In the World of Sword and Magic as Space Marine

Chapter 32: Raid on Greenhill

Three Days Ago,

Mia starts her day with a simple breakfast as she opens the guild's reception window as other staff members get ready to open the main door. It was the same routine as yesterday and days before as adventurers entered the guild building to accept quests based on their ranking. All this was interrupted when Greenhill's security bell rang every three times continually, signaling the town's invasion from foreign intruders.

Mia and many others in the guild building went full alert as they went outside to witness many civilians running away from the southern gate while guards ran towards them. Before Mia could stop one of the civilians to ask a question, one of the town guards came running, acting as a messenger.

"We need every available adventurer in the southern gate now. The orc raiders are coming and it seems they somehow evaded border guards," The messenger explained the situation and moved on to report to northern guards. After learning the dire situation they are in, the entire guild staff members stop their daily duties and begin coordination to defend their home.

Most of the Greenhill adventurers aren't high-level since they are D and E ranks. The reason is that Greenhill is a lumber town located close to a heavily fortified outpost. With the military presence and routine patrols, the region doesn't experience high-level monster threats.

Greenhill experiences low-level monster threats, which the military considers pests and does not move their force unless they encounter them during patrols. For this reason, the kingdom utilizes adventurers to handle goblins, wild beast, or low-level bandits. Unfortunately, Greenhill is about to experience disaster known as orc raiders as somehow they evaded military patrols and about to attack a small town with a population of 230.

"Gather everyone; I don't care if they join the guild today. I will personally lead the adventurers and defend with guards. Meanwhile, I want everyone to bring supplies from the storage and send emergency messages to the nearest city to send additional force." The Guildmaster instructed everyone on their new tasks and left the guild building with 30 adventurers following him.

Mia and others follow the guildmaster's order and secure various health potions to spare weapons from the storage. It seems everything was going to be ok until everyone saw a large explosion coming south gate.

BOOM!

The shockwave knocked down everyone while a black cloud appeared in the distance. Before anyone could realize what just happened, wooden debris from the explosion hit the houses and streets as the sound of battle once again can be heard.

Unknown to everyone, including Mia, the orcs brought a one-of-a-kind weapon to a mysterious supplier to the raid given to them. The reserved item was a large two barrels with a fuse that connected to the top. The supplier gave the orc leader simple instructions in the common tongue, "Light the fuse with fire and place it on the wall."

The Orc leader, who previously received new weapons and armor supplies, didn't question the supplier when he saw this new product. The Orc leader knew this supplier is human but didn't understand why he is doing business with orcs just like him. As long as orcs have enough gold to pay for it, they received everything they needed for the next raid.

Imagine his surprise when simple barrels destroyed the town wall and killed the majority of the human defenders. The orc raiders continued their attack by the dust cleared and killed the remaining human defenders, including adventurers, without much of a resistance.

The Greenhill fell by late afternoon as many civilians were either captured or killed by the orc raiders. When the raiders left the town with captured human slaves, they razed the village to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes and human remains.

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William retrieved three months' worth of food supplies from his inventory he purchased a few weeks ago. It was enough for 40 people to eat and regain their energy while William listened to Mia's story and waited for Sir Dolven's army.

Soon, a group of knight cavalry led by Sir Dolven arrived at the orc massacre and saw who was responsible. Not surprised, Sir Dolven ordered his men to secure the area and send a single knight to deliver a message to the approaching army and two commanders.

"The moment I heard explosions from a distance, I knew it was your doing. So, who are these people? Some of them look familiar." Sir Dolven said to William after getting off his horse and saw Mia. Seeing her metal crude shackle, Sir Dolven got a general idea of what happened and who those people are as he recognized Mia's guild uniform.

"They are from Greenhill and I'm not sure where to take them since the town is no more," William said to Sir Dolven with great concern as they can't take them to the capital. At best, they could drop these people off at different regions run by other high nobles, but this idea didn't agree with William.

"That decision has to be made by Prince Benton. They will be here soon and I will make sure healers and engineers take care of them. What worries me is how orcs managed to reach all the way here without encountering patrols." Sir Dolven asks essential regional security questions since this region previously belonged to a fallen noble who betrayed them two weeks ago. Following the king's order, someone from the capital would replace the traitor and maintain the region until official replacement received the king's edict.

"That is a good question and I think we should investigate when we reach Greenhill," William said to the old knight commander and looked beyond to see the approaching army with two other commanders leading them. It seems the young prince and the Duchess decided to see what exactly happened and make proper decisions with former townspeople of lumber town.

When the army arrived, Sir Dolven gave instructions to provide the best care to civilians and make sure they record the incident. Mia volunteered to help with the report since she can work closely with townsfolk. Sir Dolven will eventually report to the capital bureaucracy and determine what to do with the destroyed town.

"William, I believe our best course of action is to send these people to Deron. I will have knights escort them and we will continue our way to the capital." Prince Benton said to William and other commanders as he had other obligations to reach the capital in time. It seems callous, but with three armies spread thin with new territories from the expedition, the prince made the only choice he had with a sudden raid done by orcs.

"I agree, but it will take six days for knights to return here and catch up with us. I don't know how much we can spare, not to mention we also have to check the outpost to find out how this incident happened." The Duchess added the additional issue after Prince Benton explained his plan. Hearing this, William steps forward to solve the first solution.

"I will escort the townsfolk to Deron and return fast as possible. With my ride, I'm sure I can make it back here on the fourth day and meet you all at the outpost the next day."

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Meanwhile, The Southern Border Outpost of Alderim,

A large man with a crude battleax slowly walks over countless bodies in the hallway as his armor and weapon drip trails of blood. When a man exited the hallway and stood at the edge of the watchtower's top, he saw a crimson sunset.

The large warrior smiled behind his hamlet and tossed the enemy commander's head, which hit the ground below him and bounced off. The mighty warrior raised his right hand, still holding a bloody ax, signaling the victory over their enemy with absolute slaughter.

On the ground floor, witnessing the blood ax raised, a high, large band of warriors (115 men) howled and raised their weapons high.

The large man shouted out with all his might, giving everyone below him the thrilling sensation on the ground level.

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULL FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"

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[M36 Kantrael Pattern Lasgun x 50: The standard issue weapon of the Imperial Guard and most reliable weapon against enemies of the Imperium. This laser rifle can be modified a thousand different ways and can withstand harsh weather. While powerful and effective against other humans, it is the weakest weapon against other race factions including chaos.]

[Unit Summon (Astra Militarum: Catachan Jungle Fighters) x 30: From the deadly home planet from Catachan, Catachan Jungle Fighters are known for jungle warfare and heavily developed physiques. Each fighter is equipped with flak armor, Catachan knives, explosives and Mark IV Lascarbine.]

[Support Order (Valkyrie Deployment) x1: Call air support of three Valkyrie assault carriers armed with multi-laser, hellstrike missiles and door-mounted heavy bolters. After the bombardment, all three Valkyries drop a total of 30 standard Imperial Guardsmen.]