68 Chapter 68

Aerwyn and his army sprinted across the open field and very quickly the chaos within the village became apparent. The main force of orcs were down the long avenue fighting to take the square and handful of straggling lesser orcs inhabited the street, knocking down doors and slaughtering any elves unlucky enough to live in that area. He couldn't see the two smaller forces that broke off from the main one but he assumed that they were either fighting in the square or raiding homes around the village much like the dozen or so lesser orcs before him.

The orc stragglers noticed his arrival as soon as he got within fifty meters of the shattered wall and they began shouting out words in their throaty, grunt-like language. Aerwyn wasted no time, aiming his staff and firing a flame lance at the closest orc that appeared to be winning a fight against a blood covered elf. The flame lance shot out missing it's intended target, he only had the use of one of his arms thanks to Pontus and it was difficult enough to stay atop his zin beetle let alone aim properly.

The explosion near the orc and elf's feet knocked both of them to the ground but the orc recovered far more quickly. In a quick rolling motion, the orc swung his axe without standing up, sending it directly into the stunned elf's chest. Aerwyn wasted no time while the events played out before him and by the time the orc began to stand, Aerwyn was already firing out another flame lance.

He was only a few meters away now and he would find it difficult to miss at such a range even with his mangled arm. The projectile collided with the orcs back as he stood up to flee, exploding out and sending him tumbling towards the main orc force. As the orcs body tumbled Aerwyn looked towards the rest of the straggling orcs who were fleeing down the avenue but when he saw the lesser orc that he had just shot stand back up from the corner of his eye, he was shocked.

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Aerwyn's eyes instantly shot to the orcs back where they projectile had hit and there he saw a melon sized hole in the lesser orcs scorched fur armor. The skin that he could see was mangled and burnt but clearly it wasn't enough to put the orc down for good and if lesser orcs could survive one of his flame lances with so little damage he quaked at the thought of how many it would take to kill a true orc. This turn of events would make him half a step from being useless during this battle and he'd be forced to rely wholly on his undead.

By the time he recovered from his shock Aerwyn and his undead were already on top of the straggling lesser orcs that were sprinting down the avenue, trampling them while some of the smaller undead finished the job. They seemed to be calling out to warn their orc brethren of the attack but the main force didn't appear to notice their cries.

"Erit, Rorik, and Pontus stay with me! Earl Abery take point!" Aerwyn screamed out, trying to be heard over the roaring sounds of war before him as they grew ever closer to the main battle. If his flame lances couldn't pierce orc flesh then he needed protection, far more than his little protectors Rin and Ren could provide.

Aerwyn, Erit, Rorik, and Pontus all slowed their speeds allowing the horde of undead to overtake them as the horde continued to charge on. When they got closer the rear ranks of the main force, some orcs became aware of their charge and a horn was blown thrice. The deep, powerful sound echoed out from within their ranks causing many orcs to turn to face the charge head on.

The zin beetles and those atop them smashed into the orcs like a battering ram, almost punching straight through to the elves in the initial charge, splitting the orc's forces in two. The trolls were right behind them swinging their massive tree trunks wildly in the gap created by the zin beetles. An orc charged the gap only to find Mogg's tree trunk swinging in his direction. The orcs may be strong but the trolls wouldn't lose a battle of strength to them and as if proving that fact true, the orc was sent flying back into his brethren like it had been shot out from a cannon.

The humans and goblins which now made up the bulk of Aerwyn's undead, filled the gap so that the orcs were now surrounded on three sides, their backs forced against the buildings that lined the street. The humans were voracious in battle despite their chain mail offering little protection against the orc's axe's and strength.

The humans almost acted like they wanted to get hit, allowing the orcs free swings that would otherwise normally be defended against. Once the orcs took the bait and pierced the humans flesh they would return a flurry of wild stabs while the orcs attempted to pull out their axes that were caught in chain mail, bone, and flesh. It was an atrocious waste of armor but Aerwyn wouldn't reprimand them for a strategy that appeared to be working, at least for now.

He did however worry about the wanton disregard for their lives, while anything short of an axe to the skull would do little to stop their assault, it still burned their soul every time they healed themselves. Perhaps his 'great one' speech worked a little too well on them and they truly believed they were immortal now. Either way, while the issue of weakened souls hadn't popped up recently it was still an issue nevertheless. He would have to make them aware of it at some point as he didn't have enough souls to keep them all alive right now should they require souls as nourishment.

The elves of Lyr that chose to follow Aerwyn were mixed in with the humans and goblins as they filled the gap. They fought much like Aerwyn had witnessed the elves of Setrhyn fight during the battle against Earl Abery, dashing in and out of range of the orcs after throwing out accurate stabs. The humans allowing their bodies to be used as shields allowed the elves to use their agility to the fullest.

The goblins were far less effective but that was to be expected, if he didn't need the numbers right now he wouldn't of even brought them along. The orcs tough skin already made it difficult for the goblins to pierce through even if the orcs simply stood still, let alone when they orcs actually fought back. It wasn't all for nothing though, they found some success in attacking while the orcs were busy fending off the human's attacks much like the elves of Lyr.

The goblins would only become viable in battle when he had an overwhelming number of them or if he named and evolved them, either way that was a plan for the future and wouldn't help him now. Like the goblins, the spiders adapted as well, instead of attempting to use their venom the spiders climbed the buildings that the orcs were pressed against and rained down short spurts of webs.

The webs weren't as effective as they were on the humans, the orcs appeared to be able to snap them with relative ease but every second they spent breaking out of webs was a second that the rest of his forces could exploit. Aerwyn wasn't sure whether or not the reason behind the webs having so little effect was because of the orcs strength or because the spider's webs had something to do with magic.

After all, the spiders don't eat yet they can still produce venom and webs despite that fact. It was entirely possible that the webs were created by mana or burning their own souls. He had never given it much thought until now and it would have to be explored at a later date. Much like the human's reckless onslaught, he didn't have enough souls to keep his army alive should they keep burning their own with complete disregard for their own lives.

Despite taking losses, the undead were preforming beyond Aerwyn's expectations. Of course he had yet to see a true orc, all of the true orcs had broken off into the two groups that went around to flank the elves but he started to feel silly at the image he made in his head of an undefeatable orc. It was a shame that he couldn't easily turn orcs into undead, perhaps he could capture some before the battle ended.

Learning more about the orcs culture, politics, and war strategies would help him later on when he was ready to take them on but for that it would be best to capture the commander or another true orc.

"..Orcs are coming..." Rorik growled snapping Aerwyn from his victorious thoughts. He looked over to Rorik and the barghest was facing the opposite way of the battle, towards the direction Aerwyn had entered the city from. He quickly turned to match Rorik's gaze and his eyes were greeted by two hundred orcs charging their way down the avenue towards him. The missing true orcs had appeared.