Chapter 169: The Frugal Dark Elves

Chapter 169: The Frugal Dark Elves

As the Human formation began to crumble under the assault of the Dark Elf ballistae, Mork also issued orders to launch a full-scale attack by the Dark Elf Army.

The Dark Elf forces advanced slowly toward the human camp, arranged in the front lines I had meticulously set up.

Mork himself blended into the ranks.

The uniform black armor, combined with the towering orc slaves in the front line, struck considerable psychological terror into the human soldiers.

Instinctively, those human soldiers sought warmth in numbers, looking for a semblance of support.

However, the ballistae still firing made that difficult.

Should any human soldier cluster together, they would inevitably become prime targets for these ballistae, maximizing casualties.

Duke Ogg found himself powerless in this situation.

True, huddling together can stabilize morale, but the immense sacrifice it brings can just as swiftly shatter that very morale.

“Everyone, hold steady! Don’t be afraid! Those Dark Elf bastards are not our match! Their supply of ammunition is limited and nearly exhausted…”

Yet doing nothing was also not an option. Weighing his choices, he began to rally the soldiers with words, attempting to boost their morale.

I must say, as someone who had been steadfast in the north of the kingdom, Duke Ogg possessed considerable personal charm.

After hearing his words, the soldiers’ spirits rose a bit.

One by one, they fixated on the approaching Dark Elf forces.

Though some legs trembled involuntarily, no one dared to retreat.

Around them, Dark Elf ballista projectiles rained down continuously, and being caught in one would spell disaster.

It was either death or serious injury.

Slowly, as the distance between both sides shrank, the Dark Elf forces picked up speed in their advance.

They soon entered the firing range of the human crossbowmen.

Duke Ogg promptly commanded the archers to retaliate.

While the Dark Elf troops had shields and relatively decent armor, they still suffered some casualties.

But it was the orcs and humans who took the brunt of the damage, with the Dark Elves remaining untouched.

This was a characteristic tactic of the Dark Elves.

Their population was extremely small; after all, they were merely exiled elves, a minority.

Though they were considerably more liberal than ordinary elves in some aspects, it didn’t significantly increase their numbers.

Thus, in battle, they sought to ensure their own safety as much as possible, using slaves as cannon fodder to deplete the enemy’s living forces while protecting themselves.

Following that, the Dark Elf archers and mages initiated their counterattack.

Unlike the humans’ crossbowmen, who employed widespread saturation attacks, the Dark Elf archers specialized in precise, free-form attacks.

Thanks to their superb skills, they reaped significant results.

The mages followed suit, channeling their powers.

At last, when they were less than a hundred meters from the human troops, the towering orc slaves let out a desperate charge.

What had been complacent orcs erupted into terrifying roars that momentarily delayed the reactions of the human soldiers.

By the time the human soldiers regained their wits, the massive orcs were already upon them.

Meanwhile, the Dark Elf ballista units in the rear had halted their bombardment.

They had effectively completed their task.

And Duke Ogg’s previous statement was accurate.

The number of projectiles the Dark Elves carried was indeed not high.

Now, most had been expended, with only a few left as backup.

Moreover, firing one now could easily lead to fratricidal damage.

Yet, as the orcs launched their assault, Duke Ogg was already braving the pressure of ballista fire to consolidate the human forces.

Otherwise, their disorganized formation would be no match for a charge from these behemoths.

Thus, although the orc warriors charged fiercely, they were still held back by the human soldiers’ tightly arranged formation and indomitable spirit.

Having lost the momentum of their charge, the orc slaves began to fall under the human soldiers’ onslaught, one after another.

But for the Dark Elves, their objective had been achieved.

These orcs had drawn fire away from them and disrupted the human formation.

After the orc warriors charged in, it was immediately followed by a mixed formation of humans and Dark Elf forces.

Notably, Mork and his guard were part of this assembly.

Under Mork’s direct leadership, the second wave of the Dark Elf assault was ferocious.

Right from the start, they breached the already somewhat disarrayed human lines.

The subsequent defenses of the humans were utterly on the brink of collapse.

So far, not a single human soldier had been able to withstand even a single blow from Mork.

On the contrary, with each swing of his sword, multiple human soldiers fell.

This image of slaughter filled those observing human soldiers with sheer terror.

On the Dark Elf side, however, excitement surged.

Each one seemed to be on a high, their combat prowess noticeably amplified in that moment.

With one side’s strength increasing and the other’s waning, the situation for the humans grew dire.

Mork’s performance caught Duke Ogg’s attention.

Seeing him, Duke Ogg felt a weight sink in his heart.

Even though he knew Mork was certainly there, witnessing him in the flesh made Ogg reluctant to face him.

A twelve-tier warrior was the apex existence in this world.

Especially since he was a long-lived elf, it made him even more daunting to handle.

It could be said that this Dark Elf army’s endurance to present times was largely attributed to Mork.

Mork’s presence instilled considerable apprehension in many factions regarding the Dark Elves.

To defeat them, dispatched forces must be ample or powerful enough; otherwise, it would be inadequate.

Deploying more seemed overkill and could lead to inefficacy.

After all, these Dark Elves have been roaming, with no fixed abode.

And they were out on the vast, boundless sea, making it all the more challenging to trouble them.

With that aside, back to the battlefield.

Despite his unwillingness to confront Mork, Duke Ogg had no choice but to muster his courage.

This was a moment to take risks.

If Mork continued unimpeded, the human lines would eventually collapse.

Thus, Duke Ogg led his guards to confront Mork and his elite squad.

The two sides clashed in a maelstrom of battle.

Not to mention the clash between Duke Ogg and Mork.

The elite guards from both sides were the pinnacle of their respective races, each one thought capable of rivaling any mid-level officer in a standard army.

Yet in this instance, those individuals were little more than mere pawns, always at risk of being caught in the chaotic contest between the two leading warriors.