"The orcs are no longer coming?" Yan Xing said with some surprise. "According to our judgment, the orcs should be able to fight for a while longer."

Count Theodore didn't know how to explain to Yan Xing, so he gestured for the butler to relay to Yan Xing the intelligence report that had come from Storm City.

The report stated: The orcs were still attacking Anjik Fort, but Marquis Anderson was in Storm City.

Count Fio was the newly appointed commander of the Wildwind Highlands Legion by the Silver Mane Duke. He had just arrived in Storm City. Before he could present his letter of appointment, Marquis Anderson, who had unexpectedly returned to Storm City, captured him. Marquis Anderson then produced evidence of Count Fio's collusion with the orcs and immediately executed him.

The latest intelligence showed that Marquis Anderson was still in Storm City, reorganizing military affairs. He was vigorously purging officers alleged to have "colluded" with the orcs while also sealing off the roads between Storm City and the ducal heartland, blocking "reinforcements" from entering Storm City.

At that moment, Storm City was truly swept by a tempest.

Yan Xing sensed the trickery in the situation.

If the orcs are still launching attacks toward Storm City, Marquis Anderson certainly wouldn't dare to purge the Wildwind Highlands Legion. Without sufficient commanders at all levels, he simply wouldn't have the strength to resist the orcs' assaults. Therefore, the so-called intelligence that the orcs are still attacking Anjik Fort... must be wrong! It was deliberately released by Marquis Anderson.

Have the orcs retreated? Why would the orcs withdraw at this time?

Yan Xing immediately thought of Lady Karol secretly meeting with the Elf Envoys and the wargame simulation he had conducted with Count Theodore based on the known intelligence.

The intelligence about the elves planning a sneak attack from the rear must have reached the orcs. That's why they retreated so hastily. Marquis Anderson learned this from Count Theodore and then passed it to the orcs to make them retreat... That's a common enough tactic, but was it really something that would make the old Earl fall ill?

However, Yan Xing quickly realized something else.

The unrest in Nuta City wasn't initiated by the Farsight Mercenary Corps, but by the Jufeng Mercenary Group. Behind the Jufeng Mercenary Group was Shortgun, who had always colluded with the "orcs" yet dared to rob the "Orc Treasury." Moreover, the Jufeng Mercenary Group had been suppressing the Farsight Mercenary Corps during this period.

Yan Xing and Count Theodore had always found Shortgun's actions strange.

Now, if they connected all the dots they had discovered... If Shortgun's real backer is Marquis Anderson, then everything makes sense. Marquis Anderson has been in collusion with the orcs all along. Perhaps most of the orcs and Shortgun's own people don't realize the intelligence they possess was intentionally released by Marquis Anderson. Yet, it was this intelligence the orcs relied on to halt the Wildwind Highlands Legion's fortress-building advance. As for Nuta City, Shortgun fiercely suppressed any forces attempting to disrupt the Wildwind Highlands Legion's logistics. Robbing the Orc Treasury caused them no guilt, nor did they fear orcish retaliation.

As for... why did the Jufeng Mercenary Group incite the unrest in Nuta City? Because Anderson knows that if there's unrest in Nuta City, Count Theodore will certainly seal off the city. With the city sealed, no one outside can enter, and no one inside can leave. Thus, the Elf Envoys are trapped within Nuta City. Without the return of the Elf Envoys, the main elven army won't know they've formed an alliance with the Silvermane Principality. Currently, the main elven forces are still engaged on the western front against the Wildwind Highlands Legion, believing themselves to be allies with the orcs. Meanwhile, Frostleaf City, controlled by the elves and connecting to the Snowland, is extremely undermanned.

Calculating the time... If the orcs quietly withdrew from Anjik Fort during the unrest in Nuta City, and if the Orc Great Army abandoned all baggage for a forced march... then at this moment, the Orc Great Army must be at Frostleaf City in the north!

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