Orc Lord Raid (4)

My sudden whisper caught her off guard, and Yeon Woo turned her head, scanning for my ID.

(Me: Looks like Last Chance didn't tell you who I am, judging by how flustered you are.)

(Me: Yeah, that's right. And we actually met not too long ago. You did me a solid back then, so I'm just paying it back a little now.)

Whether it was malice or kindness, my personality demanded I repay it a hundredfold. I couldn't just let her suffer because of me.

(Yeon Woo: Huh? This is a new ID I've never seen, but we've met? And what favor?)

(Me: We'll talk details later. When the Orc Lord goes berserk soon, fall back as far as you can. You might get hit otherwise.)

(Yeon Woo: What on earth...?)

While I exchanged whispers with Yeon Woo, more users had gathered around, now watching the spectacle—easily over two hundred strong. Plenty among them would risk Taeseong's wrath to snatch loot the moment the Orc Lord dropped.

Regardless of the growing crowd, the raid was hurtling toward its endgame. The name bar over Jumbaka—the Orc Lord's moniker—had dipped to 25%, its body now oozing blood profusely.

Suddenly, I recalled that knight character from my Magnum days, the one who'd picked a fight over mob aggro. Similar levels, but his bloated gear and class matchup made a fair one-on-one impossible. But thieves weren't built for straight-up duels anyway, right?

I'd stalked him for a full week in his favorite hunting grounds, staying stealthed and backstabbing relentlessly. When he partied up, I'd slip in during multi-mob fights, pick off the healer, and vanish. By week's end, he was begging for mercy. "I was wrong, forgive me just once... Please, no more backstabs while I'm hunting..."

Backstabs mid-hunt were dirty, sure, but nothing beat them for efficiency when you wanted someone dead. Even Taeseong had just cleaned house that way. Now it was my turn.

"You lot! For the blood I've spilled, you'll pour out hundreds of times more!"

The Orc Lord had entered berserk phase. DonkiHote, who'd been tanking it in place, fell back, kiting around the clearing. Running didn't make him immune, but it'd buy time to dodge a few hits while ranged dealers poured on the DPS.

Might've worked before, but not this time. I'm taking down this Orc Lord today.

(Me: Guess Last Chance didn't spill. Who I am... or what I'm about to pull here!)

(Yeon Woo: Who the heck even are you?)

"Luitus, summon."

My quiet incantation engulfed my stealthed position in a massive pillar of light. I emerged as the apex predator of this field.

The titan ambush hit at the perfect moment. I charged through the rear ranged dealers blasting the Orc Lord, smashing into the archers and mages near the encircling trees. They had no defense against my sudden backstab from the forest depths.

Crack! My advance shattered dozens of trees, toppling the clustered 20-30 Taeseong guildies I'd targeted. Linking straight into Glory Sword, I unleashed a bombardment of AoE fury.

"Argh! Titan!"

"Magnum! Magnum's here!"

"Shit! A backstab right in berserk phase?!"

Boom boom boom! Shields shattered explosively amid their screams. But Taeseong lived up to their name—despite my chain of advance and AoE, most survived except a couple. Some even fired their high-end skills, saved for berserk, straight at me.

"Orc Lord later—focus fire the titan first! Magnum, that thief bastard's priority!"

Even while kiting, DonkiHote coolly assessed and barked orders.

Wham! Boom! Boom!

Incoming spells burst against my Radiant Shield. These were real damage dealers—the shield drained way faster than against mobs.

Thud! Thud! Ignoring it, I hammered down on nearby Taeseong scum as planned, one by one. Survivors of advance and AoE were paper-thin mages and archers anyway; follow-ups finished them.

I'd already bagged over a dozen ranged dealers. Pretending to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eye other users, I strode toward DonkiHote, still holding the Orc Lord's aggro.

"He's feinting a move!"

Ranged dealers and healers had scattered while I culled their ranks. Wiping them all plus raiding the boss in the titan's 3-minute summon? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Too tight.

Minimize travel, strike and fade!

Heals and shields had stalled from my intrusion deaths and scatters. Now charging him, DonkiHote's voice turned desperate.

"No! Heal me quick! He's targeting me! That Magnum fuck—!"

A knight's fatal flaw: tanky, but slow movement meant no easy escape. A few swings at his Orc Lord-exposed rear, and he crumbled after a brief hold—last hit courtesy of the boss's axe. No loot drop, sadly.

Damn, he was a murderer. Lost opportunity!

In that brief window, Taeseong had regrouped and fired on me. But with main tank DonkiHote down, this raid—and Taeseong—was done.

"Raaargh!"

The Orc Lord bellowed triumphantly at DonkiHote's death, whirling toward the rear—the mages and archers who'd DPS'd it relentlessly.

As expected—tank down, it goes feral! Clean up the rest and end this.

Berserk Orc Lord's speed was insane; once aggro-locked, no one survived. Luitus's 6-meter frame kept pace easily, letting me chase down scattered Taeseong remnants, piling focused damage to whittle their numbers.

Backstabs mid-hunt are the raid-killers!

Taeseong had run a flawless 10-minute raid, zero casualties. One berserk-phase backstabber, and total collapse. (Though calling a titan "one" was a stretch!)

"Fold! Everyone bail! Raid's busted!"

Sharp Taeseong members sensed failure post-DonkiHote and retreated. Hearing it, my nearby mages and healers fled into the opposite forest.

The 300+ spectators encircling the edge backed off ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠en masse.

Enough ranged dealers down.

Taeseong was broken; time to snag the Orc Lord before my low-level summon ticked out. Judgment Advance closed the gap to the rampaging boss instantly.

Unexpected acquisition logs popped up. Taeseong corpses along my advance path had dropped pickups.

Holy shit, jackpot! Users killed by the Orc Lord—not me—drop loot!

Taeseong's murderer-heavy roster yielded this bonus windfall. But boss first—I swung at it. Immune to debuffs as a field boss, but Judgment Advance's knockback let me chain hits easily.

"Whoa! Orc ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lord's getting knocked back too? Boss on its ass feels so weird!"

A looter-approaching user's voice amid the novelty. Taeseong drops were pricey, gut-wrenching to leave—but murderers didn't drop often anyway. Take what you can, ditch the rest.

Still, better lay down the law.

"From now on, I'm finishing this Orc Lord raid! Taeseong's my enemies, so I killed without mercy—but no consideration for looters! Stay the hell out from between me and the boss!"

I bellowed it loud while slashing nonstop, audible to all gathered.

"No way! Field bosses are fair game!"

Greedy looters ignored me. A few who'd eyed Taeseong warily jumped in fresh.

"Earthquake!"

Thud!

Forgot for a sec, but field boss perks. Berserk had delayed it with all the movement, but my stationary DPS triggered its signature AoE.

Axe slamming earth cracked a 20-meter radius, flinging everyone airborne. Only I, absorbing full damage via shield, stood firm.

"Earthquake!"

Thud!

Unexpectedly, another after 2 seconds. Final phase must've tweaked patterns. I tanked fine with my beefy HP, but others? First survived somehow; double whammy wiped them.

Orc Lord, you're too kind—cleaning up looters for me?

Silent thanks as cooldown reset; refreshed Radiant Shield and swung relentlessly.

Remaining spectators, witnessing the wipe, stayed back.

"Earthquake!"

Ting! Shield nulled it. Orc Lord's already red eyes blazed crimson fury. Axe swings accelerated to afterimage blur.

I matched pace, blades flying. As veins bulged thicker on its face, its final roar erupted.

"Raaagh! I, mightiest warrior of my clan! To fall to mere humans—!"

Thud.

Orc Lord Jumbaka collapsed at last. Before drops fully materialized from its vanishing corpse, I reached out amid surging looters.