Chapter 77 Stealth

Their team was well-balanced, as each team member had a role to play. Elin and Rea could help from afar thanks to their abilities, Geir had a massive shield and heavy armor that made him a great tank, and Roland with Zayne were the ones who could do most of the damage.

"Hehehe, looks pretty dangerous, doesn't it?" Roland smirked, looking at the massive outpost that was surrounded by high wooden walls as well as watchtowers on which the Orcs stood.

"What shall we do?" Elin asked with a serious expression, watching the Orcs' actions. Their group was at the top of the hill, so they could clearly see everything through the trees that hid them.

"Can't we just go through the main gate...? I mean, when they bring in the ore they open the gate for a few minutes. We can just follow them." Geir said uncertainly.

Roland rubbing his chin said, "Well, that's not a bad idea, but don't forget that they are monsters, so their hearing and sense of smell are better. They'll just spot us at the beginning, and the mission will be a failure."

Geir sighed sadly and shook his head, "I see... I don't have any other ideas."

"Hey, maybe we should just use Rea's skill?" Zayne suggested as he waved his hand.

Everyone looked at him with thoughtful faces.

"One of the abilities is dense energy threads, right?" Zayne said with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah... I see what you mean... Well, even though I have to spend a lot of mana, it will definitely work. Let's do it then." Rea nodded deeply, and they quickly discussed their next steps.

...

Whooooooooooooosh.

Five shadows ran among the trees, stealthily approaching the outpost. Loso's spell was hiding them, but they decided not to take any risks and make the best of it.

"Fine, we're here." Roland whispered as he looked up at the high wall, "There are at least twenty meters... Orcs sure know how to build impregnable bases... Rea, can you handle it?"

Rea nodded silently and pulled out her staff. A magical circle appeared in front of her from which several dense strands of energy emerged, however, unlike last time, they were not created to attack.

"Is that enough?" Rea asked.

"Yeah... I think the length is just right as well as the durability. I hope they don't tear from Geir's weight, hehe." Roland smirked, stretching the threads slightly, then he turned around and began unwinding them like a lasso.

They were in the farthest part of the outpost, at the edge of the wooden wall and the mountain where the main Dungeon was, for the outpost was only the outer part.

Whooooooooooooooosh.

Roland threw the strings upward with all his might as they hooked onto the sharp wooden spikes.

"Fine, Elin and I will climb first. Elin, your task will be to stealthily kill that Orc over there, one shot to the head will be enough." Roland pointed to the nearest watchtower.

"Understood. That won't be a problem." Elin replied seriously.

Roland nodded, "When we're on top I'll give the sign, then Rea and Zayne will go, the last one will be Geir for obvious reasons..."

Crackle.

Roland grabbed the rope and, began to climb the high wall. When he got a few meters up he was followed by Elin, with his bow ready to shoot.

'Damn, now I really feel like a secret agent.' Zayne muttered, impressed by the scene, 'However... Will we be able to do things covertly from here on? We don't know anything about what's in those caves...'

Tap.

Roland and Elin climbed to the top, and Elin quickly fired. The usual arrow pierced the Orc's head with ease, ending his life instantly. Then, Roland waved to Rea and Zayne.

Zayne looked at the rope, suggesting that Rea climb first, but she shook her head.

"Go ahead. I don't want you to lift your head and see something you shouldn't." Rea frowned, but she couldn't hide her flushed cheeks.

Zayne looked at her mantle, the edges of which reached the floor, and tilted his head puzzled, "You're overly cautious, on all levels... but okay, whatever." Zayne shrugged and grabbed the rope.

Rea snorted and followed him, leaving Geir alone, who looked a little sad. After a minute, Roland gave a sign, but Geir didn't notice it as he stared at the ground.

Crackle.

After several attempts, a boot flew into Geir's head, then he finally paid attention and, with a happy face began to climb up, holding the boot in his other hand.

"Damn, Geir, what was so interesting about the grass that you wouldn't take your eyes off it?" Roland frowned, picking up his boot, "I even had to go to emergency measures."

"I was just wondering..." Geir replied awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"When Alden told us there would be many, I underestimated what he said..." Zayne muttered, who had been looking at the outpost from the inside for some time.

The others approached him, and their eyes went wide.

Inside the outpost were a huge number of Orcs, several hundred. Some of them were forging equipment, others were training together or eating lunch at a massive table.

"They don't seem to be at all suspicious of us, but they also seem to be preparing for an attack quite successfully. It looks like they've almost gathered enough energy to summon Chaos Hearth." Roland said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"Hmm... Now I see why we have to operate stealthily... If a squad came in here, there would be a real massacre." Rea said with a complicated expression.

"We have to go that way, right?" Zayne pointed to the massive entrance to the caves, which were guarded by two massive Orcs.

They were over two meters tall and held huge clubs, one swing of which was enough to blow someone's head off.

"Yeah... We have successfully climbed the wall, but how do we get past stealthily?" Roland was puzzled.

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom "Let's distract them and run on, I can do that if everyone agrees." Rea suggested as she showed her staff.

Zayne had been watching the carts of coal that the Orcs were brought in from the caves behind the outpost the whole time. They were needed for the furnaces, but most were taken inside, to the storage.

"Guys... I think we're going to have to get a little dirty, I hope you don't mind." Zayne muttered with a slight smile as he looked at the Orcs, who left the carts to head out to lunch.

Everyone looked at him puzzled, then Zayne explained his plan to them.

...

Step. Step. Step.

The five silhouetted their steps toward the carts filled with coal, passing the many Orcs who were busy minding their own business. Their footsteps were not quiet, especially Geir's ones, but because of the general noise and active conversations, there was no way the Orcs could have noticed them.

Zayne silently pointed to the carts, each chose his own, and they just sat down on the coal. They had plenty of time, so they waited until the Orcs had finished their break and headed for the carts.

One of the Orcs walked right up to Rea's cart and raised his head looking straight into her face. Rea gulped, but she showed no emotion.

The Orc stared at the blue moon for a while, then said something and shook his head sadly. His mate walked up to him and gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder, then commanded the others to begin.