Of Monsters and Men (2)

"Of course, it just had to be a noble," mumbled Gray under his breath, a nervous smile across his face as he backed away.

The group had been split in two, divided by the huge crevice that the Orc noble had created.

Gray, Andre, Armin and Eleanour stood on one side, while the remaining survivors were huddled together on the other.

A sense of dread filled the battlefield as the survivors looked at the damage caused by a single swing of the Orc noble's sword. Their hands trembled in fear as they realized that their numbers had been cut in half before they even had the chance to put a scratch on it.

"I-Its him," stuttered Sophia, remembering the horrors she had experienced the first time she came here.

The Orc noble stood at 3.5 meters tall, dwarfing even the other orcs. Its figure was a red and black blur as it rushed towards the survivors, gapping the rest of the orcs by several meters.

'I-Its fast. I wonder if the captain will be able to-' thought Silas, before the realization that his whole body was trembling in fear interrupted his thoughts.

"Master, we have to retreat," shouted Tesse, already running in the opposite direction from the Orc noble. Her running was staggered, the anti-tank rifle she carried on her back greatly reducing her mobility.

'What's going on? Why are they running?' thought Armin as he watched Gray move to the back of the group, beads of sweat collecting at his forehead.

"You guys deal with the other orcs, the leader is mine," grunted Andre, before rushing off towards the Orc noble with his greatsword in hand.

"Afina, go!" shouted Judith, snapping Afina out of her daze.

"Y-yes,"

'Interesting, it seems the Riot Guild anticipated such an enemy. However, if that kid is moving back, perhaps it would be wise to follow,' thought Armin with a thoughtful look on his face, before turning his back to the approaching Orc Noble.

"Where are you going?" scowled Eleanour as Armin walked past her.

"Something about this feels off. It's best to watch and see how things unfold," replied Armin, without even stopping to look at her.

"How many minutes until Michael is off cooldown?" asked Armin casually as he continued retreating.

"5 minutes since he wasn't destroyed in battle," replied Eleanour, following Armin as she realized she would be defenseless until then.

"L-let's go. We have to cover for the Captain," resolved Judith, putting on her enchanted gauntlets.

"S-she's right," added Silas, gripping his spear tightly.

Judith's eyes began glowing yellow, a faint glow emanating from the rest of her body as well.

"I'll see you there," she said, before turning into a blur rushing towards the oncoming army.

"Pfft, as if," snorted Silas.

"Thrust," as he said this, his spear went zipping towards the horde, embedding itself in the eye of one of the orcs.

"Return," with this command it flew back to his hands as if it had a mind of its own.

"Sophia, do we have enough poison for me to put on my spear? My abilities are useless without something to stop their healing," said Silas as he watched the orc's eye regenerate at a fast rate.

"N-no, the poison is only enough to use on the leader. If even a drop goes to waste, we might not be able to kill it," replied Sophia, her body still trembling in fear.

"Kukk, then I'll just try to slow these bastards down as long as I can," said Silas before gripping his spear again.

"Thrust," this time the spear went zipping towards the Orc noble's figure, its tip slicing through the air like a bullet.

"Pathetic," snorted the Orc noble, before swatting it away like it was a fly.

In the next second, Andre and the Orc noble clashed swords, sending Andre flying back several feet. A look of surprise covered his face, it had been the first time he was overpowered, by monsters, or men.

"It seems I can't get away without using it," he said as he stood up.

"Dominate," he shouted, before an unknown pressure weighed down on the Orc noble. The pressure was so intense that cracks began to form below its feet, burying them a few centimeters into the ground.

"Interesting human," smiled the Orc noble, it seemed to be enjoying itself.

Andre wasted no time on chatter, he rushed towards the orc noble, his sword ready to slice its head off. The orc noble raised its sword to meet Andre's, however its movements were sluggish due to the added gravity, allowing Andre to knick its neck.

However that was as far as he went, even with Andre's strength, he couldn't pierce through its tough skin.

"Congratulations. You were able to wound Gra'hack of Bla'hacko. Feel pride in being able to fight against an Orc Corporal," laughed the beast as its wound began healing.

It grabbed onto Andre's sword, holding it firmly as if it were a mere blunted blade.

"This blade, it seems you stole it from one of my kin. I shall return it to my general, maybe then I shall be forgiven and allowed back home," continued the noble before raising its sword into the air.

Whilst the two had been fighting Afina snuck behind them, her ability allowing her to withstand Andre's domination.

"Die," shouted Afina from behind, as she stabbed a knife coated in green fluid into the Orc's closing neck wound.

"I-I did it," she said with a smile, her hands still trembling.

"What have yo-" before the Orc could finish its sentence, it fell to the ground, foam coming out of its mouth.

"Did we win?" shouted Judith from where she was. Although she didn't have the strength to chop off an orc's head, her momentum allowed her to shatter their ribs, slowing them down greatly.

'Why hasn't the clear notification sounded,' wondered Sophia, as she stared at the Orc noble's lifeless body lay on the ground.

'Now that I think about it, we haven't been given any clear conditions yet,'

"Pfft, do they really think that's enough to deal with a noble?" chuckled Gray from behind the group.

'I have to think of a plan or this is the end of the line,'

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