Doomsday Pillars

Today Alex, and over 150 fighters of the Star Army gathered in the second hall on the 31st floor.

Among them, there were 30 sword fighters led by 10 fighters with the spirit elements of lightning and wind, 60 spear and shield fighters led by 20 fighters with the spirit elements of earth, ice, and plant, 30 archers led by 10 fighters with the spirit elements of fire and metal, as well as 2 medical fighters with the spirit element of water.

This time, Alex was accompanied by Aria, Raufgar, Darius, and Cindy at the gathering.

Every part of the second hall was very similar to that of the first hall's. Alex approached the cube stone in the center of the hall, and a batch of information began to enter his mind.

[You can enter the second challenge.]

[The second challenge will be a group battle.]

[The challenge's battle will be in the form of a simulation.]

[The penalty of death in the challenge's simulation will be the decrease of points.]

[The duration of the challenge will be 7 days.]

[The reward points will be increased for each mission completion.]

[The rewards will be the form of individual rewards as well as group rewards.]

[Are you ready to enter the second challenge?]

"Yes," Alex replied to the cubic's question without delay. The faster they began, the faster they would finish, and the better that would be for them. Of course, Alex accepted it also because he believed that they were ready to go against this challenge.

[165 people have been registered for the challenge's battle.]

[This challenge will be closed for the next 7 days.]

[Good luck.]

Alex and the fighters of the Star Army who had gathered there were immediately "transported" to an area of green mountains and forests. Immediately after arriving, Alex paid attention to his surroundings. 

"If this place had snow, it would be really similar to the battle area of the first challenge," Aria commented as she looked around the environment. Indeed, just like how the second hall was extremely similar to the first hall, the battle area of the second challenge was also really similar to the battle area of the first challenge.

Aria's comment reminded Raufgar of the incident on the first challenge. Raufgar's complexion started to turn pale. "We're not going to fight wolves again, are we?" he asked out of worry. He absolutely did not want to experience that again.

The blonde woman next to him realized what he was concerned about and said with a smile, "Raufgar, no need to worry so much... Do you know the most effective way to survive being chased by a wolf?"

Raufgar immediately listened to Cindy attentively. He didn't, but he wanted to know.

"It's easy. If you're being chased by a wolf, you don't need to be the fastest runner. You just need not to be the slowest one. As long as there's one person behind you who's slower than you are, you'll be safe. Better yet, if the person has a big and fat body… then the wolf will definitely choose to attack him like pouncing at the most delicious hamburger," Cindy continued, speaking in a slightly teasing tone.

Hearing this, Raufgar's complexion began to get even paler... because he realized that his body was big and fat, as well as because he was the slowest runner among everyone who was present at the moment.

"Hahaha, I'm just kidding, Raufgar. If you encounter such trouble, I'll definitely take care of you," Cindy chuckled lightly.

This formation that Alex decided to use had already been considered and pondered over very carefully.

Alex's team consisted of Aria, Raufgar, Darius, and Cindy. Arief's team consisted of Daisy, Tommy, Sergei, and Oliver. Meanwhile, Jerry's team consisted of Dario, Ark, Dinda, Theo, and Oscar.

Among each of the teams, there was a battle commander who was trained and experienced in warfare. Aria was the person in team A, Arief in team B, and Dario in team C. The three of them were team heads of the Death Squad.

Each of the teams also had a fighter who was talented in the elements of protection as the front leader of the fighters wielding spears shields. Raufgar was the one in team A, Sergei in team B, and Ark in team C.

And more importantly, the three of them had a fighter who was an expert with the element of light who could detect the opponents' presence radar. Alex was the one in team A, Daisy in team B, and Theo in Team C. The rest was divided according to their respective combat abilities.

When paid attention to, it seemed that apart from Aria, the fighters that Alex chose were not as strong as the fighters in the other teams. Even so, Alex was very confident that for him, the most important thing in clearing this challenge was information about the enemies they would be fighting against. Since Alex had already cleared this challenge before, he wasn't worried. Although Alex had provided detailed information to the others, no amount of knowledge could beat experience.

Alex checked the information on the bracelet on his wrist.

[A horde of orcs has invaded the land. Led by their great orc shaman Drok'Thal, the hordes will unleash chaos and destruction to all living beings.]

[Mission objective: Stay alive for 7 days.]

[Mission objective: Eliminate at least half of the orc horde.]

[Mission objective: Kill Drok'Thal.]

[The horde will arrive in 48 hours]

"Wow this is much more exciting than fighting against those wolves," Cindy exclaimed.

"Haha, wait until you see how many of those monsters we have to fight," Alex simply replied with a smile.

"Hm? How many? 500? 1,000?" Cindy inquired. Alex's simple words piqued her curiosity. 

" around more than 1,000 orcs," Alex replied. Hearing that, Cindy and Raufgar were both relieved. Although their numbers in comparison were 1 to 10, this was not impossible. 'That's not so bad.'

But it turned out that Alex had only begun talking just now.

"500 Uruks, 200 berserkers, and 200 rider orcs. In total, all in all  horde of 2,000 orcs."

"..." They were rendered speechless. 'He's joking… right?'

"Alex… are you out of your mind? Even our whole army of 500 fighters won't be able to win so easily against that many of them... and what the f**k are orcs riders, even?" Cindy asked in disbelief.

"Oh, they're basically a bunch of orcs riding wolves," Alex answered in a slightly nonchalant tone.

"...Hahaha... Raufgar, there are wolves too here this time, after all… hahaha..." Cindy dryly laughed. She, too, started to look worried. She really was. 

Even though Raufgar's face was extremely pale, he tried to calm down and encourage himself. He then turned to look at Alex.

"We shouldn't need to worry. Alex definitely has a plan for us... Right, Mr. Alex...?" It wasn't very apparent, but Raufgar's voice was slightly trembling.

"...Sort of..." Alex replied with uncertainty, not giving them the slightest bit of assurance.

"..."

While they were talking, Darius and Aria had already returned from checking the parameter.

"Oh, that's really fast. Great." Alex was satisfied. Not only were they fast, but the amount of information they got was also satisfactory.

Alex immediately made a battle map based on the information he got from them.

Even though the mission and opponents that they were about to go against were in accordance with Alex's previous life, the battle area was constantly changing. Because of this, Alex had to start by studying the conditions of the battle area first.

By climbing the tallest hill, they immediately realized that they were on an island that was about 10 square kilometers in area, which was about 10,000 hectares.

10,000 hectares was indeed a very large area, but it was not big enough for them to hide from a horde of 2,000 orcs.

"Alex, the scouts also found the place you were looking for; an old fortress that isn't in use."

"Ah, Alex, is that the tactic that we're going to use...? We only need to survive in the fort for 7 days, right?" Cindy voiced out her thoughts.

Alex replied calmly, "Yes and no."

They were obviously confused by Alex's answer. Was it supposed to be a yes or a no?

Seeing the look of confusion on their faces, he explained further, "We won't be able to defend against 2,000 orcs in a fortress war... that is the most common mistake of the people who face this challenge. But you're not completely wrong. Darius, Raufgar, you two can immediately bring 100 troops to the fort and start the preparations according to plan."

"Okay..." replied Darius.

"All right. We've found the place for our final battle. Even so, we still have to be prepared to hold back their first wave," Alex reminded in a serious tone.

150 troops were not enough to use base defensive tactics against 2,000 orcs. The second solution would be guerrilla attacks, but the biggest obstacle with using guerrilla tactics in this challenge's battle would be the fast wolf-riding rider orcs.

These first 48 hours of preparation was very important. Aria led the team in setting up the traps while Darius and Raufgar were busy tidying up the fort. Only Cindy could be seen not doing any special duties. On the second day, the work they've prepared seemed to have increased.

On the last night of their preparation, Alex had a final briefing with them. After they tried their best to prepare themselves to fight against the horde of 2,000 orcs, it seemed that their confidence had greatly improved.

"There's nothing else left to prepare. All we have left to do is just do our best tomorrow."