Bear School Astartes

A cylindrical giant creature, resembling a snake or worm, with a body diameter of at least a dozen meters, burst straight out from the mountain!

The grayish skin looked unimpressive, but the front end, with a blossom-like mouth, was still gripping a massive rock when it emerged.

Muscles furiously rippled along the cylindrical body in an instant, and though only visible for a moment, it was clear that its entire body was nearly all powerful muscle!

’Crack, crack,’ the teeth-aching sound echoed from the hills all the way across the wasteland.

After its muscles revealed the outline for just an instant, the huge creature effortlessly crushed the massive rock with its mouth!

In the blink of an eye, several dark, deep tunnels leading into the mountain appeared on the previously silent hillside.

A dark torrent of beastman forces flooded out from the tunnels, converging like a filthy mudslide, charging straight toward the elves and dwarves facing and warring in front of the Lonely Mountain Kingdom!

”Advance!” Azog shouted excitedly from Crow Ridge, overlooking the battlefield, ”My army!”

The time had come.

Though if they wanted to capitalize on the advantage of a surprise attack amidst the enemy chaos, the beastmen should have pushed further out from the depths.

But first, these tunnels were actually excavated a few days ago, and now there’s no time to push any further.

Second, Azog’s orders don’t travel smoothly underground, so pre-determining the breach point and timing their emergence together is hard enough.

No further resources to provide more detailed commands to those beastmen still underground.

However, it’s entirely sufficient!

Excitement hissed through Azog’s sharp-toothed mouth.

The elves’ formation was set, dwarves’ war chariots and goat cavalry were charging down the hillside towards them.

Reaching this point, the downhill momentum not only boosted the speed of the cavalry and chariots but also made them harder to steer.

They will crash and entangle, becoming scraps torn apart by the beastmen amid the chaos!

Yet, as the beastmen emerged from underground, the elves and dwarves had astonished responses.

But the elves, who had been quietly standing behind Thranduil, suddenly changed formation!

Sunlight reflected off their golden armor, dispersing a fog-like mist of golden sand.

”Thump, thump!”

A synchronized sound erupted from the elven formation.

The elves, initially standing shoulder to shoulder, suddenly pivoted, now standing chest-to-back.

This maneuver instantly opened up dozens of passages in their previously tight formation.

”Aha!”

Dane, who had almost gotten into a fight with Thranduil from afar moments ago, now leads the charge on his boar, directing the dwarven cavalry and war chariots into the passage opened by the elves!

At the narrowest spots, dwarves’ all-steel war chariots with battering rams and blades skimmed past elves’ calves!

But the elves were seasoned archers for hundreds or thousands of years; they remained calm and unflustered.

Advanced control of distances gave them full confidence in themselves.

And faith in the dwarves’ chariot-driving skills.

Elves and dwarves have been adversaries for millennia, knowing quite well what their opponents are capable of.

”Fight! Fight!”

Dane shouted, the full-speed goat cavalry and chariots charging past the elves’ formation, heading straight for the beastmen!

Azog on Crow Ridge widened his eyes but soon resumed his composure with a twitch of his lips.

”Trick me? Lure me? Fine!”

The Pale Orcs had murder in their hearts on the march to Lonely Mountain; they were determined to make a kill regardless of the elves and dwarves’ conflict.

Even though they’ve been played for a fool, direct annihilation is still annihilation!

With double-bladed arms swinging over the dense battlefield like harvesting life.

”Deploy the ogres! Pin down their cavalry and chariots for me! I want them stopped!”

”Deploy the flank troops! Attack River Valley City, force them into two-front warfare! If they dare not rescue River Valley City, cut off their retreat!”

Positioning the command post from a high vantage, Azog smoothly surveyed the whole situation.

Crow Ridge was once a cluster of towers in the distant hills, built when River Valley City was thriving, designed to monitor evil’s movement.

But since River Valley City’s decline, these towers meant for combating darkness have now been seized by the Dark Forces.

Elves and dwarves hastily formed an alliance, already riddled with internal conflicts, if not for Lann, Gandalf, and Balin mediating, they might have started fighting on sight.

So unified command is unfeasible, temporary coordination like this was the limit.

Now as beastmen flood through like a tide, close-quarter combat is the only choice.

”Bang!”*5

Five consecutive mechanical trigger impact sounds rang out.

Crossbow cannons fired a barrage of immense ammunition from the hilltop initially occupied by the dwarves.

The ammunition spiraled like spinning fans, leaving ghostly afterimages as they plunged into the beastmen’s clustered areas!

Armored flesh and blood fragments flew everywhere.

The elves, meanwhile, used a rain of arrows from the rear to lessen the resistance against the dwarves’ chariots and cavalry.

”Release the arrows!”

Thranduil, on his stag, swung his sword forward, instantly triggering a uniform release of bowstring sounds.

Like a rain of arrows flying like locusts, directly knocked down all the beastmen within a large area, not one left standing.

But there were exceptions.

Ogres, varying from three to four meters tall, each with different developments and deformities, charged out from behind the beastmen’s formation.

The skinnier ogres had feet large enough to stomp on entire dwarfs.

They mostly had bulbous noses, protruding crooked teeth, disproportional and uncoordinated limbs, and held crude clubs made from tree roots.

The more robust ones received more resources from the beastmen, obtaining iron weapons and armor.

These thick-skinned ogres grabbed corpses from the ground to shield their vital parts, defending against the elves’ arrow rain that plowed like a field as they charged towards the dwarfs’ cavalry and battle wagons.

The most crucial aspect for battle wagons and cavalry is their impact force; without momentum, death is not far behind.

However, these battle wagons and cavalry had no difficulty when crashing against similarly sized creatures.

But in front, the ogres, weighing at least three to four tons, were impassable.

The smarter ogres struck from the side, flipping the solid steel battle wagons, then swung their clubs like a whack-a-mole, smashing the crew inside.

The less intelligent ones took on head-on, and most were knocked dead, crushed, or shot at close range by crossbow arrows from the wagons.

Yet even the corpses were enough to slow down the wagons’ speed.

As Azog’s second command was issued, a massive surge split off from the black wave of beastmen, heading towards River Valley City.

”The war has started.”

Lann, who was still running around the city, organizing the townsfolk of Long Lake Town, realized it the moment the horn sounded.

He tugged on Qilin’s pale mane floating in the air due to static electricity, the sound of hooves echoing on the now empty streets of River Valley City.

”You’re here, Bain!”

Near the city walls, Lann saw the bewildered teenage boy.

In fact, he shouldn’t really call Bain a boy because the latter appeared to be fifteen or sixteen, and Lann was barely twenty. But the difference in experience and knowledge was key to psychological maturity.

”What happened?”

Bain asked in panic and confusion.

”It was bait, and the enemy took it.” Lann succinctly explained the situation. ”Did you handle your matters? Are your sister and the elderly, women, and children in the underground warehouse?”

”They—They’re there! I sent them!”

”Now you go too.”

”Me? I can fight!”

”But that underground warehouse still needs someone to guard it, understand? Go there immediately!”

There was nothing more to say; Bain was at an age wanting to prove himself and take responsibility, but he was sensible and knew what needed to be done.

Watching Bain turn and run off, Qilin gently applied force with its four legs, jumping directly onto the walls of River Valley City.

”I’m here, everyone, no need to panic!”

Shouting loudly, Lann ran atop the walls, using this method to stabilize the militia’s spirits.

At this moment, the uncertain emotions of his soldiers could be more terrifying than the enemy’s blades.

”River Valley City is not the main assault direction; there’s no need for us to defend it to the death, just delay for time! The primary battlefield is not here!”

Lann’s calm and logical voice added some peace to the militia who were already panting before they even saw the enemy.

In the case of inadequate soldier training and quality, the significance of the commander lies here.

Lann monitored the emotions of the Long Lake Town militia with every move, keeping them tense but not strained.

He maintained the mental state of this makeshift unit, continually refreshing, assessing, and performing on-site adjustments.

He always excelled in this aspect of finesse.

”Just shoot your arrows downward; if you can’t hold the walls, retreat into the city. I’ve left marks on the buildings along the way, those places can serve as temporary fortresses. Retreat layer by layer, understand?”

In a very short time previously, Lann completed a series of tactical arrangements.

River Valley City was not the focal point of this battle, something Lann realized immediately when the war started.

Hence, he planned for humans to delay, even if it meant exchanging space for time.

After running a lap on the wall, Rong Buqiu also scrambled up from below, perching on Lann’s shoulder, looking seriously at the battle below.

Seeing the beastmen’s troops already surging up, Lann simply drew out the dark greatsword from the alchemy pouch at his back.

As Muddy Stream·Destruction fully emerged under the militia’s shocked expressions, a fierce and brutal aura overflowed.

Lann observed the militia’s expressions.

With his soldiers of low quality, this greatsword wasn’t suitable for displaying within the crowd.

Luckily, Lann had no intention of staying on the wall.

What could be arranged, he had already arranged, and now the key to ending the war lay not within River Valley City.

With a ’plop,’ Qilin’s hoof already landed outside the walls.

”Woosh~”

Warm breath sprayed from its moist nostrils, Qilin’s ruby-like eyes watching the surging beastmen.

And on its back, Lann gripped the greatsword’s hilt firmly.

Gandalf had once warned him that Sorun had ’made some arrangements’ for him.

To be honest...he was quite curious.