A Way to Break the Formation

It came quickly and left just as fast! The sandstorm that filled the sky finally subsided. Apart from the occasional fine sand still drifting down from the sky, through the yellowish haze, one could faintly see the blue sky.

The terrain here had completely changed. The ground had suddenly risen several feet, scattered with countless gravel and rubble. Over time, the fine sand would be blown away by the wind day after day, leaving only the larger stones on the ground, gradually forming a circle of gravelly land. Perhaps this is how the name "Gravel Wasteland" came to be?

The well-fed and well-hydrated orcs even had time for a nap. Now, they all stretched lazily as they emerged from their caves! Baroque glanced in the direction of the caravan; thirty camel beasts stood up intact, shaking their fur to rid themselves of the sand, seemingly unharmed. Indeed, they were thick-skinned and hardy. Nearby, people were climbing out of the sand that had covered half their bodies, coughing and spitting out sand while looking for their companions. When Baroque sent a few tribesmen over to surround them, Wold and four porters also climbed out. Luckily, though they had suffered, they ultimately escaped disaster! Faced with the sudden appearance of the orcs, Wold did not resist and allowed himself to be tied up by the orcs. As a merchant, his decision was rational; knowing he couldn't win, resisting or fleeing would only lead to a quicker death. By complying, he might still have a chance to survive!

The caravan was just a minor episode. A few tribesmen could take them back to the temporary settlement. Baroque, leading the rest of the tribesmen, began to pursue the direction in which the mercenaries had retreated. The Frost Giant Wolf, Rak, had been sent out earlier by Baroque to track them. In the vast wasteland, humans had no chance of escaping a wolf's nose! 

Sava and Huda's ruthless decision saved most of the mercenaries' lives. They piled up the corpses of the porters to block the direction of the sandstorm, then used all the shields to cover themselves. Initially, this effectively blocked the wind and gravel. But as the sandstorm intensified, the stones falling from the sky grew larger. Shields might withstand the impact of stones the size of heads, but the mercenaries' strength couldn't last long. After just an hour, the mercenaries, who had switched arms several times, could no longer lift the heavy shields. As soon as a shield fell, a stone blew in through the gap, smashing the face of the mercenary behind. With a scream, the mercenary's shield also dropped, triggering a chain reaction that shattered the shield formation!

The three Dou Qi warriors cursed but had no choice but to activate their Dou Qi to temporarily shield everyone from the stones, allowing the mercenaries to reform the shield formation. They persisted in this manner through the storm, repeatedly facing crises, all of which were averted by the three warriors' Dou Qi. Several hours passed, and just as their Dou Qi was nearly exhausted, the storm finally ceased. All the surviving mercenaries collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to care about the mangled corpses of their comrades beside them!

Although they didn't know how the orcs avoided the storm, Sava and the others knew the natives wouldn't suffer much and were probably already pursuing them. There was no time to waste! Urging the mercenaries to get up and grab their weapons, they immediately left.

Having lost seven or eight men, Sava, along with Huda and thirty-five surviving mercenaries, continued their desperate flight. Unbeknownst to them, a mongrel dog was leisurely following behind, occasionally marking its territory before continuing its pursuit!

Angray vowed never to speak out again! On the way to pursue the Sand Scorpion Mercenary Group, Baroque suddenly asked everyone a seemingly random question, "Who has the sharpest nose?"

The others looked at each other, not knowing what Baroque meant, but Angray cheerfully responded, "Of course, it's me. Yesterday, Barotan secretly hid a piece of roasted sand scorpion meat in his clothes, and I smelled it. If you don't believe me, you can check Barotan's stomach!" In fact, he had seen it by chance.

Barotan's face turned red, and he glared at Angray before sheepishly taking out the fragrant piece of scorpion meat. Scratching his head, he said, "Hehe, I've been feeling extra hungry lately!" Ever since he started practicing Beast Battle Qi, he needed a lot more energy, naturally requiring more food.

The tribesmen chuckled kindly and said nothing. Times had changed; they no longer had to struggle for food. With Baroque, a powerful chieftain, even the sand scorpion swarms they used to avoid could now be easily defeated. There was no longer a worry about food.

But Baroque's next words made all the tribesmen clutch their stomachs and burst into laughter!

"Oh, since your nose is so sharp, you'll be responsible for finding the tracks Rak left for us. Oh, Rak usually likes to mark his territory!" Baroque looked at the sky and said casually.

"Haha… hahaha…!" The tribesmen were stunned at first, then burst into laughter, their eyes tearing up! Angray looked pitifully at Baroque, "Baroque, you're not serious, are you?"

"Who says I'm not? I'm serious. Rak really left his tracks by marking his territory. Otherwise, how would we catch up with those mercenaries?" Baroque said with a straight face, suppressing his laughter.

The poor guy had no choice but to sniff around for Rak's scent while enduring the laughter of his tribe. Fortunately, the orcs' noses were indeed very sensitive. Angray managed to follow Rak's scent accurately, much to Baroque's surprise! He was just joking; with his connection to Rak, they could easily find each other within a certain range.

Exhausted by the sandstorm, the mercenaries, after struggling for more than ten miles, were finally overtaken by the orcs! The mysterious and terrifying beast suddenly appeared, transforming into a giant white wolf, blocking their path, baring its teeth with a mocking glint in its eyes!

"We can't escape; we have to fight to the death! Don't think surrendering will make the orcs spare us...!" Sava shouted at the mercenaries, who looked desperate and terrified, "Don't forget we destroyed their tribe and slaughtered their people. Do you think these orcs will forgive us? We have no way out but to fight to the death. Maybe there's still a chance!"

Living a life on the edge had bred a desperate courage in the mercenaries. Knowing there was no escape, their innate ferocity was ignited. Under Sava's command, they quickly formed a battle formation, ready to face the orcs' attack! Sava sternly told Huda and Misa, "Don't hold back. We either die together or survive together. Even if you try to escape while I hold off the orcs, do you think you can outrun that beast?"

Huda had indeed considered this. He glanced at the giant wolf blocking their path and had to admit Sava was right. "Alright, let's fight to the death!" Huda gritted his teeth.

Facing the mercenaries' formidable formation, Baroque asked his tribesmen again, "Does anyone want to try attacking them this time?"

Angray, Mulu, and Zainzu were all injured. Even if they wanted to, they were unable to. Although Barotan wasn't hurt, his timid nature made him hesitate. As for the others, they were intimidated by the human battle formation, causing a brief silence.

Baroque was both amused and frustrated. The little confidence his tribesmen had gained seemed to have been shattered. It appeared that restoring the orcs' sense of honor was going to be a long and arduous task!

"Three of you, come with me. The rest follow behind," Baroque shouted, startling the tribesmen. Barotan immediately jumped out, and two more quickly followed.

Baroque took a javelin from his storage ring and handed it to Barotan, then tied a rope to the end of the javelin and gave it to the other two. He ordered Barotan, "Throw it with all your might and aim at any shield."

Without hesitation, Barotan hefted the metal javelin and hurled it towards the center of the mercenaries' shield formation. These shields were imitations of military shields, not fully metal but with a layer of steel over hard wood. While sturdy enough to withstand orc axes, Barotan's javelin still pierced deeply into one shield, the tip protruding several inches, terrifying the mercenary behind it.

"Don't be stupid, pull it hard!" Baroque shouted to the two holding the rope.

They yanked the rope with all their might, and the shield was ripped from the mercenary's grasp, falling to the ground! Instantly, another javelin from Baroque impaled the exposed mercenary, killing him in seconds. From Barotan throwing the javelin to Baroque killing the mercenary, only three to five seconds had passed, too fast for the mercenaries to react!

"It's that simple. Now you know what to do, right?" Baroque tossed out a pile of javelins from his storage ring, clapping his hands and smiling at the stunned tribesmen.

Unfortunately, the mercenaries didn't give the orcs this chance to practice. Sava and Huda exchanged a glance and suddenly shouted, "Don't wait for death, charge!"

They urged their formation towards the orcs!

A rapidly moving shield formation was

 just a moving target. The three Dou Qi warriors couldn't cover all the gaps, unable to withstand the orcs' attacks any longer!