It was said that Furious Dragon Orcs carried a faint trace of Dragon Clan blood in their veins. Some among them could awaken this hidden bloodline and stimulate their bodies' functions, sending their adrenaline surging and greatly increasing their muscular strength. Such orcs were known as Furious Dragon Berserkers, and every one of them was an elite. However, this ability severely depleted their bodies. Orcs who frequently entered a berserk state generally did not live past thirty.
As Furious Dragon Berserkers climbed onto the walls, breaches gradually opened in the defenders' line. Viscount John hurriedly called for the Knights beside him to lead soldiers in and plug the gaps. As the Knights, their attendants, and the professional soldiers in fine standard-issue armor who continuously rushed up from behind the walls joined the battle, the Eagle attackers were swiftly suppressed. The ground they held kept shrinking, and the most eye-catching of them all was the towering Knight who had previously stood beside Viscount John.
He wielded the heavy halberd in his hand with ease, and every strike killed an enemy soldier. Quite a few Eagle Soldiers who tried to block his attacks with wooden shields paid a terrible price. Driven by his immense strength, the sharp axe blade split their shields cleanly in two, then continued onward to sever the soldier's arm and hack into his body.
Watching him slaughter Eagle Soldiers one after another, two Furious Dragon Berserkers charged at him from opposite sides. Facing the giant axes chopping in from both directions, the towering Knight did not panic in the slightest. He first raised his halberd to block one side, then twisted his body to evade the other axe. Despite his heavy armor and massive frame, he was unexpectedly agile.
After dodging the giant axe, he clenched his right hand, encased in a hard steel gauntlet, and punched the Furious Dragon Berserker in the face as it struggled to recover from its missed strike. Blood burst forth. The Berserker's nose was broken, and it crashed to the ground. Turning around, he first struck the other opponent's unprotected knee bend with the spiked counterweight at the end of the halberd's shaft. As it buckled in pain, he thrust the spear point of the halberd's head straight through its throat.
He then turned and kicked the orc he had knocked down with a punch earlier, who was shaking its head as it tried to get back up. After knocking it down again, he swung his halberd and chopped directly into its neck, beheading it.
Watching the towering Knight hold his weapon level with both hands and shove forward, sending two soldiers who had just climbed onto the wall flying back down, Mukai turned to his adjutant and asked, "Who is that man? Is he human?"
"My lord, he is Skoen Stonewall, Count Blackthorn's Punishment Knight. Their family has served the Blackthorn family for generations. It is said that their family possesses Mountain Giant blood, which is why they are all exceptionally tall and strong, able to wield armor and weapons ordinary humans cannot use. Skoen is the current head of the Stonewall family and a renowned powerhouse of the Gaoling Kingdom. At present, I fear only the chieftain of the Furious Dragon Orcs in our army can fight him."
"Mm. He truly is a fierce warrior. We probably cannot take the city today. Order the soldiers to withdraw, and bring me my bow while you're at it."
"Yes, my lord." The adjutant bowed to Mukai, then rode off to deliver the order. The Eagle Kingdom's soldiers began a slow retreat. Only the dozen or so orc soldiers stranded atop the walls continued fighting.
The battlefield was left covered in corpses. Mukai drew his longbow to its fullest, aiming at Skoen, who was holding an orc soldier impaled on his spear point high in the air atop the wall. Skoen's surcoat had already been dyed crimson with blood, its original pattern no longer visible.
A sharp whistle of wind rang out. Skoen sensed it, but it was already too late to evade. He could only raise his arm before his face. The sharp arrowhead pierced through his thick plate vambrace and embedded itself in Skoen's forearm. Skoen grunted in pain and turned toward Mukai outside the walls. Mukai was handing his longbow to his adjutant. When he looked back, his gaze met Skoen's. Mukai gave a cold smile, made a throat-slitting gesture, then turned his horse toward the camp.
For the next two days after that probing attack, both sides passed the time in peace, waiting for reinforcements. The Eagle side also continued felling trees day and night to build siege engines.
Back in Ravenwood Forest, Ronan was walking slowly through the woods. He had already completed Weekly Mission One, invested the points gained from leveling up into endurance and running, and received a longbow as a reward. The longbow had been placed directly into his inventory, along with twenty-five arrows. The recent journey had made Ronan realize how important endurance was, so he planned to put the points from his next few levels into endurance as well.
Ronan had already come up with a way to deal with the Eagle Pursuit Squad. Yesterday, while chasing a rabbit, he had discovered two patrolling savages. After killing one savage who charged at him and letting the other escape, Ronan had formed his plan. Now, he was gathering every useful resource nearby in preparation for the coming battle. After all, by his estimation, once he stopped moving, the Eagle Pursuit Squad would catch up to him in less than a day.
Night fell, the sun disappeared, and the moon rose high overhead. Under cover of darkness, Ronan carefully made his way back. He needed to find where the Eagle Pursuit Squad had made camp, because that was an indispensable part of his plan.
Hiding behind a tree, Ronan slowly peeked out and saw several Eagle Soldiers sitting by a campfire outside the tents, keeping watch through the night. After confirming the location of their camp, Ronan carefully slipped away, making as little noise as possible to avoid alerting them.
After leaving the Eagle Soldiers' perimeter, Ronan quickly ran toward the savage tribe he had discovered earlier. This tribe was not large, with fewer than a hundred people. Many of them were women and children, while there were only a few elderly people.
Their homes were crude shack-like structures made of wood and thatch, dry and easily flammable. The camp was quiet at the moment, with only several male savages keeping watch nearby for beasts that might come.
Ronan hid behind a tree and took several arrows from his inventory. He wrapped strips of cloth around them, then soaked them in the oil he had rendered during the day. After making five such arrows, Ronan took out a tinderbox, lit them, and fired them at the savages' homes.
The flames spread rapidly, and the savages rushed out of their homes to put out the fire. Ronan stepped out and waited for them to notice him.
Several savages spotted Ronan and immediately shouted in a language he could not understand. The savages all turned toward him. At the furious roar of someone who appeared to be their leader, more than twenty savages charged toward Ronan.
Ronan immediately turned and ran, heading straight for the Eagle camp. The dark-skinned savages gripped their weapons and pursued him closely, occasionally firing arrows at him, but every shot struck the surrounding trees.
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