War Against the Orcs
The darkness began to settle little by little. Normally, it would have become our battlefield, but somehow the streetlights—whose power source I couldn't even guess—and the building lights started illuminating the city strongly. The fight kicked off with neither side holding the advantage of visibility.
"The Orc King isn't in sight!!"
After getting backstabbed by Hyunwoo Park last time, the Orc King seemed to be sticking to its original plan of just guarding the house. Orcs without high-level specimens were easier prey than I'd imagined. If only their numbers weren't so overwhelming.
"Haha, think we can pull this off?"
"No time for chit-chat—grab your weapon!!!"
Defending against a massive force was more doable than it sounded. Holding narrow alleys and favorable terrain meant facing only a handful of orcs at a time.
But punching through a colossal army like a needle through cloth? That was damn near impossible. And yet, we had to make it happen—before this orc wave swelled into a tsunami and smashed our homes to bits.
The only reason anyone believed in this suicidal plan was one girl standing at the center of the group.
When Haven teetered on the edge of annihilation—or when some deadly threat loomed—she'd lent a hand without asking for a thing. The "price" she charged felt laughably small compared to what we got. Without her devotion, most of us here would've fled or died long ago.
So we trusted the blue barrier enveloping our bodies, as she instructed. Steeling ourselves, we charged into the fray against the oncoming orcs.
Kanghyuk Choi and Seola Han led the vanguard, axes and swords cleaving through foes with uncharacteristic ferocity. That kind of reckless swinging—they'll get hit for sure. I moved to cover the gaps, but the blue shield already blocked the orcs' strikes. Look at that massive axe blade, lodged in the barrier like it was stuck in a tree trunk, not budging an inch.
Witnessing that, the survivors had no choice but to put their faith in the shield. They ditched defense entirely, pouring every sense into shredding orcs. Minor wounds healed instantly; blows were deflected. It was like playing a hack-and-slash game—they just swung nonstop.
In the dizzying chaos of battle, having absolute defense on our side was game-changing. Just like that carrot night-vision op in the dark before. Centered on the Turtle, Haven's assault team pushed forward, steadily, relentlessly.
No hesitation, no stumbles—a perfect advance. Not a single weakling here who couldn't grasp how stacked the odds were in our favor.
"We're winning!!!"
"Keep pushing forward!!!"
Morale surged anew. Even the orcs hesitated to charge. But at some barked order, they mindlessly rushed us—only to leave corpses in our wake.
We pressed on until City Hall came into view. Or what used to be City Hall. The gate that spawned in front had birthed an orc fortress, pulverizing the building to dust. All that remained was the mangled bus stop sign nearby—a landmark we'd all passed a time or two. Staring at it drove home how far we'd come.
We kept advancing until we reached the fortress gates.
"Incoming arrows!!!!"
At Kanghyuk's shout, everyone shielded eyes and vitals, creeping forward. Right on cue, the Turtle spat a torrent of water. Orcs atop the walls tumbled, soaked and stunned. They wouldn't die from that alone, but the threat vanished.
Forward. Further. Even further. Reaching the gates, the Turtle slammed its bulk into a body-check. The massive shell obliterated the entrance; we poured through the breach.
Inside was no cakewalk—worse, if anything. Elites packed the place. Orcs even Kanghyuk or Seola couldn't drop in one hit: great warriors, shamans, hirelings, archers. The kind we could barely handle five of before. Way more than when Hyunwoo infiltrated last time. Proof the orcs were going all-out.
Proof our strategy was working, too. But their desperation slowed our momentum. Injuries mounted.
"Jaehyun's down!!!"
"Toss him into the shell!!!"
Fallen fighters got hurled into the Turtle's shell for recovery. We filled the gaps while waiting. The ironclad barrier now shattered faster than we could recharge it. Weakest awakeners peeled off one by one. Potatoes healed wounds but didn't steady nerves.
Filling those spots meant tanking harder hits. We stalled, the gate mocking us just ahead—humanity's enemy, so close yet untouchable. Surrounded, swarmed. Were we doomed to be devoured here?
That grim thought hit just as—
"Raaagh!!!"
Kanghyuk whirled his twin axes in a frenzy, bulling straight ahead. Ask anyone Haven's top fighter, and they'd say Seola or him. Raw damage? Seola's sword beams dominated. So was Kanghyuk there on personality and leadership alone?
Nah. He was an A-rank Berserker. No match for Hyunwoo's S-rank, sure—but no one crushed weaker foes better. Damage stacked into strength boosts. Recovery scaled with pain dealt. Hypnotic numbness to agony.
Leaping off the Turtle, he plunged into the orc heart, shredding a path. Haven's crew, inspired by his valor, followed in his wake.
And finally—we reached it. The dream destination.
"That goddamn gate!!"
"We made it all the way..."
The gate rippled like ocean waves. No one knew how to close it. Maybe impossible.
Turning our backs on it, we pushed to the building housing the basement flesh lump. Our final line of defense: familiar faces waiting. The elite orcs and Orc King from the flesh room, ready for us.
"…Hoo."
I let out a sigh without realizing. From first orc contact to now, nonstop action—no breather. Just plopping plants on the Tree of Life—big deal? Fair point, but midway, onions and potatoes ran dry. I dumped every last seed into hyper-growth, hauled them myself—nearly died. Normally, wild plants handle transport. Here? Just my crops and the Tree.
Penguin's help kept me upright. And post-fortress, casualties piled up; lugging them here drained me more. Potato vines caught a few mid-bounce from shocks.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. Fine. Look after the others."
"Got it!!"
Watching Penguin waddle off, I stared ahead. Through the shell, the Orc King and its minions glared back. Weirdly passive—no immediate rush.
Then the Orc King spoke, face more terrifying than ever.
"How dare you invade here?!!"
They stole our homes first, the nerve. No one needed words for that gall. We charged to drop the king.
"Lure them away from the Turtle!!"
The Orc King, honoring its trash talk, snagged vanguard Kanghyuk and hurled him wall-ward. Ignoring all else, it lunged to finish him—
Whoosh—
Hyunwoo rode his sword-summon back in. Scarred from last breach? The king wheeled to block him. Kanghyuk rejoined the fray.
"I'll handle it!!"
Seola zipped in beside Hyunwoo, carving the king's flank deep. Kanghyuk's axe bit into its calf. Hyunwoo's blades flayed from afar. Seamless trio sync, like long-time partners. Guess elites vibe on another level.
I could tell at a glance, being elite myself.
"…Kinda hard to follow."
Guess my eyes weren't that elite. The king, sensing pressure, mutated—spawning bone axes galore. But the three smashed through, piling damage relentlessly. Its strikes barely landed. Minor hits? Tree heals and shields. Big swings? Turtle's temp barriers.
And that wasn't all. Nyangnyang's White Tiger form charged in, sealing gaps. Four elites at once? Too much. The king went defensive, hammered from all sides.
"Help me!! Help your king!!!!"
Its minions were tangled with Haven's awakeners. Not the strongest, but—
"Hold 'em down however!!"
"Trust the Druid—pin 'em!!"
Weapons ditched, survivors grappled to immobilize. From spectator spot, I fed the Tree every last plant.
"Raaagh!!!"
The king's roars turned desperate as wounds outpaced regen. Limbs severed one by one.
"Finish it!!"
I yelled from the shell—just as Seola's blade pierced its heart. The Orc King collapsed, lifeless.
"Woooah!!!"
"Enemy commander down!!"
"Slaughter the green-skins!!"
Orcs broke, fleeing morale shattered. Pumped survivors unleashed hell—but Kanghyuk bellowed,
"Don't pursue!!"
His thunderous command halted the charge.
"One left. Strike while orcs scatter."
Spot-on, ice-cold judgment. Had to respect the leader. We didn't head straight to the basement—the Turtle couldn't fit the tight hall. Instead, we reached the room above the flesh-lump chamber.
"Time to smash!!"
Turtle shrank; White Tiger lobbed it high. It ballooned midair, crashing down. The shockwave pulverized the floor, exposing the target room.
Kuuuung—
A stark white chamber. There, a green-tinged flesh lump writhed—grosser up close than on-screen. It felt like it stared right at me. Then it wailed.
Awakeners dropped from the breached ceiling.
"Attack!!"
"Kill it before it spits more orcs!!"
No guards left—we unloaded everything. The lump bled endlessly, wailing on. Was it working? No dissent; we hammered away.
Ten minutes in, mana strained—regen halted, flesh sloughing.
"Hits are landing!!"
"It runs on mana too?!"
"End in sight!!"
Three more minutes of burst DPS—even Hyunwoo's hands shook on his swords. The lump stilled, then erupted in gore, splattering everywhere. Dead.
Anticlimactic for something so tenacious. Victory sank in—cheers erupted.
"We won!!!!"
Hearing it, dizziness hit me. Mana and stamina maxed out.
Thud—
Penguin caught me.
A cool chill lulled me to sleep.
"Good work! Rest now!!"
"Yeah…"
Leaning into Penguin, I plunged into deep slumber.