While the Orc Guards were manning their posts, they casually conversed with each other. Several Orc Warriors entered and left the camp from time to time, allowing Lux to get a general idea of how many forces were in or around Baronar's encampment at any given time.
The numbers gave him a headache and made him wonder if there had been others who had tried to clear the quest in the past, but were unable to do so due to the sheer difficulty of the mission.
'If my estimate is correct, aside from the twelve Orc Guards, there are still at least forty Orc Warriors in the encampment,' Lux mused. 'Baronar is located at the Central Tent, and is mostly spending his time alone, performing some experiments. I just hope my plan works.'
After waiting half an hour longer, Lux sent a mental message to Diablo and Ishtar to immediately start their operation.
Immediately, several fiery lights appeared in the distance. A moment later, a rain of arrows fell on the Orc Encampment, setting the tent where the food reserves were stored on fire.
The Orc Guards immediately blew a horn to alert everyone in the camp that they were under attack.
Several of the Orc Warriors ran towards the food storage tent, attempting to extinguish the flames that were already turning their food supply to ashes.
However, that was the least of their problems. The rain of arrows continued, setting more tents in the Orc Encampment on fire, creating more and more chaos.
The Skeletal Grand Archers kept on firing fire arrows that were imbued with the flames of Diablo's Nightmare Mount, Airon.
It was at that moment that the Guard Captain roared and ordered the Guards to attack the Skeleton Archers in the distance. A dozen Orc Warriors joined the Guards and charged towards their enemies as they shouted their war cries.
Seeing this development, Diablo and the Skeleton Grand Archers made a strategic retreat towards the forest. Their role was to lure as many Orcs away from their encampment as possible so that Lux's forces could kill them off one by one and weaken Baronar's forces.
Ishtar, the Forgotten Queen, shot her deadly arrows at the Orc Warriors that were at the rear of the formation. She was like a wraith that moved from tree to tree as she unleashed deadly rain of arrows that were coated in frost, which slowed the Orcs down in their pursuit after getting hit.
The Skeleton Grand Archers had learned the skill Poison Arrow which they repeatedly shot at the Orcs, making their high health decrease by a good margin.
With Eiko's ability to copy Lux's skills, the number of Skeleton Grand Archers on Lux's side rose to eight in total. Although their numbers were few, the way they had used their poison arrows to cripple their enemies had slowly taken its toll.
Naturally, once an Orc got near one of the Skeletons, it only took them five swings of their weapons to completely shatter the bodies of the Skeleton Grand Archers.
But, that was not a problem.
"EI! Ei! Ei!" Eiko shouted as she summoned her new Skeleton Grand Archers to replace those that had died in battle.
Lux was doing the same. The Half-Elf and the Slime were currently on top of a tree, watching the battle unfold from their vantage point.
Diablo with his mighty steed, Airon, played their role well and were a force to be reckoned with. The two of them were peak Rank 2 Monsters, but although they were weaker than the Orc Guards, they weren't fighting alone.
It was the typical 1+1 = 2 scenario in which Diablo and his mount, Airon, attacked their enemies in unison.
The Nightmare fired Flame Lances left and right, while Diablo hacked away at the Orc Guards with his sword, and blocked their blows with his shield.
If it weren't for the Skeletal Fighters that Lux and Eiko summoned, which numbered a total of fourteen, Diablo would have a harder time in the battle.
Over twenty-four Orcs charged towards the forest, and all of them fell into Lux's carefully designed slaughterhouse.
Naturally, some of the Orcs decided to retreat, but it was too late by then.
Ishtar had placed traps on the forest floor right after the Orcs had charged deeper in the forest. As a Skeleton Hunter, one of her abilities was Set Trap. Although she could only place five traps with her current rank, those five traps were more than enough to cripple or severely injure those that stepped on them.
The traps that Isthar had set in this fight were "Steel Bear Traps". These were steel, jagged traps that would leave anyone who stepped on them feel a world of pain.
When the number of Orcs had decreased to ten individuals, the attacks coming from the Skeletons intensified as well.
"Here. Drink this, Eiko," Lux said as he allowed the baby Slime to drink a mana potion in order to recover her almost depleted mana reserves.
Eiko had very high regeneration, and the bonuses she received whenever Lux, or Iris, was around was also quite powerful. It wouldn't have been a problem for the baby Slime were it not for the fact that the Skeletons were clearly no match against the Orc Warriors that could kill them with few swings.
Whenever Diablo was about to die, Lux would unsummon him and resummon him in a different location, allowing the Skeletal Rider to continue his rampage.
Even Airon's eyes glowed brightly as the battle lust engulfed it.
It was at that moment when Colette and her party joined the battle. The Orcs were a mostly spent force at this point, and the damage they had received from the poison in their bodies made their movements more and more sluggish.
"Should I join as well?" Barca asked as he cracked his knuckles. "This will serve as a good warmup."
"Okay, but don't exert yourself too much," Lux replied. "We need you at your peak condition when we fight Baronar. Don't underestimate your opponents."
"I know." Barca grinned as he charged towards the battle holding his Greatsword.
After Colette, her party, and Barca joined the battle, the Orcs could no longer offer any resistance and were gangbanged on all sides.
Lux watched this one-sided massacre, while he and Eiko chugged down another bottle of Mana Potion. At most, he had only halved the forces under Baronar's command. They had yet to deal with the other half, and their battle was far from over.
After the last Orc Warrior fell on the ground, the bodies of Colette and her friends glowed briefly.
"They leveled up?" Lux chuckled when he saw the little Dwarves jump up and down due to happiness.
Usually, Solaians would learn Class Specific Skills and Abilities when they level up, aside from getting Free Stats and Skill Points that they could distribute freely.
Unlike Solaians, Lux was unable to level up, but for him, this wasn't too big of an issue since everyone could increase their stats by absorbing Beast Cores, in addition to being able to learn skills in the same manner, so—for now—the difference between him and Colette's group was almost negligible.
Of course, Lux's friends, who had entered Elysium four years ago, were certainly stronger than him. However, the Half-Elf knew that it would only be a matter of time before he caught up to them.
Lux felt giddy at the thought of letting his childhood friends see how strong he had become. Unfortunately, he didn't plan on meeting with them until his goals in the Kingdom of Gweliven had been met.
For the time being, he tossed this idea to the back of his mind. His Hidden Quest was still not over and he couldn't afford to be distracted. Baronar was still alive, and he still had to deal with the other half of Baronar's forces remaining.
"Now, it's time for step two of the plan," Lux muttered as he lightly patted Eiko's head. "Eiko, I will leave it up to you."
The baby Slime nodded her head happily. "Pa!"
The father and daughter pair laughed evilly as they moved into Phase 2 of their plan. This was the first time that Lux had given Eiko a mission, and the baby Slime was more than happy to do her best.
If their plan worked perfectly then Baronar and the rest of the Orcs would be in for a very, very, nasty surprise.
