Chapter Fifteen: Upgrades and New Attire

A pitched battle involving over seventy thousand troops on both sides concluded perfectly after Sun Li stormed into the heart of the Tiger Tribe. Apart from a few scattered orcs who managed to escape, the allied orc tribes were utterly annihilated. In the entire southern frontier of the Orc Empire up to its directly governed territories, there was no orc army left capable of threatening Sun Li. Of course, along the way, there remained countless small orc tribes that seemed impossible to eradicate completely. These minor tribes mainly served to provide the empire with food and mineral resources. The more formidable groups had long since been forcibly relocated by the emperor to the imperial capital, Sanctaren, for easier control and to be trained into a standing army.

"Victory!" Sun Li's heart surged with excitement. To defeat sixty thousand orc warriors with less than ten thousand main force troops—no matter how backward the enemy might be—was a feat worth celebrating. Coupled with the abundant spoils of war, how could he not be elated?

This engagement cost 5,169 casualties, of whom 2,256 were saved thanks to timely treatment, but the rest were beyond help. Nonetheless, the value of the loot seized exceeded 130,000 gold, more than enough for Sun Li to equip and raise an even stronger army.

To think that recruiting these troops initially had only cost a few tens of thousands of gold! Besides the gold, the harvest of over seventy thousand points also thrilled Sun Li, who was already pondering how best to distribute this newfound wealth.

This battle was, without question, a baptism by fire for Sun Li—not only gaining large-scale combat experience but also securing rich spoils, ensuring the Song Kingdom’s foundation for a meteoric rise!

With the aftermath properly arranged, Sun Li left behind the Mamluk Guard Cavalry and dispatched most of the other main forces to sweep through the orc empire, clearing away the troublesome small and medium tribes, reaping more points, and preparing for the next campaign against the empire.

System farmers, who had arrived with the supply train, established a military base atop the ruins of the Tiger Tribe. This location was chosen because it was the most fertile land within a hundred miles—rich, oil-soaked soil and sweet, fresh spring water. No wonder the orcs had multiplied so prolifically; this continent was simply too bountiful!

Barracks, stables, armories, a town center—one after another, system military structures rose from the ground in the Tiger Tribe region. In just a single day, an orderly military encampment appeared on the plain.

This would be Sun Li’s forward base for the assault on the Orc Empire. To commemorate this victory, he named the plain Tiger Plain.

Once the camp was settled, Sun Li recalled all his troops from the field to fully rearm and replenish the army. Now flush with wealth, Sun Li generously upgraded the Viking warriors to heavily armored Great Axe Assault Infantry.

Clad in heavy armor, steel helmets on their heads, and wielding terrifying two-handed great axes, anyone who saw them would believe that a single sweep from these axes would lay all before them to the ground. For anyone—no matter how strong—who took a blow from such a weapon, it would be sheer luck if their body remained in one piece.

From among the shield and spear infantry, one thousand were upgraded to Giant Shield Infantry, specializing in defense. These soldiers carried three-meter-high shields between two men and wore leather armor with long swords for self-defense.

Paired with upgraded ultra-long spearmen, the orcs' rudimentary ranged attacks would be helpless against this hedgehog-like phalanx. In battle with orcs, Sun Li had discovered their hot-tempered nature: whenever they outnumbered the enemy, they would always launch the first assault, their shock power far surpassing that of humans. Thus, Sun Li devised a tortoise-shell phalanx—giant shields in the front, with long spears protruding from the gaps, forming densely layered lines. Any charging orc would find themselves at a loss.

Crossbowmen and longbowmen were already the farthest-reaching and most powerful ranged units of the cold weapon era, so there was no need to upgrade them.

Finally, impressed by the cavalry’s ability to punch through enemy lines, Sun Li decided to invest most of his gold in recruiting heavily armored cavalry! He raised one thousand fully plate-armored knights, equipped with cavalry lances and sabers, steel-helmed with faceplates that could be lowered in battle, revealing only their eyes; even their warhorses were sheathed in heavy barding. The whole squadron looked like an army of steel cans!

Their might was awe-inducing, but so was the expense. Once again, Sun Li’s gold reserves were nearly depleted, and he couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly money was spent compared to how quickly it could be earned!

Thus, Sun Li threw himself into the rigorous training and integration of his newly formed units, striving to maximize their combat effectiveness. One thousand heavy cavalry, two hundred Mamluks, three thousand ultra-long spearmen, and a thousand giant shield infantry formed an impenetrable wall of steel. With the addition of archers, crossbows, ballistae, and torsion catapults, Sun Li felt confident even at the prospect of facing an orc army a million strong!

As for the points, after elevating his personal martial abilities to the level of a low-ranked knight and acquiring basic combat skills, Sun Li discovered that advancing to a high-ranked knight would require a staggering one hundred thousand points!

If he wished to wield battle aura, Sun Li could only grit his teeth and save his points, planning to rise to the rank of Great Knight in one leap after destroying the Orc Empire. For once that campaign was won, he intended to travel across Europa, to truly witness for himself the world’s highest technological civilization and martial prowess.

If the opposition proved weak, he could simply sweep through them with brute force. If they were formidable, then he would play the prudent local tyrant, seeking a powerful ally before making his next move.

With dreams of unifying the world, Sun Li plunged into feverish preparations for war.

Meanwhile, Emperor Barhammer of the Orc Empire received two pieces of news at once. The first, naturally, was that a human force called the Song Kingdom had appeared on the southern frontier, annihilating the Tiger Tribe and its vassals, dispatching troops to scour the orc tribes, and killing orcs almost up to the borders of Sanctaren!

Had the second message not been even more urgent, Barhammer would have already marched out in fury to crush these audacious humans at his doorstep!

The second message was that the Madrian Empire—which had been locked in war with him for more than a century—had finally clashed with the newly emerged Anglian Empire. Though they were only probing each other for now, it was clear to everyone that the decisive battle for leadership of the southern continent’s human realms was imminent!

Barhammer’s wariness of the Madrian army, which had dominated the Orc Empire for over a hundred years, far exceeded his concern about Sun Li’s army, which was still equipped with cold weapons.

Barhammer’s thinking was simple: as long as the enemy lacked cannons, a million orc troops could sweep aside all resistance! So, if he could drive out those advanced-weapon-wielding Madrids, the Orc Empire could truly rest easy and return to the days of continental supremacy! Never mind the possibility that, even if defeated, the enemy might regroup and return.

Just as Barhammer was mobilizing a million-strong army and preparing to lead them personally into battle, Amaskia von Wilhelm, the Governor of the Southern Road for the Madrian Empire, did the unexpected—he led all remaining regular troops out of the city to meet the Anglians in open field battle!