The Autocraft Alchemist

Once he finished sounding the horn Gunther doubled over hacking and coughing "Get him some healing!" Jackie said. They played one of their best cards first. Not only did they punch the orcs in the face, the buff from Gunther's skill would make things a lot easier for a time.

"Jeet, is your team ready?" Jackie asked through comms.

"And waiting Boss."

"Right. See if you can't find us some juicy targets."

A line of ranged attackers had been placed behind the tanks and other melee. There was a quick horn blast and they all readied at once. And the sound of bow strings being pulled and arias being chanted echoed out. Once the horn sounded a second time a myriad of ranged attacks clouded the sky. Arrows, spells, javelins and other throwing weapons arced high and then fell towards the orc battle lines.

The orcs shouted out at such a flood of attacks being sent against them. And they hunkered down around several key figures. One of the problems with orcs was that their armor styles were all the same. Melee fighter? Leathers with metal at key points. Ranged? Leather with metal at key points. Caster? More of the same. Some of them wore headdresses of different animals. While others had elaborate face and chest paintings. All of it meant nothing to outsiders, and did nothing to help pick out the more valuable targets.

One easy way to locate high priority targets was by hosing the orcish lines with firepower. Then the clerics or other users of Barrier Magic would out themselves through their skill usage. Only the problem with that is they would be also defended by that very same barrier magic. It would have been a waste of resources decades ago. But while the orcs appeared to have stayed the same, the humans had made advancements. One of them being more relevant than others.

Jeet's voice came over the comms, "3 second delay on attacks until the potions land. Tossers get tossing." The ranged attacks suddenly stopped. And several members of the allied forces with the Throw Skill all grabbed a dark blue potion vial that was already waiting for them. Then they levered their arms back, and threw as hard as they could. While potions weren't the most aerodynamic item. The Throw Skill didn't really care what was being thrown. And aside from a few that fell short the potions landed on their intended targets.

After the 3 second delay the ranged line started firing again. Only when the cacophony of attacks should have hit the barriers they instead fell through. The orcs weren't prepared for their barrier defenses to suddenly fail. And their bunching together strategy became the end for many before they scattered.

"We got hits on most of the clerics. Kills on over half. It should take them some time to heal up and get back into action," Jeet said.

"Right. Those potions worked better than we thought. Rutger I'll buy you a beer after all this."

"First we need to get through it. Please don't be raising any flags," Rutger's voice came over comms. "Also please stay focused."

"Bah," Jackie said. "Keep up the bombardment. With a loss like that they'll be pushing soon."

There was a roar from the orc lines then. Something that sounded different than before. Something that caused Jackie to twitch and jump into the span between the two armies. "Jeet! Get those potions ready," she screamed into the comms.

"What? Already? Dammit. We aren't ready yet. Didn't think-"

"Just do it," Rutger said. "I'll try and keep her up in the meantime."

No sooner had Jackie landed did a green form come barreling in from the orc battle line. The orc was at least a head taller than the others, his eyes were glowing red, and his chest, face, and arms were painted with blood red runes.

The orc's twin axes swung at the same time and Jackie stepped back. She called out her taunt, "Fight me!" And then took the next single armed axe swing on her shield. The impact was heavier than she expected and she slid back half a step with a grunt. A cool feeling spread through her body as Rutger's healing came. While a barrier appeared to her right blocking an axe attack from the other hand.

As they fought she struggled to get a blow of her own in. And rather spent most of her energy on defense. Even when she managed to block perfectly the attacks from the orc were strong enough to shave off her health. As the orc unleashed a continuous barrage towards Jackie the temp increased with each swing. To the point that even with her advanced level and stats it was getting hard to properly defend. If it wasn't for Rutger's aid she might have fallen already. If only she had still been in her prime…

"Ready when you are," Jeet finally said.

"Just throw it and tell me," Jackie said.

"Now." As soon as Jeet's voice came through the comms Jackie jumped back. Dodging another twin axe attack. The grass of the meadow had already been churned into mud from their combat. And when she dodged the axes they bit into the earth instead. With a flick of his wrists the orc sent two clods of dirt flying towards her. While it was easy enough to block the unexpected attack, defending had unbalanced her. And if the orc followed up it could have spelled some trouble. Only the potion thrown by Jeet had already smashed against the orc.

The orc sucked in a huge gulp of air and roared again. But as the sound escaped from his throat the roar became weaker. Jackie jumped back again before the follow up potion smashed square onto the orc's chest. The next noise that came from the orc was more of a scream than a roar. And the acid sizzled as it bubbled away at the orc's skin.

Jackie crouched low to the ground and jumped high. Ragers were always a pain to deal with since they could take, and dish out, so much damage. With the Health Dampening Potion reducing that toughness and the Acid Potion keeping it occupied Jackie had a rare chance. She utilized that opportunity by jumping high. And then using her falling weight to slash into what should have been an extremely tough target. Only her slash cut through the weakened orc surprisingly easily.

As Jackie took a moment to gather her breath she looked over the battlefield. While she had been fighting with the rager they had middling success in staving off the orcs. And there were several places where the two lines had already clashed. One of the sure ways to lose a fight against orcs was to fight on their terms. They had already pulled them from the forest. Now they needed to escape the melee.

"That one must have been a boss. Good support Rutger," Jackie said. "Now give me a status report."

"Already engaging at the worst part of the lines," Albright said. Grace didn't answer, but she was probably there as well.

"Securing the west," Klein said. Jackie gave that direction a quick look. It was the side that was better off. And the high level frost mage had littered the battlefield with several frozen statues that had once been orcs.

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Other reports came in and she parsed through them. "East it is," Jackie said. It was the side of the lines that needed the most help. "Get those birds in the sky and start raining down whatever we got. Save some of the acid for the ragers. Who knows how many we are going to see today. We can't only hope-" She was cut off as an orc threw a javelin at her. Which she noticed just in time to raise her shield and block it. "Cheeky. Get some ranged to make counter attacks against their own." No sooner had she finished talking and an arrow had already found the throat of the one who had attacked her.

Jackie jumped into the air and cleared a large part of the battlefield. As she landed she crushed an orc under her shield and started slashing into another. It was a marathon and not a sprint.

***

There was a clamor in the command room when the orcs charged. Then the main screen zoomed in on an old timer from the clan. Richard tried to remember his name, and when he saw the horn that he was carrying it came to him. Gunther. The old timer put the horn to his lips and then blew out. A wave of force could be seen racing between the two forces and when it impacted orcs were scattered everywhere. Richard found it surprising to see that such a distance could be crossed by sound alone.

Everyone in the room watched on in rapt amazement. And then there was a flurry of activity all at once. As the staff that were providing support for the battle suddenly remembered their roles.

At Lloyd's command they tapped into the comms and Richard could hear Jackie shouting out orders. He recognized one of his potions being handed out and thrown by several in the back line. The dark blue of the vial suggested that it was a Blue Scale Vial. And when it hit the barriers Richard had a thought. Would the mana dampening effect of the potion work? When the attacks resumed and then broke through the barriers he cheered with the others. If the clerics had been allowed to block the damage from the ranged attacks, then the orc's charge could have been uncontested.

Again one of Richard's potions came into play with the giant orc. The hulk was struck by another dampening potion, probably health, and then further weakened with an acid one. He wasn't sure how he felt about seeing his potions be used in combat. By taking the lives of foes his potions had saved the lives of allies. He had unleashed them into the world with the knowledge that would happen. Only seeing them in action hit different.

After Jackie finished off the large orc the melee finally happened. While Richard struggled to watch as the two sides cut away at one another. He knew that his healing potions, weak as they may be, would surely be put to use. And for anything that needed healing from someone with the skill they could be topped off again with one of his mana potions. Even though he was just sitting there he had already done his best.

The two sides fought back and forth for some time. A withdrawal was attempted by the humans, but the orcs stuck to them like glue. It was only when the drones came into play that some breathing room was created. Each of the drones had been fitted with several Acid Potions. And as they dropped them onto the orcish lines they screamed in pain. While again it was gruesome, it was enough for the humans to find a chance to regroup and pull back.

Retreating was all fine and all, but didn't it mean that they were having trouble fighting against the orcs? It was only when the humans charged that Richard couldn't believe that he was seeing. With the momentum back on the allied forces side they dug into the orc. Who refused to retreat themselves and they were cut down one after the other.

"They are routed," Lloyd said. "Though who knows how many more wait in the forests."

"I would hope that this was it," Richard said.

"While that would be nice if it were true, such an assumption could be deadly," Lloyd said and then called out, "Get the drones up high and see what we can find. With any luck there won't be any more coming."

Richard watched as the staff controlling the drones all jumped into action at once. Several of the feeds changed and they could see viewpoints rising up and over the forest. From the gaps in the trees and clearings Richard noticed that were bodies of orcs scattered along the path that they had taken. There wasn't enough resolution to see what might have felled them. Perhaps they had been slain by their own kind?

"We are reaching the range distance of the drones," One of the staff said, "So far, within 20 kilometers there doesn't appear to be signs of any more orcs incoming… Wait we found something. We'll put it on main."

The main screen switched to a view point that was rather high, higher than the others that Richard had been watching. From what he could make out there was a small group of orcs that were approaching the battlefield. They had their faces covered with some cloth, and were all wearing similar looking armor. It wasn't anything like the other orcs had been equipped with. It felt more put together and intentionally designed. While it also looked a lot less primal than what the orcs on the battlefield had been wearing. Less beast skins or body painting and more cured leather.

"There are maybe 20 orcs making their way towards the battlefield. Informing General Jackie about it now."

"Wait, zoom in some more. What are they doing to the fallen orcs?" Lloyd asked.

From what Richard could see they were moving from body to body. The leading orcs were stabbing each one with a spear while the others maintained their distance.

"Why are they finishing off their own?" Lloyd asked. Only none of the staff present seemed to have any idea. "Forward it on to Jackie as well. She might have an idea."

They watched as the orcs got closer and closer. From the other feeds it was possible to see that the humans had retreated to the far side of the meadow and were preparing for the orcs to come from the forest again. Though since it was only a small band of 20, did that mean that the new orcs were powerful enough to fight against the allied force that remained?

The spear that one of the leading orcs was carrying was exchanged for a staff. Tied to the ends of it were three flags, one a light green similar to the skin of the orc that was holding it. A light, almost straw colored yellow. And finally a deeper green that was similar to the leaves of the trees. After taking several straps into the meadow the orc waved the flags back and forth before driving it into the ground.

Then the orc started stripping, first its armor, and then its clothes. And after a moment it, no she, stood there with the cloth mask still on her face. Otherwise she was naked and barefooted. She then picked up the staff with the flags again and started forward all by herself. They watched as the orc stopped in the middle between the forest and the line of defenders. She once again waved the staff around before she slammed the end into the ground. And she seemed to be saying something.

"Can we make out what she is saying?" Lloyd asked.

"The drones aren't equipped with audio. There were bandwidth considerations and it was considered non essential."

"Damn it."

"Put the comms on then."

Jackie's voice sounded out in the room. "-what in all the hells is this?"

"Looks like something that isn't going to make anyone happy," Rutger said.

"I'm already unhappy Rutger, this is going to bother me a lot more now," Jackie said. From the video they could see her turn her head to the side before she grimaced. "Rockfort! Are you still alive, you old codger? I think that this one is for you."

A short and barrel chested old man appeared from the lines and trotted towards Jackie. They appeared to be arguing back and forth several times before Rockfort approached the orc.

"What is happening?" Lloyd asked. "Where did the comms go?"

"General Jackie… must have turned them off on her end."

From what they could see Rockfort had stopped just short of the orc and was having a conversation with her. He turned and shouted something back to Jacke. Who then stamped her foot onto the ground several times before she waved everyone to stand down.

"Alright. Battle is over. Everyone get your wounds looked at and we'll start sorting through the wounded and corpses." Jackie said. "We'll deal with this off comms. So don't bother me for now." She motioned towards the orc and started walking towards Rockfort.

Lloyd shook his head, stood, and walked over to the nearest staff member. They had been sitting there all day watching on as the battle developed. Richard stifled a groan as stood and then stretched his back. With one last look at the main screen, Jackie was once again arguing with Rockfort, he then headed towards the refreshments.