69 Chapter 69 (2/2)
As they broke through the orcs and entered the square, Aerwyn realized just how bad this battle truly was for the elves. The square looked as if a free for all had broken out long before Aerwyn arrived to Setrhyn as bodies of both elf and orc dotted the ground. It appeared that the orcs were only holding the avenue to either trap Aerwyn or for some other strategic reason that he couldn't instantly see.
There were only a few hundred elves left and while that didn't account for those still hiding in their homes, their numbers were still far too low. Aerwyn made some distance from the reforming battle lines and sent the undead troops that had broken through along with him to assist the elves in holding the orcs at bay.
The heat from his bombardment still cooked the already hot summer air as his body spewed sweat from every pore. He could see Master Ferlin, Sera, and Jeren nearby still looking rather fresh despite the heavy elven loses. Tylin appeared to still have mana as he summoned another batch of death knights to reinforce them.
”Finally...” Nyris breathed a sigh of relief as he rushed over to Aerwyn's side.
”Are you ok?” Aerwyn asked as he looked at the exasperated elf.
”The losses have been heavy and the orcs already dispatched most of my death knights. I have few remaining that i can call upon. Tylin and i have been conserving our mana to battle the lok'ra but now i fear we have too few elves to support us.” Aerwyn didn't recognize the term ”lok'ra” but now wasn't the time for his curiosity. Besides, he could make an educated guess that the word was the name for what he's been calling ”true orcs”.
”I'm going to-”
”GORAK TORAKKA KA LAMOG! GOG!!!” A loud shout resounded out from one of the lok'ra riding a bull, interrupting Aerwyn.
”GRAHHHHH!” The orcs roared out a battle cry in unison that sent them into a frenzied rush towards the square.
The orcs were like a single being, hellbent on reaching their destination as they moved forward in unison, using their shields to push back both elf and undead alike. They were quickly gaining ground and if left be, the square would become a free for all once more. His plan was to continue firing out flame lances until the orcs could no longer bear the heat, much like he had done with the jakku's cave. Except this time instead of forcing them into webs, his undead would be fighting them unhindered throughout the bombardment.
Now that they were pushing into the square that plan was useless unless he wanted to cook the elves too in the ensuing free for all. There was only one other option Aerwyn could think of to gain any sort of advantage now and that was his inferno. The orcs magic resistance would amount to nothing once Aerwyn's purple inferno wrapped itself around them. Even if they could bear the heat for a short time, once engulfed they would be without air and quickly suffocate.
The problems with using the inferno here were numerous. The most obvious being that he had to remain in the darkness to control it lest the inferno run wild and sap all the souls from him, that led to the next problem. He had previously discovered that the inferno burned his soul as fuel once it started so he not only needed souls to control it but also to resurrect those who fall beneath it's raging flames.
Aerwyn's undead had killed a fair number of orcs and while he did heed Tylin's advice by not spending all of his souls during the cleanup of Earl Abery's men yesterday, he was unsure whether resurrecting orcs would follow the same formula as humans.
”GOG! TORAKKA KEEGUK!!!” The lok'ra screamed out some foreign words once more as the orcs began another push forward, snapping him from his indecisive thoughts.
”Ugh... Damn it all!” Aerwyn grumbled as he aimed his staff towards one of the buildings the orc forces were pressed against. He shot out a couple flame lances in rapid succession until the building was licked by growing purple flames.
”Protect me.” Turning to Erit and Nyris, Aerwyn spoke in a solemn tone before he lowered his body to the zin beetles back, closing his eyes and entering the darkness.