Reincarnated With An SSS-Rank Talent In An Apocalyptic World-Chapter 76: First Victory

Tension was high, and the battlefield was the least chaotic it could be. Both sides were yet to clash in close, bloody combat, but from the look of things, it was bound to happen soon. The main problem was the towering walls these orcs hid behind. I couldn’t get a glimpse of their numbers, and I didn’t dare rush in without that important knowledge.

The orc commanding the horde seemed to be a skilled strategist. After the first blunder their army made, no such mistake had been repeated. It clearly understood their physical advantage would only show in close-quarters combat, so it stayed patient and had its forces advance slowly under the barrage.

The simple mission of clearing the path for our main forces to arrive had spiraled into a full-blown war between two armies, and it wasn’t looking good for us.

"Break their formation! Blow them to smithereens!" Kenza’s voice rang from behind, and suddenly the aether beams hurling forward in the hundreds stopped.

Taken aback, I looked over my shoulder and witnessed a team of five ascendants running forward with heavy aether-powered RPGs mounted on their shoulders. I quickly jumped to the sidelines, afraid to get caught up in their attack, and watched as the ZHD-77 Skybreaker launcher unleashed a loud buzzing sound, catching me off guard.

Naturally, my curiosity had led me to research aether weapons, which is the reason I know their brand names, but I had never seen them used in person. These kinds of weapons are not something you see the average person carrying around on the street.

So it was surprising seeing this weapon draw energy from the world around it. Blue fumes of pure aether power spiraled from all directions, surging into their weapons. freёwebnoѵel.com

BOOOM!

All five fired, unleashing a deafening explosion that made me squint in discomfort. However, my eyes trailed the spherical blue projectiles — the size of cannonballs — hurling toward the seemingly impenetrable horde wall and then...

BOOOM!

The aether spheres tore through the enemy shields, leaving cannon-sized holes across countless orcs and tearing deep into the enemy line before expanding into a massive aether sphere about 10 to 20 meters wide, ripping everything caught within to shreds.

"Wow..." I muttered at the sight of five massive aether spheres, squirting out blood and orc remnants in all directions.

Looking at my arms, I could see goosebumps, and I felt fear creep into my heart. Even at full power and within my territory, an attack like that would reduce me to meat paste. Only now did I realize why aether was one of the most valued energy sources in the universe.

But of course, a deadly attack like that could not be unleashed consecutively. The ascendants who fired the aether cannons had dropped the RPGs on the ground, steam pouring out of them while they hastily took off their half-melted gloves and shirts, revealing bloodied scorch wounds on every part of their bodies that had made contact with the weapons.

I wasn’t sure why I let out a sigh of relief after seeing a glaring weakness in the weapons meant to help us achieve victory. Was it because I knew one day I would be the one on the opposite side, fighting against nations and taking their lands for myself?

"LET LOOSE!" Kenza ordered, and the soldiers unleashed hell on the broken orc formation!

VZZT-VZZT-VZZT! VZZT-VZZT-VZZT!

RATATATATATA! RATATATATATA!

This time it wasn’t just ascendants, but normal soldiers as well, shooting into the crumbled orc defense. What had seemed like an impenetrable fortress at first had been broken under Kenza’s decisive command, and this time, they could not recover.

Several orcs at the edges of the bridge jumped into the Sabine River, swimming back to Lake Charles, while many others turned their backs on us and began running. In the chaos, I could make out their numbers and was stunned to realize there must have been over five hundred orcs stationed here.

No—their numbers surpassed ours by a reasonable margin.

Even now, many ran. The ones still standing their ground were easily over 300. They picked up their shields and rallied around a central hulking figure that seemed rather familiar, even from a distance. The orc wasn’t as greenish as the rest, and he had long braids that swayed with the wind.

If their formation had not collapsed, I wouldn’t have been able to spot their commander.

A few aether beams flew in his direction, and my eyes widened as he pulled out two war axes and deflected them almost effortlessly. Only then did this figure become familiar in my eyes, causing them to narrow as I tossed my Paladin rifle to the ground.

"BASTARD!" I snarled as the face became more distinct from that of the other orcs.

It was the orc berserker I fought on the moving military van—the one that nearly took my life in free and fair combat.

My scream seemed to have attracted his attention. He glanced my way and his eyes widened in surprise, before his lips twisted in a sinister smile.

"WITHDRAW AND REGROUP!" The orc spoke English, and his mocking smile widened even more while his gaze remained fixated on me.

This bastard was taunting me!

But shouldn’t I be more surprised that an orc spoke English?

I couldn’t charge while the army was unloading their beams and bullets on the orcs without a care in the world. Entering there was the fastest way to get shot from behind and killed. I could only stand and watch the orc berserker turn his back on me. With his army rallying around him and their shields raised, they began walking away—retreating deeper into the bridge. But I suspected they were only heading back to rally at the edge of the bridge with the intent to stop us there.

This battle was not yet over!

"Cease fire!" Kenza ordered as the orcs vanished from sight, leaving behind hundreds of orc corpses littered on every corner and space on the bridge.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many dead bodies in one spot. It brought back good memories of my adventurous first life.

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