Chapter Eighty: The Two-headed Ogre
2014-11-28
Author: Floating Tower (Author)
“Fall back.” Soren exchanged glances with the other adventurers and began to retreat.
There were too many ogres; this was not a joke. If they were discovered, they wouldn’t be able to escape. The ogres could sprint quickly across the plains, not to mention that many of these tribe-forming ogres could unleash frenzied bloodlust. Although the ogres would enter a weakened state after their frenzy, that period could very easily result in their complete annihilation.
“This is likely to be a tough battle!” Once they gained some distance, the half-elf ranger looked at the others and said in a low voice, “Exorcising these ogres won’t be easy, especially with a two-headed ogre wizard added to the mix. The chances of success are even lower.”
Another adventurer, who appeared to be a warrior also serving as a wandering swordsman, nodded seriously, “We’ll have to rely on the foundation of White Horse City. After all, such a mission would definitely require high-level professionists. If a high-level wizard gets involved, driving away these ogres might not be impossible.”
An advanced professionist is in the first tier; from level 5 is the second tier, and from level 10 is the third tier.
Typically, when people speak of high-level professionists, they mean those with a profession level of 15 or above. Such beings are rare in any location and, at the very least, hold high-level officer positions in cities. Most of the adventurers on this outing are between the second and third tiers, with very few, if any, above level 15 taking risks. Even if they do take risks, it’s usually not in the wilderness, as they have more options available. If they wished, they could easily enter the ruling class, become one of the few gang leaders within cities, or join organizations as mid- to high-level managers. In terms of power and wealth, it’s far more than what ordinary adventurers could obtain!
Soren, however, did not respond. He thought that regardless of success or failure, self-preservation was the most important thing. Ensuring his own safety while gaining more killing experience was the key. After all, on the battlefield, swords have no eyes; he certainly wouldn’t enter the thick of the fight this time. The strength of the White Horse City army would need to be assessed in such combat. It seemed that White Horse City’s previous failures had taught them something; otherwise, they wouldn’t have brought golems along.
The other adventurers had already returned with news ahead of them.
It was not surprising that there were capable individuals among them who returned earlier.
The army of White Horse City had separated from them, and the person in charge of this operation had yet to show themselves, making it seem as though they were sneaking around, leaving many adventurers dissatisfied. After all, this is a war. Whether it’s a general from White Horse City or a noble from the council, at the very least, they should let the adventurers see their strength. It gives them at least a bit of reassurance. Without the involvement of high-tier professionists in such battles, the casualties would be staggering, and some adventurers had already begun to prepare for retreat.
After all, no one would throw away their lives for a few gold coins of Gind as a reward! The army of White Horse City continued to advance; based on the intelligence collected, engineers had already begun assembling war machines. Golems appeared before people’s eyes, with wizards and their apprentices starting to conduct energy control and charging. Most of them were stone golems, with a few iron golems among them. The craft of golem making is widespread among wizards and requires high proficiency in alchemy; generally, only third-tier wizards can create them. These golems are extremely heavy and consume a great deal of energy, rarely carried as personal guards, usually deployed on the battlefield or to guard wizard towers.
A troop of two thousand was hard to hide from the ogres.
Especially in such a plain area, when Soren and the others spotted the ogre fortress, the werewolves they enslaved had already detected the army’s tracks.
Ogre Fortress.
A two-headed ogre wizard let out a deep roar, shouting, “Prepare for battle! You fools! Everyone, grab your weapons and put the captives in cages.”
It glanced back, where a werewolf scout was kneeling, and slowly said, “Good. My slave.”
“I’ll give you freedom. If you continue to serve me, I’ll help you become the new Warlord of Werewolves. On my territory, I can grant you land to establish your own tribe.”
Ogres have many vassals; they understand how to enslave most creatures in the wilderness.
Strong ogres gathered together; it’s hard to distinguish their gender. They all appear very similar and are born able to eat meat without needing a nursing period. The young ogres can weigh up to thirty pounds, and those who are not sufficiently strong will be abandoned or even killed and eaten. These creatures may seem foolish, but they possess strong combat instincts, with most having an intelligence of about six points, even dumber than wolves. Occasionally, among these ogres, wizards and sorcerers with extraordinary intelligence emerge.
Thick iron spikes and flails were distributed to the ogres, while the enslaved goblins busily helped them don armor, which was mostly shoddily-made and hasty work. Some goblins possessed a forging ability of 50 points, and the ogre tribe also had the craft of forging weapons and armor. The characteristic of this equipment is that it is heavy and sturdy, mostly consisting of separate pieces, like spiked shoulder armor, heavy gauntlets, and cast breastplates. The craft possessed by ogres cannot produce complete armor, as the equipment is simply made by melting iron and casting it, relying on weight for strong defensive capabilities.
“Gather the Bonebreaker Hunters.”
The two-headed ogre wizard roared, and under its rage, the ogres gathered into simple formations, entirely different from other chaotic ogre groups as they had undergone strict training.
Crack!
A loud whip crack resounded.
An ogre fully clad in armor and wielding a heavy battle axe stepped forward. It struck other ogres with its whip, which would nearly k*ll a werewolf but only left a red mark on these ogres; the strong ogre supervisor roared, “Fools! Gather!”
“Warriors of the Bonebreaker Tribe, come forward and take your weapons.”
Heavy battle axes, spiked armor, leather armor sewn from humanoid and beast skins, and iron spears over two meters in length were all handed out to the ogre warriors. These larger ogres smeared their faces with white ash, marking intricate designs; some had short horns growing on their foreheads, about ten centimeters long, and their bodies bore strange tattoos – part of some ancient ritual. Shamans would cut their arms with daggers, applying certain substances and feeding them a special potion.
Ogres who undergo this ritual become stronger, their skin akin to tough cowhide, while also activating some latent powers, entering a frenzied bloodlust state.
Iron weapons, cast iron armor, throwing spears, heavy flying axes—about one or two hundred ogres were armed.
Some ogres wielding whips opened beast cages, driving out wild boars weighing around half a ton, with sharp steel tusks on their backs. These were iron-spined wild boars living deep in the wilderness, among the few beasts that ogres understood how to domesticate and rear. Ogres do not farm for food; they selectively tame and raise special wild beasts. In times of war, these beasts also serve as their strength, adept at driving captives and attacking enemies, effectively exhausting the enemy’s strength first.
The visibility in the plains is quite open.
Moreover, the ogre fortress was built halfway up the mountain, making it easy to spot the advancing army of White Horse City from a distance.
The two-headed ogre wizard led the army to the foot of the mountain; ogres rarely rely on fortress defenses, as once combat begins, the frenzied ogres rush out to slash and k*ll indiscriminately. Behind them, ogres wielding whips urged on the werewolves and goblins; these lowly creatures were not even qualified to serve as their cannon fodder.
Boom, boom, boom!
The dull sound of war drums echoed as an ogre, seemingly an advanced shaman, struck a war drum made from mammoth skin, letting out a roar to the sky.
“Humans!”
The voice of the two-headed ogre sounded like rolling thunder as it cast a spell on itself, standing at the forefront of the ogre formation, it shouted towards the approaching White Horse City guard squad, “Before you stands the Demigod Heigor, the Astral Traveler Glorazado, and descendant of the Dragon Slayer Golondo!”
“Two-headed Ogre Chieftain – Golor!”
“This land will become the territory of the Bonebreaker Tribe; let your chieftain come out and speak with me!”
A slight disturbance occurred among the White Horse City guard squad; the intelligence of this group of ogres exceeded their imagination, as their opponent was even using common tongue.
“Form ranks!”
A sharp female voice rang out, and then a lithe figure stepped forward, clad in exquisite rune leather armor, holding a war spear. Her black hair was tied with a ribbon, and a scar ran across her striking face. Yet, this was not the most eye-catching thing; more surprising to the adventurers than the fact that the leader of White Horse City was female was that her prominent chest was only on one side, with her right breast clearly having been removed.
The Rite of the Cut Breast!
The adventurers stirred slightly; some gasped, “The female warrior from the Tropical Jungle!”
“How could White Horse City allow that group of women to lead the army?!”
The fierce-looking female warrior stepped to the front; she spun her war spear, plunging it into the ground, and arcs of lightning flickered in her palms and on her weapon. Standing at the forefront of the army, her hands clasping the spear jumped with lightning flashes, reminiscent of a Valkyrie from mythical times, quickly uplifting the initially disturbed troops.
“Legendary Domain?! Lord of Storms?!”
Soren’s pupils narrowed slightly, and the other adventurers displayed equally astonished expressions; standing before them was actually a legendary-level professionist.
A Storm Lord advanced from the faith of the God of Storms among priests, warriors, druids, and barbarians!
