The Black Tide
Two days had passed. It was now the eighteenth day since Kyle had recovered his memories from his previous life.
Whoosh—! The biting blizzard of the Northern Frontline slammed against the fortress walls with a deafening roar.
Beyond that frozen horizon, a few black dots were rapidly approaching the stronghold.
Thud! Thud-thud! The patrol riders.
They were the scouts who had gone to check the frontlines, now hurrying back in panic.
Kyle, watching the scene from the wall, clicked his tongue lightly.
Oh, every time I look at this world, it’s truly unbelievable.
His gaze fixed on the horses the scouts were riding.
Horses, sure. But by the standards of his previous and current life, these things were close to something that merely wore the shape of a horse.
The North’s biting cold—dropping to minus thirty or lower—combined with blizzards that tore at the lungs.
A normal horse would have struggled to breathe properly in this environment.
Even galloping across the snow-covered terrain at that speed was nonsensical.
But this was the world of the romance novel.
A world where, for the sake of illustrations and webtoons showing handsome male leads dashing through blizzards on black or white horses with style, the harsh reality of horses being weak to cold was neatly ignored.
Just a few decorative bits of fancy harness or gear, and the northern horses galloped flawlessly even in the biting cold.
This kind of convenience does turn out to be useful, doesn’t it?
Kyle let out a wry laugh.
The absurd setting unique to romance novels was now proving useful on the frontline.
“The scouts have returned!” Several soldiers on the wall shouted loudly.
To inform the entire allied forces.
However, the gate remained closed.
Because the Orc main force might be approaching.
Opening the gate to let just a few scouts in would be insane.
But they weren’t going to abandon them either.
“Lower them!” the commander’s order rang out.
At once, the mages waiting on the wall thrust their hands forward.
Whooooom—!
Telekinesis magic activated.
The scouts and horses racing up to the base of the wall lifted into the air.
They were then pulled up onto the wall.
Thump.
The scouts and horses landed on the wall.
The scouts immediately dismounted and collapsed.
“Hah… hah…!”
The scouts landing on the ground panted heavily, their faces blue with cold and tension.
“Good work. Hey! Take these horses and move them!”
“Yes!” Other soldiers followed the commander’s command, leading the horses away.
Soon after, the total commander Volkrik personally approached them.
Aid nearby, his aide handed over a thermos wrapped in a warm magic spell.
“Drink slowly.”
The aide also reminded them not to drink too quickly and choke, as if he hadn’t forgotten.
“T-t-thank you.”
The scouts accepted the thermos with trembling hands.
Hot water flowed down their throats, and the frozen breath slowly thawed.
He immediately caught his breath and began his report.
“S-Sir Commander! The enemy’s main force… the Orc main force is rapidly advancing southward!”
“How many?”
“At least twenty thousand! They’re completely blanketing the snowy field!”
At those words, the faces of the commanders gathered around the wall hardened.
Twenty thousand.
The number had already been mentioned in the meeting.
But hearing it confirmed again by the scouts made the weight feel different.
Now the enemy’s numbers were certain.
But Volkrik showed no wavering.
Because the total commander must never waver under any circumstances.
“How is the formation arranged?”
“In the front line, there are old individuals and Orcs who look like they belong to weak tribes.”
Orcs were never ineffective even if they were old.
Their strength was comparable to that of regular soldiers.
The scout swallowed his saliva and caught his breath.
And continued.
“Even just the young and strong Orc warriors fighting in the rear looked to be over fifteen thousand.”
“Any other points to watch for?”
“There was a Warg cavalry unit. Just what we confirmed is at least several hundred. They’re approaching while guarding both flanks of the main force.”
The scout’s voice grew firm.
“There were also those who spotted us and pursued us. But when they saw us getting close to the stronghold, they gave up the chase and turned back.”
“It means they’ve already spotted the stronghold.”
“Yes, Commander.”
That was the end of the report.
“There it is!” One soldier on the wall pointed northward and shouted.
All eyes turned to the horizon.
At first, it looked like a blurry black line.
But that black line pierced through the blizzard and gradually transformed into a massive army.
A black tide pushing into the pristine snowfield.
Over twenty thousand Orc warriors had finally revealed their vicious appearance within the stronghold’s view.
“Orcs…”
“Oh my, they came in such numbers?”
A suffocating tension hung over the wall.
Volkrik’s gaze grew sharp and darkened instantly.
He immediately unleashed commands toward the wall.
“Mages, activate additional obstacles and traps in front of the gate!”
“Yes, Commander!”
The snowy field in front of the gate began to writhe.
The spells the mages had prepared in advance activated.
Ice spikes and steel spikes shot up from the frozen ground.
In some sections, snow-covered pits opened and then covered shallowly once more.
Below that, pits and sharp spikes would welcome the Orcs who visited here.
“Load the ballistas and trebuchets! Archers, all move to the designated positions!”
“Load!”
“Tension the ropes!”
“Cover the arrow bundles so they don’t freeze!”
“Double-check the bows and crossbows!”
The weapons were ready to fire at the Orcs.
The archers on the wall checked their arrow bundles and crouched behind the parapets erected in various spots on the wall.
“The mages’ formation, hold defensive barriers and exploding flame magic ready! Don’t forget to prepare to pour oil with telekinesis!”
“The divine healers and special healing mages, move to the rear safe zone! Clear the casualty evacuation routes!”
As befitted commanders with rich experience, the preparations proceeded without a hitch.
The soldiers moved in perfect unison as trained.
On the front of the wall, infantry stood arrayed with thick shields and spears.
They had completed the preparation to pierce the heads and hands of the Orcs trying to climb the wall.
Despite all that ironclad preparation.
Heavy tension settled over the wall.
“This is strange. There hasn’t been a large-scale battle of this size in ten years.”
“Who would have thought we’d have to fight such a large-scale battle again.”
Experienced veteran soldiers muttered.
In this Northern Frontline, during the ten years Volkrik had been total commander, there had never been a full-scale battle of this magnitude.
Visage of solemnity on the faces of the experienced soldiers and veteran knights, as if past memories were surfacing.
But unlike them, some in this war didn’t fully understand the seriousness of the conflict either.
“The Orc number is twenty thousand!”
“There are quite a few bastards to kill, aren’t there?”
“I can’t wait for my aura to cut down those dirty Orc bastards! Hahahaha!”
Young knights belonging to Karon’s faction.
In their faces was only a strange expectation rather than tension.
Meanwhile, the Orcs’ line was gradually getting closer.
They were slowly approaching to the point where their appearance became visible to the naked eye.
In the lead were the old Orcs and small-tribe Orcs mixed with young and strong ones as the scouts had reported.
They held old wooden planks and rusty iron plate pieces as shields.
Anyone could tell.
Those Orcs weren’t elite units.
They were meat shields set up to first absorb the humans’ arrows and magic from the walls.
One-time consumables to be thrown away.
And behind them.
Young and powerful Orc warriors densely packed, wielding heavy iron hammers and axes.
That’s the Warg cavalry unit.
Kyle’s gaze turned toward the left and right flanks.
Giant wolf-like magical beasts.
The Orcs riding them.
Right, the Warg cavalry.
They didn’t foolishly charge straight at the wall.
When they got close to the wall, they scattered widely to the left and right.
Their movements were cunning.
They were now calculating the position of the obstacles installed in front of the gate.
And repeating approaches and retreats as if measuring the range of the wall’s ballistas, trebuchets, archers, and mages.
At the same time, if there were Orcs trying to run from their own line.
They prepared to dash over and tear at the neck immediately.
Attack unit, monitor, and executioner.
That was the role of the Warg cavalry.
Volkrik, watching their movements, raised his hand.
“Wait!”
His voice, filled with aura, rang out widely across the wall.
“Don’t shoot yet! Save the ballistas, trebuchets, and magic! Not a single arrow may be fired until my order is given!”
It was the command to wait until the Orcs were completely within killing range.
But once that order was given, a blatant frustration appeared on the faces of several young knights.
They fiddled with their sword hilts and grumbled lowly.
“Why don’t we shoot as the enemy approaches like that?”
“Isn’t it necessary to suppress the initiative?”
“Aren’t those vicious bastards trying to measure our range? What’s the point in waiting stupidly.”
“Why don’t these Orc bastards just come out of the gate and charge?”
They truly didn’t understand the current situation at all.