B3 Chapter 75: Digging Deep

Quintus flung his spear in a far arc before ducking behind his shield once more. He waited a few seconds as stones pinged harmlessly off the [Coordinated Bulwark] of him and his comrades atop the wall, then called the spear back to his hand.

“Ready!”

The word was unnecessary. Between [Lead From The Front] and [Unity], the men already knew his intent. Nor did they need a running start, as [Sure Footing] allowed him and his men to push off the ground itself with incredible effectiveness. It took a bit of practice to get right, but they had plenty of time for repetition.

As one, they threw again, the spears filling the air and sending another spray of blood fountaining up from below. Over and over, they repeated the cycle, hardly even aiming at this point. The mass of bodies continuously moved to fill any holes and return such attacks in kind. The sheer length of the engagement meant that exploding their spears was off the table for now. Perhaps if there was an end in sight, they would start treating the weapons as more expendable.

Something pinged in his [Tactician’s Awareness]. He looked over to visually confirm and called out to one of the messengers behind their lines. “More sling bearers, a hundred yards!”

“Yes, sir!” The messenger went silent as he communicated the information down the line. A moment later, the position was bombarded by a hail of shining arrows. Quintus felt a number of those presences wink out of existence as others scattered.

Hopefully, that meant they were dead. But he couldn’t be sure. Considering how the sling users seemed to simply appear in his awareness at will, he suspected they may also utilize some sort of stealth skill. Which would be just their luck.

The sling users were not the majority of their enemy, at least. But that was little consolation, given how the rest of the orcs had also realized they could attack enemies from a range. As it turned out, a raging orc was more than capable of throwing a common rock with enough force to make it a threat. A realization that left no shortage of men with bruises and dented helmets if they were too slow to duck behind cover. A few had even gotten knocked out altogether by unlucky blows. But so far, their equipment seemed to be doing a good job of keeping them safe from such attacks.

The assault was mostly troublesome because of its sheer volume. The stones flew crazily in every direction, with some even flying straight up in the air or backward. In two separate instances, Quintus saw an orc get knocked unconscious by someone next to him, one falling victim to a poorly judged throw and the other getting smacked in the skull with a moving sling. Even the sling users themselves seemed inexperienced, new enough to using the weapons that even targeting centurions or individuals was clearly beyond them. But it did force the Legion to adjust their tactics and devote some energy to their own defense. Which was annoying, if not outright problematic. The elves had luckily leveled their own shield wall skills to offer more complete protection by this point, evolving to a more specialized version that better fit their small bucklers.

A renewed hail of stones sent the Legionnaires sheltering behind shields once more. Then, Quintus sensed the masses below part. Frowning, he peeked over his shield slightly to see what was happening.

A massive column of jagged stone rushed up the narrow path, borne by dozens of red-eyed orcs covered in plates of bone. The piece of rock was thin, narrow, and short enough to maneuver up the slopes, yet tall enough to weigh at least a ton. The orcs sprinted up the pass, bellowing with rage as their compatriots continued hurling stones and scrambling up the sheer cliffs to make way.

Quintus hardly had to give the command. They all switched focus to the massive target before them. But even their focused fire didn't bring down the enemies as quickly as expected. It seemed that these orcs were higher levels than their brethren and more specialized in taking damage.

Even when they did bring down one of these orcs, he was simply replaced with another from behind. Chunks of rock blown off of the pillar by artillery reduced its size, but not enough. They only managed to slow the incoming battering ram in its charge.

The orcs sprinted faster as the first gate came into view. The stone pillar smashed into the fortification, stone cracking against concrete and echoing across the mountains.

“Engineers! Earthshapers!” Quintus roared. “Reinforce the gate!”

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The men who’d been remaining in reserve until this point rushed forward with tools in hand. Some began hurriedly slathering cracks with mortar or wet concrete, while others simply placed their hands against the frozen gate. The damage began to seal up and repair itself, even as the orcs pulled back and smashed into the gate again, undoing much of the work.

Quintus frowned. This boded poorly. The orcs were making progress more quickly than expected. They’d hoped to keep them at the first gate for a full day at least. But at this rate…

“Reposition the sling tubes,” he called back to the messenger. “Have the engineers load the explosive ammunition. We need to destroy that pillar.”

A sharp nod met his request. Moments later, the artillery moved into place above the pass. The rune-studded tubes of stone flashed with flame and light. Deep barks filled the air as they sent their salvos down toward the target.

Stone sprayed into the air. The pillar began to shrink as chunk after chunk was blasted out with such force that it sent the orcs stumbling. Shrapnel skittered off their rough bone armor and sliced into green skin. The sling tubes could fire far more frequently and with much greater speed than before, and combined with the [Firearms] skills of the engineers?

Their accuracy and range saw significant improvements as well. Shots landed one after another to carve through both the stone and the gaggle of orcs that bunched up around the makeshift battering ram.

Quintus continued to fling spears forward, doing what he could to staunch the flow and hold the gate. He considered whether to have the men detonate their spears to further improve their position, but decided against it. Their situation was not that dire yet, and doing so would deprive them of valuable ammunition for the rest of the assault. True, all of his men could return fire with their own slings. Yet without the skills to improve the power and range of those shots, he didn’t expect it to be as effective as the weight of a spear. Better to stick with their current strategy and rely on arrows and artillery for the most part.

The stone column slammed against the gate again and again, shaking it to its very foundations. The ground itself shook with it.

***

“Damn,” a Legionnaire remarked as he sat heavily on the ground. “Those bastards are persistent, I’ll give them that much.”

Marcus nodded. “Indeed. There’s a reason that Novara was perpetually at war with them.”

He and the Legionnaires being held in reserve had fallen back to the rear of the pass as the first gate fell, just for safety’s sake. Even now, they could feel the orcs’ assault in the vibrations of the ground itself, despite the distance.

The man snorted. “Makes sense, I suppose. I don’t expect they’re even capable of diplomacy.”

“Wanna bet?” A man that Marcus had been gambling with the day before perked up.

“Not with you, Sextus. You don’t even have enough coin to dice. Though if you want to walk out there and try negotiating, be my guest.”

Marcus simply shook his head and looked into the distance. Even now, he could sense the heightened tension of the men around him in the sets of their jaws and how they kept their weapons extra close. It seemed that things simply refused to go to plan as of late. Still, they were doing well with what they had. And far better than their predecessors. If the orcs had ever shown anywhere near this level of coordination and planning, Novara would have been overrun far before Rome had a chance to conquer them.

Things were moving more rapidly than anyone had anticipated. But hopefully, that would just allow the Legion to cull the enemy even faster.

Marcus pulled out his lute and strummed a few idle chords. He worked to keep them upbeat and light to raise morale. And what better way to do that than with an old war song?

He hummed the tune, adapting it slightly before opening his mouth to sing.

“My eyes have seen the glory of the conquerors of Rome—”

The ground rumbled again. He stopped to listen. It felt stronger than before. A lot stronger.

He turned to a centurion. “Has the second gate fallen already?”

“No,” the man replied, his hand on the hilt of his blade. He looked about warily, having felt the same thing as Marcus. “It has not.”

The rumbling came a third time, louder than before. The Legionnaires wasted no time in leaping to their feet and forming up into defensive formations, preparing for anything as they scanned the area. Marcus scrambled up alongside them as he tried to pinpoint the sound. It seemed to be coming from the ground itself. Or rather, the mountain.

The mountainside above them exploded outward in a spray of ice and dirt. The Legionnaires immediately spun to face the threat, spears and shields at the ready as a gaping maw emerged from deep within. A circle of white teeth the size of swords spun like a drill, chomping through rock as though it were candy.

[Promethean Worm of the Stygian Depths] (Lvl 46)

The gray, fleshy body of the creature followed behind, arching and writhing as it made contact with the cold air. A volley of spears launched toward it, but they flew wide as the thing dove right back into the ground below for shelter. It took minutes for the thing to finally disappear deep below, the attacks on its tough hide seeming to bother it less than exposure to the elements. Then it was gone, leaving only a circular tunnel in its wake.

By the time the worm’s tail disappeared, the entirety of the reserve Legionnaires were ready. They’d surrounded the area, repositioning artillery to fire upon the newly made opening in the mountain. An opening that was filled with the sound of battle cries.