Chapter 14: The War Begins
After a brief explanation from High Lord Arcadia, Su Xiao understood the current situation of the Chaos Legion.
The Chaos Legion had a total population of about 7.6 million, with 2.03 million warriors capable of fighting. Given the current circumstances, the Six-Tribe Alliance wouldn't be able to wipe out the Chaos Legion anytime soon.
Compared to the successive defeats on the front lines, the food problem was what the Chaos Legion truly needed to worry about. Aside from Blackmelt City, the Chaos Legion still had three other major cities. As for the outlying counties, towns, villages, and so on, they were basically all gone.
The food reserves of these four major cities were enough to last about a month. It would take at least two more months before the planting season arrived, and that didn't even include the time needed for crops to grow.
In other words, if they held out for about another month, the Chaos Legion would run out of food. By then, even without the enemy attacking, the Chaos Legion would collapse.
Starving civilians would surge toward the battlefield, trying to enter the central or southern regions to find food.
Only one outcome would result: the Chaos Legion would cease to exist, the Demon Ghosts and Ancient Tree Tribe would be slaughtered, and the Grey Orcs and Serpentfolk would become slaves, never to rise again. The Duoyin Empire's techniques could achieve this.
"Mr. White Night, we... can no longer afford a large-scale war. The soldiers cannot go to battle on empty stomachs."
High Lord Arcadia's tone was calm. He didn't want to fight back; he simply no longer had the qualifications to do so.
"How large a scale of war can you still support?"
Su Xiao was now draped in a black feathered cloak, the [Lord's Authority]. With this temporary equipment, he didn't need to worry about the morale of soldier-type units.
"I'm not sure. If you want, I can hand over a 500,000-strong orc army to you, provided you can get them onto the battlefield."
"500,000 won't work. At most 200,000. The food I've gathered is only enough for a 200,000-strong force to eat for four days, with one meal each morning and evening."
The old Serpentfolk walked into the room. The few scratch marks visible on his face were from a "passionate" Grey Orc woman.
The old Serpentfolk had been requisitioning food in Blackmelt City this morning. Before he could say much, a fierce Grey Orc woman scratched him. Her several children couldn't get enough to eat, and now food was being requisitioned again. The feeling was understandable. Those hungry little faces had driven this Grey Orc woman to despair.
"200,000?"
Su Xiao began to think about the battlefield terrain. If he wanted to obtain food, he had to head straight for the enemy's war fortress. Only by breaking through the fortress could he seize the supplies.
"I want 300,000 elite Grey Orc troops, over 500 Ancient Tree Tribe members, and over 500 Demon Ghosts."
"..."
"..."
Both the old Serpentfolk and Arcadia fell silent. Hila, also a High Lord, was trimming her nails on the side. She knew exactly what she should do: stay out of the way. To some extent, she represented the Endless Inferno, and for the Chaos Legion, that was enough.
"Losing because of famine... that's too shameful."
Arcadia, who had always been serious, suddenly laughed. The mighty Chaos Legion, ultimately collapsing due to a lack of food, was indeed a shocking thing. After all, they had once held half the territory of the Canglong Continent.
Now they had the Grey Orc troops, but the food was only enough for about two days. If the march wasn't fast enough, they would run out of food before even engaging the enemy.
Arcadia and the old Serpentfolk were both people of their word. At 9:00 AM, 300,000 elite Orcs, 500 Ancient Tree Tribe members, and 500 Demon Ghosts were all gathered in front of Blackmelt City, forming a very disorderly formation.
Near the city gates and on the city walls, almost all the civilians were standing, mostly women or young Grey Orcs and Serpentfolk.
"Hey!!!"
Wobor, who had just become an Orc hero, roared loudly. He stood on a pile of broken wooden crates, looking down at the crowd below.
"You... are you afraid of death?"
Wobor roared again. Then, all the Orc soldiers looked at him like he was an idiot, including the Orc civilians behind them.
Wobor kept a serious expression, but he froze. The script Baha had written for him didn't cover this situation.
"Fellow tribesmen! We're going to grab the food! Then, we'll eat soft, chewy stewed meat, stuff our mouths with boiled potatoes! For the sake of eating... for the Chaos Legion! Kill the enemy!!"
Wobor thought on his feet and shouted what was in his heart. His words were even a bit incoherent, but he managed to make all the Orc soldiers hungry.
[Unknown] "Kill!"
Some Orc shouted this out. After a moment of silence, a sky-shaking roar of battle cries erupted. They were starving, their eyes glowing green. They were a pack of desperate beasts. To survive, they had to go to the battlefield.
"All troops, march out."
Su Xiao stood on the crown of an Ancient Tree Man, looking down at the Orc army below. At the same time, he equipped the War Lord title.
It seemed an aura enveloped the 300,000-strong Orc army. Their demeanor immediately changed, becoming fiercer and stronger. This wasn't without its drawbacks; they were even hungrier.
Rumble...
The 300,000-strong Grey Orc army marched forward. Looking from behind, there was no end in sight. Hundreds of tall War Tree Men were mixed in among them, and Demon Ghosts floated in the air. This vast scene was like an impending calamity.
"This..."
Standing on the city wall, High Lord Arcadia had a look of surprise in his eyes. With his experience, he could naturally tell that these Orc soldiers were different from before.
"This was once the nightmare of Duoyin, the Extreme North, and the Elven Great Forest. Whether it still is now, I don't know."
The old Serpentfolk smiled as he looked down below.
"..."
High Lord Arcadia fell silent, and beside him, High Lord Hila was silent as well.
The army marched. With the War Lord's bonus, the march speed increased by about 45%, and the Grey Orcs' stamina consumption rate also increased accordingly.
The War Lord's bonuses actually only had four types, as follows: