Under the King's blessing, Lothar led the army assembled in Stormwind City and marched towards the Black Morass. However, only a few days after the main force set off, a piece of news that no one had expected arrived.
"What?! All of our outposts deployed in the Black Morass have been wiped out?"
Only a mere two days had passed since the last report. Considering the time for the warhorse to gallop...
"That means those green-skinned monsters were already attacking our outposts when the news arrived? Was this a premeditated attack, or was it just an emergency mobilization after their base was discovered, or simply a retaliatory attack?"
Lothar, riding his warhorse, frowned silently, looking in the direction of the Black Morass. The three hypotheses he mentioned were the three most likely current guesses, and these three possibilities represented different things.
The mildest was naturally a 'retaliatory action.' The loss of personnel was irreversible, but if the other party chose to retreat, they would have more time and tactical depth to utilize.
Next was an emergency mobilization due to being discovered. If this were the case, even if the group of green-skinned monsters could cause some impact, the impact would be limited to a certain range.
The worst-case scenario was that the other party had been planning this for a long time, and this was just an opportunity to act. If that were the case...
'Although I don't want it to be true, I'm afraid it's just as Lady Aegwynn said.'
The other party was one of the greatest mages of the contemporary era, but the things she said were too unbelievable.
Those green-skinned Orcs were invaders from another world?
Although Lothar also knew many mages and understood the concept of 'world,' it was precisely because of this understanding that he was puzzled.
How much exaggerated magic and resources would be required to open a portal from another world and transport soldiers from that world to this one?
'If that's possible, then doesn't that mean there's a 'God' behind those green-skinned monsters?'
Lothar clearly did not know that there was indeed a similar existence behind the other party —————— demons.
Moreover, the more crucial point was that those guys had already visited this world a long time ago, and this batch of Orcs was merely the vanguard of those demons.
With a strong sense of unease, Lothar urged the team to proceed with a forced march again.
He did not offer any explanation for this, but the soldiers clearly knew that their commander would never issue such an order without reason. They almost instinctively guessed that a major battle was likely coming next.
——————
Lancer at this moment did not know that the Stormwind Kingdom had already sent a large army to support them, but it actually made no difference to him. After all, he only had one choice from beginning to end.
Lancer, sitting by the bonfire, listened silently to the slightly mournful song of a bard.
He had only been in this world for a little over 2 days, but he felt incredibly exhausted. After all, he had spent more than half of these two days fighting.
First, the outpost's first wave of attack was repelled. Then, before the others in the outpost could clean up, the Orc army reappeared, and this time their numbers were much larger than before. Even with Lancer help, they had to retreat, and Lancer chose to follow the main group. After all, even if he could kill these fifty ordinary Orcs, what about the next wave? Who knew how many Orcs were in that seemingly quiet forest?
Along the way, the steps of 'gathering the scattered soldiers from various outposts' and 'repelling the Orc pursuit units' were constantly repeated. The team, which originally only had twenty-something people, had gradually increased to over a hundred, but the increase in numbers did not boost the team's morale. After all, this team was composed of soldiers from outposts that had been repelled by the Orcs.
The morale of a team composed of such soldiers was predictable. Fortunately, the most basic will to survive kept the team from collapsing, and everyone longed to return alive.
Just as Lancer was guessing when this kind of life would end ——————
"Mr. Lancer, here is your roast meat."
A young soldier handed Lancer a piece of roast meat that looked a bit burnt.
"Thank you."
Undoubtedly, this roast meat couldn't be called delicious; it could only be said to 'replenish physical strength.' But under these circumstances, no one could demand anything better, and Lancer naturally didn't waste any words. After all, he had once eaten live scorpions in the desert.
'The so-called 'Welfare Instance' is getting stricter and stricter.'
Looking at the moon in the sky, Lancer couldn't help but complain to himself. But thinking carefully, the so-called 'Welfare Instance' never seemed to be simple, was it? Back in the Monster Hunter (MH) world, he personally witnessed the ferocity of the Tigrex. Unlike the timid monster in the game, it had a strong body, ferocious tusks, and exuded the aura of a top predator. Even the current Lancer was not confident in hunting it alone.
Not to mention that the Tigrex in that world was not at the top of the food chain. Various 'Elder Dragons' with unknown information were truly real.
Later, when he went to the 'Land of Shadows,' although he had been learning in the Shishou's castle, thinking carefully, according to his Senior Brother's words, the Land of Shadows was not peaceful at all. Various monsters that only existed in myths roamed everywhere, and brutal battles were fought almost every minute and every second. It was just that due to his own strength, he hadn't encountered them.
Finally, there was the previous 'Trails' world. He had a great time farming points and also obtained many interesting items and the 'Orbal Gear,' which seemed the most ordinary but was extremely practical. But thinking carefully, whether it was the 'Sword Emperor' he first met, the mustachioed man later suspected to be a 'Sword Saint,' or the armored woman of unknown identity, the waters of that world were not shallow at all. It was just that he hadn't come into contact with them.
And this time, as soon as he arrived, he participated in a retreat battle directly facing the Orcs.
'Did I hold back for too long back then, which is why I thought the so-called 'welfare' meant beautiful young women with bouncing cleavage?'
After complaining to himself, he leaned against a tree to take a nap.
The military scouts would return at some point, but it was certain that the so-called rest would not last long. With repeated chance encounters with Orc scouts, it was almost certain that the Orc main force was gradually approaching them. No one knew when those Orcs would suddenly charge out, so the only thing they could do was walk farther before the enemy caught up.
'I wonder when the commander's so-called 'reinforcements' will arrive...'
Lancer, napping at this moment, did not know that the location he was in was called the 'Tears of the Earth' and would later be the 'Swamp of Sorrows,' and that the famous 'Karazhan' was in the distance.