The setting sun is like blood, reflecting this battlefield like a hell on earth.
The first battle of the orc army's invasion of the Western Territory was so tragic.
The fighting has been going on for a whole day, and the combined strength of the two sides is about 100,000, which seems like a lot, but considering that this is a national war between the two empires with almost all their strength, such a small scene is actually just a trial Neither humans nor orcs have put their full strength into the battle.
However, the battlefield of more than 100,000 people was already spectacular, stretching for dozens of miles at the foot of the mountain on the east side of the Tianduan Mountain Range.
Marquis Garcia stood on a high ground in the rear, riding a white horse, staring intently at the situation of the entire battlefield.
From the moment the battle started in the morning, he has been standing here and has remained so until now.
The sky was getting dark gradually, but under the flames of war, the entire sky was dyed crimson red.
Under the light of the fire, countless corpses spread out, densely packed, countless.
Throughout the fierce battle throughout the day, the formations of the two sides were entangled with each other, intertwined, and looked disorganized.
But in the eyes of an excellent commander, the situation on the battlefield is clear at a glance.
The Marquis of Garcia had a panoramic view of the evolution of this tentative battle, and finally had a clear understanding of the combat effectiveness of the orc army in his heart.
However, the solemn expression on his face showed that the situation was not optimistic.
woo—
The bugle sounded again.
Only this time, it was a signal to retreat.
The two warring parties began to retreat tacitly, leaving behind a lot of blood and countless corpses.
Marquis Garcia finally retracted his gaze, drove his horse, and galloped towards the rear.
All the way into the camp, we can see wailing wounded and busy soldiers everywhere.
Marquis Garcia hurried past expressionlessly and came to a huge tent in the center of the camp.
Of course the guards knew the Marquis of the Northern Territory, and immediately saluted and let him go.
Before entering the tent, Marquis Garcia heard the angry roar of Emperor Reinhardt from inside.
"... A bunch of trash! How can you have the face to come back to see me after being beaten like this..."
Marquis Garcia walked in on his own, and saw Emperor Reinhardt yelling at several officers there, and the parchment scattered on the ground at his feet, which seemed to be the report of the battle during the day.
He walked over to pick it up, flipped through it briefly, and found that the situation in the battle report was similar to what he estimated.
Humans did perform badly in this battle, with a battle loss ratio of about 3:1, that is to say, for every orc soldier killed, three human soldiers were required to pay.
Although it is true that the individual combat power of orc soldiers is stronger than that of human soldiers, you must know that humans have better equipment and better formation coordination. Moreover, the number of soldiers sent by humans in this battle is about twice that of orcs. But it's really hard to accept that it's like this.
The number of the army sent by the orcs this time has also been figured out by the scouts in the west, and the regular army is about 500,000.
The number of regular troops assembled on the human side is one million.
If the battle continues with such a battle loss ratio, the situation is not good...
Moreover, the Marquis of Garcia is also very clear that the real situation on the battlefield will not evolve according to calculations. It does not mean that as long as the Glorious Empire gathers another 500,000 troops to support them, they will be able to repel the orcs.
Because with such a battle loss ratio, it won't take long for the surge in casualties on the human army's side to quickly break through the bottom line of the soldiers' psychological endurance, causing a large-scale rout.
At that time, the army will be defeated like a mountain.
Emperor Reinhard scolded for a while, seemed to be tired, and finally calmed down.
His gloomy eyes scanned the faces of the people in the tent, and asked in a deep voice:
"You all know the battle situation during the day, so tell me, do you have any good suggestions?"
There was a silence.
After a while, a deep voice sounded:
"Your Majesty, the attack of the orc army is indeed extremely fierce. I don't think it is a wise move to fight them head-on in the wild. It is better to retreat to the strong fortress behind and use the strong defense facilities to resist the attack of the orcs. "
It was the Lord of the South, the Duke of St. Landers who spoke.
The Duke of St. Landers is a handsome middle-aged man, always with a gentle smile on his face, which can make people let go of their guards unconsciously.
"You can't retreat!" Duke St. Grian immediately jumped out to object when he heard this. "If we can't block the orcs in the Tianduan Mountains, the vast area of the western region and countless people will suffer unimaginable doom!"
Emperor Reinhard did not immediately express his stance on the dispute between the two dukes, but turned his attention to Count Nicole and Marquis Garcia.
Although Earl Nicole was temporarily in charge of the Eastern Region, with his identity and status, he naturally did not dare to offend the two real dukes. At this time, he pretended not to see Emperor Reinhardt's eyes and bowed his head in silence.
Marquis Garcia said, "Your Majesty, I also think we should retreat temporarily."
Emperor Reinhard raised his eyebrows and said, "Why?"
Everyone in the field also turned their attention to Marquis Garcia. After all, the Marquis of the North is the most knowledgeable person among the nobles present.
Marquis Garcia raised the parchment in his hand, and said calmly:
"Everyone is very clear about the situation of this battle. If we fight head-on, we are no match for the orc army."
Although these words were true, they were very heart-wrenching, and the faces of everyone present were a little ugly.
Marquis Garcia didn't seem to care about other people's feelings at all, and continued:
"So, the Duke of St. Landers is right. We must rely on strong walls and fortresses to hope to win this war."
The Duke of St. Grian immediately asked angrily: "Marquis Garcia, what about the villages and small towns in the western region that don't have strong walls when we withdraw? Should we just hide behind the city walls and watch these orcs wreak havoc in the western region? "
The Duke of St. Landers stepped forward and said, "Duke St. Gerian, I can understand your feelings. If you want to minimize the loss of the western border, you can organize the people of the western border to start migrating as soon as possible."
Duke St. Grian said angrily: "How many people can be evacuated in such a short period of time? And even if people can be evacuated, what about the houses, property, and crops?"
"Those things that cannot be moved will be left to the orcs." Marquis Garcia said indifferently, "The people of the western region who are too late to evacuate can only hope that they can return to the embrace of our lord smoothly."
Hearing this, Duke St. Grian stared at him, and immediately cursed: "Garcia, you are not worthy to be called my lord's knight! What about your faith? What about your protection? What about your glory?"
Marquis Garcia's face remained unchanged, and he still said without haste: "This is a necessary sacrifice. A hungry beast or a full stomach, which one would you rather face?"
Gritting his teeth, the Duke of St. Grian growled, "Garcia, why don't you northerners fill the stomachs of these beasts?"
Marquis Garcia sighed, and said: "If you are reluctant to sacrifice some of the people in the western region now, then sooner or later the northern region will suffer. Not only the northern region, but also the Scarlet Flame Territory, the eastern region, and even the southern region will suffer from orcs.
And have you ever thought about the previous two orc invasions, did humans successfully keep the orc army out of the country
Not once!
Both times, humans succeeded in counterattacking when large areas of the Glorious Empire fell.
Because even if the orcs are unified, the chiefs of each tribe still have their own ideas.
When the war is going well, they are still willing to obey the orders of the orc emperor, but after they have occupied a large area and grabbed enough property, are they still willing to fight for those tough human cities
This is why I said that we should give up part of the territory, retreat temporarily, preserve the elite troops, and then plan to counterattack. "
Emperor Reinhard was moved by what Marquis Garcia said, and asked, "Marquis Garcia, where do you think we should retreat?"
Marquis Garcia pointed at the military map hanging on the wall and said:
"We had better retreat to the Loire Valley and re-establish our defenses in this area."
"no!"
Duke St. Grian and Emperor Reinhard objected in unison.
Because, the place that Marquis Garcia pointed to was already located in the Crimson Flame Territory, and it was only less than a hundred kilometers away from Yulong City.
This means that the entire Western Territory has completely fallen, and even most of the Crimson Flame Territory will suffer from the orcs.
Duke St. Grian and Emperor Reinhard would never agree to such a price.
Marquis Garcia seemed to have expected this, so he sighed helplessly, closed his mouth, and said no more.
(end of this chapter)