Mercenaries had already been on guard, yet they were still taken aback when those screeching harpies appeared from the sky.

From a distance, the harpies possessed graceful figures similar to human females. Their flying postures seemed graceful and enchanting, blurred by space and distance, appearing as if they were mythical fairies descending from the heavens.

However, as they approached, people panickedly discovered that those seemingly graceful limbs were actually covered with muscles as hard as steel tendons, and their faces, though seemingly delicate, were twisted and terrifying. There was no reason or humanity in their faces and eyes, only cruelty and bloodthirstiness.

Their twisted lips split open in a grotesque manner on their cheeks, revealing teeth coated with sticky, foul-smelling saliva. They shrieked loudly with such sharpness that it made eardrums tremble, yet their swift speed forced people to remain vigilant.

These were the harpies amidst the orc warband—swift, twisted, and nauseating.

Avi, equipped with his 'Bestiary 3', quickly identified the origin of these creatures. He ordered the gunmen and archers to take their positions and prepare to fire. The mercenaries didn't understand Avi's command, but Resarit and his gunmen swiftly moved to strategic shooting positions.

"They look oddly pretty, don't they? Boss, are you sure those are the same filthy creatures as orcs?" Rafe asked.

"Then go pick one up to be your wife after they're shot down!" Avi retorted impatiently, then commanded Aireyn, "Aireyn, take the riflemen and assist. Increase firepower density as much as possible."

"As you wish, sir."

The humans had barely taken their positions when the harpies entered attack range. At Avi's command, the gunmen opened fire first, their lead bullets, cold and ruthless, whistling towards the harpies, instantly felling seven monsters.

To the remaining harpies, the deaths of a few companions seemed inconsequential. They flapped their wings harder, diving towards the mercenary stronghold.

"Infantry, prepare—brace for impact formation!"

In accordance with the practiced formation, the infantry arranged themselves into a skewed but recognizable square: shielded spear infantry on the periphery, unscreened spearmen and halberdiers in the middle, and swordsmen and greatswords at the core.

Every flap of the harpies' wings prompted the mercenaries to grip their weapons tighter. Sharp and cold blades rose towards the sky, aimed at the foul-smelling 'flock'.

The harpies lacked intellect; they only knew slaughter and were driven by it. Once within striking range, they disregarded their own injured bodies and fallen comrades, swooping down relentlessly on the densely packed crowd.

The outcome was predictable; the halberds and spears tore through the harpies' skin and bodies like skewers, wounded ones falling to the ground, lifeless ones frozen in struggle upon the shafts of the weapons.

The harpies' assault quickly came to an end. Avi ordered the mercenaries to quickly count the bodies on the ground. Excluding those who were ultimately terrified and fled in panic, there were more than thirty harpies dead within the infantry formation alone.

Combined with those shot down by firearms during the flight, the total count was around sixty.

"Here you go, your beloved pretty ladies. Want to seize the opportunity?" Avi shot Rafe a glance, "Take a good look, still interested?"

"Um, Boss, to be honest, blindfolding them should suffice," Rafe scratched his head and chuckled, "But it's not my cup of tea, so let's just leave it be."

"Ugh..."

Rafe's remark elicited a collective wave of nausea among the soldiers. Hastily, they dragged the bodies away, flinging them over the wall's edge to prevent Rafe from conjuring any scenes that might disturb their sensibilities.

"One shouldn't... at least one shouldn't... well, never mind. As long as you're content," Avi sighed in resignation. He hadn't even settled down when the sound of hooves striking the ground reached his ears.

"Quick, back to positions, prepare to repel the enemy!"

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This time, it was a horde of inferior horned beasts, their numbers considerable as they arrogantly launched an assault on the stronghold.

The first wave of attack was thwarted by the anti-cavalry stakes and spikes, failing to breach even the wooden walls.

In the second wave, a few inferior horned beasts managed to leap over the wooden walls, only to meet their demise as soon as they touched the ground, falling prey to waiting swordsmen.

With the third wave of attack, a significant number of inferior horned beasts breached the wooden walls, straining and bending the chain at the 'main gate,' almost pulling out the wooden stakes on both sides from the ground.

Halberdiers and greatswordsmen, leveraging the advantage of their weapons' length, dispatched the inferior horned beasts wielding short axes and spears from a safe distance. However, swinging those heavy weapons consumed a considerable amount of their stamina, and their attacks became less frequent as the number of inferior horned beasts remained half.

Observing the situation, Avi knew that the infantry had very little energy left to spare.

"Infantry brothers, spread out to both sides! Let them taste the might of Imperial technology!"

Though unaware of Commander Avi's plan, the soldiers complied. As they dispersed to both sides, over twenty black muzzles faced the rear of the camp gate.

"Fire!"

The muskets roared, and the inferior horned beasts piled up like wheat being harvested at the camp gate. Many of the beasts, shot multiple times, raised their deformed arms towards the sky, dying in a grotesque manner.

The scene resembled pouring boiling water into an ant nest, with the crowded ants dying without dignity. Under the successive bombardment of bullets, several bodies and limbs of the beasts were shattered.

The musketeers didn't need to aim precisely; spraying firepower towards the less than two-meter-wide opening was enough. Behind them, archers rained arrows upon the inferior horned beasts' heads, bodies, and backs.

Ultimately, faced with such a painful toll of casualties, even the cleverest and bravest of the inferior horned beasts couldn't bear to continue fighting, fleeing in panic.

The mercenaries cheered for their hard-won victory while mourning their fallen comrades - one of whom had his right lung split open by a reckless inferior horned beast's flying axe, dying from massive blood loss and suffocation.

Total casualties of the Mercenary Corps: seven wounded, one dead.

After the battle, the bodies of thirty-nine inferior horned beasts were cleared from the stronghold, while those who died in front of the camp gate were piled up into a nearly one-person-high mound of corpses, which would take some time to clean up.

Combat wasn't entirely a bad thing; now, apart from non-combat laborers, there were no longer two types of troops in their ranks - conscripted militiamen and hired mercenaries. They were all replaced by Imperial swordsmen, albeit without equipment of equivalent quality, their own swords and shields still allowed them to pass the system's upgrade test to become Imperial swordsmen, better able to use their weapons.

However, the beast horde's attacks were far from over.

"Not much time remained for the mercenary band to rest. Approximately three hours later, as preparations for cooking fires were underway, a band of beasts emerged within the mercenaries' view.

Avi, as was his custom, bellowed commands for the soldiers to stand ready. Yet, as he gestured with his sword, a dark shape sliced through the sky, accompanied by a piercing sound, landing before Avi. It was a crude wooden arrow.

Before Avi and his comrades could react, a barrage of arrows materialized in the sky. Some lacked stable fletching, tumbling earthward. Nevertheless, they bore sharp tips, capable of devastating unarmored foes.

"Form a shield wall!" Avi's voice strained.

Fortunately, those without shields or armor were few. Swordsmen and spear-bearers swiftly formed the front line, followed closely by halberdiers and greatswordsmen, mostly unconcerned with the falling arrows - their strength was insufficient to pierce the protection of iron armor.

Yet, the infantry remained tightly packed, relying on their shielded comrades to create a barrier, shielding each other from the descending arrows.

The appearance of ranged units among the beastmen caught Avi off guard, yet they failed to capitalize on this advantage. This was the beast horde's deadliest aspect: cunning, but lacking in strategic acumen. Instead of targeting the mercenaries' ranged units with a surprise volley, they directed their firepower at the shielded, armored infantry.

"Let them feel our firepower. Musketeers, target the beasts; archers, return fire!"

The beasts advanced under their own barrage, but as the guns thundered, six or seven fell. The survivors continued their charge during the musketeers' lengthy reload, only to meet the spears thrust from behind shields at the camp gate.

Humans vented emotions and inspired each other with rhythmic roars and battle cries, while the beasts bellowed primal howls. They clashed, blood staining the camp gate in moments.

The battle did not endure. Though the beasts were individually stronger than inferior horned beasts, their numbers were insufficient to breach the camp gate. The mercenaries, leveraging their defensive advantage, held firm.

As for the horned beast assailants who loosed arrows, after being met with a retaliatory volley, they quickly retreated. However, due to equipment disparities, the accuracy of the beastmen's arrows was suspect, inflicting little damage on Avi's ranged units.

Soon after the clash, Avi himself mounted his horse, leading nine remaining cavalry out of the rear gate. With wild shouts, wielding swords and riding steeds, they charged into the fray. Four rapid, decisive charges ended the lives of the remaining horned beast assailants.

Watching the few remaining foes flee towards the forest, Avi raised his bloodied hand, wiping it on his saddle.

"It's not over yet," Avi muttered hoarsely to himself. "Another group will come, but only one remains now."

The panel before him emitted a faint glow, showing on the map that the approaching group was slowly moving towards the stronghold's direction."