Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 251 Rescuing Prisoners

Time passed quickly, and as night fell, the burning town of Changhu was still ablaze. The wooden houses kept the fire going for a long time. The more than two hundred surviving townspeople huddled together for warmth near the dock, and occasionally, suppressed cries could be heard echoing across the lake.

The surviving soldiers and men, under Wayne's command, maintained order among the refugees. Thanks to the aid of medical supplies and the food and supplies he provided, the survivors, though still in dire straits, were at least able to fill their stomachs and barely prolong their lives.

Just as Wayne and a guard captain named Jerry, whom he had rescued, were discussing how to settle the refugees, a deep roar suddenly came from the wilderness outside Laketown.

Upon hearing the roar, Wayne paused slightly. He looked at the captain of the guards, who also seemed somewhat flustered by the enormous roar, and softly comforted him:

"Don't panic, Captain Jerry, this is my fighting partner."

Wayne paused for a second, then turned to the guard captain, Jerry, and said:

"I'm leaving for now. You soldiers will be in charge of protecting this place."

The captain of the guard was taken aback upon hearing this, then looked troubled. Although Wayne was not someone they knew well, half of the survivors had survived thanks to Wayne's treatment. It was because of his existence that these poor souls who had survived the disaster had a sense of security.

If this seemingly powerful figure were to suddenly leave, to be honest, Jerry, despite being the town's former captain of the guard, felt he simply wasn't capable of managing these survivors.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Jerry mustered his courage and said:

"Mr. Wayne, could you please not leave? The townspeople are in a state of panic. Everyone has lost loved ones and has no one to lead them. They need you!"

Wayne paused for a few seconds after hearing this, then said:

"Don't worry, I'm only leaving temporarily. You don't need to tell them I'm leaving."

"Moreover, my purpose in leaving was to rescue the captured townspeople."

"Don't you want your family and friends who have been arrested to be rescued?"

Jerry was taken aback by what he heard, then looked at Wayne with some uncertainty. Seeing that Wayne didn't seem to be joking, he advised with a complicated expression:

"Of course we want to save our loved ones and friends, Mr. Wayne, but if you're alone, it's best not to go and die in vain."

"There are too many orcs, and they are well-equipped. Without an army, it would be impossible to defeat them and rescue the captured prisoners."

As a survivor of the afternoon's raid, he knew very well the fighting prowess of those orcs. Although the monsters' equipment wasn't particularly good, they fought with incredible ferocity, to the point of being reckless and suicidal. Ordinary human soldiers probably couldn't even kill them one-on-one.

As a native of Longlake, he knew that these orcs came from the Grey Mountains and were a powerful orc force that had been fighting with the Ironhill dwarves for territory for many years.

Seeing that the other person still wanted to persuade him, Wayne waved his hand to interrupt him, and then asked with a serious expression:

"Don't worry about my strength. I've killed thousands of orcs. To me, orcs are nothing but defeated foe."

"I just want to know, do you need me to rescue those captured prisoners?"

Jerry remained silent for several seconds after hearing this, before finally saying with some difficulty:

"Of course, Mr. Wayne. My wife and children have been captured by orcs. I'm willing to give anything to rescue them."

Ding! Quest triggered: [Rescue the Prisoners] Master Level. Accept?

Wayne immediately accepted the task in his mind, then patted Jerry on the shoulder and said:

"Take good care of the refugees here. I must leave immediately. If I delay too long, they will be taken back to the orcs' lair, and then it will be even more difficult to save them."

………………

After leaving the complex and dark forest, Deathclaw's running speed increased significantly.

Riding on Robin's back, Wayne directed him to follow the clearly visible tracks left by a large army on the ground as they began to pursue the orcish army that had just completed their raid.

The reason for waiting until night was not only to save the surviving wounded in Laketown, but also because Wayne wanted to take action after nightfall.

The Witcher with Cat's Eye Potion and the Deathclaw with Dark Vision will become even more deadly and stealthy under the cover of night.

As for whether he could catch up with these orcs, Wayne wasn't worried.

Such a large force, unlike elite cavalry units, would most likely not be able to march at night, and even if they did, their speed would be significantly reduced.

With Deathclaw's speed, they should be able to catch up with them before dawn.

Sure enough, after he and Robin left Laketown and headed towards the Grey Mountains, with the help of his keen eyesight and Deathclaw's sensitive sense of smell, they caught up with the Orcs' camp in about four hours.

Perhaps because of their victory during the day, these scumbags had become complacent. When he and Robin arrived near the camp, they found that the orcs seemed to have held a wild party. The ground was littered with bottles and leftover bones, and a large group of orcs were lying on the ground in a haphazard manner, wearing armor and fast asleep while hugging their weapons.

Although some orcs were still keeping watch, their drowsy expressions suggested it was essentially a formality.

This situation pleased Wayne greatly, and could even be described as a pleasant surprise.

Such an absurd scene would most likely be impossible in a human army, but it doesn't seem too out of place among orcs who have basically received no education and can only be considered a rabble.

This was the perfect opportunity to rescue them. Instead of ordering Robin to launch an immediate attack, he placed her in a secluded spot to await orders, while he donned an invisibility cloak and quietly slipped into the orc camp.

Unlike human military camps, the orcs, who are almost indistinguishable from wild beasts, treat marching as child's play. They do not provide large tents for soldiers to stay in, nor do they build fences or barricades to defend against enemy cavalry.

They were as carefree as savages. Apart from a few large campfires for lighting, everyone else slept on the ground. Only the higher-ranking orc captains would lay out furs or hay in their sleeping areas. Walking among these sleeping orcs, Wayne could even hear a chorus of snores, which was very strange.

Such a simple camp not only made it convenient for Wayne to find prisoners, but also made the whole area very open and easy to see, so that even the slightest big movement would alert the enemy.

Fortunately, magic was not widespread in Middle-earth, and a convenient item like the invisibility cloak was very useful in such a world. With the cover of the invisibility cloak and the darkness, Wayne found the location where the prisoners were being held in the orc camp in less than five minutes.

The prisoners in Longlake Town were divided into two categories. Adults were locked in simple wooden cages with their hands and feet bound by iron chains, while vulnerable humans such as children and the elderly were treated like livestock, with their hands and necks bound by ropes and then strung together by the orcs.

Seemingly to prevent their escape, the prisoners were all kept in the same area, guarded by more than a dozen orc guards, and surrounded by a wooden wall as tall as a person.

However, due to the orcs' revelry and heavy drinking, most of the guards were sleeping against the wooden wall. A few who were awake were only trying to stay awake, looking drowsy.

This undoubtedly gave Wayne an opportunity.

He showed no mercy to the orc guards. Using his invisibility cloak as cover, he quickly crept up to them, covered their mouths and noses, and killed them without making a sound.

Furthermore, after numerous stealthy assassinations, Wayne discovered a clever use for the spatial bracelet: to destroy evidence and hide corpses.

Although the spatial bracelet from the Forgotten Realms cannot store living things, it is perfectly fine for hiding corpses.

As long as he destroys the enemy's brain during the assassination, causing complete brain death, the spatial bracelet can collect the corpse directly, just like collecting an item.

This discovery greatly reduces the difficulty of being detected during an assassination. Although the mysterious disappearance of guards and targets would also raise suspicions among patrol personnel, the outcome is undoubtedly vastly different from finding a corpse.

And so, the guards watching over the prisoners quickly and silently disappeared without attracting anyone's attention.

When Wayne dealt with the guards and entered the wooden enclosure where the prisoners were held, he was somewhat surprised to find that, besides him, there were other people also rescuing the captured prisoners.

It was a middle-aged man of average build, wearing a dark fur cloak. He crouched on the ground, cautiously approaching a cage, seemingly trying to pick the lock or doing something else, without making a sound.

Seeing this, Wayne only considered for a second or two before silently walking to the man's side, reaching out to cover his mouth and control his body. The immense strength left the man unable to resist.

"Don't make a sound. I'm here to rescue people too. I'll let you go now, but if you dare to shout, I'll kill you."

After confirming that both were human, the man's struggles quickly stopped. Wayne released his mouth and then asked softly:

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

The man was quite handsome, but he looked extremely disheveled, his face covered in sweat and bruises. After hearing Wayne's question, he hesitated for a second before saying:

"My name is Bud, and I am a resident of Laketown. I have come here to rescue my child."

Wayne nodded upon hearing this, immediately recognizing who the other person was. However, he showed no surprise and instead gave the order directly:

"I've taken care of the guards outside. Now come with me to rescue the prisoners."

"After we rescue them, I'll create chaos, and you can take them back to Laketown."

Did you hear me clearly?

The situation was urgent and there was no time for further discussion. After hearing this, Bard hesitated for only a second before immediately nodding in agreement.

Seeing this, Wayne didn't offer any further explanation. He gave Bard a wink, drew his Startack Blade from his waist, and then went to the outside of the chained cage.

As a divine weapon that has been reinforced multiple times by a reinforced reel, the Statikk Shiv possesses exceptional sharpness and durability.

The orc's chains were crudely forged, and with Wayne's powerful arms, he didn't need to pick the lock; the chains snapped in two, successfully unlocking the cage.

(End of this chapter)