Not far from the Mining Station, the tall grass rustled softly as an Orc crawled on its belly. In its hand was a chipped and bloodstained crude spear that was dragged quietly through the dirt.
It stared hungrily at the distant lights of the strange soft-skin fortress, a structure it couldn't comprehend but knew was filled with easy prey.
Behind the Orc, hundreds more shadowy figures slithered, crawled, or lumbered silently through the underbrush. Their guttural breathing and the clinking of crude weapons filled the air as they moved with a singular primal purpose, which was to feast and pillage.
Their bellies growled in unison, driven by the hunger that had gnawed at them for days. The soft-skins inside the glowing castle had no idea what was coming.
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On top of the wall, First Sergeant Eurylochus squinted into the darkness with his night-vision sensors glowing slightly as they scanned the approaching shadows. He let out a small curse under his breath.
It had been three days since the last brutal skirmish with the Orcs, and though he'd only recently been cleared for duty, it looked like he was about to be thrown back into the fire.
Just minutes ago, he had received reports that the outer perimeter sensors had tripped and movement detectors were lighting up with dozens of hits. Too many.
"Turn out the men and sound the silent alarm," he ordered the crew in the Security Control Center (SCC). "Have all non-combat personnel evacuate the wounded to the mines as we drilled. We've got a shitload of Orcs inbound."
Strapping on his weapon, Eurylochus made his way up the perimeter wall, where he saw several soldiers were already posted in the wall bunkers with their eyes trained on the firing zone and weapons at the ready. He gave them a quick nod before heading down toward the parade square, where troops had begun assembling with rifles holding tight in their hands.
An entire battalion spread across a 4-kilometer wall. With the basic complement of 500 security guards and 690 combat-effective soldiers. With such a thin spread, each man had to cover about 5 meters of wall by themselves. Not exactly ideal when you had an Orc horde clawing its way toward you.
"Damn it," Eurylochus muttered as he rubbed a hand over his face. "How I wish I had a battery of mortars right now. A couple of airbursts would seriously ruin their whole day."
He keyed his comms and spoke into the section leaders' channel. "All units, weapons free at 200 meters. The floodlights will signal the attack."
Acknowledgments pinged back through his earpiece as he glanced back out into the night. The Orcs were creeping closer, using the long grass and uneven terrain to mask their approach, but he could see them, just over 500 meters out now, closing the distance fast.
[Sarge,] a voice crackled through the comms from the SCC, [HQ says reinforcements are en route. Aerial support ETA is 20 mikes.]
Eurylochus sighed sharply and watched on the live feed as the miners and the wounded soldiers who hadn't recovered yet moved into the relative safety of the mines. Medical staff hurriedly pushed beds with the critically injured while those who could still walk supported each other.
"Alright, once essential personnel have evacuated into the mines, lock it down," Eurylochus ordered.
"Sarge! The green skins had crossed the 200 meters mark!" a tech shouted from his station.
"Turn on the lights!" Eurylochus commanded, "Blind them!"
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Stationed all along the perimeter walls were several powerful floodlights. The 225,000 lumens LED lights capable of lighting up stadiums blazed on, instantly illuminating the cleared land surrounding the walls and turning the night into day.
The Orcs creeping up to the walls were suddenly blinded as the flood lights came on, most were momentarily blinded and stumbled in confusion. Cries of pain and shock filled the air as the light seared their eyes, and in that brief moment of vulnerability, the human soldiers seized the opportunity.
"FIRE AT WILL!"
The section leaders shouted, and the perimeter walls exploded with gunfire.
The soldiers, well-trained and equipped with high-precision weapons, found their larger targets, the Orcs, easy to hit, especially at 200 meters. Bullets tore into the thick bodies of the hulking creatures and ripped through flesh and bone. The smaller goblins, though harder to hit due to their small size and panicked erratic movement, were not spared as rounds blasted apart their limbs and heads.
Down below, an Orc leader snarled at the sudden loss of their element of surprise. With bloodshot eyes, he turned to his subordinates.
"CHARRRRGE!!" he roared for an all out charge. The command was like a whip crack, and those not blinded by the lights moved forward with their weapons raised high. A few Orcs stumbled in their confusion, but most obeyed, driven by bloodlust and fury.
"Warleader, should we use dose fings?" one of the Orcs asked, appearing eager to charge forward at those humans cowering behind those walls, then eyed the crude metallic boxes they carried.
The Warleader's yellowed tusks gleamed as he grinned. "Yes! let im taste dere own weapons!" he roared and quickly drew out his massive revolver-like cannon.
"WAARGH!! BREAK DERE WALLS! KILL IM ALL!"
The Orcs beside him laughed as they hefted their crafted firearms, crude and clunky but deadly. With thunderous roars, they squeezed the triggers and thick clouds of smoke filled the air as the guns fired, and the recoil sent some Orcs stumbling but laughing wildly nonetheless.
The Warleader took aim and fired, sending the loud BANG of his cannon punctuating the battlefield, enjoying the kick from the recoil and the rotten egg smell, but the thick dirty gunsmoke blocked his view making him unable to see where his shots had landed.
"Wait? Are they shooti-"
BANG! Spurt!
The human soldiers up to the walls gasped as several of their comrades were ripped apart by the high-caliber rounds. Bodies exploded in a mess of gore, and cries of alarm spread among the ranks.
The Warleader emptied both his giant revolvers at the wall, shattering stone and flesh alike, and began reloading with grim satisfaction.
But as he finished, he realized something was wrong. A new roar, a rapid deafening sound, cut through the battlefield, drowning out the wild gunfire of his Orcs. The Warleader's eyes widened as he saw his kin were mowed down and blood sprayed in all directions.
"NOOO!" the Warleader cried out in rage as he watched his comrades fall in heaps and their bodies torn apart by the precision fire from the human weapons.
Rage overtook him, and with a roar, he charged toward the walls and started firing his revolvers wildly as the recoil kicked back against his thick arms, but he didn't care.
"DIE, YER 'UMIEZ! DIEEEE!"
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"Colonel!" A soldier beside him called out urgently from the command center. "Gunfight at the wall!"
"What happened?" Cahyono asked as he was received a tablet which showed him a video of the short skirmish that happened at the main gate.
He frowned as he saw the video of the Orcs not only charging but also firing crude firearms at his troops. The sight of several soldiers being blown apart by the large-caliber rounds was shocking enough, but what made his blood run cold was the undeniable fact.
...the Orcs had guns.
"Are those guns?" he muttered and narrowed his eyes as he replayed the video. The crude but functional weapons in the Orcs' hands were unmistakable. "Where the hell did they get guns?!"
The soldier beside him shook his head, just as baffled. "Unknown, sir. We haven't seen them with firearms before. It's possible they've scavenged them from the military bases that were abandoned during the New Year Tragedy."
Cahyono clenched his teeth and quickly assessed the situation. "They're getting smarter. This isn't the same Orc horde we fought a few days ago. If they've learned to use firearms, this could complicate everything."
He looked up from the tablet and barked orders into his comms. "I want immediate intel on where they might have gotten those weapons. And contact HQ, tell them this is no longer just an Orc mop-up. We're dealing with armed hostiles now."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier hurried off, while Cahyono continued to survey the battlefield.
The Colonel's mind raced. 'Guns in the hands of Orcs.' This changes the whole dynamic of the fight. If the Orcs had access to human technology, especially firearms, then this skirmish could escalate into something far more dangerous. They would need to adjust their tactics, and fast.
He pulled his radio and spoke into it. "All units, be advised. The enemy is armed. Prepare for heavier resistance at the walls and expect more gunfire. Maintain defensive positions and focus fire on the leaders."
As he finished, another explosion rattled the perimeter, and Cahyono felt the ground shake beneath his feet. The battle was far from over, and now they had a new problem on their hands.