Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 678: Delivering the Declaration of War

TL: Rui88

“How outrageous!”

“How dare he say that?”

Inside the large tent, the assembled generals and lords were filled with righteous indignation, all speaking out to rebuke Diet Evans.

“Such a rude fellow!”

Montret stood up, his hand on his sword, his eyes looking as if they were about to shoot fire.

He looked at Catherine.

“We should cut off this insolent fellow’s head and have his attendants take it back to show their plains warrior.”

Catherine shook her head and gestured for him to sit down.

“Emissary, you entered the lands of Ordo without our king’s permission, colluded with our country’s traitors to occupy Watcher’s Fortress, and killed our generals and soldiers. There is so much hatred between us, so please do not say such unrealistic things.”

Under the stern gaze of those azure eyes, the orc emissary bowed slightly.

“Oh… that is truly regrettable, Your esteemed Highness.”

The expression on Evans’s face underwent a certain change. It was no longer the somewhat frivolous and provocative look from before, but was replaced by a solemnity akin to that of a pilgrim.

“I know that all of you present have grown up in the civilized world and view us as unenlightened savages, holding a great sense of superiority over the orcs psychologically—I must clarify that I am not mocking you, but genuinely agree with a part of what you think. Yes, in the eras before this, the orcs were indeed very backward compared to the humans of the south. Even our Grand Chieftain Abal knows this. But—”

His tone took a heavy turn.

“Since Grand Chieftain Abal established the new generation’s King’s Tent, the situation has become completely different. I can now say with great pride that the orcs are no longer the unenlightened savages of your old perception. We now have our own state system, our own civilization, and from now on, we will engage with the human nations on an equal footing.”

“Tch!”

Demps let out a disdainful snort.

“So this is what the orcs call ‘engagement’—invading another country’s land and slaughtering its people?”

This sarcasm was quite biting, but Demps was immediately countered.

“Don’t make yourselves sound so innocent, sir.”

Evans raised his head and said, “In the long past—so long ago that it was even before the founding of the Kingdom of Ordo—haven’t the human armies stationed at Watcher’s Fortress been doing the same thing all along?”

“Humans swept across the plains like sandstorms, instigating infighting among the tribes, driving away grazing orcs, and even setting fire to vast swathes of the plains, causing our livestock to starve to death in large numbers, and the orcs who lost their livestock could only starve to death as well. It is fortunate that the plains’ environment is not suitable for farming, which left a place for the orcs to live; otherwise, my people would have long since become dust in the annals of history.”

“Utter nonsense!”

The younger generals, such as Montret, were furious.

“How can you slander the warriors of Ordo like this? We have never committed such unjust acts!”

“Oh?”

Evans narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the older men in the tent one by one, finally resting on Duke Aranbru.

“This lord, surely with your life experience, you can confirm that I am not lying, can you?”

Duke Aranbru did not expect this orc to ask him.

“Ahem!” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Even in the human world, there is much friction between neighboring countries. Who can clearly distinguish all the grievances and grudges?”

The Duke was being evasive.

Evans gave a cold laugh. “It was the kingdom’s decline that forced you to stop these actions. It wasn’t that you were unwilling, but that you were unable.”

He reached into his coat and took out a roll of parchment.

“This is the declaration of war from Grand Chieftain Abal to the Kingdom of Ordo. It was originally supposed to be delivered to the court in Crystal Shine, but since we have met Princess Catherine here, I believe there is no need to travel so far.”

A servant walked to Evans’s side, took the roll of parchment with both hands, and presented it on the table in front of Catherine.

Catherine unfurled it and read it carefully, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

She looked up at Evans. “Please reply to Grand Ch chieftain Abal that the Kingdom of Ordo accepts his challenge.”

“In that case, I shall take my leave!”

Evans bowed to her, turned, and left the tent.

Two days later, the orc army finally arrived near Sunset Valley in the evening and set up camp not far from the kingdom’s army.

That night, Catherine rode her horse to inspect her camp and held a final discussion with everyone about the impending great battle.

Around four o’clock the next morning, before the sun had risen, the entire camp was bustling. Everyone rose early. The knights, with the help of their squires, donned their armor and checked their weapons, while the soldiers began to light fires and cook, replenishing their bodies with calories.

Time passed, second by second, and the kingdom’s army began to form up.

By the time the sun rose, the kingdom’s army had completed its deployment.

The army was divided into four parts. In the center was an infantry phalanx composed of a large number of dismounted knights and soldiers, numbering about twenty thousand.

On the left wing was a cavalry formation composed of knights from the various territories of the Blackstone Plains, their squires, and ordinary cavalry, numbering about ten thousand.

On the right wing was a cavalry formation composed of the Royal Knights, numbering about seven thousand.

In addition, there were three thousand archers lined up in three rows at the very front. When the enemy charged, they would meet them with a hail of arrows from their bows. However, as the enemy drew near, the archers would quickly retreat to the rear.

Wooo—

At the urging of the horns, the kingdom’s army began to advance forward. Before long, the originally orderly formation began to fall into disarray, and gradually, it lost its initial form completely.

At this moment, at the far edge of their vision, rows of figures walked towards them with the sun at their backs.

It was the orc army.

Many people began to grow nervous. Not long ago, many of them had been holding hoes and tilling the land, but now they had to hold swords and spears and fight the orcs to the death.

The officers did their best to calm them, assuring them that the orcs were not as fearsome as they imagined. A single spear thrust would run them through, and they would die just like anyone else.

At Princess Catherine’s command, the advancing kingdom’s army came to an abrupt halt.

And the orc army also stopped about 200 meters away from them.

Catherine raised the telescope Paul had given her and carefully observed the orc army.

A large number of cavalry—this was Catherine’s first impression upon seeing them.

The orc cavalry consisted of two types: heavy and light.

The heavy cavalry, like human knights, were fully armored, and even their mounts wore barding.