Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Trolling (2)
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“Damn these orc bastards!”
As guild members began dropping dead, ranker players from major guilds and mid-sized guilds, along with named players, surged forward in fury.
However.
Boom! Boom!
“Ugh! Why are these guys so strong?”
The orc great warriors and orc chieftains had always possessed skills on par with named players.
But their numbers were limited, and while they could handle lower-tier named players, they fell short against the upper echelon.
That was why they had always been quickly slain whenever named and ranker players stepped up.
But now.
The tide had turned.
The named and ranker players had taken a hit from the recent roar.
Meanwhile, the orc great warriors and chieftains had actually grown stronger in combat.
And then.
“Groooar!”
Three massive orcs, each around 5-6 meters tall, appeared.
Crunch! Splatter!
“Aaagh!”
“M-Monster!”
They began massacring the named and ranker players indiscriminately.
“What the hell?”
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul, who had been commanding from the rear, shot to his feet, eyes wide in shock.
He never could have imagined orcs being this powerful.
“Orc Lord and Orc Great Chieftain.”
“Incredibly strong.”
Their prowess seemed to transcend the limits of the orc species entirely.
If those things were left unchecked?
Allied casualties would skyrocket.
“I’ll handle them myself! Let’s go!”
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul rallied the named and ranker players and charged in to confront the Orc Lord and Orc Great Chieftain directly.
Named and ranker players from various guilds, who had been getting picked off one by one, joined them.
In an instant, a force of five hundred named and ranker players formed.
“Hah!”
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul swung his sword with all his might from the vanguard.
Boom!
His blade clashed head-on with the Orc Lord’s axe.
And then.
“Gah!”
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul was pushed back.
‘How can a mere orc…?’
He was dumbfounded.
Even if it was an Orc Lord, for a lowly orc to overpower him?
‘The Frank Kingdom didn’t fall without reason.’
But Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul wasn’t alone.
“Attack! Keep attacking!”
“Waaaaah!”
Five hundred named and ranker players swarmed the Orc Lord and Orc Great Chieftain like a hive of bees.
Boom! Boom!
“Gah!”
“Aaagh!”
Named and ranker players fell one after another.
“Groooar!”
Small wounds began accumulating on the Orc Lord and Orc Great Chieftain.
“We can win! Press the attack!”
With Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul’s shout, the named and ranker players unleashed even fiercer barrages.
At that moment.
“Groooar! For the Lord!”
“Let’s go kill the humans!”
Orcs numbering at least two hundred thousand poured in from all directions, charging toward the Sclarant Imperial forces.
“Damn it!”
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul scowled.
Under normal circumstances, he would have welcomed it.
Orcs were prime sources of experience and items.
The more, the better.
It would be a perfect power-leveling opportunity.
But not now.
The orcs were stronger than usual.
And the named and ranker players capable of handling orc great warriors and chieftains were tied up against just three Orc Lords and Orc Great Chieftains.
‘No spare named or ranker players to pull.’
If he did that?
The fragile balance they were maintaining would shatter.
‘No choice.’
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul decided to sacrifice regular troops to prioritize eliminating the Orc Lord and Orc Great Chieftain.
Named and ranker players were more valuable assets than regular players.
And once those were down, the orc horde would revert to a disorganized rabble—or so he thought.
And that decision seemed to be working well enough.
Allied losses were heavy, but the orc numbers were dwindling just as fast.
Decisively.
“Groar!”
They severed both arms of the Orc Great Chieftain, seizing the advantage.
Then.
Swoosh!
Demonic energy surged, and the Orc Great Chieftain’s severed arms regrew in an instant.
“Grooooh!”
Now a meter taller, the Orc Great Chieftain swung its axe with ferocious momentum.
“W-What is this?”
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul panicked.
Nearly a hundred named and ranker players had died to gain that edge, only for it to slip away so easily.
And worse.
Boom! Boom!
‘It’s even stronger?’
Vastly so.
‘Could it be an Orc Lord?’
Over half their forces were committed to containing one Orc Lord.
Now, in that situation, one Orc Great Chieftain had evolved into an Orc Lord.
And simultaneously.
Boom!
“Aaagh!”
“Gah!”
“The encirclement’s broken!”
The balance of power collapsed.
“Out of my way!”
Enraged, Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul shoved other players aside and blocked the Orc Lord himself.
“Filthy human worm! Die!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Orc Lord, spewing streams of demonic energy, hammered down with its axe.
“Urk! Ack!”
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul staggered back like a drunkard.
The number of named and ranker players rapidly dwindled.
The Sclarant Imperial forces crumbled unilaterally under the orc assault.
‘To think they could get this strong.’
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul knew the basics about demons.
Thanks to intel from Goldroad Merchant Guild Leader Saemaal.
However.
‘I thought orcs were just low-tier monsters at best.’
That was why he dismissed defensive plans along the walls and pushed for a rapid reclamation of Frank Kingdom territory.
It wasn’t his decision alone.
The Sclarant Emperor and most nobles thought the same.
Hence the blitzkrieg.
Until moments ago, Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul believed the plan flawless.
They had won every battle so far, after all.
But.
Boom!
“Gah!”
His shield crumpled under the Orc Lord’s axe.
Crunch!
With his left arm now severed.
‘I underestimated the orcs.’
His thinking had done a complete one-eighty.
“Retreat! All forces, retreat!”
Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul issued the order.
However.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He had no room to withdraw while desperately blocking the jet-black demonic axe strikes.
In the end.
Slash!
The Orc Lord’s axe cleaved Iron Blood Lord Grand Duke Bragrul’s neck.
“Groooar! I killed the humans’ leader!”
With the Orc Lord’s roar.
The Sclarant Empire’s forces, which had been somewhat orderly in retreat, completely collapsed.
“The Iron Blood Lord is dead!”
“The Grand Duke is gone!”
“Run!”
“We’ll all die to the orcs!”
Morale plummeted, and Sclarant troops scattered like ants.
“Maintain formation in retreat! We’ll all die like this!”
Commanders screamed themselves hoarse to calm the players.
But.
“Let’s run! We’ll die if we stay!”
Mid-sized guild players broke first, fleeing for their lives.
“No way we’re shield-tanking for imperial grunts. Move!”
Major guild players quickly followed.
“We’ll die if we stay!”
“The retreat order’s already out! Run!”
Even Sclarant regular army and vassal state troops retreated in chaos.
In victory, the Sclarant regulars, vassal regulars, major and mid-sized guild players united seamlessly—strengths shining, weaknesses hidden.
But in defeat.
The limits of a ragtag army of disparate players were laid bare.
“Kill them all!”
“Grooooh!”
The orc horde struck the heels of the disorganized Sclarant retreat.
In war, the highest casualties always came not during battle, but retreat.
The Sclarant forces’ losses exploded exponentially in their blind flight.
As a result.
“Grooooh!”
One Orc Great Chieftain evolved into an Orc Lord in an astonishingly short time.
There were many dead players and orcs, sure.
But more than that, the despair and terror from the players fueled it.
From one Orc Lord before the battle.
Now there were three.
* * *
‘Too late already.’
Kang Hyun-soo had embedded a subordinate commander into the Sclarant forces via Goldroad Merchant Guild Leader Saemaal.
That let him monitor their status in real time.
So the moment Sclarant forces clashed with the orc horde led by the Orc Lord.
He summoned Demon Dragon Karaas and flew into the sky at full speed.
However.
‘The fight ended too fast.’
Sclarant forces collapsed far more pathetically than Kang Hyun-soo anticipated.
And their chaotic retreat ballooned the casualties.
‘Three of them.’
Three Orc Lords had spawned.
‘Can we do this?’
There was Orc Lord Kashku, but.
‘He hasn’t recovered his full prime strength yet.’
The wildcard was the ragtag golem from Blood Witch Yuka.
Based on Orc Lord Kashku.
Reinforced repeatedly via golem fusion skill.
‘It’s way stronger than Yuka’s level, but.’
Uncertain if it could stand against a real Orc Lord.
‘Whatever, no choice.’
To minimize Sclarant losses, at least.
He had to hit the orc horde from behind.
‘Leave them be, and the Orc Lords get stronger.’
Fail to recover the demonic orb this time?
‘More Orc Lords will keep spawning.’
Kang Hyun-soo steeled himself.
‘Legion summon.’
Whoosh!
Demonic power coalesced.
Over ten thousand summons materialized.
-Kill the orcs.
At Kang Hyun-soo’s command, the summons attacked in unison.
“We’re going too.”
“Heading out first.”
Whoosh!
Song Ha-na and Fist Emperor leaped from Demon Dragon Karaas’s back.
Crackle! Boom boom boom!
Jet-black lightning and golden aura swept through the orcs.
“I’ll send mine in too. Go!”
At Blood Witch Yuka’s order.
Whoosh!
The golems, airlifted by Demon Dragon Karaas and wyverns.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Crashed to the ground.
Crunch!
Groar!
The hulking, heavyweight golems crushed orcs as landing cushions.
Then.
Groooar!
They mercilessly slaughtered the surrounding orcs.
“What?”
“Guh! Where’d this army come from?”
The Orc Lords panicked at first.
“Dark Knights!”
“Kill them!”
“Enemies of the demons!”
But quickly grasped the situation.
Kang Hyun-soo’s summons ignored the Orc Lords, operating separately to thin the orc numbers.
Especially the regiment commander-grade summons shone.
And.
“Grooooh!”
The ragtag golem based on Orc Lord Kashku displayed freakish power, rampaging through orcs.
No matter how many orc chieftains and great warriors swarmed.
They couldn’t handle Song Ha-na, Fist Emperor, the regiment commanders, and the ragtag golem.
“I’ll take that one.”
“I’ve got this one.”
“Let’s split up.”
The three Orc Lords that had clustered together scattered in different directions.
-Let’s go.
At Kang Hyun-soo’s direction.
Whoosh!
Demon Dragon Karaas dove toward the ground at blinding speed.
Boom boom boom!
Unleashing breath at its targeted Orc Lord.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted.
But.
“Groooar! I’ll kill you!”
It only enraged the Orc Lord, not felled it.
-Grrrrowl!
Demon Dragon Karaas gaped its massive jaws at the Orc Lord.
“I’ll smash your skull!”
The Orc Lord swung its demonic-energy-infused axe at Demon Dragon Karaas.
Boom!
The blow half-exploded Demon Dragon Karaas’s head.
In that instant.
Tap!
Kang Hyun-soo, perched atop the dragon’s head, lightly leaped off.
Whoosh!
He swung his blood-aura-clad sword at the Orc Lord, whose stance had twisted from attacking the dragon.
Continued in the next volume.