Before everyone could process what’s going on, a rough voice sounded out from the direction where the two scout came from. They immediately turned to see who it was only to see Orcs with huge war axes on their broad shoulder.

There are about seven of them that look like a human, but were a bit brutish and has menacing features. One of them was the most noticeable of them all with his large fangs protruding from its lower jaw, long unkempt hair unlike the rest who are bald, and wore an armor made from leather and bones, making it look very intimidating.

“I-Isn’t that an Orc General?!”

Ronnel and his party had their faces turned solemn. The monster in front of them were an Orc General with six soldiers under his command. Although they are not very cunning, their cannibalism and aggressive nature was known to all hunters.

No matter where they go, they will be pursued upon unless they kill it. But with their number, it wouldn’t be easy. An Orc General has the same strength as those D rank awakened, and the soldiers behind him has comparable strength as those E rank ones.

“What should we do now?” Arnel asked with his brows knitted together. He never thought he’d meet an Orc General this early.

“If there’s only three of them, we could have given it a shot but there are seven. It’s impossible for us to defeat them.” Ronnel responded as he stared intently at the Orcs.

“Let’s fight them! Even if we do run, we will only get pursued without end.” Daniel that’s listening from the side suggested as he unsheathed his sword.

“Alright. I’ll go and attract their attention.” Arnel agreed before walking forward with clenched fist.

But before he could take a few steps, Ronnel grabbed his shoulder. “We should each send one people. If it’s only him, it would be impossible to hold the frontline.”

Daniel frowned before shaking his head. “That’s not possible. Look, our party doesn’t have a hunter that focuses on defense. If I send just anyone, it would be no different from sending him to die.”

“It’s fine leader. Trust me.” Arnel said confidently before taking a step forward. Facing the Orcs bravely together with his shield.

Roar!

Together with a loud roaring sound akin to a lion, Arnel smash his shield on the ground. His action caused ripple to the air and the group of Orcs was immediately attracted to him.

“Everyone prepare! The Orcs are coming!” Ronnel shouted loudly while holding his sword tightly.

His companion quickly grouped together and formed their practiced formation. The other party also assimilated with them, making their formation guarded from both sides.

‘That’s right. If we band together and fight, we’ll have a slightly higher chance of winning.’ Ronnel thought optimistically before turning to Daniel next to him. He was also a D rank hunter just like him, if they fight the Orc General together, they might have a slim chance of killing it.

“We should join hands and fight the Orc General. If we do that, maybe…”

Bang!

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud sound was heard at the front interrupting him. He quickly shifted his gaze to take a look only to see Arnel flew up in the air and landed to his left side almost hitting him.

Thud!

Ronnel’s eyes grew wide, not even a minute passed yet the hunter with the highest defense of them all was already defeated?

Cough!

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Before everyone’s shocked eyes, Arnel stood up again while coughing out a mouthful of blood. Then he walked at the front and slammed his shield at the ground once again.

“Pathetic human Chwiiek. You’re no match for me Chwiiek.” the Orc General mockingly said, and wherever his gaze fell into, he could smell fear. “Kill them! Chwiiek. We will have human meat for dinner! Chwiiek.”

With his command, the six Orcs beside him sprang into action. Wielding their axes and clubs, they ran towards the group of humans right in front of them with their eyes shining brightly.

“Chwiiek! Human meat! Hahaha”

“That delicious looking guy is mine! Chwiiek!”

“Don't let them get near our mage!”

“H-Help!”

A battle immediately broke out between the Orcs and the human Hunters. The place was transformed into a battlefield in just a blink of an eye. Sound of metal hitting metal and cry for help echoed in the place.

However, if one watch closely on what's happening, they will definitely notice that the human hunters were being pushed back. One careless hunter in Daniel's group even died under the Orcs big axe. Even in the same rank, their strength varies greatly.

Orcs are natural born warriors and are used to killing. After all, they normally hunt animals and humans for food. But for the humans? They aren't accustomed to such gore scenes. Unless it was a high ranker whose used to massacring monsters.

Bang!

The same sound before resounded again and just like before, Hunter Arnel was thrown backwards lifelessly.

Thud!

His body dropped on the ground together with his shield with a deep cut line. If it's hit again, it might snapped into two.

“A-Arnel! Take a look at him if he's still alive!”

Unlike before where he still managed to stand up, this time however, he was gravely injured and had fallen unconscious. He's covered in blood and must've suffered some internal injuries due to the impact.

“H-He's still breathing but it's very faint!”

“D*mn it! Daniel!” Ronnel cursed loudly before turning towards Daniel's direction.

“Everyone retreat! We'll buy you time!”

Daniel took a quick step forward and appeared just beside an Orc soldier. His hand move quickly and slashed its head with his sword. Just before the Orc soldier could respond to his sudden appearance, its head slid down from its neck before rolling down on the ground.

As a D rank hunter, Orc soldiers are no match for him. Just that, he's preoccupied with the presence of an Orc general. After all, an Orc general is on a different level compared to an Orc soldier. If they were to clash, even with the help of another D rank it would still be hard to say that they'd win.

Roar!

The other Orc soldiers roared in anger at the death of their comrade and quickly abandoned the thought of going after the other humans. They had fully shifted their focus towards the killer who easily disposed of their kin.

Ronnel at this time didn't just sit still, he also launch an attack at the Orc soldiers that's aiming to take Daniel's life. As he passed through them, deep cuts appeared on the Orcs bodies as green blood splattered in the air.

Among them, one Orc was unlucky enough that one of his hand was cut off. The pain it brought made him scream violently.

“Go! Don't worry about us.”

The E rank hunters that was worried about their leaders safety decided to follow the order and began retreating. They were nothing but baggages in this fight. Moreover, they weren't sure if there's another group of Orcs that's coming here. If that really happens, they will surely become their food for dinner.

‘Just what did I got myself into?!’ Ran who's watching everything unfold before his eyes questioned in horror.

Before entering the dungeon a few minutes ago, he was still hesitant since the Hunter Association staff said that the dungeon had risen in rank. An E rank dungeon was already threatening enough for him who's only an F rank hunter, what's more when it's a D rank one.

Unfortunately, the thought of losing his job influenced him greatly. That's why he chose to take risk. At first, he thought everything was fine since the monster he had seen so far was just the lowest rank slime. But now, he realized how grave of a mistake it was.

“Don't just stand there in dazed! Let's go! We have to leave quickly.” Rodel who's carrying Arnel on his back shouted loudly, bringing Ran back to reality.

Ran nodded his head in understanding before following behind the others. There's no way he'll stay behind and watch them fight, that would be no different from seeking death. He doesn't even have any power to be of help.

Several minutes later, they found a cave just behind the waterfall. It was discovered by luck after scanning the surrounding for a good place to hide. The river were clean but has no fish in it, and the place were full of slimes jumping around.

Considering their current circumstances, they decided to stay and hide in the cave. It was big and could easily accommodate them all without any problem. The cave was also lit with unknown crystals hanging above, with some embedded on the walls and the ground.

“How is it? Do you think he'll survive?” Shiena asked worriedly. From the look of it, intensive treatment should be performed to properly heal him.

“Sighs. We only have one healing potion but it's in the hand of our leader. We don't even know when he'll reunite with us.” Rodel replied while letting out a deep sigh.

“There's no other choice. We have to venture outside and gather medicinal ingredients to treat him!” Kenneth suggested with a determined face.