Chapter 336 Your Highness is Mighty
Fort Riga is located at the northernmost end of the entire eastern defense line of the Temple. Due to its terrain, it was built across both banks of the Daugava River. Compared to other defense zones on the eastern line, it does not require crossing the river during attacks and can be launched directly.
At first, the orcs regarded Riga Fortress as a thorn in their side and repeatedly gathered large armies to attack the city. However, they suffered heavy casualties in the face of the human's carefully arranged fortress defenses. They finally realized that attacking cities was not the orcs' forte, so they retreated two hundred miles and established the Tartu City defense zone, just waiting for the human alliance to come out of the fortress and fight the human alliance in the open field.
Humans are not cowards. In a few years, they will choose Riga Fortress as their main target and launch a large-scale attack, always in the spring.
Spring warfare renders land uncultivable and livestock unable to mate in the optimal season, preventing the orcish territories from ever recovering and thriving, leading to widespread poverty and hardship.
This year, the human alliance once again chose Riga Fortress. On a calm and rainless morning, the alliance opened the four gates of the fortress, and a large number of human warriors poured out of the fortress and into the orc fields.
"Is this the kind of armor your Great Xia army wears?"
Saintess Heatherine and Qin Mo stood on the watchtower at the top of the fortress, watching the crowd leave the city. The Wuyi Army of Great Xia caught Heatherine's attention.
"Not entirely. The Wuyi Army belongs to the Imperial Guard, which is the army directly under the Empire. Their armor and equipment are better than those of some nobles' private armies."
"How does it compare to your private army?"
Heatherine has witnessed Qin Mo's extravagant lifestyle these days. The quality of a private army's equipment is directly related to the lord's wealth, unless the lord is a miser.
"Oh! Most of their armor... I sold it to them!" Qin Mo touched his nose and said embarrassedly.
The Great Xia cavalry led by Wei Tao was selected from the Wuyi Army. They were fully armored and each rider rode two horses. Because the Wuyi Army was stationed in the Western Regions for many years, the horses they selected were all tall and strong Western Region horses. Paired with the No. 1 armor designed by Qin Mo, their appearance immediately made the so-called "elite knights" of the Western Continent envious.
The main fighting force of the Western Continent Elite Knights consists of knights and squires. A fully armored knight will have one or two squires to fight alongside him. Squires are usually light cavalry and do not wear heavy armor.
Ordinary knightly orders fared much worse. Only a portion of them consisted of heavy cavalry and squire cavalry; the rest were crossbowmen, infantry, or even temporarily recruited farmers. They had the name of a knightly order but were not pure cavalry units.
Prince William was very proud when he boasted that the Lionheart Knights had "one thousand two hundred knights." Only the Temple and the great nobles could afford to support thousands of knights who were fully armored and well-equipped.
Knights of this caliber were the main force in battles against orcs and in territorial disputes with other Western Continent nobles, and were the pride of every king and duke.
In contrast, since Qin Mo popularized full-body armor in the army six years ago, the Great Xia Empire's military development has entered a period of rapid growth. The Great Xia military has invested a lot of money in purchasing or building armor, and has formed a group of main armored soldiers in each imperial guard. The two thousand men led by Wei Tao are such elites.
Wei Tao's two thousand cavalrymen had never worn armor until today's battle outside the city, when they made their first appearance in armor, which astonished everyone. More than half of the soldiers were heavily armored, and even the lightly armored cavalrymen responsible for harassment and reconnaissance wore steel armor that was not the tattered kind worn by the Western Continent knights.
"General Wei, I never expected your Wuyi Army to be so elite. My uncle was all smiles just now. With our two families joining forces this time, our achievements will definitely surpass theirs." Tang Bailong chatted amiably with Wei Tao, glancing at the envious crowd around him, feeling very happy and proud.
Wei Tao humbly replied, "Our Wuyi Army is a veteran and elite force among the Imperial Guards, and we have a great reputation in the Western Regions. The armor and weapons provided to us by the imperial court are naturally the best in the Great Xia."
Tang Bailong looked closely at the excellent armor worn by the Great Xia army and exclaimed in admiration, "The Great Xia Dynasty's level of weaponry is far superior to that of the Western Continent. Sigh! I really want to go back to Great Xia and see what kind of country it is."
Wei Tao's face fell, and he thought to himself, "These armors weren't made by the imperial court; they're all Qin Mo's high-ranking officials' stuff."
Qin Mo stood on the watchtower, watching Wei Tao and the others depart and enter the designated battlefield. He knew that, beyond his sight, the orc army must have already begun to assemble, and the two sides were about to engage in a battle that had never ceased for thousands of years.
The orcs need to use battles to consume the cannon fodder that wastes food, the temples need to use battles to strengthen their dominance over the entire Western Continent, the nobles need to use wars to gain enough merit to protect their territories, while the common people and ordinary warriors gain nothing but their lives.
"When do we set off? What kind of mission is it? Why are there only the two of us?" Qin Mo withdrew her gaze and looked at Saintess Heatherine.
"...We...there are three of us. Promi is waiting for us in the north. As for when we'll set off...when will your people come to pick up your little lover? Hehe!" The saintess's eyes flickered, and then she immediately asked Qin Mo.
"When did you learn to make fun of people...?"
Qin Mo blushed and said something in annoyance, while the face beneath the saintess's veil also blushed slightly.
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