Chapter 126: What Accuracy

Chapter 126: What Accuracy

The two of them, along with two skeletons, crouched in the bushes, watching the orcs inside the abandoned manor from a distance.

"Captain, is it them?" Duke asked.

"It should be."

The manor was only a few hours' journey from Rontam City. Normally, neither caravans nor mercenary groups would camp in such a location.

Especially not with such a heightened state of vigilance.

Plus, orcs were naturally large, and standing there, they looked like a band of mountain bandits.

"There don't seem to be many of them. Should we just charge in?" Duke whispered, grabbing a green snake off a nearby branch, crushing its head, and coiling it up to store in his bag.

Wu Heng watched him coil up the snake but said nothing.

Now that they were involved in so much, things that used to scare them no longer did.

"Let's wait a bit longer and observe."

Their mission was to confirm the accuracy of the intelligence.

They could return now to report, and another squad or more personnel would be sent to eliminate the orcs.

But Wu Heng found that to be somewhat inconvenient.

His squad didn't have any major tasks recently, and if they returned now, the steward would likely find another mission for them anyway.

They crouched in the bushes for a while.

Xiaoxiao, in her invisible form, flew back from the other side.

She entered Wu Heng's body, and the images from inside the manor appeared in his mind.

Inside one of the still-intact rooms of the manor, six large orcs huddled together, their heavy armor resting in a corner, chatting quietly.

In the middle of the room, a fire pit had been set up, with a pot of animal meat cooking inside.

Xiaoxiao's perspective shifted as she flew up to the third floor.

On the collapsed rooftop platform, a nimble female orc stood watch over the surroundings.

In the corner of the platform lay a heavy crossbow.

Including the lookout in the courtyard, there were a total of eight orcs.

It was a small group.

They were even preparing leather bedding, seemingly planning to stay the night.

"There are eight orcs in total, and the one on the third floor is the crossbowman." Wu Heng shared the information.

Duke swatted at a bug on his arm and said, "So, are we charging in?"

"Charging in directly would be risky. It's better to find a way to ambush them."

"Uh, how do we ambush them…?"

As they spoke.

A commotion erupted within the manor.

Five or six orcs, armed with weapons, emerged from the stone fortress, shouting something to each other. One of them pointed directly at the spot where Wu Heng and Duke were hiding.

"Damn, we've been spotted." Wu Heng cursed.

Many adventurers had detection and vigilance skills, and it was clear their group's movements had been discovered.

Before Wu Heng could decide whether to flee or attack.

Whoosh~!

The sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

A crossbow bolt shot towards them.

Clang~!

With a sharp crack.

The bolt struck the side of Duke's helmet, sparks flying, as the bolt was deflected to the side.

Duke, knocked back by the impact, fell onto his back.

He touched the dent in his helmet, still in shock.

"Captain, I almost died!"

"Stay low and don't stick your head out." Wu Heng instructed.

Duke lay flat on the ground, shifting his position.

Whoosh~!

The second bolt flew towards Bagdong's chest.

But Bagdong casually caught the incoming bolt and threw it aside, embedding it into a tree trunk.

What accuracy!

Wu Heng was surprised by their marksmanship.

Quickly, he pulled out a 'Poison Mist Grenade,' lit it, and tossed it ahead.

Boom~!

The grenade exploded, filling the area with thick red smoke, obscuring the view of both sides.

The orcs immediately began shouting loudly.

"Damn cowards, hiding like that."

"Quick, rush over! Don't let them escape."

"Kill them, or we'll have to move again."

The orcs, thinking the smoke was meant to cover an escape, hastened their steps and charged through the grass towards them.

Listening to the approaching footsteps, Wu Heng said, "Kill them, don't hold back on the ammo."

Barson and Bagdong stood up, raised their rifles, and pulled the triggers.

The skeletons' vision wasn't affected by the smoke, allowing them to precisely lock onto their targets.

Bang bang bang~!

A barrage of bullets tore through the smoke, aimed at the advancing orcs.

The sound of gunfire drowned out the orcs' shouts, startling birds in the nearby trees.

Clang clang~ thud thud!

The orcs' armor managed to deflect some bullets.

In some areas, the bullets' paths were altered, but in most cases, they pierced through the armor and into the orcs' bodies.

Some orcs, without any armor, were immediately riddled with bullets.

After a brief burst of gunfire.

The area fell silent again, save for the occasional painful groan coming from the grass.

"Move forward!" Wu Heng's voice came through his gas mask.

Resting one hand on Barson's shoulder, they advanced through the smoke.

As they passed the fallen orcs, Wu Heng shot the ones who weren't fully dead.

They quickly moved through the smoke, closing in on the manor's walls.

As soon as they emerged, whoosh, another crossbow bolt flew towards them.

They quickly took cover behind the walls.

Wu Heng then raised his hand and cast [Fireball] towards the third floor.

The blazing fireball flew up, crashing into the wall with a bang, spreading flames everywhere.

The third floor was set ablaze, forcing the crossbowman to retreat.

Inside the manor, the remaining two orcs emerged from the fortress.

They cautiously scanned their surroundings.

"Kill them," Wu Heng commanded again.

Gunfire erupted once more, targeting the orcs.

One fell in terror, while the other raised a broad war axe as a shield.

Bullets ricocheted off the axe, failing to inflict significant damage.

"Bagdong, take out the orc with the axe. Barson, head to the third floor and kill the crossbowman," Wu Heng ordered quickly.

Bagdong charged at the axe-wielding orc, while Barson found another angle and sprinted up the ruins towards the third floor.

Wu Heng fired two shots, keeping the axe-wielding orc pinned, while simultaneously casting [Ray of Enfeeblement] and [Ray of Sickness].

Both rays struck the orc directly.

The orc's stance with the axe noticeably faltered.

At that moment, Bagdong closed in and threw a punch.

The orc roared, growing even more muscular as he swung his axe down.

Bagdong dodged and countered with rapid punches to the orc's ribs and lower back.

The two became entangled in combat.

At that moment, Duke stumbled out, coughing and rubbing his eyes.

His eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down his face.

He shook his head hard, then lifted his battle axe and charged at the orc.

He quickly joined the fight, making it two against one, forcing the orc to retreat step by step.

Bang bang~!

Wu Heng seized the opportunity and fired two shots, hitting the orc in the leg.

The orc, in pain, dropped to one knee, and Bagdong leapt up, delivering a punch to the orc's neck.

Crack!

The orc's head twisted at an unnatural angle.

[Experience Gained +21.]

[Your level has increased to Level 6. Intelligence +1, Charisma +1.]

[Summoned Creature – Skeleton Boxer, gained +2 experience.]

Wu Heng was surprised.

He hadn't been paying attention to his experience recently and didn't expect to level up.

Thud~!

At that moment, Duke swung his battle axe, severing the orc's head.

The head rolled to the side, and only then did Duke let out a sigh of relief.

"Bagdong, check upstairs with Barson and finish off the crossbowman," Wu Heng ordered.

Bagdong sprinted towards the third floor.

Faint sounds of fighting and cursing could be heard.

Soon, the fighting ceased, and Barson dragged down the corpse of the female orc.

...…

"Duke, you alright?" Wu Heng removed his gas mask and put it away.

Duke's eyes were still bloodshot. "I'm fine."

It wasn't that Wu Heng didn't give Duke a gas mask.

It was just that orc faces were too uniquely shaped, especially with those protruding tusks, making it impossible to wear the mask.

"Your head didn't get hurt, did it?"

Duke touched the dent where the bolt had struck. "The helmet needs some repairs."

"As long as you're fine. Go drag those bodies out of the bushes."

"Got it!"

As the smoke slowly dispersed, Duke quickly walked over and started pulling the bodies.

Meanwhile, Wu Heng, with his skeletons, entered the stone fortress to inspect the belongings of the orcs.

Most of their backpacks contained travel supplies.

The most significant find was that each of them had a money pouch. Two of the pouches had more silver coins, but the others all contained exactly 120 coins.

It seemed like they had just divided their loot; otherwise, the amounts wouldn't be identical.

As Wu Heng searched the last backpack.

He found three special scrolls inside.

[Slave Contract Scroll]

(Description: A magic scroll inscribed with a slave contract. The caster and the contracted individual form a master-servant relationship. Once the contract takes effect, the servant cannot develop any harmful intent towards the master.)

Were these guys slave traders?

There were many types of magic scrolls, most of which were for offensive spells.

A scroll that created a master-servant contract was quite rare.

It didn't seem very useful to him, though, since his skeletons were already fully loyal, and if he wanted any kind of servant, he could just gather corpses.

After thinking it over, he decided to keep the scrolls anyway.

Then, he walked out of the stone fortress.

Duke had already piled up the bodies in the courtyard's clearing.

"Captain, they're all here."

Wu Heng pulled out his tablet and opened the wanted list from the guild. "Let's see which one is the wanted criminal."

Duke, still with red eyes, looked in surprise as Wu Heng flipped through the photos.