Ch.278278. Orc Counter-Attack (2)

As they had no time to recover from the looted Karakorum, the expedition led by Karkul Madwinger immediately turned northward to the Soviet Holy Republic after completing their supplies (requisitions).

Their numbers totaled 10,000.

They were essentially a collection of orcs in good condition from among the elite, with the majority being light cavalry.

Thanks to this, they boasted considerable mobility and moved in dispersed units of 200-300 as they always did.

During this time—they finally encountered the wolf riders—light cavalry deployed by the Soviet Holy Republic.

“Hey, you idiots! Come and face us!”

“Damn it…. you orc traitors!!”

Both sides were cavalry, and both rode beasts rather than ordinary horses, making them appear similar…..

In reality, they were opposites, with differences too great to be treated as “the same type of cavalry.”

For example, the Orc Warlord’s cavalry typically armed themselves with battle axes, blunt weapons, shields, javelins, and throwing hatchets.

They would throw hatchets or javelins at enemy formations to disrupt them.

Then they would charge into the enemy lines with large axes or blunt weapons that utilized the orcs’ tremendous strength.

To counter the chronic weakness of cavalry—ranged attacks—they used shields for protection and rode giant boars or wolves with incredible breakthrough power and burst speed to leverage their ferocious nature.

Giant boars were monsters with thick skin essentially equivalent to having chain mail covering their bodies, while one-horned wolves were as large and fast as horses but several times more ferocious than ordinary wolves.

In short, the Orc Warlord’s cavalry could be summarized as…. armored shock cavalry with high speed.

Though lightly armored, they functionally served a role not much different from heavy cavalry.

In fact, when enhanced with druid spells like “Wood Skin” or “Rock Skin” to improve defense, they became virtually indistinguishable from heavy cavalry.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Holy Republic’s wolf riders—officially called Wolf Riders—were those who had made pacts with their god, the Blood Wolf deity.

In exchange for receiving the Blood Wolves, familiars of the wolf god, they made contracts to regularly offer parts of their prey—especially blood—as tribute.

The contracts lasted for one-year terms with no issues if not renewed, but constantly engaging in battle to obtain blood for offerings was quite arduous…..

Nevertheless, the Wolf Riders willingly entered these contracts to receive the Blood Wolves.

After all, these wolves, close to divine familiars, were more suitable as mounts than anything else.

They possessed tireless stamina, tremendous physical strength from their bear-sized bodies, body structures optimized for riding, and high intelligence that easily understood their riders’ intentions.

While their burst speed might be inferior to giant boars or one-horned wolves,

they compensated with overwhelming stability, combat endurance, and powerful close-combat capabilities.

Additionally, the Soviet Wolf Riders were better equipped than the orcs.

They wore light outfits made of famously thick winter ox leather with thin metal plates attached, worn by both rider and wolf, and while not plate armor, they layered thick gambeson and leather clothing for surprising durability.

Taking advantage of the wolves’ broad backs to carry various weapons, they typically carried at least four powder pistols.

They also equipped magical rifles (albeit shortened versions) with guaranteed firepower, close-combat weapons according to personal preference, shields, and occasionally, some uniquely-minded riders would fit their wolves with charging spikes.

The Wolf Riders’ battlefield tactics naturally involved engaging enemy cavalry or disrupting infantry formations.

The lead bullets from their pistols easily penetrated even heavy cavalry armor, and any accuracy issues became negligible against dense formations.

If needed, they could harass from a distance with magical rifles, and they had no problems engaging in close combat when necessary.

But ultimately, their greatest specialty was hunting cavalry and heavy infantry, so naturally, when the two cavalry forces clashed, the Wolf Riders held an overwhelming advantage.

They circled near enemies, harassing them with magical rifles, and when enemies approached, they immediately fired several pistol shots before quickly creating distance.

This nomadic pseudo-swarm tactic, leveraging the Blood Wolves’ overwhelming endurance, was enough to devastate the orc cavalry.

“Ha—haa—! Hunt them! Ravage them! Burn them!!”

“Kill, kill!! Kill them all!!”

These Wolf Riders even exploited gaps in the front lines to infiltrate the rear, where they hunted down the marching orc infantry with one-sided efficiency.

The slow and soft orc foot soldiers had virtually no way to counter cavalry that projected firepower from a distance and simply fled when threatened.

As a result, the orcs’ casualties continuously accumulated over time, but Karkul Madwinger’s resolve only grew stronger.

Thus, the orc forces finally managed to gather near the reported location of a Soviet Holy Republic city.

There were 60,000 orc infantry with terrible equipment but definite combat power.

10,000 orc cavalry burning with hatred from their considerable suffering.

Adding battle slaves and auxiliary forces brought about 30,000 more, with as many as 200 high-tier elite forces participating.

Without concern for consequences, they gathered this massive force, resulting in an army capable of potentially destroying a small nation marching together.

And on exactly the 13th day after beginning their march.

“”””……?!!””””

“Wh-what, what is that?”

The Orc Warlord’s forces encountered something of unimaginable size.

※ ※ ※

When the marching orcs first discovered it, they merely thought it was a mountain range.

But as the distance between them shortened and the gap closed,

the orcs saw buildings constructed on the upper part of the massive object and thought it was a fortress built on a mountain.

“Hey, go scout it out.”

“Yes, Lord Karkul!”

So Karkul Madwinger sent a Wingers to scout before attacking the city, but….

—KWAAAAAAANG!!!!

When a thick beam of light suddenly shot from the city and struck down the Wingers, the orcs determined that the city had various defensive measures and tried to prepare for a siege.

KUGUUNG—!!!

Suddenly, what had appeared to be a mountain range rose from its place. Its form would have been unremarkable if it hadn’t resembled a wolf with a gigantic body.

The wolf was so enormous that it carried a city on its back, naturally causing confusion among the orcs, but the giant wolf didn’t remain still.

It stood up tall, looked around, and its gaze fell upon the orc forces—

[[[[[[[[[[—AWOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!]]]]]]]]]]

The next moment, a sonic wave literally erupted from the wolf-city’s mouth.

KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGANG—!!!!

The roaring sound that made the air vibrate was essentially no different from a widespread shockwave, and as such, it completely shattered the orc forces.

They were gripped by fear, panicked by the roar, thrown against objects by the shockwave, with blood spraying and bones breaking.

After disrupting the orc formation with such a simple action, a red snowstorm suddenly began to blow in from all directions toward the orc forces.

This snowstorm wasn’t real snow but something like red energy, so they might not freeze to death….

Instead, orcs touched by this snowstorm suddenly began screaming terribly and complaining of headaches.

“””AAAAAAAAAARGH—!!!!”””

“”IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS!!””

“My, my head!! My head!!!”

If that were all, it wouldn’t be a major problem, but after some time, these orcs who had been complaining of pain suddenly began to go berserk or fall into rage.

They transformed like beasts, lost their reason and bit nearby orcs, frantically self-harmed, or swung weapons in all directions.

In other words, they became incapable of waging war or doing anything at all.

“—Damn it!”

Therefore, the orc Karkul Madwinger quickly assessed the situation and made a decision.

To return, to go back to Karakorum.