Grommash was struck hard in the face and hurled backward, skidding nearly three ters across the bloodstained forest floor. His thoughts reeled. Why hadn’t his orc reinforcents attacked yet? The human couldn’t be right—he had brought seven full groups, all seasoned warriors, early E-grade and fiercely loyal. Who could have possibly wiped them out? There had only been that small girl in their group, right? If more assassins had made their way through the jungle, surely they would’ve noticed.
But no signals ca through the communication crystals. Just static silence.
Before he could dwell on it, a massive mace ca down from above, aiming to shatter his skull. He rolled aside just in ti, dodging the deadly arc, then countered with a brutal punch. His fist slamd into the other orc’s face—though at the last mont, the warrior headbutted into the strike, eting blow with blow. The impact knocked the orc back, buying Grommash a mont.
He turned to glance at his warbeast. The wyvern was in bad shape—sprawled on the forest floor, its ribs heaving—but it was still alive. Grommash clenched his jaw. If its own regeneration couldn’t save it, the blood witch would have to.
The human with the violet eyes had vanished again, and the insect-man was blasting at him from afar, his attacks relentless and irritatingly precise. Grommash snarled. That one was proving to be a real nuisance.
“Cathrin! Begin the teleportation—we’re leaving!” he bellowed, his voice echoing through the trees.
High above, the witch was still darting between branches, pursued by the enraged sky turtle. He couldn’t tell if she’d heard him—but it didn’t matter. If he didn’t keep fighting, he wouldn’t survive long enough to find out. Thankfully, his body still outmatched his opponents in speed and resilience. That other orc—Kargul—might have a slight edge in raw strength, but his tactics were crude, relying solely on brute force.
Grommash ducked beneath a flurry of strikes from the insect-man and retaliated with a vicious kick that sent his opponent crashing into a tree. The trunk splintered on impact. He lunged to finish him off—but Kargul was already back, blocking his path. Again.
With a guttural snarl, Grommash lashed out, but before the strike landed, a burst of crimson light erupted at the center of the battlefield. Cathrin stood within a ritual circle, her eyes blazing. With both hands pressed against the earth, she released a shockwave of blood magic that blasted all enemies backward. The ground beneath the circle flared with renewed energy—it was the ergency teleportation spell she had embedded into the ritual, just in case.
The others noticed imdiately. They began to rush forward—but Grommash cut them off, sending a barrage of red energy slashes to keep them at bay.
“Ha! Running again?” Kargul growled, his voice thick with scorn. “Coward.”
The insult lit a fire in Grommash’s chest. “You weak, spineless piece of Gumta-sh—”
But the teleportation activated before he could finish. A flash of crimson light engulfed him, the blood witch, and his broken wyvern—then they were gone.
“I can’t believe they ran again. Always with the damn teleportation circles,” Kargul muttered, rage simring in his voice as the bloodlust in his aura slowly dissipated.
Vorlok let out a low, grumbling huff. His prey had escaped, his rightful feast denied. Still, he nibbled at the blood left behind, licking the traces from the grass like a predator reluctant to leave the kill.
“Hey, tentacle guy! Where’s Evelyn? And who smashed all the orcs in the forest?” Kargul yelled into the trees, clearly unsure where Jack had vanished to this ti.
“Uh, that was Eve,” Jack’s voice ca lazily from sowhere unseen. “She told to hold back as long as possible—keep the enemies busy so she had ti to take out all the orcs hidden in the jungle.”
“What? Eve? Our healer? You’re telling she went into the jungle alone to face all those orcs?” Josh gasped, now back in his human form, his voice full of disbelief.
“Wait… You an Evelyn took down all the hidden orcs?” Kargul also asked, his tone shifting to sothing almost reverent—half incredulous, half proud.
“Uh, yeah, pretty sure,” Jack replied. “But don’t take my word for it—ask her yourself. Look behind you.”
Kargul turned.
Out of the underbrush, Evelyn erged—calm, composed, and eerily quiet. Her pale hands still dripped crimson, and a faint trail of blood followed her footsteps across the clearing. She looked just like she always did… except for the splatters painting her sleeves and the silent storm in her eyes.
“Oh, Eve! I missed you,” Kargul grinned, bounding over with open arms. “Did you smash them all with your hands? Damn. That’s it—next ti we hit the system shop, I’m buying you a big stick for bashing. You deserve an upgrade!”
He hugged her tightly, unbothered by the blood or the silence, grinning like a proud brother.
“Better spend your credits on so armor. I’m fine,” Evelyn said, her voice cold and distant. The chill in her tone sent an involuntary shiver crawling down Jack and Josh’s spines.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Only Kargul seed unaffected, grinning as always, and Vorlok was fluttering through the air in wide loops, joyfully nuzzling against Evelyn like a dog greeting its master.
“Yes! Next ti, that red bastard gets crushed,” Kargul declared, slamming his fists together. “Should we head back and help with the vampires? I bet things are ssy inside the base.”
“Probably,” Josh replied, glancing at the others. “Anyone heard from Maike or Kaldrek?”
Everyone shrugged—except for Jack, who answered with a little too much enthusiasm.
“Yep! They're doing just fine for now. The high-ranked vampires ran off after losing the fight against Thalion, and our guys are cleaning up the battlefield. We should get moving if we still want a piece of the action.”
“Thalion defeated those vampires... by himself?” Josh muttered, raising an eyebrow. “Well, probably with so support weapons or sothing.”
“Oh no, only at the very end did a couple of ballistae help,” Jack said, smug as ever.
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