Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

"My fellow tribe members, the decisive hour, the trial that would determine our fate, is upon us. The enemy is right in front of us, they are strong, far stronger than us and they will not hesitate to shed our blood".

"Now you have two choices, you can either mop here all day without making any contribution or you all can come with me and join your fellow members who gave their lives away while fighting"

With a warcry loud enough to reach even the enemy camp far behind, Berigard raised his staff in the sky and started casting.

Ominous wind started whistling across the entire battlefield and after a while, the earth started trembling as if in fear as to what is to come. Berigard poured unimaginable amounts of mana into his staff which in turn channelled it to create the desired elemental effect.

The mana in a few kilometres surrounding visibly took a yellowish hue and a pressure like that of a heavy mountain descended onto the place.

Before anyone could notice, a huge mountain more than a thousand meters big started materialising high up in the sky, casting a shadow on the ground by the setting sun.

"[Tremor Magic Master]- [Falling Meteor]" Berigard muttered, the moment he finished reciting the name of his magic, the mountain as if the gravity finally got hold of it, started descending.

The intermediate tier AOE Tremor Magic, was one of the strongest magic in Berigard's arsenal. It was so powerful that it needed a ton of mana and concentration for the magic to take shape. If he got distracted even a little, the magic that he materialised with so much effort, would disintegrate into nothing.

Thus it was crucial that he maintained his concentration until the moment the meteor falls on the enemy.

The tribe of ogres weren't fool, they immediately realised this weakness and thus pounced on it.

"Bellock, Belmarch… I'm counting on you" Berigard commanded his two subordinates who stood in front of him like a wall.

"Its him!" recognising the one that was rushing towards them as none other than the ogre that had toppled down the wall in a single punch, Bellock commented.

The two orc commanders immediately got into formation and activated one skill after another to stop the ogre in his tracks.

[Great Orc wall], [Heavy Shield], [Greater Force], [Bulwark], [Super Enhanced Defence], [Rampart], [Weaken Force], [Blunt resistance], [Cut resistance]…

<strong>"[Diluvian Fortress]"</strong>.

Immediately, the aura around them started coagulating and materialised into a huge fortress. The ogre that broke the wall, came pouncing towards them on his beast with the same momentum and force that he used to break the wall.

"[Shockwave Blast]" the ogre punched forward and collided with the [Diluvian fortress] that the two orc commanders put up.

<strong>BOOOMMM…</strong> a thundering sound accompanied by the air being burst apart, sounded out. The strongest defence the orc commanders can put up versus the strongest attack from an ogre powerful enough to bring down a wall created by numerous orc shamans.

It was the battle between the skills of the two races. Will the defence prevail or would it be the attack from the ogre. All the eyes on the battlefield were glued towards the clash.

For the ogre army, the attack would once again establish their position as the dominant one giving them an even bigger boost in morale. Whereas for the orc army, there was too much stake in line.

Not only would this victory mean a turnaround for them, but it would also potentially even bring their spirit that had hit rock bottom back up. Plus they absolutely needed to withstand this attack since Berigard who was controlling the meteor's fall, was behind them.

<strong>BANG… </strong>a loud banging noise was heard and in front of the petrified eyes of the onlooking orcs, cracks started appearing on the [Diluvian Fortress].

CRACK… the cracks did not just stop there, and started spreading all across the fortress.

Puff… Bellock and Belmarch who were maintaining the fortress, puffed out a mouthful of blood. Their entire body shook and they were pushed a few steps back.

"GRUAHHH…" the orc commanders cried out, even when their bones were being crushed under the pressure, they still doggedly held on and refused to budge any further.

Crick-crack… the cracks on the fortress started intensifying as the punch started caving in more and more, and before long the entire fortress collapsed along with the hopes of the entire orc army.

SKIIDD… SKIDDD… Bellock and Belmarch were pushed a few meters back and seemed to have suffered a backlash.

The technique, [Diluvian Fortress] had collapsed leaving Berigard all open. One could say that the ogre came out victorious in that bout, but when you consider the overall situation, it mattered not. The goal the orc commanders had in mind was not to win against the ogre but to delay him long enough for Berigard to bring down his magic and they have achieved their objective splendidly.

The meteor was on top of the right wing of the ogre army who had celebrated their victory too soon.

RUMBLE… the moment the meteor crashed onto the ground, it was as if a titan had put his foot on the ground. The earth trembled and the shockwave from the crash covered a radius of more than three kilometres.

Dust rose as high as a few thousand meters and a huge crater had formed around the place of impact. After a while when the dust settled, both sides were astonished to find that a part of the ogre army had been squashed underneath the meteor.

While those that were near, were blown back and injured in the aftermath. If one talked purely in terms of numbers, then that one intermediate-tier AOE spell from Berigard was enough to kill more than three hundred ogres and injure around five hundred.

It was no doubt a severe loss for the ogre army and a big blow to their morale. It also proved that a single powerful individual was enough to dictate the entire tempo of the war and Berigard just did that. This move from him was sure to mend the broken spirits of his tribe members back.

"You bastard…" the ogre that failed to stop the attack on time, cussed and charged towards the defenceless Berigard who was reeling from the exhaustion of using a powerful AOE Intermediate tier magic.

"Bellock…Belmarch... "

"GUGA…" with Berigard's call, the two orc commanders who were pushed back, executed an attack in perfect synchronicity.

Bellock jumped on top of his fellow commander's hammer and was flung towards the onrushing ogre at a speed that utilised the full physical power of a Diluvian High orc.

"[Execution Slash]" An attack that was strong enough to cut through the scales of the lightning Draconic Serpent, was executed on the ogre.

Needless to say, the ogre was a far cry when compared to the lightning draconic serpent who was only a few steps away from reaching the disaster class. Plus, the ogre did not have hardened scales like the latter.

SLASH…

A clean gash bisected the body of the ogre in two, blood sprayed out like a fountain and the body fell on the ground with a thud. Even until the last few seconds before death, the ogre was unable to believe what just happened.

It was not only him, the ogre army and even their fellow tribe members were in disbelief. Bellock, one of the two orc commanders under Berigard had managed to kill the ogre powerful enough to open a hole through the wall and shatter their most powerful defensive technique.

This not only gave them a pleasant surprise, but it also showed them a ray of hope that there is still a chance that they could win this war. The dispirited orcs started to once again gain courage.

This effect could be seen not only in Bergard's faction but also in the faction led by Berirock and Berimond. Both of them were surprised by how valiant the latter acted during this time of need.

Not only was he good at commanding, his actions also demonstrated how good of a leader he was. Berirock finally understood why orc commanders like Bellock and Belmarch who had the potential to reach the rank of an orc general, refuse that position and chose to be under Berigard.

It was only natural for an orc like that to command such respect and loyalty from his subordinates. The action of Berigard had a positive effect on the entire orc army as warcries started to echo from the previously downtrodden orcs.

"That was a risky move from you… are you alright/" Berimond came over after handing command to his orc commanders temporarily.

"Don't worry about it. I knew they would try to attack me that is why I brought those two with me. I knew I could get away with it since they have my back" Berigard said glancing at his subordinates who had been with him thick and thin.

"GUGAGA… you really are something. No wonder the army you have raised is so loyal to you. Berigard, although I know it's too late but I want to apologise to you. You were right, we shouldn't have trusted Belgarious. He has already deserted us and is probably running away now. If only I didn't stay neutral and supported your cause at that time, that we would have probably had a higher chance of surviving this ordeal today" Berimond lamented.

"It's not too late," Berigard remarked "We still have a chance".

"What do you mean? There is no way we can win against them, not without the orc king. You should know it, those brown horns shouldn't be the highest combat powress of the enemy. There is definietely a crimson horn leading them. When that ogre shows up, even if we somehow manage to defeat the brown horns we wouldn't be a match for him" Berimond enunciated his worries.