Deafening screams could be heard as Arlan formed his knights into a wedge formation. The young baron was at the spear tip as they began their charge. Thunderous hooves slamming into the green meadow could be heard. Some of the orcs began to notice while others were still ravaging the elves.

Before the orcs could organize a counter, Arlan had already reached the center of the Caravan. Each wagon had enough room for at least two horses to ride in. The young baron was the first to clash through the center, Kage slammed into the first orc shattering his bones and his head was separated by a teal-bladed weapon. It was Arlan’s mithril sword.

The rest of the knights clashed through the orcs while avoiding the elven merchants. The initial clash took out ten of the fifty orcs. The knights positioned themselves between the orcs and elves. Arlan turned his attention to the center of the remaining forty orcs who started to form a phalanx. Arlan reactively ordered his knights to dismount and send their horses back the way they came. They could not fight mounted if they were to defend the elves.

There has to be some kind of commander or leader on their side. If we could just destroy their echelon, it would greatly reduce their ability to organize.

Arlan reformed his knights while shouting to the elves to stay behind them. Arlan appointed four knights to protect the rear and sides of the remaining elves. There were about forty elves left alive.

The orcs began to chant together in unison, they were rallying for a fight. A particular orc in the center with a red-horned helmet stood out and pointed his massive two-handed axe at Arlan. This signaled the orcs to begin their charge while roaring out battlecries. This clash was dangerous. They were outnumbered greatly and they needed to hold out for at least another six minutes before the reserves would arrive.

Arlan had about twenty-five seconds to rally his knights. “Knights, hold this line through your dying breath and you will live forever!”

Arlan’s words echoed into the hearts of his subordinates. Emotions of duty, honor and brotherhood reverberated to each soldier. This was the kindle needed to light the fire that burned heavily into their hearts. Weaponized emotions are important on the battlefield.

Each Heracul Knight was armed with a kite shield and sword. Kite shields aren't large enough to form full shield walls. Arlan ordered each knight to counter the initial push with the shields and advance thereafter.

As the orcs reached the knights, Arlan ordered “Now!”

A symphony of battle rang through the field. Battle cries were the strings and shields were the percussion. All the knights channeled full essence and erupted a skill called [Shield Strike]. The mar-tech erupted force beyond their initial target causing the orcs behind the first row to experience a concussive force. This countered the orc’s momentum.

The first row of orcs was on the ground with crushed spines or caved chest cavities. The rest were knocked back and still dazed. The Knights including Arlan moved up striking down another ten orcs. There were still about twenty-two orcs left.

We can win this or at least safely hold out. We just have to- Fuck!

Arlan’s [Battle Trance] picked up another fifty orcs from the east. They had just arrived within range.

This must be the group that wiped out the bandits earlier. There’s no way we’ll hold out against them if we hold here. They’ll overrun us even with the reinforcements.

Arlan used his [Trifecta] to strike down an orc in front of him and it took all three strikes. These monstrosities were at least tier 2 in essence. Arlan could sense the orc commander was at least a tier 3.

The momentum built by the young baron and his knights became the deciding factor in the initial clash. They continued to push against the remaining orcs in front of them as they struggled to reorganize from the mar-tech earlier. Abilities and attacks that are powerful on their own, have even more destructive force when synergized with others.

“Push onward and stay as a unit!” ordered Arlan as his knights obeyed.

We need to deal as much damage as possible to the orcs in front of us, it’ll reduce their numbers when their other unit arrives. We may hold the line if we’re fast enough. I’ll need to push myself past the limits as the spearhead.

Arlan channeled all of his essence into his body and strengthened his body beyond what he has done before. The orcs and knights alike could feel the tremendous killing pressure originating from the young baron. Everyone could tell Arlan was no ordinary fourteen-year-old boy.

Some orcs felt challenged and some orcs felt fear. The knights could feel victory on their side with such a powerful presence. They were only used to this kind of presence from the Duke Louis Reeve.

The Knights and Arlan cut through waves of orcs before reaching a remaining nine orcs and the orc commander. Arlan wasn’t sure if the orcs would retreat or stay. But based on what he learned about orcs in books, they rarely retreated. This kind of fanaticism was dangerous to both parties.

“Fall back!” ordered Arlan. Both the orcs and knights were confused alike but the knights obeyed within seconds. The Heracul Knights began retreating to the original treeline where they first saw the battle. The Knights stopped halfway realizing that Arlan stayed behind.

“My lord! We cannot leave without you!” yelled a knight who was conflicted by the orders and his duty.

“I will buy us time for reinforcements! Go now!” replied the lone warrior. Normally, the Knights would’ve disobeyed the orders but they could feel the confidence, fire and power that emanated from Arlan. They made sure to fall back.

Arlan only had two minutes before the platoon of orcs would reach his position. He had to strike down the orc commander before then to reduce their effectiveness at a counterattack. The orcs began to surround the young boy. The orcs were cautious as they did not sense any fear from the young boy. They witness his power by cutting down an orc in an instant with [Trifecta].

Arlan could only tap into seventeen percent of his essence. His level corresponded with what he could use. Three orcs were the first to act as they raised their mighty clubs and axes for a vertical swing onto Arlan. They were on all sides of Arlan except his back. But this didn’t matter, Arlan enhanced his speed and strength to counterattack the orc on his left flank with a horizontal slash while dashing past the green-skinned fellow.

The other two orcs missed their mark as the third was now cut in half and trying to crawl towards his brethren for help. Orcs behaved like humans too when in shock. Arlan reversed his speed and struck down the remaining two.

[Battle Trance] warned the young baron immediately of impending danger and Arlan side-stepped only to see an axe fly past where his head was. The orc commander had thrown a hand axe at Arlan hoping to strike him from afar.

Arlan was fatigued from overloading his essence. But he ignored the pain and slashed his mithril sword into a wooden club that was mid swing. The mithril sword buttered past the maul and killed the orc wielder.

The young baron decided on one last blitz to kill the orc commander. Using his remaining essence to maximize his speed, he sprinted towards the orc commander. His opponent readied a massive great axe. If Arlan was caught by it, he would instantly die.

Arlan sprung into the air with his sword over his head. The orc responded by swinging his greataxe upward towards the young boy.

This was the deciding moment of the entire battle. Any mistakes or hesitation would result in Arlan's death. His story could end here.