Chapter Thirteen: The Heart of a Strong Warrior

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The sun seemed unwilling to witness the events about to unfold, hiding behind the clouds as raindrops pattered against the warriors’ armor, as if lamenting the cruelty of war.

Cao De watched the approaching orc army. The front line remained composed of minotaurs, but this time they wore makeshift armor, covering vital areas—especially their iron briefs, which had the thickest plates. Their massive battle axes could double as shields. Combined with their formidable defense, they were steadfast tanks.

Suddenly, a row of archers atop the city wall released arrows that struck the ground just ahead of the advancing minotaurs, the shafts trembling. It was both a warning and a test of their maximum shooting range.

The minotaurs halted, glaring with their bovine eyes at the human soldiers on the wall. One minotaur’s head was noticeably larger than the others’, still swollen. His gaze burned fiercely at the machine gunners stationed on the distant battlements.

The orc king, Wolbiao, a lion-headed warrior, frowned as he surveyed the soldiers on the wall. A bad feeling stirred within him. There were no large concentrations of human troops nearby. He patted the massive claw of the nearby Mongya beast. The Mongya was powerful but lacked intelligence and consumed enormous amounts of food. If not for its usefulness in siege warfare, bringing it along would have been a burden.

The Mongya beast glanced disdainfully at Wolbiao, who stood as tall as its own foot. With a swipe of its massive paw, it sent Wolbiao flying. The orcs were accustomed to such antics; their king had been knocked down countless times but showed no sign of learning, continually edging closer to the Mongya.

Wolbiao stood up, brushing dust from his body without complaint. He turned to face the distant city, drew the long sword at his waist, and pointed it toward Saint Heart City. His eyes were sharp and resolute as he quietly uttered, “Kill.”

The orcs beside King Wolbiao echoed his command with a fierce shout. Like a chain reaction, more orcs joined the cry, their voices swelling until the roar of a million orcs thundered across the land. The shame of the orcs could only be washed away with human blood.

Though the Mongya beast could not speak, the deafening battle cries stirred its spirit, and it opened its massive mouth like a steam engine, howling twice.

At the height of their momentum, the army surged forward toward Saint Heart City!

At this moment, Wang Sheng, Ji Cheng, Dian Lu, and Cao De stood atop the city walls. They all knew the first wave of attack was the toughest to withstand and prepared to strike.

One hundred machine gunners lined up to defend one section of the wall, while mages and students from the Magic Academy guarded another. The two groups focused mainly on intercepting the advanced orc assault. The army’s elites were physical combatants wielding specialized bows with potent lethality. Watching the minotaurs enter attack range, Cao De shouted, “Hold steady!”

The orcs began advancing slowly, then gradually increased their pace. “Release!” With a roar, a volley of arrows rained down from within the city. The minotaurs raised their battle axes in front of their heads, pressing onward.

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The dense arrow storm resembled a black cloud descending upon the minotaur forces. Clangs and the thud of those struck down sounded amidst the chaos. Just as one volley ended, another was released from the city. Arrows shot by powerful third-tier human archers pierced through minotaur bodies, pinning them to the ground—though third-tier mages were still few in number. Some minotaurs took multiple hits yet pressed forward with crazed eyes fixed on the walls.

The city’s mages began casting spells. The rain-soaked, muddy ground froze into patches of ice beneath the minotaurs’ feet, causing them to slip and stagger, their charging formation collapsing into chaos. Many fell over one another, some ending up in awkward splits. Their lowing filled the air as the scene descended into disorder.

Watching via satellite, Shen Yi’s grim expression instantly shifted to laughter. “Are you here to siege the city or put on a show? Is warfare among otherworldly beings always this comical? Haha, this is hilarious.”

Wang Sheng and the others atop the wall flushed red with frustration. “Pfft pfft,” Dean Dian glanced at Cao De again...

Cao De caught Dian’s disdainful gaze and responded with innocent eyes, “It really wasn’t me this time.” He suspiciously looked at Wang Sheng and Ji Cheng.

Siege warfare was brutal. Falling often meant death. The army would not halt for those who stumbled; the troops at the rear trampled over the fallen minotaurs to press the assault.

The mages were few and needed time to recharge after casting large-scale spells. The pause gave the minotaur vanguard a chance to close in, while kobolds maneuvered around them, shooting arrows in return.

The defenders gradually felt the pressure, many dying under arrow fire. Gunshots rang out from the battlements as Shen Yi ordered machine gunners to target the kobolds. One by one, they fell. The limited number of machine gunners could only ease the strain on the soldiers. As the orcs pressed forward, the mages unleashed another ice spell, throwing the battlefield into further chaos.

At great cost in lives, the orcs finally reached the walls, setting up iron siege ladders. Two muscular minotaurs pulled at the bases while others climbed. From above, the walls were a sea of orc heads. Werewolves held round shields in one hand and swung hooked ropes with the other, latching onto the battlements and pulling themselves up. The brutal close-quarters combat was imminent. The Mongya beast also moved steadily forward within the horde, its war cries shaking the air.

Wolbiao watched from the rear as orcs began scaling the walls, his heart sinking. This siege was far tougher than previous ones; deaths were counted in the tens of thousands. The city’s garrison was surely the elite of the Saint Dragon Empire. Should Saint Heart City fall, the entire empire would be within their grasp.

At that thought, Wolbiao waved his hand, summoning ten thousand bird warriors circling above to swoop toward the city.

Wang Sheng and the others saw the birdmen approaching. “Looks like it’s our turn to act,” Wang Sheng said.

Dean Dian flicked his hand, sending a small whirlwind toward the birds. Simultaneously, Wang Sheng and Ji Cheng completed their spells, two fireballs streaking into the vortex. The three mages nearly collapsed, drained of magic.

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The whirlwind grew, the red flames coloring the vortex as wind and fire fed each other, expanding rapidly into a colossal tornado. The birdmen failed to react in time, two thousand of them caught and shredded within the storm. The survivors scattered in retreat. As the tornado touched down, it tore through the orcs, hurling them wildly through the air in a spectacular scene.

The tornado began to fade, its magic support waning. The Mongya beast, seeing the shrinking whirlwind near its height, charged forward and swatted at it without hesitation.

The tremendous force tore through Mongya’s arm, and the tornado dissipated from the strike.

Roaring in pain, the Mongya fled, running until it became a mere speck on the horizon.

Wolbiao was stunned. “Sixth-tier magic—‘Wind Sweeps the Clouds’… Humans have sixth-tier mages now?” He stared at the retreating beast, thinking, “Ten thousand alpacas just flew by! You’re supposed to break the walls, not summon windstorms. Are you having a fit?”

The battlefield had become a great millstone, grinding down lives. Without facing true disaster, humanity would never truly grow.

On the battlefield, life was as fragile as straw, with death reaping wave after wave of harvest.

The archers thought, “Why can’t I aim properly? If I survive, I’ll train a hundred shots daily until I can hit the enemy’s eye.”

The warriors thought, “My strength isn’t enough. If I return, I’ll undergo intensive training and sharpen my sword to kill more orcs.”

The Magic Academy’s students thought, “Why am I so weak? I run out of magic after only a few spells! I must meditate harder and study magic so I can become as strong as the dean and protect what I cherish.”

Within the soldiers and citizens of Saint Heart City, a desire to grow stronger quietly took root, sprouting and thriving. If you yearn for peace, do not fear challenge and war.