In the Name of Lagrange! Long Live!

"Enough! Have some dignity..." Roland could not help kicking a few soldiers who were staring at the piles of supplies with shining eyes.

It was rather embarrassing. Given Flowing City's pitiful conditions, Reno and Caslo had been unable to find a suitable warehouse for the supplies. In the end, they unanimously decided to store everything inside the lord's castle. Thus, Roland watched in shock as his already cramped castle was stuffed with twenty wagonloads of supplies... With the dwarves present, Roland could not say anything. He could only force a smile as he watched everyone bustle about.

"So, you two aren't planning to give me an explanation?" Roland smiled at Reno and Caslo, who were preparing to sneak away.

"My lord, you misunderstand..." Caslo's hair stood on end when he saw Roland smile.

"Uh, esteemed king, please let me explain..." Reno stammered.

"Misunderstanding? Explanation? You fucking didn't even leave me a place to sleep! And you call that a misunderstanding? An explanation?" Thus began the legendary scene of Roland chasing Reno and Caslo with a ham. The ham whistled through the air, as dependable as the Dragon-slaying Sword, and easily smashed the two men until stars danced before their eyes.

"Hehe, Grandpa Ladyl, why do you think the king is chasing Lord Reno and Lord Caslo?" Ivy giggled as she watched the three men running through the city, then asked the War Mage Ladyl, who was sitting nearby in the sun to rest.

"Perhaps because they forgot to leave the king a bed..." The wrinkles on Ladyl's old face bloomed like a chrysanthemum as he chuckled.

"It truly is good to be young and full of energy!" Ladyl watched the people chasing one another, feeling a hint of envy. At his age, he rarely engaged in strenuous activity. Profound magic could already replace his legs and carry him across the world.

"Hm?" Ladyl spread out his immense Mental Power. More than ten kilometers away, some thirty refugees who had just been refreshed by the system were being hunted by a pack of hungry Orcs. His expression hardened, immense magic surged around him, and with a flash, he vanished from Ivy's side.

"Huh? That was Flash!" Ivy looked enviously at the spot where Ladyl had been sitting. As a Third Tier priest, she had yet to learn this advanced teleportation spell.

(Blink was a basic spell for caster classes. Depending on one's magic level, it could teleport the caster anywhere from ten meters to several hundred meters. Flash was an advanced form of Blink, capable of teleporting over a thousand meters.)

"God! Who will save us?" The women and children, surrounded by more than a dozen grown men, covered their faces and wept. They had thought they would once again bask in Lagrange's Glory, but never imagined they would be targeted by a group of Orcs.

Whoosh! There were actually several hunters carrying Hunting Bows among the refugees. Their fairly accurate archery allowed them to remain in a standoff with the Orcs. Since these were Orc tribes from the wilderness, their size and equipment were vastly inferior to the Orc kingdom army led by Azog, allowing both sides to hold their ground for now. The other men grabbed wooden clubs and formed a circle around the women and children.

Shink! Shink! Shink! Clusters of stone spikes suddenly erupted from beneath the Orcs' feet, instantly turning dozens of Orcs into bloody pincushions.

"Ah!" The sudden slaughter terrified the women and children out of their wits.

"Hey, hey, hey! Are Lagrange's remaining people all this timid nowadays?" Ladyl emerged with a smile, leaning on his staff.

"Lord Mage!" The men came to their senses and hurriedly bowed. After all, he was a noble mage, and he had saved their lives. By both gratitude and custom, he deserved their utmost respect.

"No need for such ceremony. You're also here to seek refuge with the last King of Lagrange, aren't you?" Ladyl glanced at the homemade dragon banner slung over their shoulders and confirmed his guess.

"Yes, my lord. Guided by God, we came in search of Lagrange's final glory..." The leading hunter answered humbly.

"There. Just keep walking in that direction for a few more kilometers, and you'll arrive. There won't be any more danger along the way, so you can travel without worry." Ladyl smiled, then left with a Flash. The old man's legs were not good enough to accompany these people on foot; that would take until kingdom come. Besides, why walk when he had magic? Unfortunately, he was not a spatial mage. Otherwise, a long-distance teleportation would have spared the refugees the journey.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Dull impacts of steel armor rang out as a hundred iron cans marched silently across the wilderness. Guided by God, they had come to seek refuge with their final king. They were the Lagrange City Guards summoned by Roland, steadily advancing toward Flowing City along the route taken by the refugees.

Whoosh! The leading city guard suddenly raised his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately formed a circular formation. Shoulder to shoulder, they pressed their shields tightly together to create a half-height Shield Wall, exposing only their heads and lower legs. Sharp refined-steel spears pointed straight toward the yellowing wilderness.

"Orcs! Dead only recently! They were killed by an earth-element mage! At least a Second Tier Mage!" Several scouting city guards returned.

"We need to leave quickly. Judging by these Orcs' totems, they belong to a wilderness tribe. Other Orcs will soon come looking for their missing kin," the leading warrior analyzed.

"There seem to have been civilians here as well!" A careful city guard found several crude wooden arrows among the Orc corpses. They clearly were not military arrows, and had likely been fired from hunters' Hunting Bows.

"This is troublesome. There are civilians ahead... We can't just leave them behind. They must be heading to follow the king, just like us... We cannot leave civilians to the Orcs." The city guards had a headache. They were not skilled at tracking, and could not determine which direction the civilians had taken. If the civilians planned to take a detour to Flowing City, the tracking-savvy Orcs might bypass them and attack the civilians. With only one mage and a few hunters guarding them, they might not be able to protect everyone.

"Then what do we do?" The other city guards had no good solution either. They did not know how the civilians had left.

"We stay! We'll intercept the Orcs! How could a mere Wasteland Orcs tribe possibly shake us?" The pride of the Lagrange City Guards was stirred. That was right! They had once been the glorious protectors of the Lagrange Empire's capital. They protected the people, their homeland, and the empire! What they were doing now was merely their duty.

"In the name of Lagrange! Long live!" The Lagrange City Guards made their final pre-battle rallying cry.

"Form a circular formation. We'll wait for them here." The hundred city guards swiftly formed a circular formation atop a small hill. Half-kneeling on the ground, they could use their shields to cover their entire bodies, while the crossbows slung at their sides were raised level.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, the grass in the distance suddenly began to shake. Ugly Orc heads flickered in and out of view amid the dead grass.

"Lobbing Shot!" The moment the Orcs charged out of the grass and exposed themselves, everyone pulled the triggers on their hand crossbows.

"Hm? A small squad of Lagrange City Guards?" Ladyl, who had just been sunbathing for a while, suddenly sensed the city guards battling the Orcs.

"Forget it, I won't interfere. The Lagrange City Guards could charge back and forth through these Wasteland Orcs with their eyes closed." Old Ladyl insisted that he was absolutely not making excuses because he could not be bothered to move. It was simply because they were strong and did not need his help.

Brothers, get those recommendation votes rolling! The votes have been low these past few days.