The group waited in the inner city of Karakoram for about an hour.

Ivan and Liu Zhenshan were the first to return. The blood on Ivan's battle axe was still wet when he landed and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Lord Lin! Those two counties in the west have been taken back!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Liu Zhenshan followed behind, carrying the golden giant sword. He didn't say anything, but he nodded.

Zain and Zara arrived last. Zara grinned and said, "There are still about a hundred or so orcs left in the northern county town. We'll wipe them out in no time."

Lin Feng nodded, turned his gaze away from their faces, and walked into the council hall.

He walked to the center of the hall, brought up the Great Wall operation interface, and a holographic map unfolded above his head.

Five blue lights simultaneously illuminated the holy city of Karakoram, the two county towns to the west, the county to the south, and the county to the north.

He stretched out his finger, drew an arc, and framed all five points of light within the coverage area of ​​the Great Wall.

Lin Feng closed the interface, turned to face the crowd, and smiled, "Let's go back to Hangu Pass. There's a victory celebration banquet waiting for us tonight."

Everyone answered in unison.

...

At 9:30 p.m., Hangu Pass was brightly lit.

The council hall was brightly lit by candlelight, and long tables were arranged in a U-shape, covered with dark red tablecloths.

Braised pork belly, roasted whole lamb, stewed chicken, braised fish, green jelly, and all sorts of international snacks whose names I don't know were laid out on the table.

The steaming heat and the aroma wafting from the candlelight eased some of the weariness on everyone's faces.

Lin Feng, sitting in the main seat, stood up, holding a wine glass, and glanced at the people on both sides.

"Today's battle was the toughest one since Hangu Pass was built. With an army of 80,000 orcs and 24 experts at level 3 or above, I wouldn't have dared to dream of achieving such results a month ago."

He paused for a moment, then raised his glass high: "But today, we have won. This glass is for the living, and for those who will never return."

Everyone raised their glasses in unison, the glow of the wine shimmering in the candlelight.

Ivan was the first to put down his wine glass, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and grinned, "Lord Lin, that battle was fucking exhilarating! That Salga, his club was like a mountain when he swung it, but you, with one shot, burned him and his club to ashes! Hahaha!"

Ironclad was engrossed in gnawing on a lamb leg when he heard Ivan's words. Looking up, his mouth glistening with grease, he mumbled, "Of course! Our lord is no ordinary man!"

He swallowed the meat hard, patted his chest, and said, "I've followed the lord for so long, this kind of achievement is nothing!"

Feng Qingyan laughed so hard her shoulders shook: "Brother Tiedun, you've been following the lord for so long, but you haven't accumulated many battle achievements, though you've certainly honed your tongue quite well!"

Tie Dun paused for two seconds, then scratched his head: "I'm just... stating the facts!"

Zhao Hu picked up the bowl and took a sip: "If Tie Dun had this mouth during the war, the orcs would have all run away long ago."

The crowd burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the candlelight and filling the entire council hall.

The open space outside the council chamber was equally bustling.

Long tables stretched from the entrance of the council hall all the way to the main street, piled high with roasted whole lamb, stewed meat, flatbread, and wine jars, their aroma mingling with the smoke from the bonfire in the night breeze.

The awakened ones sat in small groups around the fire. Some raised their glasses and talked loudly, some sang off-key songs with their arms around each other's shoulders, and some squatted on the ground poking the fire with branches, sending sparks flying high.

Two soldiers from the Crescent Legion were standing face to face, drinking contests, surrounded by layers of people, their cheers growing louder and louder.

The one on the left was the stronger one. He tilted his head back and gulped down the bowl, then let the bowl sway upside down, which drew cheers from the crowd.

Not to be outdone, the tall, thin guy on the right also downed a bowl, letting out a loud burp afterward, which made the people around him laugh even harder.

The rule was that whoever fell down first had to crawl around the table, barking like a dog as they did so. Neither of them was willing to back down first, and their faces turned red to their necks.

Beside another campfire, a soldier was gesturing animatedly about the battle on the city walls during the day: "The orc centurion had just climbed up the battlements when I stabbed him right in the butt with my spear!"

He yelled and tumbled down, smashing over three orcs below like bowling balls!

The person next to him laughed so hard he slapped his thigh: "Bowling! You're pretty good at describing things!"

"And then? Did he die?"

"He didn't die, but he had a hole in his butt. Later, Old Wang shot him in the back of the head with an arrow."

Everyone laughed again, and someone raised a bowl and shouted, "Tell us again! Tell us again how you poked his butt!"

Just as the soldier was about to continue boasting, a young awakened individual squeezed in from the side, his face flushed from drinking, and grabbed his arm, saying...

"Let's not talk about that. Look at Lord Lin's equipment! It's all legendary gold gear! I'd be happy if I could just have one blue piece..."

The person next to him patted him on the shoulder: "Fight a few more tough battles with the lord, and who knows, you might get a rare item someday."

The young awakened one's eyes lit up, then dimmed again. He took a swig of wine and muttered, "It might fall off, but I'm afraid I'll be lying next to it by then..."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, with someone slamming their hand on the table and shouting, "Can't you say something auspicious?!"

Another person chimed in, "It's alright, I'll pick them up for you and burn them for you!"

The young awakened one rolled his eyes: "Get lost! I'm not dead yet!"

The banquet ended after 11 p.m.

The crowd dispersed in twos and threes, leaving only a few orderly tidying up in the council hall.

Lin Feng stood up from his seat, picked up the Prairie Fire Spear, and walked out of the council hall.

Instead of returning to his room, he took off and flew towards Fenghuo County.

The night breeze blew in, dispelling much of the effects of the alcohol.

He was calculating in the air that the newly added three thousand elite Qin soldiers, plus the losses from this battle, needed to be replenished as soon as possible.

Soldiers are indispensable. Although the orcs have been defeated, the orc king is still in Chiyo Castle. The real decisive battle is yet to come.

...

Five o'clock in the morning, Chiyo Castle.

Before dawn, the air was still thick with the lingering smoke of gunpowder from the previous night. Most of the torches on the city walls had burned out, their embers flickering uncertainly in the morning breeze.

The 250,000-strong orc army was divided into two groups, working day and night in shifts to relentlessly attack the city.

Attacks were launched simultaneously from the north, west, and south. Catapults hurled boulders at the city walls with one dull thud after another.

Ladders were erected one after another on the wall, and orc infantry climbed upwards like ants.

Arrows rained down from the city walls, logs and stones cascaded down, boiling oil was poured from between the battlements, and screams of agony rose and fell.

The human banner was still fluttering in the wind, but it was already tattered and riddled with arrows, its edges charred and curled.