image [https://i.imgur.com/sfHqwWT.jpg]

Marina kills. Amid the chaos, she explodes and shanks. The soul connection took a toll, but she persevered. She swirled her hand, and flames singed the grass around her, burning orcs that ran her way. Six balls of fire were summoned. Marina raised her closed fists- The orcs paused their attacks. Their eyes look into the distance. They mutter under their breath a title.

OrcLord.

Marina looked around. Adventurers were astonished as their opponents rested the massive weapon on the ground. Marina ceased her tuning and ran over to the cleric.

“Tell me. What's got their attention? What's an Orclord?”

The cleric gulped and answered the best she could under duress. “Every horde has a leader. A General. But rarely do they come out. Orcs are prideful. They fight for glory, and what's the point when your leader can decimate the enemy?"

“That Strong?”

The cleric nodded her head. “The main requisite for an OrcLord is the use of aura.” A chant grew amongst the Orcs as they made space. “The only reason why the OrcLord would make a move is that they saw a threat to the horde.”

“Drac…” Marina rushed towards the open space. The world twisted, and her legs went weak. She kneels at the edge of the crowd, exhausted. The cleric brought more of her kind to heal her. The haze in her mind cleared up a bit, and she caught sight of her friend. Still of boundless stamina, even after encountering orcs many times his size. His self-assured confidence showed in his smooth stride. He strolled onto the battlefield like a curious cat. He ignored the orc's animosity towards him. But there was a stiltedness to him that was unusual.

Drac saw her and jerked. Marina gave him a wink, and he instantly relaxed. His demeanour lightened, and even with his mask, Marina could see how delighted he was as he shy place away.

Her haze cleared up more, and she noticed Drac’s opponent. Every step the orc took shook the ground. The Orcs around her grow tense. They wait in anticipation. Their OrcLord has come to defeat their foe and win the battle, as he has always done.

He was noticeably shorter than most orcs. With his upper body bare and hairy, he wore the same animal hide trousers and boots as other orcs. Greying hair grew down past his shoulders. He sported no jewellery, except gold rings on his tusks and a crown made of sharp scrap metal. Muscles barely fit within his green skin. Marina truly looked at the Orc beyond his visage. The control over his aura was above average, but with an orc’s build, the monster could be a match for any intermediate or above. A storm rumbled under calmness. Drac was in for a fight. But it would be alright, she thought; he had fought stronger foes and survived.

Drac and The OrcLord met in the middle They exchanged words too far to hear, and Marina was too exhausted to try. The Orc leader lifted his wide, clunky metal block of sword and it brightened till the whole makeshift arena was under its light.

The monster swung down.

Dust, grass and soil explode from the impact like dozens of Teneos went off at once. Scared for her dear friend, she tried to jump in by instinct until something was thrown out of the dust cloud.

FOCUS.

His nerves burned raw with energy. His dark brown eyes turn white.

The OrcLord sword moved slowly down, pushing the air away. Drac twisted, letting the mass of metal nearly clip his nose. The massive sword split the ground. Rock, soil, and grass detonate into a large blast. Dust flew in every direction, obstructing vision for both human and orc. Drac was collected. Mid-twist, a blue, glowing rope was thrown from Drac's left hand and lassoed around the monster. The Murus rope was divided into four and clasped together behind the OrcLord's body. With the momentum of the twist and the aura-enhanced muscles, the OrcLord was dragged forward. The monster's calm eyes turned into surprise as he received a spin kick to the stomach. Drac’s aura-enhanced right leg felt like it hit soft steel. He pulsed, and his opponent flew out of the dust cloud. The hulking warrior stopped its velocity with his sword scraping on the ground. The orc stood up as if nothing had happened. All was quiet on the battlefield until the OrcLord smiled. Every orc cheers and roars, scaring the younger adventurers beside them. They hollered at the Drac’s show of strength. They repeat and shout a single word.

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More!

A- More tricks! You learn bad habits from Hood.

Drac truly saw his opponent. Heavy breathing and a smile hid the pain. Green skin bruised purple.

Drac flipped his Heilong, and with the tips of his index and middle fingers, he tuned Aqua. Blood and grime were washed off, and Drac slowly sheathed his weapon. The shouting turned into mutters, then booing. Words like ‘coward’ and ‘small human’ were thrown at the human. But Drac was calm and walked towards his enemy.

A- What weird plan have you thought of now?

D- No plan. I am just going to beat him into submission by orc rules.

A- Orc rules? What's that?

H- A duel decides everything. Whether the humans are killed or they leave and never come again.

D- Something is strange here. I can sense it. We are outnumbered and do not need a pissed-off horde. There needs to be no doubt about our victory.

Drac flared his aura, and the booing paused. Aura exploded out of him like brilliant white flame. Aura wrapped itself around Drac's muscles, white flame envoloped his body with a soft radiance. The OrcLord nodded his large head in approval and stood in a fighting stance.

He rushed forward with a pulsed, breaking the ground behind him. The warrior's dark jacket fluttered behind him. Ventus diverted the air in front, and Levitation lightened his body. Drac skipped with a pulse-stepped allowing him to traverse metres with each bound. Within a second, he almost reached the OrcLord and a wave flew at him. Drac leapt over the wave of aura. A Murus platform was pulse stepped on, and Drac closed inside the OrcLord range in a blink. The farmer's left fist glowed brightly and connected with the metal sheet. The OrcLord blocked Drac's aura blow with a sword, and his feet dug into the soil. The monster flared his aura and Drac bounced off. Levitation and Ignis helped him orient himself. Drac landed in a crouch and pressed onward with a pulse. The Orclord attacked with a downward strike. Drac weaved through. The OrcLord's sword struck down once again, and Drac evaded to the right.

A- A sword is so much easier to dodge.

The OrcLord’s sheet of metal was swung horizontally from the right. Covered in a fiery white aura, it created a sonic boom as it came to slice Drac’s body in two. Drac focused his aura on his nerves and tuned Levitation and Ventus. Like a leaf in a subtle breeze, he glided over the blade. Drac spun over the sword as it travelled under him and hit it with an aura-enhanced back fist. The blade got lodged in the ground and Drac took his chance. Finishing a rotation, he landed on the fallen sword to run up.

The OrcLord roared and flared his aura. The sword was lifted with fury, and Drac flew in the air. A blue platform and Drac blitzed towards the OrcLord again. Both fists glowed radiantly with a condensed aura. Drac fell on the flat of the OrcLord’s blade. He raised his fists and started pounding. Fists move in a blur as they come down on the Orclord in rapid succession. Hundreds of punches make dents in the steel that blocked. The OrcLord was slowly pushed through the soil backwards. He tried walking forward but was brought back every time. Every metre back, the Orclord got more frustrated. The orc turned to glance behind and around, his subjects watched with fearful eyes. The orc snapped and let out a bloodcurdling roar. Aura pushed out in every direction. Drac stopped his barrage and pulsed away.

A- What a waste of energy!

The OrcLord finally attacked. A giant step brought the enormous being close, and the orc swung its aura-imbued blade.

D- Is this what you were waiting for?

Drac smiled and truly focused. An open left hand received the huge blade. Murus cracked between. A massive pulse shook the air and deflected the OrcLord blade away. It snapped out of the orc's grasp, and the leader was left weaponless with his arm swinging.

A pulse-step forward, and Drac was inches close. Two knuckles tapped the confused OrcLord’s abdominal muscles, and a pulse rippled through his large body.

The horde stared with bewilderment as the leader bounced on the grass. Drac followed after him. And with Ignis, he gained air. High above all, with Murus and pulse, he fell with speed. At the peak of a bounce, Drac smashed the OrcLord's face into the ground, making an orc-head-sized crater. The man in black grabbed grey hair and pulled an unconscious orc’s head from the hole. He shouted as loud as magic could make him.

“LEAVE. NOW.”