The orcs were getting closer, with their vanguard only resting for three hours each day, and spending the rest of the time sprinting.
The distance of five hundred kilometers was not very far for the physically strong orcs. The several defense camps and outposts set up along the way were completely ignored by the orc vanguard. They used flying beasts to traverse the mountain passes and fly over them. By the evening of the second day, the human armies could see the orc vanguard from the Fortress of Saint Song.
Despite having over three hundred thousand troops in the fortress and another two hundred thousand hastily summoned reinforcements further back, the human army was reluctant to attack. In front of the five thousand orcs, who seemed exhausted from their constant running, even the knights of the temple, including the Holy Knights, shook their heads against immediate combat. They believed it to be a ploy, with the orcs' best fighters waiting for the humans to leave the city and engage in battle.
Quentin, the pro-war general, was criticized for not considering the bigger picture.
The orcs were led by several Blood Flower Axe barbarians and ten Shaman Kings.
If human soldiers rashly attacked, the knights believed they would likely become the orcs' dinner that evening.
Marshal Torosky of Fortress of Saint Song sent out pleas for help in all directions, turning grey overnight, looking a decade older. In history, orc armies had reached the gates of Saint Song City, but never without suffering heavy losses. Even during Marshal Von Desman's time, the orcs could only roar in frustration under the city walls, having already paid a heavy price, and then retreat unwillingly.
Now, how could Torosky achieve the same?
He personally sent distress signals to several major countries, especially the four empires, dispatching trusted envoys.
If it were not for his need to stabilize morale at the command center in the fortress, he would have personally visited the kings of the four empires. Like Fortress of Saint Song, the Empire of Gale did not take it seriously; their soldiers were just being drafted, and even if they sent troops, it would be at least half a month later. Who could say the orcs would patiently wait for human reinforcements under Saint Song City for half a month? Only a fool!
The King of Norn was furious at Torosky's incompetence, cursing him, but eventually agreed to send troops for the sake of humanity's safety.
As for Kamaran and Mile, which had been at odds with Torosky, only a few days earlier Marshal Torosky had mocked them as 'Brainless Sea Squirts' and 'Pretentious Cowards'. Now, when Emperor William II of Kamaran saw the envoy, he directly ordered the guards to throw him out of the palace.
Empress Mile, being older and more mature than Emperor William II, did not do the same.
"Go back and tell your Marshal that I do not have the authority to immediately initiate the war preparedness proposal just rejected by the parliament. Whether to send reinforcements or not, the old fellows in the parliament will discuss it overnight. I can only say that if the proposal is passed, I will sign it immediately!" The words of Empress Mile left the envoy in despair, as waiting for a parliamentary discussion meant further delay.
"Your Majesty, please use the royal prerogative! It's a time of war and extremely urgent!" the envoy almost cried.
"I do have that prerogative, but why should I use it? Should I send hundreds of thousands of Mile soldiers to you, Marshal, only for them to be senselessly slaughtered under Saint Song Fortress? Tell me, if I were to use the royal prerogative, why not send the soldiers to Rody City, which has been preparing for so long? There's the miraculous boy Rody, who terrifies orcs, and there's a well-trained elite force! And you at Saint Song Fortress, my ministers tell me that just two days ago you were still hosting knightly feasts, ridiculing my affection for Rody as lewd! My heavens, I regard him like a son, but your thoughts are so vile, it disgusts and angers me! What else can you do besides spewing filth?" Empress Mile seemed very angry, with serious consequences.
"An orc army is attacking, human lives hang in the balance, please, Your Majesty, set aside grievances for now and cooperate against the enemy!" the envoy, an elderly mage, pleaded earnestly.
"My soldiers are ready, but we have no confidence in Torosky. I'm not willing to send my soldiers to their deaths, nor let them be killed by orcs on the rescue path! If your Marshal can hold out for ten days, then Mile's soldiers will arrive. But if you cannot, I will order them to turn back and retreat to the second defense line for redeployment. Don’t tell me Saint Song can't hold out for even ten days; if that’s the case, what can I expect from you?" Empress Mile finally relented for the greater good.
The envoy calculated that it would indeed take ten days for the Mile army to reach Saint Song in a forced march.
He initially wanted to ask Empress Mile to send five thousand mages to Saint Song by teleportation, but seeing her displeasure – probably deeply hurt by the knights' jests about her 'cradle snatching' with Rody at the previous banquet – he sighed.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
A slip of the tongue can cause great harm. If the marshal and knights hadn't been so arrogant initially, they wouldn't have angered Empress Mile and King of Kamaran. Now, the two prepared empires were not fully supportive, while the two unprepared empires wanted to support but were too late. One word had ruined the whole situation, and if the orcs knew about this, even the Lionheart King would laugh his head off.
"Who's the brainless sea squirt? Us? My God, I thought I was foolish enough, but I never realized there could be someone even more foolish than me! I always said, if you piled up those fools' ignorance, it would form a wall!" Ivan the Yeoman of Black Night Prince furiously blasted the entirety of Saint Song Fortress in a report.
"I'm a blind man, living in a world without light, but even I can feel the approach of danger with my heart," the blind author Tiffin sighed to magic reporters.
"Torosky's greatest skill besides womanizing is lying! Maybe everyone shouldn’t worry; Torosky can charm the orcs away with his lies, he’s capable of that!" the Kamaran People's Fast News sarcastically remarked: "People of Kamaran, if we send troops to Saint Song, maybe Torosky will wrap them up as a gift for the orcs. For our sons, for the husbands of our women, for the fathers of our children, we can't let this tragedy happen! If we send aid, even the idiots picking up stones in the streets thinking they are gold know to send them to Rody City!"
"Friends, I dare say, if ordinary people spent their lives studying ignorance and stupidity as subjects, they couldn't reach the level of those in power in Saint Song! I'm shocked that they still have the face to live in this world!" remarked the Dennis Free Union newspaper.
"I'm heartbroken!" The Holy Maiden expressed her grief through her female guards.
"Many people are saying Rody is a liar, a fugitive from hell, a spokesperson for the devil," declared the King of Naples furiously. "But the truth tells me he is right! The real big talkers are those who were smug just two days ago. Now, they finally remember me as a friend, and I am delighted they are addressing me with kindness and respect for the first time! But today, I want to tell my people that the soldiers of Naples will not die for the ignorant and arrogant big talkers. They can die in battle, but they must spill their heroic blood under Rody City!"
"The orc army is pressing down, we should put aside past grievances, unite, and jointly fend off the enemy!" Prince of Norn called for unity.
"Without Rody in history, humanity defeated orcs countless times. Is it a joke that humanity will perish without him? Rody is just a little brat who rose to power by luck, he is nothing! We firmly believe that the righteous army of Saint Song will triumph under the blessing of angels, just like countless times in history!" nobles of the Redlands Evening News.
"Gale sends a hundred thousand troops to support Saint Song. Additionally, we protest against the vicious attack on our vassal state, Filik, by unknown human forces at this time. Such acts of division deserve condemnation and eradication by the righteous forces of the world!" the King of Gale once again brought up the Filik war.
However, at this critical moment, everyone chose to ignore it.
If it were a normal time, the knights would have sent troops to earn some merit, but now with the orc army pressing down, who has time to bother with Filik's affairs?
The orc vanguard didn't attack but crazily set up camp.
It seems they're not planning a strong attack like before but a long-term war of attrition with humans. Orcs, traditionally lacking logistical support and attacking recklessly regardless of casualties, were acting differently today. Are the orcs not lacking food anymore? The generals of Saint Song Fortress repeatedly judged and felt the necessity of a sudden strike, as once the orcs established their position, the arrival of their main force would be a nightmare for the human coalition.
But as soon as the idea of a strike was proposed, it sparked a huge controversy.
Most people believed that the orcs were short of food and building camps to lure humans into attacking, using human corpses for food. As long as the human coalition held firm, the orcs would starve to death under the city.
Moreover, holding out would help in uniting reinforcements from various countries, while attacking was risky.
The debate was unresolved, with General Quentin, who advocated attacking, feeling that even a blind mole as a commander should send troops at this time. If tens of thousands of orcs arrived, then Saint Song Fortress would be no different from a paper wall. But the temple suspected Quentin and others of collusion with orcs and demons, suggesting stripping them of their military power and sending them to do logistics in the rear.
Although Torosky had not announced the order, it completely infuriated generals like Quentin, who left with their guards.
Some went home to express their anger to their kings.
Others directly teleported to Rody City, preferring to be old soldier captains in Rody City rather than being seen as traitors colluding with orcs and demons in Saint Song. Resisting orcs and demons was their lifelong honor, and they were proud of it. It was unimaginable that after giving their youth and blood, they were met with such vicious and shameless suspicion.
Saint Song Fortress finally united in voice, and Torosky, driven crazy by the noise, also turned to support and encouragement
Humans refused to battle, and the 5,000 elite orcs couldn't make a dent against the 300,000-strong human coalition in front of the towering Saint Song Fortress. Angels also descended, and though the four Power Angels weren't of much help in the war, they greatly boosted the spirits of the soldiers in Saint Song.
Five days passed, and reinforcements from various nations began to arrive at Saint Song. Meanwhile, the orc army, delayed by clearing several fortresses and outposts, was still 200 kilometers away. To the delight of many, the orc vanguard seemed to be severely lacking food, with no cooking smoke rising for days, hinting at starvation. Without intervention, these orcs might retreat or die of starvation within ten to fifteen days.
Torosky, whose ears had been filled with praise, finally had some relief. The newspapers of Redlands and Gale, which had been suppressed by Camaron's magic press for days, were now buoyed by the turn of events. The human Saint Song Fortress seemed impregnable, but Rody City was in imminent danger.
The previously unknown demons finally appeared, stationed 30 kilometers from Rody City. The demons, with six demon marshals and 30,000 elite troops, did not bypass Rody City like the orcs but headed straight for it, aiming to annihilate the so-called "human bridgehead" of Rody City and the "hope of humanity," Rody. The combined forces of 50,000 orcs and 30,000 elite demons could oppose 300,000 human troops, but Rody City had only 30,000.
Many claimed that unless Rody could conjure soldiers from sand, this battle would be his tragic defeat and his last. Inside Rody City, however, the mood was not as the higher-ups of Saint Song Fortress imagined. Instead, every person was high in spirits, believing in Rody's wisdom, which they felt was equivalent to the strength of 300,000 soldiers.
General Quentin, along with several generals, arrived in Rody City and was respectfully greeted by Rody, Chris, and others, filling the old generals with pride.
"The demons have arrived quickly, suggesting a deep connection with the angels…" Quentin frowned as soon as he met them.
"The angels have opened the space-time portal, no wonder they arrived so fast!" Chris smiled, "General, don't worry, we will give the world a surprise! To prepare this big surprise, Rody and I have been thinking for days."
"Quick, tell us, I've been so anxious these past days!" General Quentin said excitedly.
"Let's discuss inside, there might be spies listening outside!" Rody gestured for General Quentin to lead the way, inviting the other generals to the command room for a more private discussion.