Age of Adepts Chapter 821 Witherwater City

A pained and angered cry rang out on the battlefield. The orc shaman finally fell at the hands of Greem and Arms.
Several Shield Defenders that had prepared ahead of time strode forward and dragged the shaman's scorched body and the dying roc to the backlines of the battlefield.
Greem and Arms did not hesitate at all. After some communication, they immediately rose and lunged at another isolated Third Grade centaur.
Meanwhile, Mary and Tigule's Goblin Shredder were also secretly hunting surrounded Second Grade orcs in other corners of the battlefield.
In this situation where the witches had the absolute advantage, and the main forces of the orcs were being kept in the sky, there were no longer any powerful elites amongst the Second and Third Grades on the battlefield.
The adepts were also proficient with strange and unconventional spells. Paired with the adepts' numerical advantage, orc powerhouses being surrounded and beaten was everywhere to be seen. As these orc elites were slowly dealt with, the already collapsing orc army finally fell apart.
War had always been so brutal!
If the orcs had momentum on their side, they would dare to launch a more ferocious charge at the undead tide, even if there was only a hundred of them in total. However, once morale fell apart, the still twenty-thousand strong orc army started fleeing like panicking ducks.
The higher-ups of the witches had already decided to take down Witherwater City. How could they possibly let these orc remnants escape as they wished? Under the command of the Death Witches, the undead tide started swarming in the direction that the orcs had fled in. Meanwhile, the half-shadow creatures appeared here and there, continually flanking the retreating orc forces.
The planar battlefield was a good fifty-five kilometers away from Witherwater City.
The orc army had put aside most of their heavy siege weaponry after receiving the holy decree. They then made a long march to assault the witches' portal while lightly equipped. Unfortunately, after eight hours of bloody battle, all of it was for naught!
Even if the orcs' Physiques were several times that of a human's, such a long ordeal had completely exhausted their stamina, making such an arduous journey an impossible one.
Many orc warriors had already collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. They had no strength to resist even when the swarm of undead dragged them into the horde.
Defeat all the way back to the city; an utter defeat.
The orc army was routed in such a decisive manner that it was a hard sight to bear!
An even worse fate awaited the orc assault squad, who had now been surrounded by enemies. Their grades were not inferior to those high-grade witches, but they were definitely not the opponents of the witches in actual combat.
After exterminating nearly half of the orc powerhouses, the witch leaders held a discussion. Death Witch Leader Khesuna would herd the tide and continue pursuing the survivors of the orc army. Meanwhile, Dark Witch Leader Circe would lead the shadow army on a straight march toward Witherwater City.
Meanwhile, the weak Fate Witch faction would clean up the battlefield alongside the Coldwinter and Agony Witches. They would also be responsible for transporting the spoils of war to Witherwater City.
The portal was already slowly closing after transporting all of the witches' forces.
By the time all of the orcs and witches left the plains, the only things remaining here were scorched bones and large pools of crimson blood.
…………
Witherwater City.
The one in charge of the city's garrison was the leader of the Stonehammer Tribe– Dava.
Over fifty thousand orc elites had been sent out of Witherwater City since they received the Beast God's decree. They marched fifty kilometers to attack the witches' portal. Meanwhile, Dava stayed in the city, gathering all fighting forces from the surrounding territories and keeping a close eye on the battlefield in the distance.
Harpy patrols discovered the first batch of fleeing orcs at three in the afternoon.
In the two hours that came after, Dava received bad news after bad news, each more terrifying than the last!
The invading witch forces had defeated the orc army!
The witch forces were using the undead tide to herd the orc remnants toward Witherwater City.
And above all, what frightened Dava the most, was the mysterious disappearance of all wolfrider and harpy patrols he had sent in the other direction.
According to the military standards of the orcs, all patrols and lookouts were to send a report back to Witherwater City at specified intervals. But now, WItherwater City had lost all contact with the few watchtowers and lookouts outside the city. Even the troops sent to investigate had not returned.
That…was undoubtedly lousy news that couldn't get any worse!
It seemed the enemy intended to take advantage of the defeat of the orc elites to conquer Witherwater City. Dava saw the situation for what it was, but there was nothing he could do about it.
After all, Xan'tish Sharpfang had taken with him all the elite forces of the city. The remaining orcs might be capable of fighting, but they lacked strict and proper military training. They were untrained soldiers, incapable of being formed into an effective fighting force.
Upon understanding the severity of the situation at hand, Stonehammer Chieftain Dava could only put forth a conscription notice of the highest order. He mobilized all orcs and subordinate races of the city to take up arms on the walls.
For a moment, a crowd gathered on the mighty and towering walls of Witherwater City. Squadrons of minotaurs with black horns on their heads pushed heavy war machines on the ground, transporting them to the tower at the middle of the walls.
Perhaps it was the ferocity and might of the orcs that caused them to enjoy brutal and frontal fights against the enemy. It was this ferocity and power that allowed the orcs to become the uncontested rulers of Strongwoods Plane.
However, it was precisely this style of combat that caused them to regard war machines and strategy with disdain.
Naturally, this wouldn't matter if they always had the advantage on the battlefield.
However, now that the orcs were the weak ones and needed to fortify their city, this imperfection of theirs became exceedingly obvious and scary.
When the orc remnants finally arrived at the outskirts of Witherwater City, their sad state of affairs shocked all of the onlookers. Anyone who saw the survivors couldn't help but gulp in nervousness.
Packs of ghouls had emerged from the undead tide and were swiftly catching up with the orc remnants on a dusty road just a kilometer away from Witherwater City.
The exhausted orcs could only choose to stay and defend, resisting the attacks of the undead army while desperately calling for help from the city.
A terrible disagreement broke out in Witherwater City at the sight of this!
These orc remnants were Witherwater forces, to begin with. Almost every orc warrior had relatives and friends awaiting their arrival inside the city. The defenders could no longer suppress their anxiety upon seeing their close ones enduring the attacks from terrifying undead just outside their city. Many of them rushed to the city gates, intent on opening them to save their loved ones.
The defenders on the city walls clashed with the emotional orcs, causing the morale of the garrison to drop.
The highest commander of the garrison was Dava. He knew what the situation was, but he knew what he needed to do as well.
If he refused to send troops to save these soldiers, then the heart of the people would be lost without a fight. However, if he were to send reinforcements, it would probably be what the undead tide approaching from the horizon was waiting for.
Dava hesitated, but in the end, he could only sigh and order for the gates to be opened. A troop of three thousand soldiers was sent to rescue the surrounded orc remnants.
This order was undoubtedly one of the reasons that resulted in the quick fall of Witherwater City!
The army sent out of the city was a mixed team. The main force was an army of two thousand minotaurs. These minotaurs were supported by three hundred wolfriders, six hundred centaurs, and a hundred harpies.
What greeted them outside the city were the ghoul army and wraith army that the Death Witches had specially prepared for this situation.
Over a thousand wraiths descended from the skies at the start of the battle. They cackled coldly while turning their bodies intangible and charging into the orc army.
Wraiths were a particular sort of being composed of the dead's resentment and space substance. They didn't have actual bodies and were immune to most physical damage. Their attacks didn't possess any physical effects either. They could only use their chilling core of resentment to corrode their enemy's souls.
Thus, their attacks all possessed tremendous soul-corrosion effects and could effectively drain the enemy of their Spirit, vitality, and soul energy!
There were far too few amongst the orcs who possessed elementium powers, and conventional weapons could hardly injure the wraiths. Consequently, the semi-translucent wraiths dove through the arrows of the centaurs and the spears of the harpies. The wraiths stormed to their sides and plunged their claws into the enemy's body, frantically grabbing for something within.
The centaurs and minotaurs attacked by the wraiths could not hurt them no matter how they waved their wooden pillars and spears. Instead, they were the ones who were rapidly losing soul energy beneath the attacks of the wraiths. They lost their ability to think or fight. Their bodies froze, and they fell to the ground.
The appearance of the wraiths instantly introduced chaos into the orc army.
At this moment, the ghoul army arrived from every direction.
The minotaurs roared with bloodshot eyes and stomped the feet with their broad hoofs. The three-meter tall wooden pillars in their hands were waved about ferociously, smashing one ghoul after another to pieces.
However, these ghouls did not fear death.
They might be far inferior to the minotaur warriors in terms of Strength and Physique, but they possessed agility far above the enemy.
The ghouls weaved up and below, dodging the wooden pillars and occasionally tearing off a piece of meat from a minotaur or adding a new gouge to their muscular body.
The claws and fangs of the ghouls were covered in terrifying poison. Even if the minotaurs were still going strong after being attacked, their stamina and Strength was unavoidably starting to fall.