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Despite being faced with thousands of Orcs, I felt no fear. Quantity was not the decisive factor, just as in my previous life when thousands of Song soldiers would often be routed by a mere hundred Jin Dynasty cavalry. Morale, training, equipment, and command were the true sources of an army's strength. The only thing that puzzled me was the bizarre reason behind this battle's outcome.

I let out a long howl towards the sky, preparing to charge into the village directly, when suddenly, I heard dozens of wolf howls coming from four directions, rapidly drawing closer. They were my disciples from the nearby villages rushing over.

Having originally planned to ambush the Orc chieftain, I immediately changed my mind. I let out a series of howls, giving orders for all my disciples to encircle them while continuously howling, creating the illusion of a large group of Wolf Riders converging. As twilight fell, the Orcs, without night vision, couldn't clearly see how many Wolf Riders there actually were.

The already chaotic Orcs panicked even more upon realizing they were "surrounded." Some who attempted to break out of the village were swiftly killed by the Wolves that emerged from the darkness. The rest fled back into the village as fast as they could. More and more Orcs gathered together, but instead of forming a fighting force, they ended up squeezing together, each wanting the others to be on the outskirts.

In the midst of the chaos, a few clever Orcs stepped forward to restore order. However, such actions required putting themselves in a position to attract everyone's attention; otherwise, in the midst of all the clamor, who could hear what anyone else was saying? Thus, several Orcs who looked different from the norm gathered together, climbing onto a ruin at the center of the crowd and shouting loudly.

This, however, was the opportunity I had been waiting for. Having experienced several Orc raids, I knew their nature well. Immediately, I activated my newly cultivated Nine Yin Yellow Springs Phantom Body Technique, turning into a fleeting shadow as I lunged at the leaders.

The leaders were loudly rallying the Orcs when they suddenly saw a white figure descending from above. At the same time, one of them had his skull pierced by a claw and fell dead. The others let out startled cries before turning to run. But how could I allow them to escape? My claws seemed to transform into eight arms, striking down the remaining leaders almost simultaneously.

"A Headhunter Demon! It's a Headhunter Demon!"

A panic-stricken cry erupted from the Orcs, spreading like ripples in water. Yes, this was the terror that the Nine Yin White Bone Claw had instilled in the Orcs. Seeing my killing spree, they completely lost their courage to fight and desperately tried to flee. However, my disciples, who had been waiting outside, wouldn't let these defeated foes get away. Dozens of young Wolf Riders herded the Orcs around like sheep. After half an hour of pursuit, all the remaining Orcs finally lost their will to resist. Under the watchful eyes of the Wolves, they knelt and surrendered, huddling together to await their fate.

Chapter 6 - Moonlit Wolf Hunt: Not a Soliloquy

A bonfire blazed in the central square of the Frostbite Village, and the grim tally of casualties was finally counted. It seemed that some villagers had managed to escape before the onslaught, but we eventually gathered over one hundred and fifty corpses. Yet, this did little to quell my rage. Over one hundred and twenty of those bodies had been skinned, and many were gnawed down to mere bones.

Cannibalism was a means of survival for the half-orcs, and though werewolves would kill entire groups of them for such acts, they wouldn't be enraged by it. However, half-orcs never stripped the hides from their own kind, as their physiques could withstand the bitter cold of the Half-Orc Wasteland. Only one race was capable of such savagery – humans.

"It was indeed due to human intervention that so many half-orcs gathered, and it was also because of human cunning and strength that the village fell so swiftly."

Soon, my disciples found the corpse of the young werewolf who had sent out the distress howl. Contrary to my expectations, none of my disciples from Frostbite Village were present during the attack. Only two rushed back to the village after it had fallen, issuing a call for aid while charging into battle.

From the injuries on their bodies, they must have clashed with human experts. One was riddled with sword and knife wounds, with a fatal slash across the waist, suggesting a clash with a Sword Master. The other was charred black, clearly the result of magical damage, though it was unclear whether it was the work of a mage or a Beast Knight.

Later, we discovered a dozen young werewolf children hidden in the village's secret cellar. Sadly, these youngsters knew nothing about the events that transpired, not even why the villagers had gone out. I had no choice but to refocus my attention on the surviving half-orcs.

With most of their leaders slain by me, I had to glean information from the remaining ones. Fortunately, my reputation still carried weight. After skewering the eighteenth half-orc, I was able to piece together some useful information from their muddled accounts.

There were around a hundred humans who had come from the Devouring Swamp to the south, pursuing or capturing a group of orcs. The orcs fled into the village, only to find the humans already prepared, having dispatched forces and recruited half-orcs to aid their assault. With the combined might of half-orcs, human experts, and magic, the village's defenses were quickly breached, followed by the massacre of all its inhabitants. The humans captured their target, stole wolf pelts and some gemstones, then left the village while the half-orcs scoured for food.

The humans had been gone for at least an hour and a half, and the Devouring Swamp lay roughly four hundred miles away. If they were on horseback, we likely wouldn't catch up to them before they entered the swamp. Pursuing them into the swamp was beyond our capabilities, as only specialized smugglers knew of a few perilous secret routes through the vast expanse. For others, it was a one-way trip.

However, there were numerous horse corpses on the battlefield, victims of the village's guard wolves. Coupled with their chase from the swamp, perhaps they didn't have enough mounts or stamina to flee at full speed. Thus, I still had a chance to intercept these perpetrators before they reached the swamp. But how did such a large group of humans and warhorses manage to traverse the treacherous pathways of the swamp?