Chapter 8: Earth Dragon Warriors
Komer had noticed the worry on the face of this barbarian officer he had met before. Earth Dragon Warriors were not effective against such magical beasts. Although Earth Dragons had a fearsome appearance, their massive bodies might be ideal for charging into battle, but using them against agile orcs was clearly the wrong choice. Yet, with the help of barbarian infantry warriors, Earth Dragon Warriors still managed to achieve remarkable results through daring attacks. The two female orcs that fell beneath the sharp dragon spears were proof of this. But this only enraged the remaining orcs. It was now impossible to retreat from the battle. With the highly vengeful orcs and barbarian warriors locked in a deadly struggle, there was no other way out except to kill all six remaining orcs.
“Mr. Wolin, it seems these orcs have gone mad. Your warriors will likely find it difficult to deal significant damage to them with their current weapons. The orcs’ weak points are under their armpits, groin, and throats; ordinary weapons cannot harm their other parts.” Illot couldn’t hide his anxiety as he watched the orcs charge around as if unimpeded. He still carried the skins of several orcs he had stripped earlier. If these orcs broke through the encirclement, their keen sense of smell would likely make him their first target.
“Mr. Ilot, there’s no need for you to teach us how to fight these monsters. We’ve dealt with them for much longer than you have, and we know their weak points better than you mortals. But look—those six ogres have already adapted to our attacks, and the situation is chaotic. It’s difficult for us to form a solid encirclement. These guys are cunning; they take advantage of the unfavorable terrain to break through our defenses. On top of that, we didn’t expect to encounter ogres at all, let alone eight of them. What bad luck! It’s said there aren’t any special monsters in this area, so it’s surprising we ran into them. Thankfully, we’re on patrol this time and have enough men; otherwise, we’d be in trouble. It’s a shame our mountain warriors’ weapons aren’t better—otherwise, these ogres would have been defeated long ago. Now, I’m afraid I’ll have to go handle this myself.” He carefully picked up the dark, thick back axe at his waist; its sharp blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Taking a deep breath, the burly man tightened his heavy armor before saying, “Gentlemen, I don’t have the authority to decide on territorial boundaries. But since the lord has provided proof, I believe our chief will give you a fair and reasonable explanation. Once we’ve dealt with these ogres, I’ll discuss this further with you.”
With that, he stepped forward to leave. “Wait, Mr. Wolin!”
Comer’s call stopped Wolin, who was about to charge into battle. By now, the ogres had expanded their encirclement around the barbarian warriors. From time to time, ogres would break through the defenses under the cover of their allies, dragging out a barbarian warrior. The strong barbarian warriors, in the hands of those immensely powerful ogres, were like puppets—their bodies torn apart effortlessly, their bloody internal organs scattered on the ground. The thick stench of blood mixed with the poisonous fumes emitted from the ogres’ armpit glands filled the entire battlefield, giving people the feeling of being in hell even under the scorching sun.
“Lord, is there anything else? I have other matters to attend to. Let’s discuss anything else after resolving the current problem,” Komer was interrupted impatiently. Seeing several warriors fall to the orcs’ attacks in a row, Wolin also grew nervous. The combat strength of these orcs was far beyond their previous understanding of their ancestral forebears—theTerror ape. Although theTerror ape appeared more terrifying in appearance, they were nowhere near as strong in terms of intelligence, defense, or attack power compared to these orcs. Killing two of them had required the Earth Dragon warriors to launch surprise attacks and shoot them in the throat. But now, the orcs were clearly more vigilant against the Earth Dragon warriors. The infantry soldiers clustered together not only hindered the Earth Dragon warriors but also created gaps in their defensive lines due to the Earth Dragons’ large movement range. Yet the burly man could do nothing about it; he didn’t dare take the risk. If the infantry were scattered and the orcs broke through, his side would be forced to fight on its own, which could even lead to total defeat.
“I have a suggestion. Perhaps the Earth Dragon warriors should temporarily withdraw from the battlefield. Let the mountain warriors tighten the encirclement. Avoid attacking; just use thick shields to strengthen defense and prevent them from escaping. Then, have outsiders launch attacks to trap them. Create a passage to lure them out and concentrate forces to kill them!” Komer also realized the severity of the situation. If he allowed these orcs to escape, he and Ilot would likely face the same fate. For now, they had to work together to resolve this problem first. Maybe they could even earn these barbarians’ deep gratitude. After all, the barbarians’ creed was to repay kindness with generosity. By saving their lives, he believed they would reward him handsomely. That was Komer’s plan.
“An attack from outside the battlefield? My lord, is there something wrong with your mind? Orcs’ bodies can’t be pierced by swords or spears, and javelins are useless against them. How can we launch an attack? Aside from the dragon spears of the Earth Dragon warriors, which can deal some damage, I guess only the knife in my hand can help. Is your suggestion really… Enough. You two had better leave and hide now, so as not to be frightened by these horrible scenes, you noble lords.” He forced himself to stop speaking, remembering that Komer had once helped his clan through difficult times, and that the chain beads used as a token by the chief were still in Komer’s possession. The burly man turned his head away in anger, refusing to pay any more attention to this lord with a faulty mind.
“Mr. Wolin, please let our chief finish speaking. How could we dare take action without proper preparation? These three orc skins on my back are the result of our joint efforts, and the bloodstains on them still haven’t faded. They’re surely better than those hundreds of people who’ve been stuck there for hours without any solution.” Even though he was facing these tall and muscular barbarian warriors, Eilot couldn’t help but become furious. The others clearly regarded his group as weak and useless, not realizing that since they dared come here, they were by no means easy opponents. They had completely forgotten the embarrassing situation they had faced when dealing with that orc earlier.
“What?!” A dazzling light suddenly flashed in the burly man’s eyes, piercing through Komer and Eilot’s faces like needles, making both of them realize that this man was far from being just an ordinary barbarian officer as they had initially thought.
At this moment, Eilot was also full of confidence. With these incredibly strong barbarian warriors as shields and his chief, a genius magician, casting spells behind him, this battle surely wouldn’t be as life-threatening as before.
“Look, what is this? These are skins I just stripped off three orcs. There’s no deception here. Let me tell you, dealing with these guys requires both strength and wisdom. Courage alone won’t solve everything. Even if you have extraordinary combat skills, there are eight orcs here—can you single-handedly defeat all eight?”
Some harsh words failed to anger the burly man; his attention was entirely drawn to the orc skins spread out by Eirwen. Indeed, they were freshly skinned, and the pungent smell of blood proved that these orcs had died no more than two hours ago. In other words, the howls heard from the north earlier must have been the sounds made by these two as they killed several orcs.
“Lord, were these three orcs truly slain by you two?” Although he knew such a question was somewhat impolite, the burly man still wanted to hear the answer firsthand.
“Mm, sort of. Eirwen did the killing, but I also contributed,” Komer replied, understanding the implication behind the question, his calm expression remaining unchanged.
“Just the two of you killed three orcs?” the burly man pressed further. He couldn’t believe these two could be so skilled. The young man claiming to be the Caucasus Lord didn’t stand out at all, with nothing remarkable about him, while the other one seemed barely competent. If escaping the orcs was already a miracle, let alone killing them—the burly man simply couldn’t fathom it.
“Hehe, it seems Mr. Wolin isn’t quite convinced. Would you like our boss to demonstrate for you right here?” Eirwen asked with a smile.
Seeing the confident demeanor of the two, the burly man’s eyes narrowed slightly before he said solemnly, “If you two could show me, Wolin would be deeply grateful.”
Komer watched the burly man with admiration. Barbarians were naturally proud and reluctant to bow their heads in front of others. “One can lose their head or bleed, but never their dignity”—this was a phrase often repeated by barbarians, especially when facing mortals they looked down upon. Yet this burly man was willing to humbly ask him for help to save his subordinates. Komer couldn’t help but be moved.
A jade-white staff silently appeared in Komer’s hand. Surprise flashed in the burly man’s eyes. At this moment, he finally understood why Komer and his companion were so confident. So that’s how it is!
“So Lord is a magician?!” The burly man nodded vigorously. “I never imagined Lord was so skilled in magic. No wonder you could defeat the orcs so easily!”
“I’m sorry, Komer only has a basic understanding of magic—far from mastery. But he’s willing to contribute to dealing with these damned creatures.” Though Komer’s tone was quite humble, he was full of confidence in defeating these ogres.
“If Lord commands magical assistance, defeating these beasts should be a piece of cake.” The burly man finally realized that the lord’s mastery of magic was an undeniable fact. Having a mage with powerful magical skills as a neighbor—was that good or bad? A shadow passed through his mind, but now wasn’t the time to consider that.
“Then please ask Mr. Wolin to instruct his men to follow my plan. These ogres have been fighting against the noble warriors for so long that they’ve lost their edge. But if I attack with magic, they’ll surely fight to the death. At that moment, I’ll create openings and let these beasts break through in waves. Mr. Wolin, Eirwen, and the two earth dragon warriors can use their weapons to strike at their vital points, achieving a one-shot kill!” Komer finally shared his idea: using Wolin and Eirwen’s attacks as feints, with the real killing blows coming from the earth dragon warriors’ dragon spear thrusts.
Wolin finally accepted Komer’s suggestion. Seeing the ogres’ attacks grow more fierce, he realized that if things continued like this, they might break through, with unimaginable consequences. He had no confidence in solving this problem alone, while Komer’s plan allowed all forces to be combined—of course, depending on how well this mage-lord mastered his magical skills.
As his left hand, holding the staff, swayed gently, his right hand’s fingers, seemingly weak, murmured words as if coming from the netherworld: “Snake dances in the depths; my heart remains unchanged. Fire spirit, without distinction between front and back! God of Nature, I swear by your name—may the elements manifest as all things. Please grant strength to your faithful followers!”
Komer’s mastery of this top-tier fire magic spell had improved vastly since his first use in defending against the attacks of the gray wolves. His growing mana supply also eliminated any concerns he once had when casting this advanced fire spell. Although it still demanded a significant amount of mana, Komer no longer had to worry about mana backlash. Fire magic had always been Komer’s strength among elemental spells. While casting “Dance of the Golden Snake,” he even combined it with the powerful support spell “Elemental Storm.” Although “Elemental Storm” wasn’t very high in rank, it was a highly practical spell for gathering elements, capable of drawing in large amounts of elements from space in a short time. On its own, it was practically useless without other spells, but when used alongside any other elemental spell, it greatly enhanced the offensive power of those spells.
A ring of fire, two meters in diameter, slowly rose and rolled through the air. The sky-blue flames suddenly transformed into a golden hue due to the massive accumulation of fire elements, as if even the air was burning. The ring continued to expand, guided by Komer’s staff, and moved rapidly toward the sky above the tightly formed defensive circle. Though prepared, the barbarian warriors, who had never seen anything close to such a natural wonder, couldn’t help but become noisy. In the minds of these warriors who worshipped nature deities, such a miracle could only be accomplished by a god or a messenger of the gods. This was also why Komer invested so much mana in performing it—to impress these powerful barbarians first, gain an advantage in future negotiations, and establish an image of a divine being in their hearts.
Komer’s “Dance of the Golden Snake” caused panic among the barbarian warriors. Fortunately, this panic was short-lived. The orcs, who could have taken advantage of this gap to launch a surprise attack, were also distracted by this strange phenomenon in the sky, losing their last chance to escape. A massive ring of fire slowly enveloped the orcs. At this point, they felt the punishment from above. Faced with this unstoppable natural attack, they were utterly panicked and did not know how to respond. Apart from futile attempts to dodge, their intelligence could not devise any strategy. Meanwhile, the barbarian warriors, inspired by this thrilling sight, tightened their encirclement, preventing the orcs trying to avoid the fiery attack from escaping.
When the ring of fire descended to just five meters above the ground, with a short yet loud whistle from Wolin, the barbarian soldiers, who had already received orders, immediately retreated quickly at the same moment. The ring of fire then plummeted downward and crashed to the ground, engulfing the unprepared orcs in flames. As soon as it hit the ground, the flames surged violently, rising over ten meters high and plunging the entire area into darkness.
Terrifying howls echoed across the field once again, but the barbarian warriors did not relax their grip. These extremely fierce orcs far surpassed any magical beasts the barbarians had encountered before. Especially their intelligence meant that many tactics originally designed to deal with magical beasts were now used by the orcs against their own kind—feinting attacks, luring enemies away, dividing forces for coordinated strikes. These tactics, typically associated with human intelligence, were now being employed in battle by these magical beasts, which was truly terrifying. Thankfully, there was magic—a higher manifestation of human intelligence—that these beasts could not master. At most, they could use some innate magical properties of their bodies to inflict damage on enemies, but they could not yet harness the ability to interact with nature to enhance their powers. Otherwise, the world would likely have long become a realm of magical beasts.
As the flames continued to scorch the monsters inside the fire ring, the intense pain became unbearable for them. To prevent them from resorting to a desperate last stand, Komer timely severed part of the fire ring, allowing them to break free from the aerial attack. Yet they were met with the deadly tactics already prepared by Volen and Ilot. Meanwhile, the Dragon Spear Assaulters, lurking nearby, also dealt a devastating blow to the orcs, who were busy defending against Volen and Ilot’s attacks. This level of combat prowess, representing the highest standard among barbarian warriors, was sufficient to pierce through any armor. Especially when they concentrated all their strength on a single point, their unstoppable force seemed to Komer to be the pinnacle of physical attacks. Imagine a spear weighing hundreds of pounds being hurled with full force at one point—even a holy knight equipped with an advanced defensive shield might not be able to withstand it, let alone just a monster.
Two consecutive openings allowed five orcs to perish, and the last, the strongest of them, although he managed to evade the Dragon Spear Assaulters’ fierce attacks, was ultimately killed by the combined assault of the five men and Komer’s lightning magic. Komer’s lightning magic once again demonstrated the power of magic to the barbarian warriors. Even the dragons under Volen’s command, who were usually unyielding, showed fear after witnessing Komer’s repeated use of lightning magic. All this filled the burly man Volen with concern.
As for the items on these orcs, aside from eight magic cores that held no value to the barbarians, Komer generously handed over the monster skins, which the barbarians regarded as treasures, to them to keep. His generosity won him their sincere gratitude. In the barbarians’ worldview, only the stronger party in a battle had the right to claim the spoils. Given how brutal this battle was—costing nearly fifty warriors out of two hundred—Komer almost became an idol in the eyes of the barbarians, second only to their leader. This development left the burly Volen deeply anxious yet helpless.
Komer accepted Volen’s invitation without hesitation. They agreed that a month later, Komer would personally visit the Jiarong tribe, located 120 miles south of Bahomon. This was one of the thirteen tribes in the barbarian alliance led by Volen. Jia Xi, the chief of the Jiarong tribe and the man Komer had met in the city of Seipulus, would host Komer warmly at the heart of the tribe.
Komer’s expedition to Bahomun was highly successful: it not only eliminated the threat of ogres but also secured the approval of the barbarians, who had almost turned hostile, regarding the demarcation of territorial boundaries. Hundreds of miles of land fell back into Komer’s control. Although it seems somewhat remote now, Komer believes that one day the pioneers will set foot there, and that time is not too far off. Through this joint battle, the barbarians also initially accepted their status as neighbors and earned Komer’s respect, which he considers the greatest gain. Over the next two days, Komer and Ilot explored the area around the boundary now recognized by the barbarians, finding no more signs of ogres. This hunt against the ogres ended in a complete victory.