The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

“Raise the flags!” Barca ordered as he sat on top of his Warg.

The flags of the three Orc Warlords fluttered in the breeze, letting Orobak know that they had changed their allegiance.

All of them were eager to charge at the Stronghold and fight their way in.

“Stay close to me guys,” Lux was positioned in front of the Dwarves, while sitting on top of his mount. “Don’t leave my side no matter what.”

Colette, Matty, and the others nodded their heads. All of them were riding their mounts as well, and were at the rear of the formation.

Not wanting to get in the way of Barca’s charge, Lux decided to stay in the back. This would also allow them to prepare for any unexpected scenarios that Orobak and Oreg could throw at them.

“Charge!” Barca shouted as his mount lunged forward. “For the Blackrock Clan!”

“”For the Blackrock Clan!””

Due to the effects of the sleeping potions that were mixed on their food, none of the soldiers under Orobak’s command stirred from their slumber._-.

The Orc Chieftain could only roar in anger as he watched Barca’s forces charging towards the Stronghold at full speed.

“Man the ramparts!” Orobak shouted. “Oreg, Come here!”

“Yes!” Oreg replied. “Man the ramparts! Don’t let them breach the walls!”

The Orc Berserkers specialized in head-on clashes, and were not really suited to be defenders. Even so, since there was no one else available to man the walls but them, they could only follow the given order, gripping their war axes as they glared at their enemies with bloodshot eyes.

“Let’s see if you can climb the walls under my watch!” Orobak sneered as his eyes locked on Barca who was at the forefront of the rebels that dared to defy his rule.

When the Mounted Riders were only a hundred meters away from the Stronghold, something unexpected happened.

The gates that were tightly shut slowly opened, as if to welcome the invaders with open arms.

Orobak, as well as Oreg, almost couldn’t believe their eyes seeing the gates of their stronghold open right under their noses.

The Orc Chieftain immediately glanced in the direction where the gate’s mechanism was located, and found several Skeletons working together to raise the steel gate, which barred anyone’s entry.

“Damn you, foul Creatures!” Orobak shouted as he grabbed the War Axe from the nearest Orc Berserker and threw it in the direction where the Skeletons were currently at.

Two of the Skeletons that were managing the pulley were instantly shattered, slowing the pace of the gate’s opening.

However, just before the Orc Chieftain could throw another War Axe to kill the remaining two Skeletons, the Skeletons that he had killed immediately respawned and resumed their duty.

As if to mock Orobak’s attempt, two more Skeletons appeared, but they didn’t assist their comrades in opening the gates. They merely looked at the Orc Chieftain and waved their hands in greeting, infuriating Orobak and making him roar in anger, taking the Skeletons’ actions as mockery.

Eiko giggled mischievously while hiding in the distance. She was remotely controlling her Summons in order to open the gates according to her Papa’s orders.

When the gates had been raised fully, Barca and the rest of the vanguard riders had already entered the Stronghold, wreaking havoc to their surroundings.

“To arms!” Oreg shouted. “Kill them!”

“”Kill!””

Orobak shouted a battlecry which had an effect that was similar to Lux’s ability. It raised the physical attack of his allies, which allowed them to deal more damage to their enemies.

Blood spilled like a river as the two forces clashed. Although Orobak’s side was outnumbered, their ability to fight in close quarters was second to none.

The Mounted Warg Riders’ specialty’ effectivity was greatly diminished after entering the stronghold. With little to no room to maneuver, the Orcs were forced to abandon their mounts and engage the enemies in close combat.

Lux herded his friends to the corner of the battlefield where he summoned his minions to fight against the Orc Berserkers that were at the peak of Rank 3.

“They are truly Berserkers,” Lux gritted his teeth as he used a Void arrow in an attempt to blind his target. All the skeletons that he had summoned shattered instantly with a single swipe of the Berserker’s weapon. They were completely outclassed.

“Have no fear! Pazuzu is here!”

Pazuzu appeared and used a Shield Bash to send the Orc Berserker that was about to hack Colette in half. The latter was instantly sent flying to the opposite direction.

“Thank you, Pazuzu!” Colette shouted before smashing her mace into the leg of the Orc Berserker that was being ganged up on by Lux’s Skeletal Fighters.

Matty didn’t stray far from the little blonde Dwarf and used his two short swords to slash the Orc’s Legs in order to limit its movements.

“They’re too sturdy!” Matty complained. “My swords can’t cut deep!”

“Fire Lance!”

“Hydro Ball!”

Andy and Axel fired their elemental spells at the Orc that Colette, Matty, and the Skeletons were fighting in order to help subdue it. However, their spells barely pushed it back, which proved how strong their opponent was.

“This is madness!” Andy gasped. “It’s like we’re fighting a boss.”

“Yes, and there are over four hundred of these bosses,” Axel commented as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Lux shared his friends’ worries because he clearly felt the disparity in strength with just a few exchanges with their enemies. They were only dealing with two Orc Berserkers, and their forces were being decimated left and right.

If not for Diablo, Ishtar, and Pazuzu holding off one of the Orc Berserkers, they would have definitely found themselves in a precarious situation.

The main reason why they were having problems with the Orc Berserkers, was due to their ability “Rage”. This was similar to the Berserk Skill which doubled the Orc Berserker’s Stats for a period of time, making them extremely formidable.

An Orc Berserker under the effect of Rage was equivalent to a Rank 4 Monster, which put them on the same level as Boss Monsters in the eyes of Lux and the Dwarf children.

The Half-Elf couldn’t help but glance in the direction where Barca and Orobak were duking it out with each other. From his vantage point, he could see the Barca was being pushed back by the Orc Chieftain, whose eyes had turned bloodshot from anger.

Lux also noticed that there were some kind of red mists that were flying in Orobak’s direction that were coming from the blood of the corpses that were lying on the ground.

These red mists seemed to coat Orobak’s Black Armor, as well as his sword, making them more durable, and deadly with each passing minute.

“Is that some kind of Skill?” Lux muttered as he observed the battle from afar. “Whatever that is, it doesn’t bode well for us.”

The Half-Elf’s greatest fear was starting to come to light as Barca was blown away with one of Orobak’s powerful Sword Slash.

With that single exchange alone, Lux fully understood that Orobak’s current strength had broken through the initial stages of the Rank 5 Alpha Beast Rank, making him the strongest Orc inside the Stronghold, and an enemy that they would need to fight together in order to defeat.