Chapter 232: Beg for mercy

While the girls busied themselves in setting the other poor, ill-fated slaves free, Aiden left the building and was on his way to leave the premises and get back to the shaman once again, hopefully gaining at least some answers to the million questions that kept screaming inside his mind.

Already expecting some sort of resistance from the guards, Aiden wasn't too surprised when he was stopped by the tips of the pike aimed at his throat from both guards.

"[Goblin] What happened inside? Something was extra loud?" The guard closest, the left one asked the question with a not-too-bad goblin dialect, meanwhile, he started poking his pike at him.

Even though he expected some questioning, having weapons aimed at him didn't sit too well with Aiden's already agitated mindset.

Instead of answering, his eyes flared up, his glowing golden eyes were fixated on the guard. 

"[Goblin] You sure you want to anger me, orc?" Aiden's tone was cold, gradually turning lower toned as he continued to speak. A heavy presence, an unbearable aura unfolded from his body, giving immense weight and pressure to the elite warriors of the Mountain Orcs.

Still, despite the incredible pressure suddenly descending on them, or the strange behavior of the small goblin in front of them, these warriors were considered elites of their tribe! They wouldn't just crumble immediately. 

The guard continued to poke at the goblin, but unlike before he began putting some minimal strength behind his small thrusts aiming to pierce the little fellow's skin.

"[Goblin] Answer me, goblin! What happened! What did you do?" He continued his interrogation, his tone was harsh, cold, unfriendly. He looked at this long, black-haired goblin as one would look at his enemy.

While he aimed several questions to the little guy, his partner began to move closer, trying to stay out of sight and get behind Aiden.

Whilst he was doing a splendid job keeping on the down-low, there was no chance of surprising Aiden who was aided with the system's map. Waiting until the second orc got in position, his lips turned into a cruel, nasty grin, as he began to speak.

His voice was no longer familiar to the orcs, it was very low-pitched, similar to some very ancient monster's, and not something that should be available to a small, fragile little goblin as the guy in front of them.

"[Goblin] I'm going to give to the both of you one last chance. First, the snake behind me comes forward. Second, you both get on your knees and apologize for offending me. This is your only chance at survival."

Startled by his words, the orc in the front, subconsciously turned to look at the orc positioned behind the goblin. As if they exchanged complete sentences in a manner of seconds, they both nodded, before returning their attention to the frail dark green-skinned goblin in front of them. 

Tightening their grip on their weapons, both of them began to slowly cock their arms slightly backward, looking at the goblin in front of them as just a slab of meat.

"[Goblin] Are you threatening us, goblin?" The orc in front spoke in a cold tone looking at the much smaller guy with a condescending look.

Seeing the looks he was given, Aiden clicked his tongue while shaking his head.

"[Goblin] Looks like until I show you that I am not your average goblin, your pig heads will not understand the danger you are both found yourselves in… Allow me to demonstrate…"

With his last words, his figure suddenly began to flicker and vanish in the next instant, only to reappear a few steps closer to the shed, just a step behind the sneaking orc, that was ready to thrust his pike forward and backstab the little guy just a moment ago.

Not sure of what has happened, the orc was confused about where his target suddenly went. Looking up, he looked at his frontal partner who had a horrified expression, pointing fervently behind him. 

Confused by his partner's strange reaction, he was about to ask, when he suddenly felt a chill, dread, a strange, unfamiliar sensation wash over him. Did he experience fear for the first time since his childhood? Perhaps…

Straightening his back, the orc slowly stood up tightly holding, gripping the shaft of his weapon in front of him. As if that could magically protect him of whatever was about to come…

As he slowly turned around, his eyes met with the glowing, golden pair of eyes of the widely grinning goblin behind him.

"[Goblin] Bye." Before the orc had a chance to react to the goblin's strange farewell, he felt an immense pressure hitting the middle of his chest. A moment later he felt as his body turned weightless and was helplessly flying backward. He had no idea what hit him, what was that thumping pain hitting his chest especially with such tremendous force. Before his brain could have had a chance to process everything that was playing out, he was already flung back, flying through the air in a wide arc towards a large tree's wide trunk several meters away.

While this was playing out, the other orc was frozen on the spot. He just witnessed something incredible, something that was impossible to his understanding. A frail, weak little goblin moved with incredible speeds, surprising even them. 

At the next moment when he said his farewells to his partner, he barely managed to catch the glimpse of something that completely shocked him to the core. The little goblin made a casual open-palmed punch at his friend's chest. 

While the movement looked casual, there was something unnatural, something otherworldly about it. For example, there were several afterimages along its wake! Second, there was some mystical glow, some sort of invisible barrier that surrounded his palm.

His stupor was broken with a loud thump coming from behind him. His partner's arc finally came to a halt as he violently collided with the large and wide trunk of the tree, falling unconsciously on the ground as his body, -with the assistance of gravity- separated from the makeshift body-shaped hole from the tree and landed on the ground.

Unable to believe what was plainly presented to him, the now-lonesome standing guard looked at his partner's unconscious body resting in the muddy ground with incredulous looks. Just how? What the hell happened? Was that punch really that powerful? Is he dead?

Realizing that the perpetrator was still unharmed and in front of him, he nervously gripped the shaft of his weapon, as he slowly shifted his head, turning forward to match the now fearsome glowing pair of eyes already just a step away from him.

The same wide grin was present on his face as he glanced over at the second orc's unconscious body. Looking away, he turned to look at the nervous only standing orc in front of him with a lecturing expression as he began his speech.

"[Goblin] I warned you both. What is it with you pig heads that makes you unable to listen to reason? You see a seemingly weaker species and no matter if he or she should be your allies you look down and even try to bully him or her! What is up with you?" 

Unsure if he should be answering the question or not, the orc slowly began to open his mouth to respond, but there were no cohesive, understandable words leaving his lips.

Smirking, Aiden looked at the visibly scared "brave and proud" elite warrior of the Mountain Orc's with a condescending look, returning the earlier gesture.

"[Goblin] What? I can't understand your grunts pig! If you talk, use that little brain of yours and try to make cohesive sentences!"

Being looked down and called names by a visibly much smaller and weaker creature was incredibly humiliating for an Orc. Still, even if his first reaction would be telling him to retaliate, he knew better. This little goblin was nowhere near as helpless and weak as his stature would tell. He was strong, unbelievably strong in fact.

So, the best he could do for now is to swallow these 'pills' and acquiesce to the stronger creature's demands to try to save his own life. After all, under the guise of all that training, that mask of bravery and proudness was an orc who just wanted to continue to survive. Life was the most precious resource, the most treasured commodity, even for them.

Thinking it through several times, and throwing daggers with his eyes at the goblin, he finally decided to do something he would have never expected to. 

Throwing his weapon on the ground he surrendered. In the next moment, the proud and strong elite warrior bent his body forward and got on his knees in front of Aiden. Albeit begrudgingly and through whispered groans, he managed to squeeze out the words that hurt his pride by an insurmountable amount whilst at the same time gave great satisfaction to the long, black-haired goblin.

"[Goblin] I am sorry, my lord. Please spare our lives, I beg you!"