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Although the "Scepter of Dominion" automatically returned to the Black Moon Temple, the "Grand Illusion Sage" began researching its secrets using the information collected at the time. Later, all twelve sages perished under the Earth Mother Goddess's divine punishment, and most of their magical achievements were left in the Magic Towers they had built in unknown planes, making them impossible for future generations to find. However, the research materials on the "Scepter of Dominion" survived because they needed to be discussed with the elders of the Radiant Temple who had helped activate the scepter. Although the Radiant Temple lacked the power to match or surpass the "Scepter of Dominion," they eventually developed the "Leadership Art," which significantly enhanced human military strength.

"Chief Bloodhoof, I entrust the first round of battle to the Minos warriors." I said to the Minos chief, who had already drawn his great axe. In recent days, more Minos tribespeople had arrived in Fontainebleau, increasing the number of defending warriors to four thousand. With the sturdy and tall city walls, we had no need to worry about a human assault.

"Rest assured, City Lord White Wolf. We will teach these humans who the true warriors are and who the slaves are." Bloodhoof was also fired up by Basten's declaration of battle. It seems that the "Leadership Art" not only boosts one's own morale but can also increase the enemy's fighting spirit, especially when the user lacks eloquence and wisdom.

As the war drums of the human army rumbled, several formations advanced, but the first to arrive were the boulders launched by catapults. Admittedly, the craftsmanship of humans far exceeds that of orcs by one or two levels. Although the forty catapults below the city were hastily made, their range and power matched those of the military equipment from my previous life in the Song Dynasty. While some of this was due to special materials and magic, the craftsmanship alone was still exceptional.

"Hmph, once we win, I'll keep all the craftsmen from the human army. We desperately need skilled artisans right now."

It's no wonder I'm envious. The logistics system in Fontainebleau is always asking for more hands, but apart from the humans captured from the "City of Fallen" and the half-orcs, there's no one else available. While I can control the half-orcs, I can't give them intelligence. With their degenerated minds, they can handle brick-making and construction, but manufacturing machinery is beyond them. After selecting from tens of thousands of half-orcs, fewer than a hundred are barely usable. If it weren't for the many artisans in the Minos tribe, I wouldn't have even completed the "Nine-Headed Ice Dragon Cannon." Even so, there are no catapults on the Qingcheng Fort except for the "Ice Dragon Cannon."

Without catapults, we could only endure the attacks of the massive stones hurled by the enemy. The "Ice Dragon Cannon" could eliminate the enemy's catapults if used, but that would only drive the humans to despair and retreat, leading to an even larger force attacking us in the future. Our strategic goal is to cripple the Duchy of Langton's forces, ensuring that any future attempts to seize Fontainebleau would lack the necessary strength, thus forcing them to cooperate with us and share the benefits of the Golden Trade Route while protecting us from other human powers. Therefore, we must consume as much of the human army as possible at the Qingcheng Fort.

However, I didn't expect the human siege weapons to be so excellent. As the barrage of stones intensified, even our sturdy walls couldn't protect the warriors forever. Hiding behind the battlements would only lead to a human assault. While I intended to deplete the human forces, I certainly didn't want unnecessary casualties among my own troops, so I issued an order immediately.

"Inform the unit guarding the 'Ice Dragon Cannon' to switch to stones and launch them in normal mode to suppress the human attack."

"Wait, White Wolf. We said the Minos warriors would handle the first round. Don't underestimate us."

"Chief Bloodhoof, I never doubted the courage of the Minos warriors, but I don't want unnecessary casualties."

"Heh, White Wolf, watch closely. Don't be so surprised that your jaw drops. Boys, use yesterday's formation, moo~"

With Bloodhoof's command, the four thousand Minos warriors neatly connected the two halves of their totem poles and erected them on the city walls. A faint yellow glow shone as each totem pole opened a semicircular light shield eight meters in diameter.

"Totem of Vigilance?!" The first to exclaim was Linda, the female fox Shaman and follower of Catherine, and all the watching orcs on the city walls were stunned, including the usually calm Catherine.

The tradition of orc Shamans isn't passed down through learning but through a method similar to the Tibetan Buddhist empowerment, activating the apprentice's basic abilities. When an apprentice's ability is activated, they gain a foundational skill in totems, war songs, or spells based on their innate talent. War songs like "Song of Dispel" can remove ordinary negative effects, healing spells like "Healing Spell" can treat minor injuries, and totem skills like "Totem of Vigilance" can create a force field that reduces physical damage by half using special totem poles. In other words, anyone capable of using the "Totem of Vigilance" is considered a novice Shaman apprentice.

Out of the entire Orc Alliance's population of over twenty million, only one in ten thousand has the innate talent to receive the tradition. Even with the artifact "Eye of the War God" to awaken wisdom, this ratio increases to only one in a thousand. Thus, there are only around twenty thousand individuals in the entire Orc Alliance capable of using the "Totem of Vigilance." This explains why I was so surprised to see over two hundred Shamans in the Minos tribe.

However, no matter how astonishing, nothing compares to the breathtaking sight before me. Four thousand "Totems of Vigilance" opened simultaneously, forming a pale yellow curtain of light on the city walls, enveloping all the Minos warriors. Already physically robust, the warriors, bolstered by the totems and the protective shields, easily withstood the enemy's catapult attacks without injury, only feeling pain.

"I must be having such an absurd dream, seeing thousands of Shaman apprentices at once. How bizarre."