Orc Warrior
My chest heaved uncontrollably, the light around my eyes dimmed as I felt a wave of dizziness envelope my mind, I could feel my eyes dilate—stumbling forward, every step felt like wading through a fog, my legs as if stuck in a pit of tar.
The world spun and blurred, the weight of exhaustion and blood loss pressing heavily upon me—I felt the wetness of blood, my blood, spill from my arms, the spiked and jagged club in my hand, drowned with the dark crimson, as I couldn’t even count the amount of wounds over my body.
I stumbled again, but with sheer resolve I somehow took a hold of my feet. My breathing becoming unstable, I felt like my heart was inside my throat as the demon firmed his stance, the insufferable intent he had released becoming unbearable as I felt like I could crash to my knees if I didn’t avidly concentrate to keep my wits.
Fear clawed at my mind, knowing that the danger was right in front of me—or rather I was right in the middle of the maelstrom. But I gritted my teeth, eyes narrowing with resolve. I couldn't afford to fall now. Not here. Not yet. I would fight, with every last ounce of strength, until my very last breath.
I turned to look around me for a brief moment, the harrowing spectacle of blood and death visible to my eyes, as I scowled, a curse forming inside my mouth, as I saw my brethren getting killed and mascaraed by the accursed creatures. There horns reflecting the light of the sun as if announcing their triumph already, the grotesque scene continued, the battlefield filled with despair and crying warriors, their bodies laid unmoving.
I bit my lips, blood gushing from my mouth as I turned back to my opponent, standing nonchalantly in front of me.
My eyes barely retained their fleeting focus as I glared at the tall demon, eyes burning hazel with a twisted perverse pleasure as his lips pulled slightly with a malicious smirk.
“You orcs really are vile creatures. For how long are you going to struggle and hold on to your pathetic, useless lives.” He spat, his intent increased as I fought back with my mana, but it still wasn’t enough.
He was a hazel-eyed demon, equal to me in strength who was an enlightenment stage mage already, that was what was supposed to be, but the demon was still somehow stronger than me, even in raw strength, he had overpowered me, and as an orc, that should have been my strong feat, but I was still defeated.
I frowned, knowing perfectly what the reason to my defeat was. The war raging on for years, the unimaginable amount of physical and mental strain had left its mark on my body. No, that would merely be an excuse, because this was war, we didn’t have the luxury for rest and recovery, knowing another attack could break out any minute.
I could only blame my own powerlessness for not being strong enough.
The painful and relentless cries of my companions echoed into my ears, despite being their leader, the one who had brought them to this fight, I wasn’t able to help, neither protect them. I was a failure of a leader, a brother and friend.
I clenched my jaw, my eyes stung, every muscle inside my body contorted and refused against my actions, but with a final struggle, I took the club firmly in my hand and hurled myself with whatever mana I had left.
“Haaaaaaa.” I shouted, my hoarse voice sounded almost demonic, shaking the air as the ground trembled from each step I took as I swung the club in my hand and tried to struggle until the every end.
It was my right as the leader to die first, before my brethren. I was responsible for their lives and they'd put their faith in me, which I hadn’t been able to fully respond to. I had failed them.
“Heh, you’re still struggling.” He burst out with horrendous laughter, his body loosening as he manipulated his demonic energy as a veil of crimson shrouded his physique, the battle-robes draped over him fluttered as he readied to take my assault head on.
With a pivot, the demon, Asodes, twisted his body and thrust his arm out as his sharp claws pierced into my abdomen, my vision fading, as I took a firm hold over his arm, still stuck inside my abdomen as blood gushed out like a stream.
But I didn’t care, didn’t give one damn about my well-being, what mattered more was protecting and safeguarding my people.
The demon struggled in my grip, hurling his other fist at me as the collision made me almost lose consciousness as blood continued falling from every part of my body.
I swung the club in my hand, the air around me split as a loud ringing hammered into my ears as it struck the demon, it collided against his head and I felt somewhat relieved that I wouldn’t die without giving any damage to my opponent.
But my eyes shot open in disbelief, as the club in my hand didn’t move an inch, Asodes stood where he was, his arm pierced into my abdomen, as the spikes on the clubs had pierced his head as he stood without even the slightest moan, black blood enveloped the club’s surface.
And it was a well known fact that a demon doesn’t die unless their core isn’t destroyed. But destroying a demon’s core was almost an impossible feat, because it was well hidden inside their body.
The strength in my arms released as the club crashed on to my blood filled battlefield, my body was no longer responding.
Asodes calmly looked at me, his head and face pierced with jagged and grotesques holes, but there was a animalistic edge to his calm yet hostile eyes, as the wounds on his body began to mend themselves instantly.
“I admit.” He said, the words rolling out of him like stones rolling off a mountain. “When Lord Ashmedai sent me the order, telling me to go to the orcen lands, I was slightly disappointed that the great seraphim had failed to recognize my true potential and stationed me where the war was almost over.” He sighed, his face frowning.
I crashed to my knees, my face twisted as Asodes shifted the position of his hand and I screamed, the unimaginable pain gnawed away at my sanity. The demon took pleasure in my desperation as he continued tormenting me, his lips still yet eyes burning with dark malevolence.
I sank deeper into the ground, my body breaking down as all the voices vanished from my ears, even my screams were deaf to me.
“And I thought that it would be quite boring, that I would only get to push around the weak, broken soldiers of the lost war, but, I was proved wrong.” Asodes continued, his hand pierced deeper into my abdomen, as my eyes started to lose clarity from the loss of blood. “The resilience you orcs showed, despite experiencing treatment worse than death, losing everything, each day filled with despair, dread and constant fighting, which to be honest would have broken even the most indifferent of individuals, and I admit that you all kept me amused for the last few months. I wasn’t disappointed in my trip here.”
His hand coiled back and I could finally take a breath of relief. But it wasn’t for long as he thrust his hand forward and pierced a hole into my chest.
I was like a rag-doll, being used like a plaything for the demon. I spat blood as I vaguely heard the demon's final words.
“But its about time we put an end to this farce. You all did well for the past few months, but alas, a war must come to an end eventually. I will not forget your name for quite a long time, Huŕum son of Kaŕam.”
His palm took a hold of the back of my head, his hand taking a firm grasp of my hair, as the wings of his back flapped viciously, as we lifted off the ground.
“Take formation.” Asodes shouted, his voice reverberated and echoed through the battlefield like a victory drum, the words making the demons look triumphed, and the orcs, full of despair.
This was the end for us.
The demons on the ground stopped their assault and began to stand behind Asodes, their stances firm and expression victorious. The orcs on the other hand, sank, they had their ranks broken, their faces full of despair, as some stood, some laid, but there was not one orc who didn’t have injuries over his body.
“Surrender, your leader has lost, what good would it possibly bring you to continue fighting.” A mischievous and wry smirk played on his lips as he hurled my body and I went crashing down.
Soon my body made contact with hard soil, my bones shattering on impact as I rolled several times and was stopped by the lifeless bodies of my companions whom lay cold and still on the dark soil.
“For those that still live, I'm willing to give a chance. As instructed by Lord Ashmedai, we will willingly spare those who wish to join us, because we don’t want unnecessary bloodshed—make covenants and become our slaves, and we will spare your lives, if not,” Asodes said oozing ostentation, his chest puffed and words confident as his demonic energy made them stronger.
“Then all I can give you, and your people, is death.“ His words crashed upon us like thunder, sending a tremor through my men. “This is the final act of mercy I can bestow, on behalf of my Lord's benevolence. Please, be wise in your choice.”
I gritted my teeth, my eyes bloodshot as I glared at the accursed demon, as I looked away and around with great difficulty, my brethren, looking back at me, their hope shattered and exhausted, lying in ruins, faces filled with despair—such a thick and sinuous despair that clawed at my heart.
“Leader, we will follow you.” A young orc standing near me said, his face determined but eyes quivered in fear. He was the youngest amongst us, yet was still willing to follow me, even if it meant death today.
“Huŕum, we will follow you. You are the orc we all put our faith in, tell us to die or to continue fighting even if the odds are against us. We will do as you say.” I gazed at my oldest friend, Surter, whom I considered as my brother.
All the orcs gathered around me, who still lived, began to speak, their words welling into my heart as I felt relieved, but sad.
I felt tears welling in my eyes as I turned to each one of them, dealing with the unimaginable and unbearable pain, which felt more bearable right now than to carry this burden on my shoulders to make a decision, an unforgiving, brutal choice which would affect the lives of everyone here.
“Then, what would it be?” The demon, Asodes asked, he looked down at us, waiting for our decision. “I hope you are smart enough to make the right choice.”
All of the orcs nodded simultaneously, their eyes burning with determination, trust and loyalty that I didn’t deserve.
I took a breath, my body screamed in agony, protesting against my actions, as I looked at the demons standing on the ground, and then at the one in command who was in the air.
I shouted, my final battle cry reverberated through the plains, as the other orcs followed suite, our chant shaking the ground below us, and vibrating the air as I felt strength rise from within.
Asodes looked dissatisfied by our choice as my face pulled with a victorious grin. Even if fate have determined our death today, we still won’t do as you tell us to. I muttered to myself, feeling sentimental all of a sudden.
“Great warriors of our tribe, your name shall be remembered and passed down from generations to come for as long as our other brethren live on to tell the tale of today. Even if you die today, your names will go down in history as the heroes who fought for their motherland. So fight, spill your enemies blood, fight until your final breath.”
But just as I finished, something unbelievable happened. The ground tore open, the ranks of the demons were broken, a spectacle of blood and death rose in the air, as I saw a concentrated beam rain death down at them.
My eyes moved and I saw a mighty winged beast rising from the north, its wings moving majestically and robustly, with such an elegance and grace, yet displaying tremendous power and ferociousness with each flap of its wings, as it zoomed near us.
The obsidian scales over its mighty body glimmered like the most radiant jewels under the sunshine, its horns, long and sharp reflected the bright rays, as its massive golden eyes bared at the demons in the distance, its eyes were calm, yet robust and indifferent, peering across the entire battlefield like a predator.
I felt goosebumps rise on my skin, as a long shadow cast over us. I had never seen a beast as ferocious, yet majestic as this one before in my life.
Another beam of concentrated mana released from the winged beast’s mouth, aimed at the demons. The air hummed, the sound akin to ripples forming over the surface of water and thunder striking mixed together as the ground tore apart, several of the demons, who were still alive and safe from the first assault met their hideous demise, their bodies obliterated to nothing—not even their ash remaining—as the rest quickly took flight and evaded the beam by a hair’s breadth, but not unscathed, some lost their arms, some legs, some either half of their physique.
Asodes, face flummoxed and twisted with anger turned to the flying beast and looked shaken to his core, his eyes dilating and arms shivering by his sides as he seemed to shrink upon the sight of the mighty beast.
Gone was his pride, arrogance and wry glint, as he looked nervous, trepidation bleeding from his face.
But my attention was drawn to an individual flying near the dragon’s right flank, and I felt an inexplicably sense of dread loom over me as I looked at the man with the long locks of glossy black hair and dark, indifferent and cold amethyst eyes. His face a slab of a stoicism, as he maneuvered through the air, his clothes caught aflutter in the air as he suddenly vanished from his position with a sudden crackle of lightning wrapped around him and left in his wake.
The winged beast fought the remaining demons, its claws raking through their bodies, as blood dripped from the sky like rain, the majestic creature ferociously reaped through each and every demon coming its way.
But I saw someone standing on the beast’s back, a cascade of long silver gunmetal hair and long pointy ears as the women controlled the wind and manipulated fierce spells.
I stood in disbelief, checking if my eyes weren’t betraying me. The three unknown individuals had come to our aid for some reason. But I still didn’t know if they wouldn’t be hostile toward us, they hadn’t been so far, and I was hoping that be the case. Because, they were strong.
But all of a sudden, I realized that Asodes was engaged in combat with the man with the lavender eyes, burning with a sharp intensity.
He moved through the air fluidly, a black blade suddenly appeared in his hand as he swung the sword toward Asodes. I watched in awe as each action of this man held some calculated purpose, his strikes and parries weaving an intricate pattern, as if he was luring his opponent into attacking while having a complete control over the fight.
Asodes shouted in anger, anxious, as his demonic energy surged, but the man didn’t falter back, his expression calm and indifferent as he continued with his previous strategy, he analysed Asodes’s each movement, as if the latter was an open book to the former, as he countered each strike precisely and fluidly.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
The man's sword moved through the air and Asodes’s arm severed and crashed on to the ground, but only after a few seconds another one grew back, replacing the severed limb.
But I saw Asodes starting to struggle, his breathing heavy as his eyes looked furious, his movements picking up speed as he attacked more ferociously—like a cornered beast, his actions were fuelled by pure desperation as he tried to land a single hit, but failed. He tried to look for an opportunity to escape, but the man didn’t let him.
Suddenly, arcs of fiery lightning began to surge around the man, his arms drowned in the surge of the storm of yellow lightning, as the mana pushed and soon a cage of static rushed through the air and caught Asodes, as he screamed in agony. The man didn’t hesitate once, as his body blitz through the air, as if the mana in the air moved according to his will.
Asodes, desperately trying to free himself from the web of electricity, struggling, his desperate actions a pleasurable act in my eyes as I saw my enemy anxious to keep his life.
I tried to focus on the man’s features, his body moving so quickly that keeping notice of him was growing difficult. He neither shared the unique pointy ears of an elf, neither was he short enough to be considered a dwarf...his looks easily rivalled the elves known to be beings with handsome and eloquent faces and his height was two times that of a dwarf.
His cold eyes swept over Asodes’s body, the latter struggling and screaming as the black blade in the man’s hand reached near his sternum, and without another delay, his sword pierced the demon and came out from the other way as black blood spilled from his mouth and the wound.
The demon screamed, a blood curdling scream as his body began to break down, cracks forming over his skin as he clenched, scratched and pinched at the man's hand holding his sword, and for the first time I saw genuine fear in the demon’s eyes, as his entire figure vanished from thin air, not even ash remaining as the man then turned to the demons still remaining which were scattered, disoriented or engaged with the winged beast and the elf over its back. His figure once again vanished with tendrils of lightning left in his wake as he swiftly appeared near his companions and assisted them.
He appeared to be the strongest of his group, and the most ruthless. His face was a mask of stoicism, as he reaped through the battlefield, the demons screamed as he slaughtered all of them.
A sense of relief, yet fear started to take a hold of me as every last demon—the unfortunate ones unable to retreat in time, were slaughtered by the trio, as I saw them landing on the ground, my eyes warily sizing them up as I swallowed hard unable to tell if they were allies or foes.
The man with the lavender eyes stepped forward, he walked a slow stride, his face and clothes smeared and smudged with blood as his eyes suddenly lost their lavender tinge and turned obsidian black, as the intense sense of dread and wariness I felt seemed to release my body as he stood straight, maintaining a good distance from us.
He wiped his face using his sleeve as the elven woman with long gunmetal hair and striking teal eyes from earlier landed from the winged beast’s back and walked closer to the man’s side. They both looked strong, I could tell just from the look in their eyes.
But what made me extremely wary was the sight of the giant winged beast standing beside the duo. It sat on its hind legs, its mighty wings rested over its back as its golden eyes—which I realized shared a quality of iridescent—looked at us nonchalantly, as if looking down upon us.
The light around the tall beast flickered as its giant form dwarfed and vanished and soon a tall figure with pristine white skin, long wheat-blonde hair and sharp golden eyes, radiating with power appeared in front of me, draped in a black battle robe which similarly worked as a causal garment, and an intricately woven cloak with several unreadable symbols and runes which reached down to his ankles.
The man who had killed Asodes said something, but his words were incomprehensible to me. He made a confused frown, then turned to his companions, understating his confusion, the man with the golden eyes spoke in his stead, asking a question which he had wanted to.
“Which one of you is the leader?”
***
Seo Jiwoo
Mordian spoke in some language, which I was unfamiliar with, but sounded kind of familiar in tone and pronunciation.
An orc immediately stepped forward and said some incomprehensible words in reply with its heavy voice, nose snorting with each word, its head bent slightly as if expressing its gratitude, but avidly showcasing its wariness, for some reason they weren’t able to understand my words, and so did I. But their words did sounded similar to human tough, too similar.
Now that I think about it, Aurora was also able to perfectly communicate with me despite being an elf? Did it mean she had learned the human tongue for communication purposes? Well, the ash’ari were a deep rooted part of our history and several of the things that mankind had learned millions of years ago was thanks to the ash’ari secretly working in the shadows. And the oldest languages that mankind learned, which gave birth to the new ones when diversified and made innovative with age, must have been due to them, that’s why the orc’s words sounded similar to human tongue.
Mordian pointed at the orc who had stepped forward with a movement of his eyes, and I understood his actions. “He’s the leader.” He said, as the orc unbent and staggered as he heaved a breath.
As I approached the clearing, each step slow to not alert the orcs, I saw the orc standing in front of me, a towering figure with several wounds visible over his body. His massive, muscular build dwarfed any human I'd ever seen. The orc's skin was a mottled green, like moss-covered stone, and its face was a study in intimidation with a broad, flat nose and pronounced brow ridges. But right now, he didn’t look intimidating, much less, it looked as if some ferocious beast had just chewed him up and spat him out.
Sharp tusks jutted from his lower jaw which were broken, glistening in the bright light. His eyes, small and glowing red, seemed to pierce right through me. Coarse, dark hair hung in unkempt locks down his back, and his pointed ears, ragged at the edges, twitched at every sound. The orc's hunched posture added to his menacing presence, and the rough, leather armour he wore, adorned with bones and teeth, told tales of countless battles fought and won.
“Tell them that we are not their enemies. We have a common enemy, who are the demons. They needn’t be on guard.” I looked at Mordian then Aurora, hoping one of them would convey my words.
In the time it took us to get here, Aurora had explained quite a lot about the orcs, allowing me to get a general understanding of the race, plus the situation that the orcs have been facing for the last few months. The demons had launched a full scale attack on them, and had rendered their use of the compass to escape or call for reinforcement, making them trapped mice, with nowhere to go.
And on my way here, I’d felt subtle distortions in the mana around the area, like a ripple which distorted the shape and effect of the ambient mana, capturing an entire area under its affect and weakening and trapping the mana in a specific area, hampering it.
And she had also told me about the tri-union, formed by the elders and royal families of the three minor races, conspiring of the elves, the dwarfs and the orcs—a formal alliance between them. These three were in a treaty, a union to fight against the forces of the demons.
But as per Aurora, she told me that the elven people and dwarfs had lost contact with the orcs a few months ago—when they weren’t able to transverse to the orcen world through the compass—trapping them and the reinforcements sent by their allies with no means of communication.
And if I needed to safeguard and build a good relation with them, I first needed to cooperate with them and fight alongside them, but that was easier said than done.
It would be hard to gain their trust as an outsider, plus, I needed to know if the orcs even knew about the humans in the first place. Well, Aurora and probably the elves did, so I can assume that the other races of the tri-union would also know.
But that main reason I wanted to build a good foundation with the orcs was because, we needed as much help and allies we could garner in order to defeat the demons in the inevitable war which would happen several years from now. And the humans were too weak right now to ward off the demons on their own, so we needed allies—strong allies we could trust.
Aurora spoke first, she spoke each word I had said and the orcs seemed delighted hearing her as their grim face turned lively and bright, but two of them weren’t fully convinced—supposedly their leader and an orc of similar built like him who stood close to him with his eyes narrowed.
They shot back and probably asked some question, the orc who was their leader looked at me with wary eyes, because this was a first for me to meet an orc, and probably the same for him to meet a human. Because, we humans didn’t even know that these races existed in the first place. I had the same thinking before Mordian enlightened me with information about the other existing races beside us.
Honestly, that came as quite a shock, but it was kind of expected, because, we humans even believed the existence of aliens without having seen any evidence of such a creature living.
I mean, the elves, dwarfs and orcs could be considered aliens in a sense, but so did humans if we took it into account from their perspective.
I shook my head as I focused on the more important things. Because right now, in this situation, I needed to be the one to show them that I wasn’t a threat to their people. Because, from their point of view, I was an outsider, from an unknown race and from the looks of it, they had witnessed my entire battle against that demon general from earlier, arousing their wariness from the showcase of my power.
Thanks to the female remnant helping me train in the thought realm for several weeks, I was able to get a better understanding of mana and demonic energy, so I was able to finish our battle in a timely manner, and quite easily. And I could already feel my body reaching closer to the borderline of the rank.
I took a breath and used the system shop to buy several high-level recovery potions and herbs used for healing and recovery purposes. I carefully walked closer to their leader, and gave him a recovery potion, coupled with an evernight elixir.
The orc blankly looked at me, and Aurora spoke in my stead again to tell them to drink the potions to recover. Because right now, we were in no position to deliberate any further, because we might have gotten rid of the enemies from earlier, but there was no guarantee that the ones that escaped wouldn’t look for their allies to rush back and capture us, because the new arrival of allies would probably be disadvantageous for them.
So it was best if the orcs recovered as soon as possible and we departed for a safe location.
I laid the potions on the moist soil in rows, and I stepped back as I checked my points which I'd consumed quite benevolently. It was hard to earn points, but easy to spend them—I think I now understand how Salvador must have felt each time he had spent a huge sum of money.
That poor guy! I pitied inwardly.
Aurora communicated with the orcs and after a brief chat, she told me the orcen leader’s name and the reason why they were here and that they were suddenly ambushed by the demon Asodes and his soldiers on an expedition to find resources.
After drinking the potions, Huŕum, the leader of the orcs walked toward me and stood straight, his face regaining some of its former grandeur and intimidating vibe, but he bent his head slightly, as he clasped his right knuckle with his left palm and genuinely thanked me.
His ferocious expression betrayed his sincere gratitude, as the other orcs behind him did the same, but one among them just looked at me with wry eyes observing me keenly and with alert.
Huŕum looked at me and spoke, his words sounded incomprehensible to me, but Aurora translated for me.
“He’s saying that, he’s grateful for your act of kindness, and also for protecting them from the demons earlier.”
I turned to them and gave them a nod, as the orc nodded back, his nose snorting as the air huffed because of the force.
Aurora asked some questions in their native tongue and the orcs seemed surprised as Huŕum answered the elven woman, his deep voice reverberated through the destroyed plain. Whatever Aurora had told them had caught him and the other orcs off guard as he then turned to his comrades and told them something, and everyone seemed to agree except for the one standing beside Huŕum—skepticism palpable over his face.
But after much deliberately they all came to a decision.
‘If you’re curious to know. They are speaking in a language called the ‘common tongue’. The ancient ash’ari taught their ancestors this language which was universally used to communicate between all the other races.’ Mordian explained briefly. “But it was broken down into several different languages native to each race, but the ‘common’ was used as a base for each new language, that’s why you might find it familiar to human tongue.’
‘The common tongue is a more simplified language, deprived from the ancient ash-aran language, which was changed after the ancient war. From what I know before my imprisonment, its still taught to every individual of the minor races. Except, of course, the humans for other reasons.’ There was a wry edge to the end of his words which I found genuinely frustrating.
I guess, I really needed to learn their language if I wanted to communicate with them. Because the language barrier was the first hurdle which I needed to overcome, if I wanted to initiate my plan for a treaty. I sighed, as Mordian suddenly spoke in my mind, his words laced with wry humour which I found annoying. I replied with my face pulled with an exaggerated expression, and suddenly, my brows rose in surprise as I somehow understood the orc’s words now for some reason as I snapped my head toward Mordian.
No, to be precise, what I was experiencing was basically a three way transmission. It was Mordian who translated the words from the orc’s native language into words I was able to understand, and transmitted them to my mind so I could understand what they talked about.
I guess, being bonded to a dragon came with quite a lot of perks.
‘You know, you could have done this earlier.’ I sent with slight annoyance as Mordian’s lips turned upward, which could barely be considered as a wry smile. ‘It would have saved me time and effort, and not deliberately having to wait for Aurora to translate for me.’
Mordian remained silent but I could feel his thoughts vividly, responding with his signature smirk which I found creepy for some reason as I felt a shiver run down my spine, as he kept sending the translated conversation between Huŕum and Aurora. I focused on the words and came to somehow understand the orc now.
“—that great elder of the elves. He is well-respected even among us orcs for his strength and intelligence. A man who is wisdomous and well-known for his good character.” There was genuine intrigue and flabbergast on his voice, as his scarlet eyes swept over me and then jumped to Mordian for a quick second, eyeing him curiously.
“Thank you for your assistance, Lady Aurora. But, would you mind telling us, who these two warriors are?” Huŕum asked, as his heavy voice sounding coherent and his words nothing like the beast I thought he was—I mean, even the thalassalithions were able to communicate and show etiquette, so why can’t the orcs. He was speaking politely, yet holding a certain degree of authority and leverage in his voice to make the other party know of his strength and intelligence.
Aurora looked at me as she began to speak, but I cut her off and spoke first. “Tell them the truth. It's best if we don’t arouse suspicion.”
‘Doing that would be the first step to making an alliance with the orcs.’ I thought to myself as Aurora looked slightly dumbstruck by my reply, but quickly composed herself and spoke.
She waved her hand at me as she told the orc who I was. “He is Seo Jiwoo, a man from a race known as humans from earth, and the man beside him with the wheat locks and golden eyes is a dragon; Lord Mordian Astrionyx from a race of ash’ari.”
Huŕum’s eyes widened in surprise and so did all their companions as their flabbergasted expressions were a sight to behold.
The orcs were at a loss for words, as they kept blankly staring between Mordian and Aurora, as if they didn’t fully believe her, until Mordian waved his hand nonchalantly and told them to be at ease in their language. I looked around me and felt the demonic energy is the very far distance subtly surging.
All of them seemed unaware of his fact as they continued their conversation.
I interrupted them and quickly told them that we should move on before the demons who had escaped returned with reinforcements.
The orcs nodded in agreement upon hearing Aurora’s words, as Huŕum turned to look at the mutilated bodies of his comrades, his face fell as he slowly reached forward, his stride slightly fast, but not rushed, to not disrespect the deceased as he collected their weapons and belongings, which were laid beside them or over their bodies.
“Forgive me brothers. Forgive me, that I cannot give you all a proper burial for now,” his hand reached for his chest as his head bent and he sincerely muttered his next words. “But, I promise everyone who has lost their lives here, or in the long war raging on, I will definitely one day avenge every last one of you, I won’t rest until the day I drive every last one of those vile demons from the face of our territories. Until I take back our peace.”
I stepped forward, my mana worked as I felt a tingling sensation in my fingers as I stimulated the earth particles and with a splitting and squelching sound, the ground shook like a tiny earthquake had appeared around us, as the soil rose above several feet and blanketed the lifeless bodies and buried them in a thick layer as the moist smell of soil and blood was fresh in the air.
This was the least I could do for their deceased warriors. Even if I didn’t know any of them, it felt right to do this, even if we couldn’t give them a proper burial right now.
“Thank you, human.” Huŕum said, as he withdrew the belongings of his companions into a big torn cloth and hanged it using a belt he wore on his back to secure his weapon.
Afterwards, we followed the orcs from behind on foot, they kept quiet, as we passed several mountains and kept walking for several hours as the path became more broken and ruined as he ventured forth. I kept my guard up, Mind’s Eye active as I observed even the slightest shift and change in the mana and demonic energy for any sudden ambush.
The devastation that I witnessed along the way was frightening, my heart sank as the old memories of my past life resurfaced like an old scar suddenly aching; the scenery a stark reminder of what had happened to the humans when the cataclysm had arrived.
After a long journey, the light of dusk blanketed the sky as the hues of golden and red submerged the once azure blue.
We crossed another mountain, and soon the orcs halted as I saw a ravine, a deep, narrow gorge with steep sides in front of me, stretching for quite a good distance. Mordian and I could probably fly and cover the distance—and probably Huŕum and the orc on his side as well, as both of them were on the enlightenment stage—, but regardless of that, we followed the orcs, and made way into the ravine through a torn and destroyed path which opened up to a crammed one-sided path, the road ahead was dangerous and any misstep could make you fall into the abyss below.
The stones on the edges rolled down into the abyss by the strong breeze, and it wasn’t until every five minutes that we heard the shattered sound and impact of the stone. It meant that this ravine was quite deep.
Aurora gulped hard, as he looked below at the never-ending darkness, as she held onto the wall for a quick moment and gathered her courage.
I almost stifled a chuckle, as she turned to me with her face slightly frightened and embarrassed.
“Want me to hold your hand?” I asked humourlessly, waving my hand childishly in front of her.
Aurora pouted and snapped her head away as she once again began to walk behind the orcs, her brave facade crumbling with each step.
Not soon after, we stopped as Huŕum stopped at the edge of the path in this ravine, I would hardly see the dusk sky from down here as the darkness shrouded everything around us, but it wasn’t any issue for me who had Mind’s Eye.
And I could very well see the ambience of the earth particles down here which clung to the walls.
And through proper inspection, I could see the particles of earth mana coalesced in a certain part of the wall on the other side, like a trapdoor or mechanism similar to the ones I’d seen in the basilisk dungeon, but far more advanced.
Huŕum twirled and touched the wall behind him and soon after I felt and observed a shift in the ambient mana as the earth particles stirred and the ground shook as a path began to magically form and connect the two sides as the mana dispersed and with a creaking sound of stone grinding against stone, a path in the wall opened up as I saw bright light spill from the inside.