Chapter 74: Heroine
The pests infesting Tauriel’s legs had already detached, forced away by the sheer volume of blood pouring from her open wounds.
She looked down at her battered legs, skin gnawed away, flesh dangling in grotesque strands. Blood seeped freely, pooling around her like crimson canals carved into the earth. A weak, bitter chuckle escaped her lips—an ironic sound given the agony wracking her body.
BAM!
A deafening crack shattered the silence as a thick tree trunk exploded into fragments under a single, devastating blow. Splinters flew in all directions, the force alone sending a tremor through the earth. Tauriel’s breath hitched as her wide, pain-clouded eyes flicked upward, locking onto the hulking figure before her.
The orc loomed, red eyes burning with insatiable fury. His monstrous frame towered over her, blocking out even the faint starlight that filtered through the dense canopy. His lips curled back, revealing jagged canines dripping with saliva, his breath coming in heavy, animalistic huffs.
She tightened her trembling fingers around the hefty shard of wood she had hidden behind her. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but she knew there was no escape.
The orc’s predatory gaze bore into her, his muscles coiling like a beast ready to pounce. The moment stretched unbearably, an eternity of impending doom—until, with a roar, he lunged.
Tauriel braced herself, angling the jagged wood upward, aiming for the inside of his gaping maw. She clenched her jaw, waiting for the impact, ready to strike even if it meant dying in the process.
But just as his massive fist was about to crush her skull—
A radiant blue light erupted from her eyes, piercing the dark like a beacon.
"Kneel."