บท 31: The Critical Decision.
"Dynasties online is not a place to play it safe all the time."
"This is because most of the greatest rewards require great risk."
"Those who are not willing to risk everything in the pursuit of victory will never be able to snatch a situation from the jaws of defeat."
Reginald Coulan, creator and head of House Aurellion in dynasties online.
….
[System notification]
[Congratulations to the player for achieving the hidden bonus objective 'David and Goliath' by successfully killing Naguk, the formation crusher.]
[Rewards will be given if the player passes the Dynasty history event.]
[Attention! Your vice general Lyndon Gladorus has died! Morale of Chavarian troops will be reduced by 20%!]
[Lyndon Gladorus died in a heroic way protecting his men and preventing the front line from collapsing, temporarily negating the morale hit and increasing stats of all men under his command by 20% for 1 hour due to being filled with rage. However, once this time has expired, all stats will be reduced by 20% for the remainder of the battle]
Lucius looked to the top right corner of his vision, where a series of system notifications appeared.
He then looked down at the battlefield again and at the large orc who was surrounded by 100 slain Chavarian archers slowly making his way towards him before hearing Naguks cry of pain and the ground below him vibrate his eyes as wide as saucers stopped and looked towards the dead body of the giant orc with surprise before they began to water up.
"Little brother!"
"Those human bastards killed my blood brother."
The big orc said to himself quietly, his body shaking with rage as his roar resounded through the battlefield.
"Which little shit killed my little brother? COME OUT! I'll rip your body into little chunk-sized pieces and feast on your rotting flesh."
The big orc roared, charging back towards the frontline; each swing of his large battle-axe sent a man flying into the air 50 feet before crashing to the ground and spitting up a mouthful of blood as he carved a bloody path towards his dead blood brother, determined to kill the man responsible.
Sorrell ran back over to Archtorius, throwing a dagger piercing the neck of an orc about to behead the young man with his axe as he ran to protect his young master, the limp right arm leaving the young nobleman vulnerable to being attacked.
Sorrell picked up his sword from the lifeless body of another orc who nearly took Archtorius' life, slowly moving him towards the safest place on the battlefield right now, which was by Lucius' side, not knowing that a large orc was coming from that way looking for their heads.
"Young master, what have I said about overextending yourself? Look at what happened! You almost died! You know that I have to get closer to that giant orc than you to throw the spear I picked up from one of our fallen comrades, but you still did such a reckless action like breaking your arm on the battlefield."
"What will the old count do if you die? You are the hope of the county! Your other brothers cannot match your honour, integrity or talent!"
Sorrell lectured in a scolding tone, trying to reason with Archtorius.
"But I have you, don't I? You won't let anything happen to me. See, even with a broken arm, I am still unharmed, well, except for self-inflicted injuries anyway; I wanted to save Lyndon's life if I could; he's a good man and taught me quite a bit on the subject of strategy and the art of war."
Sorrell sighed at his young master's response before a dark expression appeared on his face, and the ageing man turned his body around at lightning-fast speed, sensing a blow coming from behind and using his sword to parry it.
CLANG!
The sound of metal striking metal boomed through the battlefield as Sorrell came face to face with the ornate armoured 6 foot 6 orc, his eyes rimmed red with rage, the large tusks which protruded from his mouth looking like mini spears capped in bronze.
"So…. you are the one who killed Naguk, then?"
The large orc asked while swinging his large battleaxe at the older man, wasting no time trying to get his revenge.
"Aye, it was me! Pierced his tiny brain right through with my spear! Why? Was he an important person to you?
Sorrell said calmly, skillfully blocking each blow that the large orc sent his way before dodging an overhead swing by shifting to the side and slicing at the belly of the orc, his sword glancing off the orc's armour, scraping against the iron plating.
"He was…. He was a kind soul forced into war due to his great size and strength by Otruaian elders. He preferred building things using his great strength to mine stone and build structures rather than fight wars."
"This was to be his last battle before returning to a peaceful life amongst the flowers of our homeland and building things for others instead. Now his corpse will rot in the ground in a foreign country."
The big orc said, a tear appearing in his eye for a second before calming down and making it disappear as he looked over at the young man nearby who was slowly making his way up the hill towards Lucius and safety, a vicious predatory glint appearing in his eyes, which made the hairs stand up on the retreating Archtorius' neck.
"Seems you care a lot about that little raven. I have always been partial to birds and feel a little peckish right now."
[Herculian Strike skill activated]
The large 6-foot orc said in a soft voice filled with malice, using a skill to blow Sorrell away, making him go flying back ten feet before charging towards Archtorius, murderous intent filling the air between them as Archtorius drew a sword with his left arm, the one that was not broken in an effort to defend himself and gain enough time for Sorrell to come to his rescue.
The two clashed as the second strike, delivered by the firm, powerful orc, sent the sword clutched tightly in the young man's left-hand, clattering to the ground Archtorius with his left and weaker hand standing no chance against the large orc who was the most skilled orc that any of them had seen participating in the battle so far.
"DIE! OH, UNFORTUNATE YOUNG SOLDIER WHO HAS INCURRED MY WRATH!"
The large orc roared his battleaxe, raising it above his head, ready to bring it smashing down upon the defenceless young noble whose eyes seemed calm and serene despite the prospect of his imminent death.
At that moment, an arrow was shot from the summit of the hill heading towards the big orc who, to prevent being hit by it, was forced to deflect it, giving time for Sorrell to return, aiming at blow at the legs of the big orc who jumped avoiding the blow from cutting into his legs but the momentum allowed Sorrell to put himself between the big orc and his young master whom he cared so much for.
The large orc looked at the summit to see an ornately armoured general holding a freshly fired bow outstretched in his hands before he called out angrily towards the man who had engineered the situation the allied army was in, forcing them to attack the Chavarians defensive position by harassing them and destroying their supplies.
"LUCIUS AURELLION! YOU WILL NOT DIE A NATURAL DEATH! THE SOULS OF THE THOSE BURIED BY YOUR PLANS WILL HAUNT YOU FOR A LIFETIME."
The big orc said, continuing his assault on Sorrell, his muscles bulging more with every stroke delivered as he gave into his rage and began an overwhelming assault on the old man.
"Young master, retreat to our camp! I'll deal with this!"
Sorrell shouted back to his young master while struggling to deal with the incredible strength possessed by this particular orc, who already had an advantage over the old man due to his age and race. Sorrell would much rather dodge rather than parry the incoming attacks to prevent his muscles from straining and becoming tired, but due to the need to protect Archtorius, that was not an option, so he had to deflect every strike made by the big orc; each one draining a bit more of his limited energy reserves.
Archtorius knowing that he would only be a liability in this contest between masters quickly staggered up the hill calling down to his protector and mentor.
"Uncle Sorrell, don't go dying on me! You still need to see the birth of my son!"
After dodging one of the big orcs' wide swings smiled slightly to himself when he heard his young master's concern for him parrying another strike in this lightning-fast duel which appeared to be a blur to outsiders as it was well known that a contest between masters of a high level will allow only those with the best eyes and perception to see the fight which was taking place.
"I have been rude to you. What's your name?"
Sorrell asked his opponent, calmly dodging yet another one of the big orcs' overhead strikes, using the opening to slice open one of the orc's arms, hitting the solid steel-like muscles which only let a trickle of blood exit through what became only a small cut.
"Mulush. Yours?"
Mulush said succinctly, continuing his assault like the small bleeding cuts that covered his muscled arms were not there, locked in concentration as he tried to finish his opponent as fast as possible but considering that this human had lasted longer than three strikes earned the big orcs respect enough for him to reply.
"Sorrell Bethell, I serve the Shadowspire family as their protector, and that young man you almost killed is the current heir."
Sorrell said, his voice cold as he continued.
"So what was a battle which I did not care about as long as he was safe…."
"Has turned personal."
The old man said, his face turning dark and vicious as his speed and strength increased dramatically, bringing out the last of his power to contest with the big orc in front of him.
"Seems we are similar as for me this is also…."
The orc paused for a second, using his great strength and battleaxe to blow Sorrell 6 feet away, who dextrously landed on his feet, his sword pointed towards his side, the ground rumbling slightly as his boots kicked up a layer of brown dust in front him when he landed on the ground his white beard blowing softly in the wind.
"Personal!"
The orc said, charging forward to engage the old man once again, his large battle-axe seemingly weightless in his hands as he swung it with reckless abandon.
…..
"Be on the lookout for a small orc! If you see him shoot him and finish off those skirmishers on the right, they appear to have lost 80% of their force. Don't allow them to hit any more of our men in the backs."
Lucius called out to the crossbows as he watched his defensive line slowly start to collapse, and 5000 more lightly armoured orcs who were held in reserve charged his men.
"Yes, General!"
A captain in the crossbows said.
"General, are you sure about this? Wasn't the plan to retreat under cover of crossbow fired by our crossbowmen at the top of the hill and re-establish a defensive line that can hold better?"
A knight beside Lucius asked when he heard what Lucius planned, using his quick reflexes to catch a bow which Lucius threw towards him and watched his general pick up a spear lodged in the ground giving it a few practice swings.
"It was, but in our current situation, we have no one to lead the retreat, and it would turn into a rout also, right now the only reason that our lines have not collapsed is due to the heroic actions of Lyndon, whose sacrifice has given us a bit of time to stabilise the situation but once their rage has gone or the situation seems hopeless then the army will collapse."
"With Archtorius injured, Lindorius stuck in bed, Lyndon dead, and Leon keeping Bardornus and his talented vice general occupied, the only person who can reestablish the defensive line and morale of our men…."
"Is me!"
"look over at the approaching green tide half of their light infantry has been committed to his attack if they hit the side of our formation now…."
"It will fall apart!"
The knight finished for him.
"Exactly! It will fall apart! We will lose the battle, potentially allowing this army to pincer Druses leading to more warfare and suffering on the Alendel Steppe. All of the people we have killed will have been for nothing."
"Won't it put you in danger, general?"
"Do you think staying up here and dying when they break through our army is any safer?"
Lucius responded with a question of his own.
"Once this fight has ended and as long as we can hold."
"Then victory will be ours!"
Lucius said ominously, a scheming smile creeping onto his face.
"General, why is Wurgoth just standing at the back of the formation with 5,000 men to guard him when he is the best fighter on the orc's side?"
The knight asked, puzzled by the orc's general's actions.
'He's a player, that's why and a cautious one at that. If he weren't a player, then my plan would have failed long ago.'
'If it were an ai with a master-level skill who charged with what remained of his men in reserve, then this battle would be lost. Luckily, most players assumed physical power and personal strength would be needed like it is in most MMOs.'
'But DO is different when informed about how even if you forcefully leveled up to the master level with a skill like swordsmanship through the game, somehow. Because you don't suddenly gain that level of actual skill, just the bonus damage, then fear would cloud their hearts, and they would stay back to protect themselves from dying, as dying in this game has massive effects on the players and their dynasties.
'Especially now when they would lose an entire dynasty. When that player heard how I nearly died to captain despite having a high combat power on paper, only an extraordinarily resolved man would still lead from the front or one who did not care about the game's results and played for fun.'
'Unfortunately, as many people see it as a job and a way to make money, trying desperately to gain money, influence, power, and a better life, they would look to protect themselves and that hope.'
'Even if that in itself leads to their undoing.'
'For people need to understand."
'To do great things….'
'You must be willing to risk and sacrifice everything!'
'Down to your very life!'
'Even I am only going to the front due to having little choice in the matter, so it is natural for him who believes he has the battle in hand….'
'To protect himself first even if the entire army dies as long as he is alive and wins, then he will be able to get his reward and carry on his Dynasties history, potentially allowing him to become a noble of some sort.
Lucius thought for a minute as the battle raged, the Chavarians barely holding on as more and more orcs began to break through their lines, analysing the information and potential state of mind of his opponent.
"Don't know, maybe he's ill or doesn't feel like it. Orcs are more instinctual and emotional than other races; however, if one can combine this instinct with precise analysis…."
"Then it would be terrifying indeed."
"Luckily, the one orc who possesses these traits is but a captain due to the culture of the orcs, which values physical strength over all other things."
Lucius said, charging with what remained of his knight bodyguard down the hill. The horse hooves of hope flew down the hill as Lucius shot a flair into the sky just as the knight captain finished off the skirmishers on the left and was about to aid Leon.
After hearing the flair explode behind him, the Knight Captain, who had just finished off the orcish skirmishers on the left, looked towards the hill spying Lucius in the crowd of charging knights barrelling down the hill at a high, making a hand signal.
'Got it, General appears it's time for our last gamble. Let's hope general Leon can hold on.'
The faceless, helmeted man thought, rearing his horse and heading for the back of the Orcish army.
"1000 horse archers are to return and aid Leon. The rest are to follow me!"
The Knight Captain said, his voice cold as ice as it passed like a blizzard to all of his men.
"Yes, sir!"
The Chavarian cavalry accompanying him shouted, following his orders.
"Charge time for the hammer to strike the anvil!"
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LaziestDragon
LaziestDragon Thank you for reading and staying with the novel despite me being unreliable with the chapter releases.
This chapter was longer than expected sorry for it being a little late.
Thank you to those who comment and give power stones it helps to keep this novel alive.
The next chapter should be released at the weekend sometime.
Discord link below for those who want to talk to me or just remind me to write more.
Discord link: https://discord.gg/kzT7hrnFYp
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