Chapter 53 Flash

Unafraid, Xzavier began to dash forward along the extended arm of the chief orc with the agility of an Olympic sprinter. As Xzavier quickly made his way across the chief orc's arm, with his military grade pistol locked and loaded, he aimed at the chief orc's eye and fired. Unfortunately, the quick searching eyes of the orc had already discerned Xzavier's form racing on his arm towards him like an annoying ant. Instinctively, he violently tried to shake him off, like an irritating pest that had landed on him.

Thus, Xzavier's aim was disturbed and his bullet missed the target. As Xzavier had expected, the bullet simply grazed the rock hard face of the chief orc instead of pulverizing his eye. He wasn't in the least bothered because he knew that the chief orc's primary priority at the moment was to defend his already exposed weakness. The moment he dared to launch an attack with his left hand was the moment he would be finished.

The chief orc's next move surprised Xzavier. It turned out he had severely overestimated the chief orc's desire to keep his weak spot protected. Fuelled by an inordinate rage that had been compiling for a long time, the chief orc couldn't resist seizing the opportunity to crush Xzavier now that he was close to him. Even if it meant briefly exposing his Achilles Heel, he didn't mind, so long as he got to vent his anger on the persistent human who had managed to draw out the wrath from within him. It was a gamble he was willing to take. By the looks of things, the odds were in his favor.

So, choosing to ignore the warning bell ringing at the back of his mind, the chief orc threw caution to the wind and unleashed his left arm on the human crawling along his right arm and making his way steadily to his shoulder.

Every battle has its major defining point, a pivotal moment when the whole outcome of the battle was hinged on whatever would come forth from the moment. In this battle between the human and his orc counterpart, this was the defining moment.

Deciding that this had gone on long enough, the chief orc unleashed the full force of his left arm on Xzavier. Xzavier on the other hand was well prepared for this bit. Once again, Xzavier employed another delinquent measure by greeting the chief orc in a very patronizing manner, deliberately drawing his attention to him. That was the last straw for the chief orc. Every shred of doubt holding him back vanquished as he reached out in full force to grab Xzavier.

"That's right you simple minded beast…" Xzavier thought to himself as he waited for the perfect moment.

"…come and meet your end."

Thus, Xzavier deployed another one of his favorite gear. With his hands behind his back, Xzavier closed his own eyes for his own protection and threw another flashbang at the chief orc's large head after expertly detonating it.

But the orc leader was already on the lookout for any other tricks his crafty opponent might deal out. This time, he was well prepared. Just in time, he countered Xzavier's assault with a basic defensive maneuver. At the last moment, the chief orc recalled his arm with a terrifying quickness that one wouldn't not have expected from a beast of his size, and brought it over his face to shield his optical nerves from being assaulted by the blazing light again. He had already been through it once, there was no way he was going to allow himself fall prey to that particular gambit. The pain from the last time was the perfect souvenir that would last him for a rally long time.

The chief orc was right to have been apprehensive, and his prudence had paid off handsomely. But unfortunately for him, Xzavier had doubled down on his tactics as well. As Xzavier threw the flashbang, he waited a few more seconds before throwing something else. This time interval had made all the difference.

Because the orc had been too much in a hurry to protect his eyes from Xzavier's flashbang, he had hurriedly missed out on the second object that accompanied it.

Just as the mysterious object left Xzavier's hand, Xzavier called on his trusty military system.

"Military System activate!" Xzavier yelled urgently in his mind.

"System online. What do you require Major Xza-"

"Get me a para-glider NOW!!"

Sensing Xzavier's urgency, the military system responded accordingly with due promptness. With a fraction of a second, a swanky para-glider appeared immediately out of thin air. Xzavier wasted no time admiring the ambience of the para-glider. He was on a race against time itself. He only had a fifteen to twenty second window and he intended to make the best use of it.

So, equipped with fresh gear that gave him the added advantage of aerial support, Xzavier quickly strapped it on and sprinted towards the edge of the chief orc's gigantic right arm, then leapt high. The wind swept him away and with the rushing air whistling through his para-glider, he flew away, leaving the unenviable location that was the chief orc's right arm behind him.

Just as Xzavier had foreseen, the lingering effects of the flash didn't last for long, soon enough the effects soon dissipated as suddenly as they had come. And with the passing wind, they quickly passed along, leaving Xzavier with a fully functioning beastly psychopath that was bent on killing him.

Like a new born child opening its eyes for the first time, the chief orc finally opened his eyes. Carefully, as if unsure of his present state, he kept his eyes half closed, half expecting Xzavier to spring another one on him. But when nothing of the sort happened, he recollected himself and focused on his next assault.

Back to his senses, the chief orc instantly looked at his right arm which was the last place Xzavier had been spotted. He stared and stared until he finally convinced himself that the little pest had disappeared. He frantically searched all over his body, hoping to see the decimated corpse of the human but found nothing.

Another wave of nervous apprehension overwhelmed the chief orc. This wasn't a feeling he was used to. But the ballsy human had managed to put him on his toes. Especially when he had indicated interest in the complete obliteration of the back of his skull which housed his soft spot. He knew he had to find the human at any cost. The chief orc looked everywhere- everywhere but up above him.

A couple hundred meters above ground, in the sky, stealthily wafting through the open heavens on a para-glider was the lithe form of the black clad Xzavier. He had the appearance and vibe of a human raven. But this particular raven wasn't too pleased at the moment.

Gliding through the sky and soaring several meters above the towering form of the chief orc, on Xzavier's face was the dark expression of a worried look. As he peered down on his adversary, he noticed that the object he had thrown after the flash bang had gone way off course.

Xzavier wasn't particularly pleased because his original target had been the back of the chief orc's head. That move had been instrument in setting the mood for his next plan. And yet, much to his disappointment, his projectile had been significantly off target. So, he had to adjust to the new development to accommodate his plans.

Forced to deal with this glitch in his plans, Xzavier navigated his para-glider and compelled it to move in the direction he wanted- the direction of the chief orc. In a deliberate and calculated move, Xzavier hovered over the chief orc and hailed him in a voice that was loud enough to be heard several meters down. This wasn't a problem for the chief orc, primarily because as an orc, his ears were extra sensitive.

"Hey you!!!" Xzavier yelled!

The orc heard Xzavier's mocking voice and began to search frantically for him in the surrounding region on the ground. Much to his annoyance, the more he looked, the less he seemed to see. It was almost as if the human had vanished into this air, and yet, his voice was still very much audible in spite of his absence.

Xzavier watched the chief orc's frantic motions for some time. A feeling that was akin to that of pleasure resonated through Xzavier's being as he watched the chief orc go into panic mode. After he had had enough, Xzavier hailed him again;

"Up here you dumb son of a bitch!!"

This time, Xzavier's location wasn't lost on the chief orc. His quick sensitive ears picked up the voice and placed its approximate location at an astonishing ten meters above him. Full of disbelief and thinking this to be trap, the orc leader tilted his eyes upward and slowly cocked his head in the direction of the human's voice.