Joyce called three times but received very few responses, making the situation extremely awkward.
"Are you behind this?" Joyce stared at Arthur with a cold face.
Arthur sneered, "Don't you know why the soldiers below don't follow you?"
Joyce's face suddenly turned red. Even though he held the position of battalion commander before being captured, he had lost his prestige among the soldiers because he had been serving the orcs in the canyon servile for the past two years.
Joyce, who had been wounded by Arthur, suddenly became angry and said, "Lieutenant Arthur, I now order you to take people and prepare to return to the border immediately."
Arthur looked at Joyce with a half-smile, "What qualifications do you have to order me?"
"Have you forgotten the military regulations? Although we do not belong to the same army, I am also your commander in terms of military rank. You must obey my orders."
Arthur smiled, "Rank? You may have forgotten that since you were captured, the army has reported the death list. What rank do you have as a dead person?"
Joyce was rebuffed by Arthur with just one sentence, and there was no way to refute him. He understands the rules of the army better than Arthur. Once captured by the opponent on the battlefield, there is no chance of returning alive. Therefore, it has been customary within the army to report missing persons on the battlefield according to the death list. The advantage of this is that the families of the deceased soldiers can receive pensions as soon as possible, and the army can also be supplemented by new soldiers as soon as possible.
Arthur reached back and took a sword from the warrior behind him, and threw it at Joyce's feet.
"Since you were the battalion commander before, you must be a sixth-level warrior. I am only a fourth-level warrior. If we fight with each other, it doesn't count as me taking advantage of you, right? Now I'll give you a chance. Pick up the sword. As long as you want If you can defeat me, my squadron and I will recognize that you are qualified to command me."
Joyce hesitated and did not bend down to pick up the sword because he did not have any confidence to defeat Arthur. The center of the battle in the canyon last night was Arthur and the lion-man Filonio. Arthur relied on the strength of a fourth-level war captain to be able to withstand a sixth-level lion without defeat, and even in his prime, he was no match for that lion-man. , not to mention being locked up in the canyon for the past two years, his body and will have been worn away, and his strength may not even be half of what he was before.
"Pick it up!" the warrior behind Arthur roared.
Joyce was still hesitating, his hands trembling slightly.
"Pick up!"
"Pick up!"
All the soldiers who escaped from the canyon roared, "It is better to die in battle than to die from fear!" The military has always respected the strong and despised cowards. If Joyce doesn't even have the courage to hold a sword, don't say the following orders in the future. A warrior would probably be drowned in saliva and eye rolls.
Joyce finally bent down and picked up the sword on the ground. When he flicked the hilt, four or five feet of fighting spirit overflowed from the blade. At that moment, he seemed to have regained his courage.
The next moment, the courage and face he had just picked up were shattered to pieces by Arthur's red and violent fighting spirit.
With one sword strike, "Exploding Flame Slash", several feet of fiery red fighting spirit directly knocked the sword in his hand to the ground, and the exploding fighting spirit blew him away.
The whole place was silent!
Perhaps some people guessed the result, but no one guessed that the result would be so simple and direct.
Arthur coughed lightly, "Does anyone else want to order me? You can stand up now with your sword."
Arthur's eyes swept across the entire audience, and no one dared to stand up. When his eyes glanced at Silas, Silas did not dare to look directly at him and lowered his head directly.
"Since no one is going to order me, now I order everyone to assemble!"
Following Arthur's sharp shout, no matter whether voluntarily or forced, no soldier dared to stay where he was. They quickly gathered in front of Arthur, and soon formed a square formation in front of Arthur.
The soldiers of the 7th Squadron stood in two rows behind Arthur, each with their chests raised, and their heads raised, with a calm demeanor.
Arthur said loudly to the soldiers in front of him: "I saved you out of the morality of being a human soldier, but I have no responsibility to send you home. If any of you are willing to go back by yourself, I will never stop you. Not only The weapons and armor in your hands are given to you, and I will also prepare three days of food and 10 gold coins for your travel expenses."
As Arthur finished speaking, there was a buzz of discussion. The soldiers exchanged glances with each other and murmured in low voices.
"Those who want to leave can come forward now. I will never make it difficult for them."
The soldiers were making small moves below, but no one was the first to stand up.
Arthur's face gradually turned cold, "I have given you a chance to choose. Those who choose to stay must obey orders in the future, otherwise they will be dealt with according to military law."
"Wait a minute, I'm leaving!" A man stood up, one of the orcs who served with Joyce and the others.
"I'm leaving too." Another soldier stood up immediately.
As soon as someone took the lead, soldiers came out one after another from the phalanx, and fifty or sixty people gathered immediately.
After waiting for a while, seeing that no one was leaving anymore, Arthur turned to Jose and said, "Give them our food in three days' worth, and give them a map showing our current location and the human border." The location is clearly marked for them."
Seeing that Arthur really kept his promise, another twenty or thirty people walked out of the military formation, but Arthur still did not stop him.
José quickly distributed the food and gold coins that Arthur had promised to the departing soldiers.
The first man to stand up and the soldiers who were about to leave gave Arthur and the people who stayed behind a military salute, turned around and walked down the mountain.
"Wait a minute." Arthur suddenly said.
"Do you want to regret it?" The man was so frightened that his face turned green.
Arthur smiled contemptuously and pointed at Joyce, who was still lying on the ground pretending to be dead, "Take him away too."
The team going down the mountain gradually moved away.
Arthur's eyes swept over the remaining soldiers again, and he unexpectedly discovered that Silas had not left.
"Why didn't you leave?"
Silas blushed, "I think it's better to stay with you."
Arthur smiled, "You may lack courage, but at least you are a smart man."
Arthur spoke to the remaining soldiers again, this time his tone became much more soothing, "Some people choose to leave. I understand that they are not cowards but want to go home too much. But they did not make a smart move. Choice, this is the orc wasteland. In this completely unfamiliar environment, they will fall into the hands of the orcs again within three days. "
There was an uproar below, and some people were beginning to rejoice that they did not step out of the phalanx in the end.
Arthur continued: "Those who left may think your choice is stupid. After all, the danger increases every day you stay in the Orc Wasteland. But look at the warriors behind me. They have been fighting in the Orc Wasteland for nearly a month. Due, only two brothers were sacrificed!"
Why should Arthur point it out again? The equipment of the soldiers of the 7th Squadron completely shocked these soldiers last night. The majestic silver-horned stag mounts are all third-level weapons at the lowest, and even many ordinary soldiers have enchanted weapons in their hands. , even the personal guard equipment around the legion commander is not so abnormal.
"Stay, I can't guarantee that each of you will survive, but I will try my best to take most of you back alive! It's not about escaping back in embarrassment, but about everyone wearing level 3 equipment to go back majestic and dignified! "
Arthur's words ignited the hope and courage of all warriors!
From today on, wherever Arthur's sword points, these warriors will direct their troops!