Chapter 201: The Decisive Battle (2)

The Centaur warriors who suddenly appeared split apart the Orc Army’s defense line with ease. The Orc Warriors, already exhausted from fighting the Zhenbei City Soldiers, never expected an assault from the rear.

Their earlier Bloodthirsty Frenzy had drained much of their stamina. Even with their robust Orc physique, they felt worn out. Facing Centaur warriors whose strength was no less than theirs, their resistance crumbled like a landslide.

Though Orcs were thick-skinned, they weren’t all willing to die. The Centaur ambush completely shattered their will to continue fighting. Seeing no hope of victory left, the Orc Army’s morale plummeted to its lowest, and the soldiers’ resolve broke.

Not all the Centaurs charged in. The front ranks consisted entirely of tall, powerfully built Centaur warriors clad in Iron Armor. These numbered only a little over two hundred in total. Close behind them came more than four hundred Centaurs wearing Iron-Reinforced Leather Armor. Bringing up the rear were Centaurs in basic Leather Armor.

Another group of Centaur warriors stayed at a distance, moving swiftly and firing arrows. They helped the charging Centaurs by eliminating any threatening targets.

With the Orc Army routed and in disarray, the soldiers of Zhenbei City launched their counter-attack. The eager Barbarian Warriors dashed forward, swinging their giant axes with furious shouts.

“Berserk!”

“Charge!”

“Whirlwind Slash!”

The Orcs, their will to resist utterly gone, were like lambs awaiting slaughter. Everywhere the Barbarian Warriors passed, enemies were cut down.

The Barbarians’ charge shattered the Orcs’ already scattered formation even further. The Zhenbei City Soldiers following behind could now reap the enemy even more easily.

The Orc Chieftain, Gotan Long, looked furious. He never imagined things could deteriorate so suddenly. A mere human force of over two thousand had held off his ten thousand Orcs on an open battlefield. And this Pioneering Territory actually had several powerful Spellcasters? Weren’t Pioneering Nobles supposed to be unimportant minor nobles?

Yet, this disfavored branch family Noble had managed to recruit so many formidable Spellcasters? Just look at that Wizard who cast the Whirling Dragon Cyclone battlefield spell; his power was definitely nearing Legendary Tier, if not already there.

With such strength in the Human Kingdom, they could easily be Nobles or Grand Dukes. Why bother coming all the way to this backwater to carve out a territory? How much gold would it take to hire a Legendary Tier Spellcaster? It was an astronomical sum. In the Human Kingdom, every Legendary Tier Wizard was a renowned power holder.

This sudden appearance of a possibly Legendary Tier Spellcaster was shocking. One battlefield spell nearly shattered the Orc Army which had held the advantage. Only the Shaman Priests using Bloodthirsty Frenzy had staved off total collapse. But now, the Orc Army was at its limit. Just as they stabilized, Centaurs appeared from behind.

Fighting on two fronts was a military taboo. Worse still, the Orc Army was being charged by cavalry without a proper defensive line. Attacked front and back, the Orc Army suffered a complete rout.

Gotan Long Fireblade still didn’t know that the caster of that spell wasn’t a Legendary Wizard at all. Su Lun had activated it using a Magical Artifact. The Northern Provinces didn’t have a single Legendary Tier Spellcaster; you could find a few Legendary Tier Warriors, but Spellcasters of that rank were incredibly rare and valuable.

Zhenbei City had two Grand Mage level Spellcasters, but crossing that hurdle into Legendary Tier was incredibly difficult. Just looking at their long experience bars showed how tough advancement would be.

The barrier of Legendary Tier barred over ninety percent of Spellcasters. In Zhenbei City, Heatherway was the most likely to become a Legendary Tier Spellcaster. Both Carina and Grace were less likely to achieve it.

The Orc Army was disintegrating. In the fighting so far, over five thousand Orcs had fallen. This included many Gnolls, Bugbears, and Hobgoblins. The wounded were beyond count.

And as the Centaurs and Zhenbei City Soldiers continued their relentless pursuit, the casualties kept mounting. The only part of the Orc Army that hadn’t crumbled was the section led by the Orc Chieftain.

Su Lun fixed his gaze on the only orderly Orc formation left on the battlefield – the Orc Chieftain’s position. He had no intention of letting that Orc Chieftain escape alive. Some ordinary Orcs fleeing mattered little, but the Orc Chieftain and the Orc Shaman Priests absolutely could not be spared.

An Orc Tribe without its Chieftain and Priests would only linger on weakly, even with many members left. But if that Chieftain and the Shamans escaped, soon they’d rebuild a new tribe.

Su Lun had no wish to grant them that chance to rise again.

Casually impaling a defiant Orc Warrior with his Purple Dragon Halberd, scarlet blood spurted out. Another jab sent a nearby Orc Warrior flying. Su Lun then led his Lord’s Guard charging directly toward the Orc Chieftain.

The Orc Chieftain’s skills were formidable. Likely only Su Lun himself was a match for him; the others wouldn’t stand a chance, not even his bodyguard. The Centaur ranks deliberately avoided the Chieftain’s location. Their own leader had died fighting Gotan Long and his elite warriors during their escape. Without their Chieftain holding those targets off that night, far fewer than three thousand Centaurs would have escaped.

“Barbarian Guard, follow me!” Su Lun roared, surging ahead directly toward the Orc Chieftain. A dozen-plus Barbarian Warriors bellowed in response, charging close behind.

With Su Lun as the spearhead tip and the Barbarians forming the wings, they shaped a simple arrowhead formation. They punched through the chaotic Orc ranks in a straight, relentless line. Any Orc blocking Su Lun was met instantly by the halberd – spiked through or flung aside. The distance between the two leaders closed rapidly.

Gotan Long, busy trying to gather retreating remnants of his army, spotted Su Ling charging fast. Instead of fleeing, he advanced to meet the threat. Gotan Long had accepted defeat and was preparing to flee the battlefield. With his army utterly broken, even his Legendary Warrior strength couldn’t change much. But Su Lun’s aggressive attack rekindled a hope of victory.

If he killed the human commander, the Orcs might still turn this around! Gotan Long, desperate and furious, didn’t realize this outcome was exactly what Su Lun planned. If Su Lun hadn’t attacked, Gotan Long would have certainly escaped with a force – something Su Lun absolutely did not want.

“Berserk!”

Seeing the Orc Chieftain rush towards them along with elite Orc Warriors, the Barbarian Guard instantly triggered their Berserk state. Their eyes flooded red with fury. The muscles on their arms puffed up visibly like balloons, terrible veins bulging like earthworms across their skin. Their chests heaved like bellows as primal power surged through their veins.

CLANG!

A jarring shriek of colliding metal echoed. Then followed the sickening scrape of blades cutting through flesh and bone. Gotan Long’s elite Orc Warriors were fresh, not having fought yet. But facing Barbarians in Berserk rage, they were still overmatched. In the first moments of clash, several warriors found themselves cleaved in two – weapons and all – by a single axe swing.

A Barbarian Warrior had just cut down one Orc when another’s heavy axe smashed into his armor. Though cheaply made, the Orc weapon delivered massive force, leaving a deep gash in the metal defense. Only the finest armor Su Lun had provided for his Barbarian Guard saved the soldier; the plate wasn’t split, just deeply dented by the axe blow.

The impact made the Barbarian grunt in pain, but his movements never slowed. His double-axe spun in a Whirlwind Slash, cold steel flashing as a savage Orc head rolled away. Su Lun swept his Purple Dragon Halberd horizontally, immense power sending another charging Orc Warrior flying. Then he aimed his charge at the exceptionally massive Orc leader.

Seeing Su Lung closing in, Gotan Long showed no fear. He answered with his own enraged roar and charged forward. He swung his incredibly heavy Two-Handed Axe as if it weighed nothing, using just one arm! Simultaneously, a large cutlass in his other hand slashed across, sealing off all Su Lun’s paths for evasion. Whichever way Su Lun tried to dodge, he faced one weapon or the other.

Never underestimate any Legendary professional! Even the Warrior, sometimes called a brute by other Legendary classes, earned that rank through countless life-and-death struggles. The vast number of feats, combat techniques, and innate talents they mastered was terrifying.

Setting aside any Spell-like Abilities, relying purely on physical attributes, mastered skills, and honed instincts, every Legendary Warrior deserved the title “master.”

“Split Earth Chop!”

Gotan Long’s heavy axe descended fiercely toward Su Lun’s skull, its edge a vortex of lethal power. Simultaneously, the cutlass stabbed in from a viciously tricky angle. The two different weapons flowed in perfectly coordinated harmony under the Orc Lord’s command.

CRANGUUSH!

A deafening crash of metal reverberated. Su Lun blocked the axe strike solidly with his Purple Dragon Halberd. Then, twisting bodily, he narrowly avoided the slashing cutlass behind the blow.

In the next heartbeat, Su Lun’s footwork shifted. His halberd leveraged the rebound force to parry the heavy axe upward. Then the halberd blade, tracing a precise arc, thrust straight for Gotan Long’s chest. The brief clash earlier had told Su Lun the Chieftain wasn’t his physical equal. For a strike of such savage force, the rebound was equally fierce.

Gotan Long twisted desperately, dodging a vital hit. An awful burning pain erupted across his chest.

“Tumble Dodge!”

Gotan Long bellowed mad fury. The cutlass instantly reversed direction, a blindingly fast horizontal sweep. Its edge whistled with icy death. Su Lun threw his body sideways, performing a rapid roll and tumble, escaping the cutlass’s deadly range just in time.