Alex watched the arrow flying in his direction and turned his back to run towards Tina. Two trees stood close by. They could hide if they ran, but it was too fast. Alex felt something tackle his waist, and he fell to the ground. Ravi had dropped both Tina and Alex, saving them from the excruciating pain of an arrow in the chest.
The projectiles flew over their heads as they got up as fast as possible and ran to nearby trees. Alex hid beside one of them and felt Tina's hand pressing against his. He gave a reassuring nod to her and peeked over the tree. At his side— in the other tree, Ravi was doing the same.
The arrows piercing the tree trunk were way louder than Alex would think. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Every time he peeked around the corner, another shot hit the tree. Soon, they will have no more arrows to shoot. Who the hell is attacking us?
"Is this ambush a sick part of the training!?" Alex asked Ravi, who had a maniac grin on his oily face,
"No! I wish!" He shouted, smiling. Their lives were on the line, and the man rejoiced. Ravi kept looking at Rel'Tir on the ground to check if the man had been hit again. Still, the enemies weren't spending arrows on the agonizing elf. That probably means they don't have many arrows left, Alex mused while peeking. The interval between shots decreased heavily, and the archer started to choose his attempts carefully.
Alex peeked fast but didn't remain with the head exposed, trying to bait the enemy. It worked. An arrow flew quickly and passed beside the tree trunk. Alex glanced in the direction and saw what seemed to be a man on the hill, aiming another arrow at them.
"What's your plan?" Tina asked Ravi, but he looked strangely fixated towards the hills in the distance as if he was waiting for something to happen. He was probably thinking the same thing as Alex.
The young man could see two other figures running towards them. Arrows are almost gone, I assume. They need to press the attack before we reassess the situation. Alex thought.
That was the problem with the bandits; they probably assumed the four were one drunk teacher and three students, but Alex was prepared to deal with highly tense situations. He learned it from life and in the academy of police. He could get shot in the head on a typical day, but this was nothing.
Alex picked his black dagger from inside his pocket and waited patiently, peeking occasionally in different places of the tree. After three dodges, the arrows stopped coming. Immediately after the third projectile hit his tree, Ravi started sprinting uphill on the opposite side as the two downing creatures. The human ran at incredible speed, madly laughing and taking his bottle of wine from the ground. He took a final gulp and threw it away while accelerating his sprint,
"Where are he going?" Tina muttered anxiously, and Alex just shrugged, leaving the cover of the tree.
"Who knows what is inside his mind," Alex said as he watched the two hooded figures approaching them, already crossing the road. Tina unsheathed her metal sword and strapped her shield on her left arm. "Let them attack first. Try to take advantage of your shield," Tina nodded to him with all the confidence she could muster.
Alex again assumed his boxing position, with his dagger facing the outside of his body, and stood waiting. Now, he could see the two figures were orcs with sharp tusks and sharper swords. One of the orcs had his skin grey and the other totally black, full of lumps, and contrary to Bogath, they had evil and mean faces. The kind Alex liked to fight against,
"Why don't you just handle the weapons and the coin, and maybe we can let you two go away, kids?" The grey orc asked with a sick smile on his face,
"Why don't you shut up and fight us?" Alex asked without patience. He saw the shock running through the face of the orc for several seconds before he realized Alex had talked back to him, "Yes, pig. I'm not scared. Come fight us."
The black Orc ran swiftly towards him, not waiting for his partner to assess their situation. The orc's metal blade gleamed in the sunlight; it didn't look close to the rusted one Tina carried. The Orc swung his blade toward Alex's shoulder. He dodged to the side and watched Tina hit the orc with her shield, making him stumble slightly. Seizing the momentum, Alex hit the orc on the face with his hand and slashed the cheek in the process, but the thick skin of the creature avoided a deeper cut.
Tina pressed the attack, swinging against the black orc's belly, but was intercepted by the sword of the second humanoid creature.
"Me and you then, pig!" Alex shouted and sprinted, closing the gap with the enemy with a more extended reach. The black orc swung the blade, and Alex ducked but was still hit on the shoulder.
Alex stepped back, and the orc pressed. He met the engagement with his attack, dodging to the side and slashing the dagger against the creature's elbow. It entered deep, connecting with a joint. Alex immediately pulled the sword, turning it slightly.
The orc jumped back, screaming and getting out of reach. Alex looked to the side and watched Tina pressing against the other monster. They seemed to be on the winning side, so with a smirk, he rushed again towards the black Orc. With one arm practically maimed, the creature couldn't hide his fear anymore, and Alex wanted his blood.
The humanoid stood with his balance compromised, trying to hit Alex with his good arm and moaning with pain every time he tried to lift up his other limb. Alex kept swinging his dagger, and the Orc kept deflecting but failing to deliver a blow in return.
Soon, the humanoid was tired, and all he had left in his eyes was fear. Alex ducked a slow swing aiming for his head and got up with an uppercut. The dagger entered the orc's chin with force, and Alex felt the blade cutting through skin, muscle, cartilage, and bone. When it hit the creature's brain, he was already dead, but his eyes were still a picture of pure horror.
One more who had doubted him, one more who lay defeated. This world was full of people of all races trying to take advantage of the weak, just like on Earth, not with Alex. If he was able to, he would fight back at every opportunity.
Alex watched Rel'Tir close to the dead orc. The elf witnessed the fight with a grim of pure shock. His pants were wet, and his shirt was full of blood. Suddenly, Rel'Tir blacked out on the spot. I'll deal with you later, Alex thought, glancing towards Tina and seeing she was losing the advantage against the other Orc. Alex felt his strength increase dramatically; a shiver ran through his body, and he set his eyes on the prize. I still want some blood.