Chapter 444: Storming the Fortress!

“What are these humans trying to do…” The orcs, watching the gate’s movements through the breach, grew even more confused.

Especially the orc chieftain, whose brow furrowed deeply.

But the next instant, he suddenly realized something and his eyes flew wide open, “Damn it! Shoot arrows, throw spears—don’t let them get momentum!”

The orcs and slave soldiers on the wall froze, stunned into inaction!

“What are you waiting for? Move! These humans are trying to pull the gate open with horses—kill them now! Otherwise the gate won’t hold!” the orc chieftain shouted desperately.

Now, the orcs and slave soldiers finally understood.

Immediately, they rose from behind the battlements, gripping longbows or raising spears.

“Ballistae—fire!”

But the orcs didn’t know that the Storm Legion outside had long anticipated this moment—the ballistae had been waiting.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

At the command, twenty ballistae fired in unison.

Instantly, twenty dark streaks shot toward the wall.

Plop! Plop! Plop!

Sounds of flesh being pierced rang out—slave soldiers and orcs who had just nocked arrows or raised spears exploded with blood from their chests.

This single volley carried off at least fifty to sixty slave soldiers and orcs.

Of course, the orc archers and spear-throwers weren’t limited to just these.

The orc chieftain had no time to mourn his fallen warriors—he screamed hoarsely, “Quick! Archers and spear-throwers on the left and right, fill in!”

Hearing this, another fifty to sixty nearby archers and spear-throwers hurried toward the gate.

Soon, these fifty to sixty gathered and drew their bows, ready to fire.

“Cannons—fire!”

At that moment, shouts came again from outside the wall.

But this time, the orcs were no longer afraid.

They had seen the power of these iron tubes—though deadly, they couldn’t possibly cover everyone.

Even the orc chieftain believed this: “No retreat! The iron tubes’ range is limited—your sixty men, they can hit at most seven or eight! Hold your ground!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just then, three thunderous roars echoed.

Plop! Plop! Plop!

After the explosions, to every orc’s shock, this time the cannons’ blast had engulfed nearly all of them.

At least fifty orcs burst into bloodsprays and collapsed, eyes wide open.

Only two lucky ones escaped unscathed.

The survivors stared in disbelief at their sides.

Wasn’t it supposed to hit only seven or eight of us?

This… this was almost total annihilation!

“This… this can’t be!” The orc chieftain had been so certain—now, seeing the second wave of archers and spear-throwers nearly wiped out, his eyes nearly bulged out.

After all, the cannons’ power before had been nothing like this.

“Ha! Those green-skinned monsters are terrified! My lord, let me scare them some more!” Migen was ecstatic.

Just moments ago they were so arrogant—now they were completely broken.

“Ha! Green-skinned monsters, how do you like the power of divine punishment?”

“Did you really think we had no backing, that seven hundred men dared attack?”

“Let me tell you—this divine punishment is our true trump card! And yes, we already gave you a chance to surrender!”

“But you missed it. Now, you will face even more divine punishment from the Glory God of our people!”

“D-Divine punishment? That’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!” The orc chieftain couldn’t believe it.

“Hmph! Still refuse to believe as death approaches? If not divine punishment, then what? Magic? Don’t tell me, you, a mighty orc chieftain, can’t sense magic at all—so you know deep down whether it’s divine punishment or not!” Migen continued his psychological assault.

The orc chieftain instantly sank into self-doubt.

“Storm cavalry—charge!”

At that moment, the Storm cavalry finally completed all the latch connections.

At the lead captain’s roar, forty Storm cavalrymen kicked their horses’ flanks and charged away from the gate.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

After charging over ten meters, the chains connected to the gate’s crossbow bolts snapped taut.

Then, the already crumbling gate shuddered violently.

Crash! Crash!

As expected, the two massive, bullet-riddled gates crashed to the ground, kicking up thick clouds of dust.

The Storm soldiers outside paused for a heartbeat, then erupted in triumphant shouts.

“It’s open! The fortress gate is ours!”

“Ha! Yes! The fortress gate is open—we can charge right in now!”

Amid the cheers, Gervas wasted no time: “Lei Meng! Laurence!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Both answered in unison; Lei Meng drew his longsword with a sharp clang.

“Storm Knights, the enemy’s fortress is breached—this is our moment to strike! For our lord! For glory! Kill!”

“For our lord! For glory! Kill!”

Lei Meng led several knights straight ahead, charging toward the gaping gate.

Laurence followed close behind: “Storm Legion, swordsmen—charge!!”

“Kill!”

Amid the battle cries, over three hundred swordsmen surged toward the fortress gate.

“Damn it! Stop them! Don’t let them break in…” The orc chieftain, still wrestling with whether it was divine punishment, snapped back to reality, eyes blazing red as he roared for his men to hold the line.

But the orcs and slave soldiers had already been terrified by the talk of divine punishment.

Thus, the Storm Knights and Storm Guards met almost no serious resistance as they stormed into the fortress and began slaughtering.

“Damn it! No retreat! All of you, fight! Whoever shows cowardice—I’ll report to the Orc King and turn you all into slaves! Slave soldiers—executed!”

The orc chieftain still tried to resist.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Orc, worry more about whether you’ll make it back alive!”

At that moment, a noise came from above the orc chieftain’s head.

He looked up—and saw a massive griffon hovering seven or eight meters above him.

“Griffon rider! This…” The orc chieftain was stunned, terrified.

But Mick had no intention of giving him time to speak—his polished iron hammer was already raised high.

Crackling arcs of electricity instantly covered its surface.

“Die, ugly beast!”

Boom!

A white ball of lightning, the size of a basketball, hurtled toward the orc chieftain.

He tried to dodge—but it was too late. He instinctively raised his iron-plated shield to block.

With a thunderous crash, the iron-plated shield shattered.

Though the full lightning orb was blocked,

the exploded arcs did not vanish—they spread along the chieftain’s arm, racing over his entire body.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Instantly, the orc chieftain’s body emitted a charred smell, and he stiffened helplessly in place.