Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Chapter 24: Killing the Winter Orcs

Henry saw a horde of Orcs charging towards him and his expedition team, stirring up a small-scale snowstorm as the barbarian in front of them ferociously took down the final nearby Orc, who was close to the cliff.

Gedhe, who was leading the counterattack, stood tall with his body soaked in orc's blood, like a vengeful demon. Despite losing his dominant hand, his strength as a Fifth Stage Warrior made him an unparalleled killing machine on the battlefield. The Winter Orcs fell one after the other, unable to exert their superior strength against the barbarian small body.

Gedhe's Tribal Tattoo utilized the essence of an Alpha Sanguine Wolf, which granted him incredible speed and enough strength to crush a Fourth Stage Winter Orc. Furthermore, his heightened senses allowed him to perceive the subtle movements in the air, caused by the Orcs' movements. It provided him some sort of foresight to their attacks and made him easily dominate the battlefield.

The ground around him was littered with wrecked Winter Orc's bodies, not a single one was in their entirety. The same could be said to the other barbarians, who swarmed the orcs with numbers and killed them, losing a few of their brothers in the process.

As for Henry and the First Battalion, they only engaged and killed those enemies who managed to break through the line of defense established by the barbarians. With effortless ease, the king's Fire Sword sliced through the thick hide of the Winter Orcs. Despite their superior physical strength, they were no match for the raw power behind each of Henry's blows, given his status as a Fourth Stage Warrior.

"Those in Third Stage and below are slow and are only relying in their raw strength to fight. They don't have a precise control over their body's movements." – Henry analyzed, cleaning the blood from his sword as his eyes turned towards the approaching horde – "I hope the Orcs in the Fourth Stage will pose an obstacle to this King."

A sudden jolt of arrogance was present in Henry's tone and mannerism, either because of an aftermath from Imperial Sun God Technique's usage or a vestige left by the Old Henry. The Moon State unable to block all of it from breathing the outside's air. He wanted to kill those beings who dared to threaten his new workforce.

Swallowed in that arrogance, Henry kicked the ground and raised the flow of the Imperial Sun God Technique, making his figure look like a fireball as he held his sword. He rapidly caught up with the barbarians, who were already fighting against the horde of Winter Orcs.

Gedhe had already killed ten orcs, in the span of a few seconds, continuing his massacre and making his enemy's hot blood melt the snow. He was the last barbarian leader, he must protect his people at all cost. This were Gedhe's thoughts as he rampaged and killed one of the Fourth Stage Warriors, with a single strike of his axe.

As for Henry, he didn't hesitate to jump into the chaotic fight, swiftly killing the First and Second Stage Orcs with one blow from his Fire Sword. Their bodies fell lifelessly to the icy ground, creating a hole in the snow. The king didn't stop there and continued to rapidly slash at every moving target in front of him. He was like the wind, unyielding and formless.

The Imperial Sun God Technique's basic stances were being fully displayed by Henry, which focused on speed and fluidity. He was like a dancer amidst that chaos. The movements were leaving a trail of blood on the snow and with each fallen enemy, the drawing of a dragon was revealing itself.

The Mana pumping through his Mana circuits and replenishing the Fire Sword made Henry feel invincible and alive. He wanted to keep slashing his swords, the Winter Orcs were no match. Soon, Henry found himself standing amidst a pile of lifeless and huge bodies, with the barbarians and his soldiers looking at him in awe and worship.

"Too weak!" – Henry disappointedly stated as he beheaded the last orc and sat on his corpse, like the king of death, with his face slightly smeared in blood– "There was no Fourth Stages among them."

Henry muttered and angrily turned towards Gedhe. The Barbarian was fast enough to kill the only two Fourth Stage Winter Orcs, leaving for him a few Third Stage and Countless Second Stage and above. A strange feeling was forcing him to partake in death battles.

"A clash between the First Battalion and these Orcs would create an interesting spectacle"- Henry thought, reminiscing about his massacre - "However, I fear my soldiers would still suffer a narrow defeat. And I simply cannot afford to lose any more of my men at this crucial moment."

The First Battalion comprised of five hundred members, of which only ten captains had managed to attain the status of Third Stage Warriors during the previous war against the barbarians. The Winter Orc horde, on the other hand, boasted a formidable twelve Third Stage Warriors, each possessing a greatly enhanced physique, capable of battling against two average warriors simultaneously. Inevitably, Stahl's First Battalion was doomed in a direct confront.

Previously to the desert of the nobles, Stahl's First Battalion was a force to be reckoned with, boasting nearly two hundred Third Stage Warriors and twenty Fourth Stage Warriors. Although not dominant in the North, it still possessed enough strength to effortlessly defeat these Orcs. Unfortunately, when the last king passed away, most of the important nobles deserted, taking most of the Battalion's elite warriors with them. It was a hit for the defense of the kingdom. Luckily, no other near Kingdom wanted to share borders with the Frozen Forest or else…Stahl would be burning in flames.

If the First Battalion still had its former strength, with numerous powerhouses, Henry would not have engaged in this kind of battles to resolve the situation. As Luther often reminded the old Henry, exposure to life-or-death conflicts is essential for growth and to increase someone's power. Regrettably, with only a handful of Third Stage Warriors remaining, Henry could not afford to risk their lives and decided to bring a swift end to the situation.

"It appears that convincing the barbarians will be a simple task" - Henry thought, as he sat atop the fallen Orc's body, surveying the awed expressions of the barbarians who had fought alongside him. Even Gedhe seemed to radiate a newfound respect – "Welcome to the machine, my workforce."

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