Chapter 14: The Battle of Teaching!

"Those humans who wield magic have come down from the heavens to the surface world? And they forbid us from continuing to pillage human villages?"

Inside the tent, the great chieftain of the Blood Wolf Clan listened to Haugr’s trembling report with mounting fury. He slammed his fist onto the stone table, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface.

Beside him, the orcish high priest bore a grave expression as well.

"This time, we have lost not only over 150 warriors, but more critically, a priest who honored the gods of the orcs!" he lamented.

"I’ve recently heard that the other two great orc tribes have faced similar fates. Their raiding parties were ambushed and wiped out by human mages."

"Those humans… it seems they are truly serious now!"

The atmosphere in the tent instantly grew solemn and tense.

For the past two or three centuries, raiding human villages had become one of the essential means for orc tribes to sustain and grow their population.

Could such a longstanding tradition be about to change?

"Valiant Chieftain," the high priest suggested, "perhaps we should seek cooperation with other orc clans, including the Flame Axe and Frost Dragon clans, with whom we have long been at odds."

"Seek help from them?" The chieftain snorted coldly. "Do you think I could trust them?"

Among the fierce and warlike orcs, conflicts between clans were frequent, and mutual trust was virtually nonexistent.

The high priest advised his hotheaded leader gently:

"This is a measure born of necessity. If we desire to defeat those detestable magic-wielding humans, it is best to unite the three great orc tribes."

"Let us not forget—all orc clans are under the protection of the orcish gods. And those human mages are our common enemy!"

The chieftain wavered slightly at the invocation of the orc gods’ name.

"Very well. We shall send envoys soon to negotiate with the other two great orc tribes."

...

The day was bright and clear.

Pure white clouds drifted across the blue sky, and brilliant golden sunlight bathed the verdant fields.

Hundreds of battle mages stood in formation upon the open plain.

At the forefront of the ranks, gazing toward the distant orc tribes, stood the Arcane Emperor of Eldoren—Erian. The biting wind whipped his long robes into a flutter.

Here, the finest fighting force of all Eldoren had gathered!

"Your Majesty, although we have warned the three great orc tribes to stay away from human lands and cease their raids and incursions, not a single clan has truly obeyed our decree…" reported General Sol.

Erian was not surprised by the orcs’ defiance.

To stop those bloodthirsty, war-hardened orc tribes—who had raided humans for over a century—from invading was wishful thinking.

He never expected them to heed such warnings.

Only by striking first and annihilating the orc tribes outright could the empire’s borders be expanded!

"In that case, we must fulfill our promise—to destroy them," Erian said calmly, uttering words that sent chills through the room.

The mages raised their hands in unison, declaring:

"Your will shall be obeyed, Your Majesty."

A flicker of doubt crossed General Sol’s face.

"Your Majesty, the orc numbers are vast, and our manpower limited. Where should we begin?"

Though he was a loyal subordinate personally elevated by Erian, he still felt uneasy about the task of exterminating the orc clans.

A century ago, Eldoren’s mages had gathered a thousand strong to create the floating city and ascend to the heavens, largely to escape orc invasions and harassment.

Though the empire’s magical prowess and the quality of its mages had improved somewhat over the century…

To wipe out all the orc tribes remained an extraordinarily difficult task, certain to result in heavy casualties.

At present, several senior figures in the imperial council voiced reservations about Erian’s reforms.

Should Erian’s war against the orcs lead to excessive mage casualties, it would provide fodder for his opponents to criticize him.

Sensing Sol’s concealed anxiety, Erian asked:

"Sol, where do you think the greatest difficulty in cleansing the orc tribes lies?"

Sol answered honestly:

"The sheer numbers."

"The three great orc tribes altogether have over fifty thousand warriors, while we number only a few hundred."

"In legion warfare, single-target destructive spells have little effect; the core lies in area-of-effect spells."

"But area spells are mostly third-tier or above, and are highly taxing. Even as a top-tier eighth-circle mage, I can only cast a dozen or so area spells in a day under extreme conditions."

"And the enemy won’t cluster together waiting to be bombarded. After one or two spell strikes, the battle-hardened orcs will immediately scatter their formations."

"Not to mention, the enemy will counterattack. We must reserve at least half our spells for defense; we cannot use all for offense."

"Our firepower is truly limited. When facing large orc armies, we will be stretched thin!"

Erian listened to his loyal subordinate’s analysis and smiled wryly.

Such primitive warfare!

After all, Eldoren was humanity’s first kingdom in history. The newly empowered human mages had never fought in supernatural wars, and their tactical thinking was extremely rudimentary.

Magic warfare in this era involved each side sending out a squad of mages, then hurling fireballs and lightning bolts at each other.

The strategy was not unlike a firing squad lined up in rows.

Perhaps even less sophisticated.

There was no intelligence gathering, no systematic combat, no team coordination, no clear winning strategies, no teleportation maneuvering combined with concentrated firepower to swiftly eliminate enemy forces, and no deployment of undead, constructs, or otherworldly creatures...

It was on an entirely different level from the modern magical warfare Erian had witnessed in his previous life.

"No wonder," he mused, "that thirty years later, during the Abyssal Invasion, when facing the demon legions assaulting the floating city, the city fell in less than an hour. Beyond inferior raw power, tactical inefficiency was a key reason..."

Erian gathered his thoughts and reassured Sol:

"Do not worry. You and the others need only follow my command."

"We can drive out all the orc tribes within a reasonable time. With luck, we might even achieve zero casualties."

Sol was somewhat surprised by the emperor’s confidence.

It was as if, in the eyes of this supreme mage, the orc invasions that had troubled Eldoren for centuries were merely a simple problem, easily solved.

"Sol, next, based on the battle mages’ aptitudes and specialties, I will divide them into the following teams..."

Erian began assigning tasks.

This was yet another reason why Erian insisted on clearing the surrounding orc tribes—

To prepare for the Dragon Lord invasion in ten years and the demon invasion in thirty years by training his troops!

He intended to stage a "teaching battle," demonstrating modern magical warfare tactics to the mages of ancient Eldoren.

Before the battle that would destroy the empire arrived, he would complete the military training of Eldoren’s battle mages.