborns are born each year, must protect every single one of his people.

"Since you can't do it, then let me do it."

Shattered Bones finally let out a sinister laugh. Its ultimate goal was nothing more than this: if the orc kings admitted they couldn't do it, then it could allow the orc emperor to seize some power.

"In the name of the Orc King, I command you to follow me and attack the human empire's defenses!"

"I will bestow upon all the orc gods who attack human fortresses the blessing of divine power, baptizing their souls and making them stronger, and allowing them to plunder human food at will!"

The crimson elephant-man beastman king roared loudly, making his voice audible to all the beastmen. Accompanied by the surge of his rich divine essence, the densely packed beastmen erupted in revelry.

They have no superfluous wisdom; the essence of the gods resonates because of the Orc King's words, so they naturally follow the gods with absolute devotion.

When the gods appeared, all believers became fanatical.

The same applies when their power descends.

The Orc King brandished his scepter, and a vast divine essence surged into the sky, converging into ring after ring of vortexes. Within those vortexes, countless points of light fell like rain, sprinkling onto the groups of orcs below with fanatical eyes.

These orcs were no longer limited to the tribes of the Dreadnought Royal Court, but all orcs here had received the blessing of the gods. The orcs were shocked, and so were the orc kings.

The divine blessing descended so easily, and was manipulated and unleashed by the Orc King.

Even the Behemoth King and the Raven King looked at the Broken Bones with solemnity and awe.

Throughout orc history, there has never been an orc king or orc priest who has been able to manipulate the essence of the gods and wield their authority in this way.

The great being practically surrendered all its divine power to the Broken Bones, leaving it to use as it pleased.

This is illogical, but when this illogicality actually occurs, even the proud Behemoth King and Raven King must bow their heads and kneel before the Broken Bones.

Almost in the blink of an eye, only the headless, mottled king remained standing on the snowfield, while all the other orcs knelt down before the broken bones.

Before, the bone-crushing creature would have been very proud and excited, but now it is only filled with fear.

It needs to achieve victory—the orcs' victory in the war against humanity and the subsequent trampling of human civilization. If it fails to do so, then the punishment from the gods will make even death a luxury for it.

It must win this war at all costs, otherwise... despair will not only come from great beings.

The hazy memories in Broken Bones' mind warned it: how exactly were these orc tribes from the depths of the North driven to this southern land?

In the depths of the North, a great terror, like an avalanche, swept southwards.

They need to escape to the warm south.

"Defeat humanity!"

"Defeat humanity!!!" "Kill humanity!"

"Kill humans!!!"

"Plundering humanity!"

"Plundering humanity!!!"

Countless orcs who were originally unable to speak clearly were now roaring in their own words. This was an evolution in their language abilities brought about by the blessing of the gods. Their muscles were also strengthened. The orcs, whose minds were filled with nothing but eating and violence, looked at the orc king, Shattered Bones, with fanatical eyes. The crimson elephant-man waved his scepter and pointed it toward the hot spring fortress in the south.

"attack!!!"

Boom! ! !
The earth trembled, and all the humans in the Hot Spring Province awoke in a daze, looking around at the world in bewilderment.

"An earthquake? That's impossible."

People who were not yet fully awake expressed their doubts, while from a direction a little to the north, countless people shouted in alarm.

"Orcs! The orcs are attacking!!!"

The earthquake and landslide symbolized the large number of orcs, and the geology of the Hot Spring Province... has never been stable.

This province is the only one in the north of the empire without so many majestic mountains. It's not because the north is deserted, but because the mountains are some distance away from the province. The surrounding mountains block out all the cold, allowing hot lakes to spring up beneath the land of the province. Hot springs of all sizes are a 'specialty' that the nobles love.

This doesn't just mean that nobles can soak in hot springs; it's also a health-preserving pool sought after by many knights. The Hot Spring Province also produces all sorts of precious minerals, not things like iron ore whose value is determined by quantity, as well as plants, especially—vegetables.

The vegetable crops of the Hot Spring Province imbued the northern nobles with the elegance of southern nobles.

The land shapes its people, and compared to the rugged appearance of people in other provinces, the men and women of the Hot Spring Province are a beautiful sight to behold.

This is the unique landscape and customs of the Hot Spring Province; however, when facing orcs, these things are clearly a hindrance.

The Hot Spring Fortress in the Hot Spring Province is the weakest fortress in the north of the empire, because it cannot block all the gaps. It stands on a plain thousands of meters away from the mountains. Due to cost issues, even the empire cannot make the fortress stretch for more than ten miles to surround the gaps in the plain and mountains.

This is precisely why the Hot Spring Province has the richest knight system, because among the three essential elements of a knight is the concept of a mount.

Hot Spring Province is the place where knights most desire mounts. The flat land allows knights to ride their warhorses to patrol the territory, which is essential for both battles and the elegance of vassal nobles.

Over time, the people of the Hot Spring Province developed the habit of traveling by horse.

The people here are wealthier than those in other provinces in the North, and many farmers own a horse that is more valuable than a human life.

When the great earthquake struck the north, all the horses neighed, and their masters quickly understood what was happening. As the Bauhinia Knights of the Archduke Russell galloped, they saw densely packed caravans on the road, families fleeing south.

"What are you doing?!"

The knight roared loudly, his booming voice like the fury of a beast, filling the common people with fear.

"My lord knight, we...we need to go south to escape the orcs."

"Humph!"

The Bauhinia Knight drew his longsword, and the cold, gleaming blade made the mounted commoners shrink back even more.

"In accordance with the will of Grand Duke Russell, from this moment forward, all men in the province of Thermopylae will become soldiers of Thermopylae Fortress!"

"Anyone who tries to escape will be punished as a deserter!"

Now tell me your answers.

The people looked at each other in fear. For the first time ever, they fled south. This was an old tradition, even though the orcs had never managed to break through the Hot Springs Fortress. The knights and nobles of this land would always ride their warhorses and slowly wear down those disgusting orcs.

Previously, the nobles had never cared about or conscripted them into soldiers.

This sudden change has caused panic among those who have lived on this land for many years and who have some knowledge and understanding due to their family's wealth.

"Sir Knight, what has happened?"

"Go back and form an army to head to Hot Springs Fortress. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask!"

The knight shouted loudly, his whip already lashed out. The knight's strength was immense; he whipped a man off his packhorse and onto the ground, where he wailed in agony.

"This is the order of Grand Duke Russell, and also the order of the Empire!"

"No one is allowed to flee south for their lives."

The men formed an army, an order from the Archduke of Russell, forbidding them from fleeing south—an order that came from the Emperor.

The capital city half an hour ago.

The peaceful imperial palace was suddenly thrown into turmoil. Emperor Volvo Columbus, who was immersed in political struggles with the nobles, was awakened by an urgent letter from the northern province of Hot Springs and hurriedly got up.

"Your Majesty, a golden letter from the Hot Springs Province: the armies of the six great orcish royal courts have converged north of the Hot Springs Fortress. They are about to launch a desperate attack, attempting to break through from the Hot Springs Province into the Empire's territory!"

The waiter held a golden letter and felt it was incredibly hot, as if it were being scorched by flames. Only they knew how many servants, caught up in the rage, would die under each golden letter.

"Damn it, how could this happen?!"

The emperor was furious. He had experienced the war in the North and knew very well that when he was in the North, he had transported most of the resources to Twilight Province in order to obtain that indelible achievement that would help him become emperor.

The words of Ryan and the nobles still echoed in the emperor's ears. He knew clearly why he was able to become emperor. Once the war with the Northern Orcs was lost and the Orc army drove straight in from Hot Springs, the nobles, who did not want the war to continue, would put pressure on the emperor once again. If he could not resolve the war, the nobles would abandon their hopes and face the arrival of war head-on.

At that time, the name of Freud, the Elector of War, will reappear in the hearts of the nobles.

Even though he had become emperor, Volvo still felt nervous.

Perhaps he hadn't fully adapted to the role of emperor, perhaps Columbus III's early death made him subconsciously view things from the perspective of the elector, or perhaps it was because Freud hadn't yet left the capital.

Volvo was extremely panicked; he didn't want the orcs' defeat of Hot Springs Province to have any negative consequences for him.

"Damn Freud! Why isn't he back at his Marquis Carlos's mansion yet!"

The emperor was cursing, and then ordered the Wenquan Province to be given priority.

(End of this chapter)