The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 291 The General's Battle Robe Stained with Soldiers' Blood (Part 4)
"Kill!" A troop of swift infantry charged forward with their spears, forcing the orcs back a few steps before engaging in close combat.

As the chevaux-de-frise broke, the distance advantage of the Swift Infantry over the orcs began to disappear. One by one, the Swift Infantry, having lost their chevaux-de-frise, howled and swung their spiked hammers, rushing forward amidst the terrified gazes of the orcs.

"Mad! Mad! These scum have gone mad! What right do they have to charge my army!" The fifth-tier orc commander, Golden Egg, went into a frenzy, staring at the endless "torrents," but he had no courage to fight. Heaven have mercy! Even a rat in the ground would get shot twice if it passed by these lunatics, and even a god would get a whack. Golden Egg didn't think he was that stupid. Let those lowly, cheap orcs wear them down; the noble Golden Egg didn't need to risk it!

What it doesn't know is that if it doesn't act now, it won't have another chance!

"Attack! Regardless of the cost!" Luke Leopold commanded, brandishing his longsword.

However, the Swift Legion, which had suffered heavy casualties, suddenly realized that the other reinforcements following behind them had not attacked together. On the entire battlefield, only the Swift Infantry Legion led by Luke Leopold and a great traitor were fighting head-on with the Orcs.

“General Luke! We want to know the plan!” Dozens of Swiftflow Legion commanders looked at Luke Leopold and said in a deep voice. Luke Leopold was now like a gambler who had lost his mind, ordering his infantry to advance mindlessly! The commanders began to question his orders.

"Plan? The plan is for the first 10 legions to disrupt the orcs' defenses, and the rest of the legions to charge desperately! To carve out a path! Our knights need this lifeline!" Luke Leopold said coldly, completely unconcerned.

"General Luke Leopold, Commander of the Allied Legion, if I may be so bold, this is murder! The lads of the Empire are not cannon fodder! As an Imperial officer, I question your decisions and command! If you cannot convince me, I will refuse any irresponsible orders! And I will convene all legion commanders to vote for a new Allied Legion Commander!" A legion commander stepped forward, joking! They were all legion commanders of equal rank; they were simply electing a leader for the sake of combat. If they really angered him, they could simply choose another one!
"Question? Ha! Look at Lagrange City in the distance! Look at those hordes of orcs! Tell me, does Lagrange City need ordinary soldiers like us? They don't! What they need is a decisive knightly order! A legion of professionals! Our mission—is to safely escort the Northern Knights into the capital! For this goal, you, me, and all the soldiers here are sacrifices! Now tell me, who among you has any objections?" Luke Leopold roared, his eyes bloodshot.

"We die! The Empire lives! Make your decision! Those who don't want to die can leave here and go to the rear. I won't blame you!" Luke Leopold calmly looked at each legion commander.

“Maybe you’re wrong, but I want to gamble on whether we can succeed…” A legion commander stood there for a few seconds before turning back to his legion.

"Hopefully our efforts won't be in vain..." Another legion commander left and returned to his legion.

"We can succeed, right, General Luke Leopold!"

"Wish me luck! I'm about to lead my lads into battle! I really hope those young men survive!"

"General Luke, please! My family is in Lagrange City... I must lead my soldiers to rescue them."

"If I perish... send these letters back to Aslecon Territory and tell the Earl that we have done our duty to the Empire!" One by one, the legion commanders left indifferently, just as they had at the start of the battle. Their eyes were filled with the resolve to die. Although they felt sorry for the young men under their command... they were soldiers!

“Luke, you’re a madman! 50 people… Can you really bring yourself to do this? Does Raynor know?” A legion commander in a blue cloak approached Luke Leopold and looked him in the eyes solemnly.

“The North can muster an army of 50 at any time, but we cannot create another empire! I do not ask for the world's understanding or forgiveness; I only ask that this great nation continue!” Luke Leopold said, watching the swift infantry marching towards the front lines.

“Renault allowed you to do this? You’re committing a crime! You’ll be hanged by the angry mob!” the legion commander exclaimed in shock.

“Merck Leopold! My dear brother! We have long since lost our way! Renault will not allow me to do this... but what can he do? If we don’t sacrifice ourselves, who will help them into the city?” Luke Leopold looked at his brother with loving eyes.

"The coalition is fighting hard too! We still have a chance!" Merck Leopold looked at his brother, and at that moment he felt that his brother was a complete stranger! Cold-blooded and terrifying.

"The Allied Forces? You mean those disorganized rabble?" Luke Leopold scoffed. He held those Allied Forces, who only knew how to fight when they had the upper hand, in utter contempt. (Player: I feel offended! What did the Allied Forces do to you?)

"This..." Merck Leopold couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. To be honest, the fighting capacity of those allied forces was really worrying.

"I'm sorry... I dragged you into this, my dear brother... My lifelong dream was to make the Leopold family a noble family! Even if it was just a minor lordship... It seems there's no chance now..." Luke Leopold gave a bitter laugh. He and his brother were going to die here, and neither of them had any children or even got married... It could be said that the Leopold family was on the verge of extinction.

"Forget it, we are all soldiers, it is our duty to protect the country, it has nothing to do with you... What a pity about that girl in Swiftstream City... Tsk tsk tsk!" Merck Leopold smacked his lips, looking very regretful.

Luke and Merk would never know that after the Battle of the Rapids, which was named after the swift charge, they would be etched into the annals of Middle-earth, with the Empire posthumously awarding Luke the title of Marquis of Leopold and Merk the title of Baron of Leopold. The sacrifice of this army would be remembered by all!
"Prepare for battle! I have to lead my legions to the front lines. Nearly 20 legions have already been wiped out! The orcs aren't doing well either; at least 10,000 of them have been annihilated." Merck Leopold sighed as he looked at the front lines.

"A 6 to 1 kill ratio? Hahaha! We've made a profit!" Luke Leopold was even a little jubilant, after all, exchanging six ordinary people for one professional seemed like a huge win!
Looking at the beaming Luke, Merck lowered his head. After this battle, the North would likely be draped in mourning! The days of every family wearing white mourning clothes seemed to appear before his eyes. Merck couldn't help but shiver, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Give the order! Everyone, press forward! Keep pressing the enemy, tear open a gap! Tell those legion commanders that we still have two thousand knights waiting to rescue the capital!" Luke Leopold smiled as he looked at the orcs' increasingly chaotic formation.

(End of this chapter)