“DEITHER!”

Marvin shouts as the charged at the orc that was about to kill his friend. But no matter how much strength he put in his legs, there was no way he could cover the five meters’ distance that separates them.

He was careless… And because of his carelessness, his oldest friend, the one who has been there since the beginning of the war, a friend that he shared his joy and woe with, a friend that was as close as a brother to him, was about to die. Hopelessness struck Marvin’s heart as his newly found senses becomes a curse as he watched the Orc’s axe travel in slow motion to claim his friend’s life. It was then even faster than his improved senses could follow, an axe flew and struck the Orc in his back with such force that he was flung in the air, and with a loud thud, it lay dead on the ground.

Looking at where the axe came from, he saw the figure of a hero, standing above the corpses of at least 10 orcs. The young hero then shouted. “CLOSE FORMATION! PROTECT THE WOUNDED!”

As if like clockwork, Marvin and the others quickly surrounded Diether, then, seeing the Orcs move back as if they were afraid of something, he quickly tended to his friend’s wound.

He quickly took out a bandage from his pouch and tied it around his friend’s amputated arm to try to stop the bleeding to no avail as his friend is starting to get paler and paler from blood loss that not even a healing potion could heal him in time to save his life.

Then, with a weak voice, Diether spoke. “It’s over for me. Save yourself and leave me behind fool.” He urged Marvin and the others.

“Stop with that hogwash and save your strength, dumb ass. We will get through this. We always had.” Marvin applied a tourniquet but the bleeding just won’t stop. “Damn it… Stop bleeding! Damn you Diether, why did you even save me? You could’ve defended yourself.”

“It’s better this way. I don’t have the stomach to see Lisa and the brats cry if you kick the bucket here when I could have done something to prevent it. It’s better if an old bachelor like me bite the dust. I will leave no family behind. No one will cry.”

“You have us, you retard! And I’ll be damned if I let you die from saving me. You will tease me to no end when we meet in the afterlife.” An idea flashed on Marvin’s mind. It was a technique used by his father when he used to pull the teeth of the other villagers in town. Marvin quickly took out a flame resin from his pouch and slathered it on his sword. Then he hit the head of the orc axe near them to create a spark which then caused the resin on his sword to catch fire. Then, with his heated sword, he pressed it on Diether’s amputated arm, cauterizing it. Diether grits his teeth in pain, but Marvin continued to press the heated metal against the wound until it closed. Only then Marvin took the potion out and poured it over his friend’s wound.

Seeing his friend’s breathing stabilize, Marvin took up his weapon once more to face the incoming Orcs, only to see that his help is not needed as with just the young hero alone could defeat 5 Orcs at once on his own.

As if seeing the futility of their efforts, the Blood Orc leader roared. “Useless youngins! Can’t even take down puny human! YOU HUMAN! PREPARE TO DIE!” The Blood Orc leader then attacked the young man. This is the first time Marvin has seen a Blood Orc fight, and to his surprise, the monster’s fighting style was unlike his brethren. While ordinary Orcs are strong, their attacks are too simplistic because they rely too much on their physical strength to overpower their opponents, compared to them, the Blood Orcs fight more like expert swordsmen complete with sword techniques and footwork.

Humans as a species are weak. They are inferior to most species that inhabit Astrea in both physical and magical aspect. But they were still able to not only survive, but also thrive. How? It is due to their ingenuity. It is due to their ingenuity that they were able to not only master magic but also create martial arts and sword arts to protect themselves and defeat threats that are vastly superior to them.

Then, what if monsters, who already possess immense physical and even magical abilities also do the same?

It would be totally unfair!

That is what Blood Orcs are. Due to their natural habitat, the Red Dunes, being in constant turmoil, the species in that region were forced to evolve or perish. Some species evolved to have thicker skin and hard carapace to defend themselves, others evolved to have sharper fangs and claws to pierce those improved defenses, while Orcs developed a new way of fighting to maximize their effectiveness in battle. With a proper form, a person could unleash an attack a few times stronger than without one. With a proper footwork one could move quicker and faster. With a good enough sword style even a weakling can kill the strong.

All of those combined with the monstrous physique of an Orc, then it would just be ridiculous opponent to face.

But, even in the face of such a ridiculous opponent, an even more ridiculous person is standing before him. The Blood Orc leader charged at Artreus with lightning quick steps, but unlike his kin who focus on the speed of their charge at the expense of their agility, the Blood Orc leader was not only fast, but agile, using footwork only possible due to its incredible physique to hound Artreus who is dodging all of the Orc’s attack by the skin of his teeth.

No!

It might look like the Blood Orc was at the advantage due to his seemingly unstoppable onslaught leaving the young Artreus no room to attack, but after watching the fight further, he believes that the young hero was the one with advantage as he continued to dodge the increasingly infuriated Blood Orc leader’s attacks. The smile on the Blood Orc’s leader who thought he was overwhelming his opponent is now gone for he too noticed that none of his attacks have even touched the young warrior’s skin. The sound of his fellow Orc’s cheers have also died down as they watch their leader struggle against a mere human. This further fueled the Blood Orc leader’s fury and his attacks become more barbaric.

“RAT LIKE HUMAN! FIGHT LIKE WARRIOR EN STOP RUNNIN!”At the height of his fury, the Blood Orc leader roared. In response to this, the young Artreus just smirked, pushing the Blood Orc leader to the edge of his sanity. “HATEFUL HUMAN! TAKE THIS! MY ULTIMATE ATTACK!” The Blood Orc leader let out a deafening roar. But before he could even start his attack, the young warrior pounced at him like a lion to its prey, taking the Blood Orc leader by surprise and swung his sword toward his opponent’s neck.

To his credit, the Blood Orc leader was able to react to the surprise attack by moving his head away from the incoming sword, showing his pride as a veteran, but unfortunately for him, the young warrior was still able to take one of his eyes. “GRAAH!” the Blood Orc leader roared in pain. But that was just the start of the storm of pain that was coming to him as the young hero unleashed a barrage of attacks, each strike would’ve killed a normal Orc in a single stroke, but showing that he was the strongest of his kin, the Blood Orc leader not only defended his self, but also unleashed attacks of his own to deter the young hero from delivering him the final blow.

After the short exchange, the once proud Blood Orc leader was left with a broken weapon, and body sporting multiple wounds from the short battle with the young hero. Gone was his confident look as he finally realized that he was no match to the valiant hero standing in front of him. For the first time, the look of despair is evident from the monster’s face. Who can blame him? Marvin himself felt a little bit sorry for the Blood Orc leader as he endured an attack akin to that of a mouse being strangled by thorny vines. The more the monster struggled, the deeper the thorns bite down on his broken body.

“How is he doing?” The young hero, Artreus asked.

“Wha?” Marvin was caught off guard at his question.

“Can you guys move?” He reiterated.

“Ah… Yes… We might be wounded, but we can still fight.” Diether answered, picking up his spear with his remaining hand.

“That’s good.” He paused. “On three, brace yourselves as close as you can to the ground. Then, run as fast as you can towards town.”

“What are you saying, young hero?” Asked the other veterans.

Even while drenched in blood, the young man exudes heroic aura. “I will open a path for you guys to escape. I brought you here to fight due to my selfish whim. At the very least, I could cover the rear as you escape.”

“Nonsense, young hero. We will not leave you alone to fend off these monsters alone.” Argued Marvin and the others. How could they let this young hero to fight alone while they run away with their tails between their legs? How could they live with that shame?

“Yeah. On the contrary, you are the one who should escape and we’ll delay them as long as we could. After all, the old should pave the way for the young.” That’s right. They are already old. Their days are numbered. If they could use their life to save this rising hero, to be remembered as valiant warriors who saved a hero’s life, one of Marvin’s oldest wish would be fulfilled.

The young hero let out a hearty laugh that the defeated Blood Orc Leader was startled crawled back to where his kin were standing. Seeing the shameless side of their once fearless leader struck fear to the monsters that they backed away once more. Marvin and the others heard the Blood Orc Leader bark orders to his men to attack, but the fear in their hearts after seeing their leader get defeated in a shocking manner made them hesitate.

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Artreus turned around and looked Marvin in the others. A gentle smile on his face showed his kind side which is in contrast to his savage appearance with his face splattered with blood. “I am glad to have met people like you, gallant men. But nonetheless, you should escape. I can’t let good men die for me. Make no mistake, this is no request. This is a command! One! Two!” The Blood Orc leader seemed to have regained control of his men and the monsters prepared to attack and charged towards their group. “THREE!” The four veterans quickly threw themselves to the ground as a gust of the wind flew past just a few centimeters over their head. It was but a split second but when Marvin raised his head, he thought he saw an arc of light. It was like the crescent moon has descended from the sky and flew towards the horde of monsters, slicing through everything it touched. Not even giving him a second to admire the beauty of the attack, he heard the young hero shout. “RUN!” Marvin and the others quickly took off and ran as quickly as they could.

As they ran, something was bothering Marvin. Earlier, they were determined to die for this young man. But now, they were running for their lives. How could the young man move their hearts to follow him wholeheartedly? Then, he remembered. It was decades ago, but he remembers the scene like it was yesterday. When the armies of humanity are on the verge of being wiped out due to the godlike strength of the then Elven Prince Aranis Baelon Tyrnea’eplith, known to humans as “The Wrath of the Forest”, a warrior clad in golden armor appeared. Facing the being that even the Avatars of the Churches has failed to defeat, the Golden warrior calmly spoke, “Be not afraid children of men, for I have come.” his voice was clear as if he was standing beside them. With just his words, all the fear in their hearts have melted, and they felt safe like children in their mother’s embrace. The power in his voice, that could move the hearts of others.

Could he be?

No… Marvin shook his head. It was impossible for the young hero Artreus to be the Golden Warrior. The Golden Warrior was strong enough to single-handedly defeat The Wrath of the Forest along with the army of Elves behind him. The young hero may be strong but he was far below the level of strength of the Golden Warrior.

Then… If he also has the skill of the Golden Warrior. Could he be his student?

As if knowing what is on Marvin’s mind, Diether who is leaning against his shoulder spoke. “We should go back.” He spoke. “Even if we have to drag him back to safety, we should not let the young hero die in vain. Even if we have to trade our lives for his.”

“Don’t even think about it.” Lucius, a fellow veteran spoke. “We would only be a hindrance to the young hero if we come back.”

“I’m disappointed, Lucius. I didn’t think you to be someone who’s afraid of death at your age.”

“I’m not.” He said with his usual calm demeanor. “If you just use your heads more, then you would get what I mean.” His gaze fell upon them. After seeing the look on Marvin and the other’s faces, Lucius sighed. “I am saying that the young hero didn’t need our help from the start. Just think about it. Not only was he able to fend off multiple monsters effortlessly while covering our blind spots, but he was also making ditches and walls of corpses to hinder the horde’s ability to swarm us in all sides. Not only that, but he was also strong enough to make a Blood Orc look like a toddler, defeating him without even letting it touch a single strand of his hair.” With a serious look on his face, he continued. “I also believe that he hasn’t even suffered a single wound since the battle has started.”

“And did you see his swordmanship when he fought the Blood Orc Leader? It looks a lot like the swordmanship of the mayor and his disciples.” Derion, another veteran under the employ of the mayor added.

Mayor Longley’s sword style, the Rosewood Style. Marvin and the others are familiar with the hero turned town’s leader’s fighting style for they were fighting alongside him when the town of Mukala was nothing but wilderness teeming with wild beasts and monsters. It was an quick and efficient style that target’s the weak points of an opponent. Against weak opponents, it can defeat an opponent in an instant, while against the strong, it chips away at the opponent’s weakness until it is ready to deliver the final blow, much like the thorny vines of a blood rose squeeze the lifeblood of a prey that unfortunately got tangled on its vines.

“Could he be a disciple of the mayor?” asked Derion.

“I don’t know, and at this moment, it is not important. What I know is that we should put our trust on the young hero. Rather than get in his way, we should return to town as fast as we could and assist the guards in dealing with the monsters who were able to break through our line earlier. It must be what the young hero wants us to do.”

Marvin and the others couldn’t refute Lucius’ logic, thus, they chose to run away and trust that the young hero knows what he is doing. Lucius was always the smart one. If not for the Thirty-Year War, Marvin could envision the man teaching in a university somewhere in the kingdom.

Marvin and the others continued to run through the forest, and it didn’t take long for them to reach the outskirts of the town. Even from afar they could hear the clamor of the battlefield as men fought against monsters for the fate of the town.

Upon reaching the clearing, they were shocked at what they saw. The number of monsters who have reached the town was more than they have expected. At most, the monsters who have broken through their lines should only be a couple of hundreds due to the young hero’s inexplicable ability to control the battlefield, with the horde attacking or retreating just with the sound of his voice.

If the monsters should only be on the hundreds, then what is the explanation for the thousands of monsters attacking the town right now?

Thankfully, they must have stopped the main force of the monsters and the horde before them should be their reserve since the horde before them are mostly composed of goblins and dire-wolves, with orcs, blood orcs, and other stronger monsters, are few and far between.

“Going through the front gate is out of the picture. We should try the-” Lucius suddenly stopped and raised his weapon. Marvin and the others followed suit as their recently enhanced sensed perceived a presence approaching. A hunchbacked man wearing a robe that is covering his face is slowly walking towards them. Sensing something wrong, Lucius shouted. “Halt! Don’t come any closer!”

The man didn’t respond to Lucius’ threat and continued to walk as if he is walking in a park, which made Marvin and the others more nervous.

The robed man continued to walk in silence until the distance between them were only about 15 meters. Then, the man spoke. “This great one was wondering why the town still stands until now. It seems that the town has sent elite warriors to intercept my men.” The man then took off the robe that is covering his face, revealing the wrinkled face of a bald old man. “According to this great one’s source, with the brats gone, there shouldn’t be any fighters who are strong enough to repel this esteemed old man’s forces, not even with the help of the ‘Immovable’.” Then, with a look of amusement on his face, he continued. “Yet, here you are. Not a group of young and heroic warriors, but a group of decrepit old men with one foot already on the grave.”

“Call us old, but you don’t look like a young buck yourself. You look more like those dried up mummies in the crypts.” Lucius retorted. At the same time, he put his hand behind his back so that the intruder won’t see him signaling the others to slowly surround the man.

Marvin and the others, even the wounded Deither, held their weapons on the ready and slowly surround the hooded intruder.

“Bahaha! Indeed, ti’s true!” The intruder laughed, not noticing Marvin and the other’s movements. “It’s been a while since this esteemed old man spoke with someone with a sense of humor. Conversing with that bald lad with that stick stuck all the way up his butt is no fun for the great old me.” Then a dangerous look on his eyes flashed. “What’s funnier are ants thinking they could take down an elephant just by surrounding him with greater numbers. Weakling who only reached the 2nd tier after all your years would never beat me even if there are a hundred of you. But keep humoring this great one.”

With that, the atmosphere changes as the mysterious old man stood proud while being surrounded.

A cold sweat trickle down Marvin’s back and he is getting goosebumps all over his body, as if he is a prey standing before a predator.

Marvin threw a glance at the others, and seeing the look on their face, it was evident that they all knew it. This mysterious old man is strong.

Unbelievably so.

The subtle aura around him reminds Marvin of the Mayor and the Guild Master.

Whatever happens to them, they must not let this man reach the town!

As if a signal has been sent, Marvin and the others charged at the old man at the same time. They summoned their newfound strength and squeezed all of their mana for a single strike.

Then…

Without even taking a single glance at them.

The fight was over as countless spikes sprung from the ground and skewered Marvin and the others. The only reason Marvin was able to survive was that his newfound ability allowed him to react just on time to avoid instant death.

“Bahaha! What did this great one tell you? Futile! All futile! You are nothing but ants in front of this great one’s power!” The old man shouts triumphantly at the heavens. “Oho? It seems an ant was lucky enough to survive.” The mysterious figure said in astonishment.

Ack! Cough… Cough… Marvin coughed out the blood that has begun to fill his lungs.

“My oh my… What a resilient ant… Your survival almost hurts this great one’s pride.” The mysterious old man said in a mocking tone. “Still, for an insignificant being, to survive this great one’s attack, this esteemed gentleman will allow you the honor of giving this great one your last words.”

“Tell my family I love them…” Marvin murmured. His voice was so weak that it is almost inaudible.

“Hmm? What did you say? Speak up, insignificant ant. This great one’s ears are not as they used to be.” Not hearing his words, the mysterious old man approached him.

“I said… FUCK OFF, YOU DECREPIT OLD MAN!” Marvin shouted. In a single moment, he cut himself free from the earth spikes piercing him, then in a fluid motion, swung his sword at the old man who took the lives of his friends and is threatening the safety of his family.

There was a technique that he learned from the army, a technique taught by the Paladin worshiping the God of Valor. This technique grants the user with incredible strength unlike what one could possibly use normally, enabling a man to exert 5 times the force he normally could exert. Unfortunately, this incredible technique also has an incredible price, at best, it would leave the user paralyzed with their body broken beyond repair, at worst, they die. It was a technique that he wishes he would never have to use, but if there is a situation where he must use it, it is now.

He squeezed everything in that single attack, and when his mana has gone empty, he squeezed even further, using what remains of his life force to further push his body to its utmost limits. He could feel his muscles tearing apart, his bones breaking down, and his very life slip away, but it doesn’t matter. Whatever happens to him, this old man must die.

ROAARRR! Marvin let out a guttural scream. His rage was mixed with rage and unbearable pain as his body breaks, but he didn’t falter, he must attack before the flame of his life is extinguished.

The old man didn’t move, a look of surprise frozen in his face as Marvin’s sword arcs towards his neck.

Then, the ground shifted and rose, surrounding Marvin.

Faster! Marvin shouted in his mind as he urges his body to move. He must strike down the enemy before him before he himself is swallowed by the ground. With the illusion of the world slowing down due to his sharpened senses, he could see his sword nearing its target.

10 centimeter

5 centimeter

2 centimeter

1 centimeter

Then, as his sword kissed the neck of the old man, Marvin let out a triumphant scream in his head.

Then, his sword hit the ground.

“Arrrghh!” Marvin groaned as he was encased in a coffin made of soil, slowly crushing him while leaving only his face exposed.

The mysterious old man touched the shallow cut on his neck and when he saw the light stain of blood on his finger, his face twisted in fury. “You dare draw this great one’s blood? You, insignificant ant!” He raised his hand and clenched his fist, as he did, the soil that is encasing Marvin got even tighter and he let out a scream. “You damnable, insignificant, weakling! No… No… Despicable cretin such as yourself must not be killed this easily. No… This great one will make you suffer. This coffin will slowly constrict your body and every second will be filled with pain as you slowly get crushed like the insignificant insect that you are.”

“Heh! What kind of great man let an insignificant being such as myself injure him? Maybe you are not so great after all.” Marvin squeezed what strength he could and spat at the old man’s face, unfortunately, it was not enough and only hit the ground in front of the old man’s feet.

“Ha! Babble all you want, this great one will not let you die so easily. Now, I will let you face the town you so desperately tried to defend with your lives, and as your life slowly dwindle away, watch as it burns down along with your love ones. This is the last gift this great one gives to you.” The old man then started to walk away. “Now, this old man has to go and check on those brainless monsters, after all, you insects are clearly not enough to hinder their advance.”

After the old man vanished, Marvin was left watching the town being besieged by monsters. Even without the earth coffin slowly crushing his body, he knew that he only has a short time to live as the technique he used left his body broken beyond help.

It was fortunate that the young hero didn’t come with us, or else he would have also get crushed by the monstrous old man. Marvin thought. He hoped that the young hero has already escaped and took another route back to town, or else he might have an unfortunate encounter with the mysterious old man. Artreus must survive, for he is sure to become a splendid and powerful hero.

As his eyes begin to dim and he felt that his death is drawing near, all thought vanished from his head, except for one. “My friends, I’m going to kick the bucket soon… I’m sorry I was not strong enough to avenge you… So please, go easy on me when we meet on the other side… Mother… Father… This unfilial son will be with you shortly… I hope you forgive me for all the wrongs I have done…” As he draws his final breath, he whispered. “Lisa… My beloved… I love you… Chael… My son… The little ones… Please stay safe…­­”