A band of companions from the north, struggling through the mountains of the southeast.
A group of Tiger demi-humans trekked through the mountains as the weather grew colder. They could only hide in the mountains, struggling to make it through the winter.
All the supplies they had stockpiled before were gone.
Even the weapons they had once been so proud of were completely useless.
They were running, and the Orcs were chasing them.
Demi-humans were more humanlike, so they were essentially humans with a few animal traits.
Orcs, on the other hand, leaned entirely toward beasts.
The Tiger demi-humans lived in groups, while Tigerfolk seemed to live alone.
But then the Wolfkin arrived—the kind that lived in groups.
The weather was gradually growing colder, but for the Orcs, winter hadn't fully arrived yet, and they were still hunting for food.
The Werewolf Tribe had around ten thousand members. Including the surrounding tribes that had submitted to them, there were certainly hundreds of thousands.
And now, a group of several hundred Wolfkin had set their sights on Aningsbe.
There were also some Bearfolk and Tigerfolk among them.
As soon as Lynn received the news, he immediately went to the city wall to take a look.
Back when he played Mount & Blade, even a thousand troops looked like a sea of people.
If they were cavalry, even a few hundred felt like an absurdly large number.
The Orcs before him were all ridiculously tall and strong. Their sheer numbers formed a terrifying, imposing mass.
The people around him couldn't help feeling intimidated.
From Lynn's vantage point, the Orcs showed no interest in negotiating. They were already preparing to attack.
They thought this was merely a baron's castle, too poor to hire mercenaries, with only a hundred or so people defending it.
On top of that, the wall had no Magic Runes. Anyone could see that at a glance.
That was another reason the Orcs had decided to attack.
On top of the wall, Lynn stood with his hands behind his back, his heart in turmoil.
His first real battle involving more than a hundred people?
He had fought countless hundred-man battles in Mount & Blade, but those had been against AI. They were only games, after all.
Lynn gazed ahead and spotted the Wolfkin commander holding a gleaming golden scimitar. The other Orcs had no weapons; they relied on their sharp claws and formidable physiques, which were frightening enough on their own.
Lynn's mind raced through all the times he had defended castles in games, as well as every siege he could still remember.
The cold wind kept everyone grim and composed.
Several Bearfolk charged forward with enormous rocks in their hands, then hurled them.
The city wall shuddered as though it had been hit by artillery.
The Bearfolk's bodies weren't built like humans', so they couldn't throw things effectively.
They could only hurl rocks from within fifty meters, repeatedly slamming them into the wall.
Every so often, one or two rocks would follow an arc and hit some unlucky soul on top of the wall.
Lynn ordered the soldiers not to attack. Let them throw. Everyone was to stay behind the wall and wait for orders.
In England, an excellent archer could draw his bow twenty times in a day.
In this world, an excellent archer could draw his bow over a hundred times in a day.
The War bows of this world weren't like the ones on Earth. They were powerful enough to rival firearms, but only Battle Qi cultivators could serve as archers with such bows, and they were few in number.
Most archers could manage only twenty draws a day and still be considered excellent.
No matter how strong the Orcs were, they were still Carbon-based life forms. The Bearfolk were human-shaped catapults, but after ten throws, they were already exhausted.
Chinese-style city walls were least afraid of rocks being thrown at them.
You had to keep at it for a long time to break one.
The Wolfkin looked furious. One of them shouted angrily at the Bearfolk.
The Bearfolk were indignant, but they swallowed their anger.
Then, from Lynn's vantage point, the Wolfkin talked among themselves for a while before immediately setting up camp where they were.
"Those Orcs are terrifying. They can throw rocks that big so far!"
"Yeah. Do you think we can hold them off?"
The soldiers murmured among themselves.
"We can hold them off." Lynn walked among the soldiers, checking for anyone undermining morale. He startled the ones he caught gossiping.
"M-My lord."
"You two—why are you so lacking in confidence?" Lynn handed them jerky and porridge. "Here, have something to eat and calm your nerves. The Orcs are probably making ladders to use in the siege. You'll need your strength when the fighting starts."
"M-My lord, this..."
"What 'my lord'? I'm the Grand Commander, understand?" After handing the food to them, Lynn went back to the porridge and jerky and continued distributing them to the soldiers.
Lynn also rallied the refugees in the city. They lit fires to melt snow and boiled pot after pot of hot water.
Outside the city, the Wolfkin quickly finished making their siege equipment.
This time, the Tigerfolk carried ladders, while the Bearfolk carried far fewer rocks—only one or two each.
The Wolfkin still held rocks in their hands.
The siege began.
At the sound of a long wolf howl, the Orcs let out their own roars to intimidate the defenders.
Then the Wolfkin used their advantage: they ran up, gaining momentum, and threw the small rocks in their hands.
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