We are walking along the 'Road Back', the road that connects the capital to the city of Loford, apparently this road has a history, which took place during the last war against the Orks, but it is not known to me.
"For a road that connects the capital to one of the most important cities of the empire, is it a bit desolate or is it just me that gets this impression?" I ask Lare, who precedes us, to guide us.
"It's not an impression, lately bands of orks have been pillaging the merchant caravans and cavalry patrols that guard the road." He explains why, without interrupting his walk.
"If I'm not mistaken in Hecate's kingdom there were still small groups of orks left by the horde in the last war...didn't they ever give such problems?" Is it possible that the Orks left over from the last war have remained docile?
"Obviously not, they have always made hit and run attacks, but never so precise and fast, someone is coordinating them. The Empire took immediate action, preventing these Orks from proliferating unchecked." He takes a piece of beef jerky and starts chewing on it.
"And isn't the Empire worried about all this? Isn't it taking countermeasures like it used to?" What is the King doing?
"Apparently the Archduke's Council has decided that this is not much of a threat to sending troops and elite soldiers, so they have ordered the various Dukes to sort the situation out on their own." He finishes chewing that piece of meat, but immediately devours another.
"So we too could be attacked by these orks." I have a bad feeling, which I honestly don't want to repeat.
"Most likely, but don't worry, I'm here with you. And there haven't been any sightings of Orks above 25 power ranks, they're manageable for me." Lare looks at us, with the piece of meat dangling from his mouth, and smiles at us.
"I trust Miss Lare, she is also very strong." Jusy exclaims, with a certain tone of admiration.
'Lare is at the 30th degree of power… she's not just any woman, getting to that level isn't easy. I wonder what this pink panther has been through… 'I can't help but be drawn to Lare, not only because of her strength, but also because of her hot and sexy body. But this is not the moment, I must concentrate on finding Gilberta, I must not forget her.
We walk a lot, it's inconvenient not to have a caravan or horses, but we didn't have time. And it's almost lunchtime and I feel like my stomach is starting to groan.
"We'll stop for-" Lare is saying something, but she cuts off what she was about to say and freezes in place.
'I feel something…' I feel power vibrations around us.
"I feel something bad..." Jusy says, while she holds her stick in her hands, and I pull the sword out of its scabbard.
"Orks...get ready guys...I hate it when someone interrupts my meal." Lare warns us and his last words are whispered, but I can still hear.
"AAHHHHHHHGGG!" You have roadsides, a dozen orks come out of hiding, some have armor pieces and some are shirtless. They wield all kinds of weapons, it's with their berserker class, they attack us.
'So those bright red tattoos that are scattered all over the body are the manifestation of their class. This is the first time I've seen such a thing, but Baroness Linda told me about it once.' When a living being activates their Berserker class, red tattoos begin to manifest over much of their body, each individual having different tattoos and distinct shapes.
"But this is not the time to think about that." I swipe an aster across my blade and lunge at some of these orks. 'Most of these savages are around the 10th power rank, nothing compared to that tigrelos in the forest.' And counting that I have Jusy behind me, it won't be a big problem.
I face three orks, I manage to keep up with them, but some blows are dealt to me, but thanks to the heals that are assigned to me, I manage to resist. But I have to be careful with the consumption of astra, I don't know why yet, but since last night it hasn't loaded at all... there must be something underneath.
After a few minutes of fighting, we kill these three orks, remembering someone, I turn my gaze to Lare. And as I suspected, he doesn't need my help, his spikes sticking out of the ground have impaled the remaining orks, leaving those savages no time to launch any sort of attack. 'He doesn't even have a drop of sweat on his face... worthy of an earthshaper at the 30th degree of power.' I want to get to his level, no, but what am I saying, I want to surpass him.
"Are you okay guys?" Lare turns to us, checking for any serious injuries. The two of us nod, reassuring her.
'OH! I just felt a surge of energy… I reached 7th grade, awesome!' That alpha from yesterday must have given me a lot of experience, well I nearly died.
"You did well for two rookies and against enemies stronger than you, great job. But let's continue our journey, we mustn't waste time." Lare congratulates us and advises us to continue walking.
"So Lare, you are a shaper of the earth." I address the woman with dark pink hair.
"Yes, I have that class. What about you, Darion? You look like a warrior, but I've never seen that kind of astra... you almost look like a paladin. But I've met people who have that class, and they have some kind of aura around them." theirs, invisible but perceptible, but you don't have that kind of aura… yours is more of a mysterious kind of aura…" Lare looks at me with a look mixed between question and excitement.
"Actually, I don't even know my class, I just unlocked it a few days ago." I tell her the truth, not wanting to hide anything.
"Did you unlock your class a few days ago? And you just hit the 7th rank of power? You're a marvel, Darion." Lare is almost shocked to learn that they have only been able to use the astra for a few days.
"Good thanks, but I'm still not enough, I still have a lot to improve and the road is long and winding." I clench my fists, with the excitement of having just risen through the ranks.
"Almost nothing is simple, but the feeling of overcoming a difficult obstacle is like no other." Lare seems to understand me.
We continue our walk, time passes and the sunset arrives.
"It's not advisable, but we should make camp, walking all night with these orks around, it's not advisable. Standing still isn't very wise either, but at least I can put up some defenses with dirt." Lare starts building earthen walls. "In a few days we should stop in a town along the way, it's called Rebald, we'll have to stock up on food and maybe, if we're lucky, we'll be able to find some horses or even a caravan." instructs us on what we need to do in the next few days.
"Rebald, a small town under the command of the Dan family, if I'm not mistaken." Jusy points out that she too has studied the places around or not far from Maduville a bit.
"Exactly, it's the Dan family, they answer to the nobles of the Croster family. Don't worry, the Dans are more relaxed than the Latens, they shouldn't cause us problems." Lare reassures us. "Now eat and go to sleep early, tomorrow we have to wake up at dawn."
And with these words we finish supper and begin to sleep.