Chapter 430 - Episode 413: Total War
"Bugaaaaaaa!"
First, a large orc that leaped out from the forest let out a tremendous roar toward the formation.
Furthermore, the orcs that appeared from the forest one after another also let out roars of their own. Anyone listening could tell that a feeling of fierce rage was imbued in every voice.
"Well, they'd be angry. Even I'd be furious if I were in their position,"
Noein muttered as if it were someone else's problem, while a tense atmosphere spread among the subjugation force waiting to intercept them. In his voice and expression, there was a complete absence of fear or guilt for being the very person who had incurred the orcs' wrath.
Along with the orcs emerging incessantly from the forest, their leader, the Orc Kaiser, also revealed himself.
"Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
It was a shout that defied imagination, one that froze the spines of those who heard it. Many of the soldiers instinctively took half a step back, and those who did not paled or had their expressions stiffen. Even Noein wore a strained smile, a single bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.
"Gaah! Gogaa!"
"Bugooo!"
"Kyuuu... pgyuu..."
Some of the orcs that emerged from the forest showed behavior as if trying to rescue their comrades who had been restrained and tormented. On the other hand, the majority of the individuals approached the subjugation force as they were.
"All personnel, prepare to attack!"
Edelgard raised her voice. In accordance with that, the crossbowmen, the Grand Duchy army soldiers holding magic tools for attack magic, the mages dispatched from each territory, and the soldiers operating the ballistae braced themselves to fire at any moment.
"Fire!"
Following the commander-in-chief's order, arrows and attack magic assaulted the approaching swarm of orcs.
"Gobuuu!"
"Bugyaaaa!"
"Guu!"
An orc hit directly by the water magic Ice Bullet had everything from its jaw up torn away; an orc slashed by the wind magic Wind Blade had fresh blood spray from its neck; an orc whose belly was gouged by the earth magic Earth Spear had its viscera spill out from the wound.
Orcs whose chests were pierced by the thick bolts of the ballistae, breaking through both fur and muscle, fell prone; orcs bathed in a rain of crossbow bolts flinched, their movements slowed by the effect of the undiluted Angel's Honey coated upon them.
The Orc Kaiser, who was significantly larger than his subordinates, also fell prone on the spot after receiving several spells and a rain of crossbow bolts.
Not missing the opportunity to completely kill the momentum of the orcs' charge and inflict a heavy blow to make them flinch in an instant, Edelgard shouted.
"Lord Arqvist, please!"
"Understood... Claymore, advance!"
Noein's order was transmitted to the puppet mages via Yuri, Gustav, and Alain, and the golems, who had been lying low so as not to interfere with the volley, stood up and moved forward.
What began then was a gruesome battle.
Though they were superior in individual combat power, they were merely orcs after all. They were likely attacking with the full strength of the herd, but their total number was around a hundred-plus.
What they held were merely wooden clubs with the branches stripped off, iron bars likely taken from occupied workshops or villages, or perhaps just picked-up stones; other than close-quarters combat, their resistance amounted to little more than throwing those weapons.
In contrast, the human side numbered two thousand in total, utilizing crossbows and ballistae—the crystals of industrial power—as well as golems and magic tools for attack magic, which were products of lost technology. The rage-blinded orcs advancing forward had their lives taken before they could vent that rage on the humans.
Orcs slowed by the undiluted Angel's Honey on the crossbow bolts were unilaterally beaten to death by golems.
An orc that continued to run, squeezing out its last bit of vitality while spilling its intestines after taking attack magic to its flank, died instantly as a ballista bolt pierced its head.
An orc that tried to attack the ballista positions diagonally to the side rather than the front was caught in crossfire from the ballistae and attack magic tools. It took magic to the waist from the side, and collapsed as its upper and lower body were torn apart.
While the orcs died one after another, there were individuals who slipped through the fierce onslaught of the human side's projectiles and reached the front of the formation.
When that happened, the humans, who were inferior in both strength and agility, had to struggle a bit.
"Do not break formation! Do not lower your shields!"
Amidst the roars of the officers, the shield-bearers summoned their courage and lined up their shields. Supporting one another, they took the blows of the orcs' clubs with their entire bodies.
From behind them, crossbowmen attempted to shoot the orcs, but it was quite difficult to aim at the orcs rampaging right in front of them while being careful not to accidentally hit their comrades. Many arrows aimed too high missed, and even those that hit were often blocked by the orcs' thick fur, failing to penetrate deeply, meaning the effect of the undiluted Angel's Honey did not manifest immediately.
Among them, some could not withstand the orcs' fierce assault and broke the line of shields, being blown away by a single strike of a club, pierced through by a thrust of a rod, or crushed by those massive bodies.
Even so, overall, the battle progressed in favor of the humans, who were superior in numbers and organizational power.
At the front of the formation, which had been designated as the passage, the Grand Duchy army unit led by Radley was fighting the approaching orcs.
"Damn youuuu!"
Radley let out a shout as he thrust his spear. The jet-black steel tip caught the shoulder of the opposing orc, gouging the flesh.
"Bugoo!"
The injury, while not small, was not fatal, and it seemed to instead stimulate the orc's fighting instinct; seizing the slight opening when Radley pulled back his spear, the orc threw a stone held in its left hand.
The stone, larger than a human head, flew at a tremendous speed due to the orc's muscular strength, but Radley twisted his body and dodged it by a hair's breadth. The stone flew directly behind Radley toward where Noein and the Claymore were, stopping as it hit the wall of shields formed by Pence and the Guard protecting Noein.
"Die!!"
Having lost its projectile, the orc swung its wooden club upward, but Radley did not miss the opening in that crude attack driven by blood rushing to the head.
Radley stepped forward several paces in one go and thrust the tip of his spear from the side, piercing the orc's armpit and penetrating a thick blood vessel. When the spear was withdrawn, fresh blood sprayed from the wound, and the orc slowly collapsed.
"Lord Nordheim!"
Having confirmed the death of the prey before him, Radley was startled by his subordinate's voice and looked toward the front of the formation. Having slipped through the fierce onslaught of projectiles, a new opponent was already approaching.
Its height was in the mid-two-meter range. Boasting a physique that was among the largest for a mere orc, the individual approached with a speed that belied its size and swung an axe—likely originally for felling trees—in a horizontal sweep.
Radley instinctively tried to leap back out of range, but his foot was caught by the vast amount of orc blood spreading across the ground. He didn't show something as pathetic as slipping and falling, but his movement was slightly delayed.
That delay became decisive, and the strike of the axe swung by the orc hit Radley's chest.
"Guh!"
Radley reduced the impact by flying in the same direction as the swinging axe, and furthermore, he was wearing jet-black armor. No matter how forcefully the orc had swung, a mere iron axe was not enough to break the armor; the armor's surface was only dented.
However, while he could prevent injury from the blade, he could not completely kill the shock. The moment he took the hit, Radley felt difficulty breathing and was blown several meters backward.
"My Lord!"
"It's a feint! Line up the spears!"
Several soldiers of the Grand Duchy army caught Radley, while the others blocked the front with swords and spears to prevent further advancement by the orc.
"Radley, are you alright?"
"Geho, buho... I ain't gonna die from just this."
"I see. Stay back, I'll fill the gap."
Nodding to Radley, who spoke while coughing, Yuri stood in the center of the front. Meanwhile, Radley was carried away to the rear where the doctors were by the soldiers who had caught him.
"The enemy has few remaining! We win this!"
"""Yeah!"""
When Yuri, who had drawn his jet-black steel sword, raised his voice, the Grand Duchy army soldiers roared in response.
Two thousand against a hundred-plus. The orcs were unable to bridge this overwhelming difference in numbers and civilization, and half of them had already fallen.
The losses of the subjugation force were small, and there was no sign of the formation breaking significantly.
Everyone felt they could win with one more push. Just as they thought that.
"...!"
Noein's eyes widened. In the center of the battlefield, the Orc Kaiser, who had fallen after receiving the human side's initial attack, sat up abruptly.
"Curse you, you weren't dead!"
"The fact that he didn't get up until now means he was merely unconscious from the impact of the attacks... in any case, it seems he hasn't sustained any major wounds,"
Count Marcel spoke beside the astonished Edelgard.
Orcs were originally monsters that were extremely durable, and the Orc Kaiser's robustness was even greater.
At the start of the battle, the Orc Kaiser had received several attack spells and crossbow bolts, but the Wind Blade that grazed his arm and the Ice Bullet that hit his head were far from fatal. The crossbow bolts were blocked by the natural armor of his hard, thick fur, dealing damage no more than a needle prick. Consequently, it could be said that the effect of the undiluted Angel's Honey was insufficient.
Additionally, the ballista bolts had hit the orcs around him and had not reached the Orc Kaiser, who was in the center of the herd.
Therefore, the Orc Kaiser, who had merely been robbed of consciousness by his brain being shaken by the Ice Bullet, had no hindrance to his actions once he woke from the faint.
The Orc Kaiser, having stood up, looked at the carnage spreading around him, saw the corpses of his herd comrades, and shrouded his entire body in killing intent.
"Bugoooooooooo! Guoooooooooooo!"
The Orc Kaiser, letting out a scream, glared at—the front of the formation, the passage section that was obstructed by neither obstacles nor moats.
"Tch! This is bad!"
He's coming. Thinking so, Noein cut off the mana supply to the two golems he was currently controlling and sent mana anew to his own dedicated giant golem prepared directly behind him.
Soon, a massive body exceeding three meters stood up, passed by Noein and the surrounding guards, and began walking toward the front.
"Fall back! Clear the way!"
Yuri, who evacuated the soldiers guarding the front, also hurriedly stepped to the side. Using the now-empty front passage as a runway, the giant golem began to build momentum for a charge. It plowed forward, scattering the orcs that had been fighting Yuri and the others until a moment ago.
"Buooooo!"
Seeing an enemy of comparable physique appear before him, the Orc Kaiser roared. Recognizing the giant golem as an enemy he must defeat, he advanced vigorously.
The Orc Kaiser, clad in muscle and fur, and the giant golem, possessing a hard Semirawood body, collided head-on.