Surviving The Tutorial With An OP Girlfriend

Chapter 17 - Orc Chieftainess Granessa

A tall, burly, blue-skinned male orc burst into the tent as he shouted the report. Sitting inside on a throne made from monster bones was an even larger female orc with navy blue skin and muscles like carved stone.

A massive double-bladed axe rested upright between her legs, one hand lazily gripping the six-foot-long handle. In her grasp, the enormous weapon looked no more threatening than a wood-splitting axe.

Granessa’s tusks flashed into a wide grin.

“Oh? The goblins are finally on the move? Hahaha! Took them long enough. I’ve been waiting.”

She rose from her throne, and the already large tent suddenly felt cramped beneath her towering nine-foot frame.

“So, how many troops did they send? It better not just be another scouting party like last time. Otherwise…”

The threat lingered unfinished in the air.

The male orc visibly trembled and hurriedly shook his head.

“All of them!”

Granessa blinked once.

“All…? As in their entire army?” She scoffed loudly. “Does that greedy green bastard finally want to start an all-out war? Fine by me. We’ll drive them straight back into their forest.”

The messenger opened his mouth, only to hesitate.

Granessa immediately noticed.

“What?”

“Driving them back into the forest might prove difficult…”

Her grin slowly faded.

“Why?”

“The forest is on fire.” The orc swallowed nervously. “A massive fire. It doesn’t look like it’ll stop until there’s nothing left to burn.”

The wooden handle of Granessa’s axe groaned beneath her tightening grip while the metal head let out a sharp creak.

“Those filthy bastards!” she roared. “How dare they burn the forest!”

In a single motion, she lifted her axe and split the tent down the middle.

Cold air rushed inside as sunlight poured through the opening she created.

“All troops!” Granessa bellowed. “Follow my command! Begin the march! We will erase the dirty and impure bloodline known as goblins! This day shall be remembered as the anniversary of their extinction!”

The camp instantly erupted into motion.

“We warriors hear the command of the War Chieftainess!”

“Begin the march!”

“Death to the goblins!”

The roars of thousands of orcs echoed throughout the war camp. Large blue-skinned warriors poured from their tents wearing piecemeal armor and carrying weapons stained with dried blood. The ground itself seemed to tremble beneath their marching feet.

Meanwhile, the orc who delivered the report stared silently at the ruined tent.

Why didn’t she just use the exit…? he wondered.

— — —

Goblins riding wolves clashed against towering blue-skinned orcs under the strict commands of their hobgoblin superiors.

Even mounted atop wolves, the goblins could barely reach the waists of the much larger orcs. Rusted spears and jagged blades slammed against crude axes while snarling wolves snapped at armored legs.

The occasional hobgoblin that entered the fray fared better than their smaller kin, but even they were dwarfed by the sheer size of the orcs. The blue-skinned warriors fought like monsters among monsters, swinging heavy weapons with enough force to crush goblins and wolves alike into the dirt.

At the rear of the goblin army stood an even greater monster.

A gigantic goblin towered above the battlefield, somehow larger than the nine-foot-tall orc chieftainess herself. Unlike Granessa’s overwhelming muscular build, however, the creature looked like a mountain made from fat and sagging flesh.

His stomach hung low enough to nearly drag across the ground while layers of fat rippled whenever he moved. Yet despite his grotesque appearance, the goblins looked toward him with fanatical loyalty.

The Goblin King.

By his command, the goblin army threw itself fearlessly against the stronger orcs.

Not far from the battlefield, two humans stood hidden within the burning forest beneath an invisible barrier that blocked the heat, smoke, and flames.

Adam and Mei silently watched the two armies rip and tear each other apart with all the hatred of sworn enemies.

Screams mixed with snarls and the wet sound of flesh being torn apart. Goblins stabbed at exposed joints while orcs ripped riders from wolves and smashed them into the ground hard enough to burst bodies apart.

Despite the chaos, both Adam and Mei gradually found their attention drawn toward the leaders of the two armies as shouting erupted between them.

“Green bastard, you’ve finally lost your mind!” the female orc leader roared across the battlefield. “How dare you burn down the forest our ancestors lent you?!”

“Hmph! Don’t slander me, orc!” the Goblin King bellowed back. “If this fire wasn’t your doing, then let the sky split and swallow me whole!”

The massive goblin lifted his head and stared at the sky dramatically for several long seconds.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, a smug sneer spread across his bloated face.

“Seems the gods have spoken,” he declared triumphantly. “It was you who set the forest on fire!”

He pointed a finger thicker than a boulder directly at the orc chieftainess.

“Blatant slander!” she shouted back immediately. “The gods are blind if what you say is true!”

The battlefield seemed to freeze for a moment.

Even the fighting slowed as goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs alike turned toward the female orc with stunned expressions.

“Blasphemous!” the Goblin King cried while jabbing his massive finger toward her again. “You dare insult the gods?!”

“If the gods stood between me and your ugly hide, I would cut them down alongside you!” Granessa snarled. “Speaking the truth about them is nothing!”

She raised her massive double-bladed battleaxe overhead.

“All warriors!” she roared. “Raze their mongrel hides!”

“We warriors hear the command of the War Chieftainess!”

“Raze their mongrel hides!”

The orcs slammed their weapons against their chests and stomped their feet in unison. The thunderous cacophony shook the earth itself, causing many goblins and even hobgoblins to falter instinctively.

The Goblin King’s face twisted with fury.

“My subjects, hear my decree!” he bellowed. “The orcs speak of honor, yet they destroyed our home with fire! Fight! Kill! Leave not a single one alive!”

The goblin army shrieked wildly before throwing themselves back into the battle with renewed ferocity.

Mei glanced toward Adam. “This is actually going better than I thought it would.”

Adam nodded absently as he continued watching the battlefield.

It was going well.

However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

The orcs were vastly superior to the smaller goblins and barely broke a sweat while fighting even the elite hobgoblins.

So then, why hadn’t they conquered the forest long ago?

The answer revealed itself once nearly half of the goblin army had been slaughtered.

The Goblin King’s enormous body suddenly began to ripple violently. Waves rolled beneath layers of fat like something alive was swimming underneath his flesh.

The sight alone was disgusting.

What followed was far worse.

Chunks of flesh peeled away from the Goblin King’s body and slapped wetly onto the ground in wriggling green masses. The lumps twitched and squirmed before rapidly sprouting arms, legs, and heads.

Within seconds, they transformed into fully formed goblins.

The newborn goblins immediately rushed toward the battlefield without hesitation. They grabbed weapons and armor from the corpses of fallen goblins before throwing themselves into the fight.

“Ew!” Mei hissed in disgust. “Oh my god! I’m seriously going to puke!”

She turned away from the Goblin King entirely, her face turning green as her stomach churned violently. The image of fat chunks falling off his body and turning into living creatures was too much for her to handle.

It probably didn’t help that breakfast had been bear steak.

Though, to be fair, they had started adding fruits and edible plants recently in an effort to make their diet more balanced.

“So the goblins are clones of the king?” Adam wondered aloud while continuing to observe the battlefield carefully.

As he watched, he noticed another strange detail about the Goblin King.

Every time the creature split off pieces of itself to create more goblins, two things happened.

First, its massive body visibly shrank.

Second, its level decreased.

At the start of the battle, Adam had seen the creature’s status floating above its head.

Goblin King (BOSS) - Lv. 38

Now, after spawning roughly a hundred additional goblins, its level had already dropped by two.

Meanwhile, the orcs were steadily growing stronger from killing so many enemies. Several warriors had visibly leveled up during the battle.

However, the orcs were also becoming exhausted.

Their bodies were covered in cuts, bites, and stab wounds. Their heavy swings were gradually slowing while the goblins kept coming in endless waves.

The Goblin King possessed a seemingly infinite supply of soldiers.

The orcs possessed overwhelming individual strength.

At this point, Adam genuinely couldn’t tell who would win.

“Who do you think’s going to win?” Mei asked while still looking slightly nauseous.

Adam slowly shook his head.

“At the start of the battle, I would’ve said the orcs without hesitation.” His gaze remained fixed on the battlefield. “But now…? I honestly don’t know.”

He paused briefly before adding quietly, “Honestly, I’m hoping neither side wins.”