The fact that these orcs attacked our shield wall first struck me as strange.These strange orcs were smart enough to carry weapons. This meant that they were at least more intelligent than the ratmen, as for how much, that"s difficult to say. Either way, just knowing how to make and use a weapon, meant that they couldn"t be that stupid.
This was why I had a.s.sumed they would charge at the guardsmen guarding the flanks. After all, the shields they wielded didn"t seem as st.u.r.dy as the heavy bone shields. However, the reality of the situation was that they chose the shield wall as their entry point.
The reason: they had the confidence to break through it!
The moment the leading orcs broke through the shield wall, the other orcs began streaming in from this breach as well. This sudden calamity made the shieldbearers and sabre wielders abandon their usual stance of counter attacking. Instead, they were forced into the pa.s.sive position of being on the defensive.
Upon breaching our formation, these two-star orcs now had to deal with the reserve army on top of attacking the sabre wielders and shieldbearers. The reserves were always stationed behind the Mo Sabre wielders with their mission being to replace the sabre wielders and if need be, protect them.
While the two parties had the same equipment, that didn"t mean that they were happy about it. The moment they locked eyes, they charged at each other, their eyes red with fury. The reserves were made entirely of one-stars but despite this, they bravely charged at the orcs, their clubs flailing wildly in the air as they did so.
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Unfortunately for them, the first enemy they encountered were the two-star orcs. Each of these orcs possessed enormous strength and with a simple swing of their clubs, smashed the heads of a few reserve devils.
As time pa.s.sed, more and more orcs streamed into the breach caused by the two-star orcs. Without the stalwart shield wall protecting them, what had been an advantage for them now turned into a burden. This was especially so for the sabre wielders.
Not only were they not able to go on the offensive, their long sabres even dragged them down. As they attempted to strike back at the orcs, their unwieldy sabres would hinder their own reinforcements.
I had long considered giving them a set of secondary close range weapons but given that my army wasn"t even sufficiently armed, I simply couldn"t spare the mana to create more weapons for the sabre wielders. This was why the sabre wielders were put in this awkward position time and time again.
With the formation in disarray, One-eye was severely distracted to the point where he even forgot to give out orders. Seeing that matters had devolved into this state, there"s no need for a formation and so I decided to dogpile them.
“Guardsmen forget about the flanks. Leave a section behind to defend against the charging orcs while the rest of you attack the orcs directly. Reserves, help them as well. Shieldbearers and sabre wielders get out of there now!”
Hearing my orders, One-eye finally calmed down and along with Nine-finger, led their guardsmen into the chaotic battle.
By now, half of the orcs had already engaged with the bulk of my army. As for the other half, Nine-finger led half of the guardsmen to block the remaining 30 or so orcs. One-eye led the other half of the guardsmen to attack the orcs fighting against the shieldbearers and Mo Sabre wielders.
With the two parties so thoroughly mixed together, I didn"t dare to release any magic out of fear of friendly fire.
Thankfully, the h.e.l.lhounds finally joined in the battle. While they were only one-star as well, they had the advantage of mobility. They swiftly weaved through the crowd and struck at the heart of the battle. As beasts originating from Purgatory, they had terrifying offensive strength.
Their claws and teeth were easily able to tear through the hide of the orcs and not only that, some of the h.e.l.lhounds were even able to breathe fire.
Usually this wouldn"t matter much against the flame resistant devils but these orcs seemed to have a low resistance against flames. Whoever was struck with their flame breath, immediately wailed in pain and began rolling around on the floor.
Things began to take a turn in our favor.
“These are the Demonic Half-Orcs. While they have an enormous strength, they are inhibited by their primitive weapons and hence do not possess the lethality you would expect from them.”
Violet Snow finally returned, having recently left due to my inconsiderate question. As she explained this to me, she slapped the ground with her tiny paws.
50 meters away, one of the demonic half-orcs was immediately set upon by a giant icicle sticking out of the ground.
The deadly icicle had at least the circ.u.mference of an adult"s palm and as it tore through the half-orc"s lower body, it nearly split him in half as it skewered him through the chest. Naturally, this half-orc was as dead as dead can be.
So this is what it means to have your chrysanthemum (a.n.u.s) pierced…*shiver*
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“Demonic half-orc?” This was an unfamiliar term to me but judging from what I knew of them, they were probably a life form found in Abaddon.
Any creature found in the Prison of the Dead was probably from one of the three h.e.l.ls, Purgatory, Gehenna and Abaddon. They definitely weren"t from Purgatory. Most of the creatures in Gehenna were undead or had an affinity for ice. As for Abaddon, they were a complicated bunch.
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Due to my lack of experience with Abaddon, I couldn"t say for sure but even so, I wouldn"t be surprised if there were lifeforms such as these half-orcs.
“Demonic half-orcs have a strength that rivals your devils but they possess an abysmal resistance towards magic, especially flame magic.”
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“Even so, the casualties are still too great…” The enemy had at least seven to eight two-stars. As for our side, we only had Nine-finger and One-eye. And so, I turned to my bodyguards and said, “No.3, Big 4, go help them.”
“But Master…your safety…” No.3 was reluctant to leave my side due to safety reasons. At the side, Big 4 stood there silent as always but judging from his eyes, he didn"t seem to want to leave either.
“Don"t worry. I have Violet Snow with me.”
I gave them a dismissive wave of my hands and tried to send them off once more. Who knew that, No.5 would pick this moment to b.u.t.t in.
“With me protecting the Master, there"s nothing to be afraid of.” He gave his bone shield a smack of his bone sword, grabbing the attention of everyone present before boldly swearing, “I vow to protect the Master to my dying breath!”
“You?…” No.3 glared at him. “I hope you live up to those words.”
No.5 cowered slightly at being glared. Perhaps he felt that he had just lost dignity and so he decided to double down on his words. He lowered his head while still adamantly insisting, “If anyone wishes to harm the Master, they have to do so over my dead body!”
“Hmph.” No.3 didn"t respond but instead left for the battlefield with Big 4 in tow.
My named subordinates had all shown signs of growth, barring those that were dead. All, except for No.5. This potato just didn"t seem to be growing at all. Even those normal large imps were showing signs of evolving. By my estimation, they would soon evolve into head imps.
But this sheltered potato…don"t tell me you really need me to feed you till death!?
It was at this moment that the shadowy figure of Vick appeared within the chaotic battlefield. I simply couldn"t understand why a vengeful wraith would end up as a peace-loving ghost. But reality was as such, this strange fellow would never proactively attack another person. Instead, all he did was play pranks on the combatants.
Thankfully, he knew how to distinguish friend from foe. As he fleeted about the battlefield, he limited his pranks only to the half-orcs. He would fly circles around one of the two-star half-orcs, infuriating his victim.
In response to the taunting, the half-orc swung his club at the wispy figure but it merely pa.s.sed through Vick without leaving a scratch on him. From to time, this mischievous ghost would make faces at the half-orc and even flashed him a thumbs down, causing him to fly into a rage.
Unfortunately for him, there was no outlet for him to vent that anger. After all, Vick was immune to physical attacks; even if you wanted to get angry at him, there"s no point in doing so.
As the two bodyguards scanned the battlefield, they immediately locked onto the half-orc getting pestered by Vick. With the two of them teaming up on him, the poor fellow who was nearly driven mad, was swiftly hacked to pieces.
Despite losing his toy, Vick wasn"t angered a bit. He merely swallowed the half-orc"s soul and immediately went in search of a new toy.
Regarding his habit of stealing my souls, there was nothing I could really do about it. While it was a failure on my part for summoning him, I still didn"t want to unsummon him. After all, he was already there, it would be a huge waste of mana if I got rid of him.
Besides, he seemed to possess a will of his own and I even gave him a name…I"ll just leave him be. While he didn"t attack them, he knew to proactively distract the enemy. Besides, his immunity to physical attacks might just come in handy.
Violet Snow stopped summoning that terrifying icicle of hers after killing another two more half-orcs. I guess those few casts must"ve taken a toll on her. After all, casting such a spell with pinpoint accuracy in such a chaotic battlefield and at that range must"ve consumed a ton of mana. Even now, her accuracy was something I didn"t possess.
With the addition of No.3, Big 4 and Vick, the half-orcs began to lose their advantage and soon the combined forces of the h.e.l.lhounds and the devils began to suppress them.
After ten more minutes, there were about ten or so half-orcs left. Having been surrounded by an army tens of times their size, they began to lose their will to fight.
I got my subordinates to maintain this encirclement while I stepped forth. It"s time for my charms to do their work.
The devils obediently stopped their attack and the half-orcs weren"t in a hurry to press the devils either. They were slightly confused by their opponent"s decision to halt their attack despite their obvious advantage.
The demonic half-orcs began to gather around the two remaining two-star half-orcs. Their intention was to tighten up their defenses by reducing the area they needed to defend.
I strode forth with grimoire and egg in hand, behind me trotted the snow puppy, Violet Snow. Seeing me approach, my subordinates made way for me. No.3 and Big 4 made use of this time to return to my side, flanking me on both sides.
“Speak, why did you guys attack us…?”
In the face of my curt questioning, the two remaining two-stars glared at me with bloodshot eyes. The more aggressive of the two immediately cut in before I could finish my sentence. As he opened up his giant mouth, revealing a row of blackish-yellow teeth, he shouted fiercely at me in an unknown language.
“%#@@%%%”
“A language barrier…” I clenched my fists and sighed. I swear my b.a.l.l.s are hurting right now…if I had any…
My interest was immediately dampened by this revelation. Being unable to communicate meant that recruiting was basically impossible. Does this mean I have to put them all to death?
“He said, you d.a.m.ned l.u.s.t demon, don"t even think of seducing me.” Just as I thought about whether or not to kill them, Violet Chime chimed in with an unexpected translation. “He said he will never believe in another l.u.s.t demon again. Furthermore, he said that even if you offered to be his female slave, he wouldn"t accept you.”
“…murder that b*****d!”
To think that even these half-orcs would…I"ve had enough of this!!!
“Kill all of them!”