Chapter 47: I’m Not His Lover!

Chapter 47: I’m Not His Lover!

“When can the army from the south of the kingdom head north?”

As soon as Axi spoke, everyone turned their attention to him.

At this moment, it was evident that relying solely on the northern kingdom was impossible to completely stop the orcs from advancing southward.

Moreover, the longer this dragged on, the greater the damage to the northern kingdom.

There was still a chance to remedy the situation now, but if they waited any longer, it might become irreversible.

Although this issue fell under the military’s jurisdiction, it wasn’t exactly a secret.

Anyone with a discerning eye could probably uncover the details.

However, Axi had no time to waste, which is why he turned to Powell.

Powell had no intention of keeping secrets. After all, they would soon need to rely on Axi, this legendary mercenary.

“His Majesty the King has already mobilized some troops from the south to head north in advance. They’re on their way and should arrive shortly.”

With that, Powell finally delivered some good news.

Although the size of this troop might not be substantial enough to completely repel the orcs, it would bolster the northern kingdom’s defenses.

For instance, the northern kingdom could take the initiative to tackle the wolf cavalry that were pillaging southward.

Letting them run rampant was definitely not an option.

To fully resolve the wolf cavalry issue, mercenaries alone wouldn’t suffice.

While mercenaries are adaptable, they do have their limitations.

Aside from their uneven strengths, the primary issue is that mercenary management is usually quite lax.

Though most mercenaries stick to their codes, you can’t help but find some unscrupulous individuals succumbing to temptation.

Such incidents happen every year.

If that were the case, these renegade mercenaries would only create new problems.

Furthermore, mercenaries often struggle to pool together into a powerful force due to lack of organization.

For example, Axi had always been a lone wolf.

Although his strength wasn’t to be underestimated, one person’s power is ultimately limited.

He could potentially take on a hundred orcs, but what if he faced a thousand?

He definitely couldn’t slay them all.

If among those thousand orcs there were one or two with nearly equal strength to Axi, he’d have no choice but to flee.

Just look at how Axi and Airael were chased by Sam and a bunch of orcs before; that was a great example.

During such times, if a well-trained group of soldiers could accompany Axi—just a hundred or so—they could support him in wiping out those thousand orcs with ease.

That’s something mercenaries simply cannot manage.

Moreover, dealing with the wolf cavalry raiding from the south one small team at a time was not very efficient.

If possible, locating their stronghold and eliminating them in one fell swoop would be the most straightforward approach.

Hearing this, Axi looked at Powell and said, “Thank you very much, Your Excellency, Baron Powell. I’ve received the information I needed.”

This was undoubtedly a very useful and uplifting piece of news.

“It’s my duty,” Powell replied with a smile.

After concluding their meeting, Airael and Axi followed a middle-aged maid into the room that Powell had arranged for them.

They arrived outside a room, where the maid first opened the door to reveal a rather decent room, then slightly bowed to Airael and Axi, saying, “Mr. Axi, Miss Ailia, this is your room. If you need anything, please feel free to call me or any other maids. We’ll do our best to meet your needs.”

“Wait!”

Just as the maid was about to leave, Airael called out to stop her.

Axi also wanted to speak, but seeing Airael had already started, he zipped his lips.

He planned to wait for her to finish before jumping in.

The maid stopped and respectfully asked Airael, “Miss Ailia, is there something you need help with?”

“Is there only one room?”

Airael questioned.

“Your Excellency, the Baron has indeed only arranged one room for you. Is there a problem?” the maid asked, puzzled.

“That’s a huge problem! Are you assuming I’m his lover by putting us in the same room?” Airael huffed angrily.

“Eh!” The maid gasped, instinctively responding, “Isn’t that the case?”

She assumed the Baron’s arrangement was flawless.

“How could I possibly be his lover? Just look at him! What’s so great about him that I’d like him?” Airael said disdainfully.

The maid looked thoroughly shocked.

Though she was just a maid, she had heard of the legendary mercenary Axi and now seeing him in person, she couldn’t help but think he was truly deserving of his reputation.

If he had noble lineage, he would be the classic prince charming.

He was a dream guy for countless women out there.

Even if it were just a one-night affair, many women would jump at the chance.

She had often fantasized about such things in her youth.

Yet here she was, hearing someone dismissing Axi as worthless.

Looking at Airael, she didn’t seem crazy. Though she kept herself quite mysterious, if Axi had taken interest in her, she must at least have some merit.

At this moment, Axi felt quite uncomfortable hearing Airael’s words.

Although he initially wanted to mention the room issue, which was to have separate accommodations for him and Ailia, hearing Ailia’s opinion of him straight out filled him with mixed emotions.

He wasn’t someone to be overly proud, but he definitely felt he couldn’t be that bad.

And if you think I’m so terrible, then why are you still sticking around me?

Seeing that the maid still seemed skeptical, Airael shifted her gaze to Axi.

Noticing Axi deep in thought, Airael kicked his leg, saying, “Hey, aren’t you going to explain this?”

Snapped back to reality, Axi hastily clarified to the maid, “Um… Ailia and I aren’t in the relationship you think.”

Since Axi confirmed it, the maid had no choice but to accept this shocking conclusion.

She replied, “In that case, I’ll report to His Excellency, the Baron, to arrange another room for you two. Until then, please rest together here for a while.”

Both Airael and Axi nodded in agreement, not putting up any resistance.

This was the best outcome.

They watched the maid leave and then stepped into the room.

The room appeared quite simple, yet it had all the necessary items.

Both Airael and Axi were satisfied with it.

After inspecting the room, Airael sat down on a nearby chair and looked at Axi, saying, “Although we haven’t received the new room yet, that doesn’t stop us from discussing who gets to stay here.”

“If you like it, then you can have this room,” Axi replied as he took a seat across from Airael.

“Then I won’t be polite!” Airael grinned.

She was fairly pleased with this room.

Even the next room wouldn’t be too shabby.

After discussing the room situation, Airael began to talk to Axi about other matters: “By the way, how long do you plan to stay in this small town?”

After hearing Axi’s conversation with Baron Powell, Airael had some guesses, but she wanted to confirm.

This way, she could prepare early.

She sensed that the upcoming battle would be far from easy—certainly a tough fight.

“We’ll wait until the troops from the south arrive in the north, then we’ll act together with them,” Axi replied. “Resolving those orcs one small team at a time is just too slow, and we’ve definitely attracted the orc’s attention. If we act alone like before, we’ll encounter the same kind of danger we faced a few days ago.”

Airael nodded, “You’re right. Then let’s take a good rest in this small town.”

Axi’s analysis made solid sense.

She didn’t want to go through another close encounter like that.

Being chased by a horde of orcs, without the luck of running into those two giant beasts, she and Axi would still be fleeing.

And if things had gotten worse, they might have already become orc rations.

After discussing this matter, Airael and Axi fell silent.

Quickly, the maid who had left earlier returned with Powell’s apologies to arrange a new room for Axi.

While Airael and Axi rested, the orcs in Mark Fortress were certainly not getting a moment of reprieve.

After hearing of Sam’s demise, the Beast King was furious.

Though the orcs’ main force was surrounding Mark Fortress, it was clear to everyone that a lot of what they were doing was just a “feint.” Their real aim remained pillaging southward.

Sam was responsible for crucial plundering operations against the Nick Kingdom.

Now that he was gone, their looting efforts were struggling.

Essentially, it meant they were expending effort here for nothing.

Inside the big tent, the orc tribe’s high shaman was discussing the next plan with the Beast King.

With Sam dead, everything had been thrown into disarray.

Yet they had come this far, and could only grit their teeth and push onward.

This meant they needed to reorganize and fill the gaps left by Sam’s death.

After a thorough discussion, the elderly orc high shaman Mahat proposed, “Your Majesty, I believe we can let Sam’s deputy, Sko, take over Sam’s responsibilities.”

“Looks like we have no choice,” the Beast King sighed and nodded.

To him, Sko’s abilities were somewhat lacking, but given the current situation, there weren’t any better options available.