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The southern grasslands were not fertile, and the orcs could not share the scarce resources with the barbarians, leading to constant conflicts. The fighting between the two sides had lasted for tens of thousands of years. When the orcs sought dominance over the Mainland by moving south, they once relaxed their blockade on the barbarians. However, the astonishing reproduction and expansion rate of the barbarians soon alarmed the brave orc leaders. In just a few decades, half of the northern regions were overrun by barbarians, and female barbarians gave birth annually, outpacing even the later generations of half-orcs in fertility. Fortunately, a common infectious disease turned into a devastating plague among the defenseless barbarians, allowing the orcs to launch an offensive and drive these terrifying beings back to the ice plains. The orcs had also several times completely defeated the barbarians on the ice plains, but once the barbarians retreated to the Arctic tundra, the orcs could no longer pursue them. Decades later, the barbarians would emerge from the Crystal Grand Canyon and repopulate the ice plains. To address this issue, the orcs built the famous "Hurricane Fortress" at the Crystal Grand Canyon, effectively blocking the barbarians' path to the south.

However, four hundred years ago, the orc empire collapsed, and the troops stationed on the northern ice plains were largely redeployed to the south to fend off human pursuers. The barbarians seized the opportunity to capture the "Hurricane Fortress" and reestablished their territory on the ice plains. The orcs were temporarily powerless to clear them out. Fortunately, the barbarians, who had not entered the south for millennia, had lost their ancestors' experience and took much time to adapt to the new environment. By the time they finally gathered strength to move south again, the orcs had recovered and sealed off all passages to and from the ice plains.

In the following centuries, the orcs continuously sought to eliminate this threat from behind, while the barbarians, with their formidable qualities and human support, engaged in a long tug-of-war with the orcs. The Northern Legion deployed by the orcs in the north consisted primarily of the White Bear, Snow Wolf, Snow Eagle, and Mammoth tribes, with a standing force of 200,000 soldiers, backed by numerous tribal reserves that could be mobilized temporarily. In recent years, the orc king has continually reinforced the northern front, adding another 100,000 troops. Additionally, since humans began intervening in the northern war via sea, the orcs spent vast sums to establish the elite "North Sea Fleet," specifically to intercept human naval routes. The barbarians, limited by their total population, maintained a standing force of only 150,000. However, the barbarians' racial homogeneity meant they did not carry the burden of numerous weak vassal races like the orcs did, making their overall strength quite formidable. During major wars, the entire race, including women and children, could join the battlefield, potentially reaching a total force of nearly 500,000 to 600,000. If not for the high cost of such mobilization, the Northern Legion alone might not have been able to defend against the barbarian attacks.

According to reports from the Temple, since I stole the "Doomsday Horn" over half a year ago, the Orc Alliance's long-prepared northern campaign plan has been fully launched. Apart from key garrison units, the Orc Alliance mobilized 500,000 troops to advance from five directions towards the northern barbarian territories. Combined with the 200,000 troops of the Northern Legion permanently stationed there, they launched a comprehensive offensive against the barbarians. The recently reinforced 100,000 troops were integrated into the 500,000-strong army, providing valuable guidance and training based on their familiarity with northern warfare.

Facing the unprecedented offensive of the orcs, the barbarians employed their traditional tactics: holding several fortified strongholds to block the main forces, while smaller tribes dispersed into the forests to harass orc supply lines. Despite the orcs' overwhelming numbers, they made little progress against the barbarians, who fought as a united populace. Of course, if "War Saint" Leimen personally intervened, capturing the strongholds would not be impossible. However, due to concerns about human Sword Saints invading the alliance, Leimen remained in the Holy City, unable to venture deep into the north. As the brief summer ended and snow blanketed the ice plains of the Northern Country, the orc armies had to retreat slowly in the freezing cold.

If the situation had ended there, the barbarians could claim victory. However, the prolonged summer offensive delayed their efforts to stockpile food for winter. Even with human maritime supplies, they could not meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of tribespeople. Thus, the barbarian commander had no choice but to target the orc supply lines. Hundreds of thousands of barbarians poured out from the strongholds, pursuing the retreating orc armies. The seemingly disengaged orcs, after being successfully ambushed and having their supplies stolen several times, regrouped their forces on the "Thunder Swamp Plain" in the southern part of the ice plains, engaging the barbarians in a decisive battle.

Then, the "Doomsday Horn" sounded across the battlefield.

The sight of thousands of berserk orcs charging forward, a tidal wave of destruction, is now found only in ancient epics. Since "Sword Saint Ancestor" Leinster took the "Doomsday Horn," no one had witnessed such a spectacle. This was fortunate for all other races except the orcs. On that day, the barbarians paid the price with hundreds of thousands of corpses, witnessing the living nightmare that emerged from the epic.

The "Battle of Thunder Swamp" became known in later generations as the "Horn of the Orc Revival." In this battle, the orcs deployed 150,000 elite warriors from their five major combat races and 300,000 troops from vassal races. The barbarians fielded 300,000 troops, while human aid included 3,000 priests, 200 regular mages, 4,000 battle mages (magic apprentices or mage monks who had not advanced to regular mages but possessed magical powers and trained extensively in lower-level spells), 3,000 knights, and 5,000 mercenaries. Initially, the barbarians, supported by human mages and priests, achieved continuous victories, pushing back orc positions. However, when all barbarian forces were engaged and lured into a narrow terrain, the orc Great Shaman sounded the "Doomsday Horn." Countless blood-red "Rage Element" orbs filled the sky like stars on a summer night, raining down and merging with orc warriors. Only about 50,000 elite orc troops received the "Rage Elements," but these berserk orcs shattered the barbarian formations, slaughtering the barbarian warriors, who were as tough as orc bull and bear tribes, as easily as they would goblins. The human participants did not escape unscathed; only a few dozen mages and over a hundred priests managed to escape using spatial magic, while all other human forces were wiped out. Ultimately, apart from a few thousand surrendered barbarians, fewer than 10,000 barbarians survived.