Chapter 53: Victory and Ambush (II)

Without delving into the emotions of those on the frontier, let’s focus on Donald’s performance on the battlefield.
The battle progressed swiftly. After all, a dragon was a dragon—even if it was just a young red dragon. Even the powerful orc warriors, whose average strength was above that of black iron rank, could not withstand the scorching breaths of the red dragon. Moreover, the orc forces lacked effective anti-air capabilities. Facing the highly lethal human catapults, they paled in comparison to the agile aerial units. Their stones, though powerful, had limited range and were easily dodged by the young red dragon.
Dozens of orc warriors were quickly eliminated by the dragon’s breaths, and Donald silently claimed their souls. Yet this action immediately caught the attention of the old shaman at the center of the orc camp, who had been watching the battle closely.
More than a dozen strong warriors were killed by attacks from the sky before they could even get close, causing panic among the orcs. But then, as a shorter shaman-priest from the orc camp began shouting wildly, a red light enveloped another pair of orc warriors. Immediately afterward, these warriors let out fierce roars, their muscles tensing as bloodthirsty red light flashed in their eyes as they charged forward.
Donald knew this was the most common spell used by orc shaman-priests: the Bloodthirst Spell. It could unleash a target’s potential, temporarily boosting their attack power by at least 30%. The downside was its short duration and the fact that the target would remain weakened for several hours after the spell ended. Even with orcs’ physical strength, they couldn’t withstand multiple applications of this spell.
Donald didn’t try to stop the enemy shaman from casting the spell, as it was his first time seeing such a mental spell in action. The previous young orc shaman had been unlucky—first, his magic was drained by the Magic Destroyer, and then he suffered from the effects of the Denial Rod and Shapeshifting Spell. He was rendered useless before he could fully utilize his abilities.
If that young shaman had managed to cast this spell first, Donald guessed he would still have won, but at the cost of many of his summoned warriors. It wouldn’t have been as easy as before, when he had achieved a decisive victory effortlessly!
Yet Donald wasn’t afraid at all. He had prepared thoroughly before coming here to handle any situation.
“In my name, emerge! Cave demons!”

This troop type belongs to the spider-like monster clan in the game. After being conquered by the Lich King, they joined the undead forces. Although classified as undead and also called demons, they are actually neither undead nor demonic creatures, so Donald can summon them without any concerns. After all, necromancers don’t have a very good reputation in human kingdoms! The Level 3 troop, Cave Demons, not only possess significant poison and physical damage capabilities but also can burrow underground, lurk, and spew massive webs. Their overall strength is almost on par with ordinary Level 5 magical beasts in this world. Caught in their sticky webs, even mid-bronze rank warriors cannot escape quickly. Not to mention the orc warriors, whose average combat strength has been enhanced by the Bloodthirst spell, but still only reaches the early bronze rank. A group of orc warriors trapped in the webs, weakened by the venom, struggled increasingly futilely until they were killed one by one as small hunting spiders under Donald’s command bit through their throats and drained their blood. Meanwhile, Donald, the mastermind behind all this, calmly took out fragments of the Soul Ball to collect soul shards in secret. Seeing this situation, roars of anger came from the orc camp, while the human coalition at the fortress was horrified. Such combat strength from these elite orc warriors enhanced by the Bloodthirst spell was equivalent to one of the most elite hundred-cavalry squads in the coalition. After all, orc warriors are traditionally three times stronger than human soldiers. The ability to single-handedly eliminate nearly thirty elite orc warriors, including those driven mad by the Bloodthirst spell, shows a strength far greater than that of an ordinary bronze mage. Truly a rare and powerful summoner—indeed formidable! As for those who had offended Donald, they began to worry secretly. Many nobles who had been pressured by others to suppress Donald had already decided to change sides in their hearts! “Aunt, what do you think of Merlinna’s strength?” On the fortress walls, Prince Duri, the second prince of Celt, quietly asked the mysterious mage Edwina beside him.

The marquise gently raised her head, revealing a fair chin, and spoke in a dignified and noble voice, “This summoner’s strength far exceeds what one would expect of his rank; even bronze-level summoners may not possess such sustained combat ability. In my opinion, it might be the effect of that mystical staff in his hands or some other magical equipment. But undoubtedly, this young mage is a genius with great potential! What’s more remarkable is his age—only seventeen years old and already at the mid-stage black iron level of a summoner. What an incredible talent! To be honest, I even feel a bit jealous of this kid’s talent! No wonder that old Messel values him so much as to give away the white crystal ring passed down by his teacher!”

The young general beside her was moved by these words and said with a smile, “Is that so? Then it seems I should get to know this mage, Merlinna, as well. Judging from today’s situation, Merlinna has quite a few enemies. There might be problems by the end of the war. Our Ansel family will not let those who fight for the kingdom and make great contributions go unrewarded! By then…”

Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud cheer from the fortress. It turned out that the battle below had ended, and the summoner Donald had single-handedly defeated all the orc warriors who dared challenge him.

Calling over the griffon waiting in the air above the fortress, he was about to mount it and return to the fortress to receive praise when he saw the old shaman from the orc camp wave his wooden staff adorned with colorful cloth strips. A green light, swift as smoke and arrow, silently shot toward Donald.

Hearing the screams from the fortress, Donald knew something was wrong. The griffon, as his summoned creature, suddenly flapped its wings and rushed forward to shield its master.

That old shaman was clearly a powerful fighter, at least at the peak of bronze or even silver level. His attack was indeed extraordinary.

The green light struck the griffon in an instant. Even a large bird of prey like the griffon let out a pained cry before turning into a ball of green light and disappearing from this world.

“At just a teenager’s age, he already possesses strength comparable to intermediate professionals. What an incredible talent and potential!”

“And it seems the souls of the orcs who died in previous battles haven’t returned to their ancestral spirits—this must be the work of this mage.”

The old shaman, disregarding his status, decided to launch a surprise attack. It was clear he had made up his mind to eliminate this human mage from the battlefield, lest he grow up to become a great threat to the orcs.

I didn’t expect the opponent’s summoned creature to actively protect its master and save his life. By the time I tried to act again, the human mage in the fortress was already on guard.