Offer a Tribute and Become an Archmage - Chapter 221



Only Noblemtl

Episode 221.

A great victory for Hopper’s army.

The Battle of Lapain ended like this.

The end of a battle always ends with checking the loot. Normally, it would be a fun and tidy situation, but this time it wasn’t so fun.

“There are no beggars.”

For some reason, the orcs didn’t wear iron except for their weapons. Most of them were wrapped in animal skins or bones, which they thought looked cool. Of course, they had iron…

“It looks like the soldiers were trying to gather iron and make an axe.”

“These kids really don’t have any answers.”

They were melting down the armor of northern soldiers and knights and making axes. Judging from the pile of lumps of iron, it doesn’t seem like they used proper blacksmithing techniques. They were just roughly melting and pounding it, which was a waste. It’s because armor is more expensive than lumps of iron.

“How can this not be used?”

“You can use it. It just takes time.”

Melting iron again and making armor is a difficult task for anyone who is not a skilled blacksmith. Even plate armor can vary greatly depending on the blacksmith’s skill.

Looking at the piled up lumps of iron like a mountain, Ronobe’s mouth watered.

‘Should I give it all to Bonka?’

But that’s a bit of a shame.

Because with Vivian’s magic, there is no need to use expensive iron.

“There are people here!”

One of the soldiers shouted.

Ron and Tibal ran to check, followed by Ronobe and Liam. Most of the buildings in Lapain Castle had collapsed due to Ronobe’s blast, but the prison in the basement seemed to be intact.

“It collapsed a little, but we confirmed that there were people alive inside!”

It was tea time.

He was a man with a black beard and black hair. He was an elite soldier who gradually rose to prominence as a private with a large scar running from his forehead to his cheek.

He was also a knight candidate along with Ron.

Unlike Ron, who was a helpless torturer, he was a soldier of Jerba and was definitely respectful to his superiors.

“Can it be recovered?”

“uh…”

“You can do it.”

Unlike Ron, who answered vaguely, Tibal answered clearly. Ronobe answered while tapping the iron helmet that Ron was wearing.

“He is a survivor of Lapain. If we rescue him, we can hear something. Take the soldiers and rescue him first.”

“All right.”

“yes.”

Even in a battle where victory was achieved, casualties were inevitable for the allies. Those who were destined to die would fall forward and have their heads broken. Ronobe no longer cared much about the deaths of his soldiers. It was not that he did not regret their deaths, but there was nothing he could do about it.

“Benny. How is it?”

“It’s all destroyed, so there’s not much of anything useful. But since we have Lirun and Peter, we’ll be able to repair the wall in no time. Joke makes the dirt and pours water on it, and Peter uses his magic to raise it and cover the wall.”

The combination of Joke and Peter seemed to be better than expected. The vines of Lirun combined with the covered dirt created something stronger than most castle walls. The castle was completely destroyed and of little value, but there had to be a place to rest for a while.

It was a necessary measure.

“You have taken good care of your disciples, Ronobe.”

“I know.”

Beni glanced around and patted Ronobe on the butt. After receiving the compliment, Ronobe kissed Beni on the cheek.

After seeing a lot of blood, it seemed like today was going to be a hot night.

“Did you have any food?”

“Unfortunately, there wasn’t much food. Even if there was food, it wasn’t edible.”

“Really? Then I guess I’ll have to go hunting for the first time in a while.”

Food is running low. I thought we could get food from the villages in the north, but looking at the situation, it seems like it will be difficult to do that in any village. We have no choice but to supply ourselves.

“What about Nas?”

“Cleaning up the corpses. Maybe it’s because he has four arms, or maybe he’s just strong, he just picks up the big orcs and throws them.”

When I looked at where Benny was pointing, I saw Nas actually catching and throwing orcs bigger than himself. When I heard a thumping sound coming from somewhere, it was the sound of Nas throwing orcs.

“Can you leave it like that?”

“It won’t matter if we burn everything. The rest will be eaten by wild animals. Then I can make arrow holes in their heads and we can have some food.”

Beni’s hands were covered in wounds as he pretended to shoot arrows into the air. It seemed that he had shot his bow quite a lot in battle. As a result, his hands were quite bruised and injured. Ronobe immediately took out a potion and poured it on Beni’s hands.

“This much is okay.”

“I’m not okay.”

I also gave him a new totem for Manchun.

I don’t know about other people, but I had to take special care of Benny. Benny, who was smiling bashfully, leaned his head against Ronobe’s chest for a moment.

“Baron! We have rescued the survivors!!”

It was Ron.

“Okay, go.”

“Go home. I’ll go and clean up the area with Sir Nas.”

“Yeah, don’t push yourself too hard.”

After parting ways with Benny, Ronobé swung his cloak and headed towards the group of survivors.

“Liam.”

“Behold, this is Baron Ronove de Hopper, the rightful heir to the Hopper estate and the White Wizard of the realm.”

The group of survivors numbered roughly thirty people.

If it’s strange, there was something strange.

“They’re all old people.”

“Yes… I am an old soldier.”

Did the orcs have a habit of being considerate of their elders? Strangely enough, only the elderly remained.

“Meet Baron Hopper.”

As he was a man from the North, his eyes were alive, but he didn’t look very energetic. Ronobe asked without much expectation.

“Old man. I believe you are the only survivors of Lapain. Do you know why the Orcs have spared you?”

“Because they are old. Orcs don’t treat old people like warriors. Young women can have children, so they commit adultery, but old people don’t do that. So the orcs don’t kill old people, but just imprison them.”

“I see.”

The reason was simpler than I thought.

“But we can fight.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We are Northerners… Dying old is not permitted in the North. If you give us only a sword and shield, we will follow you and protect the North!”

“… that.”

It’s quite a confusing story.

Although the private soldiers have died quite a bit, I don’t want to fill them with old people. They are the kind of people who would break easily if you hit them. They are old for no reason. I didn’t want to take along people who couldn’t even hold out against orcs.

“Baron. How about taking him with you?”

It was tea time.

Ronobe was about to say something about taking the old man away, but held back. The old men were there, and Tibal, unlike Ron, was an experienced soldier.

“Why?”

“These are veterans who left active duty long ago, but stayed in the castle to train soldiers. If we join together, it might be of great help in training the soldiers.”

“… Really?”

“It’s shameful, but yes, there are those among us who are obsessed with our past glory, including me.”

Old glory.

“Was it a knight?”

“I was just a knight who met a good master. It’s just a faded past.”

It means that he lived as a soldier, but his abilities were recognized and he pledged loyalty as a knight of the territory. It is said that he retired when his former master died and lived as a training instructor teaching soldiers.

“Didn’t you fight?”

“The Lord of Lapain ordered us to flee with the woman and child. However, we were caught along the way…”

It was said that there was no chance to fight.

Not all of the thirty-year-old men were knights. Only a few of them were knights, and the rest lived as soldiers, as was typical of northerners.

Ronobe readily agreed to accompany them. The representative figure among the old men was named Lopin.

“Lord Lopin.”

“You can call me Lopin. I’m not a knight anymore…”

“Lopin. We lack information. We don’t even know how far the North has been occupied. We need your strength.”

“This will be our last battle. I am prepared to sacrifice myself for immortality. I will tell you everything I know.”

The answer was refreshing, but since he was locked up, Lopin didn’t know the details.

But this is only a rough guess.

“Drunk,” Lopin said, taking a stick and drawing a map on the ground.

“It’s been two months since Laphine was eaten. So they’ve probably passed Godric and are probably on the verge of Galindrock.”

From Godric to Galindrock.

It is located northeast of La Paine.

Galindrock is further east than that.

It’s the eastern end.

“Why didn’t the Orcs move south, but instead tried to conquer the east?”

If you had eaten the northern part of the river, it would have been easier to go south and target the southern part, as there would be more to plunder and it would have been easier to secure supplies. Lopin said that this was the reason he had studied for a long time.

“Because they know it too. They know that going south only makes sense after completely devouring the North. They don’t want to feel the pain of the past again.”

“I see.”

Otherwise, he said he would completely subdue the north and then move south, as he might be attacked from above and below.

“This happened before too. Even now, when I close my eyes, I remember that time vividly…”

Lopin’s wrinkled eyes trembled.

Perhaps he was referring to the war when the Count of Change became a black knight.

“So does that mean we should go to Galindrock?”

“Yes, that is the final staging area and the last line of defense in the North.”

“How many orcs are there?”

“At first I heard rumors that there were over ten thousand.”

“now?”

“Well, there probably wasn’t much damage, so I guess it would be around eight to seven thousand.”

“The Northern Army?”

“It won’t be more than three thousand… I heard they were defeated in the Battle of Enhide.”

I guess experience is experience after all.

The quality of the information is not bad. Perhaps because he has been through so many wars, he knows battlefields he has never seen before. Of course, not everything he says is true, but if even half of it is true, it is not bad. In this day and age, information is difficult to be accurate.

“Do you know about the Orc Hero?”

“I see you are talking about the chieftain.”

“I guess they call me the chieftain.”

“Yes, orcs move in tribes, but occasionally a strong one emerges who unites several tribes.”

That’s the Orc Chieftain.

He is known as the King of Orcs.

“Chief Bakunta will be in Enheid.”

“Hasn’t Enhide already retreated?”

“I’ve only heard it through rumors… but the Chieftain is waiting at the frozen castle of Enheid.”

“Who?”

“Who could it be? The master of the North.”

Master of the North.

I mean the change of Count.

“They say the changeling lord is frozen…?”

“The Count and the Chieftain have a history. They have fought each other in battles in the past, but they have never been able to win. That is probably why.”

“I see.”

Lopin was an old man who had lived a long life and knew a lot. Even if we were together, he would not hold us back. Young people have things to do, and old people have things to do.

“What do you plan to do, Baron?”

Ronobé was troubled by Lopin’s question.

You can go straight to Galindrock and help them with their last line of defense. If it’s not the others, it’ll be a huge help to Ronobe. If you just use them as a shield and fire magic, you’ll be able to seize the opportunity to win the war.

“It’s better to go to Galindrock.”

But Lopin shook his head.

“There will be proud generals from the North in Galindrak. The Baron’s army is small in number and poor in quality, and without any Northerners, I fear that it will be a difficult situation for the Baron.”

“What a rough ride?”

“The pride of the Northerners is sky-high. It is the pride of being the shield of the kingdom. The pride that has protected the North for hundreds of years is not something that will be easily destroyed. Even now, when the North is on the verge of destruction…”

The northern nobles of Galindrock would never consider Ronobe as an ally, but as a foreigner. The North does not need the help of foreigners that much.

It was a matter of pride.

It’s ridiculous.

“Are you crazy?”

Lopin and the other old men laughed heartily.

“But that’s the North.”

“If you tell me this, does that mean there’s another better way?”

“Go to Godric.”

“Godric?”

“It would be better for us to slowly eat up the orcs’ rear. We can fight the orcs independently without having to deal with the inconvenience of Galindrock.”

The idea was to wage guerrilla warfare.

“There must be survivors like us in Godric too. I know a few there.”

Of course, Godric’s is a big castle.

If that heavily fortified city had fallen, the number of garrisoned orcs would have been considerable.

“So, I recommend that you go to Godric, but via here.”

“Where is this place?”

The place that Lopin pointed to with his stick was north of Godric. It was a snowy mountain with a dense forest.

“Even among the northerners, there are those who have a closed nature. The term ‘Northern Warrior’ was originally used to refer to them.”

An ethnic minority village in the middle of the forest.

“We call them barbarians. We need the strength of warriors.”

The Barbarian of the North. As soon as I heard that name, my heart started to flutter.

The Wolf of Lapaine [4]