The earth rumbled beneath Ella's kick, a defiant tremor echoing in the cavernous hall. The orcs, hulking masses of muscle and tusk, shifted uneasily. Their guttural growls, once a chorus of bloodlust, faltered into surprised grunts. Ella, poised and silent, was a storm waiting to break.
Her rapier, held aloft like a shard of moonlight, glinted with a deadly promise. It wasn't just the honed steel that sent shivers down orc spines, but the glint of unwavering determination in Ella's eyes. They had seen fear, hesitation, even bravado in countless foes before. But this woman, this whirlwind of stillness, held something different. It was a cold, calculating calm, a predator sizing up its prey.
