Orcs

At dawn, the sun rose over the world once more.

Under the sunlight, Arthur rode a horse with several men in tow, quietly patrolling the surrounding area.

After a while, he led his men back to the camp and saw the soldiers gathering within.

He frowned instinctively, stopped a passing man, and asked about the situation.

"Someone returned from the front lines. They said they found traces of Orcs. Lord Flar is gathering the warriors and preparing to go suppress them." The soldier respectfully told him everything he knew before hurrying away.

Arthur froze, then turned to look ahead.

Most of the camp's fighting force had already been assembled. This included not only the elite men Flar had brought from the castle, but also some Rookie Knights who had originally been stationed here.

More warriors were still returning from outside. Like Arthur, they had been dispatched to patrol and garrison the surrounding areas some time ago, and were now trickling back.

Seeing this formation, Arthur sighed inwardly. He did not hesitate for long before riding straight to the front.

He saw Flar standing ahead, inspecting the troops. He was still wearing that dark gray armor, looking as imposing as ever.

As if sensing Arthur's gaze, Flar turned around midway and looked in Arthur's direction, giving him a slight nod.

Arthur looked around, then knowingly joined a formation off to the side. The ones standing there were Rookie Knights like himself.

He glanced about and saw Dier among them. Dier's expression was more solemn than ever, not daring to relax in the slightest.

After some time, once those who had been recalled had more or less returned to the ranks, Flar began assigning the troops.

This mission was to suppress Orcs. Based on the information currently available, this group of Orcs was not weak, so a large portion of their forces would have to be deployed.

However, the camp could not be left entirely undefended. While they were gone, people still had to remain here to guard against bandits and savages from the north entering the southern territory.

Of course, none of that really had anything to do with Arthur.

Several days later, in a stretch of wilderness, Arthur quietly followed the troops ahead as they gradually advanced forward.

"Once we pass this stretch of road, we'll reach that area after another half day's journey."

Having arrived in this region, Flar suddenly spoke as he looked at the troops behind him. "Tell our men to pick up the pace. We must reach that place before today ends."

With a single order, the marching speed of the troops increased once more.

Yet Arthur frowned at the sight.

Moving a force at such speed through unknown territory placed an enormous burden on their stamina. If anything unexpected happened, they would be easily thrown into disarray.

Not everyone in the group was cavalry. Most of the warriors were actually on foot.

Although the physical fitness of warriors in this world far surpassed that of people in Arthur's previous life, they would still grow tired after walking beneath the sun for so long.

With his keen hearing, Arthur could already faintly hear the heavy panting coming from the surrounding warriors from time to time.

Let's hope nothing unexpected happens. Riding his horse, he looked at the rugged road ahead.

After passing through the area, near noon, they arrived at the foot of a mountain. The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

This abnormal situation drew everyone's attention.

Flar rode a tall white horse and looked over the surrounding terrain. Somewhat puzzled, he said, "Where are the scouts we sent out earlier? Haven't they returned yet?"

"Not yet." A voice answered from behind, carrying the same confusion.

Hearing this, Flar frowned instinctively. He opened his mouth, about to say something.

Whoosh!

At that moment, an inexplicable sound suddenly rang out.

Arthur's pupils contracted sharply. The sound was incomparably familiar to him. That's the sound of an arrow cutting through the air?

The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. He instinctively raised his head and saw arrows in the sky.

His powerful physique and the instincts forged through long training took effect immediately.

Before anyone else could react, Arthur instinctively grabbed a shield hanging from his horse, then pushed off with his feet and leaped fiercely, landing on the ground in an instant.

His left hand swung forward sharply, and the shield he held knocked aside several arrows in front of him. Only then did he have the chance to look around.

The horse he had been riding was already finished. More than a dozen arrows had pierced its body, and it now lay on the ground, wailing miserably.

The others were much the same.

The Rookie Knights were better off. Though they had been specially targeted, their physical abilities were far superior, and their reactions were decent. Only a few unlucky ones were hit.

The ordinary warriors suffered far more miserably.

Compared with the Rookie Knights, these ordinary warriors reacted much more slowly, and their equipment was also far worse. Some did not even have crude leather armor. Once hit, their fate would be extremely grim.

Arthur noticed a faint sickly green color on the arrowheads. They had most likely been soaked in some sort of poison.

At the very front of the formation, Flar wore a cold expression. His longsword had already been drawn, and his imposing eyes were fixed firmly ahead.

All around them, dull thudding sounds rose from the once-silent surroundings.

Ahead, Orcs emerged from the silent forest. They wore crude beast-hide robes, had savage faces, and stood around two meters tall. Each of them radiated a bloodthirsty, berserk aura.

Compared with humans, these Orcs had gray skin and much stronger builds. Most wielded heavy weapons, a sight chilling enough to make one's heart tremble.

"Ss... la... meng."

Incomprehensible roars came from the Orcs' mouths.

There was no unnecessary talk or exchange. The moment they met, the Orcs raised their weapons and charged forward fiercely.

The ground ahead shook violently. This group of Orcs was extremely direct, launching their attack while Arthur and the others had yet to react, giving them no time to form up.

At once, nearly every warrior, including Flar, changed expression.

Something's wrong! Arthur's heart jolted violently. There are so many Orcs. This is practically a small Orc tribe. How could they have come here without anyone receiving any news?

The social structure of Orcs differed from that of humans. Most lived in separate tribes and only united at certain necessary times.

Excluding the elderly, the weak, children, and females, a normal Orc tribe could usually only field a few hundred true warriors.

Yet before Arthur stood at least three or four hundred densely packed Orc warriors.

Before he could think further, the Orcs ahead shouted in a language Arthur could not understand and charged toward them, waving their weapons.

No matter what they had been thinking before, at this point, they could only draw their weapons and fight these Orcs to the death.

Arthur and the other Rookie Knights were clearly receiving special attention from the Orcs.

Compared with ordinary warriors, these Rookie Knights posed a far greater threat. Their armor and weapons were often better as well, making them much more conspicuous than ordinary soldiers.

Even Arthur, who appeared rather frail among the Rookie Knights due to his age, was surrounded by several large Orc warriors, who stared at him with savage expressions.

Facing the Orc warriors rushing at him, Arthur's expression remained unchanged. He held a silver shield one meter in length and width in his left hand, while his right reached for the Cross Sword at his waist.

Crack!

A crisp sound of breaking rang out, followed by a streak of red blood.

Before Arthur, the tall Orc warrior stared wide-eyed at him, as though unable to believe he had been defeated so quickly.

A massive metal battle axe smashed viciously toward Arthur, only to be firmly blocked by a silver shield.

Feeling the force transmitted through the shield in his left hand, Arthur's previously tense heart completely calmed.

These Orcs looked physically powerful and indeed possessed tremendous strength, but compared with Arthur, they were still inferior.

Arthur estimated that these ordinary Orc warriors had strength of around 1.5, while their agility and constitution were also slightly stronger than those of ordinary people. Their physical abilities were enough to rival elite human warriors, but they were inferior to Rookie Knights, let alone Arthur.

A flash of cold light streaked through the air. Under the swing of tremendous force, a large Orc head flew into the distance.

Arthur turned around and, without hesitation, slashed several times, blocking the attacks of the remaining Orcs around him.

He charged forward. The few Orcs before him failed to react at all and remained frozen in their previous movements as the Cross Sword in his hand pierced their chests, sending their bodies falling onto the ground behind them.

Roar!!

A deep roar came from behind Arthur, followed rapidly by the whistling of a weapon cutting through the air.

He instinctively raised his left hand behind him to block, and the shield in his hand collided with a greatsword.

Bang!!

A violent impact rang out, and a huge force surged into his body.

Arthur felt his arm go numb. He staggered back several steps before looking behind him.

It was an Orc warrior far larger than ordinary Orcs. Not only was he nearly two and a half meters tall, but he also wore crude leather armor. He was currently half-kneeling on the ground, as though he had suffered somewhat in the previous clash.

This was an Orc Warrior, one of the physically powerful individuals among Orcs. In terms of combat strength, they were already comparable to Rookie Knights.

Perhaps because Arthur's earlier performance had been too outstanding, several Orc Warriors around him slowly surrounded him, weapons in hand.