Chapter 587: Instinct and Knowledge (Part One)
Clancia, the northern border counties.
The gray, gloomy sky flashed once, and faint thunder rumbled from the distant horizon. Fine rain fell like threads, descending to the earth, making everything in sight hazy.
The continuous dark-green mountain range was shrouded in misty rain. Cold waves swept through, making the early spring even more chilling.
Since the Blackrock Kingdom’s army invaded Clancia, many passes had fallen. Although there were moments of successful resistance, they were few and far between.
After the halberdists defeated the archers, the various mercenary leaders still failed to unify. Instead, they formed their own factions, openly competing and secretly plotting against each other.
Seeing this situation, the Frost Alliance’s special envoy mission gave up on integrating them and supported them based on their numbers and strength, providing equipment, weapons, and money to attack Clancia from all directions.
Thus, these halberdists recruited troops within their territories, greatly replenishing their forces. Like locusts, they poured into Clancia from every corner. The complex terrain of the mountains gave them more room to maneuver, pillaging and plundering the border provinces.
County of Nide, Iron Anvil City.
On the sturdy gray walls, soldiers were nervously observing the distant forest and mountain paths from watchtowers, always on guard for sudden enemy outbreaks.
Raindrops splashed onto the stone bricks on the wall, creating droplets that flowed down along the grooves to the bottom of the wall.
A foot clad in black leather boots stepped onto the steps, splashing water. Then, the thick wooden door of the watchtower was pulled open, and several figures wearing straw hats and rain capes entered.
“How is the situation?” The figure removed his straw hat and placed it on the wall beside him.
“Reporting to Captain Bard, we have not yet detected any signs of the enemy.”
“Hmm.” Bard nodded and walked with a few others to the wide window, looking out at the gray world outside.
“It seems the Blackrock army isn’t marching in the rain. This rain has made the mountain paths muddy and difficult to traverse, which can temporarily ease the enemy’s advance,” said an elderly man beside Bard.
“Moreover, the rainy weather significantly reduces the effectiveness of their muskets.”
“Our overall force is less than half of theirs. If we could take advantage of this, it would be a good opportunity,” Bard explained.
After studying in the military academy for several years, he was no longer the brute force extraordinary being he used to be.
“Has the intelligence department estimated the number of the enemy?” He turned his head to look at another thin figure.
“Cough… They don’t know the exact number, but together they amount to around 500,000, most of whom were hastily conscripted, not really an army but more like bandits,” this figure’s collar showed the edge of a bandage, indicating recent injuries that hadn’t fully healed.
“Thank you, Xeso.” Bard patted the back of the team member beside him and looked out at the rain-soaked wilderness.
“Unfortunately, the combined garrison of our towns is only about 180,000. Most need to defend the city to protect the migrants, leaving only about 30,000 to fight outside. Furthermore, the mountainous terrain is difficult, and the enemy is scattered, making it hard to crush them all at once.”
Ever since the Blackrock Kingdom attacked, its main elite forces circled around major cities, while various smaller forces looted and destroyed local construction and villages.
To protect the vulnerable villagers, local officials had to relocate many people to larger towns for centralized protection, leading to a dispersed defense force and difficulty in engaging in battle outside the city.
As the thunder gradually faded and the rain slowly stopped, the sky briefly brightened before the sun gradually set.
Just as everyone thought Blackrock wouldn’t act today, sparse footsteps and movement sounds started to come from the forest and mountains outside the city. Soon after, emergency bells rang in the city, summoning soldiers who grabbed their weapons and rushed to the walls, standing ready.
As the vague shadow approached, the defending soldiers saw Blackrock soldiers in scale armor, holding thick rectangular wooden shields, approaching the city.
With the clanking of armor, tall siege machines began to appear faintly in the distance.
Although Blackrock Kingdom didn’t have many technicians, with support from the Frost Alliance’s alchemists, they took advantage of the rainy weather to cut down trees and build sturdy watchtowers under guidance. These towers were like giant mobile watchtowers, with two-story platforms that could hold hundreds of people and were covered with iron sheets to prevent shooting.
The wooden wheels creaked on the rugged path, producing a grating sound, while soldiers holding muskets stood atop the watchtowers, even higher than the city walls.
“Target, fire!” Archers on the wall lit their rockets and shot them toward the massive watchtowers closing in from the darkness.
Flames streaked across the sky, leaving trails on the retinas, then landed on the shelters of the watchtowers, but due to the recent rain, the rockets couldn’t ignite them.
Then, a series of lights flickered on the watchtowers, followed by rapid and intense gunfire, knocking down the defending soldiers on the walls.
Even though many guards had shields, the precise alchemical constructs still shot powerful lead bullets through the shields and armor, killing soldiers behind.
“Damn!”
A guard officer saw this, his eyes red with rage. He picked up his longbow, loaded an arrow, and infused it with deep magic power, shooting it into the forehead of a musketeer, killing him.
He continued shooting, taking down several musketeers, but this drew the enemy’s attention.
“Target him, fire!”
A shout came from the watchtowers, followed by intense gunfire. Short flashes of fire streaked through the air, hundreds of lead bullets heading toward the officer.
Most missed and hit the surrounding walls, creating small craters, while dozens struck the officer’s body.
Metal shards flew, flesh and blood were torn apart, the immense force of the bullets made the officer tremble and slide down the wall, falling into a pool of dark blood.
This scene repeated on the walls. Despite some archers returning fire, the enemy’s armor and siege machines made it ineffective. Meanwhile, Blackrock soldiers, positioned higher, alternated shooting, relying on the power of their muskets to kill Clancia’s soldiers.
Even though Clancia’s superior armor protected against many bullets, without effective weapons, many soldiers could only passively endure, eventually being killed when bullets penetrated weak points in their armor.
Boom—
A loud explosion echoed from below the wall, causing bricks to fly and a small breach to form.
Using explosives provided by the Frost Alliance, Blackrock soldiers blew up a section of the wall, entering the city.
“Damn!”
High-ranking officers felt a chill, but they had no choice but to send soldiers forward, risking enemy fire to block the breach.
Blackrock soldiers raised their halberds and entered the breach, fighting Clancia soldiers in a life-and-death struggle. Gunfire never ceased, small light balls rose in the hands of Frost Alliance mages, illuminating the enemy while hiding in the dimness, attacking the defenders.
Shouts, clashes of metal, and the sound of bullets hitting shattered amidst orange flames. In this cold night, both sides fought fiercely, many injured soldiers still fought desperately, pain and hearing blurring in the intense battle.
Blood dripped down gun barrels and sword hilts, sticky and wet, but there was no time to wipe it. Everyone used their remaining strength to strike the monstrous enemies in front, until their minds went blank, falling among the piled corpses.
Under the cover of gunfire, Blackrock soldiers broke through the defenses, entering alleys, breaking into houses, looting, and setting fires.
Scorching sparks rose in the city, dispelling the early spring chill, and cries echoed throughout.
Bard wielded his sword with knights, shouting for residents to retreat to the central military school. It was the safest place now.
Whoosh—
A metallic sound sliced through, the sound of cutting through armor. A Blackrock soldier knelt and fell, revealing a large wound in his abdomen.
“Can you hold on?” Bard sheathed his sword, watching the incoming enemies, asking his comrades without turning back.
“I can… thank you, sir,” the knight gritted his teeth, enduring the pain from his wounds.
“Good!”
Bard responded, knowing no comforting words were needed. Reality was harsh, but one must still fight to protect what was precious.
“Hahaha—indeed, this is fun,” a mage on the wall laughed, seeing countless fallen bodies and fighters below.
Since entering Clancia, the enemy had been stubbornly resisting, making it difficult for them. Today, they finally got their revenge.
Just as he raised his staff to release several fireballs, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air.
His movements halted, eyes widened in disbelief as a half-axe blade emerged from his chest, warm blood sliding down the blade, reflecting silver in the firelight.
He fell slowly, his triumphant face smashing into the dusty, bloodied wall, convulsing briefly before only hearing distant shouts.
The voice was distant and mournful, like an ancient, solitary beast wandering under the moon.
Across the vast grasslands and borders, well-armed orc warriors finally arrived in Clancia.
Facing the besieged city, the chief chieftain howled, and under his command, armored orcs wielding axes charged into the enemy ranks.
These figures under the moon resembled a black, turbulent ocean, with their sharp axes like silver reflections, stirring waves in the darkness.
Their heavy feet plunged into the mud and wetlands, crossing forests, grasslands, roads, and streams, rushing toward the enemy outside the city.
Musketeers on the watchtowers had to turn their guns to attack the charging orcs.
But the orc horde surged forward, undeterred by the sparse gunfire, yelling and charging into the enemy ranks, their heavy axes striking down Blackrock soldiers.
Facing towering orcs, witnessing their teammates fall, Blackrock soldiers on the walls were terrified. Many new recruits fled, while a few veterans retreated, hoping to rely on the watchtowers and walls to fend off the attack.
The tide of battle instantly reversed.
“Damn!”
A high-ranking mage supervising and assisting from the watchtowers clenched his teeth, uttering those two words.
“Launch a signal, order the soldiers inside to return and defend,” he reluctantly commanded.
“Yes.” A mage apprentice extended his arm, launching a special magic missile into the sky. It emitted a long whine during flight, then burst in the sky, scattering crimson sparks across the night.
Seeing this signal, Blackrock soldiers inside the city, who were looting and killing, were confused, with many beginning to complain.
“What the hell are these mage lords thinking?” A soldier yanked at a crying woman he just captured, feeling resentful.
“Whatever, let’s loot first,” another soldier smashed a wooden box with his halberd, searching for valuable items.
“I risk my life for them, not to suffer, but to get rich,” he grumbled, kicking a dead Clancia soldier nearby, searching his body.
“They have decent armor, but why do they have no money?”
Meanwhile, unaware of the ongoing battle, the conflict outside the city intensified.
Giant fireballs appeared in the sky, then fell into the enemy ranks under the control of mages. At this stage, they couldn’t afford to conserve their magic power.
Sadly, most of the charging orcs were elites. Shamans waved wooden rods, causing the fireballs to fragment into scattered sparks, dissipating in the air, leaving only a warm wind blowing toward the orcs.
At the foot of the watchtowers, a great orc chieftain raised a huge sword, swinging it forcefully, severing the support beams.
The makeshift siege machine creaked and tilted, and musketeers fell like rain from the sky, landing in the dense enemy ranks and being chopped apart by axes.
“No!”
A mage screamed in terror, trying to flee, but was struck by flying axes, bleeding profusely as he rolled down the wall.
“Don’t come closer,” a musketeer hugged his gun in a corner, aiming at charging barbarian orcs, filled with fear. But soon, he was swallowed by the black tide.
As Blackrock soldiers inside the city remained oblivious, groups of orc reinforcements entered the city. Under their leaders, they rushed into alleys, excitedly hacking at Blackrock soldiers.
Compared to humans, orcs were much taller and more bloodthirsty. Their centuries of suppression in the grasslands had unleashed their primal instincts in this war.
Many young orc factions were initially discontent with joining Clancia, but opposition voices vanished after the war erupted.
Rather than farming and herding, they yearned for glory, dignity, and everything through combat.
Under the cold moonlight, orcs from the grasslands used their raw strength to defeat soldiers wielding halberds and muskets, until no Blackrock soldiers remained in sight.
(End of Chapter)
