First Light of a New Age

Chapter 72: The Second Orc Fleet

“ROAAAAAARRRRR!!!”

A massive Silver Land Dragon unleashed a deafening roar as its enormous form stood before Eurylochus, who fired his rifle uselessly as the bullets barely scratched the behemoth’s scales.

“Fuck! Not again!!”

The dragon’s mouth gaped wide, and a blinding glow emanated from its throat, illuminating the world in an explosion of dazzling light.

“No!!”

Eurylochus jerked awake, sweat drenching his hospital scrubs and winced in pain when it surged through him as his sudden movement aggravated his injuries. Gasping, he rolled onto his side, coughing in pain before his eyes caught the ominous red flash of a warning light in the dim room.

"Field hospital... must be the one at the Mining Facility," he thought, piecing together the details.

He forced himself to steady his breathing, and the faint sound of the facility's silent siren reached his ears. A hurried looking nurse rushed past his bed, and he called out to the nurse who had a stressful look on her face.

“What’s happening?”

“It’s an Orc raid,” the pretty nurse answered, her face appearing deadly pale under the flashing red lights. “Don’t worry, we’re moving everyone into the mines for safety.” 

With that, she headed off somewhere urgently.

“Damn, I was just having a sweet dream about this girl...” one of the injured soldiers a few beds down joked, causing weak laughter from the others who awoke, which quickly dissolved into painful coughs.

“Sarge,” someone beside Eurylochus rasped, “What do we do now?”

“There’s nothing we can do in this condition,” Eurylochus groaned as he laid back into the bed. “Just trust our brothers out there.”

"Hooraaah..."

————————————————————————

The Orc fleet sailed rapidly across the ocean, moving faster than what the human strategists had predicted. Their ships plowed through the waves, where the same rhythmic beating of war drums echoed throughout the whole fleet in a sustained, about pace for the Orc rowers, who strained in unison, propelling the vessels forward.

Most of the orcs aboard were younglings, attracted by offers and promises of food, drink, plunder, riches, and best of all, a good fight. 

They had flocked to join the Skull Krusher fleet, sent from the Mother City to raid neighboring lands for resources and spoils. 

At the head of this horde was Jiak the Skull Krusher, an Orc Warmaster whose name struck fear across the seas. He had earned his title through cunning and brutality, capturing countless enemy ships and returning to the Mother City with their riches.

In recognition of his exploits, the Elders had used their ancient magic to transform him, reforming his body and mind, turning him stronger, faster and more intelligent. Once merely a Warleader, Jiak had evolved into a Warmaster, which is equivalent to a Transcendent Tier 1 according to those Soft Skins. 

Not only that, he now had commanded a force of over 200 ships and 40,000 Orcs, ready to lay waste to the outside world. 

Though his force was small compared to the rest of the Orc Warbands, especially the vast Orcish Hordes of legend, it was more than enough to raze cities and cripple small nations. 

Jiak had spent two long years amassing this number of fleet, backstabbing other Orc Warmasters and stealing resources from other clans, until his power was undeniable. Even the Orc Warboss himself had given Jiak his blessing to set sail.