"Do you know what you're doing?" Brian asked Damian, who was leading them through the path the survivors had taken.
Damian didn't know what he was doing, but now he was leading five second-class mages, ten third-class mages, and a group of soldiers who would serve as the garrison in case a direct battle with the enemy erupted.
His strength at this moment should be superior to that of a first-class mage; not only did he contain his mana to a tenth, but also the magical power he didn't contain was enough to be considered a very powerful first-class mage.
Damian's talent for magic was incredible, and the black book flying beside him was a spell reader. It not only contained over two hundred spells and variations but also allowed him to instantly learn them by reading directly from the black book.
"It's this way," Brian said, pointing to a blue bloodstain among the branches.
Damian knew they had walked a long way, and if they found nothing, it meant the enemy had retreated. "Let's head to the northern frontier; we'll join a new brigade to support the defenses and ensure these monsters don't breach the border defenses again."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely, that's the secondary mission if we don't encounter enemies on the way." Damian wouldn't risk the people under his command by returning to the tower, so he decided to join the front.
Luke silently glanced at Damian and followed without a word, and the others did the same.
...
As news spread about survivors from a region attacked by green monsters, Damian, who led this operation despite his lack of experience, faced much opposition from many mages.
Among the most renowned was Luke, a skilled third-class mage who had participated in other battles as an assistant but never as a primary soldier.
When everyone was ready, they embarked on a journey whose end was uncertain.
On the fourth day after Damian and his group departed, the Eighth Brigade of the northern coalition army received military orders to garrison the fortress complex in the mountains near the northern extremities.
The Etwas Mountain Range is forty kilometers from the Great Tor Canyon and is located west of Lake Korridor.
In the midst of the mountains is a road that leads directly to the Great Gor Canyon.
Protecting this valley road is equivalent to safeguarding the flanks of the city's defense lines in Aurbest.
If the mountains' borders cannot be breached and troops are stationed at the Golden Flame Castle, the route where these monsters that Damian classified as orcs, along with the demons, would be halted.
If they were to avoid the mountains, they would have to walk an additional 300 kilometers through mountain paths.
The demon and orc army consumes a lot of food daily, and the additional 300-kilometer transport route is hard to sustain for the enemy army unless they are undead.
Decades ago, humans built a large fortress in the mountains away from the mage tower, but unfortunately, during the last demon invasion, the fortress group was lost, and a large group of soldiers was annihilated.
After the demon army retreated, they destroyed the fortress complex, and although it has been repaired in recent years, only half of the castle can defend itself.
The fortress complex houses six squadrons of city defense troops, and nearby are ten first-class mages.
The ten first-class mages belong to different provinces. Some were sent directly from Damian's tower, and others came from nearby cities that constantly supported the established defense line to halt the demons. Of course, there were numerous defense posts, and this was one of them.
The combat effectiveness of the mountain defense army was average, much inferior to that of the three main legions. The equipment is relatively deficient, and the number of professionals is also very limited.
In total, the six squadrons have about twenty powerful men who, in previous wars, could barely perform garrison duties. None of them could engage demons in direct combat.
On the contrary, the troops directly under Baron Harden's command in the nearest city were very strong.
Although there are only about a hundred knights under the baron's command, the number of professionals exceeds thirty. The remaining soldiers are all elites, and more than half of them have good cavalry skills. In a face-to-face fight, their combat effectiveness is comparable to the main force of a legion in the Empire.
A group like the Eighth Brigade, which has not yet been organized, is not as good as the main legions in battle.
After receiving the order, the Eighth Brigade immediately set out and arrived at the fortress complex in the mountains after a day-long march from morning until night.
Damian's group joined them after encountering another type of demon in the area and learning that they had been hunting them for a day.
Now that Damian was at the front, there was no need to return, so this would be considered their first battle against the demons.
Mages, regardless of what everyone thinks, are the most effective in war. Not only were they outstanding in large-scale battles, but their destructive power was also most significant in each confrontation.
Some warriors with exceptional talents can obviously achieve extraordinary strength, enough to match powerful mages, but their combat effectiveness can be matched by skilled demons, which is not the case with mages.
According to Brian, the strength of the men in the mountains surpasses that of the men from the central continent. They wore heavy armor and marched fearlessly into battle. If there are supplies and military stations along the way, the main army can easily travel hundreds of miles in a day.
Nine large and small forts were built in the mountains beyond the borders to keep the enemy in check.
The nine castles are located on both sides of the Etwas Mountain Range, relatively close to each other, and able to support each other with ballistae and trebuchets.
The nine castles vary in size and are garrisoned by varying numbers of border defense troops and main city trade troops.
Upon entering wartime, the castle will be taken over by the main army.
Including the 7th squadron, which had just been formed due to being recently destroyed by unknown enemies, the 8th Brigade had less than eight squadrons of standout soldiers, and Damian's group joined this brigade.
Among them, the 7th squadron has weak combat effectiveness and is slightly better than the city defense army.
The 6th squadron was established over half a year ago, has eliminated key members of several old squadrons, and its combat effectiveness is not very strong, slightly weaker than several main squadrons.
After taking the defensive castle and accommodating the soldiers, the main officers of the 6th squadron received orders to go to the central castle for a meeting.
Presiding over the meeting was Commander Erwin, who was also the commander of the Etwas Mountain Range defense line.
"In recent days, I led a team to investigate and discovered that the demon army is not far from the defense line and is gathering with another type of monster."
"Our city defense army, the main army, and the command systems of the private armies of the two barons who have formally joined us are not something that should be led together. Not only do they not train together, they lack tacit understanding, which would weaken us if led by a single command."
"The castle area is not too large, and food supplies are limited. Therefore, I decided to withdraw all outposts and remain at Baron Harden's castle in the rear."
"The Eighth Brigade was dispersed and stationed within the nine castles in the frontline defense. The cavalry under my command will roam outside and be responsible for attacking strategic areas to damage the enemy, cooperating with the soldiers of the Eighth Brigade to guard the defense line."
Erwin looked at everyone and asked, "Does anyone have an objection?" Commander Erwin had a deep voice and seemed to be a young man, while the man beside him was Harden, who was over seventy years old and had once served in an attacking army that was exterminated by the enemy.
He was born into a declining noble family. After showing his talent in war, he advanced greatly in power and obtained a good title in this war.
After the battle broke out, Baron Harden personally led a reconnaissance team and gradually became a heavyweight in the north.
The king placed his fiefdom near the group of fortresses in the Etwas Mountain Range to rely on his strength to stabilize the defense lines of the larger cities.
He had killed many demons in recent days, so the enemy's situation was well known.
Although Erwin's tactical arrangements were impressive, they were quite stable.
The Eighth Brigade had just arrived and was not yet familiar with the enemy's situation, so naturally, no one would give random opinions.
The meeting ended. The next day, Damian was preparing to practice some attack spells when suddenly the sound of a horn was heard in the distance.
Damian quickly ran to the foot of the city wall.
When he climbed the defensive wall, he saw spirals of smoke and dust rapidly approaching the castle complex.
Damian looked carefully. At first glance, he found that an army of thousands of orcs had arrived nearby.
These orcs should be the vanguard of the army. They scattered quickly, dividing into three teams and attacking fortresses 1 to 3 in the front.
The first fortress is located at the northernmost part of the valley road. At the foot of the mountains is the forward castle, which is relatively large.
On the other hand, the second fortress is located on the mountainside above the first fortress and is smaller in scale, but the arrows shot from the first fortress can effectively reinforce the defenses of the first fortress.
The third fortress is located in the mountains on the east side of the valley.
The mountains on the east side are low and gentle, tens of meters high, and stretch for over ten kilometers deep. It is typical mountainous terrain.
The three castles also formed the frontline defense. Among them, the first castle is the focus of defense. Captain Sharp Varla organized the garrison of the third squadron in one of the main fortresses. The number of veterans exceeds 80%, and combat effectiveness is considerable.
The one stationed in the second fortress is the Fifth Squadron. The three frontline squadrons have been reinforced with over ten sharpshooters. The third fortress is garrisoned by the Sixth Squadron, which is less stressed in the frontline defense.
When the demon and orc army approached, the Sixth Squadron was already prepared, with each squadron standing in its designated position and the reserve team already in place, ready to support at any moment.
Damian is the deputy leader of the squadron, and the command position is at the front.
The squadron leader sends troops and coordinates the overall situation, and the squadron deputy leader, Brian, is in charge of commanding the reserve team to check for any breakthroughs in the line.
Commander Erwin watched everything from a distance of thousands of meters.
With the direct team's protection, the leader of the army, priest Ed, set up a simple rescue center on the battlefield, ready to treat the wounded at any time.
Ed is a second-level priest; his mental power can release spells to treat minor injuries about a hundred times a day.
Although it's called minor injury treatment, the effect is outstanding. Damian had learned simple spells and knew this type of magic was suitable for an army.
Even if internal organs were injured, bleeding could be quickly stopped. In Damian's opinion, the healing magic's effect was better than going to a hospital in his past life.
The captain of the priests' healing abilities quickly treated the wounded.
When common soldiers were injured, they could only get a simple bandage.