Y:11 D:04


    Orcs as far as the eye could see, holding Manticores, lion-like animals on chains,


    were marching with battle drums toward Argos. The drones were following their


    movements from a distance. The one that was used as a test and flew close above


    the marching army was taken down by a spear in no time, about six hours before


    reaching Argos. Clive, Bara, and Alex were waiting by the Eagle, ready to put up a


    show of strength. They were standing on a hill in front of an area where the land


    narrowed to about fifty meters wide. Once Habo and his men were about a hundred


    meters away, Alex shot a large firework into the air. The explosion made the army


    stop. Using the Eagle’s loudspeakers, he spoke in Orcish. “Habo. Take your men


    back.”


    Habo stared at Alex and his flying contraption for a second before taking a


    couple of steps forward.


    “Don’t move any further!” Alex yelled. “Do not force me to use my weapons


    against you.”


    The phrase must have infuriated Habo, who yelled something to his people


    and stormed forward with all their might. Shocked with their speed, Alex quickly


    blasted the underground explosives, which were supposed to act as a scare tactic


    and a wall of debris a few meters away from them. The Orcs were fast enough to


    pass the line, and the explosion happened behind Habo, about ten men deep. It shot


    hundreds of Orcs onto the air, killing them instantly, and hundreds more were left


    injured from the blast. A nearly seventy-five-meter-long curved line of explosives


    went off right under the feet of the marching army. Bara began pulling Alex into the


    Eagle, while Alex was speechless and in shock. In the heat of the moment, Habo’s


    curses were heard even through all the screaming. Spears started flying toward the


    Eagle, and Clive took off toward Argos. “We only meant to scare them,” he tried to


    say, but his voice could barely reach his own ears.


    The gore and intensity of the moment made Alex throw up inside the Eagle


    while flying away. Bara was trying to keep it together, but the situation was


    something he had not imagined before. Habo was furious! Orc cries, screams and


    roars were mixing into the air, creating a symphony of death and anger. Habo’s grip


    was suffocating his axe, while his fury had all but materialized. He began marching


    decisively toward Argos without thinking, leaving behind him his people. The army,


    seeing their leader in that state, quickly followed fast behind him. The marching army


    had now turned into a flood of hatred-fueled Orcs. Alex gathered himself and began


    to assess the situation.


    “Clive,” he said, “turn back and fly above them.” Then he spoke to the Orcs


    again. “Turn back. I do not wish to kill more of you.”


    His words could not be heard at all. No threat, no scare tactic, no display of


    power could stop this. Humans were going to be reminded of what war stood for, the


    hard way. Although most did not really believe it would come to this, it was now


    obvious that in less than six hours, they would face the first battle of their lives.


    “Should we open fire?” asked Bara


    “No! We will try one more time to scare them with Cerberus. Its landing


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.should be enough to stop them.”


    Alex and Bara reached Argos and, in the meantime, drones flying around the


    army were continuously transferring Alex’s voice, asking them to back down. Alex


    reached the point of nearly begging them to stop. The scene he saw with the


    explosives was so horrific to him that he was trying to avoid conflict in any way he


    could. His voice made Habo turn and look up at the drones a few times, but his


    march was decisive to his anger and his leadership. He could not stop. In Argos,


    there were already those who began questioning whether the right course of action


    was taken. It was too late to stand against Alex’s orders now. The enemy was three


    hundred meters away.


    “How long till the Cerberus lands?” asked Alex.


    “It still needs twelve minutes. They arrived earlier than we expected,” said


    Steve.


    “We need to stall the battle,” said Bara.


    Alex called for Clive. “Get the Eagle up and shoot a few rounds between us.”


    The Eagle, which was not tested for combat yet, flew and shot the rounds.


    Habo looked at Alex aggressively.


    “It’s jammed,” said Clive. “The vibrations caused the weapons to jam.”


    “Land and get Steve on board to fix it now!” said Alex, his voice trembling. He


    knew they could not depend on the civilians. The thirty trained soldiers were all that


    stood between a sea of Orcs and Argos. The Cerberus still needed eight minutes to


    land. To his surprise, Habo waited. A couple of minutes passed, and he too looked


    stressed and searching in the forest with his eyes. Alex stood there looking, trying to


    win as much precious time as possible. Is he having second thoughts? he thought.


    “Perhaps we can avoid the battle in the end.” Then Habo took the first step forward


    alone.


    With an extremely loud “Stop!” all looked up to the light that was coming


    down. A large chunk of metal, bigger than a two-story house, landed in front of


    Argos. Once the parachutes got sucked back into their ejection box, the nine sides of


    the capsule opened up. With a deafening screeching sound, a Cerberus turned on


    and sat in battle position against the Orcs. A machine made before the Osiris impact.


    A machine that was the latest model of a series of machines designed to have


    maximum mobility and inflict as much damage as possible to the enemy. The most


    terrifying face of human technology was now facing the Orcs, who looked at it with


    fear and anger in their eyes. The walls of Argos were covered with humans


    celebrating the landing of their war machine. Arrogant in the eyes of Habo, foolish in


    the eyes of Bara, and wrong in the eyes of Alex.


    “This is your final warning, Habo! Don’t make me do this,” said Alex in


    desperation.


    While the Orcs waited for Habo’s order, they began organizing in rows and


    shapes that made them seem far more formidable than before. Their chaotic march


    was replaced by a well-organized army formation. Then they stopped moving. They


    began to hum. Mixed with the suffering and hatred they were carrying while storming


    toward Argos, this was a moment of taking a breath before the inevitable. The hums


    became louder and louder. Then they began to sing. From the top of their lungs, they


    began chanting their war cries in unison. The voices brought terror to some of the


    humans, who just barely started realizing the position they were in. The Orcs were no


    longer looking at the Cerberus. Their eyes were focused on the humans standing on


    the walls and roofs of their buildings.


    Habo raised his axe into the air and yelled, silencing everyone.


    “You honored your deal! The Hir were always keepers of honor,” said Habo


    with a smile.


    For a few seconds, Alex thought, That’s it! He is stopping. His words,


    however, froze in his mind. From the forest perpendicular to the direction of the Orcs,


    something else was moving. Something even larger and more ominous than Orcs.


    “How did they get so close without us seeing them? Who are they?” asked


    Bara.


    “They look like … Naga!” said Dimitri in shock.