Especially since how they are doing against the orcs could affect the elves. If the humans are holding their own or just barely winning then the orcs will stay focused on them. However, if the humans are losing or overwhelming the orcs then the orcs might switch targets.

Although, I probably don't need to go find out myself, the elven scouts should be keeping an eye on things. At least I hope they are smart enough to be keeping an eye on things. If they are too arrogant to do even that much then they might not be worth saving.

The only reason I am even considering saving them is for Core's sake, her being the only elf is too sad. Besides, if I save the elves and take them back to the peninsula then they could be very useful in the war. If nothing else, having them teach the beastmen and beasts could be useful.

The sound of marching orcs finally fades away, so I get up and cautiously take a look. The ravine is empty for the moment so I quickly jump across and continue south. I am heading due south straight towards the mountain, mainly to avoid following the same path I came on.

After all, there is no reason to make it easy for the orcs to ambush me, especially if they are prepared. Being surrounded by shamans would make a fight much more difficult to say the least. Just because I am headstrong and like to fight doesn't mean I am stupid, no matter what Myria says.

Of course, if I tell Myria this story I will leave that part out, just so she can yell at me. She is just too cute when she gets mad and it is really fun to rile her up. I am fully aware that a lot of the problems Myria is having are completely my fault.

The truth is that I just don't know what to do about her, I have never understood women. Not wanting to think about her anymore I go back to watching my surroundings. When the sun comes up I stop long enough for some breakfast and then continue on.

It doesn't take long, with me walking in the sunlight, for some orcs to spot me. At first it is only a small group of around fifty, but the orcs roar as they charge. After the roar sounds out other groups pop up from ravines and join the charge.

Other than watching for shamans and leaders, I just draw my swords. When the first group of orcs reaches me I happily start cutting them down. The roars of the orcs are quickly overwhelmed by the death screams of those facing me.

This doesn't stop the other groups from joining the fight, they appear to have no fear of death. As I am killing them I can't help but wonder why they are so fearless. It is probably either a cultural or religious thing, nothing else really makes sense.

I have noticed that a lot of the orcs yell the same thing when they are dying. Although, if it was a religious thing I would expect to see something like priests with each group. Which makes me think it is more of a cultural thing, but I can't be sure since I don't know the language.

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While I am thinking about this the orcs are able to hit me a lot more than normal. Luckily, between my armor and my regeneration I am fine even taking all the hits. Every single orc that manages to hit me ends up dead shortly after, the rest die before they can hit me.

In total six different groups of orcs end up joining the fight and it takes a while to kill them all. If they had all come at once they might have had a chance to overwhelm me. Since they didn't I get to just relax and enjoy cutting them all down group by group.

351 Orcs defeated! 351,000 Exp gained!

The only annoying part is having to collect all the ears, it would be even worse without my pouch. It almost takes longer to gather the ears than it did to kill all the orcs. Between killing and collecting over an hour has passed since the fight started.

After I gather the last ear I locate the mountains and set off walking again. If I include the last group then I easily have over a thousand ears in my pouch. I want to continue getting exp, but time is also a factor now so I should rush back.

If the elves don't know where the gate is then I am just wasting time here. If that is the case then I can always come back and kill more orcs later while searching for the gate. So I decide to give up for now, spread my wings, and start flying south.

By flying I manage to reach the mountains before sundown, and make it to the spot I met Swiftleaf just before dark. Not seeing or sensing anyone nearby I start a campfire and eat some dinner. About an hour later Swiftleaf and the other four elves come walking out of the trees.

Swiftleaf says "You actually came back?!"

Instead of answering him I stand up, take my pouch off my belt, and dump all the ears in front of him. The looks on the elves' faces as the ears pour out of my pouch is absolutely priceless. If I didn't know better I would say that they swallowed their own tongues.

Swiftleaf says "Just how many orcs did you kill?!?"

"Somewhere between a thousand and fifteen hundred would be my best guess."

All five of them just stand and stare at the pile with their mouths hanging open. After a bit I ask Swiftleaf if I can enter the village now and he just nods dumbly. He starts to lead me to the village but stops when the four elves turn to follow.

Swiftleaf says "No, you four get to count the ears!"

The four elves turn to look again at the pile with horrified looks on their faces. As Swiftleaf continues towards the village I follow him with a smile on my face. My smile fades when we enter the village, which is made up of tree houses connected by rope bridges.

The reason my smile fades is because a lot of the houses look abandoned and there are very few elves to be seen. Just from a quick glance it looks like at least half the village is abandoned. What's worse is the expressions of those elves I do see, they look to have given up hope.

Most of the elves just pass me by, they don't even show any sign of curiosity about me. By the time Swiftleaf leads me to the center of the village I am convinced these elves are doomed. When he leads me into the hut in the center of the village a single old elf is waiting inside.

Swiftleaf says "This is Stillwater, our village chief."

"Greetings Chief Stillwater, my name is Ash."

Stillwater says "You can drop the title. I only hold it because I am the only elder left."

"Things are that bad?"