Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 677: The Orc Emissary
TL: Rui88
Paul had sent a letter, and Catherine was very happy, but she quickly calmed down.
Alda was a long way from here, and launching an expedition from there would inevitably require a long preparation time.
She couldn’t count on Paul’s help in the short term.
Catherine had to make full use of all the forces available to her.
“Your Highness, Sir Montret requests an audience!”
A guard from outside came in to report.
“Montret?”
Catherine searched her mind.
“I’m not familiar with that name…”
She shook her head in frustration and turned her gaze to Ofina, but only received a helpless shrug in return.
It was Duke Aranbru who reminded her.
“Your Highness, he is the heir to the Tavares family.”
“The Tavares family? I know of them. Please let him in.”
The guard went out and returned shortly with a young man.
He was tall and handsome, with a head of wavy, dark golden hair.
“Your Highness!”
Montret knelt on one knee to salute the princess, then nodded to the Duke beside her.
Duke Aranbru asked, “Montret, how many men did you bring?”
The young man raised his head.
“I have brought one hundred knights, all of whom are highly skilled in martial arts and exceptionally able, as well as one thousand strong and healthy soldiers. The Tavares family will defend the honor of the kingdom with all its strength.”
The expression on his face was resolute and fearless, and it did not seem to be a pretense.
Catherine was moved by this declaration and nodded at him in approval.
This made the other man unconsciously raise his eyebrows.
Ofina said:
“According to previous estimates, including the Bradley Family’s army, the total number of enemies entering the Blackstone Plains should be between twenty-five and thirty thousand. If we can gather a force of twenty thousand before they arrive, we will have a fighting chance.”
“Report! Lord Lester has returned!”
A surprised shout came from outside.
Everyone in the tent felt a jolt of energy.
Lester was quickly summoned inside.
“Your Highness, the orc army has fallen for the trick. They are ‘pursuing’ us along a roundabout route. If nothing unexpected happens, they are still six or seven days’ journey from here.”
“Is that so?”
Hearing Lester’s words, everyone, including Catherine, let out a small sigh of relief.
Having created a relatively safe distance from the orc army, the kingdom’s forces set up camp to wait for the various reinforcements to arrive.
Over the next few days, local lords continued to receive and obey the royal summons. They gathered their knights, conscripted soldiers from their lands, and led them to Sunset Valley to join the royal army.
By the fourth day, the army under Catherine’s command had reached nearly forty thousand.
The army brought from the capital was about five thousand strong; now, the arrival of these reinforcements had multiplied the army’s combat strength.
The princess organized these troops from different territories into groups to avoid confusion in command.
It was on the evening of the fourth day that scouts brought back news of the approaching orc army.
“So soon?”
Catherine asked the scout who had come to report, in disbelief.
“Every man in the orc army has three to four horses. They take turns riding their mounts during the march, so they are very fast.” 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
The scout reported what he had seen with a look of terror on his face.
“The villages and towns along the way have all suffered. After entering undefended towns and villages, the orcs looted supplies from the locals as much as possible and forcibly conscripted able-bodied men into a servant army to act as laborers or cannon fodder for the orc host!”
“How dare these orcs be so brutal! They deserve to die!”
The scout’s description made Montret Tavares furious, and he slammed his hand heavily on the table.
Although human armies of this era were not much better.
Montret looked at Catherine, his eyes filled with desire. “Your Highness, since they have come, let us fight them to the death!”
Anyone could see his desire to perform.
“I second the motion!”
“I second it as well!”
“Yes, Your Highness, we are no longer afraid of the orcs in terms of numbers!”
Those present were all lords from the Blackstone Plains. Once Montret started, the others couldn’t hold back. How could they let this kid hog the spotlight in front of the princess?
Seeing her vassals eager for battle, a chord was struck in Catherine’s heart.
If that was the case, then let’s go to battle!
Surprisingly, early the next morning, the orcs sent an emissary—a fellow with slicked-back hair and a figure that was ‘slender’ compared to his kin.
After being invited into the tent, he bowed to Catherine according to the court etiquette of Ordo.
“Human princess, the beautiful Your Highness Catherine, the warrior of the plains, Kalem, has sent me to discuss some matters with you.”
Catherine sat upright in the main seat and asked in a cool tone, “Mr. Emissary, how should I address you?”
The orc replied with a smile, “Your Highness, my name is Diet Evans. People call me Honest Evans.”
Catherine was very curious. “That sounds like a human name.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Evans replied. “I used to be a merchant, and my business was quite good. I often traveled between Ordo and the plains, so I speak fluent Aldan and took this name.”
“Then, Mr. Emissary, what matter do you wish to discuss with me?”
“The second son of the Bradley Family—Sir Lemosite. Lord Kalem hopes that I can bring him back.”
“Bring him back?” Catherine snorted coldly. “Wishful thinking. I will not let a single traitor go.”
“We can ransom him back! You can name a price!”
“Absolutely not!”
…
After some back and forth, Evans seemed to accept reality and no longer tried to persuade Catherine to release Lemosite.
“Alright, this task is complete. Thank you for your time, Your Highness Catherine!”
“Completed?”
Catherine was completely confused. What had this fellow accomplished? She hadn’t released that Lemosite.
“In fact, what just happened was just to give the Bradley Family an explanation.”
Evans said with great frankness.
However, everyone understood—the orc commander named Kalem was just putting on a show.
“Let’s move on to the next topic, Your Highness.”
Evans put away his previous jesting expression and became somewhat serious.
“We hope that you, Your Highness… will surrender!”
“Surrender?”
Catherine felt as if she had heard something amusing.
“Go back and tell your master that there has never been a princess in the history of the Kingdom of Ordo who has surrendered to the enemy.”
“Oh, won’t you consider it carefully?”
Catherine was very angry. “It seems you are certain you can defeat us?”
“Yes!”
The orc emissary’s reply nearly caused an explosion in the tent.
AN: Thank you Boss [You Yang], and thank you to everyone who supports this book.
