Chapter 82: Elite Orcs

Just as Boer was preparing to pull a scapegoat into his place, he never imagined that there would be a High-level Rogue in Xia Duo's team who had discovered the Orcs' movements in advance.

When he rode that injured Summon Mount through a thicket, a cold arrow was suddenly fired from behind, striking the mount beneath his backside.

Summon Mounts are summoned via Spell; although they appear no different from a Reality mount, their duration decreases whenever they are injured, and they will vanish directly if a critical part is struck.

This critical part is not a vital organ of a Reality mount, but a key point of the Spell's extension. Aiwa has received professional Rogue training, and his understanding of common Spells is no worse than that of some ordinary Mages.

He knew the weakness of this type of Summon Mount very well and struck that weakness in one blow; the Forest Horse then transformed into nothingness.

Before Boer could even react, he fell to the ground and rolled several meters away. Although he did not hit a tree or stone and die on the spot, the moment he hit the ground, Boer could already foresee his subsequent fate.

He struggled to lift his head and looked toward the direction he had come from in despair.

In less than a minute, a group of Orcs came charging over. From a distance, one threw an axe, directly hacking the defenseless Boer into two pieces.

At this time, Aiwa, who was hidden to the side, had not yet left; he wanted to observe the number of Orcs and whether they would continue to advance toward Xia Duo's side.

There were nine Orcs in total, but these nine Orcs were in excellent condition and did not seem to be affected by their lair being destroyed or the crushing defeat in the decisive battle. Clearly, these nine were elites among the Orcs.

One of the Orcs discovered the arrow Aiwa had fired on the spot. Following its roar, the remaining Orcs immediately scattered, wanting to search for the potential enemy.

But Aiwa nimbly utilized light, shadows, trees, and even the Orcs' field of vision to achieve the effect of stealth. After searching for a moment to no avail, the Orcs continued to track toward the direction Boer had fled.

Seeing this scene, Aiwa immediately returned. Relying on the speed of a High-level Rogue, he arrived back at the temporary position set up by Sami and Xia Duo before the Orcs arrived.

"The Orcs are coming, nine in total, all elites."

Xia Duo nodded. The situation was not too dire; they had encountered elite Orcs before, and that piece of Metal Armor was stripped from one of those elite Orcs.

Xia Duo had a judgment regarding the strength of elite Orcs; it was just a bit troublesome to encounter nine at once.

Xia Duo directly ordered them to form a line and wait for the enemy. The Orcs' hearing and sense of smell were superior to humans', so there was almost no possibility of an ambush at close range. Xia Duo did not even fully count on the traps laid out in front to injure many of the Orcs.

Just a short while after Aiwa returned, Xia Duo heard the Orcs' roars and footsteps coming from afar.

And when Xia Duo and the others saw the Orcs, the Orcs also saw the humans waiting in front. Xia Duo noticed the Orcs gradually slowing down and immediately cast 【Ghost Sound】, cursing in crude Orcish:

"Cowards, idiots! I will crush your skulls!"

Hearing the humans' provocative voice, the Orcs immediately roared, completely disregarding the disparity in numbers between the two sides, and accelerated, charging straight over.

Xia Duo watched silently as the nine Orcs rushed into the trap area and immediately ordered, "Fire arrows!"

Forty arrows flew out instantly, forming an effect of near-blanket coverage. Two Orcs were unable to dodge or parry in time and were immediately struck; another Orc stepped on a one-handed sword Xia Duo and the others had buried in the ground, and while distracted, was also struck by an arrow.

Roar—

An Orc roared, took a Wolf Tooth Ornament from its neck, and slashed heavily across its face. The blood-stained Wolf Tooth Ornament immediately emitted a scarlet glow that enveloped the Orc, and its physique grew robust at a speed almost visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, the other Orcs also took off their Wolf Tooth Ornaments one after another, either stabbing them into their palms or slashing their cheeks, buffing themselves with the red light.

Seeing this, Xia Duo decisively took out a Magic Scroll and simultaneously instructed Sami, Dien, and Dewan to buff the team members, prioritizing those holding shields.

At the same time, the arrows from Xia Duo's side did not stop, but after the Orcs received the red light buff, their constitution was greatly enhanced, and more importantly, they seemed to be completely immune to pain.

Wielding their Shihu to parry the arrows while completely ignoring the traps on the ground, they charged straight toward Xia Duo and the others.

"After the final round of shooting, discard bows!"

In fact, when the Orcs rushed out of the trap area, the shield-bearing team members in the front row had already thrown away their bows and arrows. They hadn't even drawn their one-handed swords, holding their shields with both hands, standing ready.

Thud—thud—

Following several heavy, muffled sounds, the shield-bearing team members in the front row, despite being buffed with 【Bear's Endurance】, 【Bull's Strength】, and 【Cat's Grace】, were still pushed back several steps by the Orcs' charge.

But fortunately, they stabilized in time.

The spear-wielding team members behind also thrust their Long Spears out at the right moment, but by this time, the Orcs' reaction speed had exceeded the norm. They retreated using the reaction force of the collision, while also having the spare capacity to swing their Shihu toward the Long Spears.

Caught off guard, the heads of two Long Spears were instantly severed.

"Change formation!"

The arc-shaped front row that had originally surrounded Xia Duo and the others began to turn around and surround the Orcs instead to increase the area of engagement. At the same time, spear after spear thrust out the moment the Orcs charged or attacked.

After several rounds of attacks, the advantage gradually tilted toward Xia Duo's side.

Although the Orcs buffed with Spells had lost their sense of pain, they had not lost their reason. Their offensive momentum was growing weaker and weaker, and they seemed to have developed the idea of fleeing.

Xia Duo noticed this and immediately cast 【Ghost Sound】. The provocative voice came from the left, the right, the front, and the back, teasing the Orcs until their fury was blazing.

And the other Mage Apprentices, at Xia Duo's signal, also cast offensive Spells. Although they might not be fatal, it was enough to disrupt their offensive rhythm.

The battle situation seemed to be becoming more and more favorable to Xia Duo and the others, but several successive "click-clack" sounds made Xia Duo's heart tighten, and immediately after, he heard Jibu shout:

"The shields are not going to hold!"

"Me too!"

Four or five of the twelve shield-bearing team members shouted out, immediately causing a panic among the spear-wielding team members behind, and several even accidentally had their spearheads chopped off by the Orcs.

The Territory's Standard Shield is mainly made of a dense type of wood, with a layer of Iron wrapped on the outside. It is only natural that they could not hold up against the fierce attacks of reinforced elite Orcs.

But the current situation was somewhat fatal; if there were no shields, Xia Duo's entire formation would be shattered.

Even if they could take down these nine Orcs in the end, who knew how much of a price they would have to pay? Would Xia Duo be among that cost?

"Hold steady first!"

Xia Duo shouted loudly; he was determined not to let the front line fall.

As such, they either had to reinforce the shields or widen the gap as quickly as possible. Xia Duo could not do the former, and the most direct way for the latter was to kill one or two Orcs immediately.

As long as one or two Orcs died, the other Orcs would no longer be a problem.