Warlord: King of All Clans

Earl Tyrol's ten-thousand-strong legion was a lord's army composed of dozens of nobles, both large and small, from the Caroline Province.

Aside from the four provincial governors of the Southern Territory, who maintained standing legions, the remaining landed nobles, like the Earl of the Northern Territory, only had the ability to conscript lord's armies.

The vast majority of Southern Territory earls and viscounts had fewer than a thousand full-time soldiers; they would only temporarily conscript soldiers for wartime.

Because this was a Northern Expedition, not a neighborhood squabble, logistical pressures had to be considered, so this legion could only take the elite route.

The conscripted militia were sent to the rear to escort supplies, and these ten thousand soldiers were all elite warriors.

In addition to being fully armored, there were also two thousand light and heavy cavalry and three thousand mixed troops of musketeers and crossbowmen.

After leaving Shattered Rock City, the Tyrol Legion entered the plains, and the terrain ahead was flat and open.

The route ahead was filled with villages and towns, and the legion engaged in arson and slaughter along the way, and before they had gone halfway, the ranks had become somewhat cumbersome.

They had to take a small town and store their supplies and spoils, waiting for the auxiliary corps to come and transport them back to the Southern Territory.

Earl Tyrol's deputy, Viscount Fitz, was a vassal of Earl McDonough and had assisted his liege in invading the Northern Territory several times, making him very familiar with the terrain here.

He rode his horse beside Earl Tyrol, like a manor owner leading guests on a tour of his backyard.

"The two strongest legions of the Gustav family have been completely annihilated. There is no choice but to surrender. We will not encounter a force of more than a thousand men on this road all the way to Starspire City."

"News has already come from Earl McDonough that a large number of Riverbend troops have been discovered near Osluden, Your Excellency, you can write your victory report in advance."

The discovery of a large number of Riverbend troops in Osluden meant that there were no enemies on their side; ten thousand elite warriors would sweep over them, and it would be impossible to lose.

Earl Tyrol looked at the open road ahead, feeling refreshed, and smiled, "It's too early to say that, let's wait until we get to Starspire City."

As he was speaking, a scout came to report, "Report! Enemy sighted ahead, a group of kobolds are charging over here."

Earl Tyrol looked displeased and waved his hand to scold, "Do I need to hear about kobolds? What use are you to me? Drive them away yourselves!"

Earl Tyrol was also a well-known general in the Southern Territory, otherwise he would not have become the commander of this legion. Although the enemy situation ahead was small, he still proceeded cautiously, arranging a full five hundred men for the scout cavalry team alone.

Five hundred scout cavalrymen were not afraid of an equal number of Northern Territory lord's troops, let alone a group of kobolds?

In the entire history of the Orlantis Empire, no regular army had ever been afraid of kobolds.

No matter how many kobolds there were, they were just a pack of wild dogs, and a volley of arrows could scare them away.

The reporting scout hesitated, "This group of kobolds numbers over a thousand and has firearms."

Earl Tyrol became vigilant and ordered the troops to stop.

At this time, another scout galloped over, "Report! Enemy sighted on the west side, a group of kobolds are charging over here!"

"Kobolds again? How many?"

"At least two thousand!"

"Report!"

"Report!"

As the scouts converged, Earl Tyrol rode his horse to the top of a small hill and saw hundreds of scout cavalrymen fleeing back in panic at the end of his vision.

Behind them were overwhelming numbers of kobolds!

"Form ranks! Form ranks! Prepare to meet the enemy!"

Fisha's kobold army, traveling light and fast, finally found traces of the enemy at noon the next day.

Although three thousand kobolds were lost along the way, and half of the ammunition was wasted, this march was still very successful!

Each kobold had ten bullets, and now only five were left.

The chaotic seven thousand-plus kobold gunmen spontaneously followed their supervisors or foremen, which prevented them from getting lost during this forced march.

After discovering the enemy troops, the kobold army did not hesitate and charged straight at them.

"Kobolds! Charge! Charge! Charge!"

Kobolds had short legs after all, and by the time they charged in front of the Tyrol Legion, the enemy had already formed ranks.

Blocking the front were Southern Territory heavy-armored spearmen and shieldmen.

Unlike the round shields of the Northern Territory, the Southern Territory soldiers generally used kite shields, and spears could be placed on the shields to form a chevaux de frise.

Looking at the densely packed kobolds rushing over, the experienced Earl Tyrol felt a little scalp tingling and quickly waved his hand, "Release the arrows!"

The old nobles were not yet accustomed to the novel term "fire", and when he said release the arrows, the crossbowmen and musketeers in the rear began to shoot.

The concentrated fire of three thousand ranged troops was terrifying, and the kobolds who were surrounding them from three sides immediately suffered heavy casualties.

The kobold gunmen gritted their teeth and charged to the front of the spearmen and shieldmen, and then happily pulled the trigger.

Amid the roar, gunpowder smoke filled the air, and the kobold gunmen were dumbfounded.

Their buckshot muskets could not penetrate the enemy's shields!

Another volley of crossbow bolts rained down, and the kobold army was thrown into chaos and collapsed.

Fortunately, the Tyrol Legion's vision was obstructed by the gunpowder smoke, and most of the kobolds successfully escaped.

Tyrol looked at the kobold army that rushed up and then scattered, feeling that it met his psychological expectations, and sneered, "A rabble, is this the Riverbend alien race?"

"Light cavalry, quickly pursue them."

The defeated kobold army was chased and killed by the cavalry, fleeing everywhere and hiding in the mountains.

But no one knew how many of their own had died, after all, kobolds could not count.

A group of kobold routs gathered around a Riverbend kobold supervisor, looking dejected, and expressed their desire to go home for dinner.

The Riverbend kobold supervisor from the kobold artisan district was also very scared, but when he heard the routs say they wanted to go home, he was furious, "The King said, you are not allowed to go back until you defeat the enemy!"

"The enemy is strong! We can't beat them! We can't beat them at all!"

At this time, a group of gnolls emerged from the mountains, looking at them stupidly. These were the kobold troops that had been lost earlier.

The kobold supervisor was overjoyed, "They are fierce kobolds, we have a way!"

These gnolls, in addition to having muskets in their hands, also carried explosive packs on their backs.

The supervisor stood on a high hill and let out a kobold-style wolf howl, quickly gathering more than a dozen mine supervisors.

They had been working as supervisors or foremen in Kobold Valley and the Red Mountain Fort mining area for a long time, and naturally carried prestige, easily gathering hundreds or thousands of stragglers after the defeat.

Soon, the kobolds gathered thousands of routs.

"We have fierce kobolds who can blow up the shield formation, and then we will charge again! For the Queen!"

"For the Queen!"

In a hasty battle, thousands of kobold corpses were left on the battlefield, and the Tyrol Legion was unscathed.

But their march was hindered, and they could only set up camp on the spot. Looking at the kobold corpses all over the ground and the piles of kobold shotguns, Viscount Fitz could not help but smile, "These Riverbend kobolds are here to send us guns, aren't they?"

Earl Tyrol laughed heartily. These kobold shotguns had simple and practical flintlock devices, and with a change of barrel, they would be excellent standard muskets.

His family's firearms workshop had only been established recently, producing only ten or so guns a month, this was simply a windfall.

"It would be good if more of these alien races came a few more times!"

Just as he was laughing, a scout came to report, "Report! The kobolds are charging again!"