[Trapdoor Tarantula‘s Corpse Exchanged for 10,000 Points]
[Orc Scout’s Corpse x3 (Uncommon) Exchanged for 3000 Points]
[Ravine Lord Salamander (Area Boss) Corpse Exchanged for 100,000 Points]
[Points: 163,000]
Shame about that salamander’s corpse, but I need to be ready. Got plenty more stored anyway, and I already separated its core.
The system only accepted corpses for exchange; cores were stored separately for Corvin’s use.
He purchased 10 Greater Healing Potions at 10,000 points each and stashed the rest of his points for later.
[Greater Healing Potion x10 (Rare)]
Restores 1,000 HP instantly and 200 HP every minute for 5 minutes.
"Damn it, my money… but I need this." He sighed, closing the system windows before slowly sinking into sleep.
He rested for a while until Nera shook him awake. It was his turn to stand guard.
***
Night went by peacefully with nothing to report.
After his shift, Corvin returned to his bed and slept deep into the morning, until the ground began to tremble.
He jolted awake, heart pounding, and scrambled outside, hastily strapping on his armor.
"What’s the report?" he shouted toward Hobscale stationed at the watchtower.
"Fifteen enemies. Not far," the lizardman replied, voice tense.
Corvin’s jaw tightened. He leapt onto another tower where Kang was already waiting, claws gripping the railing, a low growl rumbling in his throat. "It’s them," Kang said.
Corvin activated his enhanced vision. In the distance, fifteen armored orcs marched in perfect formation, their synchronized steps shaking the earth. Each carried heavy weapons and thick leather armor. Most hovered around Level 120, some slightly lower, others a bit higher, but one stood out. A grey towering figure clad in dark iron, a Level 180. With a massive Warhammer resting across its back.
"That’s probably the commander. Hmm, it’s not looking good."
Corvin dropped from the tower and gathered his crew: one serpent, one human, one werejaguar, and five lizardmen. A ragtag band against a disciplined war party.
"Our odds aren’t great," he admitted, "but we can do this. Everyone, prepare your ranged weapons and skills. We’ll use the camp as cover and hit them hard before they close in. We need at least half of them dead before they breach our lines."
It wasn’t much of a strategy, but it was all they had.
"Whatever happens to me, don’t panic. I’ve got a way to survive. Watch your own backs, and let’s kill some damn orcs!" Corvin roared, and the others answered with a battle cry.
"Orcs must die!" Kang snarled.
"They’ll pay for my brothers!" Voltaria hissed.
"Good. Good. Keep the spirits high." Corvin clapped his hands, then climbed back up the tower, hardening his nerves.
He had never commanded men in an open battle before. And now, fifteen war-hardened orcs were marching straight for them.
***
Half an hour later, the orcs finally caught signs of life and halted just beyond the camp’s main gates.
One of the weaker orcs raised a war horn, its deep blare echoing across the valley. The commander strode forward, bellowing in a voice that shook the air.
Thankfully, Corvin could now understand most of their tongue.
"Give us twenty of your men and children. Do that, and you live!" the orc roared.
Corvin stepped up onto the watchtower's railing, letting his face show. A ripple of commotion spread through their ranks; none had ever seen a human before.
"You ugly thing," the commander spat. "We don’t care what you are. We need men."
Corvin grinned. "Your mother’s ugly, you swine!" he shouted back, then added, "Look at you, you look like you ate and screwed a pig. Pig-fucker!"
The commander froze, stunned that this strange humanoid spoke orcish, and then hurled curses that made even his warriors flinch. Rage twisted his face.
"Bring me whoever survives. Kill the ugly one!" he roared, and the orcs surged forward, pounding the earth as they charged.
Seeing his plan work, Corvin smirked.
“Men, ready yourself!” He thundered as Nera and other Lizardmen prepared themselves.
The ground shook under the orcs’ advance. They didn’t notice the darker patches of soil until the first ranks collapsed into hidden pits lined with sharpened stakes and poisoned water.
It was the trap idea he picked up from the yellow lizardmen, who managed to hunt alligators that way, and he knew that alligators definitely had thicker hides.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Screams tore through the air as bodies were impaled and wounds drank venom. Almost half the war party fell in an instant.
The survivors halted, stomping the ground in fury. Shockwaves rippled outward, collapsing every remaining trap.
Corvin spat. "Second phase, now!" He raised his arm and unleashed a volley of green-glowing wooden spears. His skill didn’t care what he threw, as long as it was spear-shaped, and his amulet coated each one in poison at the cost of a single health point. A price he gladly paid.
Seeing him start the attack, the others followed.
Nera burned through her mana, hurling five globes of poison that burst into a heavy rain.
Kang sent wind blades, which tore through the poison-soaked orcs, cutting open gaping wounds.
The lizardmen loosed a storm of arrows, while Voltaria unleashed her fury in arcs of lightning that danced through poison-soaked bodies, cooking those impaled in the pits.
The battlefield became chaos, as screams, thunder, and the stench of blood covered the area.
The orc commander gasped, eyes wide, and turned to flee.
“The hell you will… Kang follow me! Nera, Voltaria, keep it up, don’t let a single one survive!” Corvin roared as he used Sprint and Dash, exploding forward faster than ever thanks to his newest skill, Lightweight.
Kang blinked in awe, then cloaked himself in wind and gave chase.
Nera hissed in frustration at being left behind, then began hurling acid the moment her mana recovered.
***
[Grey Orc Warbringer Lv. 180] [HP: 32,575 / 32,575] [MP: 1,200/ 1,200]
The Warbringer lumbered forward, its massive frame and plated armor slowing its retreat. Each step cracked the earth beneath its boots.
“You damn swine. You left your own men to die!” Corvin’s voice thundered as he appeared before the orc in a blur of speed. The Warbringer froze, eyes wide as if seeing a ghost.
“How? So fast?” He gasped for breath.
“I didn’t have the privilege of eating like a pig, unlike you.” Corvin sneered.
Kang arrived in a whirlwind of rage, his eyes blazing. Seeing the orc’s face up close, he roared, “You killed my brother! Die!” and exploded towards him, his body and blade covered with raging winds.
The Warbringer chuckled darkly and swung its colossal hammer. Kang dodged, but the impact sent tremors through the ground, throwing him off balance. Then another strike came crashing down like a falling mountain.
Corvin lunged, his greatsword slamming against the hammer’s handle, deflecting the blow and giving Kang room to escape.
“You fool! Calm down, you’ll die before you save your people!” Corvin barked.
The orc laughed, his words laced with venom, “What people? Only a few live. The rest have died.”
Hearing this, Kang roared painfully and prepared to attack, but Corvin dashed before him, stopping him from doing anything foolish again.
“This is what he wants. Stop it. Work with me.” Corvin whispered, trying to calm Kang down.
The Warbringer seized the moment. Its body spun, hammer whirling in a deadly cyclone.
Seeing the weird attack, Corvin smirked and went to avoid it when his body froze together with Kang.
Shit, he used some kind of skill to lock us down and make us wait for death. Corvin frowned and whispered through clenched teeth. “Aqua Barrier! Hydroburst!”
A thick, deep blue shell covered Corvin and Kang as a massive geyser shot straight towards the spinning orc.
The geyser erupted, slamming into the spinning orc. The torrent slowed its momentum, but the hammer shattered the water with sheer force.
“Damn him! Firebend!” Corvin roared again, and flaming whips burst from the ground, coiling around the Warbringer's legs and torso. The harder it spun, the tighter the fiery tendrils constricted, searing iron until it glowed red-hot, burning the monster's skin.
"Aaaaaaaaah! It burns!" the orc screamed as its skill broke, and the smell of roasted skin spread in the air.
Feeling that they could move again, Corvin dashed towards the trapped orc and switched to his Coilbreaker as he activated Flurry.
The rain of slashes descended over the armored tank, shattering its thick iron plates with each swing. Its jagged edges tore off armor and meat with each slash.
[Critical Hit!]
[Weapon Effect: Brittle Armor Activated]
[Status: Poisoned | Bleeding | Burning]
[Weapon Effect: Hemorrhage – Bleeding Intensified]
Status messages littered the air around the orc as Corvin continued to slash his attacks now at half the speed they were, but the bleeding and the poison had already weakened the orc tremendously.
Just as his HP plummeted below 10,000, Kang appeared in a rush and pulled Corvin back.
“What are you doing? We got him!” Corvin protested.
“Watch now!” Kang growled silently.
As the orc’s health dropped even further, its roar split the sky, and its body doubled in size, skin turning crimson as armor shattered into huge chunks.
Then its body started heating up, air distorting around its enhanced body while its eyes turned molten red.
“Berserker!” Kang spat.
The Warbringer gripped its hammer and unleashed hell. Each swing sent shockwaves tearing through earth and air.
“One hit and we are done.” Corvin gasped.
Kang didn’t hesitate. He spun, winds howling as a towering hurricane formed around him. With a final surge, he hurled the storm at the berserk orc.
The cyclone shredded flesh, carving deep wounds, but the orc moved slowly forward, ignoring its bleeding body. Seeing this, Kang poured everything into one last strike. He swung and released a colossal arc of condensed wind that ripped the ground apart as it clashed with the heavy hammer.
The impact shook the area. The orc screamed and shattered the massive wind blade, but its palms burst open from the power of the clash, and even its back muscles burst, making it stagger.
Seeing that the orc slowed down. Corvin switched his title to First User as notifications rang in his mind while the other orcs started dying back in the camp, and his level rose.
With his body renewed and his mind refreshed, Corvin activated Infernal Hide. Flames erupted, scorching everything nearby as he lunged. His Chief’s Greatsword carving through burning flesh with precision.
In its madness, the Warbringers' hammer crashed into Corvin’s flank. Aqua Barrier shattered, absorbing half the damage. Corvin gritted his teeth and drove his blade into the orc’s gut as the orc raised his hammer once more and smashed down, unwilling to lose.
"Hydroburst!" A geyser exploded, pushing the blade through the orc's belly, ripping a gaping hole just as the hammer descended. Corvin instinctively raised his arms to block, the impact shattering both and slamming Corvin into the ground, as the Warbringer’s final scream echoed through the woods, its body collapsed in a pile of mass and steaming blood.
Corvin’s body shone again from the level-ups as it was fully healed.
He ignored the popups. Even the one from his title letting him know he received an item and rushed to check on Kang.
“You okay? Thank you for before.” Corvin said as he knelt, helping Kang up.
“Gratitude… We fought him before. He killed my brother with that skill. I survived, but others did not.” Kang growled sadly and continued, “Back then. I was weak. My brother saved me.” Kang added.
“I see. I am sorry to hear that. At least we killed him this time.” Corvin smiled as he went to carve out the orc's core. “Take this. You deserve it. Use it to grow stronger.” Corvin tossed the bloody core towards the jaguar.
Kang caught the bloody core and swallowed it whole. His body glowed faintly as it absorbed the energy. “Gratitude!” He bowed.
Corvin, on the other hand, stored the orc's now enlarged body. Shame that the armor is in pieces. It could still be worth something, though. He smiled greedily and stored the broken armor pieces.
And then he grabbed the heavy Warhammer. The handle was made of some strong dark wood, while the head was on one side sharp like a pickaxe, and on the other flat. Making the weapon deadly and versatile.
[Earthshatterer]
Type: Warhammer
Rarity: Rare
Weapon of one of the five orcish commanders.
Each strike of the hammer will create shockwaves. After 10 strikes, it will release a massive earthquake that will shatter the ground in all directions.
Strength + 15
Requirement: Strength 70
Good weapon. Wasted on that swine. Corvin spat where the body had lain and helped Kang back toward camp.
They had survived the first clash. But what would the orc chief do when his commander never returned?
One more chapter a bite later today!
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