Lin Feng turned and flew back to the troop, landing on the ground. Everyone immediately gathered around him.

"Lord, how did it go?" Tie Dun was the first to crowd over.

Lin Feng brushed the dust off his body, his tone flat: "Over four thousand defenders, with three level-35 Orc Overseers. They have ballistae, catapults, and a tight formation with no flaws."

Tie Dun froze for a moment and scratched his head: "Four thousand? Plus the city walls... Brother Hu, how are we supposed to fight this battle?"

Zhao Hu glanced at him: "Wait for the Lord to finish."

Wang Wu said in a deep voice: "A direct assault isn't cost-effective. Even if we take it, our losses will be significant."

Feng Qingyan squeezed over from the back, shouting unwillingly: "What are you afraid of? Lord Lin alone is worth a thousand!"

She turned to look at Jiang Zhaojue: "Sister Jiang, don't you agree?"

Jiang Zhaojue did not answer, her silver-white spear resting on the ground as she gazed intently at the distant city walls.

Su Yurou asked softly: "Lord, what should we do then?"

Lin Feng raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, his voice steady and powerful: "Our goal is not to fight the Orcs to the death. There shouldn't be any Orc defenders left in Jingchuan County, so we will first go and take Jingchuan County, which is one hundred and forty miles south of Shenle County."

Jiang Yelan nodded without saying a word.

Tie Dun's eyes lit up: "Right! Bypass them! Why must we chew on hard bones? Isn't the soft stuff better?"

Zhao Hu nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly: "The Lord is right."

Lin Feng turned to face the south.

Behind him, the two thousand Beacon Guards and three thousand County Soldiers quickly changed direction, like a river being diverted, shifting from west to south, surging majestically into the depths of the Brown Earth Plain.

On the walls of Shenle County, Wuerjia stood side by side with two Orc Overseers, watching the human troop gradually moving away toward the south.

One Orc Overseer couldn't help but speak, his voice as coarse as sandpaper scraping against an iron plate: "Wuerjia, those human rats are going to attack Jingchuan County. Are we just going to watch them jump around?"

His fingers tightened around his battle axe, veins bulging.

"As long as you give the order, I will take two thousand brothers out of the city to chase them down and slice them to pieces from behind, one cut at a time!"

Wuerjia did not look at him, his gaze still fixed on the trail of dust gradually disappearing in the distance.

His voice was calm: "The Chieftain's order is to hold Shenle County, not to annihilate this human army."

He paused, his expression becoming more serious: "Moreover, the human who observed us from the air earlier is no simple character. He carries an aura that makes me feel oppressed, similar to the pressure the Chieftain gives me. If we had gone out to fight in the field, although we could have caused heavy losses to the human army, none of us would have escaped."

The two Orc Overseers looked at each other, their fingers gripping their battle axes loosening in unison.

One of them opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but closed it again.

The other looked down at the armor plates on his chest, remained silent for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "Then... are we just giving them Jingchuan County?"

Wuerjia did not answer.

On the city walls, the wind blew from the north, and the Cangshi Clan's war banners snapped loudly in the wind.

He turned and walked down the city tower, his mammoth-hide cloak dragging a heavy shadow behind him.

The two Orc Overseers exchanged a look and followed.

On the city walls, the Orc Infantry remained standing there, watching the dust cloud to the south becoming increasingly blurred, no one speaking.

After the troops changed direction and headed south, leaving the range of Shenle County, Lin Feng looked back.

Behind them, the walls of Shenle County had already shrunk into a gray line on the horizon.

There were no pursuers, no scout cavalry, not even a single Orc sentry watching from the city.

Lin Feng sighed inwardly; the Orcs in Shenle County were quite capable of restraint.

He had intended that if the Orc Army dared to sally out for a field battle and abandon the advantage of their walls, he wouldn't let them off easy.

Although the losses for the Beacon Guards and County Soldiers would be great, after seeing the destruction of Elderland, he had long understood that the struggle between the Nightmare World and Blue Star would only become more cruel in the future.

Although the recruitment quota of five hundred Great Qin Elite Soldiers was not much, as long as it could add a chance of victory in the final decisive battle, some costs had to be paid.

He could not rely on city walls to block the Orcs forever; sooner or later, he would have to defeat them squarely in a field battle.

"Lord Lin?" Jiang Zhaojue's voice came from beside him, pulling him back from his thoughts, "What's wrong?"

Lin Feng turned his head and withdrew his gaze: "Nothing."

He did not explain, and Jiang Zhaojue did not press for an answer.

The two rode side by side on their Great-Horned Deer, galloping south in silence. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

An hour and a half later, the walls of Jingchuan County appeared in their field of vision.

They were twenty meters high, similar to the previous counties he had captured, but there was no one on the walls, the city gates were wide open, and not even a single banner could be seen.

As the troop drew closer, there was still no movement on the walls.

Tie Dun was the first to cheer, raising his shield and waving it at the sky: "No one! Another empty city! Haha, the Orcs really abandoned Jingchuan County too!"

Wang Wu also breathed a sigh of relief, a smile on his lips: "Two empty cities in a row; luck is good today."

Feng Qingyan poked her head out from the back of the troop, her face full of excitement: "Picking up two cities in a row, Lord Lin, your luck is just too good!"

Jiang Zhaojue gazed at the empty city walls, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"It seems the Orcs are determined to hold Shenle County to the death, having concentrated all surrounding forces there. They simply don't care about Jingchuan County and Fengzao County."

Lin Feng smiled. Regardless of the future, at least for now, Jingchuan County was his.

The troop encountered no resistance and filed directly through the open city gates.

The streets were clean; there were no Orcs, no corpses, not even a single strand of beast fur.

The Council Hall was in the center of the city, a two-story stone building. The lintel was carved with crooked Orcish characters, and a few half-gnawed bones were scattered at the entrance, but the door was wide open, and the inside was empty.

Lin Feng walked in. The dark red territory core was floating alone in the center of the hall, like a heart forgotten by someone.

He thrust his Wildfire Spear—one strike, two strikes, and after ten strikes, the core shattered.

The dark red light points dissipated, and golden light re-condensed, with a new, dark golden core, smooth as jade, floating steadily in mid-air.

【Jingchuan County has been captured】

【This territory has been automatically converted into a subsidiary territory of Beacon Fire Territory】

Zhao Hu led his men out of the Council Hall to the small open space outside to organize the reception of the three thousand newly appeared military personnel and civilians.

Tie Dun was already squatting by the pile of supplies, beginning to count and muttering to himself.

Lin Feng did not follow them out. He stood before the golden territory core, reached out to press it, and with a thought, pulled up the operation interface of Great Wall.

A holographic map unfolded above his head, and the positions of Jingchuan County and Fengzao County lay quietly at the northern foot of Tianji Mountain like two newly placed chess pieces.

He extended his finger and extended the boundary line of Great Wall outward from its original position, enclosing both counties he had captured today.

【Dynamic territory adjusted. Consumed Stone × 8000, Wood × 1500, Iron Ingot × 300. Resources have been deducted.】

Lin Feng withdrew his hand, a curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

In less than two days, his territory had doubled in size.

Alien invasion was both a crisis and an opportunity; the Orcs were sieging cities and seizing land in front, while he was picking up the scraps and harvesting in the back.

When the Orcs occupied a county, they could only gain resources and troops. When he occupied a county, he could not only gain resources and troops, but also increase the recruitment quota for Great Qin Elite Soldiers, and he could also use Great Wall to enclose the newly occupied territory—killing three birds with one stone.