Rody was unaware that, far behind the lines at the Saint Song Fortress, soldiers were tearfully watching his recordings. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers were chanting his name, and an equal number of girls were declaring their intention to marry him, the logistics sergeant.
The number of young people enlisting in the army increased. They lined up to register their names, swearing to go to the battlefield and strike terror in the orcs just like Rody and his elite troops.
As for the soldiers already enlisted, thousands formed suicide squads, petitioning their generals for permission to fight, to rescue Sergeant Rody. Particularly, the two hundred elite trainees who trained with Rody quickly became the spearhead troops among students from various countries, ready to head to the front lines for a decisive battle with the orcs. Despite being hindered by the temple and its followers, these trainees protested daily, their emotions running high.
All of this was, of course, tacitly permitted and covertly supported by the Grand Marshal and various generals.
In the nineteen countries represented by the elite students fighting in the Land of Evil, Rody's recordings were broadcast, causing a sensation among the public. The mothers of these elite students were quickly summoned by the kings, bestowed the title of honorary nobility, and revered as heroes' mothers.
"Let us die in battle!"
"Let us perish under the orcs' war axes! We wish to die like heroes!"
"We prefer to dye the Land of Evil with our blood, not our tears."
"We are the rising sun of the East, unstoppable in this world, this is our era…"
Countless people used the words spoken by Rody and Chris as slogans, chanting them passionately in protests to express their determination. This included not only soldiers but also ordinary citizens, and even frail girls. They protested day after day, pleading with the temple for permission to fight. No one cared about celebrating victories or holidays, nor about holy water and prayers.
In their hearts, heroes were fighting bloodily at the front, while they tearfully watched from behind.
Celebrating victory at such a time would be a disgrace.
Just as people in the rear were shouting "Long live the hero, long live Rody," Rody, along with Chris and others, were running raggedly through the Evil Forest. The orc army, spurred by the human alliance's ceasefire, deployed in full force, scouring the area for them. Hundreds of orc berserkers and shaman wizards rode dragons daily through the Evil Forest, and at night, they were replaced by Green Demon Guards, bat squadrons, and elite wolf riders in the search.
They were almost turning every inch of the Evil Forest upside down to find Rody.
Even if Rody couldn't be captured immediately, they intended to force him further north, deeper into the Evil Forest, to prevent him from joining forces with human powerhouses.
Blood-axe savages and Shaman Kings, besides preventing human powerhouses from entering the Land of Evil, had also infiltrated orc squads, preparing to ambush Rody and his companions during the search. This wasn't the worst of it. One night, Rody and Chris discovered that a demonic army had appeared, quickly joining forces with the orc army. They intended not only to hunt Rody but also to launch surprise attacks on the human alliance.
Rody dared not immediately report to the rear, as doing so would instantly reveal his location.
"Boss, Jesse has spotted a large number of human-faced spiders to the west." Stanley, exhausted from the endless fleeing, cursed the demonic and beast tribes, hoping they would all be devoured by higher-order magical beasts.
"The human-faced spiders are soldiers of the demonic tribe." Chris was alarmed, "We need to be cautious, the demons are ten times better at tracking than the orcs."
"Chris, get ready to enchant with fire magic," Rody pondered briefly and then nodded, "We can't retreat eastward due to the orc army, and going south is impossible. Our only options are west and north. If enemies appear in the west, it likely means there's an ambush to the north. If we break through the west, it will catch the enemy off guard, but we must be quick as they surely have some form of communication. Stanley, Lopek, and Jesse, have everyone take out all the wine and oil captured from the orc camps. Before attacking, douse the human-faced spiders with these, then attack with fire-enchanted weapons for better effect."
"Be careful of their webs," Kerry warned, "I read in my father's study that human-faced spiders are excellent at climbing, web-making, and poisoning."
"Start with long-range attacks," Rody smiled, "I'll lure them riding the griffin, then you throw fire spears. Most importantly, timely throw the wine and oil, then cast fireball spells. Human-faced spiders aren't that strong; though they are numerous, we can defeat them!"
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The group was seasoned in battle, skilled in both ambush and encounter tactics, and had long since developed a tacit understanding.
Rody repeatedly emphasized tactical coordination mainly because they faced demons this time, not the usual orcs and magical beasts. Humans have an innate fear of demons due to the temple's propaganda, making demons seem more mysterious, terrifying, evil, and powerful, only suppressible by gods. Thus, Rody aimed to boost morale before the fight.
They all lay in ambush, staring at the hills swarming with human-faced spiders, each larger than two horses side by side, causing their scalps to tingle.
The human-faced spiders didn’t actually have human faces; their backs had peculiar patterns resembling crying human faces, hence the name. In the demonic tribe, these spiders are known as Bloodthirsty Spiders, and their queen is called the Nest Blood Mother. Bloodthirsty Spiders typically live in groups, born from a single mother. Over ninety percent are male, and the few female spiders leave the group upon maturity to lay eggs and form new groups.
There are also a few females, rendered infertile by the Nest Blood Mother, who care for the young, but they are rare.
Faced with over a thousand human-faced spiders, not just Stanley and Jesse, but even Rody felt apprehensive.
"Everyone watch, I'll demonstrate how to kill these brainless creatures." Rody knew it was time to set an example. If he succeeded, it would greatly boost everyone's confidence. Chris nudged Malu, signaling him to record Rody's actions with a memory crystal captured from the orcs. This would be evidence of Rody's fight against the demons, proof of his innocence and bravery if anyone later accused him of betrayal.
Rody wanted to kill the Nest Blood Mother, but even circling in the air on the griffin, he couldn't find the queen of the human-faced spiders.
Killing the spider queen would surely cause the human-faced spiders to disperse.
However, the cunning Nest Blood Mother was obviously hiding underground, knowing how to protect herself.
Seizing the opportunity before the human-faced spiders noticed him, Rody dove from the sky on a griffin, like a fallen angel. At the moment he nearly crashed to the ground, Rody shot out vines from his hand, hooking onto a tree trunk to swing his body up. As he and the griffin ascended, he left a long trail of fire behind. Simultaneously, Rody released two mantises, sending them flying east and west to disturb the enemy.
The human-faced spiders, aside from relying on their vision, also used the fine hairs on their legs to sense changes in the air and detect enemies.
They were extremely sensitive to changes in the air, easily detecting enemies from afar. However, their only weakness was fire; if it burned their sensory hairs, they became as blind as a bat. Rody, who had studied Dean Buck's magic notes, knew that human-faced spiders were vulnerable to fire, among the methods to defeat dozens of common demonic species noted there.
As expected, the fire ignited by the oil Rody scattered did not harm them, but it threw the human-faced spiders into chaos. They screeched and scurried aimlessly, creating utter disarray among their ranks.
A dark red human-faced spider appeared, ten times larger than the others, with purple patterns all over its body. It opened its huge mouth and exhaled a long white breath, extinguishing the fiery oil Rody had scattered. The startled griffin, mid-flight, was suddenly caught in a purple-black web that appeared in the sky, spun by the dark red spider, causing it to crash to the ground.
No sooner had the griffin landed than several human-faced spiders pounced on it, tearing it to pieces in an instant.
"Goodness, you can become invisible!" Rody threw a spore gourd, which releases a cloud of spores when ripe, at the Nest Blood Mother, enveloping it in a dense cloud. This was an effective counter to invisibility spells. Without magic sand to reveal the invisible in the Evil Forest, Rody luckily found this spore gourd as a substitute.
"Now's our chance, attack!" Chris, seeing Rody's successful sneak attack, leapt up to give orders.
"Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh..." Fifty short spears were lit and thrown by his comrades, all within two seconds. After five volleys of spear rain, Stanley and the others paused, conserving energy for more fighting. Meanwhile, the comrades with bladders of wine and oil, captured from orc camps, hurled them at the human-faced spiders during the charge. Several elite students capable of casting small fireballs had already conjured up their magic, following suit.
The mercenaries and griffin cavalry, lacking their precision and speed, managed only to throw torches.
The attack with fire spears left the human-faced spiders in disarray.
They wouldn't have cared much for a dense rain of arrows, but the thick fire spears, even when stuck in their bodies, didn't extinguish easily. The subsequent wine and oil thrown into the air, igniting with the small fireballs, left the human-faced spiders unable to sense their enemies amidst the sparks. Their blurred vision made them aware of a powerful assault but unable to pinpoint its location.
Their last resort was the magical guidance from their queen, which could command all human-faced spiders in battle.
However, their queen was under attack and couldn't direct them while defending herself.
In utter chaos, the human-faced spiders fled, leaving the fire behind. Desperate to escape, some even attacked each other. Stanley and the others, torch in one hand and a sharp weapon in the other, hacked away furiously.
Rody dodged the Nest Blood Mother's venom spray and freezing magic, quickly casting spells like 'Weaken', 'Damage', and 'Blind'.
Once the Nest Blood Mother was hit with 'Exhaustion', 'Aging', and 'Stiffness', Rody released the dark slave, an old goblin wizard, and smashed a firebomb on it. The Nest Blood Mother, in agony, reared up its head to flee quickly. But Rody, now aware of his strength relative to his foe, unhesitatingly smashed a golden Spirit Hammer on its head.
Instantly, the Nest Blood Mother's head burst open, its long fangs and eyes flying out.
Although the Nest Blood Mother didn’t immediately fall and die, Rody knew it couldn't survive.
Once the Nest Blood Mother was gravely injured, all the human-faced spiders lost control, panicking and scattering in disarray. Almost simultaneously with the elite students charging, the human-faced spiders became utterly disorganized. Stanley and the others, besides grouping together to slay a few stray spiders, could only watch in astonishment as countless human-faced spiders fled in all directions.
If it had come to a direct, hard-fought battle between humans and spiders, it was hard to say who would have emerged victorious.
After Rody quickly dispatched the Nest Blood Mother, the battle came to an end.
Dozens, nearly a hundred human-faced spiders lay dismembered and dying on the ground, many still squealing pitifully. Far away, the Nest Blood Mother, still alive, was rolling around in frenzy, spewing black-green blood. Rody carefully avoided the venom on the ground and walked back with a sunny smile, saying, "We've won, comrades, cheer!"
The group erupted in cheers, having shifted from worry to victory in just a few minutes.
"Long live the boss!" Stanley lifted Rody onto his shoulders, leading the cheers for their most revered leader.
The people's spirits were once again bolstered, further solidifying their belief that following Rody, their boss, would lead them to continuous victories. No matter if the enemy was the dim-witted orcs or the evil and terrifying demons, there was no need for fear.
He might not be the mighty war god worshipped by the world, but he was the military god who led everyone here to victory.
"That was too dangerous, Sergeant. Sometimes you shouldn't try to be a hero!" Chris, however, was dissatisfied with Rody, expressing his complaint only after the victory when no one else was listening. Rody laughed heartily, putting an arm around Chris's shoulder, saying, "With you by my side, I can confidently do anything! Chris, don't complain, half the credit for this goes to you!"
"Let go of me!" Chris gently pulled away, his face awkwardly saying, "Don't let people think we're gay!"
Rody was speechless; this guy always sneaked into his tent, so why was he afraid of misunderstandings now?