Chronicles of Ryan the Wizard

Not long ago, the garrison of Thor Fortress released a mission called "Intelligence Collection" in the Mercenary Guild, which became a topic of discussion among mercenaries.The task of "intelligence collection" is an open task. It does not specify what kind of information is needed, nor does it give details about what kind of information is paid for. It just roughly collects all items north of Thor As long as the intelligence is provided first and finally verified, gold coins can be paid according to the importance of the intelligence.

In the beginning, those mercenaries did not pay attention to it at all, because this kind of open-ended task is difficult to define specific remuneration. If the employer is stingy, even if the mercenary who completes the task fights for life, what is really important? He can also use only one copper coin to send out the intelligence of, without violating any regulations.

In many cases, a turning point occurs, often because of an accident.The open-ended mission of "intelligence collection" went from being unattended to full dispatch, and it also originated from a hapless mercenary.This hapless mercenary was drinking and gambling with other people in the bar. His luck was indeed bad. He soon lost all his money and owed a foreign debt. In desperation, this guy had no choice but to go. The mercenary guild hopes to be able to complete one or two tasks and get some rewards to repay the bill.

That was the second day of the "intelligence collection" mission.This unfortunate mercenary has only one person, and it is basically impossible to complete other tasks that require a lot of manpower issued by the Thor Fortress garrison, such as transporting supplies and so on.So with the idea of ​​trying his luck, he took on this open-ended task with almost no restrictions.After eating the cheapest potato stew breakfast he had on credit, the mercenary mustered up the courage to enter the North Taren Prairie through the hanging basket on the wall of the Thor Fortress.

The gate on the Thor Fortress wall is generally not activated until the critical moment. If someone wants to enter the North Taren prairie, most of them use pulleys to set up a hanging basket on the wall, twist the rope with a twister, and sit The people in the hanging basket were put down the city wall.

Although this mercenary had bad luck, his professional ethics was quite good. He spent most of the day carefully recording the terrain within about three kilometers north of Thor Fortress, and then returned to Thor Fortress in the evening. , Gave these things to the Mercenary Guild, and then transferred them to the garrison in Thor Fortress.

One day later, the mercenary was rewarded: five hundred shiny gold coins.This guy, who didn’t know if it was unlucky or lucky, took the large sum of money to pay off his gambling debts, and even ostentatiously invited his companions to drink with him. After being so drunk, he told about his wealth. after.

This incident was spread ten or ten, and it spread in the Thor Fortress No. 2 camp that night. Of course, it was inevitable that some people contributed to it.When the sun rose the next day, more than a hundred mercenaries poured into the mercenary guild, took up this open mission together, and then used the hanging baskets on the city wall in batches to enter the North Talun Prairie .

In fact, the first mercenary to receive a reward, the topographic map he drew was not worth a copper coin at all. Even if General Keenster closed his eyes, he could easily draw a topographic map about thirty kilometers north of Thor Fortress. , It was the result of the continuous efforts of the garrison scouts in Thor Less than forty kilometers north of Thor’s Fortress is the real focus of this “intelligence collection” mission, and the reward that the mercenary gets is nothing more than General Keenster used to stimulate other mercenaries. Bait.

In front of the generous rewards, the mercenaries going north sent back all kinds of information. General Keynst didn't care whether the information was useful or not. He didn't even look at it, and threw it all in the fireplace.But every mercenary who provided information was paid a certain amount.The quartermaster pays directly according to the thickness of the intelligence. The thicker ones will pay more, about hundreds of gold coins, and as little as a dozen gold coins.

Stimulated by money, the mercenary stepped farther and farther, and finally reached thirty kilometers north of Thor Fortress, where was the first blockade line arranged by the orcs.On a sunny afternoon, a dozen or so mercenaries called the "Power" mercenary group inevitably encountered the wolf cavalry squadron patrolled by the orcs.

The bloody battle began.

In this kind of head-on confrontation, the walking mercenaries could not be the opponents of the well-trained orc wolf cavalry, not to mention the more than ten mercenaries facing ten times more enemies than their own.The battle soon turned into a one-sided slaughter. This group of mercenaries killed seven or eight enemies before the entire army was wiped out.

The war quickly spread, and more mercenaries also followed in the footsteps of the power mercenary group. Human mercenaries suffered a great loss, and the intelligence sent back in those days was reduced by 80%.

However, mercenaries also have their own countermeasures. Since they can’t fight head-on, then give full play to the characteristics of their own small team, break them into pieces, avoid the wolf cavalry patrolling by the orcs, and reach more than thirty north of Thor Fortress. Km area.

So after a few days of silence, General Keynst was once again filled with all kinds of intelligence, and these contents were mutually corroborated with the information obtained by General Keynst before, and they immediately filled in many of the previous intelligence collection work. blank.

It’s a pity that the good times didn’t last long. The orcs soon became aware of the practices of human mercenaries. They adopted more stringent measures and increased the density of inspections. They also deliberately set up a lot of traps to ambush soldiers and snipe human secrets Infiltrated mercenary.

Infiltration and reverse osmosis, between humans and orcs, Beast Blood Fort and Thor Fortress, thrilling battles are staged every day. This performance may be the victory of human mercenaries, who cleverly deceived the orcs’ scouts. Infiltrated the opponent's territory, but in the next game, it is likely that more orc wolf cavalry will enclose these successfully infiltrated mercenary regiments within a certain range, and then slowly compress their space of activity, and finally annihilate them.

The most disadvantaged place for mercenaries is in the vast prairie, it is difficult to hide their whereabouts.Humans and orcs are two completely different races, no matter in appearance or language, they have nothing in common. The war two hundred years ago caused the two sides to be in absolute opposition, and it was impossible to get close to their opponents.And it’s only spring, the grassland is full of vitality but the water plants are growing, and it’s impossible for the dense grass to hide the mercenaries. Once they are spotted by the enemy, they will be followed by ten times their own wolf cavalry. .

On the vast grassland, the walking mercenaries can't compete with the wolf cavalry with good mobility and impact. Once they fall into the circle of orcs, it means stepping into the arms of death.No matter how good a mercenary, no matter how tacitly cooperated, it can only prolong the life of a few days and linger.

After three mercenary groups with more than 500 people announced their abandonment of the mission, the task of "gathering intelligence" once again left the sight of the mercenaries and was shelved by the mercenary guild.General Keenster smiled bitterly at the loss record in front of him. In just seventeen days, human mercenaries lost nearly three hundred people, but their footprints have never been within ten kilometers of the Beast Blood Fort. There is no way to provide yourself with the dynamics of the main orc army.

General Keenster couldn't help being thankful that he was able to defend himself in the Thor Fortress. If his army were on the prairie without defense facilities, he would have been defeated long ago.Without getting the enemy's intelligence and unable to contain the mobility of the opponent's wolf cavalry, his army is completely passively beaten.

Thor fortress is not without cavalry, but General Keenster dare not use it easily.

There are a total of 200,000 elite troops in Thor Fortress, of which only 10,000 cavalry, and heavy knights who charge forward, it is impossible to fight against the opponent's scout troops. If General Keenster did that. , The happiest one is the commander of the orc army. Even if five orc wolf cavalry are replaced by a human reloaded knight, the orcs readily agree, but humans cannot withstand such a big loss, because once the Thor Fortress loses this ten thousand weight With cavalry, the orcs no longer have to worry about human raids and counterattacks. Whether they attack or retreat, they don't have any worries.

In addition to the 10,000 knights, the Thor Fortress also has 40,000 bow and arrow shooters and 150,000 infantry. If General Keenster and these troops fight the orcs on the vast prairie, they will inevitably fall into a situation where they cannot attack and retreat. Passively beaten.

Since ancient times, on the prairie, the cavalry can rely on their mobility to win one enemy ten. If the infantry wants to gain the upper hand, they must rely on several or even ten times their military strength, cannibalize the opponent’s possible supplies, and force the enemy and their main force. decisive battle.But if the orcs would rather give up the land and avoid fighting, the final result of the human army is to eat the last food and retreat in a desperate manner. At that time, the orcs have the best chance to fight back.

Therefore, General Keenster has always admired Fernando I's courage, and under the premise that the mainland is waiting to be thriving, he even used his country's power to build the Thor Fortress to avoid dealing with the orcs on the prairie.Using this solid fortress to block the orcs from going south, forcing the orcs to give up their advantages and fight the humans under the walls of the Thor Fortress.

Now, General Keynster can only hope that the reinforcements of the imperial capital can arrive earlier. He has sent out five letters asking for help.In the most recent letter, General Keenster elaborated on the strengths and weaknesses of the Thor Fortress garrison, hoping to get the support of the Imperial Knights.

It is a pity that these letters were not heard after they arrived in the imperial capital. This made General Keynst anxious, but there was nothing to do. After all, he didn’t even know where the opponent’s main army was stationed. It was three months after sending the emergency messenger. I haven't seen any orc army arrive at Thor fortress. If the imperial capital's reinforcements arrive, General Keenster still doesn't know how to explain everything in front of them.

Maybe the only thing we can do now is to wait patiently?Whether it is the reinforcement of the imperial capital or the army of the orcs, what should come will always come.