Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 713: Victory at Black Worm’s Nest

TL: Rui88

Just as the attack began, some on the orc side had already sensed that something was wrong.

Black Worm’s Nest was divided into two parts, inner and outer. The inner city had developed from the initial human settlement and was surrounded by sturdy walls that extended all the way to the docks.

The outer city was home to many local natives who had pledged allegiance, and due to trade, it was usually bustling with people.

But today, it was eerily quiet. Had everyone gone into the inner city?

Upon getting closer, they found the gates of the inner city were tightly shut. Those with good eyesight observed heavily guarded soldiers on the walls.

Someone suggested to Gunther that they should call off the attack, but Gunther, his mind clouded by deep-seated hatred and immense temptation, rejected the suggestion. He insisted on attacking according to the original plan.

His command was executed. Strong orcs, brandishing large clubs and carrying scaling ladders, howled as they ran towards the inner city walls.

Along the way, they triggered one trap after another, and the defenders on the walls also fired at them. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The humans were indeed prepared. The swishing of crossbow bolts and the popping of muskets intertwined.

The attackers suffered greatly and sustained considerable casualties, but fortunately, they still managed to place their ladders against the walls.

As a newly established town, the walls of Black Worm’s Nest were not high. Even the ladders made with the forest orcs’ backward technology could cope.

They charged up holding large wooden shields. Just as their kin on the plains were born horsemen, these orcs who grew up in the forest were born hunters. They had been climbing and weaving through the dense woods since childhood and were extremely agile.

But the human defenders on the walls, armed to the teeth, stopped them.

From the perspective of the forest orcs, it was no exaggeration to say that the humans who appeared before them were armed to the teeth. They wore a full set of metal armour, with helmets covering their entire heads, and the swords in their hands were so bright they could reflect a person’s image.

On the orc side, however, most were only armed with wooden sticks and stone spears, and their bodies were clad in nothing more than animal hides.

Faced with the human defenders who held an absolute advantage in equipment, the orcs who scaled the walls were merely throwing their lives away one by one.

In addition to the sharp swords, the musketeers hiding behind them continuously picked them off, firing deadly metal pellets.

The battle was fierce. The sounds of slaughter pierced through the dense forest outside the city, startling flocks of birds into flight.

The attackers were very brave, but they made no progress whatsoever.

They stormed the walls, were pushed back, stormed again, and were pushed back again. After repeating this several times, they had only increased their casualties.

Moreover, the number of humans was not as small as they had anticipated—this point particularly shocked the orc attackers. Unfortunately, they only discovered this after the battle had reached a stalemate.

“Gunther, we can’t fight anymore! I suggest an immediate retreat!”

An orc chieftain, his fur messy and caked with dried blood, anxiously sought out the young chieftain of the Blood Bull Tribe.

“Coward!” Gunther tore his gaze away from the brutal fortress wall and roared at the newcomer.

“If we just hold on a little longer, those humans on the wall won’t be able to stand it. They’ll break and scatter, letting us slaughter them at will. The wealth they’ve accumulated here will be within our grasp.”

Gunther’s eyes were red, spittle flying from his mouth. His euphoric state made one wonder if he had fallen into some kind of hallucination.

The orc chieftain, named Grosso, frowned tightly, forcing himself to swallow a string of curses that were on the tip of his tongue.

He simply said, “Your strategy didn’t work at all! If Black Worm’s Nest only had a few dozen defenders as you thought, that would be fine. But right now, there are nearly two hundred men standing on the walls alone. The humans didn’t fall for your trick at all. Instead, they used it to set a trap, just waiting for us to foolishly walk into it.”

“Shut your stinking mouth!”

Gunther was furious. He suddenly erupted, grabbing the front of Grosso’s clothes and flinging him violently. The immense force lifted the orc off the ground, sending him tumbling several times before he landed gracelessly on the ground.

“Roar!” The men who had come with Grosso instantly saw red, raising their weapons to fight Gunther.

“Everyone, stop!” Grosso climbed up from the ground and laughed mockingly. “Then you can continue to fight bravely here, valiant Gunther.” He then ordered his subordinates, “Gather our people and get out of this godforsaken place as soon as possible.”

“You who undermines the army’s morale!” Gunther brandished his greatsword—one of the few metal weapons in this force—and swore to kill Grosso.

Just as a fight was about to break out, a chaotic clamour from behind stopped them. To everyone’s astonishment, dense figures appeared in the surrounding woods.

“Hahaha! Look who’s here, all familiar faces!” A tall orc carrying a large axe walked to the forefront.

“Gramtar? What are you doing here?” Gunther asked loudly in confusion. “Could it be that you’re also joining our hunt?”

“Of course!” The newcomer licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue, his eyes glinting as he sized Gunther up and down. “And the prey I want is right before my eyes.”

“Hmph!” Gunther was somewhat displeased. “I don’t object to you joining in, but the distribution of the spoils must follow my arrangements, because I initiated this hunt.”

“Oh?” Gramtar’s expression was a mixture of a smile and something else.

“Fool!” Grosso, realizing something was wrong, roared. “He’s hunting us!” He now regretted beyond measure ever having cooperated with such a fellow.

Gramtar laughed heartily, swung the long axe in his hand, and the orcs behind him swarmed forward.

“How dare you?” Gunther was about to explode. Fury consumed his entire body, but unlike before, it was now mixed with fear.

But his men were all gathered at the foot of the city wall and were unable to come to his aid. Gramtar’s men had them completely surrounded and were pouncing on them fiercely.

Gunther furiously swung his greatsword, howling loudly to dispel the fear in his heart.

But after a fierce battle, both he and Grosso, the two chieftains, were captured alive.

Upon learning that there was trouble in the rear, the attackers, already exhausted mentally and physically by the fruitless battle, collapsed almost instantly.

At that moment, the city gates opened, and the humans rushed out. Attacked from both the front and the rear by the orcs emerging from the forest, those who could not run away had no choice but to surrender and become captives.

“Lord Stanford.” Gramtar dragged the trussed-up Gunther before Stanford and said gleefully, “This is my gift to you.”

The young chieftain of the Blood Bull Tribe, who had been so fierce just moments ago, had been beaten to a pulp, his eyes so swollen he could not open them. Stanford merely glanced at him before having him taken away.

“You’re too slow!” he said with dissatisfaction. “If you had been any later, I guarantee you would have had no credit here at all. You didn’t think my men couldn’t handle them alone, did you?”

Sensing the severity in Stanford’s tone, Gramtar respectfully knelt on one knee. “I am very sorry, my lord. As you know, we had to lie in ambush far away so they wouldn’t discover us.”

Before the battle began, Stanford had ordered the orcs living in the outer city of Black Worm’s Nest to stay away. But if they wanted to return quickly, they had to prove their loyalty through action.

Gramtar was the most prestigious among these orcs.

Stanford did not believe his excuse. Perhaps this fellow was just waiting and watching, ready to join the winning side.

“One more small gift.” As if to appease Stanford’s dissatisfaction, Gramtar gestured with his hand, and another trussed-up individual was brought over.

“Ah, my dear friend.” Stanford looked at the bound person with some regret. “Why were you with Gunther?”

The captive, none other than Broghar, had a face full of embarrassment and bitterness. “How did you know Gunther’s real target?”

“My dear Broghar, you didn’t think you were the only one in this forest willing to be my friend, did you?”

“And me!” Gramtar chimed in with a grin.

Broghar looked utterly dejected and said no more.

Stanford paid him no further attention, casting his gaze into the depths of the forest.

What should be the next step? According to Lakeheart Town’s intentions, some things needed to be moved ahead of schedule.

As the most powerful native force here, the Blood Bull Tribe had to be dealt with. Gunther’s reckless attack this time undoubtedly provided a good pretext.

Although Stanford had a decent friendship with the tribe’s chieftain, Assoye, personal feelings had to be set aside.