Chapter 250: Enemies Outside the Camp?

Conversations during a journey made it easy for people to forget the passage of time and the boring, repetitive actions. Before they knew it, George and his group could already see the camp set up by His Grace the Duke’s direct troops.

It didn’t look like a temporary ambush camp; instead, it resembled the prototype of a camp prepared for long-term garrison. If it were a temporary camp, they would usually use a formation of marching carriages as the outer defense line. After all, successful four-wheeled wagons, equipped with suitable shields and Iron Chains, were already capable of blocking the charge of ordinary cavalry.

However, the military camp before their eyes was surrounded by a temporary wooden wall—or perhaps it could no longer be called a temporary wooden wall, because no one would whitewash a temporary wooden wall with lime mortar. Nor would people be reinforcing the bottom with clay and mud bricks.

Before George and his group could get close, the Guard in the tall watchtower inside the camp had already spotted this supporting army. The soldier pulled the rope beside him, and a crisp bell sound rang through the camp. George did not know what the warriors inside the camp were doing, but the guards at the entrance clearly increased in number. Moreover, they no longer showed their previous lazy behavior; instead, they exuded a tough and capable aura that could be felt from afar.

‘Was that previous performance purely a case of being loose on the outside but tight on the inside? But with such regrettable acting skills, could they really lure the enemy into attacking? If I were the enemy, noticing the change inside from such a distance, I would have fled long ago. Who would go head-to-head with them!’ Thinking of this, George could not help but reveal a bitter smile. ‘Could it be to protect the dozens of laborers working outside? If that is truly the case, then the person leading the camp would be much easier to get along with. At the very least, the possibility of being treated as cannon fodder would be much smaller.’

After all, the military strength of George’s group was not considered much. Although, judging from His Grace the Duke’s consistent performance, he would not go so far as to make such a move. But one cannot be without a guard against others! Besides, isn’t there a saying—”A general in the field is not bound by the orders of his sovereign”?

As George’s group approached, soldiers appeared one after another behind the wooden wall. In their hands, they held Crossbows or Composite Longbows. Although those Longbows were not yet strung, and the Crossbows did not have Crossbow Bolts loaded, George knew that once the situation changed, the invaders would be greeted by a rain of arrows.

Negotiating entry into the camp was, of course, left to the Knights to resolve. To be precise, this was one of their important tasks during the march. In fact, if George were to go and announce himself personally, not only would it be beneath his status, but few people might recognize him.

After the documents and military seals were verified as correct, there was a short wait. George and the others took this opportunity to dismount and stretch their muscles. This helped relieve the numbness in their buttocks caused by long hours of riding.

However, compared to Hiren’s shameless and rude behavior of constantly slapping his own buttocks, George only controlled his own muscles to make small lifting movements. Under his loose trousers, outsiders could not tell at all.

Although, if George and the others used their own Spiritual Qi, this kind of problem would basically not occur. But all Knight instructors required newcomers to adapt to this way of riding. Because you do not always have abundant Spiritual Qi to consume, and you do not always have enough energy to control your gluteal muscles on horseback.

To put it plainly, this was also a method of preparing for defeat before speaking of victory. Otherwise, if you were not used to all this when you really needed to flee for your life, perhaps this small defect would cost some people their lives! If one were to pay such a heavy price for a little bit of comfort and enjoyment in ordinary times, that would be too uneconomical.

But watching Hiren’s unscrupulous behavior, George did not know why he felt that Miss Adonia Ulrika Iomede being with him gave off the feeling of ‘a fresh flower stuck in cow dung’. His gaze watching Hiren’s current movements also became increasingly strange.

The sensitive Hiren immediately noticed the change in George’s eyes, and he could only awkwardly withdraw his left claw from his buttocks. However, that guy’s next action made it even harder for George to resist the urge to complain. He actually used the same hand to scratch his cheek; this was really damaging to his image. Hadn’t he noticed that Sir Chris’s expression beside him was becoming stranger and stranger, and the corners of his mouth were rising higher and higher?

‘I hope Hiren can improve under Mr. Val’s training in the future! Bolerum Territory’s face has really been lost until only pants remain.’ Unlike Hiren, George now had an impulse to bang his head on the ground.

Although His Grace the Duke’s direct soldiers looked at Hiren’s expression somewhat unnaturally, their excellent training allowed them to perform as if they saw and heard nothing.

Immediately after, the one who came out to welcome them, or rather to carry out confirmation work, was Sir Stark, whom George had met once before. Of course, for Sir Bart and the others, he was an old friend. The two big men hugged at the camp gate and then waved for everyone to enter the camp.

After entering the camp, George was finally able to make a specific judgment about this camp. The key construction method of the wooden wall was to first cut two rows of tree trunks, one row long and one row short. Then, after charring the bottom of the trunks, they were buried half into the soil. The long trunks were arranged in a tight row on the outside, and the short trunks were arranged in a row on the inside.

Finally, wooden planks were placed between the two rows of trunks, divided into upper and lower layers. In this way, the part of the long trunks extending upwards became a parapet wall. The upper layer of the planks allowed soldiers to patrol and stand guard, while the lower layer could store defensive weapons and let soldiers rest.

The raw materials for construction were, of course, those fast-growing artificial forests in the West Ultrad Mountains. It could be seen that there was a large area of freshly felled traces on the mountain. However, since they were fast-growing trees, the strength would be more or less insufficient—the strength of trees was inversely proportional to their growth cycle in most cases. It was not a big problem for making furniture, but it was somewhat lacking as material for defense works. Of course, for now, this was also a good way to use local materials, and it was barely enough to make semi-permanent fortifications.

A small squad in the Duchy of Nohan’s army consisted of fifty soldiers plus a captain and a vice-captain. It was the same when setting up camp. Everyone’s tents faced each other in pairs, and drainage ditches were dug around the tents and between the camp areas. More importantly, according to Sir Stark’s introduction: here, soldiers were strictly forbidden to scurry between various camp areas, and running around between various tents within one’s own camp area was also not allowed.

However, what satisfied George was that a public latrine was dug in each camp area. At the same time, the published military rules also attached great importance to camp hygiene. They tirelessly emphasized that the location of the latrine was very important; it had to be far from the water source and the food storage area, and it had to be a certain distance from the barracks, but not too far, so that officers and soldiers going to the toilet could return to the team in time, and of course, not too close. At the same time, the military camp also attached considerable importance to epidemic prevention. For example, domestic waste from humans and livestock had to be buried and incinerated in time, and patients with serious illnesses and infectious diseases had to be isolated, and so on.

Walking to the back, George found that every regulation here was basically strictly enforced. Of course, many of the regulations targeted only ordinary soldiers. For the privileged class like George, there were much fewer restrictions.

After walking around the camp, George first cast his gaze toward the vertical wells on the east and west sides. One had to know that it was best to choose a place close to a water source for a camp. This could not only ensure water for cooking and drinking but also provide water for washing. If one was far from a water source, it would bring a lot of inconvenience to the camp, or even danger.

After personally drawing a bucket of water from the well, George looked at the fairly clear liquid and said, “It seems the only thing missing here are two large water vats. Otherwise, it will be troublesome when putting out fires.”

“The difficulty of moving large water vats like that over here is not small. Besides, we have a more practical method here.” Saying this, the officer leading the way for George brought him to the side of the sacks stacked not low behind the wooden wall. Then he drew a dagger from his boot and gave it a gentle poke, and fine yellow sand flowed out.

“Are these sandbags? Is the equipment for using sand to extinguish fires like on ships?” George immediately understood their method.

At the same time, George also discovered that although the camp was established on open ground with a wide field of vision, it was still located on the leeward side of a small hill. According to such planning, even at night, there would not be large air currents attacking.

In the wild, wind would quickly take away human body heat, create coldness, and even cause disease. At the same time, strong winds would roll away tents, or at least disturb people so they could not rest. Lighting bonfires would be even more difficult, and cooking and heating would be hard to guarantee. Coupled with sufficient sunlight to facilitate drainage, the grassland made the camp appear warm, dry, and clean, convenient for drying clothes, items, and equipment. It could be said that they were quite attentive during the process of building this camp.

Next came the long wait. After all, no one knew when the threat from the Underground would arrive. This kind of passive waiting would probably continue for a while. Perhaps in a year or two, a small fortress would be built here with large strips of stone!

During these dull and boring days, George also became familiar with the several Knights stationed here. For example, Sir God and Sir Stark, as the two Knights whose Manor was closest to the location of the incident, were destined to be conscripted. In addition, George also met Sir Bridewell, who was good at using small-range mobilization, Sir Sampford, who used a Halberd as his main weapon, and Sir Dalvin, who could communicate with the falcon in his hand and borrow its vision for a short time.

Of course, George’s interest in the last one could be said to be not small. But out of default rules, he was never able to ask too deeply about the questions he was curious about.

“What’s the point of waiting out here every day! Why don’t we go into the mine and find those bastards directly.” Lying on the bed, Hiren issued such a complaint.

George had to get up from his bunk to lecture him: “Do you think everyone has Darkvision like you? When we get to the mine, even if there is a light source, we will be at a disadvantage. Plus, those Black Skins are naturally afraid of sunlight. Fighting outside is itself the biggest restriction on them. No one will easily give up the advantage in their own home field.”

Just as George was preparing to continue his efforts to knock some sense into Hiren, so that the other party would use his brain more in the future, rapid bell sounds came from outside the tent. Immediately after, Hiren got up very excitedly and began to put on his equipment. One did not know whether it was his desire for battle or his relief at escaping a lecture from George.

One after another, Illumination Spells were lit up in front by the activation of Magic Wands. In the distance, those large groups of shadows that had never seen strong light seemed to cover their eyes with their hands. Standing on the wooden wall, George also heard the screams coming from afar and vaguely saw figures rolling on the ground.

However, after the distance narrowed, he discovered that this was worlds apart from the Dark Elves recorded. It was a group of short and stout races, about 4 feet tall, with thick limbs, ruddy cheeks, black eyes and black hair, and long beards.

“I say, aren’t those a group of Dwarves?” Hiren nudged George with his elbow and asked.

Hardworking, unsmiling, fond of drinking beer and mead, this was the most agreed-upon image of Dwarves on the Continent. This was a race of stoic self-denial and seriousness. Most of them lived deep in cities hewn from the core of mountains, always ready to crush invading barbarian marauding races like Orcs and Goblins.

Among the many races in the world, no one could surpass Dwarves in terms of sternness, rigidity, and lack of humor. It was said that Dwarf history carved out their dark circumstances, such as their dwelling on high mountains or in dangerous Underground nations, where war with monsters like Giants and Goblins was always constant.

Dwarves were devoted to history and tradition, and their long lifespan also meant that few of the generational changes in attitude, style, and fashion common among short-lived races appeared among Dwarves.

If it is not broken, there is no need to change; if it is damaged, repair it rather than replace it with a new one. Frugality was a norm, and Dwarves were extremely reluctant to discard anything before it was completely scrapped and unrepairable. At the same time, Dwarves were meticulous, and their obsessive attention to detail in craftsmanship made products durable.

Therefore, almost everything produced by Dwarves—buildings, art, tools, furniture, clothes, weapons, etc.—remained as good as new when similar items from others could only be sent to museums to gather dust or be thrown away as scrap. Based on these qualities, the Dwarf race was destined to shine brightly in the long scroll of time.

Feeling that it was strange, George ordered: “Didn’t they say that Dark Elves like to use slaves as the vanguard of the attack? Could these be their cannon fodder! I think it’s better to be careful.”

‘Eh! Aren’t those the Deep Dwarves I saw in the picture album? It looks like there’s a high possibility that this is the enemy’s vanguard unit? But this number is really too many!’ George could not help but mutter in his heart.

Deep Dwarves were similar in height to other Dwarves but slightly thinner. Their skin sometimes had a pale red tint, and their large eyes lacked the luster of their cousins’ eyes, being a faded blue. Their hair color varied from bright red to straw yellow. It was said that they had little contact with Surface residents and relied on Hill Dwarves and Mountain Dwarves to help them with trade. Fortunately, due to the effect of the Light Spell, otherwise, on such a night, George would not have been able to see their differences clearly!

At the same time, he also discovered that other races were mixed among these Dwarves. Among them, the bald Gnomes had stone-like gray skin and lean, strong bodies. His pale eyes were huge and expressive—this was the Deep Gnome.

In the deep Underground, Deep Gnomes protected their territory, making their small society as free as possible from the threats of the Underdark. Because these serious gray-skinned Gnomes chose to live in the shadows, keeping their courtyards free from the encroachment of foolish creatures from the Surface world, this made them quite different from their cousins who lived on the Surface.

Dwarves and Gnomes had a good relationship. They often called themselves Sons of the Earth, a race as tough and tenacious as stone. Hardworking and creative, they lived in mountains everywhere. They built amazing fortress cities inside mountain peaks, using them as bases to excavate Underground resources and veins.

Although they didn’t like joking and were quite wary of strangers, they were very generous to the few who gained their trust. Dwarves valued gold, silver, and jewelry, and also cherished precious crafts, so they were easily prone to greed. In battle, Dwarves were neither rash nor timid, fighting with careful courage and stubbornness. Their sense of justice was strong, but it could sometimes turn into a desire for vengeance. And among the Gnomes who had a good relationship with Dwarves, a not-too-poisonous oath circulated: “If I deceive you, I will get into trouble with a Dwarf.”

From this, one could see the closeness of the relationship between the two. Therefore, it was still quite normal for Deep Gnomes to appear in such a vanguard unit. However, what really made George make a threat judgment was the Gray Dwarves in the group. In appearance, Gray Dwarves looked like gray-skinned Dwarves, but they only had beards and no hair, and they had indifferent glowing pupils.

Usually, Gray Dwarves lived in deep Underground caverns far out of reach of the light. They hated all races that bathed in sunlight, but this hatred paled in comparison to their animosity toward their Surface Dwarf cousins. Dwarves and Gray Dwarves were once the same race, but the Dwarves eventually left the Underground from beneath their mountain fortresses.

Gray Dwarves viewed themselves as the orthodox descendants of the Dwarf race and believed that they should naturally rule the entire Underground. They liked to obtain captives on the battlefield rather than slaughtering indiscriminately, but they would kill Surface Dwarves without mercy when encountering them on the battlefield. They were a race that enslaved others, but when captives of other races were sent to do hard labor, Dwarf captives were usually killed on the spot.

At the same time, they also believed that life was a lifetime of toil before death. Although they rarely received evaluations other than Evil and cruel, Gray Dwarves still valued honor and rarely broke their promises.

Because the target to be dealt with this time was Dark Elves, George had specifically crammed knowledge about the Underdark. That was how he recognized the Deep Gnomes and Gray Dwarves among the enemies. These two races were both decent combat units in the Dark Elf slave camps. This was especially obvious when there were small passages that Minotaurs, Ogres, and Trolls found difficult to pass through.

Moreover, according to the data, the relationship between Gray Dwarves and their cousins was so bad that they were basically unable to get along. Apart from the high pressure from the Dark Elves, George really could not think of the reason why they were in the same team.