Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"Kieeek!?"

With a chorus of goblin screams, dozens of ladders wobbled in the air. For a brief moment, the ladders stood on two legs in the void, but it was short-lived. In the next instant, they tumbled backward, crashing into the ranks of the Green Skin army. Stay tuned with empire

Crash!

"Gwek!"

"Kyahh!"

The goblins who had been halfway up the ladders let out shrieks as they collided with their own forces and the ground below. It was like dropping a giant stick into an army of ants—chaos ensued as goblins flailed about in confusion.

The orc commander, his face flushed red with frustration, snorted angrily at the sight of his disorganized troops.

"Set them back up! Set them back up!" he roared.

"K-Kigigigik!" the goblins, terrified by his command, hurriedly scrambled to raise the ladders again. But in their haste, they fumbled, causing some to collapse or wobble dangerously.

"Pffft, what are they even doing?"

"This is turning into a comedy show," one of the pioneers remarked, and laughter rippled through the group.

The sight was absurd. The goblins, struggling with their ladders, had become a source of amusement for the defenders. Seeing the pioneers laugh only made the orc commander angrier. He shouted again.

"Set the ladders!"

"Kieeek!"

Once again, the goblins rushed forward, somehow managing to raise the ladders against the wall. But this time, they were even easier to dismantle. With the defenders now anticipating where the ladders would be placed, the pioneers spread out and were ready.

"Where do you think you're going!"

"Get lost, you little pests!"

Wham!

With the sound of kicks, the ladders were once again sent flying backward. They didn't even last a few seconds before being knocked down. This time, no goblins were even high enough to fall from the ladders; they were cleared too quickly.

With their assault thwarted, the orc commander's rage boiled over. He swung his axe furiously, roaring in frustration.

"Graaaahh!"

"Looks like someone's getting angry."

"What's he gonna do about it? He can't even reach us."

"Exactly, hahaha."

The pioneers and citizens alike chuckled at the sight. The orc commander, larger than the other orcs and equipped with rare-looking gear, was clearly powerful. Any one of them would be split in two if they faced him directly. But since he had no way of reaching them on the wall, his threats were meaningless.

After a moment of furious huffing, the orc commander seemed to come up with an idea. He shouted something strange to the goblins below.

"To the side! To the side!"

"…?"

The garbled command made both Justin and the other pioneers tilt their heads in confusion. What was that supposed to mean? The strange pronunciation was hard to decipher, and the short phrase left little room for guessing.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the meaning to become clear.

"Kigigigik!" The goblins, having raised their ladders once again, suddenly moved to the right side of the wall. Instead of spreading the ladders evenly as before, they concentrated all their efforts on a single section.

The pioneers' eyes widened in realization.

"'To the side!' They're concentrating their attack!"

"Damn it! We need to move over there…!" someone shouted, but Justin slammed his staff into the ground with a resounding bang.

"Hold your positions! Don't move!"

"…!?"

The pioneers, startled by the command, looked toward Justin, clearly confused. Why was he ordering them to stay in place? The goblins were focusing their attack on a section where mostly citizens were stationed. Unlike the pioneers, the citizens could only manage to take down a ladder with two or three people working together. It was obvious they wouldn't be able to handle such a concentrated attack.

'Because the space is too narrow,' Justin thought.

Even though the wall was wide, the space was still limited. If too many people crowded into one area at once, it would create a bottleneck. In the worst case, they could get stuck in the middle, wasting precious time and energy.

'Under normal circumstances, they'd realize this, but it seems the heat of battle has narrowed their vision.'

Justin's advantage was that he could observe the entire battlefield from his central position. It allowed him to make decisions others couldn't in the chaos of combat. This was why commanders needed to stay above the fray, able to see the bigger picture.

The orc commander snorted in disappointment, realizing that his plan hadn't worked. Clearly, his strategy had been to cause a bottleneck, forcing the defenders to get stuck in the narrow space, allowing the goblins to breach the walls. However, seeing that Justin's forces weren't falling for the trap, the orc commander quickly issued a new order.

"Climb up!"

Thunk-thunk-thunk.

The goblins quickly placed the ladders along the right side of the wall, where the citizens were stationed. Panicked, the citizens hurried to knock the ladders down, but their faces turned pale when they saw what was climbing up this time.

It wasn't goblins—it was orcs.

"Kwoooahhh!"

"This is insane…!"

The citizens recoiled in fear as the orcs, despite their large frames, quickly scaled the ladders. It was as if they had trained for this, their movements quick and efficient.

"Don't just stand there! Push the ladders down! Push them down!" came a shout.

The first to recover was Logan, who had been stationed in the area by chance. He rushed forward and threw his weight against the ladder, trying to push it down before the orc could reach the top. The other citizens quickly joined him, pushing with all their strength. However, the orc was already near the top.

"Kill… you… all!"

The orc's head appeared over the wall's edge, causing the citizens to gasp in horror. It wasn't just the monster's appearance that terrified them—it was an instinctual realization of the sheer difference in strength. They could feel it in their bones; this was a fight they couldn't win.

The orc grinned wickedly as he prepared to pull himself fully onto the wall. But just before he could finish climbing, there was a loud crack of thunder.

Krakoom!n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

In an instant, the orc's head disappeared, blown away by a lightning strike. The headless body remained motionless for a moment before tumbling backward off the ladder and onto the ground below.

Stunned silence followed, until Derek casually swung his hammer onto his shoulder and muttered, "Where do you think you're going, you little runt?"

"Good job," Justin murmured from the center of the wall, his eyes on Derek. Seeing Justin's gaze, Derek responded with a thumbs-up before returning to his post. Justin's attention then shifted back to the orc commander, who had been watching the entire scene unfold.

The commander's face twisted in anger. His plan hadn't been a bad one. By concentrating the attack on the section manned by the citizens, he had hoped to throw Justin's forces into disarray. The pioneers could easily knock down ladders if they were spread out, but the citizens lacked the strength to do so. The orc had expected Justin's forces to panic, rush to help, and create a bottleneck.