Although Robson went to great lengths to credit Baron Oli, he still couldn't escape the enthusiastic nobles.
It couldn't be helped. Any smart person could see that Sunset Fortress was bound to fall. Whether they could escape safely would depend on the soldiers under their command.
To say they were merely "worried" about their ragtag troops would be an understatement; it was more like they had absolutely no confidence in them at all.
Since that was the case, they had to look for outside allies. Robson, with his strong and well-equipped army, was clearly an excellent choice.
Why hadn't they continued to shower Robson with insincere praise? Besides Robson rejecting it himself, they had their own considerations.
If they kept it up, the higher-ups might actually order Robson to launch a night raid. Then, when the city finally fell, they would have lost the powerful benefactor they hoped to rely on.
Robson hadn't given this much thought. If he knew his allies were already planning their escape before the fighting even truly began, he'd be so furious he'd want to spit blood. He would, at the very least, curse them for being a disorganized rabble.
Although he himself was also preparing...
Only after sending the nobles away did Robson finally find a moment to check his panel.
Robson had enjoyed a satisfying slaughter in the previous wave. Not only that, but every one of his soldiers under him had also drawn blood.
His bow skill in particular had been put to good use; he had picked off at least a dozen goblins.
Well, "picked off" as in kicking a goblin over and then pressing his bow to its head for the kill.
"[Host: Robson Odogin (5th Rank Silver Knight 344/1000 (Knight))]"
"[Heroes: Bo Yang Gaojiasuo (2nd Rank Bronze Knight)
Ed Deriman (2nd Rank Bronze Knight)]"
"[Skills: Perfect Knight Eight Skills (1000/1000)
Skilled: Burning Blood (0/100)
Beginner. Deriman's Modified Knight Eight Skills (550/1000)
Beginner. Deriman's Inherited Bow Skill (1000/1000)+]"
"[Soldiers: Third-tier 61 Frank Infantry (2000/2000+)
Fourth-tier 160 Frank Skilled Infantry (455/2000)
Tier Four 179 Frank Skilled Shooter (533/2000)
First-tier 500 Frankish Peasants (320 upgradable)+
Second-tier 110 Frank Knight Recruits (31 upgradable to Frank Cavalry/Frankish Horse Shooter)+]"
"[Morale: 60/100]"
"[Unit Cap: 2000]"
Robson clicked through and upgraded everything.
Because Robson had the veterans lead the new recruits, pairing each militiaman with a Tier Four soldier, the death rate was significantly reduced.
Furthermore, since Robson had "picked off" all the truly competent combatants—the extraordinary goblins and Gray Dwarves—his forces only suffered a dozen or so symbolic, minor injuries.
Thanks to Robson's efforts, his bow skill was upgraded to Skilled, and the very first batch of infantry all broke through to Tier Four.
Although several hundred First-tier Peasants remained, even the un-upgraded ones had an average experience of around 70. He believed that with just one more battle, they would become true soldiers.
But that wasn't all. Robson felt that his greatest gain, aside from the Tier Four soldiers, was probably the newly promoted Frank Cavalry.
This proved that as long as they had experience, regardless of where it came from, soldiers could always be upgraded according to the standard path.
Robson upgraded this entire batch of Frank Knight Recruits into Frank Cavalry. As for why he didn't create Frankish Horse Shooters?
He had been in the Frankish kingdom for months and had never even heard of such a thing as a horse shooter.
To avoid a catastrophic failure, Robson decided to play it safe. At least Frank Cavalry were internationally recognized as a powerful military force.
"[Skills: Perfect Knight Eight Skills (1000/1000)
Skilled: Burning Blood (0/100)
Beginner. Deriman's Modified Knight Eight Skills (550/1000)
Skilled. Deriman's Inherited Bow Skill (0/1000)]"
"[Soldiers: Third-tier 61 Frank Infantry (1000/1000)+
Fourth-tier 160 Frank Skilled Infantry (455/2000)
Tier Four 179 Frank Skilled Shooter (533/2000)
Second-tier 320 Frankish Militia (0/500)
First-tier 180 Frankish Peasants (78/100)
Third-tier 31 Frank Cavalry (0/1000)
Second-tier 79 Frank Knight Recruits (422/500)]"
"[Morale: 60/100]"
"[Unit Cap: 2000]"
Looking at this new panel, Robson felt quite gratified. After all this time, his—Lord Robson's—enterprise was growing larger and larger.
'Hmm, it would be even more perfect if it weren't for that pack of Beastmen outside the city.'
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Robson had just finished looking at his panel and was preparing to sleep when a cavalryman carrying a Command Arrow galloped over.
This time, the cavalryman didn't go anywhere else, but headed straight for Robson's main camp.
"Sir! The enemy has breached the walls again!"
"How many? What race?" Robson asked.
Upon hearing Robson's questions, the messenger's face flushed red, and he shrank back timidly.
"I don't know. Baron Oli only ordered me to come and fetch you, sir."
Lines of frustration formed on Robson's forehead. 'If I get the chance,' he thought, 'I'm definitely replacing this whole unreliable lot.'
"Sound the call. We're moving out."
Unsure of the situation, Robson could only play it safe. He ordered his troops to follow behind while he went ahead to the city wall to assess the situation himself.
Riding a swift horse, Robson soon reached the wall. Baron Oli was currently fighting a group of Bronze-rank Gray Dwarves alongside a few other Knights.
Thousands of soldiers and goblins were locked in a chaotic battle.
'Why did this group get up here again?'
Robson didn't understand. 'Are there no Magic Crystal Cannons on the walls? How could you let this happen?'
"Hey! Robson! Help me!"
Seeing Robson arrive, Baron Oli acted as if he'd found his savior.
Robson remained silent, drawing his Knight's Sword and charging into the fray.
The Extraordinary Gray Dwarves shouted something in a language Robson couldn't understand, then charged forward as one.
Robson unleashed the power of a Silver Knight and surged forward, finishing off one of the Gray Dwarves.
The expressions of the other Gray Dwarves changed drastically, and they began to act with caution.
While their attention was fixed on Robson, Baron Oli, with a quick eye and a swift hand, took one down.
The remaining Gray Dwarves exchanged a look, saw the nobles' forces rushing over in the distance, and began to flee.
But how could Robson let them get away so easily?
'A perfect chance to test my newly upgraded bow skill.'
Robson pulled out his Elf Bow. The Gray Dwarves hadn't even fled ten meters before he let two arrows fly, and two of them fell.
"Ding! You have successfully used Deriman's Inherited Bow Skill to kill a Gray Dwarf Extraordinary Warrior. Experience +200."
'Holy cow!' Robson was stunned. 'Killing Transcendents really is the fastest way to gain experience.'
The few stragglers left on the wall didn't even require Robson's attention.
"Thank you, Sir Robson. You're finally here," Baron Oli said, letting out a long breath.
"What happened? Why did they charge up here again?" Robson frowned.
Hearing this, Baron Oli sighed as well.
"I'm not sure either. They seem to be coming in continuous waves. As soon as one group is pushed back, another follows right behind them. The interval between them is less than an hour..."
Robson fell silent upon hearing this. The Beastmen's objective couldn't be any clearer.
Each time, they sent dime-a-dozen races like goblins and Kobolds.
Their shared characteristics were their massive numbers and rapid reproduction!
The Beastmen probably didn't even know how many of these Vassal Armies they had. Their deaths likely weren't even worth tallying.
This way, they not only drained Sunset Fortress's strength but also reduced their own excess population. For the Beastman Empire, it was like killing two birds with one stone.
If they kept up this tactic, the condition of the entire Sunset Fortress would plummet in less than two days.
This was a simple case of being crushed by raw power; there was no way around it.
It didn't take much effort for Robson to figure all this out.
'Is there really such a good deal?'
After thinking it through, not only was Robson not worried, he was actually a little excited.
Previously, Robson had been worried about what he would do if they launched one massive attack.
If that happened, he could only prepare to pack up and run.
But since you're choosing to serve yourselves up on a platter, how could I possibly be so rude as to refuse?
As for whether doing this would accelerate the collapse of Sunset Fortress...
'Sunset Fortress is doomed to fall anyway, so Lord Robson might as well use the opportunity to farm some more experience.'