To everyone present, Fang Senyan was nothing more than an orc corpse riddled with arrows; the only thing that might raise suspicion was that slightly more arrows seemed to have scattered around this corpse.

However, this particular detail didn't seem overly strange, largely attributable to the armor the orc was wearing. Perhaps the leather armor was of superior quality, or perhaps, fearing death, the orc had layered a thick set of iron plates underneath—if one sought an explanation, countless justifications could be conjured up.

Of course, if a Contractor were to attempt shooting Fang Senyan at this point, they would certainly receive a string of notifications in their combat log. Although the precise data might be suppressed by Fang Senyan’s perception, he would absolutely know he had stumbled upon a major prize.

The prerequisite for this, however, was that the Contractor must monitor their combat log constantly. Yet, even Fang Senyan couldn't divert his attention to such a degree.

On this chaotic battlefield, unless a Contractor was utterly deranged, they would never waste effort attacking a corpse that was clearly dead—didn't bullets and arrows cost something? More importantly, intelligence on this chaotic battlefield shifted moment by moment; everyone was busy hunting their next target, focusing at most on the contribution points accrued, not pausing to pore over combat logs.

In fact, during his charge to this point, Fang Senyan had been struck by several stray bullets and arrows from Contractors, yet there had been no sign of focused fire, proving his initial assessment entirely correct.

The Ogre Fang Senyan was shielding was robust and appeared formidable, which consequently drew the concentrated fire from nearly all the story guards on the nearby ramparts. The 'corpse shield' proved immensely effective, rapidly increasing the progress toward Fang Senyan's achievement condition of being a hedgehog.

Yet, every gain came with a loss. While acquiring 822 points of Proficiency, Fang Senyan’s HP was also plummeting rapidly. Although the majority of arrows failed to breach his defenses, causing only a mandatory one or two points of damage, a poorly timed critical hit, or an arrow loosed by one of the guard leaders, could deduct anywhere from several dozen to even several hundred health points.

Thus, he had quietly used a Potion of Honor.

Even though Fang Senyan had prepared ample contingencies, on this volatile battlefield, his two major skills, Sigh of the Death God and Radiant Heal, were best reserved for true life-or-death situations.

"Ugh!" Fang Senyan's brow involuntarily twitched again as he let out a muffled groan.

Another sharp arrow aimed at the Ogre’s head had been blocked by him, but this particular shaft was specially crafted, and the archer who loosed it must have possessed considerable skill. It effortlessly pierced Fang Senyan’s defense and sank deep into his thigh, embedding itself at least two or three inches into the flesh!

A searing pain spread from the injured thigh; clearly, the arrowhead was poisoned. However, for Fang Senyan, whose constitution rendered him nearly immune to poison, even if the damage itself could be ignored, the torment inflicted upon his nerves was unavoidable.

Then, Fang Senyan saw a pair of eyes, as large as bronze bells, staring fixedly at him, filled with shock, disbelief, and utter amazement. These pupils were markedly different from human ones, resembling a large, transparent glass fishbowl filled with Yellow River water, inside which a black billiard ball floated listlessly.

It seemed the first to notice something amiss wasn't the archers, but the massive Ogre standing right beside him; perhaps Fang Senyan's pained grunt upon being struck was too conspicuous.

"You're not dead!" the Ogre exclaimed in a deep, rumbling voice.

The Ogre’s current position was remarkably advantageous—close enough to the city wall to be outside the range of the catapults, and the Contractors were intentionally leaving it alive to draw reinforcements. Even with arrows raining down like incessant rain from the walls, this Ogre, with its head cradled and rear end exposed, could likely hold out for another half hour.

Fang Senyan lowered his voice: "If you die, I won't die, you brute! If you want to survive, do exactly as I tell you."

Had it been anyone else, the volatile and easily angered Ogre would have simply slapped them aside at the insult of being called a 'brute.' But for Fang Senyan, with his innate +3 Legend Rating and a Charm value nearing normal human levels, the Ogre hesitated for a moment before dumbly obeying: "Fine, what do I do?"

"Keep collecting corpses and pile them in front of you, build the wall higher. This way, fewer arrows will hit you. Then, use those massive hands of yours to dig out this damned mire beneath your feet. First, smear the mud onto your body, and then onto the wall of corpses you've built. You'll find this place more comfortable than that wretched heaven."

...One minute later, the towering Ogre roared with excitement: "This is fantastic! Just as the legendary Sailor promised! These damned ants really can't touch me now! Not a single arrow can reach me!"

Fang Senyan was now 'cemented' within the wall of corpses; the area exposed to arrows had drastically reduced. The data meter for his current milestone read 1004/5000, and his HP recovery was slowly climbing.

The Ogre, meanwhile, continued digging with great enthusiasm. The Ogre's two huge hands combined were no less effective than two shovels, and its immense strength was limitless. Mud and water splashed everywhere as it quickly excavated a large pit over a meter deep right where they stood. The Ogre settled against the pit wall, and although the surrounding mud and water continuously replenished, it was nothing for the Ogre to casually shovel away with a swipe.

The brute chuckled foolishly and said to Fang Senyan: "You are amazing! You are the smartest fellow Black-Ears has ever met!"

Fang Senyan looked with envy at the body of Black-Ears. Although it too had taken its share of arrows, the Ogre's blood possessed a potent acidic corrosive quality, much like that of an Alien. As the steel arrowheads gradually dissolved in the blood, the need for the tedious process of pulling them out vanished; the barbs would dissolve at the shoulder, and the shafts would naturally detach, leaving scabs.

At this moment, Black-Ears looked left, then right, suddenly stood up, and pounded his chest with effort, like a giant ape, then roared in his deep voice: "Big-Nose, Lame-Leg! Come here! It's safe over here!"

Fang Senyan's eyes snapped wide open, wishing he could reach out and clamp a hand over Black-Ears's mouth. But it was too late; the brutal reality was that the two Ogres to the left and right, brimming with excitement, had already stood up and were laboriously wading through the mud and water toward them.

While the two creatures, who appeared to be close companions, struggled across, Black-Ears diligently expanded the pit he occupied. Fang Senyan knew they couldn't wait any longer, as no Contractor could resist the temptation of killing three Ogres simultaneously, and the defenders on the wall certainly wouldn't tolerate such a congregation. Fang Senyan’s peripheral vision even caught sight of the defenders struggling to aim the large siege ballistae toward their location.

Seeing that he had secured nearly 1200 points of data, Fang Senyan rolled over and dropped into the muddy pit, immediately grabbing Black-Ears's hands to prevent the creature from flailing in panic. The next instant, the ground beneath them gave way, and they tumbled down amidst a splash of mud and water!

The drop wasn't far, perhaps only two or three meters high, before they landed in a chamber that looked quite dry and smooth. Even the mud and water that leaked down seemed to spread out and flatten rapidly across the floor, as if smoothed by an unseen hand.

Then, Fang Senyan saw Sanzai, looking on with concern, and of course, Kurutgol. For the powerful two-headed Cyclops, manipulating the form of the earth was as innate as eating, drinking, or sleeping; digging an underground tunnel leading beneath the city wall was child's play.

Black-Ears sensed Kurutgol's savage aura, bared his sharp white teeth, and let out an angry roar. Fang Senyan immediately kicked him aside toward a pathetic corner to face the wall. Sanzai didn't seem surprised by the extra Ogre rescued; he glanced worriedly upward: "Brother Yan, we should leave quickly. It might not be safe here."

Fang Senyan said: "Let's wait ten more seconds."

Just as he finished speaking, a tremendous explosion thundered from above. However, immediately following it, two more massive, bulky dark figures fell through the opening, landing heavily: they were Big-Nose and Lame-Leg, the companions Black-Ears had called over.

But the two newcomers were clearly less fortunate. Putting aside the dense cluster of arrows covering their bodies, Big-Nose had a siege ballista bolt, the size of an egg, embedded in his chest, while Lame-Leg's half-head seemed scorched and battered by smoke, letting out a shrill, agonizing scream while clutching the wound.

Sanzai pushed aside his concern for the moment, signaling the enraged Black-Ears to help pull the two heavily injured Ogres away from the immediate area. Fang Senyan also moved to assist; his brute strength was comparable to the Ogres', and he shadowed Kurutgol closely.

Kurutgol’s right eye emitted a faint yellowish light, projecting a space about the size of half a shipping container around his body. Once outside the yellowish glow, the earth immediately returned to its natural state.

After walking about fifty meters underground, Sanzai indicated it was safer. As a Summoner, he was adept at healing his pets and was skilled in the rudimentary cleaning and bandaging of external wounds. He proceeded to attend to Big-Nose and Lame-Leg. Thanks to Sanzai’s exceptionally high Charm and his baseline +2 Legend Rating, the two extremely irritable Ogres obediently endured the pain, completely contrary to legends of creatures driven mad by agony.

"You'll be fine. After we return, you'll receive healing from Sauron’s power; you won't be permanently disabled," Sanzai reassured them. However, he noticed Fang Senyan staring thoughtfully at Kurutgol. The two brothers understood each other implicitly, and Sanzai gave a wry smile: "It’s no use. On the way over, I had him scout around. The legend says Minas Tirith was built with the blessings of the gods, so when Kurutgol got within three meters of the city wall, he felt that advancing further would require several, even dozens, of times the spiritual energy. The foundation of the wall is indeed protected by divine power."

Fang Senyan shrugged. But even if Kurutgol could easily infiltrate the city, what then? At most, he could carry about ten Contractors, and if he were carrying monsters like Ogres, perhaps only five or six.

To put it plainly, such power, while not entirely insignificant in a war, could never be decisive. They would be completely isolated, unlike a breach in the wall where an endless stream of reinforcements could pour in. A few dozen Contractors defending the city could easily drive them back.

Previously, Fang Senyan killing ten men single-handedly in a specific scenario was terrifying, but in this war, if you kill ten people, the enemy can easily deploy twenty more! Or, if they merely need to contain the threat, they don't even need that many people!

Following Fang Senyan's instructions, the group discreetly found a secluded spot and emerged from the ground. Black-Ears naturally dragged Big-Nose and Lame-Leg off for treatment. Meanwhile, Reef and Aziz became the focus of attention. Aziz’s single shot was certainly stunning, but to those with sharp insight, Reef’s ability to ensure Aziz retreated unharmed from the combined assault of the three top enemy snipers was even more noteworthy.

Of course, Reef would not widely publicize his abilities, and the arrogant Aziz ignored everyone, even Zeus, returning stiffly to his tent and shutting the door. As a result, Reef's capabilities were left only to speculation, growing more mythical with each telling, implicitly earning him the title of the foremost MT.

Among the Contractors aligned with the Dark side, this situation was unfolding exactly as Fang Senyan had hoped. The more renown Reef gained, the more easily Fang Senyan could thrive in Reef's shadow.

However, concerning the overall battle, due to Gasmor's poor judgment, the rescue operation dragged on until noon! The result: only twenty Ogres were saved (three of which Fang Senyan had dispatched himself), at the catastrophic cost of at least ten thousand more Orcs and Uruks being thrown into the grinder!

It must be remembered that although the Dark side commanded an army of two hundred thousand, this number included Orc slaves and laborers. These units functioned like auxiliaries—useful for clearing battlefields and providing logistical support, but utterly unreliable for dedicated assault missions.

Therefore, excluding the one hundred thousand Orc slaves and laborers, and not even counting the loss of war equipment, the army had lost at least a quarter of its fighting strength in just one morning, with the casualties among high-tier forces like the Ogres being particularly severe!

If not for the simple minds of the Orcs and Uruks, whose morale didn't suffer as severely as human armies when incurring losses, it wouldn't be far-fetched to estimate a one-third loss of combat capability.

More critically, there was the issue of the balance of power shifting.

The enemy Contractors would also be accumulating Contribution Points, and they had clearly managed to rack up a huge haul this time. It was certain they would now exchange these points for various equipment, mercenaries, and items to enhance their strength.

Under these circumstances, the situation was becoming increasingly grim.

Less than an hour after the fighting concluded, the Ace Team received a visitor. This visitor’s identity was highly significant, as he was the mysterious leader of the Blue Light Team, who had consistently projected an aggressive and dominant aura!

"I am Jax."

The man, entirely enveloped in a blue cloak, smiled as he extended his hand to Reef. To demonstrate his sincerity, Jax removed his mask, revealing a very ordinary face, the most striking feature being a grotesque scar, like a red centipede, slashing diagonally from his left cheek down to his right jawline!

"The astounding performance by Team Leader Reef today has opened everyone's eyes, fully demonstrating the true strength of a formidable MT."

Reef remained outwardly calm, though he couldn't help but feel a secret surge of satisfaction: "You are too kind. However, rather than my personal glory, it is more gratifying to see the entire Dark Faction gaining the upper hand."

"Well said." Jax nodded seriously. "Our current situation is extremely precarious, so in half an hour, there will be a meeting of the team high command. Team Leader Reef and your deputy must attend."

Reef had already reached a consensus with Fang Senyan through the team channel and agreed readily: "No problem."

It was clear that the Blue Light Team attached great importance to this meeting. Their tent, outwardly simple, was actually a spatial item whose actual usable area inside was astonishingly vast. In terms of decor and specifications, it could easily serve as a venue for a United Nations summit.

This level of emphasis wasn't confined to the venue’s arrangement or the lavishness of the reception; they also displayed their team's power—a full eight Hammershapers stood at the entrance to greet guests, one of whom was also an MT, and an MT wielding a massive two-handed tower shield designed to withstand cavalry charges!

Team Leader Jax and Deputy Leader Wauter shone with the luster of Legendary-grade accessories/armor!

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