Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)

Chapter 258: Back To The Fortress

The battle should have ended the moment Xiao Lin captured the priest shaman, and the orcs acted accordingly, not daring to put the shaman’s life at risk, but a few of the students seemed to have gone crazy with bloodlust, or they might have thought that the orcs would be stupid enough to not retaliate.

The orcs were a wild and ferocious race, and so naturally their tempers flared, which resulted in a ferocious encounter that unfortunately involved Chen Dao. Even if he used his Flame Balls to eliminate a few of the troublesome orcs, he could not avoid being injured, and Class Twelve had lost a few students.

“Do you think the orcs will yield to you? Your arrogance will only hasten your own demise!” the priest shaman suddenly said, his voice strong and powerful with no trace of his age.

“You really don’t know how to read the situation! Since you know our language, hurry up and get the other orcs to drop their weapons and surrender!” someone immediately shouted.

The situation was quite awkward at that moment. Even though the battle had stopped, the orcs were still around, their superior numbers surrounding the humans with weapons in hand. The occasional orcish shout could be heard, but no one knew what they were saying.

The shaman closed his eyes, ignoring them and seemingly goading them to kill him.

“Chen Dao was right; he doesn’t dare commit suicide!” Xiao Lin waved, exhaustion clearly written on his face. The Chain Lightning spell had been extremely taxing. He said, “Let’s bring him back first.”

“What about the other orcs?”

“There’s no need. As long as the shaman is in our hands, the other orcs won’t dare touch us! We’ll walk out just like this. I want to see if any of them dare stop us!”

Xiao Lin did not let down his guard, getting a few stronger men to guard the shaman and even getting Chen Dao to observe his movements. The lightning spells required some time to cast, and were thus easily interrupted if noticed, which meant it was not a big cause for concern.

It was not the first time Xiao Lin had held a hostage; a similar thing had happened during the first monthly examination after all. Xiao Lin was in the zone, and the shaman being able to speak their language made things a lot easier.

“Don’t even think about pulling any tricks! You’ve tasted my combat ability! If you do anything funny, I might not be able to guarantee that all my men will survive, but I assure you every single one of you orcs will meet the same fate!” Due to his fatigue, Xiao Lin sounded quite winded, but his words were extremely threatening.

Acting soft would only let the orcs think he was weak, which meant the best way to deal with them was to force his way into their throats.

The shaman fell silent; he had a deep impression of Xiao Lin. During the battle a few days ago, his troops had been able to force a way through the defensive towers, but Xiao Lin’s sudden burst of strength had completely stifled their advance.

Chen Dao was so furious at Han Manman that he practically ignored the woman, but the two of them still knew what had to be done. It was not the time to fight, and they quickly arranged for everyone to get ready. The wounded were carried by the healthy as they started to return.

The students left behind a lot of corpses at the orc encampment; some of the bodies had even been completely chopped up by the orcs and thrown into the fire. Even if they knew that it would only result in a loss of 10 years in their lifespans, they were still comrades. Watching your own comrades die in front of your own eyes was enough to make anyone pale with fright.

With some of the students heavily injured, they could not travel fast. Thankfully, they had a hostage in hand, and the few acting monitors made sure that none of the students would cause any trouble. The orcs did not dare to advance, and the two sides basically passed one another–shoulder to shoulder. At the closest distance, Xiao Lin could even smell the stench of the orcs, causing him to tense up, gripping his blade tightly. He was not afraid to take action if he saw any movement whatsoever.

The journey was filled with anxiety, but no actual danger. It was only when the fires on the orc encampment left their vision and their scout reported that no one was behind them did they all start to breathe a sigh of relief.

Xiao Lin did not forget to tell the orc shaman, “You’ve lost!”

It was true; no matter how the actual battle went, those troops would not be able to continue fighting after they lost their commander. It was even possible that they would be heavily punished for failing to protect the shaman if they went back.

The priest shaman blinked before uttering, “Orcs never surrender! We only die in battle!”

“It’s a pity you can’t kill yourself. Are you hoping your elf allies will help you?” Xiao Lin could not help but ask.

“Hmph! Those cunning elves are just as despicable as humans. They are not…” The shaman stopped mid-sentence, not willing to say more.

Xiao Lin silently sighed. Those actually were elf warships. Even though he had been certain of it, it was now a hundred percent verified. What exactly was it that could lead to the orcs agreeing to ally with the elves?

The students had too many questions which could all be answered by the shaman. Even though a lot of them were grieving their lost comrades, they were also filled with hope and excitement.

The elves still did not make a move, which surprised Xiao Lin. Han Manman had tried to use that as proof of Xiao Lin’s cowardice, but she was quickly shot down by Chen Dao.

That young man could really hold a grudge. He never had any problems with Han Manman, but Chen Dao would not let her off easily for what Class Four did that ultimately led to the death of a few students from his class.

Chen Dao held it in when they were at the orc encampment, but his temper flared right back up the moment they got back to the fortress. It was already late in the night when they made it back, but their shouting pretty much ensured that no one was getting any sleep.

“I can’t help but feel like something is off. I asked the shaman earlier if he was hoping the elves would help him, and I can’t help but think about his words.” Xiao Lin temporarily ignored their bickering as he discussed what happened with Cheng Ming and the other acting class monitors, voicing his concerns at the same time.

“Priest shamans are the intellectual representatives of the orcs; if the elves were working with the orcs, the shaman would definitely be the best point of contact.”

“So you think that the shaman had communicated with the elf warships?” Cheng Ming asked.

“The letters confirmed as much!”