Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

With Henry at the front, the infantry unit charged toward the orc warriors, resulting in a brutal clash that killed dozens of orcs.

The members of the infantry unit were the most skilled warriors in each household handpicked by Alaric himself. Most of them were only Knight Apprentices, but their skills in wielding their weapons had already reached a terrifying level.

Faced with these skilled warriors, the monsters were so completely outmatched that the orc generals were forced to intervene.

“Filthy humans! How dare you destroy our home and kill our kind?!” An orc general roared furiously as it casually killed a soldier with a smash of its huge hammer.

Boom!

Henry knew that he had to stop this monster quickly to prevent more casualties.

With quick strides, he rushed toward the orc general while killing the orc warriors that stood in his path.

In just a blink of an eye, numerous orc bodies lie breathlessly in his wake.

Sensing his presence, the orc general angrily pounced at him as it swung its gigantic hammer that weighed over a ton.

Boom!

Henry nimbly evaded and released a flurry of attacks, leaving deep slash wounds on the orc general’s arms.

Roar!

The pain made the monster roar, and in its rage, it wildly swung its hammer around.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

However, no matter how hard it tried, it just couldn’t catch Henry’s shadow. He was like a slippery eel that could always escape from his grasp.

Soon, the monster’s movement began to slow down as the injuries and fatigue caught up.

Henry didn’t waste the opportunity. He lunged at the tired beast and stabbed his sword into its thick skull.

Normally, the orc general’s tough bones could block this sword, but Henry imbued his sword with mana.

Like a hot knife cutting through butter, his sword penetrated its skull without obstruction.

Kkhsshhkk!!

The huge beast fell to the ground with a heavy ‘thud’.

The infantrymen were excited to see him kill the orc general so easily, but before they could even celebrate, more orc generals joined the fray.

Upon seeing them appear, Henry raised his hand and signaled for the infantry unit to retreat.

Their task was only to kill as many orcs as they could while the main force was preserving their strength.

Now that more powerful monsters had appeared, it was his cue to retreat.

The shield bearer unit also noticed this so they immediately opened a path for Henry’s troops.

Meanwhile, Alaric who was at the center of the formation glanced at Jeffrey and his mercenary group. “It’s your turn this time, Sir Jeffrey.”

Hearing this, Jeffrey solemnly nodded his head.

He turned around and shouted at his subordinates.

“Did you hear him, brothers?!”

“Yes, boss!” The mercenaries replied.

“Let’s prove ourselves in this battle!” Jeffrey grabbed his weapon, a two-handed polearm with a curved blade at the tip.

While raising it in midair, he yelled. “Follow me to kill those monsters!”

“Kill!”

“Kill the orcs!”

Their battle cries reverberated through the cavern.

In the next moment, they charged through the narrow path opened up by the shield bearer unit.

The orc warriors that had managed to enter this path were ruthlessly decimated by the mercenaries.

Some Elite Knights from the noble houses also participated to help them stop the orc generals.

However, unlike Henry who was able to kill an orc general effortlessly, these Elite Knights struggled. Even Jeffrey was having a hard time keeping up with the monsters.

This time, the battle was almost even and there were casualties on both sides.

Unlike the warriors who served the noble houses, the mercenaries could not cope in certain situations. Their battle formations were not properly executed.

Alaric watched this battle with a frown.

They might have received training from Sir William, but they are still not used to these battle formations.

He could see through the weakness of the mercenaries.

Standing beside him, William clicked his tongue. “Those ruffians. It looks like I need to increase their training once this is over.”

Sensing Alaric’s gaze, he shook his head. “I have embarrassed myself, my lord. I didn’t teach them enough. This is my fault.”

Alaric tapped the old man’s shoulder and smiled faintly. “This isn’t your fault, Sir William. Those men aren’t used to large-scale battles like this.”

He didn’t blame the old man. Besides, Jeffrey’s group was doing much better than he had imagined. They just lacked teamwork and coordination.

Luckily, the Elite Knights and warriors sent by the noble houses were able to supplement the weakness in their ranks so the casualties were not so severe.

After more than twenty minutes of intense fighting, only two orc generals were killed. Furthermore, one Elite Knight was severely wounded so Alaric commanded them to retreat and make room for the next unit.

The third unit was a force led by three houses including House Paxley. Hershey’s eldest brother, Theo Paxley, was also a part of this group.

As for Baron Nathan, he didn’t participate in the battle since he wasn’t a combatant. He just stood at the rear position with the other lords, watching the battle with great anxiety.

“Relax, Lord Paxley. Lord Theo will be alright.”

“I’m sure your son will be alright. Just trust him.”

The lords reassured him. Their words lessened his worries.

“You’re right, my lords. As the next lord of House Paxley, I’m sure Theo will come out stronger after this battle.” Uttered Nathan while clenching his fists.

While the lords were cheering him up, another wave of orcs came out from the opposite tunnel.

The third unit couldn’t handle those monsters on their own so Alaric sent the last unit earlier than planned.

This is bad. The orc lords haven’t appeared yet, but our troops are already exhausted. I might have to send the main force soon.

The main force was comprised of House Silversword’s soldiers and the best warriors from each house.

Luckily, we are fighting inside this cavern. If this happened outside, we would be overwhelmed by their numbers.