Charles's army soon set out again.
The number of Orc prisoners under his command had increased rather than decreased.
Lich Fang had originally had only seventeen or eighteen hundred Orcs captured under his command.
After this stronghold had been breached, some had been lost, but more Orc prisoners had been added.
The lives of low-ranking Orcs were not much better than those of low-status humans.
In settlements ruled by the Howling Children of the Wasteland,
humans generally held a lower status than Orcs, but even so, the treatment of low-ranking Orcs and humans was not all that different.
Some Orcs had food for one meal but not the next, while some humans served as town mayors or wealthy households within settlements.
Thus, in the Land of Chaos, the social standing of humans and Orcs depended on strength and wealth.
For middle- and lower-class Orcs, the only thing they could take pride in was their racial status.
But that did nothing to keep them from being poor.
Many Orcs enlisted in the army; some did so to vent their desire for battle and their violent tempers, while others simply joined to earn food.
Now that they had been captured by Charles, they naturally harbored resentment, but they had no choice but to obey orders.
More than two thousand Orc prisoners were thus led by Charles as they began to crisscross the territory of the Howling Children of the Wasteland.
These Orcs could be considered to have offered up their pledge of allegiance.
But this was not the end. Charles had other methods that would make them obediently follow his commands.
Molly rode beside Charles, saying worriedly, "Aren't we being a little too bold?"
"The number of prisoner soldiers already exceeds the number of our own troops."
"What if... I mean, what