Dungeon Predator (WN)

1,000 ogres appeared on the battlefield.

They were well armed, wearing thick armor made of high quality steel, and wielded sharp, two-handed axes.

Jingle jangle.

"Shuwaraka, orc! Shuwaraka, orc!" the Troll Shamans yelled as they swung their staffs.

'Shuwaraka' meant 'Kill!'.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

1,000 ogres charged at the orcs, the trolls following right behind them.

Whereas the Orc Warriors slowed down. The ogres had completely destroyed their morale.

It was time for Mumugul, the commander in chief, to take a stand.

"We're the Ruman Orcs! The Ruman Orcs fight, and they win!" His voice resounded throughout the battlefield.

Large-Scale Command!

Mumugul used an Orc Commander skill. It raised the orcs' abilities and morale.

"The Ruman Orcs fight!"

"The Ruman Orcs win!"

Mumugul's Large-Scale Command had reignited the Orc Warriors' fighting spirit.

The Orc Shamans poured oil onto the fire. Animal skulls hung from their staffs, which were raised high into the air.

Boost Courage!

Their staffs emanated yellow light, which spread towards the troops. Any Orc Warrior touched by the light felt as though they could win.

"Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!"

The orcs charged once more.

And finally...!

The orcs, trolls, and ogres clashed head-on.

Kuhaahk!

The frontmost ogre forcefully swung its two-handed axe. The muscles in its arms bulged so much that they looked like they'd burst.

"Block it!"

The Orc Warriors raised their weapons, intent on blocking the ogre's weapon.

However...

Bam!

The ogre's power was tremendous.

"Kuheok!"

"Kyaahk!"

Unable to withstand its power, the orcs were swept away like rustling leaves.

"Shuwaraka, orc!"

"Shuwaraka, orc!"

The Troll Shamans, who were controlling the ogres, raised their voices.

An ogre pointed and then swung its axe at a fallen orc.

Bam!

The ogre split the orc in two as if it was cutting firewood.

"Don't fight them by yourself!"

"Attack together!"

The Orc Warriors yelled, and charged at the ogre.

It was like a colony of ants swarming a mantis.

Obviously, the Troll Warriors didn't just sit there and let it happen.

"Stop the pigs!"

"Protect the ogres!"

The orcs, trolls, and ogres were completely jumbled up. The hectic, intense battle continued.

* * *

At the same time...

The trolls and elves confronted each other across a small river that passed through Nigel Forest.

Breaking through all the barricades had cost the trolls 10,000 soldiers.

30,000 of their troops had left to stop the orcs, so their grand army of 100,000 had shrunk to 60,000.

Despite that, they still had way more troops than the elves.

The elves had only slightly more than 20,000 troops. They'd incurred several casualties by holding back the trolls at the first and second barricades.

The Troll Great Chieftain, Razul, rode his rhino forward. "I'd like to speak with the elves' commander in chief!" Though he spoke normally, his voice echoed throughout the forest; this was in no small part due to the spell he'd cast to amplify his voice.

The elves' commander in chief, Doran, appeared from the other side of the river. "I'm the elves' commander in chief, Doran! What do you want?" Like Razul, Doran had artificially raised his voice via wind spirits.

"Let me give you an offer."

"What is it?"

"If you surrender right here and now, then I'll let the elves live. However, if you fight till the bitter end, then this world will never see pointy eared beings ever again!" Razul said threateningly.

60,000 vs. 20,000. It was clear who the victor would be.

"There's nothing to think about. Keep that nonsense to yourself," Doran immediately replied.

"You want the elves to go extinct?"

"We won't go extinct."

"Are you hoping for orc reinforcements? They won't be coming."

"What?"

"I've sent some of my troops to intercept them! They're probably all dead by now! Haha."

That disturbed the Elvish Warriors. They'd heard that they just needed to hold out until reinforcements came, yet reinforcements weren't coming?

'Everything's going as planned.' Razul smiled wickedly. Just a few words were enough to lower their morale. What a good deal.

"How ridiculous! Considering how many troops you have here, you've sent 30,000 to fight them at best. There are 50,000 orc troops! Thanks for splitting up your forces for us! The orcs will defeat your forces quickly and be here soon!" Doran calmly assessed the situation and replied.

His calm voice resounded throughout the forest, causing the distraught, flustered elves to regain their fighting spirit.

Seeing that, Razul slightly nodded his head. 'He's not bad. But I'm the one who holds all the cards!'

Razul continued, "Hmph. Did you really think we'd be afraid of orcs, when they're so sorely lacking in combat ability? 30,000 Troll Warriors is plenty. Moreover, I have a secret weapon to deal with them: ogres!"

"Ogres?" Doran furrowed his brow.

"We've managed to control ogres. And we've unleashed 1,000 fully armed ogres on the orcs!" Razul yelled.

"Mm!" Kuyol gulped from beside him.

Ogres, which were also known as Slaughterers, were feared by not just the orcs, but the elves as well.

To think that they'd fostered 1,000 ogres and had sent them into battle!

"I won't believe anything a troll says!" Doran said firmly.

Even if his words were true, he couldn't afford to acknowledge them. If he accepted that reinforcements weren't coming, then his soldiers' morale would reach rock bottom.

"Hoo, hoo. Then die, waiting for reinforcements that aren't coming." Razul laughed.

"You told me something quite interesting, so let me pay back the favor. Listen up, trolls!" It was time for his counterattack. Doran couldn't just sit here and take a beating! "There's a large force from Kasten going somewhere!"

"What about it? You'll all be dead by the time they've arrived, and the elven village will be razed to the ground."

"They're headed for Ankaro Fortress!"

"What?" Razul's expression did a 180.

"Your main base!"

Now the trolls started to stir.

"That's impossible!" Razul yelled desperately.

"You don't have to believe me. It's the truth! Will you even have a home to return to?"

"Grr! Shut your mouth!" Razul grabbed an elf skull that hung from his neck. Crack. The skull broke into a thousand pieces.

"Hmph. You bastards burned our home, the Romande Forest! Now you'll get a taste of what it feels like!" Doran spoke as if he were cursing them.

No one could say he was lying.

The trolls weren't just noisy anymore; they were causing an uproar. It looked like they'd explode at any moment now.

'Damn it.'

Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. Razul couldn't stop scowling.

'If the Kasten mercenaries are really attacking our main base, then it'd be a huge problem. However... we can't back off right now. If we turn our backs to them, then the elves won't just let us go peacefully. If that's the case, then...'

In the end, they only had one choice.

They had to kill the elves ASAP, and then either return to home base or take control of the elven village!

"All forces, kill the elves!" Razul said desperately.

"Charge!"

"Don't think, and just fight!"

"Skin these damn elves!"

The Troll Champions commanded, as if browbeating their troops.

Splash, splash.

The Troll Warriors dashed through the river.

* * *

"Die!"

"Get a grip!"

"Be careful of the ogre's axe!"

"Shuwaraka, orc. Shuwaraka, orc!"

The orcs, trolls, and ogres were all intermingled, turning the battlefield into complete chaos.

Razul's assumption that his secret weapons, the ogres, would completely destroy the orc reinforcements turned out to be completely wrong.

The orcs had turned the tide, and were gaining the advantage. What exactly had happened?

Individually, the orcs weren't strong, nor were they highly intelligent.

Despite that, the reason that the orcs were considered one of the three great races was because of their rate of reproduction, as well as their commanders!

They trusted in their commanders so much that it was said that, 'An orc is weak, but orcs are strong. Orcs led by a commander are invincible!'.

The Ruman Orcs had put all of their efforts into fostering Orc Commanders.

As a result, the Ruman Orcs split their troops into groups of thirty, and each group had one Orc Commander.

The Orc Commanders had a huge role to play in this battle as well.

"Attack the trolls on the right!"

"Our squad will take care of the ogre! Don't fight it head-on; divert its attention! Don't let it hit our brothers!"

"Shamans, cast recovery and morale boosting spells! Warriors, protect the shamans!"

Small-Scale Command!

Weaker versions of Mumugul's Command skill were being used all over the battlefield.

The trolls' combat abilities far surpassed the orcs', but they didn't have a strong command structure.

"Don't break formation!"

"Get a hold of yourself! Behind you!"

"We need reinforcements over here!"

The most experienced, veteran trolls tried to lead their brothers in arms, but there was only so much they could do.

Plus, the Troll Shamans were completely focused on controlling the ogres, so they couldn't aid the Troll Warriors.

Ultimately, the trolls were losing ground, even though they'd unleashed their secret weapon, the ogres.

It was here that...

"The right side's crumbling. Pull troops from the left side and focus entirely on the right." The Orc Commander, Mumugul, assessed the state of the battle, and made his orders based on it.

Whereas the Troll Champion, Ursac, wasn't doing his job as the trolls' commander. "You idiots! How could you get pushed back by orcs!? Get a grip!"

All he did was yell at them, jump into the middle of the battlefield, and show off his strength.

Of course, he was undeniably powerful. Much more powerful than an ogre at that! However, that's all he brought to the table.

While he was busy slaughtering hundreds of orcs, the battle was slowly going in the orcs' favor.

"Send reinforcements to the right side! Who should we send? Send the guys in the middle!"

"Focus on protecting the shamans, rather than killing the orcs!"

The three Troll Champions in charge of the army, Ursac, Baltu, and Raikavan, killed as many orcs as they could, but they couldn't make enough of a difference to turn the battle around.

At some point...

The ogres, which were supposed to be their secret weapon, had begun falling one or two at a time.

If one of the Troll Shamans was killed, then the ogres would indiscriminately attack both the orcs and the trolls. When that happened, the trolls would take much more damage than the orcs.

"Gr... Grr!" As the situation worsened more and more, Ursac's face became completely red and he gritted his teeth.

"We have to retreat!" the Troll Champion, Baltu said.

"What?" Ursac's eyes widened in rage. He stared at Baltu. It was as if he was saying, 'You want us, the great Ingrit Trolls, to retreat!?'.

"We can't afford to lose all of our troops here. If we do, then the main force will be in danger!" Baltu said, staring straight into Ursac's eyes.

"He's right. We have to conserve our forces, and hold out until the main force can finish off the elves," Raikavan agreed.

"Grr!" Ursac stomped on the floor, unable to contain his rage.

"Everyone retreat!"

"Retreat!"

Baltu and Raikavan ignored Ursac and yelled.

"Retreat!"

"Run away!"

The trolls turned their backs to the orcs and began to retreat.

"You bastards!"

"We won't let you go!"

The orcs obviously pursued them.

"Shamans, remove your control over the ogres! Let them go wild!" Baltu yelled.

At this point in time, they needed to sacrifice the ogres in order to save as many trolls as possible.

Kuwaahk!

The ogres, now free from mind control, began to rampage about.

"Now! Everyone retreat at full speed!"

"Retreat!"

Baltu and Raikavan yelled. The Troll Warriors escaped like a rising tide.

"Don't chase the trolls. Finish off the ogres for good!" the Orc Commander, Mumugul said.

Sometime later...

Thud!

The final ogre fell to the floor.

"Victory is ours!" Mumugul raised his hand into the air.

"Ruman! Ruman!"

Mumugul! Mumugul!"

"Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!"

Their unending cries resounded throughout the battlefield.

* * *

Jae Woo's phone rang.

He automatically started to feel better. After all, he'd set his ringtone to Soo Ah's recent drama OST.

'Soo Ah's voice is so nice to hear.' Jae Woo laughed like an idiot and picked up his phone.

Hye Rim was shown on the display.

Jae Woo knew why she was contacting him.

After all, he'd sent a message asking her 'If she was interested in the huge battle that was taking place in the west.'.

He expected her to send him a message back.

But the fact that she was calling him instead of texting him meant that she had really good news for him.

"Hello?"

"How much do you want?" Hye Rim asked.

"How much are you willing to give me?"

"More than GBS at least!"

Jae Woo smiled at her declaration.