Utilizing the Savages

Furious Dragon Orcs are said to have diluted Dragon Clan bloodlines within them. Some among them can awaken this hidden bloodline to boost their physical functions, causing their adrenaline to surge and their muscle strength to increase significantly. These orcs are known as Furious Dragon Berserkers, and each one is an elite. However, this ability severely damages their bodies, and frequently berserking orcs generally do not live past thirty.

As the Furious Dragon Berserkers stormed the city walls, the defenders gradually began to show cracks. Viscount John quickly signaled the knights beside him to lead their troops to plug the breaches. With the knights, their retainers, and professional soldiers in well-made standard armor reinforcing from behind the city walls joining the fray, the Eagle assault was quickly suppressed. The territory they had occupied began to shrink, and the most eye-catching among them was the tall knight who had stood beside Viscount John earlier.

He wielded his heavy axe-spear with ease, killing an enemy soldier with every attack. Many Eagle soldiers who attempted to block his attacks with their wooden shields paid a bitter price. Driven by his immense strength, the sharp axe blade cleaved the shields in half before continuing its momentum to sever the soldier's arm and plunge into his body.

Seeing him continuously kill Eagle soldiers, two Furious Dragon Berserkers charged at him from either side. Facing the giant axes hacking towards him, the tall knight showed no panic. He first raised his axe-spear to parry one side, then twisted his body to dodge the other axe. Despite his heavy armor and imposing physique, he was surprisingly agile.

After dodging the giant axes, he clenched his right hand, encased in a sturdy steel gauntlet, and struck the Furious Dragon Berserker whose attack had been dodged and who was off-balance, directly in the face. Blood splattered as the berserker's nose was broken, sending him crashing to the ground. Turning, he first used the weighted ball at the end of his axe-spear, tipped with a sharp spike, to strike the opponent's unprotected knee pit. As the berserker bent his knee in pain, he directly pierced its neck with the spearhead of his axe.

He then turned and kicked the orc, which was staggering and trying to get up after being punched down, in the head. After knocking it down again, he swung his axe-spear and cleanly decapitated it with a strike to its neck.

Watching the tall knight hold his weapon level with both hands and push forward, sending two soldiers who had just reached the wall flying off, Mukai turned to his deputy and asked, "Who is this person? Is he human?"

"Sir, he is a Knight of Retribution under Count Blackthorn—Skorn Stonewall. His family has served the Blackthorn family for generations. It is said their lineage includes Mountain Giant blood, which is why they are so tall and strong, able to wield armor and weapons that ordinary humans cannot. Skorn is the current patriarch of the Stonewall family and a renowned strongman in the Gaoling Kingdom. Our army currently likely only has the chieftain of the Furious Dragon Orcs who can contend with him."

"Hmm, indeed a fierce warrior. We likely won't be able to take the city today. Order the soldiers to retreat, and bring me my bow."

"Yes, sir." The deputy bowed to Mukai and made a gesture before riding off to relay the order. The Eagle Kingdom's soldiers began to retreat slowly, with only about a dozen orc soldiers on the wall who couldn't descend still fighting.

The battlefield was left littered with corpses. Mukai was now drawing his longbow to its full extent, aiming at Skorn on the city wall, who was currently holding an orc soldier impaled on his spear tip high in the air. Skorn's surcoat was already stained crimson with blood, the original pattern no longer visible.

A sharp whistling sound filled the air. Skorn had just sensed it but it was too late to dodge. He could only raise his arm to block in front of him. The sharp arrowhead pierced directly through the thick plate armor of his vambrace and lodged in Skorn's forearm. Skorn grunted in pain and turned to look at Mukai outside the city walls. Mukai was handing his longbow to his deputy, turning back to meet Skorn's gaze. Mukai gave a cold smile, made a throat-slitting gesture, and then turned his horse back towards the camp.

The two days following this probing attack passed uneventfully for both sides. Both were awaiting reinforcements. The Eagle side continued to chop trees day and night to build siege engines.

Back in Ravenwood Forest, Ronan was walking slowly through the forest. He had completed his first weekly quest and allocated the upgrade points to Endurance and Agility, receiving the Longbow as a reward. The Longbow was directly delivered to his inventory, along with 25 arrows. His travels during this period had made Ronan realize the importance of his endurance, so he decided to put the points from the next few levels into Endurance.

Ronan already had an idea on how to deal with the Eagle pursuit team. Yesterday, while chasing a wild rabbit, he had discovered two patrolling Savages. After killing the one that charged at him and letting the other escape, Ronan had formed a plan. He was now gathering all available nearby supplies in preparation for the upcoming battle, as, by his estimation, the Eagle pursuit team would catch up to him in less than a day if he stopped.

The sky darkened, the sun disappeared, and the moon rose high. Ronan crept back under the cover of night, intending to find the Eagle pursuit team's encampment, as it was an indispensable part of his plan.

Peeking cautiously from behind a tree, Ronan saw several Eagle soldiers sitting by the campfire outside their tents, keeping watch. Confirming the Eagle soldiers' encampment location, Ronan carefully withdrew, making as little noise as possible to avoid detection.

Once out of the Eagle soldiers' alert radius, Ronan quickly ran towards the location of the Savage tribe he had discovered earlier. This Savage tribe was small, numbering less than 100 people, with many women and children, and not many elderly.

Their houses were simple structures made of wood and thatch, resembling sheds, dry and flammable. The camp was quiet at this moment, with only a few male Savages on guard near the camp for any approaching beasts.

Ronan hid behind a tree, took out a few arrows from his backpack, wrapped some rags around them, and then dipped them in oil he had rendered during the day. After making 5 such arrows, Ronan took out his flint and steel, lit them, and shot them towards the Savages' houses.

The fire spread rapidly, and the Savages rushed out of their houses to extinguish it. Ronan then stepped out, waiting for the Savages to discover him.

A few Savages spotted Ronan and quickly shouted in a language Ronan didn't understand. The Savages all turned towards Ronan's position, and with a roar from someone who looked like the leader, about 20 Savages charged at Ronan.

Seeing this, Ronan immediately turned and ran, heading directly towards the Eagle encampment. The dark-skinned Savages, wielding weapons, pursued him closely, occasionally firing arrows at Ronan, but they all hit the surrounding trees.