The sun was shining high, and waves of heat were coming, and the earth seemed to be roasted. It was obviously the end of summer, and autumn was about to enter, but the temperature was surprisingly high, even hotter than the previous midsummer.
a bit.
It's just that in this weather, people who should be busy still have to work hard. The entire Northland is scrambling for time, whether it is various projects or soldier training, all are racing against time.
However, the labor force in the North has increased a lot now. After several months of kobold trade, there are at least more than a million kobolds working everywhere in the North. These kobolds are short in stature and have little strength, but they are
One advantage that humans don't have is that they have very good endurance. Human workers sweat profusely after working on a construction site for a while and need to drink some heat-relieving soup to take a break. However, kobolds only need to drink a few sips of water, stick out their tongues and continue working.
Alive.
However, now kobolds have a new use. A group of kobolds that are nearly 1.5 meters tall and look "majestic and extraordinary" have been assembled in Miracle City.
These ten thousand kobolds are elites carefully selected from millions of kobolds. They are generally a head taller than other kobolds, and their muscles are also bulging. They are not as thin as ordinary people. If you must take a beating
For example, these kobolds are as stocky and strong as bullies.
From the moment they were selected, they escaped the fate of slave labor and became glorious cannon fodder.
Of course, these kobolds did not feel as depressed as cannon fodder. Instead, they all held their heads high and felt full of superiority in front of a group of fellow tribesmen who were mining and building roads. In the distance, they were still sweating for the construction of infrastructure projects in the North.
The kobolds would occasionally take advantage of the supervisors not paying attention and cast envious eyes at this team, wishing they could be selected into this team.
As for the danger of losing one's life in battle, it is generally not within the scope of these kobolds' considerations. In fact, kobolds have long been accustomed to life and death. They have a yearning for life but their fear of death is not very strong, or they have not reached that point.
For a moment, most kobolds felt that they were not afraid of death.
Instead of worrying about being killed on the battlefield later, it is better to worry about whether you can finish today's work and get enough food to feed your belly. The most enviable thing about these kobolds who have been selected into the army is that they can eat freely.
There are rye steamed buns to keep you full, and you can also eat refined grains and fatty meats that ordinary kobolds can't eat.
The envious glances cast by fellow warriors in the distance made the kobold warriors in the team raise their chests even higher, trying to make their height of less than 1.5 meters tall appear to be 2 meters tall.
Master Haba has said that this time they will follow the great Master Richard to eliminate the enemy. As long as they return victorious, they will be able to get rid of their labor status and successfully become a kobold foreman and get an independent kennel.
After gaining merit, like Master Haba, you can also get several beautiful kobold girls to serve as maids, and live a life of dogs on dogs. Therefore, the morale of this 10,000-person kobold army is still very high at this time, and they are even eager to hurry up.
battlefield.
However, although Richard had some intentions of using the kobolds as cannon fodder, the equipment he was given was quite sophisticated. They were all customized according to the kobold's figure. This was because of the large-scale professional ordnance factory and hydraulic forging technology.
Due to the assembly line management method, the production capacity of armor weapons in the North even tends to overflow, so even kobolds are qualified to wear armor.
These kobolds basically wear a simplified version of cloth armor, colored in the traditional blue and white colors of the Hunter family. Only the helmet is still the earliest iron-bone animal skin helmet, and they carry a small bag and shovel on their backs.
A set of equipment such as a short spear and a small machete, and some also come with woodcutting tools.
"quiet!"
As the kobold officer shouted loudly, the kobold army that had been barking just now became quiet, except for the occasional whining sound that could not be suppressed.
"Good day, your distinguished lord, Duke."
Richard's arrival made the kobold officers a little nervous. After following the humans for a few months, these smart kobolds had learned a lot about some human behaviors. At least they would do their job to save face when the big shots came.
Okay, now the officers are working hard to suppress the kobold soldiers who are still making strange noises. And Haba, the leader, runs up to Richard in a hurry.
"Well, get up, there's no need to kneel."
"Thank you, Lord Duke."
Seeing that there was a little confusion in front of him, but there were still several kobolds listed in the phalanx, Richard was actually quite satisfied. At least Lint did a good job in what he told him, and he produced such a batch in three months.
It was also very difficult for the kobold soldiers who were neatly equipped and looked like an army. Richard had seen the virtues of kobolds in fighting before, so he rushed in a swarm without any tactics or formations. He just relied on not being afraid of death.
And the quantity comes hard.
It's just that if you don't look closely at this kobold phalanx, Richard will see the feeling of little devils lining up. Is this height just right?
Shaking his head, Richard put aside the strange thoughts in his mind and ordered the officers on the side to continue training with the kobold army. He observed from the side to see how effective these kobolds were in combat.
As Richard's order was issued, the kobolds quickly dispersed into teams under the command of several human officers. The nominal general of this team was Haba, who was currently following Richard and bowing his head constantly, but the actual military
The command is actually still in the hands of a few human officers, and the lower-level officers of the kobolds are more accustomed to obeying the orders of human officers. The orders of these human officers are generally more reasonable and detailed, and they will not just grab the kobolds to eat, but they are better than eating them.
Human demons are much easier to serve.
As the human officers issued instructions, the kobolds began to demonstrate the results of several months of training in the spacious school grounds.
Use the short spear in your hand to stab the wooden target.
Hold the machete in both hands and make standard slashing movements.
They even started digging the ground to build a simple camp on the spot.
Because Richard was on the side reviewing, the kobold warriors performed even harder. The whole scene seemed to be the same thing. The only thing that made Richard feel inconsistent was that in such a passionate scene, there was a burst of noise from time to time.
Woofing sound.
Enduring a strong sense of disobedience, after watching the demonstration of this elite group of kobolds, Richard nodded with relief, turned back to Moriel and several senior officers who came to watch together and said:
"It's really reassuring that Lin Te is doing things there. These kobolds won't necessarily suffer a loss if they are used to fight against the kingdom's third-line defense forces."
"With the same number, the kingdom's third-line garrison will definitely be defeated by the kobolds. Although they are stronger than the kobolds, the gap is not so big that it cannot be made up. However, their morale and fighting will are completely incomparable to the kobold army.
.”
Moriel on the side praised these kobold warriors seriously, but at the end she added:
"Although their individual combat effectiveness is worrying, considering their firm will to fight and their large numbers, they are a good group of cannon fodder. They may be able to play a greater role under some special circumstances."
Moriel spoke straightforwardly, but she revealed Richard's position on the kobolds.
The so-called special circumstances, in Moriel's words, may refer to certain complex and rugged terrains where kobolds can move more flexibly, but a more unethical idea came to Richard's mind.
If kobolds add black powder, will it...
Forget it, this idea is too immoral. Unless it is absolutely necessary, Richard is still unwilling to do such an inhumane thing. Even if he is used as cannon fodder, he cannot be sent to do dirty work with a higher casualty rate.
Death and no life, these are two concepts.
"Yes, sir, the training cost of these kobolds is relatively low. Just give them stutters. If we train a few more legions, we can also increase our military strength."
Richard's wicked thoughts were interrupted by another general. After temporarily putting aside the idea of using the kobolds as secret agents, Richard replied:
"These are the elites carefully selected from the kobolds in the North. The quality of training a few more legions cannot be guaranteed. Let's wait until the Demon Suppression City captures some kobold slaves and then take our time. And after all, it's just for watching.
In order to watch them train, we have to wait until they have gone on the battlefield and experienced the test before we can correctly evaluate their combat effectiveness."
"Okay, let's order the logistics side that the food and grass for this kobold army must be supplied normally according to the standard of the regular army, and no deductions shall be made."
"Yes, sir."
The food consumption of ordinary kobolds is less than half of that of humans, but these kobolds, who are covered in tendon meat, obviously cannot be treated as ordinary kobolds. With such a large amount of training every day, the food intake must increase a lot. Richard is afraid of discrimination by the logistics people.
Kobold.
No, according to the urine of this era, discrimination is a completely normal thing. If Richard didn't give a special warning, it would be absolutely impossible for logistics to supply food and grass to the kobold army according to normal standards, and even the kobolds themselves would be treated differently.
It won't feel too big at all.
It's just that although Richard is not a holy mother, he is a very practical person. Next, these kobolds will have to work in the mountains of the northern dense forest. Even if they are cannon fodder, they will have to be fed well to have the strength to fight.
The group of people arrived suddenly and walked quickly. After watching the kobold training in the camp for a while, Richard and his people left the camp with Haba respectfully seeing them off. As the expedition was about to begin, Richard had a lot to deal with.
Not just here.
"Lord Richard."
"Lord Richard!"
"Lord Moriel."
Returning to the Duke's Palace, there were guards and waiters greeting Richard and Moriel behind him.
"How have you treated General Kurtz these two days?"
"Sir, General Kurtz has not left the Duke's Palace in the past two days except for one trip on the first day. Except for eating, he has been practicing martial arts in that side courtyard almost the whole day."
"Well, if General Kurtz has any requests, try to satisfy him. After all, he is a guest from the royal capital."
"Yes, Lord Richard."
After Kurtz came to Miracle City, apart from meeting him on the first day, Richard had no time to entertain him in the next two days. If the person who came was Sol, Richard might even stay with him for a while. A royal capital
The messenger is indeed not qualified to let Richard accompany him all day long.
Kurtz was also sensible. After getting Richard's accurate reply, he stayed in the Duke's Mansion without bothering Richard. In the past two days, he had even discovered the secret of Miracle City and practiced fighting qi efficiency here.
He actually improved a lot, and now he no longer had the motivation to bother Richard, and he enjoyed the joy of practicing quickly all day long.
When Richard heard about Kuz's recent news, he didn't care. He used Miracle City's special effects to promote it, and he wasn't afraid of other forces knowing about it.
He even hoped that Kurtz would spread the news to the royal capital, give him publicity, and lure a group of knights to seek refuge in the North. After all, Richard's series of actions in the North had given him a very bad image among the aristocracy of the kingdom.
, now the number of knights who come to seek refuge with him has decreased a lot. He must rely on other aspects to attract knights, but these are things for another time.
After asking about Kurtz's situation in the past two days, Richard returned to the hall of the Duke's Mansion, turned back to Moriel and asked:
"Moriel, do you have something to say to me?"
Moriel nodded and said:
"Does Lord Richard sincerely want to contribute to the kingdom and defeat the orcs?"
"It doesn't count. The 300,000 cavalry of the Ross family in the Western Region have already arrived on the central plain. I only plan to bring these 10,000 kobolds and the 5,000 rangers that Gru is training this time. The rest of the army will guard
Stay still in the Northland."
"No, sir, your contribution is no less than that of the Duke of the West. Just a few of our heroes, the dragon and some of the soldiers you plan to bring with you can already match the 300,000 cavalry."
"As long as the orc army breaks through the Dragon Breathing Pass, the royal capital will never be able to defend it. At that time, we will go all the way south from the north. After defeating the orcs, you will be the one to sit on the throne, and you will no longer have to accept them sitting in the royal capital and giving orders.
.”
"At that time, you will become the unique king of mankind. It is only a matter of time before you conquer all races and establish a great empire comparable to the ancient elves."
Moriel became more and more excited as she spoke, while Richard held his forehead with a headache.
Moriel's ambition disease is a little bit off. Looking at her state, she must have been holding it in for a long time. She has never had any righteousness for the human race in her heart. She herself cannot be considered a human being. What she expects is that the situation will become more chaotic.
Okay, as for whether the orcs will threaten the Northland after they break through the royal capital, Moriel is very confident that after the orcs defeat the Golden Dragon Kingdom, the Northland will develop for another year or two, and it will be easy to clean up the mess. It is logical.
Take over everything, there is no need to run to Longxingguan to fight desperately at this time.
"After defeating the orcs first, we still have the ability to go south and seize that position."
"But sir, this is a bit..."
"Needless to say, let's prepare for this battle now. Time is always on our side."
Richard refused very firmly. After all, Richard always had his own bottom line. He could rebel and seize the throne from his father-in-law, but he could not do anything like borrowing the help of foreigners to clear the way for him.
Moriel didn't try to persuade him any more. Fortunately, although Moriel had a personality, she only persuaded him verbally, and she still respected Richard as the lord in action.
If he really recruits an abnormal undead hero like Sandro, he might cause some trouble for Richard.
When looking at the back of Moriel leaving, Richard inexplicably thought of Sandro, who he almost recruited, and he was still a little scared. Moriel, Gru, and Siaire were already considered problematic heroes. If they really did it, they would definitely
The appearance of the evil hero really gave Richard a headache...