kscans

Chapter 41 - The Daytime Defensive Line

With the enemy's numbers reduced, we began our full-scale assault.

"Although, at first, it's really just about buying time."

After all, the undead, myself included, can't operate during the day. So until nightfall, we had no choice but to rely on the Dark Elves, who could.

"But we're overwhelmingly outnumbered."

"Yes, which is why our daytime strategy will focus on impeding their advance with barriers and traps."

If this were the Great Cursed Sea, the tall, dense trees would offer enough shade for the undead to move about a little, but alas, the location was not ideal. And our enemy, wanting to defeat us while the sun was up, would be coming at us with everything they had.

To halt their advance, we threw everything we had into a series of defenses: towering earthen walls raised with the Orcs' stamina and my magic, and rock walls—or rather, small mountains made of piled-up boulders—to greet the enemy.

They immediately tried to scale them and drop ropes from the top, but infantrymen were impaled by spears that shot up from the ground, becoming the first casualties.

"Gyaaaah!"

"U-Undead! There are undead buried in the ground!"

"I—" Yes, by burying the undead, who have no need to breathe, we had created a man-powered—or rather, dead-man-powered—mechanical trap.

Furthermore, undead were hidden inside the piles of rock, firing arrows through gaps between the boulders at the top. This was an application of our previous daylight surveillance tactics.

"Hehe, those aren't just piles of rocks. They're effectively fortresses. Boulders too heavy for humans to lift have been stacked, and from the gaps, undead fire arrows from a high vantage point. Their aim is a bit poor since they're half-buried, but with this many of them, precise aiming isn't necessary."

Adolnel praised the rock piles with a beaming smile.

"Constructing proper fortifications takes skill, time, and money. But for buying time, this is more than sufficient. Besides, these rock piles are more than just obstacles."

As if on cue, Orcs appeared at the summit of the rock piles.

"Orcs! It wasn't just undead?"

"So they've subjugated the local monsters!"

The knights, who had assumed an easy victory during the day against only undead, grew cautious.

"Stay calm! Orcs are not skilled with magic or bows. Until they get close, their attacks—uwaah?!"

The knight who had been calmly assessing the Orcs' strength was stunned by the massive boulders that suddenly came raining down. The Orcs were throwing and rolling rocks from the top of the piles.

Soldiers trying to climb the rock walls and knights at the base were unable to dodge in time and were crushed.

"Damn it, fall back!"

The knights immediately retreated from the rock piles to protect themselves from the falling stones. It seemed like a good way to buy time, but the enemy quickly brought their magicians and archers to the very edge of their range.

"Orc archers, step forward."

At Adolnel's command, Orcs armed with bows now appeared.

"What? Orc archers? Never seen that before. And what are those ridiculously huge bows?!"

It was no wonder the knights were shocked. The Orcs had produced massive bows nearly as tall as they were.

These were Orc bows, made by forcibly bending huge, thick logs. Being so large, they naturally boasted incredible power. I mean, they could pierce a tree from a hundred meters away.

"Stay calm! There aren't many enemy archers! If we're careful, we won't get hit that easily!"

Yes, the enemy's assessment wasn't wrong. But if that was the case, we just had to do what we could.

The Orcs nocked their arrows, drew their bows with all their might, and fired in unison.

"What?! Everyone, evade—!"

It was no surprise the knights frantically ordered a retreat. The arrows the Orcs had fired split apart in mid-air. A single arrow instantly became ten, and with dozens of Orcs firing, the volley swelled to hundreds. Unable to dodge the massive rain of arrows from the sky, the soldiers met a gruesome end.

So, what was that strange attack? The answer is simple. If you have few soldiers, just have them fire a massive number of arrows at once.

With a normal bow, trying to fire multiple arrows at once would send them flying in every direction, or they might not even fly properly and just fall to the ground.

"But with the power of an Orc bow, you can launch dozens of arrows as long as you don't worry about aiming."

Turns out, Orcs are actually terrible archers. This was something Adolnel discovered when she had them practice. Apparently, Orcs as a species have poor eyesight; a simple vision test revealed their sight was much worse than that of the Dark Elves or Goblins. In exchange, they supposedly have a keen sense of smell.

For that reason, archery never became popular among Orcs. They figured it was faster to just get close and smash things, so they came to prefer close-quarters combat. That's the real reason you don't see Orc archers.

"However, we have solved that problem."

Adolnel's solution was an accessory that allowed them to fire a large number of arrows. It was a round, carved wooden plate with shallow holes drilled halfway through, into which the nocks of the arrows could be inserted. Imagine a speedloader used to quickly reload a revolver in an action movie. By drilling a hole through that and threading the bowstring through it, they could easily fire a large volley of arrows. She called it the Revolver Bow. Or maybe, since it fires all at once, a Shotgun Bow?

By the way, the arrows were slightly different from normal ones. To fit into the loader, a small rod extended from behind the fletching.

"This is the Orc bow tactic! If the Orcs' archery skills are poor, then we simply modify their equipment to fire many arrows at once, thereby increasing their combat potential!"

The Orcs nocked new arrows and fired. Once again, hundreds of arrows soared into the sky, piercing the enemy on the ground.

And so, the battlefield fell into a stalemate. If they got close, they'd be crushed by falling rocks. If they engaged in a shootout, an overwhelming number of arrows would fly their way.

"Still, it's just a drop in the bucket."

The strategy was working, but we had a limited supply of arrows. We had all the Goblins making them, but they were, after all, consumables. We'd have to have the undead retrieve them tonight.

As for the rockfall, if we threw too many, the defensive wall itself would get lower, so we couldn't overuse that either.

As a result, our attacks gradually dwindled. Furthermore, a portion of the rock wall collapsed under the assault of the allied army's battering ram. Although a few knights were caught in the collapse, it created a breach for the enemy. Once that happened, similar breaches opened up in other places, and I, judging that we could no longer maintain the front line, ordered the Orcs to retreat.

"We were not of much use. My apologies."

"No, no, you fought exceptionally well. Great job. Get some rest for now."

Next to greet the allied army was a staple of castle defense: a moat.

"Hmph, a moat this time."

We had connected the pits dug when creating the earthen walls and rock piles, then filled them with water to create a moat. It was quite deep and rather wide, so crossing it in metal armor would be tough.

"Magic unit! Fill in the moat!"

"O-oh?!"

But the magicians piled earth into a section of the moat, and in an instant, a path was formed.

"Hey, that's not good!"

Ugh, we went to all the trouble of making it!

"No, it's alright. Dark Elf unit, if you please."

At Adolnel's command, the Dark Elves began to move.

"O spirits of the earth, release your joined hands, and be free."

The Dark Elves, hidden in trenches, placed their hands on the ground and poured their magic into it. Ahead of them, the earthen bridge began to crumble.

"Uwaaah!"

Knights and nobles caught in the collapse fell into the moat.

"Glub, h-help me…"

"Damn it, they have magicians on their side too?! Fill it in with more! Cut down trees and throw in logs! Toss in boulders!"

To counter the Dark Elves' magic, more magicians were mobilized to increase the speed of the landfill. But it seemed the Dark Elves' magic was stronger, as the earthen bridge continued to crumble.

"Dark Elves, like other Elves, are users of Spirit Magic. They can hold their own against B-rank adventurers, so ordinary magicians won't be able to handle them without superior numbers. And even if they can, we can expect to drain their magic reserves."

Thanks to the Dark Elves, we bought more time, but it was still a long way until nightfall. In the end, the moat was also overcome by sheer numbers.

"M-my apologies."

"It's fine. You bought us plenty of time. And our casualties were light."

In any case, this was all part of Adolnel's plan.

"Next is the plain where we've laid traps. This will simply slow them down."

True, once they know there are traps, they'll be more cautious and their speed will decrease. As planned, the frontline infantry began to fall into the traps.

"There are traps! Magic unit, destroy them!"

"Huh?"

Then, the allied army commanded their magicians to attack the ground with magic. The area-of-effect spells they cast were low in power, but the shockwaves triggered and neutralized the traps.

"What?! Is that even a valid use of magic?!"

This is bad. At this rate, they'll break through the trap zone faster than planned!

"I never thought they'd counter it like this. It seems you can't learn everything from books; you'll always slip up in areas like this without real combat experience."

Adolnel grimaced with a hint of frustration.

"But we're not going to let them pass so easily!"

Our response was simple. From beyond the trap zone, Orcs and Goblins appeared and fired a volley of arrows. Meanwhile, Dark Elves cast spells from cover, targeting the enemy magicians.

"The magicians are being targeted! Shield bearers, protect them!"

Knights with large shields immediately moved to the front to protect the magicians from the arrows. However, being targeted themselves made it difficult for the magicians to aim, and the pace of their attack slowed. The knights wanted to charge and open a path, but the traps meant they'd have to disarm them first or suffer needless casualties, so they remained stationary.

And so, though faster than planned, our time-buying efforts in the trap zone came to an end. But seriously, overwhelming numbers are a pain. In the end, we were pushed back by the sheer size of their army. Ironic, since that's usually our tactic.

"The enemy army is getting quite close."

"Yes, but they're out of time."

The sun was already an orange orb, about to touch the horizon.

"This is where the real battle begins."

It was time for the undead, hidden in the darkness, to move as one.