- Fantasy Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence
- FLDI Chapter 118
**Chapter 118: The Kingdom’s Reinforcements and a Mysterious Parchment**
Before the fortress, the battle raged on. Time moved slowly as the defenses grew increasingly strained.
On the first day, they managed to hold on with difficulty. On the second day, two earth knights fell, but they still barely held the line. By the dawn of the third day, however, the situation took a drastic turn.
Marquis Layman was ambushed by a fourth-tier orc while fighting a third-tier peak orc, leaving him severely injured. Meanwhile, Duke Karlenia, already struggling against three fourth-tier orcs, was besieged by a fourth. The entire defense line began to falter.
“Boom!”
“Boom boom!”
Magic crystal cannons blasted waves of destructive energy, mowing down scores of orcs. Yet, more surged forward, undeterred, throwing themselves into the fray. This attack was far larger than any previous assault, threatening to overwhelm the defenses.
“Damn it! What’s going on?” Duke Karlenia gritted his teeth, blood trickling from his mouth as he faced down the four fourth-tier orcs. Even with his precious artifact, he could hardly hold out.
At that moment, two streaks of light slashed into the sky. A calm, almost taunting voice reached his ears.
“Duke Karlenia, this isn’t like you—looking so desperate!”
“Boom!”
A massive surge of life force cut through the sky, slicing a fourth-tier minotaur down and sending it crashing back. Moments later, another fourth-tier orc met a similar fate, eyes wide with shock as it plummeted.
A tall man with golden hair and piercing green eyes hovered in the air, a wry smile on his bearded face. Beside him was a dark-clad figure, as if wrapped in shadows.
“You two are late!” Duke Karlenia’s strained smile faded, replaced by relief.
The blond man chuckled.
“Well, we couldn’t let you get yourself killed here.”
With renewed resolve, the trio joined forces, quickly dispatching the remaining fourth-tier orcs. From above, more figures descended onto the battlefield—elite forces from the kingdom and the three dukes. The assault was quickly crushed. Meanwhile, the kingdom’s elite Earth Dragon Knight Corps arrived, spearheaded by three sky knights and dozens of earth knights.
By morning, the battlefield lay silent. Corpses of orcs blanketed the ground, their blood staining everything red. It was here that the kingdom finally demonstrated its immense strength. After this victory, the work of clearing the battlefield, restoring defenses, and fortifying the line began in earnest.
A few days later, though occasional orc attacks persisted, they were effortlessly repelled by the kingdom’s second wave of reinforcements. However, while the immediate turmoil had subsided, there remained pressing issues within the Northern Province.
“Everyone, let’s discuss our next steps.” Duke Karlenia addressed the gathered council in the war room. Three dukes and ten marquises had assembled, waiting to strategize their next moves.
“Though we’ve secured the defensive line, many orc tribes still roam the Northern Province. I request permission to lead a clearing mission.” Marquis Layman, now awake but visibly weakened, was the first to speak.
“Indeed. The northern region is in chaos. We need to reestablish order.” Duke Karlenia exchanged glances with the other two dukes before issuing his commands.
“Marquis Layman, take Earl Chelmi, Earl Anchel, and Earl Bonatu with you and begin the clearing.”
The noblemen exchanged nods and quickly accepted their assignments.
“Also, we need to find out why these orc tribes suddenly attacked. This timing is highly unusual.” Duke Karlenia added.
The assembled nobility quickly agreed. This latest attack had been odd: normally, a raid of this size would include fifth-tier orcs and potentially lead to a full-scale orc war. But this time, only second and third-tier tribes had taken part. Something seemed off, and it was imperative to understand what.
As the discussions continued, they reviewed defense strategies and preparations for future orc assaults. By the time the meeting adjourned, there was a shared resolve: they would uncover the truth behind the orc invasion and restore peace to the Northern Province.
The council meeting concluded, and one by one, the nobles began to carry out their tasks.
Marquis Layman and several other earls started their mission by clearing the area surrounding the defensive line. Meanwhile, more forces were dispatched to strengthen defenses and conduct investigations.
As time passed, Marquis Layman’s efforts went smoothly. Despite the significant losses they had suffered, the orc tribes that had infiltrated the Northern Province were generally weak and unable to withstand their force. Meanwhile, the kingdom’s reinforcements quickly restored the defensive line.
The only challenge lay in uncovering the reason behind the orc invasion, but progress was slow, and they had few leads. Still, the nobles weren’t too concerned—something would eventually come to light. For now, the kingdom’s defenses were stable, and as long as high-tier orc tribes like the Behemoths stayed out of the fray, there was little cause for alarm.
As reinforcements reached the kingdom’s defenses, a deeper menace brewed within the orc territories.
In an underground cavern, blood-red mist filled the air, and countless bloodthirsty werewolves with crimson eyes channeled streams of blood into a massive central altar. Had anyone traced these bloodlines, they would have discovered that they extended beyond the orc tribes and into nearby human territories.
The blood of both fallen orcs and human knights seeped into the earth, converging at this altar. Yet no one had realized this grim transformation.
“More… I need more!”
“Soon, it will be time! Anubis, you will walk the earth once more!”
The werewolf chieftain, his fur slowly turning blood-red, looked upon the altar with fanaticism. Suddenly, a surge of energy was interrupted, and the flow of blood paused as if blocked.
“What’s happening?” he snarled.
A smaller werewolf scrambled forward. “Chief, the Tulip Kingdom’s reinforcements broke through. The heretical cult failed to hold them back.”
“Useless! Are they fools?” The chieftain’s anger flared, releasing a terrifying aura that swept through the cavern, forcing the lesser werewolf to bow under the pressure, his body quivering.
“Send for Val and his tribe! They are to strike the Tulip Kingdom at once!”
“Tell him that Anubis demands more sacrifice! And spread the artifacts to those other tribes—they may find them… enticing.”
As the werewolf minions hurried to obey, none in the Tulip Kingdom noticed this growing anomaly, for the werewolf stronghold lay deep in orc territory, far beyond the reach of human knowledge. Nonetheless, the Tulip Kingdom soon discovered strange items: peculiar scrolls of parchment.
These parchments, initially gathered during battlefield searches, bore unusual symbols. Later, Marquis Layman’s troops found even more during their clearing operations.
“This is written in Titan script!” Noted Duke Karlenia, his brow furrowed as he inspected the parchments.
“Can any of you read this?” he asked the others with concern.
“Only the orcs know this language. It needs to go to the capital for decoding,” the blond, bearded duke replied with a frown.
“I agree,” added the black-clad duke. “Besides a few specialists, only the scholars in the capital could decipher this.”
Nodding, Duke Karlenia agreed. As he gazed at the parchments, a sense of unease took hold. He couldn’t shake the feeling that these mysterious scrolls might hold the key to understanding the recent orc invasion.
The parchments were swiftly dispatched to the capital. Over the next ten days, while minor orc skirmishes continued, the kingdom’s forces easily subdued them. Yet something about their findings continued to feel unusual.
The initial discoveries of these parchments were kept quiet, with many nobles hoping they were treasure maps. But as more surfaced—three, ten, twenty—their abundance suggested a different story entirely.
Soon, Duke Karlenia and his fellow nobles found themselves with over twenty of these parchments. It became clear that almost every orc tribe, whether second-tier, third-tier, or even fourth-tier, possessed one.