464: Chapter 68, The Big Plan_3 464: Chapter 68, The Big Plan_3 Left with no option concerning their headstrong Marshal, Joseph II had to personally take charge of the supervision of the war.
He was compelled to do so due to the need for coordinating the armies from several provinces.
Ordinary generals lacked the prestige for it and were entirely uncoordinated.
An exhaustive search amongst the kingdom’s most essential generals did not identify anyone more suitable than Marshal Borg.
Finally cornered, a desperate Joseph II had no choice but to take the reigns personally.
Everyone was willing to respect the king’s dignity, and the armies from each province essentially finished mobilization as requested.
But then, the problem arose.
Due to the distance, the armies from each province departed roughly at the same time, but their arrival times varied significantly.
Joseph II nominally commanded an army of 550,000, publicly proclaimed as a million-strong force.
However, less than 300,000 had actually arrived when the Orc Army arrived at their doorstep.
It was too late to change the battleground.
If they retreated at this point, with the Orc Army chasing after them, it would likely devolve into a mass panic at any moment.
“What’s going on?
That idiot Mateus, how could he not hold out for even ten days?”
Joseph II screamed in sheer frustration.
In reality, from the moment he started personally leading the army, he had already begun to regret it slightly.
After personally leading the military, he realized that mobilizing an army of hundreds of thousands was genuinely beyond the capacity of an ordinary person.
Even after several experienced generals were appointed to assist, there were still problems in execution.
Indeed, from the start of the war, nobles from all regions had begun training Serf Soldiers.
However, trainees still had to show talent naturally.
The private armies of the major nobles were barely acceptable, but for the private armies of lower-ranking nobles, there just wasn’t much one could say.
They had indeed trained for some time.
However, when observed objectively, these troops were only slightly better than untrained ones.
Many nobles had no experience in training soldiers and used the methods they used to train their guards.
In the end, they didn’t get an elite troop but ruined many serfs instead.
After the mobilization command was issued, the various regional armies gathered together, turning the situation into a chaotic assembly.
There were indeed a few elite legions amongst them.
However, when placed amid an overwhelmingly disorganize mob, their effectiveness was negligible.
Of course, these trained units were still stronger than the fresh recruits in the Orton Duchy.
At the very least, the nobles had taught them the basics of combating on the battlefield.
They won’t just stand baffled with weapons in their hands when they reach the battleground.
“Your Majesty, Count Mateus has already perished in the battle.
The frontline army responsible for interceptions was nearly wiped out.
The Orc Army is coming with a wild momentum, seemingly determined to break through all the way.
They pay no heed to what lies behind them.
The plan we envisioned has not achieved its desired effect.”
Tiago responded bitterly.
As the Minister of Defense, in these past few days, he had been acting like a bellows, pressured from both sides.
The king blamed the Defense Department for its ineffectiveness while the generals complained about their mindless instructions, completely overlooking their actual conditions.
Reality was harsh – every army had difficulties of its own but the situation at the front did not allow time for them to resolve these issues leisurely.
The frontline army, responsible for impeding the enemy to gain time for the decisive battle, had collapsed.
Count Mateus, the Commander in Chief, had died in battle.
Further chastising them for not trying hard enough was unreasonable.
This was the highest-ranking officer casualty since the war began in the Hammer Kingdom.
However, happiness was relative.
The Moxi Duchy and Alpha Kingdom, which also commenced war with the Orcs, had many senior officers die.
Even in Orton Duchy, the casualty count of high-ranking officers was higher compared to the Hammer Kingdom.
“Hmph!”
After a cold sniff, Joseph II managed to suppress the fury in his heart.
The person was already dead.
Obsessing over a dead person was entirely pointless.
The core issue now switched from Count Mateus’s incompetence to how to respond to the upcoming changes.
Retreat was impossible, so they had to go through it.
With nearly 300,000 troops, even if they could not defeat the Orc Army, they couldn’t be defeated either.
As long as the war continued, the situation would gradually reverse as reinforcements from all regions arrived.
Realizing all this, Joseph II’s complexion relaxed slightly.
Without further delay, he issued the command, “Dispatch this order; the entire army is to prepare for the battle.
In the following days, the entire army will guard the camp strictly; no one is to attack without my command.”
…
Across the river, Duke Daniel, surveying the Human Army on the other side, gave a cold smile.
In the Magic World, a mere river less than 30 meters wide could not impede the march of the Orc Army.
There was no need to build pontoon bridges.
Simply utilizing magic to block the river midway was enough.
The consequences this would bring to the downstream area did not matter to the damage-dealing Orc Army.
With a series of victories and relentless assaults, Daniel’s influence over the Allied Forces had ascended another level.
It was not as if his word was law, but at least no one dared to yell at him anymore.
Everyone in the Silver Moon Wolf Clan knew that their prince was someone who had a real killing instinct.
“Duke, according to the intelligence we’ve gathered, the enemy’s main force has not yet assembled completely.
This is the best time for us to attack.
Please give the attack order!”
Marquis Bartel proposed enthusiastically.
As the commander of the Hawkmen Service, he had nothing to do with the ground warfare.
He was mainly an observer in the previous fights.
His only show came during the siege of Orton Capital.
Regrettably, they were desperate to sustain their defenses; his help wasn’t significantly impactful.
Finding a rare opportunity, he naturally wanted to showcase his capabilities and prove that they were not here for a vacation.
“It’s not the time yet!”
Perhaps realizing that his words were too profound for Marquis Bartel to comprehend, Daniel added:
“Your Excellency the Marquis, don’t forget!
Our aim this time is to capture the entire Hammer Kingdom, not just to defeat them.
We would rather wait for them to assemble their troops so that we can crush their military morale once.
Instead of finding them across the world for battles and having the defeated enemy retreat to the Western Mountain Area.
To annihilate the Hammer Kingdom then, we would be forced to go through the mountains.
Though the empire is not afraid to fight against the Human race in the mountains, as defenders, the humans can use the terrain advantage to their maximum, wasting a significant amount of our time.
The Human Alliance has already intervened, reinforcements from the human nations could arrive at any moment.
We don’t have surplus time to waste on the Hammer Kingdom.”
While speaking, Duke Daniel glanced at the Alpha Kingdom in the distance.
Capturing the Hammer Kingdom was only the beginning; the real goal of this war was to destroy their old enemy, the Alpha Kingdom.
Only after severely damaging the three major countries of the Northern Continent does the Orc Empire have the chance to seize the entire Northern Continent amidst the chaos that follows.
The current war was merely a warmup before the upcoming chaotic times.
To dethrone the human race from the position of the continent’s overlord was still far from enough.
At the very least, until the various races on the continent engaged in war, there was not even a glimmer of hope.