Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 169 The Art of the Deal: The End of the Spring Hunt
The team from the Vast Ocean successfully captured a large number of shamans.

These shamans had even weaker resistance than ordinary orc warriors. Their eyes were vacant, and they sat by the roadside like wooden statues. Even though their lips were parched, they did not even glance at the water beside them.

As the representative of the orc ancestral god and the most revered spellcaster in the orc tribe, he was no different from the orc slaves when he was abandoned.

The collapse of their mental world left them like walking corpses.

Yes, after being captured, they were once again put on animal-drawn carts.

The wheels crunched over the gravel, making a creaking sound, and sped towards the vast sea.

With the assistance of the native orcs of the Vast Ocean, the shamans, the most mysterious group among the orcs, finally unveiled their secrets to Lord Chen Mo.

In this starry world, knowledge and insight are monopolized; without a guide, one can only struggle to explore on one's own.

But once you actually experience it, you realize, oh, that's all there is to it.

Shamans, the spellcasters of the orc race, are undoubtedly also users of psionic energy, and in essence, they are no different from the mages of the human race.

However, their forms of expression are quite different.

Shamans are unable to construct spell models.

Whether due to racial characteristics or some other reason, orc shamans completely lack the ability to construct spell models, thus making it impossible for human mages to use their own psionic energy to construct void arrays and then use those arrays to trigger external psionic energy—a complete spellcasting cycle.

This explains why Orc Shamans lack traditional magical or psionic attack capabilities.

However, they took a different path, engraving "rune arrays" on themselves.

This is an ancient tradition originating from the orc race. Every shaman candidate, after being determined to become a shaman in childhood, must continuously refine their spiritual power and magical power.

During their growth, the rune masters of the orc tribe would use the blood and bone powder of certain powerful magical beasts, combined with some rare minerals, to create a mysterious indigo dye. Then, once a year, they would tattoo "rune arrays" on the bodies of the shamans.

It's equivalent to having the magic circle that humans want to build engraved on one's own body.

Shamans channel their spiritual energy from within their bodies to the surface, activating the effects of these runes, which allows them to unleash a variety of beastman techniques.

The process of burning the psychic energy channel onto the body not only involves piercing the skin but also penetrating a portion of the rune array deep into the flesh.

This process is not only painful, but also carries a certain risk of mortality and disability.

This makes such rune inscription rituals seem extremely cruel!
Of course, once the engraving is successful, it looks really cool.

It's not just the striking appearance that's captivating; because this rune tattoo is directly rooted in the bloodline of the orc shaman, and even arguably connected to the depths of their souls, it completely eliminates the need for the complex calculations and construction of spell arrays required by human mages.

Low-level spells can be cast instantly! The casting speed of mid- to high-level spells is no more than the time it takes for psionic energy to travel through a magic circle on the body once.

The faster you walk, the faster you can cast spells!

The orcish warriors, covered in tattoos, wielding long ancestral staffs and wearing crowns of various feathers, always create a ferocious spectacle wherever they go, making them a striking sight when orcish tribes go to war.

Secondly, shamans do not require a complicated and tedious learning process.

The number of runes inscribed on one's body determines the number of spells that can be cast. Even an illiterate person can automatically activate these spells as long as they can channel their spiritual energy to the designated location.

Yes, it saves a lot of time on academic classes.

They can use this extra time to build muscle, and while expending their spiritual energy, they can also engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The Orcish Royal Court has a famous "melee shaman legion" whose fighting style involves buffing themselves with various buffs such as Bloodlust and Frenzy, and then engaging in close combat while wielding the Ancestral Staff encased in iron.

Undoubtedly, the frontline command was overjoyed the moment they captured the shamans. They quickly stripped these guys naked and took detailed photos of their entire bodies.

Even areas previously covered by body hair were shaved completely.

For orcs who revere masculinity, being hairless is a great insult.

When orc shamans inscribe spells, the spells on certain important parts are inscribed when the orc's downy hair has fallen out and new hair has not yet grown. These are called "under-hair spells". There is even a separate tattooing technique that combines the future growth of body hair.

The shaman didn't die during the capture, but several died during the shaving.

As a result, Chen Mo quickly issued several orders to send the person to Han Hai first and then proceed gradually!
The soldier who made great contributions received verbal praise from the lord, and upon returning to the territory, a second-class merit award was practically guaranteed.

But this guy wasn't willing to stop there, and couldn't wait to throw himself into his schemes against the orcs.

Based on the information gathered so far, the orc commander has gone completely mad and is showing a clear tendency to stop at nothing in order to escape back to the Qishan camp.

As a result, the orc army was particularly demoralized and resentful.

The vanguard stared at the map all night and then came up with a bold plan at a military brainstorming session.

"Since they want to go back so badly, why not make them pay a price to 'buy a way out'?"

"They don't know that the lord ordered them to be let go!"

The commanders of the vast ocean present were all shocked by this guy's wildly imaginative ideas.

But if you think about it carefully, you know what, you really don't know what I mean!

This is a sure-fire way to extort money. If it fails, they won't lose anything; if it succeeds, they'll make a killing. And judging from the orc army's current disheveled state, they're bound to get something out of them no matter what.

Isn't this just another test of the orc general's bottom line? They've already lowered it to this level, so they probably don't care if it goes down a little further.

Half a day later, the orc army, staggering along their escape route, was greeted by a messenger.

A lightly wounded orc who was captured and released after receiving treatment in the Vast Ocean Territory.

This fellow was tongue-tied and knew nothing; he only brought a letter for the orc general.

The letter gets straight to the point: "Poor orcs, you have no way out!"

“Our brave Skyfrost City warriors have been lying in ambush at every point on your way back. Everything you have experienced these past few days is just a small episode on your road to destruction.”

“However, now, I, a human general whose name cannot be revealed for the time being, am willing to give you a chance to redeem yourselves.”

"As long as you can pay enough wealth, you can return to your orcish wasteland and see your parents, wives and children again!"

"To prove our sincerity, you will not be attacked for the next half day!"

"At the same time, to prove our strength, if you do not stop advancing at the moment the sun sets below the horizon, you will face an unprecedented devastating blow."

True to their word, for the next half day, the sharp, maddening explosions that used to rang out from time to time did not occur once, whether it was the forwards, defenders, left and right wings, or the central army.

It was as quiet as returning to a mother's embrace.

Before the sun set, Sargeris finally issued a series of orders.

"The enemy has been conserving their strength during the day and may be plotting something big. The troops should immediately switch to on-site defense and set up camp to rest!"

"Expand the search area on the left and right flanks, and divide the vanguard into two parts: one to provide cover and the other to advance at full speed!"

"All units, raise the alert level!"

Sagris's calculations were quite clear: he had gained half a day of peace, and as for the night, he wouldn't be content without testing the waters. He even had a vague suspicion that the enemy might actually intend to let him go.

Judging from the fierce, swift, and clean style of attacks against the orc forces, the enemy's attacks definitely leave room for maneuver. On many occasions, if the opponent continues to apply more pressure, one's outer forces may suffer annihilation-level casualties.

But the opponent does not; it will fiddle with something and then stop, fiddle with it and then run away, over and over again.

He teases himself to the point of ecstasy, but never delivers the final blow!
Sagris felt that the other side should know that he would send someone to test them, and was also waiting for him to send someone to test them.

He felt he would likely to toss and turn all night, unable to sleep.

As it turned out, the other party didn't make him wait at all.

Before it was even completely dark, a report came from the front.

The vanguard force he had sent deep into Razor Corridor, a 300-man wolf rider unit, was completely wiped out in just a dozen breaths.

The other party has indeed shown sincerity and strength. Now, it is Sargeris's turn to make a choice.

After a sleepless night, Sagris finally made a decision. Following the contact information left in the letter, Sagris raised the white flag on both the left and right flanks.

In the starry world, the white flag doesn't have any special meaning yet, but this can be considered a beginning.

Soon, another group of messengers arrived at the orc tent.

This was an excessively young human boy. He was not wearing armor or carrying any weapons, but was dressed in a simple, ancient-style noble robe. He came galloping over with two attendants.

Sagris received him privately in his inner tent.

Both sides were pressed for time, so they got straight to the point without any beating around the bush.

"Who are you people, and why are you contacting me privately!"

The human boy smiled shyly, gently touching his chest with his finger on the noble emblem whose pattern was covered by velvet flowers.

"In this siege, old Charles has become incredibly famous and now he doesn't even respect us meritorious nobles anymore."

“Back in the Clouds and Mist, my uncle was much higher in status than him.”

“My family is a legitimate, noble family with a long lineage! What is Charles? He’s just a military commander!”

"Now he's sitting back and enjoying the fruits of his labor in the city, while ordering my uncle out to fight desperately. If it succeeds, all the credit is his; if it fails, all the losses are ours!"

The boy became more and more excited as he spoke, and patted the emblem on his chest again. "My uncle said, why must we fight to the death? You save your life, and I'll make a fortune."

"With more capital in hand, if we really can't stay in Tianshuang City, there's nowhere in the world we can't go?"

Sagris understood.

Although he didn't know the command structure of Skyfrost City or who Xia Er was, it was only natural that in war, capable generals would be promoted, so it was perfectly normal to sideline certain noble forces.

He had seen far too much infighting among humans. For many human nobles, a victory that brought them no benefit was tantamount to defeat!

Sagris' thoughts returned, and he asked again, "What are the conditions for letting me pass?"

"We'll pay you per person! We'll release as many people as the amount we charge!"

"This is impossible!" Sargeris roared, rising to his feet in fury. "Have you taken us all prisoner? We haven't been defeated yet!"

"Soon!"

The young nobleman opposite him remained calm and composed, smiling as he looked at the orc general. He then took out a banner and slowly pushed it towards Sargeris.

"I can offer you plenty, enough for you to go back and proclaim your victory!"

Sargeris's roar suddenly subsided.

More than half an hour later, after some difficult negotiations, or rather, bargaining, the two sides reached an agreement.

The human side lowered their demands and agreed not to pay "ransom fees" for high-ranking generals like Sargeris, thus saving some face for the human race.

On the orc side, everything that could be converted into wealth—money, secret intelligence, supplies, equipment, transport mounts, and even other orc soldiers—was valued and mortgaged to this mysterious human force.

At the same time, Sargeris promised never to reveal the details of this deal, and that if the noble elders of the other party were to come to rule Skyfrost City in the future, Sargeris would change course and abandon the attack on Skyfrost City during this period.

The final calculations show that Sargeris can lead 3,000 elite wasteland orcs, 20,000 plains orcs, and 200 shamans back to White Deer Plains without any future attacks.

Yes, that's exactly a little over half of the total number of troops that went on this expedition.

How can war not result in deaths?

If the loss is less than half, it's the same as no loss at all!
Of course, Sargeris was ultimately able to accept such humiliating terms and abandon so many orc troops because of the extremely tempting offer the other side made.

The other party provided a large number of various noble heraldic banners, legion banners, noble gift books, and fief documents!

These are spoils that can only be obtained by completely annihilating a human family or by seizing an entire organized legion; they are the life and fortune of human nobles!

Moreover, the other party swore by the gods that all the items were genuine and verifiable!

In past wars, these items were sent back to the orc ancestral homeland, enshrined high, and listed as major war achievements.

With these, Sagris could go back and boast that although his army suffered heavy losses in this battle, it had killed countless enemies and could be called a victory.

Look at what we've captured!

After the battle, there was a sense of satisfaction in the end.

When the vanguard received the final negotiation results, he couldn't help but marvel at the lord's extraordinary talent and omnipotence!

Outside the battlefield, he had such a precise grasp of the enemy's psychology that he stamped the seal of the young princess of Yunwu Territory with a few quick strokes, sealing off more than a dozen "real nobles," and easily turned his outlandish extortion into a real deal.

I gained far more than I had imagined!
In the following days, the two sides first carried out small-scale transactions and gradually built up "mutual trust," and the frequency and volume of transactions increased rapidly.

Finally, a week later, the orc army shed all its "burdens," successfully passed through the Razorfen Downs, and returned to the Flag Mountain camp.

Thus, this hurried orc spring hunt has officially come to a close, and the dust has finally settled!
As he once again set foot on the land of Qishan Pass, Sargeris Bloodhowl looked back at the path he had come from, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness.

"Foolish humans! You don't really believe my promise, do you!"

General Bloodhowl muttered to himself, a cruel smile curving his lips.

"Thanks to your infighting and backstabbing, I was able to return, and perhaps even maintain my authority."

"I remember you!"

"The humiliation of today will be repaid a hundredfold in the future!"

"When I one day raze the city of Tianshuang to the ground, I will make your heads into wine vessels and drink with you in celebration!"

(End of this chapter)