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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘Crazy.’
They trampled and crushed the caltrops made of Giant Ant shells that were laid on the ground as if it was nothing.
‘They can do that barefoot?’
Having enjoyed those traps a lot until now, I couldn’t help but feel regretful.
“Attack!”
As many orcs fell into the pits, Rithild immediately gave the signal to attack.
Wind Cutters and Air Balls simultaneously rained down on the orcs, and the effect was dramatic as magic fell on the heads of the already chaotic guys.
Screams of orcs echoed across the battlefield, and their blood and flesh soaked the ground.
The land that had already been stained with the blood and flesh of orcs just two days ago was being stained again.
‘…Tsk. The warriors, they’re not even looking back.’
Even though they had almost no one to support them, they absolutely refused to retreat.
Athena and Kayla blocked the path of those guys.
“Kehehehe!”
Perhaps because they were the ones who had been luring them until now, the orc warriors immediately turned their heads towards the two.
‘But it’s not 9:2.’
I immediately sent out Skeleton No. 1 and No. 2, and used the higher-level ones among the other undead to support them.
‘The specter won’t do. They’re ones who handle mana…’
It was better to disturb the regular orcs instead.
I freely released the specters onto the battlefield.
I thought that this time, the specters, especially the one belonging to me rather than the land of death, might grow significantly.
‘Since there are so many.’
There was hope that they might even be able to use physical force.
‘They also absorbed the queen ant.’
However, since we had to win the battle at hand rather than the future, I immediately focused on the battle.
I continuously used enhancements to support the two skeletons and also supported the undead of the land of death.
I mainly chose to enhance their endurance to buy as much time as possible.
What I had to do was essentially use the undead as meat shields.
To make sure the orcs never reached the rear and to create an environment where Kayla and Athena could run wild.
It wasn’t the most flashy role, but it was the most important one that I took on.
Kayla calmly blocked the attacks of the orcs rushing towards her.
She deflected one’s attack and easily parried the second one’s attack as well.
However, there was no room to attack.
Before she knew it, a third one rushed in, and she focused on defense instead of attacking.
In the meantime, my skeletons clung to the pushed-back ones, and Athena blatantly retreated behind my skeletons instead of defending, actively using the undead as shields.
‘A wise choice.’
As a result, the orc warriors couldn’t focus on the two most annoying ones, and had no choice but to move to destroy the annoying skeletons.
However, the skeletons didn’t easily yield.
No. 1 and No. 2 were guys I had strengthened in various ways.
Especially No. 2 was a warrior, and to be honest, I was confident it could handle one warrior alone.
‘Because it inherited some of Rankbink’s techniques.’
As expected, one warrior who ignored No. 2 and tried to destroy it at once retreated while gripping his wrist.
His pupils trembled as if he never expected a mere skeleton to use high-level swordsmanship.
The skeletons belonging to the land of death were not to be taken lightly either.
‘All of them were summoned as warriors…’
The warriors who had tried to crush their skulls and kill the two women at once began to struggle one by one.
However, they weren’t just being beaten.
‘They’re here.’
Orcs who arrived late after avoiding the hornorcs’ magic started to support the orc warriors, and hundreds of undead fought to stop them.
Crack, groan!
Thud thud thud!
Skeletons were destroyed and zombies were torn apart.
However, the orcs didn’t get away unscathed either, and some died while others were injured, but they destroyed as many undead as possible.
But the land that had absorbed a sufficient amount of magic restored the broken undead, and the orcs couldn’t easily overcome the wall of undead that rose from the ground and grabbed their ankles again.
In that way, the corpses of orcs piled up one by one on the ground, and the orcs, wary of even the broken undead, went through the process of double-tapping to destroy even the fallen ones again.
‘Tsk, the magic consumption will be a bit high.’
Still, they will eventually be resurrected.
Because they ate a lot of magic.
Even now, I was continuously releasing magic from the seal to replenish it, but the amount I could replenish was limited as my level was not high yet.
The magic stored in the land of death was clearly being depleted.
I selected the ones who were enduring quite well and enhanced them.
Those who received my help like that were fighting so well that they could be distinguished from other undead.
With the dozen or so undead I selected at the center, other undead gathered around them, and the defensive line became solid.
“Haaaah!”
Even during the brief moment I was supporting other undead, the fierce battle with the orc warriors continued.
Naturally, as time passed, our superiority became evident.
‘…They’re fast?’
Kayla had already killed one warrior and was strongly pushing back another, and Athena also had one warrior almost in tatters.
The problem was…
‘There’s no way this is the end.’
Although the number of orcs was rapidly decreasing as the hornorcs periodically used magic, the orcs were still rushing in with a crazed look.
Even though countless comrades were slaughtered, they didn’t care at all.
“…Found him.”
I noticed a huge orc taking some orcs and detouring around.
‘The chief…’
It was certain.
His size, the countless scars etched on his body, he didn’t look like an ordinary orc at all.
‘Are they going to hit the side?’
Of course, I had no intention of letting them do that.
Although they looked quite trained, they didn’t seem to be ones who used mana.
Then, there was no reason to be pushed back.
I quickly confirmed the location where they would rush to.
Victory on the warrior side seemed certain.
The only variable was that orc chief.
I quickly renewed the enhancement magic and detached some undead from each defensive line to secretly gather them around me.
‘One useful guy isn’t enough.’
A total of thirty undead gathered in front of me.
Among them, I gave double-layered enhancement magic to three skeleton warriors and kept an eye on the chief’s movements.
‘…They’re going to attack the hornorcs?’
That was the right method.
I intentionally exposed gaps in some formations.
To make it as natural as possible, I made the undead protecting the hornorcs fewer by making some defensive lines thicker.
As if he had gone through as many real battles as the tremendous scars etched on his body, the orc chief didn’t miss that gap.
A huge roar mixed with mana rang out.
The morale of the surrounding orcs soared, and they immediately rushed towards the gap.
‘Gotcha.’
Part of the undead formation collapsed, and the hornorcs were exposed to danger.
“Huk!”
Rithild’s expression turned to one of horror.
Satisfaction and violence appeared on the face of the orc chief.
Soon, the opened gap was filled again.
“Fall back!”
Following my order, the hornorcs stepped back.
The orc chief threw his weapon to kill them, but…
The doubly enhanced skeleton warrior struggled to block the attack.
‘…His strength is no joke.’
However, it managed to block it in the end.
The breached gap was filled again, and the orc chief and his royal guard who had struggled to enter were isolated inside our formation.
The position had changed, but it wasn’t that the hornorcs couldn’t use magic.
“…That one seems to be the leader, shouldn’t we strike him first?”
At Rithild’s words, I shook my head and said,
“Just reduce the number of orcs. I’ll take care of that one.”
“…Understood.”
The command was mine.
I couldn’t observe the entire battlefield alone, and it was difficult to act as a meat shield and also command the attacks.
Moreover, I thought it was more appropriate for Rithild to command the hornorcs to use magic than me, so I had him command, but he also had to follow my orders according to the agreement.
Therefore, although the hornorcs seemed to be concerned about the orc chief, they ended up ignoring him and focusing on reducing the number of orcs.
We had the advantage in both the front line and the battles of the higher forces.
If we just dealt with him…
‘It’s our victory.’
If there was a gap, I could directly resolve it, and if that wasn’t possible, I just had to endure until the battles of the higher forces ended.
I showed a relaxed smile, and anger and faint despair were etched on the face of the orc chief.
The endless wave of orcs was ultimately unable to overcome the wall of undead.
When the orc warriors were defeated and even the orc chief was captured, even those ferocious orcs had their momentum broken to some extent.
Nevertheless, they didn’t give up.
I didn’t know if their goal was to rescue the chief or to take revenge for their comrades.
As a result, they attacked us to the end, and as a result, the surroundings were filled with orc corpses.
“…Phew, it’s finally over.”
The chief of the hornorcs, Rithild, muttered with a sigh full of fatigue.
I was also equally tired.
It was enough to be exhausting.
It was a war against over a thousand orcs.
The hornorcs had exhausted all their mana, and I was also out of magic.
At least my recovery was fast, but they probably wouldn’t have that either.
They were probably feeling an immense sense of exhaustion.
‘The undead… there are almost none left either.’
Out of the hundreds of undead, barely twenty were still standing.
The land of death had depleted the magic it contained, and the magic I had been supplying was currently being consumed for my recovery, so if those undead collapsed now, they wouldn’t be able to regenerate.
‘But there are no enemies left.’
Before I knew it, Athena and Kayla were standing around me as if guarding me.
“Good work, Master.”
“You too, Kayla. I survived thanks to you.”
I had received Kayla’s help in capturing the orc chief.
Although it didn’t matter if we killed him, I instructed to capture him alive as it was better to provoke the orcs that way.
“Can we kill them now?”
“Not yet. Their territory still remains.”
I shook my head at Athena’s words.
Although their main force was annihilated, it didn’t mean their entire territory had collapsed.
‘If they don’t have their main force, there’s no answer anyway.’
Even if we couldn’t take the undead here, if we destroyed their main base, the orc tribe would be torn apart.
‘We don’t need to kill them all. If they are split into multiple tribes, they won’t even be able to dream of revenge, and they’ll be overwhelmed just by maintaining their new communities.’
When a powerful force in the area collapses, other surrounding monsters will actively move to gobble up the fragments.
If that happens, they won’t even dare to touch us.
While the hornorcs and I were resting, Athena and Kayla also took a break, but they never left my side.
‘They’re wary of the hornorcs.’
Well, I understand.
It’s hard to trust them easily.
They are guys we met not long ago.
Moreover, we got their treasure…
‘And we have to receive the horns of their tribesmen as well.’
The battle had just ended and they were in a tired state, but their numbers were high.
It was indeed a good time to betray us since the common, biggest enemy had disappeared.
That was why I didn’t stop the two’s actions.
When some of Athena and Kayla’s stamina had recovered and even my magic had mostly recovered, I approached Rithild.
“I kept my promise. Although their main base still remains, since their main force is all dead, it won’t be difficult there.”
“…I agree.”
Rithild nodded his head and soon took out a few horns and held them out to me.
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