"Fuck! We're out of contact." Alan returned to the group, announcing the problem.
"What do you mean, no contact?" Isabela asked.
"You try sending the location, too," Alan replied.
Rescue request sent
⚠️ [ERROR] No communication received [ERROR] ⚠️
"N-no way," she said in a low voice.
"Could it be the blizzard they mentioned?" Alan asked.
"But when we got here, there was no sign of a blizzard on the horizon," Oliver recalled.
Katherine finished wiping away her tears and reactivated her armor's helmet.
The four remained silent, trying to think of a solution until Katherine decided to speak her mind. "I think we need to move forward."
"B-but they're Orks," Isabela commented.
"Even so, sitting here won't help. We don't know what's happening up there, but we won't be rescued anytime soon," she explained. "Until then, we could be discovered by the Orks. We can at least use the fact that they don't know we're here to keep moving forward."
They spent a few more seconds in silence, getting used to the possible decision of having to face or at least infiltrate an Ork base.
"They must have some stairs or an exit. Some way to receive supplies," Oliver commented. "Maybe this is our chance."
"Besides, gray-skinned Orks are the weakest. It's quite possible we can handle them if we're well-prepared," Alan explained, although he didn't quite believe his own words.
"Right," Oliver confirmed. "Let's start by gathering more information. The four of us will advance to the next chamber, but no one should engage in any fights for now. We need to understand how these structures work, how we get in and out, and how many enemies are ahead."
The others nodded, confirming the orders.
The four advanced to the next chamber, sneaking between the huge rocks on the ground. They walked between each rock until they were close to the structures. Now closer, they could see the construction better.
Looking up, they could barely see the ceiling. The structure looked like two towers of black stone and metal in the heart of an underground chasm. Around it were two rivers of lava, with a stone bridge leading to the entrance.
Both structures' entrances consisted of two huge doors. However, both were open, guarded only by two Gray Orks patrolling in front of the building.
"Shouldn't there be more of them?" Katherine questioned.
"There weren't any at the excavation either," Isabela commented.
"Maybe they're not here?" Alan wondered.
"We'll find out," Oliver replied.
The four waited a few minutes, observing the movements, wondering whether the Orks would patrol elsewhere or be replaced by others. However, no matter how long they waited, there didn't seem to be any change.
"Maybe they're alone?" Oliver mused. "They're not changing guards or patrolling other areas."
"We need to get past them," Isabela said.
"Yes. But there's nowhere to hide," Alan noted.
"We'll need to attack them," Katherine suggested.
"But it can't be that simple. We can't alert them; we don't know what they can do or what's inside," Oliver said.
"Hmm," Katherine pondered.
"We have to split up and try to attack both simultaneously. A single attack that removes their chance to alert others without making noise," Oliver explained.
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"I think I can do it using the [Blood Rose]," Katherine said.
Before deciding on the strategy, Oliver looked at the Orks again.
[Observation]
The Boon made his vision turn black and white again, and he could see each opponent's attack and defense threads.
"Hmm, they're Orks, but they seem weak. They're Pawn-level," he informed the others.
Although Pawn-level didn't indicate their absolute strength, it helped them understand that these weren't among the strongest and most evolved Orks, which was encouraging.
Oliver continued, "I have a way to eliminate the other one," pausing before asking, "Is the chat working?"
Alan looked at his gauntlet and tested it; he could communicate with the others but couldn't speak on channels with people outside the cave.
"Only among us," he confirmed.
"Alright. We'll get closer—Alan, Katherine, Isabela, and me. Each group should hide among the rocks," Oliver pointed to the stones where they should position themselves. "Before launching the attack, everyone will prepare. Isabela and Alan will communicate via chat to determine the moment to strike."
The three nodded in understanding.
"Okay. Let's go, and good luck," Oliver said before moving to the next rock.
The two newly formed groups moved between the stones, advancing quickly but carefully to avoid being seen. Since there were no more guards except the two at the doors, they had no difficulty crossing the field ahead.
Even crossing the stone bridge was simple, except for the heat emanating from the bubbling lava just a few meters away.
The Orks continued staring into the horizon. Oliver didn't know much about the enemies' anatomy, but they seemed bored guarding the gates.
'I'll relieve your boredom, don't worry,' he thought as he kept moving.
Oliver and Alan positioned themselves near the Ork on the left. They were still a few meters away, but from there, they wouldn't have any more cover to hide.
On the right were Katherine and Isabela, both crouched a few meters from the Ork. While Katherine concentrated and enveloped her sword with her blood, Oliver focused on extracting the Energy from his Z-Crystal, channeling it into his feet and fist.
'Less. It needs to be much less than in the Coliseum fight. I can't end up with a broken arm,' he tried to adjust the technique to avoid hurting himself too much. 'I'm not Nico; I can't regenerate if this goes wrong.'
With both ready, they waited for the signal to advance.
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Alan and Isabela tapped their respective partners on the shoulder as soon as the message was sent.
Katherine used two jets of blood to accelerate her advance toward the Ork. Both Orks were still looking bored when they saw the girl. However, they didn't have time to react; she was already upon them. With a leap, she reached the monster's height and thrust her sword. In the next movement, several spikes made of blood erupted from the Ork's head.
While Katherine finished off the first opponent, Oliver activated his ability [Prometheus].
He felt the Energy burning his skin and bones, but he told himself it would be a quick move and that he'd deactivate it soon.
Alan could grasp the basis of his friend's technique. He had been studying Energy Combat, and there were some similar techniques, but all of them were forbidden to be taught at the Academy.
'Where did he learn this?' Alan wondered.
Oliver used all the enhanced strength from [Prometheus] to leap several meters ahead, appearing in front of the Ork in the blink of an eye. The monster was still focused on Katherine's appearance and didn't notice someone in front of him at eye level.
Oliver's leap made a perfect arc, allowing him to land a punch on the side of the creature's head. The force was so great that he dragged the monster to the ground, creating a crater in the Ork's face.
Thump
Except for the sound of bodies hitting the ground, there was no other indication that they had been discovered.
Oliver quickly deactivated his technique to avoid further injury. However, he could already feel the impact on his deeply aching knees and hand, raw under the armor.
Katherine was faring a bit better; although she'd lost blood, she could recover it after some rest.
Both signaled for Alan and Isabela to move forward.
"Let's push the Orks into the lava; if any others show up, they'll just notice the guards are missing," Oliver suggested.
Although killing them had been simple, dragging the two heavy bodies to the lava rivers was more complicated, requiring all four of them for each one. After pushing them into the lava, except for the bloodstains, it would be hard to tell that the two Orks had been killed.
"Be careful," Oliver warned as they passed through the building's entrance.
The four resumed moving slowly, paying attention to each step to avoid any sound that might alert enemies. As they crossed the large door, they saw a massive staircase leading to what seemed to be the top of the tower.
The group felt hopeful again; there still didn't seem to be any Orks in sight, and they could see a bit of light coming from outside the tower.
To avoid making any noise, Oliver pointed to the staircase and signaled for them to follow. They began ascending slowly, careful not to make any noise. However, they noticed a room with an open door near the second floor.
"Help! HELP! Someone help me."
They heard the screams. The four didn't want to risk increasing the danger they were already in, but they needed at least to see what was happening so they could report it to the command center.
Oliver stepped away from the staircase and approached the door, opening it just enough to peek inside.
“Is that a lab?"