Doomsday Pillars

This time, two war pack orcs came to join the battle. Added up with the rest of the orcs that previously fought, they now had to fight fifty orcs.

Richard, President McCord's bodyguard, was still on guard to protect the president. Standing on the rear of the formation, James could see them wasting their laser guns. 

"Richard, my golem and I will stay here to protect President McCord. It'd be best for you and your soldiers to go forward and shoot."

"Currently, the battle is 400 against 50, there is absolutely no reason to worry..."

Hearing this, James felt quite annoyed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing..

"Did the secret government not teach their people how to count? Minus those who are injured and the nearly 200 people who don't have enough strength to fight, there are only about 150 people who can still fight and be counted on. 150 against 50. It's three against one. This odd isn't very favorable."

Richard was annoyed hearing James's tone, which contained a hint of mockery. Understanding that nothing good would happen if an argument were to occur here, as this could be said to be a battlefield, President McCord told James:

"James, they were trained to always stand by my side to guard me, they're only doing what they were trained to do. And you, Richard. You better go forward to help."

"Sorry, Elizabeth... I've gotten too used to bossing people around all the time."

"James, you better go forward to help as well. I'm sure that your Golem will be very helpful. I will be careful and get closer to the troops that are retreating."

Edy Grog was included in the group that was retreating. Of the more than a hundred fighters who joined him, only a dozen dared to remain in the front row.

He slowly approached the president.

"Madam President... I think it would be better for us to just retreat. These monsters are too strong for us to fend off..."

President McCord shook her head.

"I'm currently not the one in charge, so I'm not the one who has the right to give the order, Mr. Grog... The general in front is the one who leads, giving half-hearted orders at this time will only lead to more casualty and defeat, so I'm afraid we can't do that."

Edy Grog could only belatedly regret his arrogance yesterday and hope that his five sons would be able to survive this gruesome battle.

The conditions on the front row were currently starting to change at a rate visible to their eyes. The orc leader, who was wearing iron armor, summoned the remaining ten orcs to retreat and group up with the other incoming orc reinforcements.

"Regroup!!!" shouted Winter, alarmed.

Winter started to gather them together in order to fix their formation. It was only the first charge, yet they were already looking quite exhausted. The five Grog brothers, who were previously brimming with confidence, were now clinging and listening attentively to Winter's commands.

The five grog brothers were on the left side of the formation. Meanwhile, Zee, Red, and Flea went to the right side of the formation. These two groups gathered together to the fifty elite soldiers in the center of the formation. The remaining 100 men stood guard in the second row awaiting opportunities.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The orcs lined up and started shouting their war cries, which boosted their fighting spirit and of course, demoralized their opponents'.

GRAAAH!

"This is bad!" Nathanael shouted to Winter in alarm.

Nathanael spent a lot of his energy in the previous battle yet only managed to kill 2 orcs. There was absolutely no way he could fight a dozen of those monsters by himself.

Winter replied:

"The first attack wave is the most dangerous. It would end horribly if those green giants decide to charge this way altogether. We need to stop the charge."

When Winter was in deep contemplation, James, along with five force members of the secret government, carried laser weapons and, of course, his stone golems and approached the group.

"All right, I think we'll make it! Let's do it this way!"

Everyone present listened to the strategy Winter briefly explained and everyone attentively listened as they once again prepared themselves.

"Okay, ready!"

The screams of the orcs grew louder, followed by a sudden rush of all fifty orcs rushing forward their way... the charging orcs which each had an individual weight of at least 300 kilograms made everyone who saw them break out in a cold sweat.

At the forefront were the stone golems in the center, Nathaniel on the right, and Winter on the left.

Nathaniel closed his eyes, and suddenly, a gust of wind swirled around his body.

[Wind walk!]

Nathanael released a wind spirit skill which could increase his speed. The ax in his right hand also lit up a little, a sign that he was ready to unleash his skill.

"Ready!" exclaimed Nathanael with vigor.

On the left, Winter didn't want to be left behind the slightest. He released an earth spirit skill that he had just mastered.

[Stone skin!]

Every inch of Winter's body seemed to turn blackish and every part of his muscles hardened.

This was the skill of the earth spirit that could be learned after mastering the internal energy in the early stages of the earth spirit.

But Winter's preparation was not done yet. He still hadn't taken out his hidden skill. It was the skill that he got from the B rank prize from the initial challenge.

Winter screamed loudly and energy was emitted from his body.

[Warrior Spirit]

[Battle art skill is used.]

[All physical strength increases for a limited time.]

[Winter]

[Male - 39 years old]

[Earth realm level 18 - Enhance]

[Spirit Energy - Earth]

[Spirit Talent - Level B]

[Warrior Spirit has been activated.]

James hadn't seen Winter fight since he completed the first challenge, so this was the first time he had witnessed a special move that was a reward from the Doomsday Pillar.

"Wow! He went up ten levels!" James exclaimed in surprise and awe.

James knew clearly that after level 10, to raise it to level 11 was immensely difficult and expensive. Having a skill that could increase one's level could be considered cheating.

With the stone body skill, added with the warrior spirit and his sword and shield martial arts, Winter transformed from a soldier into a war tank.

The stone golem and these two, and Winter and Nathaniel came forward crashing into the fifty orcs' attack...

The two sides were ready to collide.

BOOM!!!

The line of giants was halted. At least almost ten orcs got blown off like bowling pins.

This stone golem owned by James was similar to that of Alex. This was a Tier 2 golem. It had the strength of a peak Earth Realm fighter. Added up with a hard and big body, it was unquestionably stronger than most of the other fighters here.

Winter was, too, with his stone body skill and the leap in his combat realm combined. Those made him twice stronger than this golem. Meanwhile, Nathaniel still felt the easiest. A Tier 3 slash. That wind slash was proven to be extremely fatal. Every orc who saw him didn't dare to take the blow empty-handed.

After the collision, Nathanael, Winter, and the golem wasted no time and immediately started attacking the divided orcs. Out of a total of fifty orcs, the three of them were able to stop more than half of it.

The twenty other orcs in the right and left were not affected by the collision. But those two rows of ten orcs each didn't have one-tenth the combined impact strength of fifty orcs. It could be seen that the strategy given by Winter was successful.

The ten orcs on the right faced off against the five Grog brothers and a dozen of their fighters. James and the secret government soldiers joined them.

On their left were Zee, Red, Flea, and the fifty elite fighters, who could easily take on a dozen other orcs.

"Immediately finish off these ten savage orcs and immediately help Lieutenant Winter up front!"

"Yes, Sir!!!"

Crossbows, spears, and axes artifacts came into action on the left. At a considerable speed, the left troops took control of the battlefield.

President Elisabeth and the other fighters at the back also cheered at the collision of the golem and the two fighters.

Not long after, the five Grog brothers once again began to have a hard time. The second eldest fended off the orcs' continuous attack with the other Tier 1 machete. And suddenly...

Crack!!!

The Tier 1 artifact machete was destroyed… even artifact weapons from the Doomsday Pillar had its limitations.

The second eldest couldn't evade and received a machete slash, immediately falling.

"Brother!!" The four siblings screamed simultaneously.

The other four wanted to help immediately, but they were also struggling. If they were to let their guard down even a little bit, their lives could immediately be lost.

Splaattt!!

The machete stabbed his body again... but before the orc tried to rip its prey, a knife stabbed its neck.

Splat!!

The orc instantly died. It was an attack from James with his Tier 2 artifact knife.

James saw the condition of Dan Grog, who fell unconscious and immediately pulled a nearby fighter.

"Put him into the recovery pod. HURRY!" James ordered that soldier as he began to focus his attention on the approaching orcs.

Bzzzzzzzzz—Bzzzzzz

The laser attack pierced the skin of the orcs who were approaching James.

"Come on! Don't give up!!"