Before the battlefield turned chaotic, Samuel and Drake had to make a decision. They were the ones capable of dishing out the most damage in the group and they couldn't afford to get held back by a single individual.
"I'll hold him back. You get rid of those cannons" Samuel shouted at Drake.
He believed it would be much easier for Drake to sneak and scale the settlement walls than himself. Not only that, but his abilities were far more suited for multiple targets than Drake's.
"Alright. Take care of that thing, I'll be going ahead." Drake told Samuel before bursting forward.
Ed who wasn't too far away was barely able to stop him. The ground started to sink along Drake's path. This was something he had thought of after recovering some more of his memories.
The muddy ground not only prevented Drake from dashing off, it also helped ward off his flames to a certain extent.
Still, he couldn't stop Drake with just that. And Samuel wasn't going to let him take it easy either.
A sharp vertical swing cut through the air beside Ed as he had quickly moved aside. He felt as though his arm could be easily sliced off by that smooth green blade.
'Where did he go to become so overgeared?' Ed thought to himself before quickly attempting to counter-attack.
He infused his axe with the powers of the earth to make it more sturdy before swinging horizontally in retaliation.
Samuel had become very dexterous however after acquiring the new sword so he was able to easily launch another swing. There was no sound of a collision. Ed's axe was cut in half at the shaft before he had a chance to even touch Samuel.
With such quick speeds, Ed couldn't compare at close combat. With his axe having been broken, he had no choice but to back off and try another approach.
As Samuel had successfully stalled, Drake easily got away. At this point, the armies on both sides were just about to collide.
***
"Sharog, give me your hand" Vorgarag told Sharog who was next to him.
After opening the gates, their next task was to head into the battlefield. It wouldn't do for them to sit back and watch their orcs die. Nowhere did it state that anybody should be doing any hand-holding.
"Hey! I am going down!" Durgash was already becoming impatient. Shel on the other hand was a bit more hesitant as she wouldn't be able to see Ed from anywhere else.
"What are we going to do?" Sharog asked curiously. She had learned that neither Ed nor Vorgarag would do things without meaning. Both of them were actually very similar in some ways. Reliable perhaps?
"Something new I recently thought of. I need your wind element." Vorgarag promptly informed her while extending out his hand.
Just like how a person could take mana from a crystal to form spells, it was also possible to take mana from others if it is provided. This is the entire premise between large scale spells. It can also be used for simpler spells though the action becomes a bit pointless.
"I plan to-" Bang! More cannon fire interrupted his words.
"Nevermind, just give me the mana! I'll explain mid-process!" Vorgarag planned to explain things but he saw the orcs clashing with the humans and it wasn't pretty.
The adventurers didn't have any sort of overwhelming advantage over the orcs. As a matter of fact, they could be said to be at the same level. The problem was the special few that were above their level were playing too big a part!
Archer was able to headshot the orcs from a safe distance. Christian's swordsmanship was charming but deadly. A B-class mage with lightning affinity was also frying the orcs to a crisp from safety. The most disgusting of all however was Clarys' healing spells.
With a keen eye, she was able to spot dying adventurers and quickly nurse them back to health. As long as they weren't immediately killed and they didn't have anything lodged inside of their body, they could get back in the fight! She could also cast large scale healing spells over losing zones. Too perverse! With someone like that on the humans' side, the orcs' number advantage was not enough!
To make matters worse, the adventurers started to get really into it. The momentum had started to shift in their favor ever since they realized that their situation wasn't so hopeless! Some had even started to think of Clarys as some sort of goddess.
The cannon fire had also become less frequent as the cannoneers now had to aim carefully to avoid friendly fire. None of them had any formal training though…
All in all, the circumstances were stacked against them.
"Aaaah!" They heard an orc yell.
They all instantly shot a glance towards the origin of the sound and saw one of the cannoneers no longer in front of their cannon. Instead, there was a human figure climbing up the wall!
Drake had pushed off the orc from the cannon as he climbed up resulting in a likely death.
"Hahaha! It looks like I don't need to go down to find myself a strong opponent!" Durgash yelled enthusiastically. He had held it in for more than long enough right?
Lightning crackled underneath his feet and with impressive speed, he shot forward while brandishing his axe.
Drake who had just climbed up instantly noticed the muscular orc darting towards his location. He didn't panic, he didn't feel threatened. He had his fists with him and that was all that mattered.
His iconic Vermillion flames manifested themselves on his right arm. The flames congregated on his right fist and just as Durgash came close enough to swing, he punched out.
And Durgash didn't try to dodge, why should he? Drake's fist wouldn't reach him.
Or so he thought…
"ARGH!" He loudly exclaimed, his swing went wayward. It felt as though he had been punched by a fierce right hook but… how could it be!?! His momentum was nullified by the force and he fell back.
Durgash had overlooked Drake's ability to so to say shoot out his fists towards his opponent. He hadn't paid enough attention to Ed's battle earlier and thus missed this critical point. Now his right cheek had to pay the price.
He had some first degree burns forming a fist tattooed on his face. He had also lost a few teeth so his current appearance was not pretty. He spat out some blood after tripping up looking on with a mix of excitement and disbelief.
He knew the opponent was not his match but… did that matter? Shouldn't his return battle be a tough and ruthless one?
Vorgarag and Sharog were both surprised by the appearance of Drake. Sharog, in particular, was about to try and help Durgash who had rushed ahead but was stopped by a hand.
"Come on! He is buying us some time" Vorgarag told her.
Sharog knew that was most likely not what was going on but she still didn't object. She nodded absently and began to send wind mana towards Vorgarag who responded by sending some mana of his own.
"This will be a bit forceful" Vorgarag said with a wry smile. Durgash being immediately knocked down didn't give them much time.
Vorgarag's plan was to use fire and wind to create a heatwave. He didn't know if such a spell actually existed so he couldn't use crystals. He instead planned to use two separate chants and for that, he obviously needed two people.
The idea behind this spell was that since the orcs were much stronger they would be less affected by the heatwave. Whether this was indeed the case was yet to be tested. If they succeeded the adventurers would turn sluggish and in the worst case so would the orcs.
"Use the breeze incantation but use this as well." Vorgarag had placed a wind crystal on Sharog's free hand. All things considered, her mana alone wouldn't be able to make much of a difference.
Another shot of a cannon.
Drake reinforced his leg and kicked out with immense strength at durgash who was on the floor. Durgash was kicked back, almost enough to fall off the walls.
Drake ignored him though and sprinted towards another cannon. He would gain nothing from fighting the orcs there.
Suddenly, another orc stood in his way. It was Shel who had taken a roundabout way hoping to ambush Drake. Unfortunately, Durgash didn't put up much resistance so her sneak attack failed.
She swung out with her axe. Drake wasn't prepared for her but he didn't shy away. He nimbly maneuvered around the axe held it firmly by the shaft. With both hands, he reinforced his arms and yeeted Shel away.
The poor unsuspecting Shel didn't see this coming at all.
"Time to take care of these cannons" Drake thought before sneaking a quick peek towards the battlefield.
The number of orcs had dwindled. The adventurers clearly held the upper hand. He nodded, things were as they should be. The losses on their sides were lamentable but inevitable.
"Hm?!?" His quick peek turned into an actual observation.
He narrowed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things incorrectly, what happened between Samuel and that orc?!?