Chapter 207: Fighting Spirit

Facing such a tight situation, the amazonian woman's excited, almost crazed grin on her face didn't falter. Instead, it became even crazier, wider, more heated.

"THIS IS IT! YES!" She yelled out with excitement, as she jumped slightly to the left and back, creating some distance between the swinging weapon to her right and at the same time, evading the incoming mid-flight body whilst she swung her axe towards the flying orc with all her might and momentum.

Her response was just as fast if not faster than the orc's sudden shift in tactic. Although both orcs were battle-hardened, they couldn't properly react to the unexpectedly agile evasion of the tall and robust human. The flying orc's only instinctual response was to quickly put his arms in front of his chest creating a protective barrier using his own forearms. 

As expected, the amazon's ax collided with the orc's arms with great power, sliding several inches deep into its flesh, and bones. The loud crunchy sounds of his radius and ulna bones were being shredded to pieces were muffled with the orc's loud pained, regurgitating cry. At the same time, his partner could thwart his own mid-way swing either, the best it could to dampen the blow was to quickly spin the handle and hit the already crying orc's head with the side of the weapon's crudely made head.

However, even being a blunt blow, the energy it carried was still quite high, causing a series of spiderweb cracks to spread from the point of impact on his partner's thick skull. The trauma turned the humongous creature dazed, it's cries faded, the focus in his eyes turned blurry. Noticing the change of state in her opponent, the amazon swiftly pulled his weapon back from the mangled remains of what once was the orc's forearms. Lifting her right leg, she gave a powerful kick to the creature's chest, throwing him back, towards Aiden and Sarah.

"Hey kiddo, finish that one for me, will ya?" She yelled at the black-haired boy with an excited voice. Her attention was already on the now-lonesome, startled, and shocked orc to her left. Shifting her attention to the now single enemy, she turned around to face her, the colossal war ax, already readily held with both of her hands.

As the orc dropped to the ground unconsciously in front of them, Aiden only gave a slight nod at the woman, before she turned away to focus on the remaining combatant. Looking at the half-dead body laying in the dust, Aiden was about to step closer, when a delicate hand touched his shoulder from the side.

"Let me do it Aiden. I want to do it myself." Sarah asked, with a stern tone, big contrast to the usual melodious tune that accompanied her speech.

Without waiting for the boy's acknowledgment, she already stepped forward, slowly unsheathing her short, curved blade. Turning it upside down, she crouched in front of the unconscious body of the dark green robust humanoid creature. Grabbing her weapon with both hands, she raised it above the orc's chest area, and with a slight grimace smearing her expression, she decisively struck down.

With shocking precision and a surprising force, considering her otherwise delicate frame, the blade swiftly struck against the hardened skin, piercing it with relative ease, and sliding deeper inside the soon-to-be carcass. With minimal resistance, Sarah's single swing pushed through the hardened skin and meat that served not just as muscle mass, but as a shell, protecting the important organs of the creature.

The blade continued its deadly trek inside the man-beast until a clunking sound put a sudden halt to its trajectory. The hard surface the girl hit was immediately recognized by both as the monster's most important part, the core. 

The ugly grimace on Sarah's face revealed a momentary flash of joy that quickly vanished. A stoic, strict look now dominating her expression, she began to push against the blade, cutting around the meat and tissue, working to free the small treasure out of its gruesome depths.

"Need some help?" Walking next to her and crouching down Aiden asked with his usual friendly smile. It was quite a disconnect to look at his nonchalant, seemingly oblivious outlook of the brutal scene in front of him. 

Looking like a butcher from some horror, with her hands and halfway up to her arms turned black with the oily dark substance that served as blood for the dead creature, Sarah shook her head, not turning her head and focusing away from the operation she was conducting.

"No, I'm fine. I want to do this myself, sorry. I…" Lifting her weapon slightly, she pushed it down a moment later with even more force, the sound of bones and tissue being tearing could be heard."...I... need to do this, Aiden."

"Sure… I will check on Naybeah then." Nodding, Aiden stood up, leaving the girl to her own, and turning towards the still ongoing battle that seemed to reach its apex.

Meanwhile, the battle between the woman and the orc was about to be concluded. The orc's primitive weapon couldn't hope to match up to the ornate, war ax of the crazed amazon. Even though, as the battle turned from bad to worse for the creature, he did not run away. His instincts were honed in similar battles. 

Instead, as he was falling into a critical situation, his eyes turned bloodshot, his muscles slightly bulged. His swings turned wild and unpredictable. 

Already expecting his new state, the blonde-haired amazon's grin returned, she suddenly ducked, instinctually evading a blow, while at the same time, doing a sideways arc aimed at the creature's ankles.

The orc jumped up in the air in response, which was exactly what Naybeah was expecting. Midway in her swing, suddenly her arc changed from horizontal to vertical. The sharpened ornate head of her weapon swiftly crossing through the air, she gave no chance for her opponent to react.

The blow was deadly and gruesome as it tore into the creature starting from his most delicate and precious organ, destroying his pelvis and reaching all the way to the middle sections of his abdomen. The suddenly created hatch and with the help of nature's most basic force, the gravity, the orc's guts began to spill out, dropping beneath him as his battle yell instantly turned silent, and he fell forward, lifelessly. He died in seconds, without any chance.

Giving one good look at his defeated opponent, Naybeah plopped down the ground, next to her newest victory, dropping the weapon to her side. Looking up at the sky, she gave a tired but contented sigh.

"Woah, that was intense!" She exclaimed with a bit of fatigue in her tone.

"Nicely done, Naybeah." The calm and crisp voice of the long, black-haired boy came from her side. Turning towards the source, she saw as the exotic eyed youth sat down next to her. "What are you doing here?" He asked after a short while, with his usual calmness.

Instead of answering, Naybeah slowly turned towards the purple-haired girl slightly ahead who was still in the process of dissecting the first corpse. Then, as her eyes traveled to the second cadaver, she sighed once again, before answering.

"These orcs jumped at me, that's all." She gave a half-hearted answer.

Shaking his head, the friendly, kind smile did not leave Aiden's face as she looked over the much taller woman.

"What are you doing here? I doubt that you came just to explore."

Forcing the fatigue down, Naybeah heaved another long exhale of air, before she slowly began to reach for the thick handle of her weapon.

"You remember what I told you back at the inn?" She asked as the same battle-crazed grin began to resurface on her face as she looked over the frail-looking boy.

"Uhm. You won't answer until we do so?" Aiden returned a question with the same calm, aloof tone. His attention wasn't on the amazon, but on Sarah, who was already doing her finishing touches on the first body. "It wouldn't be fair, you know. You are already tired."

Upon his response, the amazon burst into a loud laughter, kicking off a sizable amount of dust as her large hands violently tapped the ground.

"Ahahaha, oh you cheeky little boy!" Despite her words, she was perfectly aware of the deceptive look of this youngling. Whilst he looked weak and frail compared to her, there was an uneasy feeling surrounding him. His complete calmness and uncaring attitude also caused her instincts to flare up, warning about a hidden danger lurking around.

Deciding against the weapon, the amazon, hopped up from the ground, jumping in front of the boy. "Come on, just a short one! We don't need to go for too long, just to get a feel for each other!" Seeing how her words caused the friendly smile to curve slightly higher on the boy's face, she became emboldened. Reaching out with her right hand, she wanted to help him stand up.

"Come on, I know you want it too!" She added with a wide and expectant grin.

"Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you!" Acquiescing to her demands, Aiden accepted the offered hand and jumped up. 

Stepping back to give a bit of distance between them, he slowly clenched his fists, cracking his joints. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't expecting something similar to happen after all...