Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

"Let your Gale Tribe serve as the vanguard of the orcs."

All eyes in the tent were focused on Jaka.

The tribal chiefs who had been pretending to be deaf and dumb just moments before all raised their heads at once, looking at the leopard-man with complicated expressions.

There was sympathy, but mostly there was relief.

Jakka the leopard opened his mouth, as if to refuse.

"Your Majesty, this..."

“The warriors of the Bearmen tribe,” the Orc King interrupted him, explaining to Jakka, “couldn’t even wound that dragon because it was too fast for the Bearmen to attack.”

The Orc King stared directly into Jakka's amber eyes.

“And your Gale Tribe is the fastest in the Orc Kingdom. Only you have the potential to keep up with that person’s attack speed.”

Jaka could only feel that Leopard was suffering inside.

He really wanted to say, "Speed ​​doesn't mean you can win. Even a bearman can't withstand a punch, and a leopardman would probably have a hard time even breaking through his defenses. This is unfair."

But when he met the Orc King's gaze, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

There was no room for negotiation in the Orc King's eyes.

"Your Majesty..." Jaka tried one last time, "Do you really want me to be the vanguard?"

The Orc King rose from the stone chair, walked to Jaka, and placed his hand on Jaka's shoulder.

“Chief Jaka, what the bearmen can’t do, the leopardmen may be able to do. Your speed is the sharpest spear in the orc kingdom.”

"After the meeting, you will stay behind. I have something to say to you privately."

Jaka lowered his head resignedly.

Chapter 84 Retreat

The other tribal chiefs looked at each other, but all remained silent in tacit agreement.

The Orc King began assigning the remaining positions.

The Blood Night tribe is responsible for the left flank, the Steel Fang tribe for the right flank, and the Fang tribe for the rearguard, guarding against a counterattack from the Dragon Kingdom...

The most dangerous position of vanguard has been decided, and the tribal leaders have not complained much about the other positions.

After all, it's not like they're in the position to rush to their deaths, so it's barely acceptable.

The meeting continued in a delicate atmosphere.

After the Orc King finished assigning the positions, the tribal chiefs received their orders one by one.

Finally, the Orc King waved his hand.

"Go and prepare. The army will set off tomorrow morning."

The tribal chiefs filed out, their figures disappearing one after another from the tent flaps.

The footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Only the Orc King and Jakka remained in the tent.

Jaka was somewhat stunned, his light golden leopard ears pressed against his head, and his tail swaying uneasily behind him.

"Your Majesty..." He opened his mouth, his voice somewhat hoarse.

The Orc King raised his hand to interrupt him.

"I will not treat you unfairly," the Orc King promised Jaka. "Half of the Bearman tribe's pastures will be given to you after the war. As for the Dragon Kingdom's territory, your tribe will have priority in choosing it."

His eyes were fixed on Jaka, and he appeared very magnanimous and sincere.

"As long as you can hold off that dragon and give the other tribes a chance to surround it, I assure you that the Orcish Kingdom will cover the casualties of the Gale tribe, and you will receive double the spoils of war."

As Jaka listened to these promises, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes for a moment, but he quickly put on a touching expression.

He knew that the Orc King was just making empty promises.

The territory of the Bear People tribe?

Although Urgov is dead, the Giant Claw tribe still exists, and those bear-men will not easily give up the grassland.

The territory of the Dragon Kingdom?

If we can't defeat this dragon, how can we talk about dividing up the dragon kingdom?

But Jaka had no choice but to agree.

His tribe has lived next to the Tiekou tribe for generations.

If he refuses this "opportunity," the [Swiftwind] tribe may not be able to withstand the wrath of the Orc King.

"Your subordinate... obeys."

Jakka knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and his tail, which had stopped wagging, drooped limply to the ground.

The Orc King looked at him and nodded in satisfaction.

"Get up and get ready."

Jaka stood up, took two steps back, and then turned and walked out of the tent.

Silence fell within the tent.

The orcs' offensive came to an abrupt halt with the sound of horns.

The last wave of orc warriors who stormed the city walls dropped their ladders and rudimentary battering rams, turned and ran back, merging into the dark mass of troops in the distance.

On the city wall, the soldiers of the Dragon Kingdom remained in their shield-and-spear-holding postures, panting heavily, their gazes shifting from the departing figures as they looked at each other in bewilderment.

"They...they retreated?"

A young soldier murmured in disbelief.

The old soldier beside him was too weak to answer, and he leaned on his spear to keep himself from slipping and falling to the ground.

The pervasive stench of blood in the air testified to the ferocity of the battle.

The four members of 【Crystal Tears】 sat on the stone steps inside the city wall.

Gladstone leaned against the wall, the thick spellbook open on his lap, but his gaze was fixed on the orcish army gathering in the distance, his brows slightly furrowed.

The hem of his robe was covered in dust; he had just cast several spells on the city wall, which had taken a toll on his health.

Malcolm sat down next to him, leaning the massive steel shield against his side. Several claw marks were now visible on the shield's surface, and the veins on his thick arms bulged, clearly indicating that he had exerted considerable effort in the previous battle.

“They withdrew,” Malcolm said in a low voice, like a stone rolling across the ground, “but not because the siege failed.”

Alicia was crouching at the bottom of the steps, wiping the blood off the blade with an old cloth.

Her somewhat vacant eyes were fixed on the retreating orc army in the distance.

“…Indeed.” She replied lightly, almost as if talking to herself, “The formation was very neat; it was a voluntary retreat.”

Gladstone immediately chimed in, "The horn sound... it's unlike anything I've ever heard before. That timbre... it's probably the leader's command."

"For the Orc King to order a retreat at a time like this..."

Malcolm turned his head and looked at Cerabray, who was sitting on the top step.

The captain leaned against the crenellations of the city wall, his silver-white armor covered in dust and a few shallow scratches. His longsword lay across his lap, and his gaze was fixed on a point in the void, as if he were deep in thought.

"...It was Lord Aindora." Malcolm gave the answer everyone already knew. "What exactly did he do within the Orcish Kingdom that forced the Orc King to withdraw his forces?"

"……cut."

Cerabray's voice came through.

“That guy,” his voice was muffled, even his ahoge (cowlick) seemed listless, “the message didn’t say what he did.”

Malcolm was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke up: "Captain, should we take this opportunity to leave the city? We can harass the orcs' rear and also support Lord Aindora."

Cerabray glanced at him.

“You think I didn’t think about it?” he said, somewhat annoyed. “That guy… Aindolari said we should stay in the city and not go anywhere. He said something about ‘the front line cannot make any mistakes.’”

He mimicked Rune's tone, emphasizing the word "mistake".

Malcolm nodded slightly in understanding.

Alicia finished wiping the second short sword, her slightly dazed eyes lingering on Cerabray's face for a moment.

"team leader……"

"What?" Cerabray's tone remained curt.

Alicia tilted her head, a naive yet earnest expression appearing on her delicate, elven face.

"You've been looking downcast since earlier. Have you been thinking about Her Majesty the Queen?"

Cerabray's pupils contracted slightly.

"What?" His voice rose a few decibels. "No, I was just thinking about something important."

Alicia blinked and said, "But Captain, your tone always gets weird whenever you mention Rune."

“What’s strange about it?” Cerabray retorted instinctively.

“It’s like…” Alicia tilted her head and thought for a moment, “like that feeling of ‘I could do it too, so why isn’t it me’.”

Malcolm finally couldn't hold back and let out a muffled chuckle, but it was short and was quickly drowned out by a dry cough.

Gladstone lowered his head, burying his face behind the cover of the magic book, his body trembling occasionally.

Chapter 85 Sophistry

Cerabray's face flushed slightly.

“You…” He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “I’m just assessing the situation. Rune Aindora has gone deep behind enemy lines, and we have no idea what he’s been doing. If he fails, the front lines will be under even more pressure, and that’s what I’m worried about.”

"Oh~" Alice drawled out her agreement, but her face clearly said, "I don't believe it."

Malcolm had a helpless smile on his face: "Captain, we all know you're not jealous of Lady Eindora."