Chapter 801: The Orc Factory (Patreon)

Luke stood beside Charlie and Angie in a sprawling military camp in the middle of a broad plain. Soldiers, mercenaries, and supply wagons packed the place, with people, weapons, and supplies constantly moving through it. The three of them were waiting in line with the other mercenaries. The Trade Federation paid by the job, as long as you could provide proof, but Luke had no interest in wasting days on small assignments. The closer he got to the front, the better his chances of finding someone worth talking to.

“Next!”

Luke stepped up to the table. “I want to work as close to the front lines as possible. Somewhere the pay is actually worth it.”

The man handling registration didn’t even look up from his papers. “You’ll need to prove yourself first. Start by clearing out the beasts attacking the roads.”

Luke raised a hand. Several beast heads floated into the air behind him, then crashed onto the table with a series of heavy thuds. Blood still dripped from some of them. The man finally looked up, and nearby mercenaries and soldiers stared.

“Will these do?”

They would. The heads let them skip most of the beginner jobs and go straight to a combat evaluation. Luke, Charlie, and Angie were tested by one of the Federation’s soldiers, who went down in the blink of an eye. That qualified them for military assignments ranging from protecting roads and clearing beasts out of the forests to hunting down gangs and, for those capable enough, fighting directly in wars.

Most of the Federation’s weapons and supplies passed through the camp before being sorted and sent closer to the front. The group secured spots on a wagon carrying other mercenaries deeper into the region.

"Master Luke, with my new skill, you know covering long distances quickly isn’t a problem for me anymore", Charlie said through their mental connection.

We’re sticking to the disguise.

She nodded.

Or did you just want an excuse to remind me about your new skill because you’re proud of it and like showing off?

"Maybe a little. But I was serious. I can scout other places for you and come back really fast."

I’ll keep it in mind.

The Royal Blood Knight skill Charlie had chosen at level 120 after the battle of Farmarug had made her incredibly useful for long-distance travel. She still wasn’t as fast as Luke, but it opened up plenty of new options. For now, though, there was no reason to draw unnecessary attention, so he traveled with everyone else.

They spent six hours on the road before Luke spotted a fortified position in the distance.

“Is that where we’re going?”

“No,” one of the mercenaries answered. “The army handles that place.”

The wagon dropped them off at a smaller camp, where a military officer was waiting for the new arrivals. “Simple job. The villages around the city are crawling with orcs. Kill as many as you can and bring back the heads as proof. One large silver per head. Find one already dead? I don’t care. Bring me the head and you still get paid.”

Only a handful of soldiers were stationed there. Most of the troops seemed to be concentrated around the city or at other positions throughout the region. Luke headed out with his group, following dirt roads through the forest.

“So, Norn?”

The spider immediately turned toward him. “Norn followed you, Boss!”

“I know. I can see you.”

It didn’t take long for them to find a partially destroyed village. Orcs wandered between the houses, and fresh corpses littered the ground. Some probably belonged to mercenaries. Others might have been adventurers, soldiers, or just people brave enough or stupid enough to enter the forest.

“They’re weak,” Angie said before throwing her spear. The weapon punched straight through an orc before it could react. “Level 30.”

“Very weak,” Luke agreed.

The Orc Lord was doing the same thing Luke did with his own monsters. He had retreated into the Beast Forest with his soldiers, and once inside, they hunted the creatures living there and devoured them to grow stronger.

Luke killed the remaining orcs with his bow, then returned to camp carrying only two heads. Hauling back a pile of heads for a few silver coins wasn’t worth the trouble. Two were enough to keep up appearances.

“The orc army really is inside that city?” he asked.

The soldier looked toward the distant walls. “Yeah. Consider yourself lucky you weren’t sent there.”

Luke collected his payment and headed back into the forest. Instead of returning to the village, he cut through the woods and emerged farther along the perimeter, where he could observe the army camped around the city. The orcs had taken the place, and the Trade Federation was trying to take it back. Judging by the number of soldiers surrounding the walls, it wasn’t going particularly well.

He circled away from the main Federation positions until he found a collapsed section of the outer wall. From there, the group entered the city. Collapsed buildings filled the streets. Debris covered the roads, and entire wooden structures had been blackened by fire. Part of the human army held positions along the streets closest to the entrance, but farther in, orc territory began.

Another level 50 orc lay dead in the street.

“I don’t think the Orc Lord is here,” Charlie said.

“I agree,” Angie replied. “They’re too weak.”

Norn crouched over the corpse and started eating it, apparently uninterested in the conversation.

“I’m sure he isn’t here,” Luke said. “If he were, there wouldn’t be any humans trying to retake the city. They’d all be dead already.”

He studied the orcs scattered across the streets and rooftops. They were weak, but they weren’t disorganized. Groups moved with purpose, some guarding intersections while others watched rooftops and alleys.

“But someone is commanding this attack. Now that I understand how orc titles work a little better, I can tell these weaker, more bestial ones awakened recently.”

They were weak by Luke’s standards, but to an ordinary farmer, each one would be a walking war machine.

“If the Orc Lord isn’t getting more troops from the orc continent...”

“Then he made these orcs here,” Angie finished.

Luke nodded. “Until I figure out exactly how that larva works, I can’t come up with a real strategy for dealing with Gurgal’s invasion. I need to know what it eats, where it can survive, and how hard it is to kill.”

An orc larva was basically an army factory.

“I’m going to find the bastard running this attack. I bet it’s a general.”

Luke jumped from his perch and landed among the orcs below. The group pushed deeper into the city, killing everything that got in their way. The farther they went, the heavier the resistance became.

Eventually, they pushed far enough into the city that the human lines disappeared behind them. That was when a figure appeared on a rooftop, watching them.

“So it was you,” the orc said. “I was starting to wonder why my soldiers kept disappearing.”

[Orc Captain - Lvl 101]

Luke looked up. “You’re the one commanding the attack on the city?”

“Maybe.”

“I hope so. Then I can beat the answers out of you and get what I came for.”

An arrow streaked in from a distance. Angie raised a barrier at the last second, and it shuddered under the impact.

Using the distraction, the Orc Captain leaped from the building. Before he could reach Luke, Angie dropped the barrier and drove her spear into his body. Electricity surged through him, locking up his muscles. She ripped the spear free, and the two immediately traded blows.

“I’ll handle the archer,” Luke said.

Charlie charged the other orcs beginning to flood the streets while Luke sprinted toward the source of the arrows. He vaulted over debris, dodged incoming shots, and burst through a broken window. Inside, another Orc Captain stood with a bow in hand. Luke rushed him, but something smashed through the wall. He pulled back at the last second as chunks of stone and splintered wood blasted across the room and another orc stepped through the opening.

“You think I don’t know how you people think?” Luke asked.

The orc grinned, holding a sword made of bone. “I thought this would be over already.”

[Orc General - Lvl 131]

“It will be.”

The general lunged. Luke dodged and traded blows with him while the archer continued firing from the shadows. Every time Luke shifted, the general adjusted with him, herding him into the archer’s line of fire.

“You two work well together.”

The general grinned wider.

[Cloak of the Arcane Witch activated]

[Shadow Phantom Reaper Dance activated]

Luke charged straight at him, only to veer aside at the last instant. The mimic appeared and attacked in his place while Luke rushed the archer. The captain was dead before he even realized Luke had reached him.

A heartbeat later, Luke switched places with the mimic and slashed the Orc General across the face.

“Damn you!”

The orc touched the cut, then stared at the blood on his fingers.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Luke said. “First, I’m cutting off your arms and legs. Then I’m getting every piece of information I need out of you.”

“I am no ordinary Orc General.” The cut started closing. “The blood of my ancestors runs strong in me.”

“I couldn’t care less what that means to you.”

The general stretched his free hand toward the ground and clenched his fist. Dirt, dust, and small fragments of debris were pulled upward, wrapping around his hand and forming a gauntlet of compressed stone.

“That will be your mistake!”

The general charged. Luke dodged the punch, but the orc twisted with him instead of following through, changing the direction of the stone fist.

Fast.

Luke barely got clear before the massive fist slammed into the ground and the building exploded. Dirt, timber, and stone blasted in every direction, throwing him through the cloud of debris. He hit the street shoulder-first, rolled, and came back up with blood running down one forearm.

That’s like one of Charlie’s punches, except it uses explosive force instead of pure mana. An explosive punch?

The orc emerged from the cloud of dust with a grin. “Do not underestimate an orc like me.”

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Hey guys, I’m dropping a bonus chapter today to make up for yesterday’s delay. It’ll be up in three minutes. Enjoy!