Chapter 478 - 477: Advancement in Swordsmanship

The tent stood on the outermost edge of the Orc camp. It was surrounded by several smaller tents, their surfaces adorned with an array of human Armor, bleached skulls, and various weapons. Even from a distance, the sight exuded a murderous aura.

A flag emblazoned with a blood-soaked Long Sword hung from the tent's peak.

"There's no mistaking it. That's the Divine Emblem of the Orc god of strategy," Colin said, his eyes fixed on the flag.

Kase, eager to show what he knew, quickly chimed in. "I know this one. Yinavu, the god of strategy, is Gush's right-hand man. He's in charge of battlefield command. No other Orc has a sharper mind."

Silence fell over the group.

Hearing Kase speak the deity's name so directly, Colin was slightly worried something abnormal might happen, but there was no reaction at all.

'Perhaps it's because the Orc Deities have completely banished Kase's bloodline,' he thought, 'so they've been unilaterally cut off.'

"I have some good news and some bad news."

Albert continued, "The good news is that the followers of the god of strategy are relatively conservative. They prefer to employ tactics rather than launch aggressive assaults, so Wolf Castle might hold out a bit longer."

"I'd call that bad news," Dorn said. "It'd be much easier to deal with them if those Orcs were stupider."

"And the worse news is that my reinforcements will likely need another week or so to arrive. If Wolf Castle falls before then, we'll be in trouble."

Colin frowned. "Why will it take so long?"

"It's the autumn harvest, Colin," Albert sighed. "No one anticipated a battle like this."

"I saw Orcs in that stone fortress..." Kase asked, his expression grave. "Are they... my people?"

"Yes," Albert said. "I'm sorry, Kase. It's the only way for them to be of the most use."

"I'm not asking for an apology. We're fighting for our own land; that's what we promised." Kase turned to look at Colin. "Can you save as many of my people as possible, Colin?"

Colin glanced at the sea of tents surrounding the fortress.

By visual estimate alone, there were likely several hundred Orcs, including a number of towering Ettins. It was a veritable army.

Colin said, "That's not my call to make, Kase."

"So what do we do now?" Ale asked.

At her question, the group fell silent.

An entire Orc army was laying siege to a human fortress. What could a mere six people and one Ogre possibly do? Everyone unconsciously found themselves pondering this question.

Even if Colin and his companions had plenty of experience facing large numbers of foes, they had never confronted an enemy force of this magnitude. No one dared to make any boastful claims.

But at the same time, a single thought occurred to each of them.

'Is there really no hope of victory?'

Throughout their adventures, they had successfully cut down one seemingly invincible foe after another: Cultists, White Frost, a Mind Flayer, the Dragon Worship Cult...

After experiencing all that, anyone would develop a sense of confidence. The tricky part was to harness that confidence and keep it from turning into blind arrogance.

Colin took a deep breath.

'Regardless of their feelings, they needed a plan.'

He spoke up. "We could try raiding the commander's tent while they're attacking Wolf Castle. A decapitation strike like that might just shatter the Orcs' morale.

Orcs are warlike, but they still fight to survive. If their commander is taken out, it's bound to force them into a rout."

"But we'd have to time the attack perfectly," Albert said. "Otherwise, it's just a suicide mission."

"This whole situation is absurd," Dorn complained.

Colin teased in a joking tone, "Why don't you head back first, then?"

"Can't do that. I said I'd get you all back alive. As the oldest adult here, deserting my post is not an option." Dorn tapped his boots. "I have to be worthy of these, after all."

"Then that's our plan," Albert said. "The... that rock ledge where the Hoar Horse is should be safe enough. We can stay there for a few days."

"We can't just wait there indefinitely. We need to find a route for a fast approach to that main tent," Colin said. "Dorn, can I leave that to you and Kase?"

"Relax, that's not a problem," Dorn said, drawing his Dagger and giving it a deft twirl.

After finalizing the plan, the group divided the labor.

Ale and Orelia went to find food, while Dorn and Kase set out to find the next staging point for their gradual approach to the Orc camp. Mog and Albert remained on the ledge to stand guard.

Colin, meanwhile, hid behind a rock to observe the Orcs' activities.

Leaning against a boulder and watching the distant camp, he reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist and gently rubbed it.

Despite their tight schedule, he still tried to carve out time each day, stealing moments of leisure to continue refining his Swordsmanship.

Over the course of their journey, Colin had spent five days raising his Swordsmanship Skill Level past two thousand points, earning a new Specialty and successfully reaching the next stage.

[Silent Sword Dance (Advanced): Your Swordsmanship has advanced. 1. Magic failure rate is reduced by 10%. 2. After entering the Sword Dance state, you can substitute the verbal components of your Magic with the vibration of your blade, allowing you to complete your Casting even while silenced.

3. You can expend energy to enter a Curse Sword state. Your next attack deals extra Damage. If you expend enough energy to cast a Tier One Magic, you deal an additional 1-8 Damage. If you expend enough energy to cast a Tier Two Magic, you deal an additional 2-16 Damage.]

In addition to further reducing his Magic failure rate, this Specialty granted Colin two new abilities.

Slightly bored, Colin leaned against the rock face and slowly drew his Dagger.

With a thought, the Dagger began to vibrate faintly, signaling that he had officially entered his Sword Dance state.

Colin made the Casting gesture for Blade Ward.

The instant he completed the gesture, a layer of silver light bloomed across his body.

Colin hadn't made a single sound from the beginning of the Casting to its completion, yet the Magic had worked perfectly—this meant that Silence or any other effect that restricted speech would no longer be effective against him.

He glanced toward the distant Orc camp, and seeing no movement from the Orcs there, he brought the Dagger up before his eyes.

He could clearly see the blade vibrating faintly.

Honestly, Colin had never noticed that his blade trembled while he was in his Sword Dance state.

After all, the vibrations were far too subtle. Whenever he entered his Sword Dance state, it was either for training or in the heat of battle; he'd never had time to notice such a minor detail.