Chapter 36: Victory
Although the Beast King and his Orcs fought valiantly to hold the city wall, defeat was looming like a landslide.
The wooden planks of Malong Fortress had been pulled out by the Humans, and no matter how much water was inside the barrel, it would eventually all run dry.
As more and more Human soldiers arrived, the danger for the Beast King and his crew escalated.
“Your Majesty, we must retreat!”
An Orc Priest stationed at the back saw the approaching Human armies and immediately urged the Beast King.
“Retreat? No, we can’t retreat!”
The Beast King didn’t look back, continuing his vicious battle.
The Human soldiers facing him were already trembling in fear, too scared to approach him.
Seeing the increasingly closer reinforcements, the Orc Priest grit his teeth and pressed on, “Your Majesty, if we lose Malong Fortress, we lose it. As long as you’re still here, you can lead the Orcs to reclaim it one day.”
Inside the fortress, leading the charge towards them was Cain.
Although his title was Captain of Arthur’s Personal Guard, his performance in the military had practically made him the vice-commander, just waiting for an official appointment.
Seeing his comrades held back by the Orcs, Cain instantly ordered a joint assault, “Soldiers, charge in and wipe out those Orcs!”
“Kill—!”
Hearing the command, the soldiers shouted and charged forward.
That shout snapped the Beast King back to his senses.
He turned to look at the Human soldiers charging from the fortress, his pupils constricting.
They had truly lost!
If he had held onto even a sliver of hope, witnessing this situation crushed it completely in his heart.
They had lost!
“Your Majesty, we need to retreat quickly, or it will be too late.”
The Orc Priest seized the chance to urge him further.
“Retreat~”
With great reluctance, the Beast King finally gave the order.
He knew this essentially meant the Orcs were giving up Malong Fortress entirely.
“Retreat—!”
The Beast King’s command was quickly relayed, and the Orcs, hearing the order, began to withdraw, leaving only a few who had turned into battle machines.
The Humans wanted to pursue, but they were blocked by those Orcs consumed by bloodlust.
These creatures had gone mad, their thirst for blood igniting within them; all they wanted was to fight and slay their enemies.
Hence, their methods mostly consisted of trading life for life.
Even Cain had to treat such Orcs with caution.
After the Beast King led his retreat, Mork had already passed on his secret orders to the Dark Elves.
He wanted to take the Dark Elves away from here.
They had no need to keep fighting for the Orcs.
This had been his pact with the Beast King from the start.
The Dark Elves and Orcs had both abandoned Malong Fortress, and the following urban combat conducted by the Humans went extremely smoothly.
In just a day’s time, all remaining Orcs inside the fortress were eliminated.
After their victorious battle, a celebration was undoubtedly in order.
As the great contributor to the battle, Airael naturally had to make an appearance.
Once it became known that Airael could subdue Mork and that the magic responsible for punching a big hole in the Orc fortress was cast by her, all eyes on her changed dramatically.
Subduing Mork could be attributed to teamwork, but the magic that could create a massive hole in the fortress was proof of her genuine power.
Although the relatively low magical resistance of the Orc fortress might have played a part, how many walls in this world boasted high magical resistance?
Not many.
This meant that with Airael around, any wall that wasn’t as fortified as Malong Fortress wouldn’t stand a chance against them.
She was like a tactical nuclear bomb.
Easily capable of turning the tide of a battlefield.
What’s more, Airael was still young, with plenty of room for improvement ahead.
Thus, at the banquet, everyone treated her with utmost courtesy.
They sought to either woo her or maintain a good relationship with her.
This left Airael feeling quite fatigued.
She honestly had no interest in mingling with these Humans.
After dealing with a few individuals, she snuck off to a secluded corner to be alone.
Fortunately, those people at the banquet had other targets aside from her.
With no immediate success in finding her, they shifted their attention to others.
Like Arthur.
Arthur was quite the rising star and had also made significant contributions this time.
Especially since he had a close relationship with Airael; if the rumors were correct, it was quite a cozy relationship.
Getting on good terms with Arthur was akin to getting close to Airael.
Even those previous competitors now held Arthur in high regard.
Though they had lost, they accepted it.
They admitted they couldn’t match Arthur’s capabilities.
After all, who could easily land a girlfriend as wonderful as Airael and still be impressive themselves?
Just as Airael was enjoying her quiet time alone, Andrew, dressed in formal attire, approached her.
He looked at Airael and asked, “I’m curious, who is your teacher?”
“Does it matter?”
Facing Andrew’s scrutinizing gaze, Airael felt a jolt, avoiding his eyes and turning aside to retort.
“It matters greatly. To produce such an outstanding student as you, your teacher must also be quite remarkable. It would be such a pity not to meet someone like that.”
When he said this, a hint of regret crossed Andrew’s face.
“Lord Andrew, are you hoping to meet my teacher?” Airael returned her gaze to him and asked.
She sighed in relief.
Andrew’s previous demeanor had put her under some psychological pressure.
“If possible, I’d love to have a good discussion about magic with her.”
To this, Airael couldn’t really agree: “Lord Andrew, my teacher is very peculiar. Without her permission, I can’t introduce you to her. Furthermore, I believe she wouldn’t want to meet you.”
“Oh, I see! That’s a shame.”
Andrew sighed, looking genuinely disappointed.
After saying that, he walked away.
Airael watched him leave.
Although he appeared quite pitiful, Airael was genuinely powerless to help.
To say nothing of her Elven identity being a secret, the words she just spoke to Andrew weren’t exactly lies either.
Would Domiya be willing to exchange magical insights with Andrew?
Airael felt it was basically impossible.
Through her studies with Domiya, Airael had noticed her disdain for Human magic.
Previously, she had also been influenced by Domiya, looking down on Human magic.
However, now, her views had shifted; Human magic still had its merits.
She had changed, but Domiya hadn’t!
