Eiko hummed while perched on top of Lux's head.
The Half-Elf was currently following the procession of the Orc Army from the rear.
Before going, he asked Gerhart to look after Randolph, Grandma Annie, Laura, Livia, and Cethus at the capital city of the Orcs.
If the Blackrock Clan was able to repel the invaders, then that would be for the best. For the time being, his sole intention was to observe and learn a few things from large-scale wars.
Lux had also expected that the last gate of the Sacred Dungeon, the Gate of Famine, would revolve around wars.
Ever since he entered the Sacred Dungeon, it had always been Kingdoms fighting against each other. This gave everyone the impression that the last gate would throw them in the middle of another war, whose magnitude would be bigger than any that they had faced before.
In order to prepare for this upcoming battle, Lux wanted to learn different strategies in order to cope with the ever-changing battle between tens of thousands of warriors on the battlefield.
They had already been traveling for nearly four days, and according to his estimate, they would soon arrive at the location of the Stronghold of the Orcs, which served as their first line of defense against the Haca Dynasty.
Suddenly, the sound of a horn spread in the surroundings, making the Orcs hasten their advance. Lux didn't know the meaning behind it, but the Orcs who were in front of him suddenly started to jog and then run at full speed.
It was then that Lux saw it.
In the distance, black smoke was rising up the sky. It was so thick that it could only mean one thing.
Something was burning, and that something was something very big.
"Jed, let's fly!" Lux ordered his Thunder Warg King, and the latter obeyed his command.
After rising in the air, Lux saw in the distance that the Stronghold of the Orcs was burning.
Loud rumbling sounds of explosions reached his ears, proving that a battle was currently underway. Just based on the thick smoke that was rising from the fortress, the Half-Elf inferred that the battle had been going on for quite some time, and the one on the losing end was the Orcs.
While the entire Blackrock Clan was hurrying, several individuals had already charged up ahead in order to reach the Stronghold as quickly as possible.
Barca was at the lead, followed closely by Lady Avyanna.
The other Orc Warlords, namely Baronar (Great Orc Shaman), Tanabur (Orc Raider), Oreg (Orc Berserker), and Mogazar (Orc Hunter) were not far behind.
"Catch up to them, Jed," Lux commanded.
The Thunder Warg King growled in acknowledgment and activated its Lightning Steps, allowing it to travel faster.
Five minutes later, they arrived at their destination, and the sight that welcomed Lux's eyes was the intense battle that was happening inside the Orc Fortress.
The enemy had still not breached the gates, but they were fighting on the ramparts.
Fireballs rained down from the sky, burning everything they hit. Bodies that were burned to a crisp littered the interior of the Fortress, which made Barca roar in anger.
"Kill!" Barca ordered as soon as he entered the Fortress through the backdoor.
The Empyrean-Ranked Alpha Monster leaped through the air and landed on the ramparts. With one swing of his battle axe, all of those who were scaling the walls were instantly sliced in half, dropping down on the ground, crushing those who were unlucky enough to be along their way.
The other Orc Warlords also went on a killing spree and annihilated every enemy that they had set their eyes on.
Lux simply observed from the sky, but what he saw was enough to make him understand how strong Barca was.
"He's really different from the Barca I once knew," Lux thought as he looked at the Half-Orc, whose blood-shot eyes thirsted for the blood of his enemies.
As if waiting for that moment, several horns were blown, giving the signal for the Army of the Haca Dynasty to retreat.
However, Barca, who was enraged by the death of his kinsmen, jumped off the ramparts in order to follow the retreating soldiers.
However, as soon as he did that, several Battle Spirits wrapped their arms around his body and pulled him back to where he jumped off.
"Get a hold of yourself, Barca!" Lady Avyanna shouted. "This is not the time to fall into the enemy's trap!"
The Orc Chieftain's words stopped Barca from resisting and finally calmed him down. Only when she was sure that her husband was thinking straight did Lady Avyanna release him from her hold.
Barca looked at the Army in front of him and noticed something different. According to his estimate, the enemies in front of him only numbered around 50,000, which was a very small number for an invading army.
When the Haca Dynasty previously tried to invade the Wanid Kingdom, they had sent over a million troops. Seeing this small number made Barca suspect that he was just seeing things.
'What's going on here?' Barca thought as he glanced beside his wife, who also had a frown on her face.
"We are expecting their main army to arrive in two days' time," Lady Avyanna said softly. "If my assumption is correct, this is just the Vanguards, who are supposed to secure the location of their Main Camp. It seems that the one leading them is very eager to gain some merits, so he ordered them to attack the Fortress as soon as possible before their main army arrived."
Barca snorted after hearing his wife's explanation. "Wouldn't now be the best time to wipe them out before their main force arrives? Why did you stop me?"
"Calm down, Barca," Baronar said as soon as he arrived at the ramparts. "The years of peace have dulled your senses a bit. The one leading this force is also an Empyrean… and, there are helpers with them who have similar strengths to us as well."
"So you're saying that they didn't attack just because they felt like it, right?" Oreg, who had also climbed up the ramparts said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "If they really had an Empyrean and warriors as strong as us, why didn't they attack and take over the Fortress on their own?"
Just as the Orc Chieftain was about to reply, a loud, and confident voice reached their ears.
"Because that would be boring!"
Lady Avyanna, Barca, and the four Orc Warlords all shifted their gaze to the man standing in the very center of the enemy's battle formation.
He was wearing golden armor that really stood out from the rest as if he wanted people to see him among the masses of soldiers that were on the battlefield.
"What we did was just a warm-up," the Commander of the Vanguard replied. "We are just killing time while we wait for the main army to arrive."
"Killing time?" Barca scoffed. "Thousands of your soldiers died, and you call that killing time?"
"Yes," the Commander of the Vanguard crossed his arms over his chest. "The men you killed were merely criminals and slaves. Their purpose was to serve as cannon fodders. We promised them that if they were to perform well in the war, their crimes would be forgiven and they would become free again. Unfortunately, you killed them all, so the promise ended with their death. I guess I should thank you for cleaning up the trash. So, thank you?"
The Commander of the Vanguard roared in laughter. His laughter was filled with ridicule, which grated Barca's and the Orc Warlords' ears. However, they didn't bother to reply to the man's provocation and simply assessed the damages that their Stronghold had received.
"Tend to the wounded," Lady Avyanna ordered the Captain of the Orc Archers that had come to greet her. "Gather them all at the keep. Our Main Forces will arrive soon, so focus on helping our clansmen first."
"Yes, Great Chieftain!" the Orc Archer replied and hurriedly barked orders to his subordinates to carry out their Great Chieftain's orders.
Lady Avyanna eyed the enemy Commander in the distance before turning her back to walk away.
The enemy's current forces were smaller than theirs, but something was telling her that she shouldn't recklessly send Barca and the other Orc Warlords to wipe out their forces.
