Eliss's legs were trembling, her breaths ragged and labored as the rain soaked through her cloak. The magic she had just used had drained most of her mana, leaving her barely able to stand. Her hands trembled as she gripped her staff, her vision blurring as the exhaustion took hold. Despite her condition, steadied herself, knowing that it was far from over.
Durzag, enraged, snarled as he watched more of Naguk's people rise from their broken chains. But then one of Naguk's men lunged at him from behind. He screamed, "You'll pay for what you did to our leader!"
Durzag spun to face the attacker, narrowly raising his hammer to block the strike. Before the attacker could follow up, a fiery explosion erupted against his back, sending him staggering. The flames hadn't even died down before a torrent of earth spikes shot forth, piercing the orc and ending his life in an instant.
Durzag's mages stood a few paces away. Some of their own men were now free from the ice, joining the fray. Seeing this, Durzag barked commands to his forces, rallying them to regain control of the plaza.
Naguk, still chained, watched the chaos unfold. He growled at the recklessness of his people and shouted, "Don't attack blindly! Regroup and cooperate! We'll only win if we fight together!"
Both groups scrambled to follow their leaders' commands, regrouping before launching into an all-out clash. Rain continued to pour, mixing with blood and mud as the melee intensified.
Durzag raised his hammer and roared to his men, "Forget the promises! Eliminate Naguk! If he falls, his tribe will crumble, and they'll never threaten us again!"
His words spurred his warriors into a frenzy. Despite the earlier setbacks, Durzag's forces still outnumbered Naguk's people, and their mages worked to free more of their frozen comrades. In contrast, Naguk's fighters were disarmed and had to rely on scavenged weapons from fallen enemies. The disparity in numbers and resources was painfully evident.
Amukelo surged into the fray, clashing with an orc armed with a longsword. Their blades met with a deafening clang, and the force of the impact sent vibrations through Amukelo's arms. The orc was strong, pushing him back with each blow. Amukelo sidestepped a particularly heavy swing, aiming a counterstrike at the orc's side, but before he could land the blow, another orc wielding an axe joined the fight.
The axe-wielding orc's blade came down fast, and Amukelo twisted to evade, but he couldn't avoid it entirely. The axe grazed his arm. Amukelo hissed in pain, raising his sword to defend himself, but the two-on-one assault was relentless. Just as the axe-wielding orc raised his weapon for another strike, a blur of motion interrupted the attack.
Tidgug's massive fist collided with the axe-wielding orc's jaw, sending him staggering back. The shift in momentum caused the axe to swing off course, slamming into the swordsman Amukelo had been fighting instead. The swordsman cried out as the axe bit deep into his shoulder, and Amukelo wasted no time in finishing him off with a decisive slash across the throat.
Tidgug turned to Amukelo, his broad shoulders heaving as he caught his breath. "I knew you wouldn't abandon us," he said, punching the axe-wielder into unconsciousness with another powerful blow. "Go and free the others. We'll hold them off long enough."
Amukelo hesitated, his instincts urging him to stay and fight. "I can help here," he argued. "Eliss can—"
"Look at her!" Tidgug barked, gesturing toward Eliss. She was barely standing. Her breaths came in short, shallow gasps, and her staff hung limply in her trembling hands. "She's done more than enough. We can't rely solely on her!"
Eliss wouldn't last much longer if she was to maintain that pace. With a reluctant nod, Amukelo agreed. "Alright," he said. "I'll take care of it."
Tidgug grinned. "Good!"
Amukelo grabbed the sword of the fallen orc and dashed toward the remaining Thunderjaw tribe members who were still chained.
The first person Amukelo reached was Ghak. Amukelo knelt beside her, gripping his sword tightly. He wedged the blade between the links of her chains, trying to gain enough leverage to sever them. The links were unnaturally strong, glimmering faintly with magical reinforcement, and his sword barely made a dent.
Ghak looked at him with disbelief. "What are you doing? Why are you unchaining me?"
Amukelo shot her a puzzled glance, still working against the chains. "What am I doing? I'm trying to get you back in the fight! You may not like me and Eliss, but you're still part of this team, aren't you?"
Her expression twisted to guilt. She averted her eyes. "But...but I'm the one who made the deal with them. Don't you fear I'll betray you again?"
Amukelo froze. "What?" he asked, his voice a mix of disbelief and confusion.
Before she could respond, he heard Naguk's voice. "Don't unchain her! She's the traitor! She's the one who set this trap!"
Amukelo's heart sank as he turned to face Naguk. For a moment, he didn't know what to believe. His mind raced, recalling Ghak's fierce loyalty just days earlier. "I don't understand," he said, glancing between Naguk and Ghak. "She was so eager to fight for you, to stand with us. Why would she do this?"
Naguk's face darkened with frustration and pain. "I don't understand it either. But she betrayed us. That's why you can't unchain her!"
Amukelo turned back to Ghak. "Why?" he asked, his voice quieter now. "Why would you do this?"
Ghak lowered her head. "You don't have time for my reasons," she said through gritted teeth. "Free the others first if you want any chance of winning this fight. Forget me."
Amukelo nodded grimly and moved toward Naguk, pushing Ghak's situation to the back of his mind for the moment.
Naguk was still chained, his leg twisted unnaturally beneath him from Durzag's brutal strike earlier. Rainwater pooled beneath him, mixing with blood from his earlier wounds. Amukelo dropped to his knees beside him, his sword raised. "Don't move," he said. "These chains are tougher than I thought. I don't want to accidentally take your arm off."
Naguk gave a faint smile despite his condition. "Thanks for caring."
With a sharp downward swing, Amukelo brought his sword against the chains. The first strike barely made a dent. He adjusted his grip, took a deep breath, and swung again with more force. The chain links groaned under the impact, and on the third strike, they finally gave way. Naguk gasped as the tension on his body released, and he began to push himself up, but his broken leg buckled immediately beneath him.
Amukelo caught him before he fell. "You're in no condition to fight," he said, handing Naguk a small glass vial from his belt. "Take this—it's a healing potion. It won't fix everything, but it'll get you moving."
Naguk took the vial, biting back a groan as he drank its contents. A faint glow spread through his body, and the worst of his pain seemed to subside, though his leg remained unsteady.
"Can you fight?" Amukelo asked, eyeing Naguk's condition.
Naguk tested his weight on his injured leg, winced, and steadied himself with the help of Amukelo's arm. "What choice do I have?"
Amukelo placed Naguk's hand on the hilt of his sword and guided him toward the edge of the platform. "You're not fighting. You're freeing the others," he said firmly. "Let the rest of us handle the fighting."
Naguk narrowed his eyes at Amukelo, a faint smirk tugging at his lips despite the situation. "Since when do you give me orders?" he asked, his voice tinged with faint amusement.
Amukelo smirked back. "Since you can barely walk without falling over. Go help the others. I'll keep the enemy off your back."
Naguk nodded reluctantly, gripping the sword tightly as he turned toward the remaining Thunderjaw fighters still bound in chains. With slow, deliberate steps, he moved toward the nearest captive.
As Naguk worked to free his people, Amukelo charged back to the battle.