Chapter 467 - 466: Sturdy Wagon Fort

Chapter 467: Chapter 466: Sturdy Wagon Fort

Colin snapped his fingers, and a small flame immediately appeared at his fingertip.

A few of the Mercenaries exchanged glances.

One of them said, "But if you’re wearing that armor, the Magic you can use probably won’t be very strong. In that case, you’d be more effective fighting on the front line."

"Perhaps."

Colin gave a noncommittal reply, then looked at Albert, who was standing beside him. "Are there any problems with this arrangement?"

"No problems at all." Albert instructed, "As for the Mercenaries, try to keep them on the outer perimeter, with the non-combatant servants on the inside. The followers of the King of the Night don’t have a particularly strong will to fight. As long as we show them we’re not a pushover, the bastards will back down."

After speaking, Albert began correcting some of Colin’s mistakes based on the map, assigning the Mercenaries’ positions and points of caution with greater detail.

Even Colin, who had little experience with military formations, could hear the proficiency and confidence in Albert’s fluent tone.

As a traditional nobleman living on the frontier, probably no one in all of Thousand Masts City was better at dealing with Orcs than him.

However, since these Mercenaries weren’t Albert’s own troops, he didn’t want to risk any daring maneuvers. The best option now was to steadily endure this attack.

THUMP, THUMP...

Before the arrangements could be finalized, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the distance.

Colin looked up to see a tall, two-headed humanoid shadow emerge from between the tree trunks, slowly growing larger.

Albert watched the distant shadow and spoke slowly, "It seems we’re out of time for discussion, everyone."

There are many rumors in the world about the origin of the Ettin.

Some say that, like other Giants, they are children of the Giant Deities. Others claim they are Orcs influenced by Demogorgon. After all, the Abyss Lord Demogorgon is also depicted with two heads, and Ettins are common among Orc warbands.

But regardless, a Giant is a Giant.

They are rivals to Giant Dragons, creatures that mortals cannot hope to match.

Colin watched the massive shadow, now appearing and disappearing between the tree trunks not far away.

The two figures were about four meters tall and looked terrifyingly muscular.

By the faint orange light, he could see the Beast Hide wrapped around the Giants’ legs and lower abdomens, and the iron-banded wooden sticks they gripped—clubs that were essentially snapped-off tree saplings.

Kase took down his Longbow and began shooting at the Hill Giants.

The two behemoths were clearly using the massive tree trunks for cover, so the Half-Orc’s shots had little effect.

Several Mercenary captains in charge began shouting orders. The Elite Warriors in Plate Armor moved to the perimeter of the wagon laager. The wagons forming the laager were linked end-to-end, and with various junk piled in the gaps, they formed a solid wall.

These elites held weapons like Long Spears, sickles, and long-handled warhammers. They positioned themselves at several weak points, calmly awaiting the Orcs’ arrival.

"Alright, Kase, Mog, you two take care of the one on the left in a moment," Colin said quickly. "Ale and I will use Magic to clear a path for you. The King of the Night’s Shamans are skilled with the [Darkness] spell. If the enemy uses magic, wait for my signal before you try to dispel it!"

Colin looked at the taciturn Ogre Warrior and asked again, "Is that acceptable?"

"Mage head smart. Mog listen to Mage," Mog said, drawing the iron-banded war club from his back.

’There’s no time for small talk,’ Dorn’s voice came through Colin’s mind. ’Mind Communication is more convenient.’

CLANG, DANG, PANG!

A cacophony of miscellaneous and chaotic noises came from the front.

Javelins, flying axes, stone blocks—a whole mess of assorted things came flying from the direction of the Orcs’ attack.

"Agh! My arm!" "Return fire, return fire!"

Shouts echoed from all directions.

These Orcs were much smaller than the Giants. They only revealed themselves from between the twisted roots and tree trunks when they attacked, making it difficult to launch ranged attacks on them beforehand.

The Rangers and Ordinary Mercenaries hiding inside the laager also began to return fire at the Orcs with Short Bows and Javelins.

As they counterattacked, beast-like howls and screams gradually rose from the surroundings.

The next moment, a group of Orcs in Beast Hide Armor, responsible for close-quarters combat, began to charge the laager.

These Orcs were quite a bit shorter than Kase and didn’t look as strong. All of them had ocher-red triangular war markings painted on their faces.

Before the Sharp long halberds and sickles, their crude armor was worthless. However, with their terrifying Power, the Orcs could still dent and pierce the Plate Armor with their Battle Axes.

Colin personally saw an Orc step on the corpse of a comrade in front of him, leap into the laager, and cave in an Elite Mercenary’s shoulder plate with one swing of his axe, shattering the Mercenary’s shoulder blade.

But the bastard didn’t get to celebrate for long. Another Mercenary from behind immediately split his skull with a long halberd.

Such bloody fights were happening all over the battlefield.

Mercenaries and Orcs, the two sides were locked in a meat grinder.

At the front line, the Elite Warriors fought for their lives, trading blows with Long Spears and Battle Axes. Trained Dire Wolves lay in wait, ready to drag away any Elite Warrior who let their guard down for even a moment—beasts as large as horses.

Meanwhile, the soldiers at the rear weren’t idle either. They desperately hurled all sorts of projectiles at the enemy line, sending arrows and javelins flying everywhere.

On a battlefield like this, no one could say for sure if they would die in the next second.

If not for the barrier of the laager, the battlefield would likely be several times bloodier.

Colin actually wanted to go up and help.

But he also knew he couldn’t waste his Mana on small fry for the time being.

As the battle began at the front, the two Ettins charged toward the laager with heavy strides.

These enormous creatures could easily overturn the wagons that made up the laager. If they got close, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Colin picked up the Spellbook hanging from his waist.

For some reason, he had the constant feeling of being watched.

As he began to Cast, Colin said in his mind, ’Dorn, my friend, the Shaman among those Orcs is probably an expert assassin. You need to hide in the shadows and make sure that bastard doesn’t take me or Ale out.’

’Hmph. You two just go ahead and squawk your Magic. Don’t worry.’

’And you can just go ahead and throw your Daggers with those stubby arms.’

While retorting, Colin glanced to the side. Dorn, who had been standing there a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.

’How in the world did that guy manage to disappear from right under my nose...’

As he thought this, Colin began Spellcasting.

The Spellbook flew open, and a silver-gray Spiritual Light bloomed from between its pages.

However, in that instant, a curtain of blackness fell from above, as if someone had draped a black cloth over their heads.

The half-finished spell was interrupted by the loss of a visual target.

’The Orc Shaman is making his move, just as I thought,’ Colin thought.