Chapter Ninety-Four Weaknesses
The combined forces of orcs and Rakshasa were still besieging the city. Joseph's voice was almost hoarse from shouting. Waves of Rakshasa poured in from outside, and the city walls were covered with frozen blood.
"Why hasn't the kerosene been poured out yet?" Joseph was burning with anxiety. He had been hiding in the corner trying to boost morale for a long time, and the tension in his heart was about to snap.
Finally, the siege ladders were doused with oil by the Xia army and quickly burst into flames. Joseph immediately squeezed out of the siege engine, shouting as he ran, "Fire...fire!" He held his large birchwood shield above his head to shield himself from the rain of arrows. The crowd scattered, fleeing from the burning and collapsing siege ladders.
Joseph then began to move with the crowd toward another siege ladder, taking two steps forward and one step back, repeating this process over and over again.
Around noon, the bugle call to retreat finally sounded. Joseph dragged his exhausted body back, making shallow cuts on himself as he ran, smearing his body with blood. By the time he returned to his camp, his legs were limping, and he walked unsteadily, looking as if he would collapse at any moment.
"Joseph, you don't need to attack the city this afternoon. Here, take these." The captain handed Joseph two large pieces of rye bread, which puzzled him greatly.
"Captain, has our legion finally been rotated out?" Joseph's voice finally showed a hint of life. Legions that were rotated out would receive compensation, perhaps new recruits, perhaps rations, or something like that. He himself might get some rations.
“No, tomorrow we’re going to attack the city with…them…and you’ve been chosen.” The captain didn’t know who “them” was, but who else could it be besides the orcs?
"Why me? My longsword isn't sharp enough, my leather armor isn't sturdy enough, and my body isn't strong enough. Why choose me?" Joseph's face flushed red. Fighting alongside the orcs were the honor of being warriors among the Rakshasa, but also the closest they came to death. In a critical moment, the orcs would unhesitatingly pull you in to block arrows.
"Because you've survived three in a row, if you're not a true strongman... then you're a coward... Are you a coward?"
The captain's eyes turned cold. Fighting alongside the orcs would invite the fiercest attacks, but they couldn't use the old and weak to fill the ranks. The orcs weren't blind; they weren't going to be fooled. So, it was always the tall, agile, and unlucky ones who accompanied the orcs.
Joseph felt a surge of bitterness. He remembered his father's words: "You are very smart, but people who always do smart things never get good results because you are too different from others."
Joseph found Lindi Yakov, gave him a large piece of rye bread, and said to him, "Yakov, tomorrow I will attack the city again. If I come back alive, I will be the captain, and we will never go hungry again."
If you fight alongside the orcs and gain their approval, your status will immediately change. A team only has fifty people, so becoming a captain is a piece of cake.
"Commander...you should go out and take a look. The enemy today is a bit different." Kong Yue was warming himself by a fire in the hidden troop cave below the city when his subordinate, Captain Zhang, ran in to report to him.
"Oh! What's different? Are there a few more ladders to the city walls?" Kong Yue didn't even move his butt. As a captain in charge of five thousand soldiers, he still had to maintain his dignity.
"No... There are many orcs under the city... at least 30%." The captain was very troubled by this noble-born Captain Kong. He had all the 'bad habits' of a nobleman. If he even looked at you properly, it was a sign of respect and he was giving you a lot of face.
However, the captain dared not show the slightest disrespect to Kong Yue, who was a true Yellow Realm cultivator who had earned his military merits time and time again through his own abilities and had risen to the rank of captain. He was very capable and could not be compared to those good-for-nothing playboys.
"Damn it, it's me, Lao Zhang. Why didn't you come sooner? The orcs make up 30% of the troops, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and call all the brothers to get up and prepare for battle." Kong Yue jumped up. He had served in the border army for several years and naturally knew what it meant for 30% orc warriors to be the main force. This meant a full-scale attack was about to begin.
"Everyone else gets promoted and makes a fortune, but why am I so unlucky..." Kong Yue muttered to himself as he put on his armor, secretly blaming his father-in-law.
Kong Yue was a native of the capital, and his ancestors were noble families who had produced dukes. Even in his own generation, though the family was in dire need of resources, they still managed to live a comfortable life, indulging in pleasures and raising birds.
But three years ago, after Emperor Zhaowu ascended the throne, he ordered the Great Xia army to march beyond the Great Wall to subdue the orcs, and his good days came to an end. He watched as his eldest brother swallowed a handful of medicinal herbs and then lay in bed, unable to get up. As the only second son in the family, he was about to be promoted to the rank of Earl of Xunhua and inherit the title.
"Heh heh, you want me to lead the army out of the Great Wall to your death? Keep dreaming!" Kong Yue was thoroughly fed up with his treacherous elder brother. He had no say in the family's affairs, and now that they were in trouble, he remembered him? No way!
Kong Yue, a cultivator at the Yellow Realm, was considered a prominent figure among the spoiled rich kids in the capital. Not wanting to lose face, he decided to join the army himself! He directly enlisted in the Wu Ning Army. His decision stunned everyone; it was a lose-lose situation. To drag his treacherous elder brother into the northern battlefield, he was even sacrificing himself.
Kong Yue fought with the Wuning Army on the border for two years, gradually rising from a brigade commander to a captain in charge of a regiment of soldiers. When the Wuning Army returned to the capital for rest and reorganization last year, his family held a grand banquet and placed him in the head seat. This not only put him in a clear position above his half-crippled elder brother, but also made it public that the whole family would work together to help him get a deputy commander position.
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