The Orc Warrior (2)
Han Jungwoo's body shot upward along with the halberd, only to be slammed straight back down. Crunch!
It wasn't a thunderous boom. If anything, it was the sound of a human body being pulverized. The instant he was driven into the ground, dark crimson blood sprayed in every direction. It was blood that had burst from Han Jungwoo's own body.
The Orc Warrior released the halberd it had been gripping. Then it drove its fist downward toward the ground.
Thud!Boom!
Every time its fist hammered the ground—and the man pinned beneath it—the impact echoed like a drum. The earth trembled. Flesh splattered. Bones shattered. With each resounding crash, more blood scattered across the surroundings.
Crunch!Crack!
The sounds were grotesque. So unnatural that it was hard to believe they could come from a human body. The sudden counterattack from the Orc Warrior froze everyone in place. In that moment, the only thing moving on the battlefield was the Orc Warrior itself, relentlessly pounding its fists without pause.
Even the orcs that had been locked in fierce combat with the soldiers stopped their attacks. They simply watched the Orc Warrior, standing in rigid, almost reverent postures. It was as if they were witnessing the divine martial might of a sacred being.
The soldiers failed to notice the orcs' strange reaction. The sight before them was simply too shocking for them to register anything else.
“This is insane…”
The soldiers felt the overwhelming power of the monster with their eyes, their ears, and their very skin. What settled in their hearts was something close to pure terror.
Roughly sixty soldiers had joined this subjugation mission. None of them said it aloud, but every single one was probably thinking the same thing: that the soldier named Han Jungwoo, who had charged at the forefront, was the strongest among them. Even the arrogant Varen had believed it.
“M-monster…” Varen muttered in a trembling voice.
That very Jungwoo was being tossed around like nothing, then relentlessly beaten until his body was being pounded into pulp. It was only natural that fear had taken root in the soldiers' hearts. The absolute certainty that this cannot be defeated. That conviction, which promised only their own defeat, twisted into terror and seized their entire bodies.
Crunch!
The Orc Warrior drove its fists into Jungwoo again and again. It swung at his arms, legs, torso—even his face—unleashing a completely one-sided barrage.
Hiss.
The Orc Warrior finally stopped its attack. The merciless chain of violence that had lasted several seconds came to an end, meaning there was no longer any need to continue. With a savage grin, it grabbed Han Jungwoo's head.
His body, sunken into the cratered ground, was lifted upward in the monster's grip.
“Hic…!?”
Arisha, who had been frozen in fear at the horrific sight, swallowed a sharp breath. The result of such unrelenting violence no longer resembled a human form. His limbs were bent and twisted at grotesque angles. His clothes were soaked through with blood from countless wounds. His motionless body wasn't even breathing anymore.
He was dead.
“Jung…woo…!”
A voice thick with shock and terror echoed from afar. Seo Hayun, positioned at the rear, had finally caught sight of Jungwoo's condition.
“You can't! If you get any closer…!”
Garan was urgently holding Seo Hayun back as she tried to rush toward Jungwoo.
The Orc Warrior hurled the body it had lifted. As if it had no further use for him, it tossed him aside like a rag. His body traced a parabola through the air before crashing into the ground.
“N-no! Let me go! I have to get to Jungwoo! I need to go to him!”
Seo Hayun screamed desperately. She shook off Garan's restraining arm and ran toward Jungwoo as he tumbled across the dirt. The moment she reached him and tried to check his condition—
Kruuuuaaaaaah!
The Orc Warrior's roar once again engulfed the battlefield. It was a signal. The orcs that had been reverently watching the Orc Warrior
Thud!
One orc stomped the earth. As if in response, the surrounding orcs followed suit.
Thud! Thud!
The vibrations grew increasingly violent. The stomping of the orcs' feet gradually synchronized, falling into a steady, rhythmic beat.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
It resembled some kind of primal war dance performed by humans. The orcs snorted fiercely and roared in unison.
Oo! Oo! Oo!
As if driving a wedge into the terror-filled atmosphere, their collective will seemed to wash over the battlefield. Communication with these creatures was impossible, yet their intent was unmistakable. They were expressing it with their bodies and their actions.
You will die.
You cannot survive here.
Our god will not forgive you.
For the sake of our god.
For the sake of our glory.
For the sake of our prosperity.
For the sake of our growth.
Become our foundation.
That is your role.
Their incomprehensible cries. Their incomprehensible tremors in the earth. Though none of it could truly be understood, what was unmistakably imprinted upon the soldiers was the certainty of their own deaths. As they glimpsed the approaching fragments of that death, their will to fight began to crumble.
What rose in its place was nothing but despair.
[…Snap out of it.]
But that despair and fear had not spread like a wave to every soldier. There were those who remained unbroken despite the orcs' overwhelming presence.
[Everyone, get a hold of yourselves!]
A sharp command carried by the wind exploded across the battlefield. The powerful voice, infused with mana, stirred the hearts of the soldiers who had faltered and stopped.
The startled soldiers instinctively gripped their weapons and shields once more.
[All units! Retreat!]
The soldiers quickly glanced around, exchanging looks with their comrades. It was not an order to stand and fight, but to withdraw. There was no room for doubt. Their commander, Arisha, had judged that this battle could not be won.
There was no time to hesitate.
[First-class soldiers without injuries, step forward and buy us time!]
Even as she issued the command, Arisha immediately cast her magic.
"One Digit"
"Gale Pistol"
⟨ Gale Bolt ⟩
Compared to the triple-digit spell that had actually damaged the Orc Warrior, its power was far weaker. But it could be cast in rapid succession. Against ordinary orcs, this level of magic was more than enough to keep them in check.
I just need to buy enough time for the wounded and second-class soldiers to fall back.
Her goal was not the annihilation of the enemy. Razor-sharp gusts of wind tore across the battlefield. Arisha inhaled the thick metallic stench of blood as she checked the positions of the retreating soldiers. Their formation, which had already been crumbling as they desperately widened the distance, was beyond saving.
I have to hold out as long as possible.
Arisha clenched her teeth. Even in this suffocating situation, she wanted to bring every single soldier back alive. Even if it meant retreat. Even if it meant defeat. As long as they were all still breathing, that would be enough.
What about Han Jungwoo?
She quickly scanned the spot where Jungwoo had been thrown to the ground. Seo Hayun, who had rushed over to treat him, was trembling violently as she cast a light-attribute healing spell over his mangled form.
This is bad.
She couldn't tell if Jungwoo was dead or alive. His appearance was so horrific that it wouldn't have been strange if he were already gone. Was the healing magic Hayun was pouring into him actually doing anything? Or was it like pouring water into a bottomless bucket?
From this distance, she couldn't make out the details.
If Han Jungwoo is already dead…
Would it be right to abandon his corpse here and retreat with only Seo Hayun?
“Damn it…”
She couldn't make a hasty judgment on any of this. Her inability to reach a cold decision—even if it seemed heartless—was proof that she lacked the qualities required of a commander. No matter how much criticism or resentment she might face, she had to choose one path or the other.
Arisha knew better than anyone that a single moment of judgment and action could mean the difference between life and death. Yet she still hesitated.
She had to remain cold, prioritize efficiency, and maintain absolute rationality. That was what was demanded of a commander responsible for so many lives.
Looking back, Arisha realized her heart had been racing ever since they discovered the flag bearing her family—the Baile family—crest in the previous orc settlement. Ever since she had found traces of her late father, she had hurried the march to chase those remnants. Though the other soldiers hadn't voiced any doubts or complaints, could she truly say she had made the right decisions?
She didn't know.
And that hesitation of hers soon led to a fatal mistake.
The few seconds she had spent observing Jungwoo and Hayun's condition, frozen by indecision and doubt, were all it took. Something suddenly blocked Arisha's path.
“Ah…”
Arisha let out a short gasp as she looked up at the owner of the massive shadow looming over her.
Hiss.
A gigantic orc stood before her, snorting hot breath. It had the familiar halberd slung over its shoulder, baring its protruding tusks in a savage grin.
It's coming for me directly…?
Had it singled out the only soldier who hadn't joined the retreat? Or had it identified her as a commander, someone of similar standing? She strongly suspected the latter.
Goosebumps erupted across her entire body.
Hiss.
The Orc Warrior, still grinning ferociously and exhaling hot breath, raised the halberd once more. The family crest engraved on its blade caught her eye. The only trace of her father that she had searched for but could never find. And now that weapon was in the hands of the enemy.
“That… weapon…”
Fury surged within Arisha's heart. It burned far hotter than her sense of duty as a commander to ensure the safe retreat of her soldiers. She raised her hand. A spell formula infused with mana activated, launching a compressed bullet of gale-force wind from her fingertips. Her target was the Orc Warrior's head.
“That weapon doesn't belong to you…!”
Booom!
The point-blank magical shot struck the Orc Warrior dead on. But even though she had aimed precisely for its head, the monster instantly raised its arm to block the spell. The condensed storm exploded on impact, knocking the Orc Warrior's arm aside. Under normal circumstances, the gale would have torn straight through and left a gaping wound. Yet its arm had only suffered torn skin. It hadn't been pierced.
Its defensive power was on an absurd level.
“How can this…”
It was the moment even her last remaining resolve threatened to break. As the Orc Warrior swung its halberd down toward Arisha's head—
Thud!
Someone who had suddenly appeared from the side slammed a fist into the Orc Warrior's torso.
Hiss!
The punch landed exactly on the flank that Arisha's magic had torn open. The Orc Warrior let out a shocked grunt and was knocked sideways.
“You…?”
Arisha stared in a daze at the back of the man who had suddenly intervened between her and the Orc Warrior. It was Han Jungwoo—the same man who had just been lying on the ground in a mangled, unrecognizable state.