The orcs stood along the back wall, eyeing the slaves. The slaves watched as the Orcs conversed with one another and licked their lips. They looked as though they were discussing how to eat them!
However, an entirely different conversation was taking place. The Orcs were more frightened than the slaves.
"What?! Those people are screaming in the middle of the night?! Are they crazy?!"
"Scary! Those humans must not be in their right minds! Even we don't charge in buck-naked!"
"Shit, are they trying to get themselves killed? I've seen it plenty of times, but those soldiers in their underwear… I pitied them at the start, but they're starting to scare me more than anything!!"
"What is it with them falling from the sky? Magic? I'm already scared of the strange metal projectiles, but are they shooting things that big as well?!"
Despite their fear, their Orc instincts remained sharp. Their crossbows were trained onto the slaves. They were more than enough to deal with opponents charging in without shields or armor.
"They're pitiful, but on a battlefield, it matters not! Everyone load-!"
"Fire!"
The Orcs fired their crossbows. Released with a dull 'Thunk', the bolts flew at an incredible speed. Their sharp heads skewered the slaves, piercing through the bodies of those at the front to hit the slaves behind them. A single bolt ran through 2, at times 3 people.
"T-this crazy…!"
"This is too much!"
A single volley killed 200 people. As the slaves faltered, the Orcs reloaded their weapons. Not only did the Allied forces of the Hero not have ranged support, but the large form siege weapons and Magic-infused Cannons were not aiming toward the enemy on the battlefield, but the enemy encampment. The slaves were sitting ducks.
"Ugh… R-run…"
The slaves looked behind them.
"Pikes!"
As though daring the slaves to turn back, the drafted soldiers raised their longspears to form a sharp spear wall. Should they retreat, the slaves would be skewered by their own soldiers. Faced with the option, they ran ahead and died by the crossbows. They had nowhere to run.
"Damn it all…!"
The slaves gritted their teeth and charged toward the Orcs.
"… Isn't this too much?"
Removed from the battle, Aris loathingly turned to Ludin. This scene of trapping slaves did not satisfy her. Ludin clenched his teeth.
"They're just tools," he said, "It's only natural that they serve as shields."
"That may be so, however…"
"If we don't win here… I'll die."
Aris' eyes grew wide hearing his words; she knew how important this battle was. If The Hero's forces lost here, the endless flow of support they had enjoyed from the Holy Kingdom would cease, and Ludin would be held responsible. Failing to defeat the Demon Lord would invite doubt to the faith, and his peerage as Hero with the blessing of god could be revoked. Ludin could be killed or worse, his tendons might be severed, and he would live his days as a Slave Soldier.
Ludij tightened his fist at the thought..
"Use the slaves as shields. Drafted soldiers, move forward!"
A Holy Knight raised his flag. Commanding soldiers relayed the orders.
"Everyone… forward-!"
The pike shields slowly advanced. Step by step, the spearheads began to close in on the slaves. Panicked, the slaves pushed forward.
The loading speed of the Orcs sped up. "Ey! Hurry up!" they said to each other, "those scary things are coming!"
"Uggggh…!"
Ludin's expression soured. Although pressured, none of the Orcs thought to leave their encampment. What he wanted was melee combat with the Orcs. Despite their physical strength, Orcs were still living creatures; if they climbed out to fight the slaves and average soldiers, they would become exhausted, potentially enough for the Holy Knights and himself to engage at the end. How great was that strategy?! A victory obtained by the Hero! It didn't matter how many soldiers were sacrificed. This battle… it had to end in victory! The Demon Lord was there, so whatever method he chose to use would be praised as ingenious.
"… I am a Hero. A praised Hero!" Ludin turned to the Holy Knights. "How many Orcs have we captured in battle?
"… About 50, sir," one answered. "We had planned to use them as slaves."
"Cut those bastards' heads off and throw them toward the enemy. The Orcs are brash. They'll become enraged seeing the severed heads of their kin."
"… Is that okay to do?"
"Didn't those bastards send us the heads of our fellow Holy Knights? It is the same warning!"
The Holy Knight relented with a nod.
***
"… Have I kept myself in seclusion for too long?"
Tom watched the night sky. There were stars, which shone from fixed places, and other glimmers of light, similar to meteors, that rose up and fell down in the sky. Some of those lights, he knew, were explosions of condensed mana. As a ball of energy created through magic stones, they were set to explode even at the slightest of impacts. They poured from the sky with a deafening roar, like rain.
The Magic Cannons fired on the encampment, their munitions exploding upon impact and igniting the fields. The tent completely collapsed. The shells possessed enough power to wipe out a dozen people at once.
Tom watched the Magic Cannons of the Hero's forces and recalled what had happened in the Golden Territories. It was smaller, but Kelvin also had a similar weapon. It could be said that Tom had dangerous firepower just by being in possession of such a weapon.
'If we had such a weapon in the past, the subjugation of the Demon King would've been much simpler…'
As magic and weapons were developed, humans continued to evolve. That was the might of civilization.
He looked around and saw Karakul. He stood on the most dangerous spot, the front of the battlefield, and watched the Hero's side.
"Oh! Commander Karakul is here!" An Orc said.
"Commander, how do I use this?" Another Orc called out. "I've shot crossbows from a covered position on the practice range, but we're still lacking bolts!"
"We're almost out completely. I don't know about the slaves, but we definitely won't have enough to kill those well-armed humans in the distance."
Karakul frowned at the Orcs' reports. He had relied on Kuman in order to secure the Demon Lord's retreat. He could now focus on fighting off the enemy, unfettered by such concerns.
"We hold. We have them come to us. It's hard for them to cross through this barricade. More than anything, it's advantageous for our numbers."
Something caught Karakul's eye: across the battlefield, heavy catapults were mobilizing where they had been previously left alone.
The Soldiers began to load into the catapult. They raised their flag and lowered it to signal the catapults to fire. The projectiles flew high into the sky… and what appeared to be small rocks began to descend upon the orcs.
"Everyone, evade!"
"Raise your shields!"
The Orcs raised their wooden shields. They intended to block the rocks flung by the enemy. With a blunt sound, the projectiles struck the shields and bounced to the floor. The Orcs felt odd, and lowered their gaze to confirm. What they thought were rocks were instead bloodied heads.