"How many times can you still use that?"

"About three more times today" Edward replies Kairos softly. Numbers like this are best not to be heard by others.

*RARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHH*

A terrible roar from their King caused the Orcs to retreat immediately, bringing back the bodies of their fallen friends with them.

Just by its roar alone the grass nearby flattened from the wind pressure. The ones standing on the ramparts stiffened. They could recognise this sound, the very same which shook the heavens a few days ago and caused so many them sustain internal injuries.

"Anyone hurt?" Tommy asked. The rest of the guys near them looked at him dumbfounded, couldn't he feel it without asking?

"It held back this time, but only because its fellow brethren are too close," Kairos replied, knowing that Tommy asked because the soul force users they are not as affected by it as much.

"Snowdrifts, Northern star array!

Everyone else ready your bows!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Haha... a wonderful idea!" those who guessed what Kairos meant laughed delightedly and quickly took their positions.

It was Edward who stood at the pinnacle point of the array this time, while Kairos took his place at the heart of the Northern star formation.

As they did before, everyone started their cultivation sequence, and with each rotation they absorbed energy from their surroundings, refining it, and sending it to Edward.

The Orcs charged once again, but as they came closer, they realised it was a group of D ranking Orcs this time, from the aura they are unleashing.

"That many Orc captains?"

"That's impossible! There haven't been that many high-level Orcs for a hundred years"'

"No not just Orc captains! There are at least five Orc war chiefs in the mix. My god!"

The members of Snowdrifts tensed up. Their recent memories of the powerful War Chief had yet faded, and they stared grimly as the Orcs with their powerful muscles bunching with each step they took marching towards them.

"Ready… Fire!"

"Again. Fire!"

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"Fire!"

The archers fired with every command from Alan, and the arrows rained down on the Orcs trying to swim across the waters, but this time, their attacks did little against the magic barrier of the beasts.

However, they were not hoping to defeat the Orc Captains, but to stall time.

"Again!"

Waiting for Edward to be ready, they held their breaths as the enemy reached the walls and began striking it with terrible might. The platforms they were on shook with every club hitting the reinforced timbers, and their arrows bounced off the beasts. The enemies are very close now, and they could see in details the inhuman rage on the faces of these War Beasts. No doubt, once their fortification is broken, all of them will die.

Suddenly, with a shortened version of incantation, three arrows surrounded by spiralling light, flew out from where Edward is and struck into the heart of the charging Orcs. They tore through their ranks without meeting much resistance. Even Orc captains found themselves helpless against his Secret Art.

The shoddy copper armours and uncured hide clothing proved useless to protect them; their heavy wooden shields shattered into pieces from meeting his arrow and their prided magic which protects them disappeared like the morning dew in the afternoon's sun.

Three long rows of Orcs fell dead as the glimmering arrows went through them, but this time, there was no explosion when the arrows land.

The young Orc King, for the second time, roared a retreat.

By the time the Orcs finishes their two charges, it is already late in the evening. Their army gathered silently at a distance watching this small wooden fort that repelled them. With a wave of its hand, the Orcs followed their King and returned to the forest behind them and disappeared from sight.

With their departure, the guys roared victoriously. In their hearts, they felt relief like never before.

"Edward, what were those arrows, and that incantation?" The guys asked excitedly. It was the move that brought them this respite, and it sounded and looked similar to the archer’s Secret Art, yet there was something different. Even Kairos wanted to know, although he guesses what happened.

"When you guys were transferring your Ki to me, something clicked in my head. Do you remember what Kairos said, that all martial arts are from one source, yet all of them are unique?”

“Of course! But… I don’t understand what he was trying to teach us at all. Haha..”

“He meant that the way to use them is not engraved in stones, that's why there is definitely no methods that are the only way, nor are there truly wrong ways about martial arts. Only completed and incomplete methods.

Therefore I took my Secret Art’s original form and split it into three with a shorter incantation. The result is what you saw, a weakened version of my attack, but able to use quickly in multi-directions."

"AHHH!!! Those additional arrows are truly better for warfare where so many are in front of us. Our leader is a genius hahaha!"

The term “Leader” that the guys use are not specific for one of them but all the five boys. Even Kairos shyly kept silent and looked away. If people want to admire you, you can't really go around correcting them without appearing snobbish, isn't it?

"How many are left, captain?" The others asked, knowing that their leader has uncanny overview abilities of the battlefield. Somehow they created a sort of dependency to check with him instead of the scouts.

"Edward's first attack took down around seventy. Our arrows slew another twenty. All of them are rankless though.

Afterwards, the three arrows from our genius severely wounded or killed twenty each, but since all of them are ranked D that was way more valuable than how the first wave was repelled. We can definitely say that Edward scared off the entire Orc army by himself.

They numbered nearly a thousand two hundred at the start, but now they barely have a thousand left." Kairos closed his eyes in concentration while he sent out his soul perception, tracing the Orcs that are hiding in the forest as he says.

“If my feelings are sharp enough, there are around two hundred D rank Orcs left, and among that number, a quarter is War chiefs.

We will not be able to hold on to this fort for too long. Plus I am concerned about that young Orc. Its power may also only be at D rank, but it is definitely not a normal Orc to achieve such a level at its age, and all the Orcs obey it.

To prevent the worst from happening, it's time to teach everyone the Starfire array."

With this words, complicated looks appeared on everyone's face, no matter are they part of Snowdrifts or not. It is not a simple thing to give away one's hidden cards since it could affect the livelihood of one's family, yet Kairos made a swift decision.

“If one hidden card is given away, I can just use another.”

"Well, no time to be selfish," Alan says nonchalantly with a hearty laugh.

As commoners, who among them had not face danger in the past and hoped that perhaps some nobles would come riding to their aid. In this world that is riddled with threats from both human and magical beasts alike, the weak are usually the ones that suffer the most.

When they grew up they realised to protect their family and their land; they need to be the one who is strong enough to ride into combat.

"EVERYONE. LISTEN UP!

This battle will be one of attrition.

We will continue the fight with all we have. No matter how many enemies stand in our way, we will carve a path of survival out!

Fight! Fight with everything you have got. Hold nothing back! Claw, and bite, and, live!

Let us prove to them they have made a fatal mistake of attacking us."

*RARRRRRR!!*

All that heard him let loose a shout filled with spirit from their heart!