Bloody Primal (2)
The light infantry formation that had been maintaining a circular perimeter while gazing outward suddenly found an armored woman standing before them. She wore a massive suit of full plate armor, wielding a gigantic kite shield and a bastard sword. Standing two hundred mentols tall—far exceeding the average Hyumian—she possessed broad, powerfully built shoulders that spoke of rigorous physical training. Even at a glance, her full plate armor was noticeably thicker than standard. Normally, full plate was crafted with thinner metal plates to balance protection and mobility; excessive thickness would render the wearer immobile, defeating its purpose. Yet the armor she wore was thick enough to withstand cannon fire, thick enough to survive being crushed beneath the stone pillars of a grand temple. It looked as though ten Hyumian men would struggle to lift it, and transporting it would require at least four horses pulling a wagon. For a woman to bear such an enormous mass of metal despite her two-hundred-mentol frame was difficult to believe. Even more monstrous was the kite shield in her left hand. A typical kite shield covered from the head down to the knees at most, but hers was large enough to conceal her entire body if she lowered her head slightly. Its ten-mentol thickness made it an iron wall capable of enduring a direct hit from a ballista. She held this absurdly massive slab of metal in one hand. Matching the shield’s scale, her bastard sword was equally extraordinary. Though sized for her physique, to an ordinary Hyumian it approached the length of a two-handed claymore. The longer the weapon, the harder it becomes to wield due to the shifting center of gravity—much like how a spherical cannonball is easier to lift than a steel pole of equal weight. The sight of her gripping a near two-handed greatsword in one hand while holding an iron-wall shield in the other was nothing short of terrifying.
When astonishment reaches its peak, reality itself begins to feel unreal. The light infantry could scarcely believe the scene unfolding before their eyes. Through the narrow slit of her crude great helm, brown eyes and green skin were visible. She was Nella, captain of the Orc Engineering Corps and the strongest sword among them.
“By what right do you grant or receive permission to use another’s body? The filthy lust in your eyes as you plotted to violate the captured women disgusted me.”
“You… you’re an orc. No doubt you rushed here after seeing the forest revive. Pathetic creatures like you can’t even use purification magic, so you must have coveted this pristine forest. Did you really think we Hyumians wouldn’t discover the forest you found? How utterly absurd!”
Nella’s question was a harsh rebuke, yet the infantry captain did not respond to it. Instead, he provoked her with contemptuous words that belittled the orcs.
“I’ll take that as your last words.”
“Don’t act refined, you filthy green monster! Are you sure about this? You seem to think your brute strength gives you the upper hand, but our main force is nearby! We have shooting squads and artillery units armed with all manner of magical firearms, and twenty magic-powered siege engines! One signal from us and they’ll arrive in an instant!!”
Despite their disadvantage, the infantry captain continued to taunt Nella. His incomprehensible behavior was soon revealed as a bluff, an attempt to seize the initiative by pretending their main army stood behind them.
Nella remained silent, quietly observing the captain. He mistook her silence for fear induced by his words.
“I could wipe you out, but I’ll show mercy. If you drop your weapons and surrender immediately, we’ll treat you as considerately as possible. You won’t be harmed until we reach Esteronan, and you’ll receive clean water and food. Orcs are a strong race, so your value will be high—your treatment should be decent. It’s not a bad deal for you! After all, this forest belongs to us Hyumians. Rather than fleeing across polluted wastelands, living in Esteronan’s clean environment would be far more beneficial!”
Believing Nella was listening, the captain offered the most generous terms he could imagine to coax her into submission. What fate awaited the captured slaves was no longer his concern; his focus was solely on spinning sweet-sounding lies. What he desired was voluntary surrender—the best possible outcome without risking battle under unfavorable conditions.
However, Nella was unmoved by such unappetizing flattery.
Clack. Rustle! Rustle!! Rustle!!
As Nella silently raised her shield into a combat stance, orc soldiers rose in formation from the surrounding undergrowth. They had been hiding in pits dug into the ground and covered with leaves. For the Orc Engineering Corps, accustomed to compacting soil, carving stone, and constructing buildings, digging concealment pits was trivial. The light infantry, which had been meticulously searching the area, had remained completely unaware of their presence—an impressive display of the orcs’ concealment tactics.
Each orc soldier carried a spear and a tower shield. Their spears were shorter than standard, making them short spears with a reduced reach. Yet their shorter length allowed for agile, free attacks that would prove extremely troublesome up close. The leather armor worn by the light infantry could mitigate slashing and bludgeoning damage to some degree, but it offered no protection against the piercing strikes unique to spears. Though the spears’ relatively short length diminished their usual advantage of wide reach—allowing the Hyumians’ longswords a chance to counter—the real problem was the tower shields in their other hands. These large rectangular shields were designed for thorough defense and formation building. A longsword, meant for cutting and thrusting, lacked the power to effectively strike a tower shield, while even a slight angle adjustment allowed the broad surface to effortlessly block most attacks. For Hyumians already physically outmatched by orcs, knocking aside a tower shield with a single longsword was nearly impossible.
The orc soldiers advanced their tower shields, encircling the Hyumians and forming a massive circular wall.
“In return, I’ll grant you the courtesy of time to contact your main force.”
“…Kuh…!!”
The words “You’ll regret this” rose in the captain’s throat, but he swallowed them. Refusing an offer that favored him out of pride would be foolish. He pulled out his communication artifact and attempted to signal his commander.
“Huh…? Huhhh… Th-this can’t be…”
The commander was unreachable. Wondering if some mishap had prevented the signal from going through, the captain tried contacting every member of the command structure in sequence: the vice-commander, the captain of the magic-powered siege engine unit, the shooting squad captain, the artillery captain, the transport captain, the forward unit’s signaler, the vice-captain of the light infantry left at the main camp, and the centurions under the main force. None responded.
The captain stared at the communication artifact in horror, unable to set it down. Without support from the main force, they would have to face fully armed orcs while wearing only leather armor and wielding a single longsword each. Moreover, they were completely surrounded. Fighting was out of the question, and even if they somehow broke through the encirclement, heavy casualties were inevitable. Without reinforcements, their lives were in grave danger.
“My courtesy ends here. You are scum unworthy of begging forgiveness from the victims you violated. When you reach the afterlife, I hope you sink to the bottom of the fiery hell and burn for eternity.”
Thud!!
The cold curse was delivered in a calm, dispassionate voice. Having finished speaking, Nella kicked off the ground and charged forward with ferocious momentum. Her two-hundred-mentol frame, honed to perfection and clad in layers of heavy metal—full plate thick enough to withstand cannon fire, a kite shield like an impregnable wall, and a bastard sword of absurd length—created an indescribable mass. Her charge shook the earth around her with a terrifying rumble.
BOOOOOOM!!!
One Hyumian soldier, paralyzed by the overwhelming presence of the encircling orcs, failed to react in time. A sound no one would believe came from a collision between shield and flesh tore through the air. The soldier struck by Nella’s massive shield was reduced to a mangled lump of meat, sent flying into the sky with limbs torn off.
The infantry captain, horrified by the gruesome sight, realized Nella was now charging straight at him and threw himself sideways. Whoosh!!
“Graaaah…!!”
As he dodged to the side of the shield, the bastard sword came flying after it. Hidden behind the massive shield, the captain hadn’t noticed the sword until the moment he evaded the charge. He twisted desperately in midair, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow—though the blade grazed his left shoulder. Rolling across the ground, he clutched his bleeding shoulder and groaned in agony.
BOOM!! BOOM!!!
After passing the captain, Nella crushed two more soldiers before finally halting her charge. She now stood in the very center of the light infantry formation. The captain thought they could surround and kill her, then calmly deal with the leaderless orcs. But he immediately realized how foolish and naive that idea was.
Thud!!
The orcs forming the circular wall with their tower shields suddenly launched something that buried itself deep into the captain’s thigh. It was a bolt, only half the length of an arm.