Lin Seok stood on the rooftop, his eyes scanning the battlefield below.

The chaotic streets were littered with the bodies of the fallen, and smoke billowed from buildings that had been reduced to rubble.

His breathing was heavy, his heart pounding in his chest as he watched the scene.

Suddenly, one of the orcs moved.

Something was different—something unsettling.

He squinted, focusing on their movements.

The horde was splitting into three groups, each heading in a different direction.

Lin Seok knew that these Orcs are intelligent.

So he assumed that this wasn’t the typical mindless charge of battle-hungry orcs.

No, this was calculated.

Strategic.

“What are they planning?” Lin Seok muttered under his breath, his brow furrowed in concern. He quickly turned to the other Pillars gathered around him. “Are the others sent here? Where are they now?”

A young Pillar with bright, anxious eyes and a deep cut across his cheek shook his head. “They’re taking civilians away, trying to evacuate them before the orcs can get to them.”

Lin Seok’s heart dropped. “Wait. Civilians?” His mind raced as he turned his gaze back toward the nearest building where the orcs were headed.

The structure was still mostly intact, standing tall in the midst of the carnage. He saw movement in the windows—small figures huddled together. His breath caught in his throat.

“No… no, no, no!” His voice rose to a shout. “Stop them! That building—it’s full of kids!”

Panic spread among the Pillars like wildfire.

One of them, a veteran with deep-set eyes, looked horrified. “But… Orcs don’t hurt the weak! The women, the elderly, children—they never have in all the years we’ve fought them! The orcs that have come through other cracks have always spared the helpless. What kind of orcs are these?”

Lin Seok didn’t have an answer, but he could feel a deep pit forming in his stomach.

Even earlier, he could feel that these aren’t the orcs they were used to facing.

They are more intelligent and more brilliant just what they did to the buildings of the other part of the city.

Seeing them go to the children.

He was thinking something.

These orcs could be ruthless.

Calculated.

Dangerous in ways they hadn’t expected.

The veteran Pillar’s voice rose in desperation. “We need to stop them now!”

Lin Seok snapped into action, barking orders into his earpiece. “Get the helicopters! Gun them down before they reach the building!”

Moments later, the whirring of rotor blades echoed through the air as the helicopters swooped in, their mounted guns aimed squarely at the advancing orcs.

The soldiers inside were tense, their hands steady on their triggers.

“Take the shot,” Lin Seok ordered.

BRRRRRRRRRTTTT!!!

The sound of machine-gun fire filled the sky as the helicopters opened fire, the rounds raining down on the orcs.

Bullets whizzed through the air, striking the ground and sending up plumes of dust and debris. But the orcs were undeterred.

One massive orc, his skin dark and scarred, raised his club high above his head.

With a roar that shook the very air around him, he swung the weapon with incredible force.

The club smashed into one of the helicopters, sending it spiraling out of control.

The machine veered off course, its tail spinning wildly before it crashed into the side of a building with a deafening bang.

Flames erupted from the wreckage.

“Lok’tar Ogaaaaaaar!!!”

The orcs’ war cries filled the air as they laughed, mocking the humans’ futile efforts.

Another helicopter attempted to swoop in for another attack, but a second orc hurled a massive chunk of debris at it.

The projectile struck the helicopter squarely, sending it tumbling from the sky in a ball of fire.

Lin Seok’s eyes widened in shock. “What… what are they doing?” He couldn’t believe it.

The orcs were taking down helicopters with nothing but brute strength.

These weren’t the mindless savages he had fought before.

These were something else entirely—monsters in every sense of the word.

On the ground, the orcs were laughing, taunting the humans as they advanced. “Weak!” one of them bellowed, his voice booming across the battlefield. “Humans are weak! Your annoying little weapons can’t stop us! It won’t even pierce our skins! Lok’tar Ogar!”

Another orc, grinning wickedly, pointed at a group of soldiers huddling behind a destroyed barricade. “Come out and fight like real warriors! Or is hiding all you humans know how to do?”

The Pillars exchanged uneasy glances.

The orcs were using their brute strength and cunning in ways they hadn’t expected.

They were fast, unpredictable, and relentless. And now, they were heading straight for the building full of children.

“Stop those orcs!” Lin Seok shouted, his voice desperate. “Do whatever it takes, but stop them!”

The ranked Pillars sprang into action, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, closing the distance between them and the orcs.

Lin Seok drew his sword, with its blade gleaming in the dim light.

He charged forward, leading the assault, his heart pounding in his ears.

But the orcs were already scaling the building, their massive hands gripping the sides as they climbed with alarming speed.

The Pillars reached them just as the first few orcs made it to the windows.

Lin Seok slashed at one of the orcs, his blade biting into thick green flesh.

The orc grunted, staggering back but not falling.

Another Pillar fired a bolt of energy that hit an orc square in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground below with a sickening thud. But it wasn’t enough.

More orcs were already clambering up the side of the building, their eyes set on their prize.

Inside the building, the children could see the monstrous forms approaching through the cracked windows.

Fear filled the air, and the sound of their panicked cries echoed through the halls.

“Help! Mommy! Daddy!”

The children screamed, their tiny voices trembling with terror.

They huddled together, their eyes wide with fear as the orcs reached the windows, their massive hands smashing through the glass.

“Stop them!” one of the ranked Pillars shouted, blasting an orc with a powerful attack that sent him flying off the building. But even as they took down a few, more took their place.

The orcs were relentless.

Lin Seok’s heart raced as he fought to hold the line, but he could see it in the eyes of the other Pillars.

They were losing ground.

The orcs were too strong, too determined.

And then, with a sickening realization, Lin Seok watched as a group of tanner-skinned orcs, tougher and more brutal than the rest, broke through the windows and snatched the children from their hiding places.

The orcs grabbed them with terrifying ease, lifting them into the air as if they weighed nothing.

The children’s screams pierced the air, their small hands reaching out desperately for help. “No! Please! Don’t take us!”

Lin Seok’s heart sank. “No!” he shouted, charging forward, his sword raised high. But it was too late.

The orcs had already secured their prizes.

They moved with a chilling efficiency, leaping from the windows and carrying the children down to the streets below.

“Hold your fire!” one of the Pillars yelled, his voice strained with panic. “Don’t shoot! They’ve got the kids!”

The soldiers froze, their fingers hovering over their triggers. Discover exclusive content at mvl

They couldn’t risk hitting the children.

The orcs had them, and now the humans were powerless to stop them.

Back on the street, the orcs regrouped, their booming laughter filling the air.

“Lok’tar Ogaaar!” they roared, holding the children aloft like trophies.

Their mocking jeers echoed through the streets as they dared the humans to make a move.

Lin Seok stood on the rooftop, his sword hanging limply by his side.

His chest heaved with frustration and fear.

They had lost this round.

The orcs had the upper hand, and there was nothing they could do.

The orcs continued to laugh, their voices loud and mocking as they paraded their captives.

The sight of it—the children crying, helpless in the grip of those monstrous hands—made Lin Seok’s blood boil. But there was nothing he could do.

The battle was far from over, but the orcs had just proven they were more cunning and ruthless than anyone had expected.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep