Equipment Printing School Mage

Ninety-seven Raise the Flag of Rebellion Against the Gods (I)

Going out in this harsh winter where the path is impossible to see is of course an extremely dangerous thing.

The orcs donned thick fur coats, wrapping themselves up like hibernating brown bears. Orcs rarely went out on large scales in such a harsh winter, but even so, they wouldn't run out of their winter clothing.

"A batch of clothes was accidentally damaged and we are repairing it." This was the response of the new warehouse keeper.

Most officers could only walk into the wind and snow with these vague questions.

The search was almost aimless. Most of the teams

The High Shaman's solemn promise that the blizzard would no longer be their enemy proved to be a pitifully short-lived statement. Many teams were engulfed by the renewed blizzard less than a kilometer from the castle, never to see their comrades again.

Traveling in winter depleted precious supplies, and even if the Kingdom of the Arrows had sufficient reserves, it couldn't sustain a large group of warriors with such large stomachs traveling in the dead of winter.

- Not to mention, a brand new war may break out this winter.

So, if they don't achieve any results, they might have to go hungry in the spring and have to go to the caves to dig mushrooms to eat.

The enthusiasm of the oath-taking ceremony quickly cooled in the knee-deep snow. One team trudged through the snow, bent over, with whistling ice crystals everywhere they went. Forget about searching for the missing king; they even had to make sure their own team members didn't get lost in the blizzard!

The orc warriors were almost all good hunters, and they knew very well that this weather was not suitable for going out. Even the starving animals had to wait until the storm died down before moving.

However, the squad's overseer, Gruumsh's shaman, continued to urge them on: "Don't slow down! Once this blizzard ends, all traces of the attackers will disappear!"

It would be better to say that it is impossible for them to find any trace of them anymore - the orc officer grumbled in his heart.

Confirming the king's disappearance took time, and so did their preparations. At least a day had already passed in their return trip. The snow outside was almost non-stop, so how could there be any trace left?

However, orcs are warlike and bloodthirsty, not stupid.

To back off at this point would only result in a more miserable outcome than eating snow outside.

So, he could only ask: "Do you have any clues to track the enemy?"

Now, they have even lost their way.

Unexpectedly, the shaman seemed to have no confusion at all, and he was always leading the way and moving forward.

A firm stance can bring strength to followers. Even though the officer was completely confused about his squad's true goal, looking at the priest's back, he couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that the church, for some reason, couldn't tell them the goal, but actually knew it all?

His question was soon answered.

The snowstorm in front of them dissipated, revealing a mountain that rose straight into the sky. They hadn't known when they had arrived at a steep slope. The orcs, finally gaining some visibility, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The officer shook off the snow and asked, "Shaman, shall we rest here?"

Only then did the shaman turn around and say, "No, [you] have already arrived."

The officer was stunned for a moment, then the sharpness gained from hard training made his hair stand on end.

He almost instinctively tried to retreat, but the thick snow made it difficult for them to move forward. To make matters worse, several orc warriors who wanted to rush forward seemed to have bumped into something, stumbling and nearly falling in the snow.

The snow was so thick that they really had no idea of ​​the terrain nearby.

At that moment, dozens of small figures emerged from the snowy slope, their snow-white cloaks billowing, their specially crafted crossbows already loaded.

They were a group of short, dark-skinned elves with white hair.

A fairly large drow team was quietly lying in ambush on the hillside.

The orcs naturally did not carry their usual steel shields in this snowy weather where walking was already difficult, and they did not even wear heavy armor.

This group of orcs, who had been lured all the way to the bottom of the snow slope, were exhausted, almost unable to move, and almost instantly fell to the whistling crossbow arrows.

Out of caution, the drow team even re-stirred their bows and unleashed a second wave of arrows. Then, they leisurely said to the shaman, who had been watching the entire battle with a cold eye, "Is this the last one?"

"Indeed," the shaman replied. "Ocampos doesn't have that many diehard fans. There are quite a few orcs who want to wage war, but their hearts are overshadowed by loyalty. Only a few teams truly agree with that fool's ideas and are opposed to war itself."

Captain Zhuo Er almost laughed out loud: "I couldn't believe my ears when I heard it: There are still orcs in this world who oppose war?!"

The shaman's attitude towards the former king was even more disdainful: "It's a shame that we can't denounce his cowardice in front of everyone... For a while, we may even have to continue to raise his banner. His influence may even be remembered because of our efforts... It's ridiculous."

"Ah, we understand." The drow, expert at internal strife, naturally didn't need further explanation. Instead, he nodded approvingly and offered a rare soothing reassurance. "Look at the bright side. If he in the Hazy Realm knew about this, he'd probably be furious, yet helpless."

Rostrow naturally relished this most thorough insult. "Think about it, he was actually killed on the orders of the Orc Lord himself. So, he can only wander the Twilight Realm forever... although the Twilight Realm is probably very different now."

This operation was a coup and purge organized by the Church of Gruumsh in collaboration with the drow. According to the agreement, after the purge was completed, they would immediately begin to organize a march south to overthrow the severely damaged Silvermoon Alliance and the dwarven fortresses along the way.

The destruction of the Silvermoon Alliance's maze marked one of the weakest times in the history of this powerful alliance. Rebuilding the maze itself was a costly undertaking, a highly risky undertaking for all involved, and indeed for the entire Silvermoon Alliance.

The drow believed that the Silvermoon Alliance would never rebuild the maze at this time.

There is no better time than now to go south.

Another reason why Zhuoer led the march south was Banrui's desperate attack.

The losses suffered by the Baenre outside the Sharptooth Forest were too heavy, too unacceptable, and too inexplicable. The drow struggle was extremely brutal. If the Baenre family could not immediately achieve great success, it would prove that they had not grown weaker...

Then, all the drow will immediately begin to stir, and the city of Menzoberranzan may change hands at any time.

—So, Baenre used their authority and came up with a brilliant way to protect themselves: asking Lolth to call an expedition.

This time, all the drow under Rose's command will be gathered together.

This way, the pressure on Banrui in the short term will be greatly reduced. As long as the surface war goes smoothly, the Banrui family will be able to regain invaluable breathing time!

However, before leaving, Captain Zhuoer asked, "What do we do with the bodies here?"

The shaman scoffed. "Anyone who follows a traitor is a traitor too. Leave them here. We are returning to Black Arrow Hold. Do as you please."

"Don't forget the promise."

"Of course I won't forget," said the shaman.

-----------------

The orc king Ocampos Many-Arrows is digging snow.

Just now, he knew everything that happened here thanks to the replay spell cast by Emilia.

He couldn't believe it at first, but when he personally fished out a corpse from under the snow, he fell into a long silence.

The warriors who were once fully armed had been stripped naked like wild beasts, their bodies covered in cold, and before leaving, the drow even peeled off their scalps with malicious pleasure.

Emiya observed the bodies of the deceased, who were either stiff or frozen, and shook her head. "I'm sorry. They were poisoned by the drow's paralysis poison and fell to the ground in the snow after being shot by arrows."

So, he retained his consciousness but was frozen to death under the ridge of the world in winter.

"This is their shame, this is my shame." Ocampos slowly stood up and showed his fangs in front of everyone for the first time.

He took off his clothes and covered his compatriots and subordinates with them in vain.

It can be imagined that there is definitely more than one body buried under this ridge.

His relatives, his friends, his students, his followers, his subordinates...

Perhaps, everything related to him has been buried in the winter blizzard.

In just a few days, his most direct connection with the Kingdom of Arrows was cut off.

The Church of Gruumsh has always been the most powerful force in the orc settlement, even the Many Arrows who established the kingdom are no exception.

If successive kings had initially been wary of the Church of Gruumsh's reaction, now, over a hundred years later, after generations of orcs had lived in peace, that wariness had long since vanished.

Not to mention, for nearly a hundred years, the King of the Many Arrows had almost rightly refused foreign invasions: In the past, invasions were for plunder, but now that foreigners were suffering from the Arcane Scourge, why would they steal the money of the poor? The food they stole might not even be enough for the march.

Ocampos was even quite conservative and never tried to reduce the power of the church.

In the end, the bomb that had not exploded for a hundred years finally exploded in Ocampos' hands.

This was the first time Emilia had seen an orc so furious: the boiling blood was surging under Ocampos's skin, so much so that the fine snow evaporated and melted before it fell on his skin.

The mask of elegance and courtesy peeled off from the orcs' faces - no matter how hard the Arrow Kings tried to get closer to civilization, they would always be the strongest warriors in the kingdom.

"Then, I need to confirm again," Emilia said, "We will form a temporary alliance here, and we will try to help you regroup your forces. Our ultimate common goal is to destroy the mastermind of this war. Do you understand the risks involved?"

Among the planners are not only the drow, but also Perturabo, the most respected shaman of Gruumsh in the material plane.

"I completely understand." Ocampos bared his ferocious fangs. "They like war? Then they'd better understand..."

"War may be started by their momentary recklessness, but it will not end because of their fear! The bloody sea of ​​war can drown my relatives and friends, and can even drown them!"

"One final point," Emiya said seriously, "These are special times. Attacking one of the most important archbishops of a god is likely to encounter resistance far beyond your expectations. And the damage this resistance will cause to your personal faith could be devastating."

——To be specific, it means God descending.

The ultimate goal of this small-scale operation is to try to destroy an incarnation.

Letting an orc, an orc kingdom, fight against the orc lord Gruumsh is not a funny joke at all.

Ocampos's face froze for a moment because of this crazy possibility, but in the end, he made up his mind and growled, "...He wants war! I will give Him war! That's all!"

Ninety-eight Rebellions Against the Gods (Part 2)

"Black Arrow Castle is right there," Ocampos said, pausing to brush the remaining snow from his shoulders. "But it looks like we have other guests."

The howling storm had subsided quietly, leaving the towering and huge castle completely exposed to everyone.

But even without Ocampos's warning, they could have realized that the fortress was unusual.

An army had already set up camp beneath the rocks. The thick tents not only blocked the howling blizzard, but also prevented even a ray of sunlight from penetrating. The continuous network of tents, blanketed in the white snow, cast a shadow over Black Arrow Castle.

"Drow tents." Aimia concluded at a glance. These tents once covered the hills outside the Sharptooth Forest. Now, they had become spoils of war for His Majesty Aimia.

Drizzt's eyes were deep. "Sure enough, Rose's spiders won't miss any opportunity to suck a corpse."

The war had already begun. Emiya had originally thought that the drow might lie dormant for a while due to the disastrous defeat outside the Sharptooth Forest...

But now it seems that the outcome of the battle was too tragic, which made all the defeated generals decide to fight to the death.

The group retreated back to the mountain.

"Now, we have to discuss our plan," said Emiya.

The most important thing about this attack is not even the details of execution, but the goal.

Completely destroy Black Arrow Castle? Or infiltrate and assassinate the leader of the church to help Ocampos regain control of the castle?

For traditional forces, the former is obviously more difficult. But for Emiya and his group, the latter is more risky.

Destroying Black Arrow Castle is now a task that can be accomplished almost silently from a distance.

"It's a complete waste of time." The Orc King's attitude was extremely firm, "If you want to destroy Black Arrow Castle, then you might as well kill me too.

"I am a king. If you destroy my capital and my people, I will be nothing more than a common warrior. No orc will care about an orc who has lost everything and is in exile, even if he was once the king of many arrows."

Is this guy Ocampos really an orc? His mind is much deeper and more astute than expected.

However, after so much experience, Emya wasn't about to be defeated by such a rebuttal. He shook his head, "The question is, are your strength and contributions worth sacrificing our lives for? Your Majesty, Ocampos, you're not the only one who would risk your life in the latter. And allying with you to suppress the orc uprising isn't our only option."

Ocampos bared his fangs. "It sounds like I might have to sign an agreement that will wipe out not only me but the entire Arrows."

"It's an agreement to ensure that our relationship won't be severed inexplicably," Emeya corrected.

"It seems we both need to promise each other that we won't be betrayed," Emilia said, "even if it means saving our lives."

"Because I'm risking more than just my own life." Ocampos's eyes moved, "So the details must be worked out carefully."

The only consensus they reached was that they had a common enemy.

Now, each side wants the other to tie them tightly to the chariot - and at the same time, it would be best if they could leave freely.

"This is a matter of life and death. Talk alone is truly insufficient." Finally, Emiya sighed. "Alright, I can provide material support now. On that basis, I hope you'll be forthcoming with all the intelligence you need."

"First of all, did orcs ever control Blizzard before?"

"How is that possible?" the Orc King answered decisively. "We live on the Spine of the World not because it's rich, but because it's so barren that no other race is willing to live here. If we had the power of Auril to protect us, our lives wouldn't be so difficult."

In other words, orcs may be able to control the weather for a short period of time through divine magic, but overall, they do not have the ability to manipulate wind and snow on a large scale.

Why had the orc shamans used wind and snow to obscure their movements and carve out suitable battlefields for ambushes? That kind of precision couldn't be achieved with crude weather manipulation.

At the same time, there is another anomaly: the drow's camping location.

They were stationed at the foot of the snow-capped mountains.

Admittedly, perhaps the drow are not adapted to the environment of Black Arrow Fort, and there may be no suitable camping site outside this dangerous fortress. It is also very likely that the drow do not have rich experience in activities in such a harsh winter.

The orcs didn't warn them? Was that intentional?

At Black Arrow Hold, the drow emissary and commander, Zerella Baenre, along with Gruumsh's shaman Perturabo, listened to the latest report.

——If Hatusk’s extremely rough report can be called a report.