Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"HQ! HQ! HQ! We are under heavy fire and need support now!"
A member of the patrol unit on a small frigate shouted into his radio in a desperate bid to call High Command. But the only response was the static hum of a disconnected line.
"Damnit!" He cursed as he ducked low from a grazing arrow shot that whizzed past his head.
"How's the radio? We're gonna get overrun at this point!" another soldier cried as he frantically reloaded his sniper rifle.
"I can't get a damn response, Private! Something's blocking the signal," the first soldier replied in frustration.
"What? Are we being jammed or something? By what?" a third soldier chimed in, feeling bewilderment.
"How am I supposed to know?" came the exasperated response.
The ocean had been eerily quiet just moments ago, with dozens of patrol boats and smaller warships drifting near the border, their crews finally relaxing after a long night's work. The soldiers on one of the boats had lazily settled in, expecting a calm night, idly chatting while watching the moon.
But then, a faint horn sounded in the distance, growing louder and closer with every passing second.
Before they could react, a volley of arrows, which were half the size of a grown man, rained down on their boats, killing and wounding dozens of soldiers.
The three soldiers aboard their boat went to grab their weapons out to fight back their attackers, and as their attention was ahead, their eyes widened in horror at the sight before them.
It wasn't a sea monster or a random ship from any civilized nation.
It was an entire fleet of red wooden ships, crudely constructed, with torn red sails, steel spikes, and prows fashioned into giant, gaping maws resembling a fearsome creature.
These are the Orc fleets.
The Orcs launched their attack through a storm of whistling arrows and the advance of their bizarre ships. Despite the Orc ship's primitive appearance, they moved with shocking speed and resilience. The soldiers watched in disbelief as their warships opened fire and their heavy rounds striking the enemy vessels. But to their astonishment, the Orc ships withstood the barrage, hardly affected by the powerful blasts.
Normally, those wooden ships would have been obliterated by a single round from a modern warship, yet somehow, they survived an entire bombardment without a single one sinking.
Even more alarming was the speed at which the Orc ships moved, faster than they expected for a primitive ship. And when the Orcs returned fire, their cannons, painted a crude yellow, managed to dent, even penetrate, the thick armored steel of the warships!
But the most surprising of all was the complete lack of warning. There had been no intel on any incoming enemy fleets. Their most advanced satellites, radars, and every surveillance technology, which were capable of detecting even the smallest raft or a stealth aircraft, had detected nothing.
Yet here was an entire fleet of crude wooden ships, as if some toddlers crafted with random materials in kindergarten, had somehow evaded every form of surveillance and now threatened to overwhelm them.
At that moment, they noticed the Orcs were beginning to encircle them while constantly firing arrows and hurling projectiles at the soldiers. Among the attackers, some wore distinctive robes and wielded magical staff, unleashing powerful energy blasts at the defenders.
"Keep firing! Keep firing!" one of the soldiers shouted.
However, communication between the soldiers was a mess. Their radios weren't working due to static reception and were forced to yell over the din of battle. The suppressive fire of the enemy archers kept the defenders pinned down to what little cover they could manage to hide from in their ships.
"We're getting slaughtered here! We need a plan!" one soldier bellowed, desperation in his voice.
"We need support now, Private! Call in Command to get... anything over here!" Another soldier stuttered in a hasty exhalation of his venerable breath, his gasps breathing the pistonic gasses his sniper rifle emitted from each shot he took.
"I'm trying, but the radio's barely working! It's got to be some kind of magic disrupting the signal," the radio operator replied with frustration edging his words.
"What do we do now? We're cut off from Command, and these Orcs are kicking our asses!" the second soldier exclaimed.
"Or going to rape our asses if we don't figure something out!" the first soldier added grimly.
The radio operator quickly assessed their situation. "You said you used to be a professional boat driver, right?" he asked the second soldier.
"Yeah," the soldier nodded.
"Alright, we're making a run for the Riverine Patrol boats. Tree, I need you on the Gatling gun. We'll draw as much of their fire as we can and give our guys some breathing room," the radio operator took charge.
The soldier named Tree grinned, hefting his weapon. "Alright. Let's see how these Orcs handle a taste of .50 caliber rounds coming at their faces."
The radio operator turned to a nearby group of pinned-down sailors. "Hey, you! Cover fire!"
"You got it!" one of the sailors responded. He and four others quickly manned the anti-air guns and opened fire on the Orcs with everything they had.
With the covering fire laying down a barrage, the group of soldiers leaped out of their cover and made a break line speed to the Riverine Patrol boats. They dodged arrows and magical projectiles by mere inches as they made their desperate dash.
Some Orcs and their shamans on one of the ships focused their attacks on the three soldiers, but thanks to the covering fire from the rest of the patrol unit, they managed to reach the armored safety of the Riverine Patrol boats unharmed.
One soldier took the driver's seat, the second rode shotgun, and the third climbed onto the front of the boat, taking control of the mounted Gatling gun.
"Let's show them what real firepower looks like!" The gunner yelled, mounting the Gatling gun as the driver ignited the engine, and the boat roared to life with a deep throaty growl as if it prepared to unleash hell on their attackers.
"Floor it!" the soldier yelled.
The driver slammed the throttle forward, and the patrol boat surged ahead like a wild animal freed from its cage.
The boat soon broke through the perimeter, racing past the encircling Orc fleet. The soldier manning the Gatling gun cocked it and opened fire at the Orcs, spraying them in a rain storm of .50 Calibre bullets.
His gunfire was wild, erratic, and a chaotic mess that flew everywhere from out to the sky, into the sea that caused a huge splash of water to kick up from the sea, and into the ranks of Orcs on the surrounding ships.
However, their hastily thought of plan threw a wrench in the plans of the Orcs. The Orc Captain's initial plans were to surround them in an encircled position similar to how they would control their herds then shoot every single one of them down with their magic and projectiles. But the sudden appearance of a 'Metal Beast' suddenly burst out of their formation in a panic-like state whilst firing wildly invisible arrows with an interesting 'boom' 'boom' noises that struck several of them down demanded their immediate attention.
Eight of the Orc ships broke formation and chased the patrol boat under heavy machine gun fire.
"We've got a tail, V!" the gunner yelled as he kept firing.
The driver shifted to a lower gear and swung the boat sharply to the side. The boat launched off a large wave, soaring into the air before slamming back down onto the water with a heavy splash. As soon as they landed, the driver executed a hard left turn, giving the gunner the stability he needed to unleash another volley of bullets.
Within seconds, the gunner had taken down over two dozen Orcs on their ships.
"What a fucking roller coaster ride, amirite?" the driver quipped with a grin on his face.
"Nice driving. Let's keep it up," the radio operator smiled optimistically over their chances of survival.
But their momentary victory was short-lived. As they looked back, they saw the Orc ships abandoning their chase and rallying the remaining forces into one massive horde. The Orcs were preparing for a full-scale charge and intent on breaking through the defensive perimeter by the sheer weights of their numbers.
To the soldiers' shock, the Orcs laughed enthusiastically as they jumped from their ships and landed on the ocean's surface!
[GIF]
To further their shock, instead of sinking, all the Orcs stood on the water as if it were solid ground underneath!
"WAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!"
"WAAAAGGGHHH!!!!"
"WAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!"
"Jesus H. Christ! They can walk on water?!?!" one soldier exclaimed in utter disbelief.
"Damn it! Defend the perimeter at all costs!" the radio operator barked in urgency as the Orcs began their terrifying advance across the water… literally.
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While the patrol units engaged the Orcs at sea, some enemy forces managed to slip through and began to set foot on the shores of Austronesia.
However, as soon as they landed, many were met with a torrent of gunfire, with armed soldiers of the Liberation Army rushing headlong into the embattled ground, determined to hold the line against the invading Orcs. But despite their efforts, the defenders struggled to prevent a breakthrough.
Killing an Orc was no easy task, as even 7.62 x 39mm rounds struggled to penetrate their skin, which was as thick as concrete. Their strength was also terrifying by human standards, as they are capable of crushing boulders with their bare hands.
Eurylochus opened fire with his LMG, unleashing a storm of suppressive fire that shot three Orcs, riddling their green-skinned bodies to a bloody mess of ballistic entry and exit wounds. When his belt ran dry, he knelt down to undergo the long reloading of his weapon, which the process was painstakingly slow.
"Watch out!" Odysseus shouted in warning.
At that moment, Eurylochus caught sight of an Orc ship's cannon aimed in his direction, and a projectile hurtled towards him, exploding nearby and sending him and his machine gun flying several feet. As he struggled to his feet, he saw the projectile on the ground in front him, but the round seemed to be strangely green and alive.
"Kekekeke!"
To his shock, he was met with a goblin, who had somehow survived the impact after being launched from a cannon at incredible speed.
"They're firing motherfucking goblins?!"
The goblin lunged at Eurylochus with its steel dagger aimed for his throat. But he managed to keep the creature at bay, holding its weapon away from his vital organs for a good arm's length of distance.
Seizing the moment, Odysseus sprang forward and delivered a fierce whip kick to the goblin's neck, sending it flying across the battlefield.
"Damn, you're strong as hell," Eurylochus remarked, catching his breath. "Where's that professor you guys dance romantically back there?"
"She's in the mining station with the others, and my golems are supporting your men," Odysseus replied, glancing back to where his two Earth Golems were mowing down Orcs with heavy gunfire from their autocannons.