The orcs and humans unleashed their long-range weapons at each other. The orc army had also entered the range of the human archers. The human archers quickly raised their bows and shot at the sky. A dense rain of arrows rained down from the sky. The orcs raised their crude shields and braved the rain of arrows as they continued to advance.
Only a few unlucky ones were hit by the arrows, but to the Beastmen, the damage of arrows was not high. Ordinary arrows had limited damage unless they hit a vital point. Some of the orcs who were shot pulled out the arrowheads. They didn't care about the wounds at all. After a roar, they charged even faster.
The orcs braved the rain of arrows and rushed to the bottom of the city wall. They then set up ladders and began to attack the city. Rolling logs and stones were constantly thrown down from the city wall. The weight of the rocks could easily break bones. Even the orcs couldn't withstand it. Although there were many casualties, the orcs didn't back down at all. They roared and charged up the ladders.
The battle became very intense from the very beginning. The orcs and humans had a fierce battle on the city wall. An orc had just killed a human soldier when he was stabbed in the heart by another human.
Tens of thousands of soldiers were just numbers on the battlefield. They were expendable goods. The commanders of both sides looked at the battlefield with expressionless faces. Some shamans began to cast spells. The wizards on the city wall did the same. Apart from the wizards, there were also some temple priests in priest robes.
Spells and divine spells were cast one after another. Elements surged on the battlefield. Lightning, ice, fire, and other elements were constantly exploding. Overall, the human spellcasters had the upper hand.
The battle of Kalent City was in full swing. Suhlen finally made his move. More than five thousand soldiers from Northtown City and the harpies began to approach the Blackstone Fort.
"What did you say? There are no orc troops stationed in the Blackstone Fort? "Suhlen was surprised to hear the scout's words.
"Yes, sir. There are no orc troops stationed in the Blackstone Fort. There are only a small number of orcs."
"What are the orcs doing? Are they abandoning their escape route? Are they not planning to go back to the North? "Suhlen mumbled to himself.
"Whatever. It's none of my business whether the orcs go back or not. Boulder, take your men and attack the Blackstone Fort. Don't let any of those Beastmen escape. "
"Yes, boss!" Boulder rubbed his smooth head and grinned, leaving with the group of barbarians.
There weren't many orcs left in the Blackstone Fort, only about a hundred of them. Facing the barbarians' surprise attack, these orcs couldn't fight back at all. The only orc warrior was chopped in half by Boulder's axe as soon as the battle started. Suhlen easily took over the Blackstone Fort.
"No wonder the Orcs could easily attack from the back of the Blackstone Fortress. They were basically undefended." Suhlen looked at the city wall in front of him, which was only three to four meters high. There were no watchtowers, arrow towers, or arrow stacks. With the orcs' strength, they could climb over the wall without any tools.
It was a completely different concept compared to the twenty-meter-tall walls of the Blackstone Stronghold. The people who built the Blackstone Stronghold didn't even think about the defenses behind the Stronghold. After all, the back of the Blackstone Stronghold was the territory of the humans. In the end, the orcs took advantage of this weakness and easily took over the Blackstone Stronghold.
"If the enemy attacks from the south, we won't be able to defend this Stronghold at all." Suhlen shook his head and gave up on the idea of taking over the Stronghold. Indeed, if he took over the Stronghold, the orc army's escape route would be cut off. However, if that happened, the Northern Battlefront City would have to face tens of thousands of orcs head-on. There would be no benefits if he won, but if he lost, everything he had accumulated over the past year would go down the drain.
"Ayton, have you found the place where the orcs kept the human slaves?" Suhlen asked. That's right. His current goal was to find the human slaves that the orcs had captured. The northern provinces had been invaded by the orcs, and even a few cities had been conquered. A large number of humans who didn't manage to escape were captured and enslaved.
The orcs captured the human slaves so that they could farm. There were at least tens of thousands of human slaves in the orcs' hands. Suhlen was very envious of so many human slaves. For the past year, he had spent money to buy and forced people to migrate, but the population of the Northern Battlefront City hadn't exceeded thirty thousand. If he could rescue these human slaves from the orcs, the population of the Northern Battlefront City would most likely exceed one hundred thousand.
"As for the humans you mentioned, they were originally free people and subjects of other lords. When the time comes, those nobles will ask for them from Suhlen. Sorry, these are the human slaves that I rescued from the orcs. As for your people, where did they go? The orcs took them away. Go ask the orcs for them!
What does it have to do with the serfs of the Northern Battlefront City if you're looking for your own people?
The total population of the Kingdom of Florence was about five million. Three million of them were distributed in the south. The northern provinces had less than two million people. Even if they managed to drive the orcs out in the end, they would suffer heavy losses in this orc invasion. If the Northern Battlefront City had a population of one hundred thousand, it would be enough to establish a duchy.
"Your Excellency, the orcs have imprisoned the human slaves in a few camps. The closest one is near Winter City. There are about fifteen thousand people there, and two thousand orcs are guarding it, "Ayton reported the information he had gathered.
"We have also drawn maps of the other places. Please take a look, Your Excellency …"
Suhlen reached out and took a sheepskin scroll. He opened it and saw a simple map. The Napier Mountains, Blackstone Fortress, and a few cities in the northern provinces. The number of orcs in each city that had been conquered was marked. The locations where the orcs had imprisoned the human slaves were also marked.
"Well done!" Suhlen closed the map and patted Ayton's shoulder. As the first drow to pledge loyalty to him, Suhlen valued him very much.
Suhlen's goal was to capture the captive orcs. After the captives were captured, they would be transported to the Northern Battlefront City. The Blackstone Fortress was the only way. Suhlen had to leave a lot of people here to guard it. Now that the humans and orcs were fighting fiercely, neither side could spare any manpower. This was a godsend opportunity for Suhlen.
Ever since Winter City was conquered by the orc army, the orcs had chased all the humans out. Those who refused to leave were all beheaded. Even after a few days, the city was still filled with the smell of blood. The orcs did not station many soldiers here. It could be said that this city with a population of twenty thousand was now an empty city.
Outside Winter City, in a simple camp, many humans were working under the whips of the orcs. They were making weapons and armor for the orc army at the front line. After conquering Winter City, the orcs obtained a lot of resources, which they naturally had to make use of.
Suhlen reorganized in the Blackstone Fortress and left 500 soldiers there. Then, he waited until the sky turned dark before setting off for Winter City.
The 2000 orc army was not a pushover. Even if Northern Battlefront City could win, they would suffer a lot of casualties. Therefore, his plan was to launch a sneak attack and defeat the orcs in the shortest time possible. Then, he would steal the human slaves.
His goal was not to kill the orcs, but to steal a large number of people.
Under the lead of the scouts, the army of Northern Battlefront City quickly advanced under the cover of the night. By 1 am, the army had arrived at the outskirts of the orc camp. At this time, there weren't many guards in the orc camp. After the Blackstone Fort was breached, none of the cities in the northern provinces dared to leave their cities.
This made the orcs let down their guard. They did not expect someone to attack the orc camp when the orc army was advancing triumphantly.
"Lord, there are no hidden sentries," Ayton said as he bent over to Suhlen's side.
"Then, let's begin!" Suhlen nodded and ordered.
Then, Ayton led 20 drows into the darkness. These drows were proficient in investigation, assassination, and sneak attacks. Under the cover of the night, they easily reached the entrance of the orc camp.
At this moment, the two orc soldiers were yawning as they stood guard. Suddenly, two figures appeared in the shadows behind them. Then, the figures flashed and a dagger with cold light flashed towards the orc's throat. The other hand instantly covered the orc's mouth.
Fresh blood spurted out. The two orcs widened their eyes and struggled violently to break free. But as the blood flowed out, their windpipes were cut, and their struggles became weaker and weaker. After a few breaths, they fell into a dead silence.
Suhlen waited outside the camp for a while. Soon, the simple gate of the camp was opened. Two drows held torches and circled in the air three times. After seeing the signal, Suhlen ordered the army of Northern Battlefront City to attack.
The army of Northern Battlefront City quickly entered the camp. Such a big movement could no longer be hidden.
"Enemy attack!"
An angry roar spread throughout the camp. A large number of orcs rushed out of their tents. Seeing the orcs appear, the soldiers of Northern Battlefront City formed a battle formation and rushed forward. The archers in the back also began to shoot arrows. Because the orcs were caught off guard, they didn't have shields. A large number of orcs were hit by the arrows. Compared to the bows of humans, the arrows of the half-elves and centaurs were much more powerful. As soon as the arrows came into contact, the orcs paid a heavy price.
The spearmen at the front saw the orcs suffer heavy losses, so they formed a battle formation and began to push forward. Facing the spear formation of the Northern Battlefront City, the orcs roared and rushed forward, but they were blocked by shields. Then, they were pierced by a few spears. Suddenly, the sound of wings flapping came from the sky. Before the orcs could react, a large number of rocks fell from the sky.
The orcs, who were already lacking in defense, were smashed to pieces. The more serious ones had their heads smashed. A Beastman who looked like a commander roared loudly. He wanted to organize an army, and the surrounding Beastmen all gathered around him. At this time, a washbasin-sized fireball fell from the sky and hit that Beastman commander.
An explosion sounded. Orange flames sputtered. The orc in the center of the explosion was blown away.
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