Half-elf Notebook

Chapter 168 Orcs Attack

For a city with a registered population of only 3000 to , a standing garrison of nearly people is too bloated both in terms of the proportion of military personnel and financial expenditure.

But only he and Nahale knew that these few soldiers and personnel could only barely maintain the daily public order in the city and check and crack down on the gangs hiding in the slums.

In the face of the real disaster that befell the city, it seemed so weak.

The only difference between them and other cities with few or no permanent troops is that

——They can hold out longer in the storm called disaster.

Second, their cities are closer to danger.

Therefore, the kingdom and the upper nobility did not hesitate to spend huge amounts of taxes and even provide subsidies to establish a large number of troops for a small border town.

This behavior is as ridiculous as a blood-stained villain trying to seek refuge from a pure goddess.

William was about to follow the departing soldier downstairs.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the stairwell from the second floor to the third floor.

That was the sound of women's flat shoes hitting the steps.

Its owner quickly went up the stairs between the third and fourth floors, and soon William saw his recorder appearing in the corridor.

"Alice?"

William stopped and looked at the approaching recorder in confusion, not understanding why the other party arrived just when he was about to leave.

"Could it be possible that a magical warning device was installed in my office using public funds?"

Such a thought flashed through his mind.

Under normal circumstances, William might have pondered over this issue for a long time, and even considered whether to conduct a thorough inspection of his office.

But now, he was not in the mood to think about it.

He just asked calmly:

"What happened?"

"I have something to discuss with Commander Naihail. If it's not an important document or matter, you can wait until I get back."

But then, William noticed that his recorder looked as serious as he did, even a little panicked, which was unusual.

"These are the instructions that Legion Commander Naiheiel asked the soldiers to bring back."

Alice tried her best to calm down, panting due to rapid breathing and heartbeat, and tried to make her statement clearer:

"He asked you to prepare 1500 standard plate armored soldiers as soon as possible."

"The equipment is the long spears and halberds used in normal infantry combat. It is also specifically required to bring all the crossbows, as many long bows and arrows as possible, and smaller caliber artillery that can be pulled from the city wall by manpower."

"seriously?"

William's brows furrowed even more.

Alice had rarely seen her lazy boss look like this.

1500 people. Alice might only know the proportion this number represents.

But William understood what Nahal meant and the meaning of the number behind it.

——Except for the 300 people on duty on the city walls, there are 400 soldiers used for city security patrols and handling daily cases, as well as those on leave and patrolling outside the city.

1500 soldiers is equivalent to mobilizing all the standby personnel in the military camp!

Even the cleanup operation of the Blood Gang's southern district mobilized only 500 soldiers. Does Naiheil think that what he has to face is far more dangerous than the Blood Gang and a group of professionals of unknown origin and rank?

William couldn't help but think so.

Alice, unaware of William's turbulent thoughts, then told him a fact that William least wanted to hear.

The orc troops have appeared on the outskirts of Thunderstone City, less than ten miles away.

……

Ding, ding, ding, ding... After a few hours, a series of harsh and noisy bell sounds, completely different from those coming from the bell tower, echoed from the border areas under the city walls of the South District and the East District.

As if echoing each other from afar, similar bells rang out in various parts of the city, which was both irritating and reverberating clearly over the city, one after another, as if conveying some message.

"what happened?"

Ina, who had just finished today's exercise and elf combat skills practice, walked into the hall, poured herself a glass of water, and listened curiously to the sudden strange noise outside.

She had never heard of it in all her years of living in the city.

She had lived in this city for many years, but this was the first time she had heard such a bell.

She enhanced her hearing to the extreme and could even hear the thunder-like roar of artillery and the shouts of dozens or hundreds of people.

"The army is fighting the remnants of the Blood Gang again? And they're using artillery?"

As she poured the cool white water down her throat, an unrealistic idea popped into her mind.

After all, no kingdom's army would use heavy weapons to suppress bandits in the city... This is ridiculous.

Just when Ina was about to laugh off her own thoughts, the creaking sound of the sofa's wooden frame rebounding attracted her attention.

Ina turned her head and saw that Rick, who should have been sitting peacefully on the sofa reading a newspaper, had stood up at some point, with a puzzled and ugly look on his face.

The newspaper that he usually read repeatedly out of boredom has now been crumpled into a ball, and one can even hear the crisp sound of bones bursting due to the sudden force.

"Uncle?"

Ina looked at Rick in astonishment as he suddenly moved and his expression changed drastically.

Rick casually threw the twisted newspaper on the ground, or rather, left it on the ground.

Without a word, he quickly walked to the compartment porch. His face seemed to be covered with a dark cloud and thunder could break at any time.

Ina saw Rick take out a silver-gray key and insert it into the weapons cabinet, then take out two magic swords.

After handing her a handful, he spoke in a low voice:

"Something may have happened outside. I'll go outside and take a look."

After saying this, without waiting for Ina to ask any more questions, he pushed the door open and left the house.