Refining the Heavens (炼天)

Chapter 46: Jim's battle

George's camp had always kept a surplus supply of wood and metal for the repairs of any broken weapons or structures, which was why even though Kairos and Alan's weapons are rather rare types they are still able to repair it.

Using those supply, they managed to improve the camp's defences. Granted, they exhausted almost all of their reserves in the deed, but at the eleventh hour, they hardly have a choice. Their best creation was a few shoddily made ballistae thanks to the combined efforts of Jim, the self-made Saboteur, and Edward, their Archer and combat engineer. The prior provided his expertise in tinkering around with contraptions. The latter had a basic understanding of siege machines, and more importantly, he is familiar with bows.

Those ballistae fired hallowed tree trunks, packed with bombs and filled with oil. The missile's weight doomed it from travelling far, and they are fated with limited rounds because it exhausted their remaining explosives too quickly. Nevertheless, it was a working design that truly shone when needed.

At this junction, there is no longer a reason to save up. With the Orc King as their opponent, a future might not even come.

The War Beasts that were crossing their handmade bridges were met with unexpectedly fierce resistance. The spear bolt struck them and shattered into tiny pieces. Oil splashed onto the timbers and spread into the moat, and the resulting explosion brought hell on earth. The Orcs hastily jumped into the water to escape, but they soon realised that the place had been turned into a sea of fire.

Blood-curdling bestial screams and death throes accompanied every shot and any remaining bridges crumbled under the high heat.

To create such flames, the oil they used definitely cannot be normal but one made from a flame wyvern.

The chaos that followed caused the Orc King to howl from frustration but the second wave of warriors formed immediately and they rushed into the moat.

Their shoving and struggling pushed them down the watery slopes, and unknowingly many Orcs were impaled by the stakes hidden within the banks.

Their leader's reaction was instant. The Orc King gave another great cry, and a new bunch of Orcs rushed to the banks, pushing through those in front. They are stronger and larger than the groups before, solely made up of D ranked members who could form a magic barrier around themselves, and they easily destroyed the sharpened stakes.

"It's a wonder how Orcs can communicate with just one sound. Don't you feel their language is seriously more advanced than ours if they can say everything with one syllable?" Alan observed.

Snow replied, "I don't think they are speaking by sound. It is probably by some other way."

When it comes to intelligence and information, she is confident that if she claims to be the second best here, no one will dare to claim the first. Of course, that is of course, excluding George who is no longer in the exam.

Kairos who is just next to them had been quiet all this while. Her words inspired him to try using his Soul Perception to pick something out. What is it, he does not know, but even a small discovery will surely be helpful to him.

He let his senses permeate the surrounding, enveloping the Orc army that numbered nearly a thousand. At first, there wasn't anything different, but as he increased the soul concentration in the area, he started picking up more information than before. He sensed a previously undetected disturbance in the air and instantly recognised it as circular waves that originate from individual Orcs.

"Mana!" Kairos cried out in surprise, and he turned and looked at his friends, exclaiming, "They are communicating by throwing mana waves into the air!"