Chapter 73: Unified Opinions

Chapter 73: Unified Opinions

Airael’s smile confirmed that Axi’s series of actions hadn’t disappointed her.

Where there’s happiness, there’s bound to be frustration.

The choice not to pursue cast unfriendly gazes in Axi’s direction.

The reason was simple.

Although Axi was influential, he held no actual power.

In light of their conceptual conflicts, the knights were naturally less than friendly towards him.

That they didn’t explode in anger right then and there showed how well-mannered they were.

As for Axi, he completely disregarded their stares, not a care in the world.

“Mr. Axi, could you explain the reason for your choice?”

Hudeman’s expression remained largely unchanged as he continued to question Axi.

“It’s simple. To me, not pursuing doesn’t guarantee you won’t be punished, and pursuing doesn’t guarantee you will be.”

Axi replied.

As he spoke, his gaze shifted from Hudeman to the knights who chose not to pursue.

Among these knights, some may have genuinely sought caution, but many were simply trying to avoid punishment.

This was a thought he’d just recently arrived at.

Some knights were quite confused by Axi’s words.

They even thought Axi might be rambling.

As a result, a few knights started to mock Axi’s utterances.

They expected some profound insight from him, and what did they get instead?

Pure nonsense!

Those who caught on to what was happening smiled.

This included Airael.

Hudeman continued to question Axi, “What do you mean by that?”

Axi redirected his gaze to Hudeman, replying, “My lord, our purpose here is to eradicate the orcs. However, choosing not to pursue would be akin to watching these orcs flourish.”

Though Axi hadn’t finished his thought, changes in the knights’ faces were already noticeable.

This was something they’d overlooked before.

They were simply focused on whether to chase or not.

“While choosing to chase presents some danger, if we handle it carefully, keeping the orcs occupied, even defeating them would be a significant accomplishment for us.”

Axi didn’t pause for their changes in expression and continued speaking.

After he finished, he looked back at the knights.

In that moment, under Axi’s gaze, they began to avert their eyes, unable to meet his stare.

The knights who chose to pursue now looked at the others with a hint of mockery in their eyes after Axi’s analysis highlighted the clear pros and cons.

Not pursuing may avoid danger, but it would certainly be a grave mistake.

Pursuing involves risk, but could lead to great merit.

When that merit is on the line, even the duke would hesitate to punish them.

Thus, the benefits of pursuing evidently outweighed the downsides of not pursuing.

As for the danger, many knights weren’t particularly afraid.

For them, as long as there was gain, they didn’t want to end up working for nothing or even getting punished for their efforts.

Even a simple word of praise was enough.

With this in mind, the knights naturally formed a unified opinion.

“Does anyone have anything to add?”

Hudeman, having mentally analyzed Axi’s words, glanced around.

Particularly observing those knights who had chosen not to pursue, they were his main targets.

In such a moment, no one dared to speak up.

After a brief silence, Hudeman nodded slightly and continued, “Very well, then let’s pursue those fleeing orcs. Remember, we cannot let them escape! Since they dare to invade our human lands, they shouldn’t even think about getting back alive! We’ll catch up to them and wipe them out!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!…”

The knights’ spirits were ignited by Hudeman’s words, each of them fervently shouting, their combat desires boiling over.

Hudeman nodded once more and then led the knights down the trail left by the orcs as the pursuit began.

To prevent the orcs from setting ambushes, Hudeman dispatched fast horses ahead as scouts.

Their pursuit was quickly reported back to Sko by the orc scouts.

When Sko learned that the human knights were rapidly closing in, his face darkened.

He shifted his attention from the orc scouts to the lumbering orc convoy.

With the loaded carts in tow, the orc wagons weren’t moving quickly.

Thus, it was only a matter of time before the human knights caught up to them.

Although the human knights posed no significant threat to them, if they were to be delayed by the knights, once the main human force arrived, escaping would become extremely challenging.

Sko wasn’t dull-witted and his mind raced to devise a solution.

This situation was easy to analyze.

The crux was figuring out a plan.

Should they abandon the goods?

As this thought surfaced, Sko’s gaze fixated on the carts filled with supplies.

But he quickly shook his head.

No, such actions couldn’t be taken unless absolutely necessary.

These goods were primarily food, and sustenance was crucial for the orcs.

Moreover, there were also essential resources, even more valuable than food.

Like iron, for example.

Though the orc territories had some resources, they paled in comparison to the vast variety held by humans, both in type and quantity.

These materials couldn’t fill orc stomachs but could help them acquire food.

Just like with the previous iron supplies.

Orcs could craft weapons and armor from it, then return south, armed and ready to plunder humanity once more.

This was something the Beast King had emphasized to their orc leaders repeatedly.

They all remembered it well.

With this method off the table, another idea quickly popped into Sko’s head.

That was to detach a majority of the orcs from the convoy and engage in a major battle with the approaching human knights, eliminating them before swiftly catching up with the convoy, escorted by a few orcs.

By doing so, they wouldn’t have to worry about the human knights slowing them down.

Once this idea formed, Sko was determined to go through with it.

Though he had lost to humans once before, this time he was sure he could triumph over them.

He would show those humans the might of Sko, commander of the Wolf Cavalry!