Chapter 21 20. A stepping stone
Two thousand eight hundred years ago, the first emperor of mankind, the great Emperor Thoradin, built Thoradin's Wall to resist the invasion of forest trolls. Today, it still stands between the two plains of the Kingdom of Stromgard.
It's a miracle.
It represents the tenacity and unyieldingness of human ancestors.
The huge black wall, which is more than twenty meters high and as thick as a city wall, stands between the Hillsbrad Hills and the Arathi Highlands, stretching for hundreds of kilometers. There is only one city gate to pass through.
This thousand-year wall is a witness to history in the past.
But in these war years, it has once again fulfilled its important task of protecting the hinterland of human civilization.
It was also its existence that divided the orc tribes that landed in northern Xinjiang into two battlefields, the east and west, giving the human coalition commander more time to deploy his troops.
And now, the Durnholde Castle that Black and Marius are going to, and the Dangarok Castle from which they set out, happen to be at the north and south ends of Thoradin's Wall.
It's like two fists extending from this huge wall, one on the left and one on the right guarding the area around Thoradin's Wall.
Orcs are not stupid.
They realized the trouble the existence of this wall caused them. Since the orcs landed on the hills half a month ago to now, they have been dividing their forces, harassing and trying to seize the wall.
The attack and defense of the dwarf castle is only the most intense area of these battles.
Not all battlefields.
"Go! Go quickly! Breakout formation!"
At the northern end of Thoradin's Wall, by the river southwest of Durnholde Castle, a group of human soldiers were anxiously moving.
Everyone is riding a horse, and there are few soldiers wearing armor. This can ensure that the speed of the horses is not slower than that of the orcs' wolf cavalry, but they are not very lucky.
While retreating along the river that flows down from the Alterac Mountains and into the Endless Sea, they encountered a siege by the orcs.
There is only one Orc Wolf Cavalry.
The number of people is around twenty, and the number of human scouts is around thirty. If they occupy a favorable terrain, it is not impossible to fight. Unfortunately, the young sergeant at the head cherishes the lives of his subordinates too much.
Or to put it another way.
He's not that brave.
After realizing that he had been discovered by the orcs, the sergeant immediately gave the order to break out. They reacted quickly, got up from the camp by the river, mounted their fast horses, and moved to the castle in the northeast.
But the orcs were faster.
When they realized that this group of humans was about to run away, the wolf cavalry immediately launched into an assault formation. The roaring black wolves, one person tall, carried their fierce knights and howled out of the forest.
These elite orcs wear blood-red leather armor with clan war flags tied to their backs. They hold sharp war spears or exaggerated beheading knives. They imitate the roar of war wolves, just like driving away prey.
They came from all directions.
There were only more than twenty people, but they formed a formation of nearly a hundred people, which made the human scouts who were eager to retreat even more panicked. Under the leadership of the young sergeant in a hurry, they plunged from the river bank into the woods.
But this played into the hands of the orc wolf cavalry.
Human war horses outlasted their wolf warriors.
But in the forest with many obstacles, they are not as nimble as the wolf warriors. Humans are driven into the forest and lose their speed advantage, which is what they have in their pocket.
"Disperse! Break out towards the castle! Call for reinforcements!"
During the retreat, the young sergeant made a second mistake.
He asked his subordinates to spread out and break out individually, probably hoping to spread the number of pursuers behind him.
But the wolf cavalry are more happy to see this situation happen. In a one-on-one situation, these ordinary human soldiers are no match for the green-skinned orcs.
The power gap between the two sides is too big. Once they are caught up, they will only face a miserable end of death.
Two wrong orders came to fruition a few minutes later. The young sergeant was surrounded by two wolf cavalry, one behind the other. In his ears, he could only hear the continuous noise coming from the surrounding forest. Scream.
This can't even be called a battle.
This is a massacre.
"Haha, humans are weak!"
The wolf cavalry captain of the Thunder King Clan, who was riding on the ferocious war wolf, stretched out his hand with a malicious look on his face and made a weak gesture to the soldier in front of him who was covered in cold sweat.
The animal war wolf under his crotch roared with its teeth and claws, forcing the sergeant's horse to retreat continuously.
But there was also an orc and a wolf rider coming up from behind.
He had already grabbed the war spear and made a throwing motion.
The human rookie in front of him was so distracted by the captain that he didn't even notice the killing intent behind him. As long as he threw the battle spear, he would be dead!
"hehe"
A cruel smile broke out in the orc's eyes.
He liked this kind of relaxed battle. It was much easier to hunt down these lone human scouts than to face the charge of human heavy cavalry head-on.
Those highland knights who carried out wall charges in rows on the battlefield were simply a nightmare for all wolf cavalry in large-scale and large-scale battles.
And humans, relying on this unique skill and the coordination of large infantry tactics, were able to withstand the attack of the Blood Ring Orcs in the Arathi Highlands.
"Holy Light, I'm done."
The young sergeant was in despair, but he finally found some courage between life and death. He drew out the sword from his waist with a swipe, pulled up the reins of the horse, and was about to charge forward.
He planned to die like a warrior, at least without bringing disgrace to his family.
"Whoosh"
This reaction seemed to satisfy the secret observer. As a faint scream sounded behind the sergeant, the orc who was about to launch a sneak attack with his war spear covered his neck in shock and fell from the wolf.
Thick blood flowed out from between his fingers, and it was impossible to stop it.
The orc's thick neck was completely chopped open with a sharp weapon, like a nasty smile.
On the saddle of the wolf warrior, there is a thin guy wearing black leather armor. The most eye-catching thing is that the guy's left fist is a ferocious black bladed fist.
Blood was still dripping down.
"Orc Killer!"
The sergeant screamed in surprise.
In the past few days, he had been conducting reconnaissance missions in the hills, and he heard that there was a ghost-like Avenger wandering around the orc-filled battlefield nearby.
He will mercilessly take the head of every orc he encounters.
No matter how brave the wolf cavalry is when they encounter him, they will only die.
This rumor was first spread from the dwarves of Dangarok. With the great victory of the dwarves against the bone-chewing orcs eight days ago, this legend was also widely spread in the hilly areas.
At this critical moment when the orcs invade the northern border, each army needs to perform some heroic deeds to boost morale. Nothing can boost people's morale more than a lone revenge hero.
"Roar!"
Compared to the sergeant's surprise, when the orc wolf cavalry captain saw the human assassin holding a blade fist, he roared angrily, controlled the wolf on his hip, and rushed towards Blake.
The beheading sword in his hand has been raised.
The eyes are blood red.
Obviously entering a bloody rage, the humans thought that the "orc killer" was just a newly emerged legend, but the orcs knew that the ghost really existed.
It was he who assassinated Tarkan Skullcrusher, the chief of the Bonechewer clan, which led to the failure of the siege of Dangarok.
The Bonechewer clan, which has lost its chief, has issued a reward for this ruthless guy. As long as he can bring back the Skullcrusher's unforged blade fist that was taken away by the human assassin, he will be rewarded.
Compared to the young scout who was so scared that he almost peed his pants, an opponent like the Orc Killer was more in line with the Orc tradition of challenging the strong.
This is almost the last remaining characteristic that can be called an advantage of the old tribe of orcs who have lost all their glory. Of course, these butchers show no mercy when they slaughter the old, weak, women and children of humans.
So, they deserve to die in pain.
"Assassin! Die!"
The captain of the wolf cavalry held a broadsword, and the man and wolf rushed towards Blake. The feeling of his sword was completely good, just like how he had chopped off people's heads with his sword countless times in the past.
This blow is a sure shot!
"boom"
A clear, tidal vibrating sound echoed in the ears of the orc wolf cavalry captain for the next moment, making him a little confused, but the invisible magic blow made him and the wolf warrior below his crotch fall into a daze at the same time. middle.
Then there was a flash of sword light.
A roaring head flew up from the neck, drew an arc in the air, and finally hit the feet of the young sergeant's horse.
Same old thing.
With a wave of the blade, the head fell to the ground.
Blake Shaw, who had completed a perfect assassination, looked at the blood bursting from the headless corpse in front of him. His heart was no longer shaken. He waved his blade fist and killed the wolf with its teeth and claws.
Then he squatted down and began to search the two orcs and wolf cavalry.
Still the same old rules.
The orc captain's experience belongs to himself.
The soldier's experience, or soul fragments, are "fed" to Hela's soul-inducing lamp.
Both parties were very satisfied, especially Blake, whose face was full of surprise. He was even happier after touching a piece of equipment on the wolf cavalry captain.
"Head-cutting sword. Excellent quality. Weak chop. Weak blow."
Black held up the wolf cavalry's decapitating sword, held it in his hand and waved it decently. This thing was a good weapon for a warrior, but for an assassin like him, it was a bit too bulky to carry.
Although not used.
But being able to touch the equipment on the soldiers proved that Blake's character was still strong, which made him very happy.
"Thank you for saving my life!"
A slightly excited voice sounded behind Blake. He looked back and saw that the young sergeant was standing behind him, wiping his sweat and thanking him with a smile on his face.
Blake's eyes glanced at the emblem on the soldier's chest, and he said in a hoarse tone:
"Are you soldiers from Durnholde Castle?"
"Yes! We are under the command of Major Edras Blackmoore, guarding the important military town of Durnholde Castle, and are conducting a reconnaissance mission on the Tarren Mill front line."
The young sergeant straightened his back and said proudly:
"Our major has responded to General Gavin Rudd's call and is preparing to lead his troops to join the counterattack against the green-skinned orcs."
Speaking of which.
The young man's eyes rolled, and he said in a sincere tone to the orc killer in front of him:
"My mentor, Major Blackmoore, is recruiting all warriors who are willing to fight for the destiny of mankind. Warriors like you will definitely be greatly welcomed in Durnholde Castle, that..."
"There's no rush yet."
Blake shook his head, threw the two-handed sword into his bag, and said to the young sergeant in front of him:
"Mount!"
"Um?"
The young sergeant was stunned for a moment, and saw Blake swinging out the hook and climbing up the branch in front of him like a flexible monkey. The assassin turned back to the stunned sergeant and said:
"You don't want the lives of your subordinates? They are still being slaughtered by the orcs. My companions are trying their best to save them, but if you don't hurry up, they will probably be very disappointed with their commander."
"Oh, yes! My soldiers!"
The young man suddenly woke up from a dream, hurriedly got on his horse, and followed Blake into the forest. He rode the horse, brandished his sword, and made a brave gesture while shouting loudly:
"Orc Killer, I have heard your story. My name is Auriden Perenold! I am honored to fight alongside you today!"
"You can shout louder, rookie, it would be best if you can attract all the orcs over."
Blake, who was following behind, replied faintly, which made the excited young sergeant suddenly feel embarrassed. He stopped talking and rushed into the forest with his sword.
"Auriden Perenold, the remnant of the King of Alterac, the leader of the Syndicate bandits, and the apprentice of Edras Blackmoore, thanks for the guidance of fate."
The pirate walked through the forest, squatting on the tree trunk like a ninja. In the scattered leaves above his head, he squinted and looked at the young sergeant galloping in front of him.
Say in your heart:
"Work harder, rookie, and take me to the Children of the World. Little Thrall, who is about four years old this year, I, the orc killer, am here to visit you!"
