Chapter 1355: Chapter 255: The Birth of a Legend_2
Under normal circumstances, even if ambushed by the enemy’s main forces, the army should be able to hold out for a long ti.
Currently, Alpha Kingdom’s main forces are confronting the enemy at the frontlines. The troops that can be mobilized number just sixty or seventy thousand at most.
A attacking force with over twentyfold nurical superiority, especially given that they’re defending—how could they possibly lose?
Especially since the frontline defense against potential enemy ambushes comprises thirty thousand troops, mostly from the armies of the royal family.
Thirty thousand main forces combined with a million-strong Orc Army—no matter how you look at it, this is the configuration for a decisive battle. To be completely routed in disarray is utterly inconceivable.
If it weren’t for the retreating fugitives telling the sa story, Daniel might even suspect they were enemy spies sent to sow discord among his ranks.
No ti for post-conflict reflection; a group of Emperors and Kings showed up, their gloomy expressions revealing their terrible moods at this mont.
If the losses had mainly been ordinary Orc Soldiers, they might still be reconciled. But the loss of elite forces struck directly at everyone’s psychological limits.
Among the assembled Emperors and Kings, only the Hawkman Emperor’s mood seed slightly better.
As the Empire’s only Air Force, considered a prized military branch, their primary role was scouting and countering the Human Race’s air forces. They didn’t have to fight over limited resting grounds like other species.
A temporary retreat allowed them to avoid a crisis, yet the Hawkman Emperor’s emotions at this mont were still a tangled ss.
Of course, even if the Air Force encounters an inferno consuming their camps, it wouldn’t impact their ability to flee.
In the pitch-black chaos, the enemy, even if trying to stop them, could hardly intercept them.
“Marshal Daniel, with the rear units suffering heavy losses, do you have anything to say?”
The Bearman Emperor angrily questioned.
There was no doubt that His Majesty’s patience had reached its limit. Without even seeing the enemy’s shadow, three Bearman Infantry Corps had perished in a sea of fire.
The humiliation of fighting a war in this manner was unprecedented. Although, in the past, they often suffered losses under Hudson, at least they’d fought back!
The shared frustration among those present mirrored the Bearman Emperor’s fury. With such a disaster unfolding, the Commander in Chief surely could not escape culpability.
After a mont’s hesitation and organizing his thoughts, Daniel replied, “Your Majesty the Bear King, no one wanted to see such an event unfold!
But there’s no way around it—the enemy is the continent’s top commander, soone who excels at turning impossible situations into reality.
If you don’t believe , go look at the history books. Setting a hundred-mile line of camps ablaze—besides Hudson, who else could pull off such a feat?
Rember, encamping by water has been a long-standing tradition. For countless years, there’s been no precedent for this sort of disaster!
With no prior occurrences, who could have foreseen this?
At the end of the day, it’s all because the enemy is so despicable and cunning!”
If this were a bloody confrontation with mutual heavy losses, they could still stomach it. But this ti, the losses were entirely one-sided!
The precise casualty numbers for the enemy remained unclear, but based on the information from retreating soldiers, it was evident their losses were negligible.
In this context, scapegoating beca inevitable. Such catastrophic losses were unbearable for anyone to shoulder alone.
Without a convenient scapegoat, the only explanation left was that the enemy was simply too formidable. Besides, it wasn’t the first ti the Orc Empire had hyped up Hudson’s prowess publicly—playing into the narrative wasn’t shaful.
At least this argunt could silence the Bearman Emperor since he himself had been the first to praise Hudson.
Judging by His Majesty’s expression, it was clear his emotions were complex. Years ago, he had praised Hudson rely to save face, never expecting that the boasts would now beco reality.
With these self-proclaid “stepping stones” and prior victories piling up, Hudson was destined to ascend to divine status following this battle!
Future historians studying the near-modern history of the Orc Empire could simply research in reverse: “How the Continent’s Greatest Commander Was Forged.”
“Marshal Daniel, Hudson is an adversary we’ve faced frequently; we all understand how powerful he is. I don’t think this is a point worth further discussion.
The issue at hand isn’t about how skilled the enemy is but rather how we should proceed in this war.
At this stage, the enemy’s losses are negligible, while the Empire is already severely weakened.
If we cannot take effective asures to prevent similar events, we’ll suffer even greater setbacks in the continuation of this war!”
The Lionman King said solemnly.
The phrase “greater setbacks” was rely a euphemism; in truth, he had lost all faith in victory for the ongoing war.
No matter how they approached it, every clash with Hudson ended up with the Orc Empire on the losing side—even when possessing an overwhelming nurical advantage.
Having endured so many defeats, encountering Hudson once again on the battlefield now caused an automatic ntal disadvantage.
Their past self-aggrandizing exaggerations had even started to convince themselves.
Worse, this sentint wasn’t just confined to a couple of individuals—it had beco widespread consensus.
Confronting such shifts in morale left Daniel powerless. After a series of failures, even he was beginning to grow accustod to losing.
As a Commander in Chief, this “resignation to defeat” was undoubtedly fatal.
Clearing his mind and recognizing the severity of the situation, Daniel quickly spoke to mitigate matters: “Your Majesty need not worry too much; Hudson is mortal, not divine!
No matter how extraordinary his personal abilities, he is still constrained by the Alpha Kingdom’s national strength.
Since we cannot compete with him in tactics, let’s shift our approach. Moving forward, we’ll fortify strongholds, engage in attritional warfare, and grind them down directly!”
The simplest strategies are often the most effective. The fancier the plans beco, the more prone they are to complications.
Especially for the Orc Empire, a nation plagued with internal strife, military campaigns must emphasize practicality above all else.
However, this straightforward thod was too close to the truth and failed to align with the mainstream pursuit of legendary commanders—it seed difficult for others to accept.
From their reactions, Daniel could tell his position had been shaken. Following a series of setbacks, their trust in him wasn’t what it used to be.
…
In the Jade Palace, upon receiving the battle updates, Caesar IV’s first reaction was that the statistics were incorrect.
Victory on the frontlines wouldn’t surprise him. Hudson had won so many battles in the past that Caesar had long since grown accustod to it.
But the staggering enemy casualty report and the astonishingly skewed “exchange ratio” were simply exaggerations.
Since when did the Kingdom’s combat performance trics start being calculated in millions?
To Caesar IV, scratching off two zeros from the reported enemy casualties would make the numbers more believable.
With Hudson’s “Halo of the Famous General,” achieving a victory with less than a thousand losses while vanquishing over ten thousand troops was acceptable.
After carefully reviewing every detail of the battle report and confirming there were no recording errors, Caesar IV was utterly dumbfounded.
Was this a war?
No, this was a legendary miracle!
A force of fifty thousand wiping out a million-strong army and obliterating the enemy’s primary forces—this was nothing like conventional warfare!
“Have the figures been verified?”
Caesar IV asked, his voice trembling.
The news was so shocking he needed ti to process it. Even though he knew such high-stakes reports were unlikely to contain errors, he still couldn’t imdiately absorb the information.
“Your Majesty, please rest assured!
The scale of this victory was too imnse.
Before reporting to you, the Military Departnt extensively cross-verified the numbers, confirms from multiple sources, ensuring their accuracy before presenting it.”
The Minister of Defense responded enthusiastically.
Victory on the frontlines ant shared glory for the Military Departnt. Count Ackman, who hadn’t contributed much, was brimming with joy at being handed such a monuntal achievent.
Having verified the military accomplishnts, he wasted no ti presenting himself to Caesar IV for accolades. As to the legendary nature of the achievent, it hardly concerned Ackman, who was eager to bolster his political standing.
…
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