The orc leader sprinted before the other creatures, who followed close behind. Five ran towards them, while the others behind kept fighting people who left the city hall building. Alex sheathed his dagger on the belt and unsheathed the sword. He stood there, waiting as the gray giant approached. He glanced with a sidelong to his side and saw Liv taking a position in the back and aiming at the orcs.
Tina had her face full of fear towards the gigantic orc as it sprinted in their direction, but she stood tall with her shield and sword, her hands not trembling. She had come a long way in just a few days. Rel'Tir stood close to Alex, holding his sword in a fighting position. Sweat downing on his forehead like a river, but his purple eyes glimmered with killing intent.
As the monster got close, Alex could finally look at it. The orc was almost 2 meters tall and wore light armor covering his belly, right shoulder, and chest. The other shoulder was uncovered and full of black tattoos resembling strange symbols. His face was almost white, and he had a big scar on his mouth as if it had been cut in the past from ear to ear.
The orc also wore a lot of jewelry. He had at least three earrings in each ear, and they seemed to be made out of Arcanite, which seemed stupid to Alex. He could fall in the wrong place, and his head would explode, but he couldn't expect much from these orcs.
Liv's arrows flew towards the giant creature, hitting him in his armor and not stopping his advance, not even for one second. She aimed at the monster's head, but his hand, protected by a metal gauntlet, saved him. The creature smiled while running.
"Focus on the others!" Alex shouted to Liv, who started drawing and aiming at the other orcs. She downed one instantly and cheered with joy. The orcs were now close. Each one Liv put on the ground with an arrow was a small victory.
Okay, Alex… He's just an ugly bastard with a giant sword. You can do it. Alex mused while putting one foot in front of the other, flexing his legs, and standing still, not realizing he was assuming the same position Ravi had told them the day before. Come, creature. He thought as he saw the creature's sword swinging in his direction. The blade was so long that it had almost hit him. The creature's arms plus the sword measured close to three and a half meters.
Alex ducked the blow, and Tina and Rel'Tir, too, but the creature was already swinging again. They kept dodging and dodging, but the monster kept striking. Soon, the other orcs would reach them, and they would be doomed. Alex looked over his shoulder between one of the orc leader's strikes and saw another orc downed with an arrow. Now, it was only the giant monster, plus three of the others. Behind them, the sounds of the fight only intensified. If Alex could take care of the leader, he was confident the other three could handle the others.
With that thought in mind, Alex quickly sheathed his sword and picked up his black dagger. Against a far-reach enemy, close the gap. He waited for another blade swing, ducked, and jumped on the monster. But the orc leader was already expecting it.
The orc met Alex's advance with his head, connecting it with a terrible crashing sound. Alex's skull trembled with the impact, but he trusted the dagger inside the monster's belly nonetheless, twisting it on the spot.
A grunt of pain erupted from the monster's mouth as Alex tried to recover his senses after his terrible strike. Shaking his head, he twisted the dagger again and felt one of the orc's hands gripping his leather armor and throwing him far away.
Alex crashed against the wall of a store, his back feeling the impact instantly. Still, Alex was somewhat anesthetized with the thrill of battle. He could feel the Devil's Hand acting upon him, making him stronger. He smirked at the approaching orc. The beast walked towards him slowly, with the gigantic metal sword dragging on the ground. The battle sounds like there was not enough room to hide it.
The monster started to laugh, his belly bleeding with the dagger still deep in the monster's body. Alex unsheathed his sword again. Looking to the street, he saw that the trio was fighting the three remaining orcs, two pressing against Tina and Rel'Tir winning against a second orc. Liv tried to shoot one of the orcs surrounding Tina, but she was having a terrible time finding an angle. Alex saw her repositioning as the orc started to talk.
His yellow arcanite earring clanging with every step,
"When I heard FrontHold was defenseless, I rushed here with my crew. I knew the others would have probably run away. Olur was always a coward, attacking and running. Never doing the whole job." The monster was almost drooling with excitement,
"If Olur is the Orc responsible for the previous attack, he's dead on the middle of the road, two days from here," Alex said, smirking, but that only seemed to make the orc more excited,
"Oh, is he? I'm glad to know, little elf!" the orc laughed hard at the words, looking at Alex with distaste, "One part of me wished to have a real combat here. Find someone to kill and be proud of it. I see you fighting. I'll be glad to carry your skull with me. Rejoice in that, little elf. You'll be my first purple eyes in years,"
"With this face, I bet you haven't had your 'first time' yet," Alex replied, and the monster laughed hard. Besides him, Liv had been able to hit one of the orcs on the leg, and Tina was turning the fight in her favor,
"That's funny, little elf. I like laughing in battle; that's one more reason for me to carry your skull. Fret not, this will hurt a lot, but in the end my sword will cut you in a second and you'll not even realize," The Orc said, pointing the gigantic blade toward Alex.
"What are you trying to overcompensate with this thing, honestly?" He asked, and the creature seemed to take it to his heart this time. That would be good. An angry enemy is a stupid enemy. Alex watched as the monster started to increase his pace. Alex would need to finish the fight fast; he couldn't let the beast enter bloodlust, or he would be doomed.
The orc sprinted, already swinging down his sword, aiming for Alex's shoulder. As the boy dodged, the monster's feet connected with his belly, and he went flying inside the store. He hit one wall, felt the heat of the fire inside the building, and heard the wood crackling on the top floor. This store would fall in no time. The orc pressed the attack, entering the store with fury in its eyes. Alex was standing with his hand grappling his blade when the monster trusted his sword deep against the wall and made an opening for Alex.