Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 120

Creating Retainers to Build a Human Empire 122

Human Ranch (4)

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Orcs originally lived far to the east, but while searching for prey, they migrated westward and eventually settled in Pantonia.

Pantonia is another plain located directly above the Nerup Plains.

Unlike Nerup, which is called a plain despite being practically a desert, Pantonia was a true plain full of lush grasslands. However, it wasn’t large enough for the rapidly growing Orc population.

Besides Pantonia and Nerup, there was nowhere else for the Orcs to settle.

To the west were the Elves.

To the north, the Dwarves.

To the south, the Lizardmen.

To gain more fertile land, the Orcs had to invade the territories of other races. But these invasions failed, forcing the Orcs and Goblins to either remain where they were or return east.

Most remained in Pantonia.

They didn’t settle down permanently.

Pantonia’s central location made it ideal for raiding in any direction, so they used it as a base for plundering.

After the Orcs and Goblins settled in Pantonia, their targets became not only other races but also each other. In fact, they attacked each other far more often than they attacked other races.

Attacking their own kind meant they didn’t have to travel far.

Orcs had a weak concept of family, let alone ethnicity, so every individual was in a state of conflict with every other individual. Therefore, it was extremely rare for Orcs to unite under one tribe, under one chieftain.

But now, the vast majority of Orcs and Goblins were gathered under one tribe, under one chieftain.

The tribe’s name was Black Sun.

The chieftain’s name was Ginorik.

‘What should we do now?’

Ginorik pondered, tearing at meat in his hut.

Orcs weren’t known for deep thinking, and Ginorik was no exception. However, at this moment, he was thinking carefully and deeply.

He had no choice.

He had to decide on the next target for plunder.

“Elves!”

A Goblin struck the floor hard with a Lizardman’s leg bone.

“Let’s raid the pointy-ears! Chief!”

Ginorik snorted.

“Pointy-ears? How are we going to raid them?”

“How? I don’t know! We just raid them!”

Ginorik snatched the leg bone and hit the Goblin’s head with it.

“Idiot! We *can* attack the pointy-ears, but we can’t *capture* them! We can’t get past their fortresses, so how are we going to capture them!”

The Orcs and Goblins gathered inside the hut, chattering noisily and saying whatever they wanted, stared at Ginorik with wide eyes.

“That’s the chief’s job to figure out.”

“The chief knows what to do.”

“You morons…”

Ginorik kicked the Goblin and snorted.

“If you don’t like the pointy-ears, we can go for the stumpy ones!”

“Stumpy ones? You mean Dwarves?”

Ginorik shook his head.

Dwarves were, in some ways, even more dangerous.

They established their bases in the mountains and delved deep.

Each base was a natural underground fortress.

“Then Mosquitoes!”

“Hmm.”

Vampires gave him some pause.

Originally, they were a force on par with Elves and Dwarves.

But thanks to the Humans, their power had declined rapidly.

“Mosquitoes! Everyone’s hitting them! It’s doable!”

Since the Grand Council had virtually declared them public enemies, they were being attacked from all sides, so joining in could yield a decent profit.

“No! Mosquitoes are still strong. I heard a pointy-eared fairy lost recently.”

But even a bankrupt rich man still has some resources. [This is a common saying meaning that even in decline, the vampires are still dangerous.]

Vlad’s Vampire Empire was stubbornly holding out despite being attacked from all sides.

Before the war, it seemed like it would collapse due to internal divisions, but when foreign enemies invaded, they set aside their differences and desperately resisted.

“Forget the Mosquitoes. We’ll end up losing more than we gain.”

“Lizardmen are good too! They’re disgusting, but they taste good!”

Lizardmen were an easy target.

Unlike the previous three races, they weren’t a major threat.

They weren’t pushovers, but at least they weren’t so strong that they had to worry about the success of the raid or the damage they would take.

“They’re weakened because they’re attacking the Mosquitoes!”

Moreover, there were even rumors that their homeland was vulnerable because they were actively participating in the war against Vlad.

“What about the Water Snakes?”

“We can’t cross the sea.”

Forget it, since their base was an island.

Where would they get a ship?

“There are Humans too!”

Ginorik grinned, revealing his yellow teeth.

“Hmm… Humans.”

He only had good memories of Humans.

Wasn’t it thanks to the Humans that he had come this far?

“Chief, we’ve received a lot of help from the Humans.”

“Ugdash was killed by Humans.”

Ugdash of the Steel Mist Tribe.

He was a young Orc who was as intelligent as Ginorik but still possessed savagery, and he had the support of many tribes.

Ginorik had been quite wary of him because he was also the center of the tribes that opposed him, but he died while doing business or something with the Humans.

“Humans. They’re grateful monkeys.”

At that moment, Ginorik felt like a decayed tooth had fallen out. [This is a metaphor for a feeling of relief or satisfaction.]

When Ugdash died, he absorbed several tribes that had lost their leader, and he dealt with the tribes that still resisted by pretending to follow the Grand Council’s proposal to attack the Humans and sending them down to the Human territory.

A win-win result of eliminating internal enemies and receiving rewards from the Grand Council.

He was still driving the tribes that opposed him into the Nerup Plains, inducing the Human Empire to weed them out. Thanks to that, there were few tribes left that didn’t follow him.

‘No Orc has ever led more groups than I have.’

Ginorik smiled, lost in his thoughts.

“Humans are good too.”

“Humans! Tasty! I’ve eaten them!”

“They look like pointy-ears! If we can’t get pointy-ears, Humans are good too!”

But being grateful was a separate matter from plundering.

Until now, if there was something lacking, he could just plunder the tribes that opposed him, but now that there were few tribes left that opposed him, he couldn’t do that.

Therefore, an expedition to the outside was inevitable.

Historically, when Orcs and Goblins gathered under one banner, the reason they committed terrible plunder was this.

Pantonia and Nerup were not enough to feed the two races, and there was no reason to fight each other internally.

Saturated power was bound to burst outward.

‘Where should we go now?’

Ginorik’s concern was that.

Where to unleash the power that could no longer be contained.

‘I’d like to target the Elves if I could….’

Since the Great Migration of the Orcs, the Elves had built high walls on their borders and surrounded them with magic, so there was no way to cross directly from Pantonia into the Elven territory.

Bypassing was not easy either, and there were very few successful cases.

Even then, it was only successful because a small group had luckily found a gap and hadn’t been detected. If Ginorik moved, he would definitely be discovered.

‘Realistically, it’s either Lizardmen or Monkeys [a derogatory term for Humans]. I’ll have to choose one of the two.’

As he was pondering, a Goblin burst into the hut.

“Chief! The Humans are invading!”

“What?”

Ginorik blinked.

“Aren’t they weeding out in Nerup?”

“No! They’re coming up from Nerup to Pantonia! They say there are a lot of them!”

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Boom! Thump! Boom!

Field guns roared at the northern end of the Nerup Plains.

Over 60 field guns directly tore apart the horde of 30,000 Orcs and Goblins rushing forward, and the offensive was momentarily halted.

“Magic! The Humans are using magic!”

Even though nearly three years had passed since humanity began using gunpowder weapons, most other races didn’t even know gunpowder existed, and even if they did, they had no experience using it as a weapon.

Thump! Boom!

Therefore, the explosive sound caused by gunpowder and the sight of their comrades collapsing after the explosive sound was enough to startle even the most combative Orcs and stop their charge.

“Line infantry! Forward!”

While the enemy hesitated, the line infantry advanced to the front.

The line infantry numbered about 8,000. Dressed in drab gray uniforms and with powder horns dangling from the belts slung diagonally across their chests, they passed the field artillery and lined up in three long ranks.

“Aim!”

Even if the artillery had reduced the enemy’s numbers, how many could 60 guns have taken out? With the enemy numbering 30,000, they could have only taken out a few hundred at best.

The enemy, belatedly realizing that they hadn’t suffered much damage, regained their senses and continued their charge.

“Humans!”

But it was already too late.

“Fire!”

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

The volley fire from the line infantry, equivalent to one division and one regiment, was unleashed at close range.

The firing at close range pierced the Orcs and Goblins without a single shot missing, killing dozens of times more enemies than the 60 cannons had torn apart.

“——!”

Unintelligible screams erupted from the enemy ranks.

I surveyed the battlefield from the hill with a telescope.

The line infantry couldn’t see ahead because of the smoke, and they were busy reloading their next rounds. They must have been afraid that the enemy would suddenly rush in from beyond the smoke caused by the black powder.

But I saw the Orc and Goblin hordes stopping again beyond the smoke.

“Charge!”

After that, as always, the retainers on horseback charged.

The number of retainers mobilized for the expedition was 723, or 8 battalions.

They played the role of cavalry, slaughtering the enemy who were shocked by the attacks of the artillery and line infantry.

“Long live the Emperor!”

Thump-thump-thump-thump—

Even if the 700-odd cavalrymen had been subjected to volley fire at close range, it was impossible to annihilate the more than 20,000 enemies remaining with a single charge.

However, the charge did not stop, and after passing through the enemy lines, they continued to charge again, and when the line infantry continued with their second volley fire, the enemy collapsed without much resistance.

“No prisoners needed!”

“Kill them all! It’s what His Majesty wants!”

Just as the line infantry had unified their uniforms, the retainers had also unified their equipment. Previously, they had not worn armor or chosen their main weapons according to their individual specialties, but they had been renewed as the Imperial Army was properly organized.

It was the exact opposite of the line infantry, who wore cotton and cloth uniforms and abandoned armor.

The retainers were heavily armed with full-body armor and carried large lances, so that the lance charge would follow immediately after the volley fire. After the charge was successful, they fought freely with their respective main weapons.

“How is it?”

Minister of Military Affairs Gehardt, who had been watching the battle next to me, asked.

Previously, he would have led the retainers directly at the front, but now, Army Chief of Staff Zekt also served as the commander of the retainers and led them, and Gehardt also served as the commander of the Imperial Army behind the line infantry.

Once a field commander who could replace the two of them was found, the two would later handle administrative tasks in the rear, according to their respective positions. But not now.

“The numbers are too small. Even with coordinated artillery, line infantry, and cavalry, the initial impact isn’t great because all three are understaffed.”

The tactics employed by the current Imperial Army were simple.

The artillery carried out preliminary shelling at the front, and when the enemy approached, the line infantry moved forward and fired a volley, and while the shocked enemy hesitated, the retainer cavalry charged in to finish them off.

“Originally, the line infantry should have fired a volley and then charged with the cavalry to expand the results. However, the line infantry isn’t at a level to engage in close combat with other races, so they are retreating after firing a volley. It would be fine if there were enough line infantry and cavalry, but in a situation where both are lacking, it’s too awkward.”

It was a simple but effective combined arms tactic, but the lack of numbers was too big of a flaw.

If the enemy was familiar with gunpowder weapons, they would likely stick to the line infantry and attempt close combat before the cavalry could charge.

In that case, it would be difficult for the less than a thousand retainers to protect the line infantry, and the line infantry would suffer considerable damage.

Gehardt nodded.

“Time will solve the numbers problem. If we have time, the number of retainers will increase, and the entire Imperial Army will be armed with flintlock muskets. You don’t have to worry.”

“Hmm.”

“Rather, if it weren’t for magic, I would have considered introducing the Tercio [a Spanish infantry formation popular in the 16th and 17th centuries] as an alternative until then….”

We looked at the Imperial Army behind the line infantry.

Most of them were holding long spears, in case they had to go to the front and protect the line infantry. I don’t know how helpful it would be.

“The Tercio is not an option. A dense formation will only cause mass deaths in one blow when fighting races skilled in magic.”

Even without magic, the average level of the Imperial Army was in the early teens, so if they faced an other-race infantry unit with an average level approaching the 40s, no matter how densely they set up their long spears, they would be no different from toothpicks.

It was suicide for the current humans to face other races with cold weapons.

“Spearmen will have to be used as mere decorations.”

“It can’t be helped.”

The battle ended quickly.

When the muskets fired for the fourth time, the enemy routed, and the retainers drove their horses and knocked them all down without leaving a single one alive.

‘This is the end of the Orcs and Goblins left in Nerup.’

I thought, looking down at the tens of thousands of corpses.

This battle was different from the weeding out we had done before.

It was a strategy of dividing the retainers into several groups to attack the Orc and Goblin villages simultaneously, and then annihilating the groups that had lost their bases and gathered in one place in a single battle.

‘But this is only temporary stability. Nerup is not the Orcs’ or Goblins’ base, but only a temporary base for stragglers who have been driven out of their base. Unless we prevent the outflow from Pantonia, they will continue to come down.’

Screech—

A kite glided down.

I raised my right arm and placed the kite on it.

– The Black Sun tribe is gathering forces and coming down from Pantonia. The scale exceeds 100,000, as it did when they previously gathered in Nerup, and the number continues to increase.

Ginorik is moving directly.

He must have known that I was moving north.

He must have judged that he might fight me.

“Are you not thinking of fighting a pitched battle?”

“No.”

I shook my head and sent the kite flying.

“Even if we fight Ginorik in a pitched battle and win, we can’t catch him.”

Ginorik had a similar personality to Ugdash.

Unlike most Orcs, he knew how to suppress his fighting spirit and was shrewd about profit and loss.

“He doesn’t hesitate to run away. He’s the type to throw away a force of over 100,000 as bait and run away. And if he’s alive, he’ll gather the same number of forces any number of times.”

That would only lead to another war of attrition.

Fighting Orcs and Goblins is not the goal.

“Moreover, Ginorik’s Black Sun tribe is on a different level from Ugdash’s Steel Mist tribe. Would Ugdash have settled in this barren land for any other reason? He ran away too. He was planning to endure until he had the power to overwhelm Ginorik because he couldn’t beat Ginorik with the power he had right now.”

It was a plan that would have been realized if I hadn’t been there.

“Reorganize the ranks. We need to start a dialogue before Ginorik gathers enough forces.”

I spurred my horse towards Pantonia.