31 The Unexpected

"He's gone..." Damian thought as he watched the demon walk away, wondering why those demons hesitated so much.

What are they running from if they are superior?

Something truly incredible must be happening for those demons not to attack. What exactly do they want to achieve on this battlefield, using orcs more than themselves to advance?

When Damian and the others returned to the castle, now turned into a great fortress, Luther handed over the orc heads to the person in charge of recording casualties.

Although military merit cannot be negotiated after registration, there is still room for manipulation before registration.

Noble officers often exchange merit for gold coins, lands, or other resources they may need. Many times, ten gold coins were given for one merit point.

A soldier's dream is to retire after years of service and live a peaceful life in the South, where that gold would be of great use. However, most soldiers basically do not give up their merits to advance in the army and become nobles.

For example, many families on the northern border acquired lands and, when they had the opportunity, became nobles, whose descendants now bravely fight on the battlefield.

Damian wonders if his parents had any title he could claim, but he doesn't care now that he has a mission, which is to fight against demons.

Entering the command room, Damian told the strategists what he had seen.

Upon learning that the orcs blocking the passage were not strong enough, one of the captains said excitedly, "After they left, two squads of scouts stationed nearby arrived, so our forces have increased."

This cavalry is a reconnaissance brigade directly under the legion's command, and the officer leading these soldiers was Captain Marvin.

Captain Marvin is a lieutenant colonel officer and a very powerful warrior who has participated in many battlefields.

Knowing that reinforcements had arrived early, Damian, knowing that things were much more favorable, asked, "So, can we now attack with a much greater chance of success in regaining the route the enemy has taken and send a message to the main legion to send reinforcements?"

"What is the situation on the field?"

"The orcs successfully blocked the route we used to send resources and move the wounded. They must have seen it for some time, so they knew the best time to attack us."

After hearing these explanations, the strategists realized something very important.

"What we must do is open the way and recover the route to the canyon. Before, our strength would have been insufficient. But now that Captain Marvin is with us, this battle could be very straightforward."

Damian knew many other things, but in the end, he agreed with all of them and said, "Then we must immediately inform Captain Marvin about the enemy and the situation we are in so that we are all in agreement with the situation he wants to address."

The two went together to Lieutenant Colonel Marvin's quarters, and Damian detailed the enemy situation detected this time.

Marvin listened attentively and asked for details from time to time. Every time he asked about something that he needed to know precisely, he seemed like a man with rich experience and attention to detail.

After hearing the intelligence, Marvin thought for a moment and said decisively, "The attack must be swift. If it is delayed too long, the orcs could have reinforcements and completely enclose Baron Harden."

As Marvin said, Damian agreed on many points, especially that they could be attacked by more enemies if they delayed.

"I think we can act immediately and use the cavalry directly to attack the enemy camp."

"Alright, how many people can your squad send?" Luther, who was in charge of the vanguard, asked curiously, just to have the numbers in mind.

"Our squad has fifteen horses, four carriages, and three catapults. If we count the less capable horses for our maneuvers, we could triple the numbers." Marvin had been analyzing this since he arrived at this fortress, so his numbers were directly exposed.

"After breakfast, we will depart immediately. If we win this battle, everyone will get more than just credit. Especially the officers responsible for detecting the enemy situation will be the first contributors to the victory of this battle."

Damian said nothing about this; he didn't care about credits because, in a way, he didn't feel like he belonged to the army even though he fought in it. As they were about to leave, Marvin asked, "Mage, how powerful are you?"

"I'm not sure; I haven't found out until now."

Marvin looked at Damian and asked, "Can you handle the demons?"

"Sure, I can; as long as they show up, I'll take care of them." Damian wasn't sure how confident he should be about this, but he would surely take care of the demons. The only reason he hadn't gone alone to eliminate all those enemies was caution.

He might be strong now, but even strong people are killed, and he wasn't sure of his survival, especially when he had no spells to escape the combat in case things got really bad.

...

At the canyon exit where humans used the route to bring resources to the fortresses, about nine kilometers from Harden's castle, all soldiers began to mobilize.

This nine-kilometer path is in the forest, and the enemy can easily set an ambush, so their advance must first be granted to the scouts.

Overall, the speed of passing through these nine kilometers of forest paths will be very slow. When they reach the canyon entrance, the orcs will discover them, so they must find a way not to lose the element of surprise.

Lieutenant Colonel Marvin was a decisive person; he trusted Damian's research intelligence and did not send a large number of scouts into the forest. Instead, they used a silent formation that moved very quickly, and soon they arrived at the orc camps.

Upon discovering the enemy's arrival, the orc camp immediately panicked. Commander Orgrim shouted loudly and raised his horns to defend against the cavalry charge.

Marvin quickly organized the cavalry formation and, taking advantage of the panic in the orc camp, personally led the team to charge towards the enemy.

Damian was mounted on a horse next to Marvin; his job now was to take care of this man's life to ensure the orders given to the soldiers.

The cavalry formation was in the shape of an arrow, with the most experienced knights riding very large warhorses with steel armor that protected them from many wounds, giving them monstrous advancing capabilities even against demons.

With heavy armor, the speed of the mount is not slow at all, surpassing that of ordinary light cavalry.

Most importantly, the iron mounts have spells, are effective in combat, are equivalent to a monstrous wolf of the enemy, and are horses that are aware of participating in a battle.

Damian took the lead, panting heavily, and the fierce wind blew against his face, causing his cheeks to ache slightly.

Damian's pupils suddenly shrank; he raised his hand, and numerous lightning bolts shot out from his fingers towards the enemy.

In an instant, there were numerous blue lightning bolts moving through the enemy camp, charing the bodies of the orcs who were moving hastily towards them.

Orgrim ignored the magical attacks and took a step forward so that all his soldiers would form a formation, but at the same time, numerous lightning bolts pierced through his soldiers, knocking them down.

At that moment, magical arrows, catapult impacts, and dozens of spells were launched against them, being very precise in each of these attacks, killing a dozen orcs who were taking up arms.

A round of feathered arrows cost them a tenth of their soldiers.

Seeing that the enemy was preparing their bows and arrows again, Orgrim's eyes almost burst into flames. He drew his sword, roared savagely, and ran out of the camp, trying to kill the enemy.

Damian had visualized the demons attacking other mages, but his mind told him to take care of the orc, so moving his hand, he launched a lance covered with lightning bolts.

Orgrim extended his hand to lift a shield; his fighting spirit illuminated his hand, and the shield shone white, blocking him in front of him.

The lance violently hit the shield, and the powerful impulse made Orgrim take a step back.

Before he could react, Damian had already used other attacks, impacting against the shield.

Although it's not easy to use magical spells while riding something that moves, none of his spells failed to hit their targets.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At that moment, when they clashed against the scattered orcs, the horse Damian was riding was hit by an enemy arrow, piercing through its armor and killing it with a single shot.

Damian, who was not tied to the horse, had jumped forward, and without looking back, he used a spell that covered his entire body with electric rays to increase his speed.

"They won't escape death!" Damian looked at Orgrim, but without looking aside, he aimed at a figure in the sky that was casting spells towards their allies, and at that moment, a powerful violet lightning struck his shield bearers, destroying them in a single strike.

Boom!

Damian perceived how the lightning had hit the demon's chest, so as he fell, he formed an electric arc, and in fractions of seconds, he turned around, shooting an Indra arrow much more powerful than others launched before.

"I'll take care of those in front; don't let any orc escape because nothing must leave here!" Damian shouted as he unsheathed his sword and disappeared from where he was initially.

At the same time, the sky seemed to darken, and at that moment, violet thunder struck the trees in the distance where some orcs were trying to flee.

In just a few seconds, a circle of persistent lightning bolts made this entire camp enclosed, humans against demons, a battle of life or death where only one side would remain alive.