Chapter 237
▪️CASTLE SIEGE
The Desert of Death does not have abundant resources.
However, the daily provisions required to mobilized 30,000 army were quite substantial.
Therefore, for this expedition, Lionheart King Imsh nearly emptied out his coffers, having used up almost all the savings he had acquired from decades of pillaging the kingdom of Aries.
However, as long as the Orcs can defeat the Elves, their long-standing problems will be solved.
Imsh believed that the Elven Forest had abundance of resources simply lying around, and he could sustain his 30,000 troops by scavenging around the forest.
In the past, due to their fear of humans, the Orcs didn’t dare to extend their influence deep into the Elven Forest, even though they had nominal sovereignty over the Elven territory.
Yet, this war of faith held the potential to change everything…
If they emerged victorious and their Divine Father’s strength increased, then the standings of the Half-Orcs would be elevated.
The battles between true gods were essentially the competition amongst the major sentient races in Saigües and Wars of Faith were just an extension of the rivalry between gods.
And as for this attack, Lionheart King Imsh had a certain degree of confidence.
As an old rival of the Elvenkind, the Orcs had a good understanding of the Elves. Even though they had lost contact with the Elven Forest for the last six months, Imsh could still assess the Elves’ capabilities based upon his past experience.
He had also studied the Caverock Tribe’s downfall, and Imsh believed that the main reason for the Caverock’s demise was the black dragon and the Elves’ Godwarden, rather than the mere one thousand Elves with low combat capabilities.
Even if these Elves could somehow resurrect themselves, it’s all pointless if they couldn’t withstand his 30,000-strong army.
As for the black dragon and Elven Godwarden, the Chief Shaman had long prepared plans to deal with them.
In this war of faith, the elite battalion of the Royal Orc court came out in full force, seizing every advantage they could get.
Imsh believed they could win as long as they constantly advance forward.
The only thing to worry about was the mysterious new elven god, who might disregard the Covenant and directly attack the Orc army in a fit of anger. But that was a battle at the level of true gods, beyond Imsh’s consideration.
Nonetheless, he was sure their Divine Father would intervene should that worst case scenario ever happened…
With the Lionheart King’s command, the Orc Army rested at their current location.
They had already camped in the Dark Mountains for a night before, and the army still had plenty of stamina left. He could have launched an attack at that moment but chose to let his scouts gather enough information instead just to be sure.
In any case, three hours of rest and recuperation were adequate enough.
The Orc army ceased its advance, positioning itself beyond the maximum range of Black Dragon Castle.
King Imsh also specially ordered the army to expand their formation to show his strength to the elves hiding within the castle!
He wanted to strike a blow to the morale of the elves inside the castle and let them see the true scale of the adversaries they’re about to face.
His 30,000-strong army was far more intimidating and nothing like the mere 3,000 Caverock Orcs they fought before.
“Look, you puny Elves…this is my might, the army that would destroy you all!”
Unbeknownst to the Orc King, despite the awe-inspiring sight of his massive army, the players felt more excitement than fear.
The Orc King’s intentions hadn’t dampened their spirits at all. On the contrary, seeing the Orc army stop in place made them impatient instead.
“Why have they stopped?”
“When are they going to attack?”
“We’ve already waited all night! these Orcs better not be camping for fucks sake.”
“Hey, its almost dawn at real life…I have to go to work at nine o’clock.”
Seeing the impatience of the Chosen Ones and listening to their complaints, Alice, along with some of the indigenous elves who had volunteered to provide logistical support, wore expressions of disbelief.
The Black Dragon Castle had teleportation arrays in place, so besieging them posed no real threat to the Elves.
On the contrary, a prolonged siege would increasingly benefit the Elves instead. In this situation, it would be the Orcs, who had traveled from distant lands, who would ultimately suffer in a war of attrition.
Yet, compared to the invading Orcs, it seems the Chosen Ones were actually the ones far more eager and seeking battle.
Not only that, but their morale was also so high that it was almost bubbling, as if what was about to come was not a fierce battle, but a carnival instead!
The natives couldn’t understand why the Chosen Ones were so eager for warfare.
After all, they were the defenders in this war.
Alice had no doubt in her mind that if Lord Zero hadn’t issued a castle lockdown, then some of the Chosen Ones would have already tried to take matters into their own hands and venture out of the castle to attack the Orcs!
From a psychological standpoint, these people were practically war maniacs!
In fact, this is exactly the case.
Currently, no player ever believed they would fail.
In their perspective, the only thing that matters in this war against the Orcs was who could slay more enemies during battle.
This relaxed and festive atmosphere, along with their inexplicably high morale, helped ease the tension of the natives who had come to offer their support.
A single night of waiting had not made the players anxious at all.
However, the players grew increasingly restless after waiting for three hours in a standoff following the arrival of the Orc army.
Restlessness became palpable across the castle walls as players eagerly awaits the Orcs’ assault.
“Why haven’t they attacked yet?”
Such complaints echoed repeatedly along the castle walls.
Those three hours proved the longest time the players had ever experienced.
After a period of rest and preparation, the Orcs stood fully ready to launch their assault after the Orc scouts finally returned to the camp.
“Your Liege, this castle is isolated! We didn’t find any other Elves structures nearby, but… we discovered many traces of monster migration in the direction of the Elven Forest.”
“Traces of monster migration?”
Lionheart King Imsh furrowed his brow.
“Your Liege, this is normal! Ever since those weird Elves appeared in the Elven Forest, the creatures living within it have begun to dwindle. Rumors even spread around that the Elves have started eating meat! These Elves… they are no longer the nature-loving race they used to be!”
This was said by one of the Caverock Tribe survivors.
“Eating meat!?”
Lionheart King Imsh widened his eyes in surprise.
He then exchanged a glance with the Chief Shaman and sneered, “It seems… this mysterious Heretical god really has some abilities. Not only did it changed the Elves’ faith but also their behavior too!”
“Well, this new god after all stole the Divinity of Life. We really should be wary of this entity…” the Chief Shaman remarked.
Hearing the Chief Shaman’s words, Lionheart King Imsh grinned and said, “Heh! We’ll just wipe out the Elves then, everything afterwards should belong to our Divine Father and to us Half-Orcs!”
He then raised his sword high and commanded,
“Spread the word, we’ll attack the castle!”
A series of deep sounding horns suddenly pierced the solemn ashen skies as the ominous noise echoed throughout the southern expanse.
At long last, the Orc army roused from its stillness.
The Orcs seemed to lacked cavalry, appearing entirely composed of foot soldiers.
Of the 30,000 strong army, 20,000 remained as a reserve at their original positions, while 10,000 Orcs at the forefront advanced along with five ferocious Behemoths as they moved towards Black Dragon Castle in an orderly formation.
Upon hearing the horns and observing the Orcs’ movements, the players, who had grown impatient while waiting on the castle walls, finally erupted in shouts of excitement.
“Guys look, they’re coming! they’re finally coming!”
“Prepare for battle! Get ready!”
The entire Black Dragon Castle began to operate like a massive war machine once again.
Armed with shields and weapons, the vanguard composed of 10,000 Orcs charged relentlessly alongside five colossal beasts, heading straight for Black Dragon Castle on the hillside like an unstoppable tidal wave.
Meanwhile, ranged players positioned themselves on the castle walls, raising their bows and arrows, before taking aim at the advancing Orcs.
The individuals possessing the Archer jobclass boasted the most longest attack range, with Iron-ranked archers having an effective range of about 300 meters, nearly ten times greater than mages of the same level.
Li Mu stood on the castle wall, watching the slowly approaching Orc army with a solemn expression.
And when the Orc vanguard finally reached the 300-meter range, he raised his staff and shouted in the Raid voice channel,
“Release the arrows!”
Upon his command, arrows imbued with skill effects created a spectacular display, descending from the castle like a shimmering rain of death upon the Orcs below.
Witnessing the incoming arrows, Lionheart King Imsh bellowed, “Raise your shields!”
Instantly, the Orcs hoisted their shields in unison.
Nearly a thousand arrows landed in an instant, showering the Orc formation like a torrential downpour.
However, the majority of arrows were thwarted by the raised shields.
Nonetheless, nearly a hundred unfortunate Orcs succumbed to stray arrows, with each pierced in some vital areas of their bodies, before falling to the ground screaming in agony.
The Behemoths paid no heed to the arrows, allowing them to strike their massive frames. The five beasts became pincushions, yet their ample layers of fat rendered them impervious to pain.
The loss of a hundred warriors was a mere drop in the bucket for the Orc army.
Soon, the Orcs launched their own counterattack.
Lionheart King Imsh shouted,
“Hurl the spears!”
As his command resounded, nearly a thousand Orcs from the rear extracted two-meter-long spears and, following Imsh’s order, launched them toward Black Dragon Castle.
The five Behemoths also raised their formidable half-meter-thick spears and flung them in the direction of the castle.
The Orcs possessed immense strength, and under their throws, the two-meter-long war spears demonstrated menacing piercing power as they hurtled towards the castle.
On the other hand, the Behemoth’s colossal spears resembled artillery shells, whistling through the air.
“Take cover! Watch out!”
Seeing the barrage of spears hurtling toward them, the players exhibited expressions of shock and hastily sought cover.
Black Dragon Castle’s defensive core had already been activated, emitting a subtle magical aura after some spears struck it.
However, it caused no harm to the castle. Nevertheless, many players who couldn’t evade in time were pierced through their bodies by the flying spears, resulting in instant deaths.
The Behemoth’s spears, on the other hand, easily pierced the castle’s defensive magic, penetrating its walls…
If not for the reinforced defensive enchantments, these humongous spears likely would have gouged sizable breaches upon the walls.
Furthermore, one spear impaled a tower, shattering it and obliterating two players within it in the process.
Blood rained down, and for a moment, the players on the castle wall were thrown into chaos. Most of them are third-beta players and hadn’t experienced this kind of gruesome warfare beforehand…
War was brutal and terrifying.
Although they had initially harbored lofty aspirations, once the conflict began, these newcomers began to grasp the true brutality of this remarkably realistic war…
Nevertheless, their morale remained unbroken.
Despite being initially shocked by the gruesome scene, the players still saw the game for what it was.
Ultimately, it was still just a game.
With no real threat of death, this was just an exciting form of entertainment for the players.
After the initial panic, under Li Mu and Ji Gang’s command, the ranged players continued to shoot arrows at the advancing Orc army.
And among the orcs, there are also some archers who returned fire as a means of counterattack.
For a moment, the entire battlefield brimmed with arrows soaring in every direction…
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