Clang!
Kael’s thick sword blade collided violently with the Orc’s gigantic fist. The devastating impact produced a deafening metallic clang, as though metal had smashed against bone.
The Orc’s punch was so powerful that the skin and flesh covering its fist were torn apart. Thick, dark green blood sprayed everywhere, exposing the white, cracked bones of its fingers.
However, Kael didn’t escape unscathed either. Blocking a raw blow from a creature of such enormous size and strength sent violent tremors through the joints of his arms. A searing pain shot from his wrists to his shoulders, making his grip on the sword hilt tremble.
"Khh... Argh! So this is what it’s like to fight an Orc?!" Kael hissed through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing sharply. The impact forced him several meters backward, leaving deep tracks in the muddy ground. "No wonder people say creatures like you are on par with a Two-Star Knight!"
Without wasting any time, Kael steadied his footing and charged forward again. At the rear of the fortress, the ranks of one-eyed goblin archers began closing in, adjusting their aim to trap Kael within an increasingly narrow field of fire.
The gigantic Orc roared furiously. The green blood streaming from its fingers only further inflamed its savage killing instincts. With a chest-rattling growl, it swung its left fist horizontally, ready to smash Kael’s body to pieces.
Kael wasn’t foolish enough to act recklessly. He twisted his body at an extreme angle, using the Orc’s gigantic frame as a living wall to block the arrows raining down from the watchtowers.
Thwack! Thwack!
Dozens of goblin arrows that had been aimed at Kael instead buried themselves in the Orc’s back and waist. The barrage sent the gigantic monster into an even more uncontrollable frenzy. Its movements grew increasingly aggressive, its arms swinging wildly without regard for the pain.
Although his tactic of using the Orc as a moving shield was working, the archers atop the watchtowers remained a deadly threat to Kael’s freedom of movement.
"Where the hell are Johan and his men?! Why is it taking them so long to cause some chaos at the rear?!" Kael thought irritably, cursing inwardly as he continued rolling away from the Orc’s relentless blows.
CRASH!
The Orc’s fist smashed into the ground where Kael had been standing just seconds earlier, sending chunks of rock and mud flying into the air. The monster’s body was as hard as steel armor. A single direct punch from it could crush ribs and shatter bones on impact. Surprisingly, despite its enormous weight, the Orc’s reflexes and footwork were still relatively quick and agile.
Several times, Kael was forced to use the flat of his sword to block the Orc’s sweeping arms because he didn’t have enough time to leap out of range. Every collision drained his stamina at a frightening rate. If his stamina were still full and he weren’t exhausted from slaughtering hundreds of goblins earlier, bringing down this monster would certainly be much easier.
However, Kael knew his primary objective: he had to hold this monster back and kill it here so he could reach the village without further trouble.
Kael’s chest heaved as his breathing grew hot and labored. He retreated several meters from the Orc, gripping his sword hilt with both hands and assuming a steady, upright stance.
"Haaah... Haaah..." Kael exhaled deeply, staring into the Orc’s wild eyes. "It’s been a long time since I’ve had to push myself this hard... But a monster is still just a stupid monster!"
Whoosh!
Kael stomped against the ground and shot forward like lightning. His movements flowed smoothly as he swept low across the ground, his sword’s trajectory precisely aimed at the Orc’s neck! Get faster updates on g.com.
However, just as the distance between them narrowed, another barrage of arrows whistled down from the watchtowers, obstructing his attack. Kael was forced to divert his swing to deflect the incoming arrows. Every time he tried to break through toward the archers, the Orc’s gigantic body blocked his path.
Just as the exhausting exchange of attacks reached its critical point...
"Die, you evil green monsters!"
A loud shout suddenly erupted from the left side of the fortress!
Johan and his men had finally managed to climb the wooden walls and launch a surprise attack from the flank! They charged into the archers stationed atop the watchtowers, slashing through the one-eyed goblins and throwing their ranks into disarray.
"We made it, Sir Kael!" Johan shouted as he swung his sword and slaughtered the nearest goblin. "Now you can fight without holding back!"
The goblin archers’ previously orderly formation instantly crumbled beneath Johan’s men’s blades.
Seeing that the threat from the watchtowers had been neutralized, the corner of Kael’s mouth lifted into a cold smile. "You almost disappointed me... but this is more than enough!"
Kael fixed the Orc with a deadly, challenging stare. With no more arrows to worry about, his movements became far more explosive and unpredictable!
The Orc raised both arms high above its head, clasping its hands together before bringing them down like a gigantic sledgehammer.
Kael didn’t retreat. Just as the deadly blow came crashing down, he spun swiftly toward the outside of the Orc’s right side!
BOOM!
The Orc’s strike shattered the ground, leaving a crack half a meter deep and sending dust and rocks flying in every direction.
Seizing the moment while the Orc’s arms were buried in the ground and its head hung low, Kael leaped onto the monster’s knee and drew his greatsword far back over his shoulder.
With a powerful horizontal slash that consumed every last ounce of his strength, Kael swung the steel blade straight at the tendons in the Orc’s neck!
CRAAASH!
A horrifying slashing sound echoed through the fortress. Thick green blood gushed out like a fountain. The Orc’s gigantic head separated from its shoulders, flying through the air before finally crashing to the ground with a heavy thud!
Kael landed gracefully on one knee, flicking the remaining blood from his sword. Behind him, the gigantic headless body of the Orc collapsed, striking the earth with a thunderous crash that shook the entire fortress.
Johan and the mercenary soldiers, who had just finished cleaning up the remaining goblin archers, suddenly froze. Their eyes widened in disbelief as they stared at the scene before them.
"He... He really brought down that Orc?!" one soldier stammered in shock. "Sir Kael defeated it all by himself!"
"I knew it! He’s truly a monster!" another exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with overwhelming admiration. "What an insane feat... A new Orc Slayer has been born today! Hahaha!"
His battle instincts, honed through countless bloody encounters, screamed at him that a sharp gaze filled with malice was fixed on him from nearby.
"There’s still an enemy..." Kael thought coldly. His instincts had never failed him. That gaze was far too intense to ignore.
From behind a large boulder not far from where the Orc had fallen, a figure dressed in a pitch-black robe slowly stepped out.
"You’re quite impressive to have defeated my pets," the robed man said, his hoarse voice trembling with magical power. "But you’ll still have to face me... and you’ll never be able to stop our grand plan!"
Seeing the blood-marked symbol on the man’s robe and the aura of death surrounding his body, Kael immediately recognized the figure standing before him: a Dark Mage.
Kael chuckled softly, looking at the black-robed sorcerer with contempt. "Do you still have the nerve to act so arrogant when your own life is already hanging by a thread?"
Kael turned away and glanced at Johan and his men. "Deal with him. I can’t stay here any longer. I have to catch up with the others at the southern village!"
Johan and his men were instantly stunned. How could Kael leave a Dark Mage, a sorcerer capable of controlling hundreds of goblins and an Orc to them?! However, before Johan could even protest, Kael had already leaped through the broken fortress wall and dashed away, leaving the area behind.
The black-robed sorcerer trembled violently with rage. A sense of humiliation burned in his chest as he watched Kael ignore him completely, as though he were nothing more than a pebble in the road!
"You think you can just walk away, huh?!" the Dark Mage screamed hysterically. "How dare you turn your back on me, you damn human!"
He raised both hands into the air. Dense, foul black magical energy gathered in his palms, forming a violently churning sphere of darkness.
"Take this! Dark Sphere!"
Whoooosh—Thwack!
Before the sphere of energy could be launched, an arrow shot like lightning from the watchtower and pierced straight through the Dark Mage’s palm!
"ARGHHH!"
The black magic instantly fizzled out, dissolving into wisps of thin smoke. The Dark Mage glared furiously, his pale face twisting into a hideous expression as he looked up at the watchtower, where Johan stood holding a wooden bow taken from one of the goblin archers.
"A-ah... sorry, I didn’t mean to," Johan said with an awkward chuckle, scratching his head even though it didn’t itch. His fingers had released the bowstring reflexively when he saw the sorcerer preparing to attack Kael from behind.
"You think I’m an idiot, huh?!" the Dark Mage roared like a madman. "Fine! I’ll slaughter every last one of you before chasing that bastard down! If I’d known things would turn out like this, I should’ve dealt with you myself from the very beginning!"
The black-robed sorcerer let out a furious roar and began chanting a Dark Magic spell, his murderous aura surging uncontrollably.