44: The ambush was successful

"My subordinate Sinclair, pays respects to the Lord."

Breathing heavily, Sinclair bowed respectfully to Lister.

Lister nodded slightly and asked, "How is the situation?"

"Reporting to the Lord, Knight Captain Red has finished investigating. The largest of the five Black Dog Orcs is the strongest, with strength at approximately High-Rank Bronze," Sinclair reported quickly.

"The other four consist of two Bronze Rank Intermediate and two Bronze Rank Low-tier. According to Knight Captain Red, we can take them all down."

"Very good!" Lister's expression brightened, and he quickly ordered, "Dewey, Langman, Bulk, Hill, each of you lead your Soldiers and scatter to the four sides of Ironthorn Forest. Using the perimeter as a base, advance toward the center of the forest."

"At your current speed, you should all be in position within 20 minutes. When Red and I launch the attack, we will signal with a whistling arrow, and you must quickly close in to set up the encirclement net."

"If any Orc runs toward any of you, do not fight it head-on. First, use ranged attacks to slow its pace. If that fails, then engage in melee combat. Above all, prioritize waiting for our reinforcements."

Saying this, he swept his sharp gaze over everyone: "If there are no questions, everyone begin moving immediately."

"Understood, Lord." Everyone respectfully acknowledged, then quickly and neatly divided into four squads, rushing toward the four directions of the Ironthorn Forest perimeter.

The four leading knights were all from his original team. Except for Hill, who was still an Apprentice Knight, the other three had already reached Bronze Rank 1, which was sufficient to complete the task he assigned.

Watching the four teams disappear quickly into Ironthorn Forest, Lister then took the remaining Locke, Carlyle, Spartacus, and the guide Sinclair, and together they moved stealthily and rapidly toward the depths of Ironthorn Forest.

Lister had originally thought that Sinclair, being just an ordinary Soldier, would be much slower at leading the way, but he hadn't expected his physical fitness to be so good.

At full effort, he was already comparable to an Apprentice Knight. While admiring him, Lister also took note of this Soldier, Sinclair.

After marching for about ten minutes, they arrived near the depths of Ironthorn Territory.

Because they were now very close to the Orcs' resting place, they consciously slowed down and continued moving lightly and quietly.

After continuing through a mottled and tangled forest, they saw the backs of Red and Marjorie, who were keeping watch.

As a Silver Knight, Red had very sharp reactions. The moment the group caught sight of him, he immediately turned around, his gaze meeting them.

Soon, the group converged. Seeing only Lister and a few others, Red asked with confusion, "Lord Lister, where are the others?"

Upon hearing this, Lister explained in a low voice. Under the admiring gazes of Red and Marjorie, he turned to look at the five Black Dog Orcs in the clearing not far away.

This was his first time seeing the true appearance of an Orc, and he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

Compared to humans, their physiques were indeed much larger; that tall and robust build—it would be a waste not to play in the NBA.

After discussing the attack plan for a moment in low voices, everyone remained quiet, patiently waiting for Dewey and the other knight Soldiers to arrive.

This was the first time since Lister became a Lord that he had commanded knight Soldiers to fight against such powerful intelligent creatures as the Orc race.

However, he had plenty of confidence. Since Red had said that the five Black Dog Orcs were not as strong as them, he certainly wouldn't be speaking without basis.

Of course, he wouldn't underestimate these Orcs either. The moment he saw them, he smelled a thick scent of blood; clearly, they were ruthless characters with many souls on their hands.

In such a situation, their combat and killing experience must be extremely abundant.

And on their side, except for Red, no one else had experience fighting Orcs, so they would definitely be at a disadvantage in that regard.

Time passed like flowing water. Estimating that it was about time, Lister signaled to Sinclair beside him with his eyes.

Nodding, Sinclair drew his bow fully, aiming at the sky. With a whoosh, the whistling arrow shot out.

In an instant, a sharp sound like a bird's cry rang through the sky. The five Black Dog Orcs, who had been resting, immediately sat up in alarm.

But before they could react to what was happening, a huge half-moon-shaped slash filled with flame energy shot violently toward them.

The terrifying, scorching temperature caused the trees, flowers, and stones in its path to instantly burn and disintegrate, as if magma had flowed over them.

"Ah!!!"

Accompanied by a shrill scream, the Black Dog Orc that was closest and weakest was sliced directly in half from top to bottom.

At the same time, its flesh was violently scorched by the attached high-temperature flames, instantly emitting the smell of charred meat from a barbecue.

"Damn it, enemy attack!" Sano, the leading Black Dog Orc, reacted the fastest and immediately ordered: "All Orcs, retreat quickly!"

It had no intention of fighting back, even though the one who just died was its clan brother.

Since they could successfully ambush them without being detected, it meant they had already fallen into an encirclement net.

As an outstanding member of the new generation of the Black Dog Clan, it was never a reckless brute who only knew how to fight blindly; assessing the situation was a talent that a qualified leader should possess.

But no matter how fast its reaction was, it was no match for Red and the others who had been lying in ambush beforehand.

Red vanished from his spot with a flash step, appearing in mid-air beside Sano in an instant. His longsword was in a vertical slashing position, heading straight for the massive beast body.

Facing the powerful, heavy slash that tore through the air, Sano dared not be arrogant and hurriedly raised the giant axe in its hands to block in front of it.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar sounded, and Sano's huge body seemed to shrink a bit as it sank violently downward.

The terrifying force made the webbing between its thumb and forefinger ache. With rage surging up, it roared and used all its strength to swing the axe horizontally at Red.

Seeing this, Red retreated nimbly, flashing backward. The moment his toes touched the ground, his body shot toward Sano again like a cannonball, not giving it a moment to catch its breath.

As the battle between Red and Sano broke out instantly, on the other side, Lister, Spartacus, Locke, and Carlyle also charged toward the other three Black Dog Orcs respectively.

The two with Bronze Rank Intermediate knight strength were confronted by Locke and Carlyle respectively, while Lister and Spartacus teamed up to confront the remaining Bronze Rank Low-tier Black Dog Orc.

Since they were fighting on foot this time, they all used longswords to fight for better handling.

Just as the fighting began, Lister felt a huge, beast-like pressure coming toward him.

Adjusting his breathing, not daring to slack off in the slightest, he and Spartacus attacked the Black Dog Orc in front of them from the left and right.

Thanks to his usual sparring with Spartacus, their coordination was not exactly seamless, but they had some tacit understanding, which compensated for their lack of combat and killing experience compared to the Black Dog Orc.