Chapter 69: Red Orcs 3
"Creeaaaakkkkkkk!!!!" The large Red Orc screamed so loud that the surrounding trees vibrated.
’What is up with him and screaming so much?’ Ian thought, wincing and covering his ears. ’And why did it randomly throw those massive boulders into the air? That flash of light... that was definitely Sarah’s magic. Where is she, anyway?’
"Hey!" Zena called out, snapping Ian out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" Ian looked back at the small boy.
"Good luck!" Zena yelled, immediately turning around and scrambling up a nearby tree to go sit where Isaac was hiding.
’What does he mean good luck?! Is he really gonna leave me alone fighting this thing?!’ Ian thought, watching in disbelief as Zena climbed out of reach. He then quickly glanced at the larger Red Orc, who was simply walking back to the boulder to lean against it and watch the fight again.
’That big guy is the real trouble here. I didn’t even see it move, and it just appeared right in front of me earlier. I’m pretty sure it can kill all of us here in seconds if it wanted to. Zena and Isaac must know something... that’s why they aren’t helping,’ Ian thought, narrowing his eyes as he looked up at his cousin and Zena sitting safely on a high branch.
"Crkk... creakkk... ckk," the smaller Red Orc growled, pointing a thick, muscular finger directly at Ian.
’Is it trying to talk to me?’ Ian thought, watching as the Orc suddenly dropped into a low, bare-handed fighting stance. ’It dropped its rusty sword. It is using its fists now. Is it trying to mock me by copying my fighting style, or is it just trying to level the playing field for a fair duel?’
"Then I should respect my opponent. I won’t just dodge anymore; I will fight back," Ian said out loud, dropping into a solid fighting stance of his own.
The moment Ian showed his absolute resolve to fight back, the young Red Orc smiled a terrifying, toothy grin and dashed straight at him.
...
"I didn’t know Orcs even had this kind of complex tradition. What book did you read? Maybe I can read it and learn more about these beasts," Zena whispered, settling onto the branch next to Isaac.
"It was a journal written by Richard Cornwall detailing his life story and his long journey through the Great Forest. It’s a very famous book, since he was the only one to ever come back alive from venturing deep inside the inner rings over three hundred years ago," Isaac explained softly.
"Wait... if you mean that Richard, are you by chance talking about the owner of the Beast Tower over in the Magic Empire?!" Zena asked, his eyes widening in shock as he looked at Isaac.
Isaac only nodded.
"How can someone live for more than three hundred years?" Zena asked in disbelief.
"Who knows? I’m just as clueless as you are," Isaac shrugged. "Look, they are starting," he added, pointing down at the dirt clearing.
’Why is Ian just standing there taking a stance? I thought he was just dodging earlier so that he could tire the Orc out. He did say yesterday that he had an insane amount of stamina,’ Zena thought in confusion as he watched the ground below.
...
’I watched a lot of boxing matches in my previous life. I can use those fighting styles here. Although I’m not professionally skilled, I at least have the basic idea of how to parry and counter, unlike this wild beast,’ Ian thought, keeping his eyes locked on the charging Red Orc.
Ian planted both of his fists high in front of his face, guarding his chin. When the Red Orc threw a brutally fast, straight punch at his head, Ian smoothly ducked underneath the massive arm. Stepping into the beast’s guard, Ian twisted his hips and threw a heavy counter-punch directly into the Orc’s gut.
THUD!
The heavy blow connected perfectly, forcing the Orc to stumble back a few steps.
’That is the first clean punch I have landed since we started fighting! But damn... the skin of this beast is so incredibly hard,’ Ian thought, flexing his stinging knuckles to test his fist.
"Creaaak!!" the Orc yelled in anger. It quickly recovered and charged again, throwing the exact same heavy, straight punch.
When the giant fist was about to reach his face, Ian didn’t duck this time. He reached out and lightly tapped the side of the Orc’s incoming forearm, using the beast’s own momentum to redirect the punch past his right shoulder. With the Orc’s guard now completely wide open, Ian threw a hook directly at its face.
THUD! He punched the Orc squarely in the jaw. But to Ian’s shock, the Orc only snapped its head back slightly; its massive body didn’t even budge an inch.
’Tch, that was way too weak of a punch,’ Ian thought in alarm. ’I need to move back a bit and create some distance to reset!’
"Huh—"
Before Ian could even attempt to jump back, the Orc suddenly reached out and grabbed Ian tightly by his shoulder. Yanking Ian violently forward with terrifying strength, the beast slammed its thick forehead directly into Ian’s face.
CRACK!
’Fuck!! My punch earlier wasn’t weak at all... this guy just has an insanely strong head!’ Ian groaned internally as his vision instantly blurred from the headbutt.
Before Ian could recover his senses, the Orc threw another devastating, full-strength punch straight into the side of his head. The massive impact swept Ian’s legs out from under him, sending him crashing face-first into the dirt before he could even brace for the fall.
The Red Orc didn’t stop there. Roaring in fury, the beast raised its heavy, booted foot and started ruthlessly stomping on Ian as he lay on the ground. Ian could do nothing but curl up and desperately cover his head with his arms as the heavy kicks rained down on him.
...
High up in the tree, Isaac and Zena were watching the brutal, one-sided beating in complete silence.
"He is gonna lose," Zena muttered, gripping the tree bark.
"Yeah, and badly at that. When he landed that first counter-punch, I actually thought he knew how to properly fight," Isaac said, his face expressionless.
"Yeah, I was kinda surprised by that precise counter too. But it was all for nothing. He just ended up getting his ass completely whooped right after," Zena sighed.
"It just goes to show how superior that beast truly is to Ian. It is superior in absolutely everything: raw strength, speed, and even battle awareness," Isaac analyzed coldly. "And to make matters worse, I’m pretty sure it’s not even using its full strength yet. Do you still remember earlier when its eyes glowed red, and it punched Ian so hard he flew through a tree? It isn’t glowing right now."
"That is exactly what scares me the most," Zena shivered, looking down at Ian, who was still getting violently stomped into the dirt.
...
’Dammit, I’m gonna lose if I don’t do something! But this guy is not even giving me a single second to breathe! If I drop my guard to try and get up, this bastard will just stomp my skull in even harder! Is this really how I’m gonna die?!’ Ian thought frantically. He was still curled in a tight ball, covering his head with his bruised arms, but his left eye was already swollen shut and bleeding heavily from the brutal punch earlier.
"Aaah!!!" Ian screamed in pain as the Orc suddenly delivered a vicious kick to his ribs.
The massive force sent Ian skidding violently across the dirt until his back slammed hard against a nearby tree trunk.
"Creaakk, creakk, crk..." the younger Orc growled something in its own guttural language as it slowly turned its back on him.
Ian stayed seated against the tree, his head slumping forward as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He looked like he was about to lose consciousness at any second.
Ignoring him for a moment, the Orc walked over to the dirt where it had dropped its weapon and picked up its heavy, rusty broadsword. After tightly gripping the hilt, the beast suddenly stopped and slowly looked directly up into the tree where Isaac and Zena were hiding. It smiled a terrifying, bloodthirsty grin directly at them.
Then, it turned and started walking slowly back toward Ian, who was still slumped against the tree.
...
"Let’s get out of here right now," Isaac whispered, immediately standing up on the branch.
"What?! What about Ian? We can’t just leave him down there to get slaughtered!" Zena hissed, his eyes wide.
"I don’t know what kind of heroism you are thinking about, but there is absolutely nothing we can do to save him! Didn’t you see the specific look that Orc just gave us? It was practically telling us that we are next!" Isaac warned with a dead-serious look in his eyes.
"And besides, you just saw it fight! Do you honestly think you can jump down there and take it down? A beast that has skin hard enough to actively repel Aura? Sorry to tell you this, but you—who has far less physical strength than Ian does—wouldn’t even last a full minute down there, and don’t forget about the big guy." Isaac stated bluntly.
Zena looked down at Ian, who was barely clinging to consciousness, and then at the armed Orc slowly approaching him. "Tsk... fine. Let’s go," Zena finally agreed, gritting his teeth.
But the exact moment they turned to quietly jump to the next tree and escape, the much larger Red Orc leaning against the boulder suddenly stepped forward. It drew its own massive broadsword and pointed the tip directly up at them.
"Creakk, crk, krc..." the older beast rumbled in a deep, threatening tone. Even though it was speaking its own language, Zena and Isaac instantly got the basic idea of what it was trying to say: ’Stay exactly where you are.’
"Guess we are gonna die here after all, huh?" Isaac said, letting out a dry, humorless chuckle. "Before, it completely ignored us as long as we stayed out of the duel. But why is it showing interest in us now? Is it his doing that it’s suddenly not letting us leave?" Isaac asked, narrowing his eyes at the Orc below.
"Besides that large Orc stopping us... look over there," Zena pointed a shaking finger toward the dark, outer edge of the clearing.
Hiding quietly in the deep shadows between the ancient trees were dozens of glowing, hungry eyes. A massive number of low-level mutant beasts had gathered in a large circle around the clearing.
"They must have all been attracted by the loud noise from the fighting. But the terrifying pressure coming from that large Red Orc is keeping them completely frozen in their place," Zena whispered in dread.
"Tsk... I guess we are really destined to die here today, huh?" Isaac said, a faint, resigned smile on his face. "If by some miracle we actually survive this mess, I am absolutely never setting foot inside this damn forest ever again."
...
Down below, the younger Orc finally arrived in front of Ian. The beast raised its heavy, rusty broadsword high into the air, fully intending to cut the half-conscious boy cleanly in two.
"Creak crkk xrk," the Orc growled its final words of victory.
Then, it slashed the heavy blade downwards with all of its monstrous strength.