King
Chapter 558 - 558 118 Complex Thoughts_1

558: Chapter 118, Complex Thoughts_1 558: Chapter 118, Complex Thoughts_1 The army moved forward steadily, constantly gathering scattered soldiers on the way.

The prospect of their ranks growing was in sight, but Hudson wore a somber face.

He was prepared, waiting for the enemy to attack, but all they could wait for was… it’s better not to mention it.

It was a waste of the crossbow arrows he had prepared.

In order to get these weapons, Hudson had tried everything, periodically sending reports to the capital, arguing for the pros and cons in each of them.

All summed up, he could have written a book titled “On the Importance of Miniature Magical Crossbows in Cavalry Combat”.

With the kingdom’s collective effort, a few thousand miniature magical crossbows were obtained, initially hoping to teach the enemy a lesson, but to his disappointment, they didn’t give the opportunity.

The Bimon Cavalry, having been defeated once before, did not dare to charge again; the Lionman race and the leaders of the Silver Moon Wolf Clan weren’t fools either.

Knowing full well how dangerous their enemy was, they would naturally not rush into a decisive battle while their own military strength was lacking.

Because of this, for the past few days, the only addition to the growing chaos in the army had been the Hawkman Air Force.

The three Great Imperial Clans were too busy to hunt down the Northern Expedition Army, and to regroup their scattered forces.

Even if Hudson personally took the initiative, they could avoid him just in time.

If he wanted to attempt a sneak attack, he had to first deal with the persistent Hawkman Air Force overhead!

Without air superiority, everything seems difficult.

He now understood why, despite having the majority of the Alpha Kingdom’s main forces, the Northern Expedition Army was still so passive.

It’s really not a matter of effort.

Every move of the army is under the enemy’s watch.

Before they could even implement their plans, they were discovered by the other side.

When all strategies and tactics fail, what the two sides compete for is sheer strength.

Being able to divide the Orc Army and create a breakout opportunity for the army under such circumstances, Marshal Campbell was indeed impressive.

Unfortunately, the old marshal died unexpectedly, otherwise Hudson would certainly pay a visit to him for a chat.

Between the lines, Hudson also sensed a trace of a conspiracy.

Normally, a Grand Army Commander would have experts guarding him, meaning the probability of his surviving a breakout was very high.

Even if his identity was exposed on the battlefield, it would only take a moment to force a breakout.

Once a path was cleared, he would immediately leave, without any need to stay at the original place.

The probability of running into an expert orc and being blocked again was virtually zero.

“He was sold out by his own side?”

Once this thought occurred, Hudson couldn’t shake it off.

The beliefs of the nobles varied greatly: sometimes they were held in high esteem, whereas at other times they could be devastatingly low.

To weaken the royal family by revealing Marshal Campbell’s whereabouts is completely possible.

Besides, apart from them, there were other mysterious organizations that could be the culprits, such as the July Club that Hudson had some interaction with.

The last assassination attempt was officially announced to have been orchestrated by the Orcs and the July Club.

It wasn’t a mere blame-shifting, both of them were indeed involved.

If they could conspire once, they could conspire a second time.

Members of the July Club were originally nobles of the North who were defeated in their power struggle.

Even after their fall, they still retained some connections.

It wouldn’t be strange for them to secure a position within the army.

“Earl, Legion Commander Katelai seeks an audience.”

The guard’s words took Hudson by surprise.

He almost forgot that he had members of the July Club under his command.

Although “Katelai” was passively inducted into the July club, he was still part of the July Club.

Now that they were in Northland, if the July Club wanted to take action, chances were they would contact him.

“Let him in!”

Hudson pretended to say casually.

The worried look on his face betrayed the unease in his heart.

His intuition told him that things were far from over.

…

“Earl, I just received a secret letter.

That guy, Longxi, wants me to persuade you to take action against the Five Great Dukes of the North, in vengeance for the blood feud that happened years ago.

They stated in the letter that the five Great Dukes of the North colluded with the Orcs, and the orc’s instigation was what led the Five Great Dukes to encourage an army breakout.”

While speaking, Katelai handed over the letter to Hudson.

His trembling hands reflected his inner turmoil.

The formation of the July Club was to take revenge on the five major families of the Northland.

Hudson and they were technically on the same side based on their compositions.

If one looks back at the family tree, they might have been relatives a dozen generations ago.

The only difference was that they chose to lie low in the Northland looking for opportunities for revenge, while the Koslow family chose to move south, or rather, the legitimate line of descent in Northland had perished, leaving only the southern branch to survive.

Giving the contents of the letter a once-over, Hudson’s expression remained unchanged.

The fact that the five prestigious families in Northland and the Orcs had contacts was never a secret.

The smugglings which have been ongoing for many years were proof of this close relationship, so it’s not surprising at all.

Betraying allies to save oneself was nothing new either.

Don’t even mention principles – when it comes to life and death, not many can remain unaffected.

Compared to the collaborationist group in eastern Liaoning’s tactics as per the historical records, what they did was relatively more within bounds.

They just encouraged a breakout by the army, without working against their own kind by stabbing them in the back as traitors.

“Insufficient evidence!”

Hudson couldn’t help but grumble.

Nobles aren’t short on dark secrets, pretty much all major nobles have a pile of scandals behind them.

As long as the lid isn’t lifted, one might as well assume they don’t exist.

If one wanted to use these dirty secrets to attack the enemy, the biggest problem is -“evidence”.

If one had ample proof and chose the right time to reveal it, even entities as powerful as the five prestigious Northland houses won’t be able to save themselves.

Regrettably, the evidence the July Club held was only enough to prove that there had been contacts between the major families of the Northlands and the Orcs.

Such a charge, if placed on commoners, would result in their families being wiped out.

But placed on these major nobles, at most it would bring about some criticism.

Presumably realizing this after witnessing their operations, the July Club chose to risk working with Hudson, taking advantage of the current situation to strike the children of the five major families.

The fireball flickered, and the letter was instantly reduced to ashes.

“Let’s act as if this never happened.

If they contact you again, tell them: the risk is too great, I’m not interested in participating.”

“If they persist, tell them: without my trust, their words carry no weight.”

Hudson coldly said.

The July Club wanted to take revenge on the five major families in the north, and he was happy to see it, but he chose not to get involved.

Dealing with the Rocknard Family was already a headache.

If other enemies were added, it would be even more difficult to handle.

Despite his high position and numerous generals, it is all an illusion.

In essence, Hudson’s foundation is very weak and prone to collapse with the slightest mistake.

The army under his command was temporarily assembled.

They followed his commands because he was the highest military commander appointed by the kingdom, not because of loyalty.

…

Along the long escape route, the Northern Expedition Army had already been scattered.

Many people ran around in all directions, and those who managed to survive were lucky.

In the eyes of the orcs, there was no distinction between nobles and commoners.

As long as they belonged to the human race, they were targets for slaughter.

At most, they would go easy on the nobles of the north when chasing them.

Having fled to this point, the Southeastern Province Noble Alliance Army had been reduced to a fraction of its original size.

The talk that the Southeastern Province produced strong soldiers and that every county was elite was pure nonsense.

When they finally fought the orcs, they realized the disparity in their strength.

Not to mention compared to the elite orcs, even compared to the regular northern military, they were significantly weaker.

The Layton County army was capable because of the “Divine Archery Knight’s” strong military command.

If the commander was changed, the situation would remain the same.

Even though no one dared to say it out loud, in their hearts, they criticized Earl Piers.

Knowing that Hudson was capable, he still threw him to Moxi Duchy.

Wasn’t that intentionally sabotaging his own team?

West was the unlucky one drawn for this mission, he should be the one to go.

If Earl Piers hadn’t shown favoritism and let it slide, as the prefectural governor, West wouldn’t have been able to escape.

To many nobles, if the “Divine Archery Knight” had stayed within the Southeastern Province Nobles’ Allied Forces, the situation would have been different now.

In a head-on fight with the orcs, they might have limited capabilities.

But when it comes to clinging to someone stronger, none of them were inferior.

Thinking back to the barons and knights who set off on the expedition, all of them are now legion commanders, it was an endless source of regret.

They had no choice, it was all due to their proximity.

As old neighbours, they all knew very well that the now renowned First Army of the Border Defense, formerly the Layton County Legion, was not something to behold.

Watching people who were inferior to themselves rising, while they were still struggling to survive, filled their hearts with resentment.

This twist of fate also frustrated Earl Piers.

He thought he had arranged a death mission, but the ones who should have died didn’t, instead those who thought they were safe ended up being pushed to the brink of a cliff.

Having fled to this point, his renowned Crimson Knights Brigade had already lost over half of its members.

Other nobles’ private armies suffered even heavier losses, with barely one out of ten remaining.

The only reason they could hang on till now was that there were no ordinary people left in their troops.

If the serf soldiers weren’t slaughtered by the orc’s blades, they were lost during the escape, scattered across the vast grassland.

“Earl, good news!

A large cavalry is spotted fifty miles ahead, flying the banner of Earl Hudson.

The reinforcements are here!”

The scout’s report brought a glimmer of hope to the fleeing crowd, but then their faces promptly darkened again.

Reinforcements had indeed arrived, but they were not the reinforcements they were hoping for.

Being from the same Southeastern Province, they originally shared familial ties, but these ties fell short of interests.

For the Koslow family to rise, they had to expand their territory.

Unfortunately, all the land in the Southeastern Province already had its owners.

If Hudson wanted to maximize his benefits after the war, he had no choice but to betray them.

In his position, they would do the same.

Attacking directly might seem ruthless, but they would not hesitate at all to watch them die.

“Did you guys make contact with Earl Hudson?”

Earl Piers asked with a dark look on his face.

Logic told him that Hudson might tolerate other lesser nobles, but he was a thorn in his side.

“No!”

The scout in charge of reconnaissance said with shaking voice.

No matter how slow to react, he would know he had just said the wrong thing.

But what they didn’t understand was why these noble lords looked so grim when help was so close.

Hearing this, Earl Piers’s expression slightly softened.

He waved his hand and said, “Alright, there’s nothing for you here anymore, go rest for now!”

The atmosphere tensed up again, everyone was waiting for Earl Piers’s decision.

“After a brief rest, we continue our journey.

The orc cavalry behind us should be almost done resting as well.

If everything goes as expected, we have a tough battle ahead of us.

Everyone, don’t panic.

The Kingdom has sent troops for reinforcements, so we won’t just meet one team.

We will encounter more soon.

The pursuers behind us are not many, as long as a few thousand fresh troops join, we don’t have to fear them.

From our journey so far, you can see that the enemy has been trying to avoid casualties.

The orcs can’t afford more losses!”