Chapter 57 - Tribal Leaders
A high-intensity situation. Nevertheless, apart from that short moment of despair, Ed was able to quickly recollect himself.
He told Vorgarag formula after formula leaving the calculations for Vorgarag to solve on his own in order to save time. He felt that he needed to immediately enter the battlefield or the settlement would fall.
While it didn’t really affect him since even if he died he could still respawn, Shel couldn’t respawn. Vorgarag also couldn’t respawn. The settlement wouldn’t respawn either. It was made possible by the efforts of Vorgarag and his ancestors.
“I can’t learn all of them!” Yelled Vorgarag who was sweating bullets as he inscribed the runes.
It was impossible to learn something after hearing it just once, especially not multiple things. Even Ed who possessed the assimilation skill could not do it so how was Vorgarag supposed to? He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes either. Vorgarag had just finished the second layer of the array but he couldn’t continue it without the space element formulas.
Vorgarag wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked up. He saw the anxious expressions of pregnant women and children. He suddenly came up with a wild idea.
“All of you! Come here!” Vorgarag hurriedly motioned. It was impossible to display his usual poise under such draining circumstances. The orc ladies and children revealed confused expressions but obeyed regardless. They came closer to Vorgarag and Ed.
“Alright, you!” Vorgarag pointed at an orc woman, “Memorize the following formula! Ed, gooo!” The woman didn’t even get to refuse before Ed recited the formula from memory. The orc woman was obviously incapable of memorizing it no matter how simple.
Nonetheless, “How much did you get?!” Vorgarag asked hurriedly not caring about the woman’s pitiful and helpless expression. Regardless, the orc woman stuttered but retold some bits of the formula.
An orc’s strength wasn’t their brains, it was their brawn. It was an expected outcome. Vorgarag also realized that one person alone might not suffice.
“Ah! Nevermind! All of you at the same time! Pay attention! Ed, again!” He racked his brain as well and scribed down some of the bits he managed to remember from the first run.
Ed retold the formulas and the orcs all pitched in with whatever they could remember and Vorgarag wrote it down.
“Good, just like that! Ed, tell them the rest and head into battle. I will finish up here and catch up.” Vorgarag said as he continued to write down magic runes from the previous formula.
He also had to input the correct variables and calculate the outcomes meaning that the process wasn’t instant. Whether the orcs would still remember the formulas by the time he neared the end was unknown but… they didn’t have much of a choice.
The sound of fierce battle cries could be heard outside but they were those of the enemies. The tribe’s people were getting slowly drowned out as more fell in battle.
“I am not sure how well this will work but I will leave it to you then…” With those words, Ed divided the available orcs into groups. Each group was responsible for one formula. There were at least 12 groups of 5 ready to listen.
Ed recounted the formula 3 times per group before grabbing a weapon and hurrying off. He could only hope things worked out on that side as he ran towards the tall wooden gates.
The sound of battle only grew louder as he neared. He mustered his strength and pushed open the gate which was usually handled by at least a couple of orcs.
“Where is that coward Vorgarag!?” Ed heard the angry yell of an orc woman soon after the gate opened up.
In front of him laid a brutal battlefield. The corpses of orcs were littered in front of the gate, their faces smashed apart by maces or their limbs ripped apart by axes, their ending was not in any way beautiful. Nonetheless, the bodies that could be identified did not show a sense of regret.
‘This is too much…’ Neither side was gaining any benefits from this. It was also to please a false god! Did he really have to fight such a pointless battle? He tuned out, the barbaric battlefield became hazy in his mind.
But…
“Ed!” He heard the yell of Shel who was facing off against multiple enemies, her wounds egregious. But even under such pressing circumstances, she was still able to notice his appearance and even warn him about incoming danger.
That’s right warn him. The crazy woman, Murbol, wanted to repay Vorgarag for his humiliating words and actions, how could she miss the opportunity when the gates opened up for her? She bulldozed through the resisting ally orcs, their axes cutting chunks of her flesh off. Still, her momentum seemed unstoppable as she was still able to get in front of the dazed Ed.
‘I think too much!’ Ed brandished his axe and readied himself. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
[Mental Fortitude has leveled up]
Ed lunged forward and released an intimidating strike towards the bulldozing Murbol who was forced to halt her speedy approach. Her momentum couldn’t just vanish into thin air, however. She did her best to block the axe swing with the thick mace she lugged around.
The swing dug deep into the ball of iron and the remaining force pushed Morbul onto the ground. The strength behind the swing left her dumbfounded, since when was there such a strong adversary in that decadent tribe!? Worthy was an understatement however as she realized she was not actually his match! Ed didn’t let her off easy and stepped on the grounded Murbol preventing her from getting up.
‘Fireball!’ Ed pointed his open palm towards Murbol and cast the fireball spell at point-blank with complete disregard for his own safety, why? Because he needed to finish Murbol off quickly to help Shel and the others. He couldn’t afford to dawdle.
The bright orange flames formed into a ball before being hurled towards the helpless Murbol. Unexpectedly, it exploded mid path! A fierce blade of wind intercepted the fireball causing it to combust early!
[You’ve been dealt damage. -83 hp]
The ball of fire exploded earlier than anticipated pushing Ed back and giving him more damage than he had anticipated. Nonetheless, the amount was still manageable as he possessed a whopping 800hp.
Murbol didn’t have Ed’s innate constitution however, not to mention Ed with upgraded attributes. Her injuries were naturally more severe than Ed who was at the same point-blank range. Her body bristled with glaring burns and her consciousness fleeting.
Ed glanced past the chaotic battlefield and noticed an orc shaman. He had a green and thorny wooden staff and wore a magician’s robe. Unlike Vorgarag, this opponent was most likely solely specialized in the field of magic.
The charred Murbol struggled to get Ed off her even though her serious injuries prevented her from exhibiting much strength. Ed didn’t even cast her a glance, his attention had shifted towards the distant mage who could be seen chanting another spell. Not only that, but the path that Murbol had opened up previously through the allied orcs was also newly opened as the dazed orcs were finished off. He had to close the gate or simply defend it.
‘Or…’ Ed cast a wall of earth to close the open gate before raising his axe to finish off the injured Murbol but…
‘What?!’ A throwing axe deflected his raised axe. Not only that but a small volley of rocks was flying towards him.
‘Earth shot!’ It was the earth shot spell which was currently hurling towards him at top speed. Ed braced himself and was brutally pummeled by the sharp stone-like clumps of earth.
[You’ve been dealt damage. -23 hp]
[You’ve been dealt a direct hit! -36 hp]
[You’ve been dealt damage. -18 hp]
[You’ve been dealt damage. -3 hp]
One of the sharp stones impaled his chest causing more damage than it could have otherwise. The others only graced his sides so he was left for the most part unharmed.
‘This could get really tricky!’ Ed had already lost nearly 20% of his health by a series of small attacks. Whether he could cross the distance before falling to the horde of enemy orcs was unknown. Had it not been for the timely level up of his mental fortitude skill his emotion would be that of despair.
‘I am not well acquainted with how to best use my spells in battle’ That thought was brought about by his inability to come up with a potential counterattack.
The others wouldn’t let him think in the midst of battle however as another axe came flying by. This time Ed glared at a distant yet accurate orc. He was probably another tribe leader like the shaman giving his skills.
‘If I can’t do it alone, we will do it together!’ Ed roused his mana and walls of earth separated the enemies and allies semi-accurately. For the most part, it was a great success as only some enemies were left on the inside.
The orcs, including the allied ones, were confused by the appearance of the wall but after overcoming that short bout of confusion they all cheered in excitement. Just one short breather! They needed just that under such an intense situation.
Still, Ed wasn’t entirely happy by his solution as it gobbled up a quarter of his mana to cast a weak yet tall wall. It would crumble entirely in less than a minute. Regardless, his purpose was to change the tide of battle and help his allies open a path for him.
‘I just need to cast more walls to limit the enemy’s movements’ Ed’s eyes shone with determination. He then shifted his gaze towards the injured Shel. His earthen walls were cast at a very opportune time for her as she nearly died.
‘I just need to buy more time’ If they were able to retreat inside the enemies wouldn’t be able to do much other than suffer casualties.
But life was full of unexpected circumstances. A strong orc, similar to Torgan, managed to somehow jump atop the earthen wall and let out a thunderous roar.
“Come small fries!” The orc yelled.