Chapter 21

As a veteran criminal gang that had survived countless PKs without ever being wiped out, the Orc Wolf Rider Band was well-versed in small-scale skirmishes at the village level. Although their boss had given the order to attack, they didn't mindlessly charge in while shouting "Banzai." Instead, they rode their dire wolves in a diagonal path across the front of the merchant group's defensive line, pulling short bows from their backs to loose arrows at Gerald, who stood at the forefront.

As a seasoned criminal outfit, the Orc Wolf Riders possessed not only exquisite horsemanship and archery but also exceptionally rich combat experience. They gauged their attack distance with precision, never once stepping into the area where old Soth had laid his traps. They launched their assault from a range where the merchant group's archers could not effectively retaliate, achieving a one-sided strike.

Dozens of short bows fired in unison, forming a veritable rain of arrows that looked truly terrifying. Yet, Gerald didn't buy it; aside from using his left hand to shield his eyes, he couldn't even be bothered to parry.

The orcs' archery was quite sharp, and more than half of the dozens of arrows hit their mark. For a moment, it looked as if Gerald was about to be turned into a giant sieve, and the hearts of the merchant group members rose to their throats in anxiety.

However, only a series of pitter-patter sounds, like wood striking stone, echoed continuously. Each sharp arrow struck Gerald's body, but instead of breaking skin or drawing blood, they simply bounced off and fell to the ground, seemingly having no effect at all.

Oh, it wasn't entirely without effect; Gerald muttered, "A bit itchy..."

A bit itchy, and that was all.

Everyone was speechless. Sui Xiong felt as if he vaguely saw a pair of drooping wings dripping with black water rising above the orcs' heads, along with a system prompt reading "Orc Wolf Rider Band morale is low."

Of course, it was just an illusion.

The archery had been useless, causing Blood Hand Luer to frown slightly, though he didn't pay it much mind. He was a veteran of a hundred battles and had encountered heavily armored opponents more than once. So what if they were immune to arrows? He had plenty of ways to deal with them!

"Warlocks, Scorching Curse," he ordered in the Orcish tongue.

Three orcs who hadn't participated in the initial charge slowly approached on their dire wolves. After advancing a short distance, they simultaneously raised their right hands.

They each held a short wand less than a foot long, crafted from the bones of a Magic Beast and engraved with similar magical runes. At the tip of each wand was embedded a nearly identical red gemstone.

These wands were strange, and none of the merchant group recognized them. But when red magical fluctuations began to swirl around the wands, the young mage Palin finally identified them.

"Brother White, watch out! It's a Range-Extending Wand!"

The magic in this world wasn't as overpowered as in the fantasy works Sui Xiong had seen before his transmigration—where one could destroy the heavens and the earth in a heartbeat; that was absolutely impossible. The biggest issue with magic here was range. Because it required the mage's mental power to designate a target, most spells had a range of only twenty or thirty meters. Only ray-type spells, which didn't require target designation and only needed a direction, had ranges significantly further than that.

Twenty or thirty meters was certainly not far enough, leaving casters highly dependent on the protection of the warrior class in actual combat. Once that protection was lost, even high-level casters could be picked off one by one by a mid-level archer, turning them into human targets.

...Of course, if a caster faced a situation where they lost their protection and didn't retreat immediately, choosing instead to go head-to-head with an archer who countered them, such a person likely wouldn't have the intelligence to reach a high level anyway; they probably would have killed themselves during their own spell research long ago.

To improve the issue of insufficient spell range, the technology of "Spell Range Extension" was born. To popularize this technique, which could increase spell range by two to three times, the Range-Extending Wand was created as a matter of course.

The only use for these rather expensive wands was to grant the caster an additional "Spell Range Extension" ability. Although the effect was singular and the price brutal, they were treasures that practical combat casters dreamed of. Along with the "Armor Robe" that solidified the "Mage Armor" spell and the "Amulet of Rescue" that solidified the "Faultless Teleportation" spell, they were known as the Three Treasures of Combat Magic—a standard set that any practical caster wanted to complete.

Palin's ideal was to become a respected and great adventurer, which meant that as a caster, he would inevitably have to walk the path of real combat. Therefore, he longed for the Three Treasures of Combat Magic. Although the Range-Extending Wands used by the three orcs were of a special design and vastly different from what he had seen in magic shops, the moment they cast their spells, the unmistakable range-extension effect was immediately recognized by him.

However, his reaction was still a beat too slow.

Hearing his warning, Gerald felt a jolt of alarm and hurriedly braced himself. But by then, the three orcs had already completed their spells, and three crimson rays shot toward Gerald simultaneously.

The speed of these rays wasn't fast; given Gerald's reaction time, he definitely had time to dodge. However, he remembered that there were many innocent merchants behind him. If he moved, those ordinary people would surely die if they were hit by the spells. He abandoned the safest option and tried to use the large tree in his hand to block the three spells.

Yet, the positioning of the three orcs was extremely cunning. Even though Gerald moved quickly and the tree was quite large, he could only block two of the spells, and one crimson ray still struck his body.

The red light looked plain at first glance, but its power was vicious. The large tree Gerald was using as a club was lush and robust, but after being struck by two of the red rays, the vibrant green branches and leaves withered almost instantly. Centered on the spots hit by the red light, tiny sparks ignited, and two small flames burst forth.

If even the tree couldn't withstand the spell, what would happen to a person?

Luer wore a smile, as if he could already see the simple and kind young giant being burned to a crisp, or blown into a mess by his own blood instantly vaporizing inside him.

That was the sight he loved most; he never tired of it.

But this time, he was disappointed. The powerful Scorching Curse struck Gerald, producing only a wisp of blue smoke and scorching a patch of skin on his left arm where he had been hit, failing to achieve any further results.

"That spell is truly vicious! It's actually a dual-layer high-temperature effect, both internal and external. If hit, and without sufficient magic resistance, death is almost certain... As expected of professional bandits, they go for the kill right away!" Sui Xiong was slightly startled; he hadn't expected a mere group of bandits robbing people in the borderlands to have such formidable means. "But don't worry, the magic core inside your body has plenty of mana in reserve. This kind of head-on spell can be completely neutralized by mana; it's nothing more than some superficial wounds. With your constitution, you'll recover in no time."

Listening to Sui Xiong's words and looking at the tree in his hand that was about to turn into a torch, Gerald was completely shocked. He knew the body that His Majesty Oscar had created for him was very powerful, but he hadn't expected it to be this powerful!

Being able to withstand blades was one thing, but to withstand such a powerful spell?! His physical strength must be considered top-tier even among Magic Beasts! Perhaps... even if he faced a dragon, he could put up a fight!

To have such a powerful and omnipotent true god protecting him, he was truly lucky!

With a reliable trump card in hand, his confidence naturally soared. Without another word, Gerald let out a roar, swung the tree that was turning into a torch, and charged toward the orc bandits.

His speed was faster than a galloping horse. In the blink of an eye, he reached one of the orc warlocks, swung the tree, and smashed it down on his head.

As the tree-club descended, a circle of white light erupted around the orc warlock—it was the "Mage Armor," famed for having defensive power comparable to chainmail. Yet, under Gerald's heavy blow, the spell failed to have any effect at all. It didn't even hold for a split second before, with a loud boom, the orc warlock and the dire wolf he was riding were smashed into a pulp, becoming fertilizer to nourish the grass.

Seeing this, Luer was so terrified his eyes nearly popped out of his head. His body reacted faster than his brain; he immediately turned his wolf around and fled toward the distance at full speed. Seeing their boss run, the members of the Orc Wolf Rider Band let out a cry, spurred their dire wolves in unison, and scattered in all directions, leaving Gerald stunned and unsure of where to pursue.

He was an old hand, but he wasn't a clever person. Back in his adventurer party, he only knew how to listen to the captain. Later, when he fled to White Leaf Village to become the village guard captain, he only knew how to do his duty, completely lacking any means for power struggles. The reason he left the impression of being "cunning" on the village's old high priest was merely because his habit of teaching apprentices had earned him the respect of the villagers, and that old man, who liked to think the worst of people, had simply misinterpreted the situation.

Faced with a situation where the enemy scattered in all directions the moment they suffered a setback, Gerald was like a hunting dog watching a nest of rabbits run in every direction, his brain short-circuiting and unable to react.

"Chase the mages!" Sui Xiong hurriedly ordered. In his view, the most dangerous among this group of orc bandits were the three casters. As long as they were wiped out, the threat posed by these bandits would be greatly reduced.

Gerald immediately obeyed. With a powerful stomp, he surged forward with the wind, quickly catching up to one of the orc warlocks who was fleeing on his dire wolf. He swung the tree-club, which had now turned into a torch, and smashed it down on his head again.

Boom!

There was another pile of messy fertilizer on the ground.

By this time, the third orc warlock had seized the opportunity to cast a spell. A mass of green energy wrapped around the limbs of the dire wolf he was riding, and the already fast wolf began to gallop as if it had wind beneath its feet. The speed was so fast that even Gerald was left gaping. He tried to give chase for a while, but found the distance growing ever wider, and had to give up in frustration.

"Your Majesty, I am very sorry, I failed to complete the mission... Please punish me!"

"Forget it, forget it. You took out two out of three, that's not bad." Sui Xiong was indifferent. "Besides, the world is vast; there will always be another time to meet them. They can run for a while, but they can't run forever. One day, they will get what's coming to them."

"Before that, you should go eat your dinner first."

Gerald sighed, frustrated by his own incompetence. He threw the tree, which had become a torch, onto the ground, stomped out the flames, and returned to the merchant group's camp, dejected.

Seeing the hero who had returned victorious so depressed, the members of the merchant group naturally had to ask why. Upon learning that he was regretting not being able to wipe out all three orc warlocks, they couldn't help but be filled with emotion.

The Orc Wolf Rider Band was notorious; whenever people encountered them, all they thought about was how to save their own lives. Yet, a true powerhouse thought the exact opposite: how to wipe them out completely.

The difference between heaven and earth was like a bronze-tier rookie witnessing a match between professional experts. Aside from admiration, there was only admiration, and a thousand words could only be condensed into one sentence.

Great God, please accept my knees!

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