Chapter 45: Orc

"Heh."

He chuckled softly, then called out to the orc who was scratching his thigh and grinning foolishly to the side:

"Amy! Get up, there's work!"

"What is it? Amy just lay down."

The orc refused the order, turned over, and continued reading the story collection in the Snow Hill Evening Post.

She loved this love story about an orc and a female knight.

"We're about to fight, what do you think it is?"

The Shadow Mage smiled and waved at the two people in the distance.

"Isn't that Kakashi? He's one of ours," the female orc said lazily.

"It's Cassidy, you idiot."

"Amy is not an idiot!"

"You are, and so are the two ahead. Knowing I am the Shadow Mage, you still dare to hide people in the shadows."

The Shadow Mage's face was full of disdain: "I'm serious, Amy. The two people ahead are bad guys. Fight them however you like."

"Really? Boss Hugo will scold Amy!"

"Absolutely not. I said so."

The female orc, having received the promise, showed a warlike smile on her face.

She hooked up her bandeau top and tucked the Snow Hill Evening Post inside it.

"Don't rush. Wait until they get closer before ambushing."

Before she even finished speaking,

with a boom, Amy slammed into the ground, creating a deep pit, and shot out like a cannonball.

"Damn female orc!"

Over there,

facing the green human cannonball,

Pan Ni and Tally reacted very quickly; one quickly burrowed into the earth, while the other flashed away from her original spot, successfully dodging.

Rod leaped out from the shadow.

"Original plan!"

At this moment, the female orc plunged headfirst into the earth, causing the soil to surge forward like waves.

Then she immediately stood up, raising both hands high like a gorilla.

Debris flew everywhere.

Rod's 【Giant Slash】 had fully accumulated, and 【Sacrificial Sword】 transformed into a pillar of light, striking fiercely at the orc's neck.

The opponent reacted swiftly, suddenly spinning in place and accelerating.

A massive cleaver, polished from blue-white crystal, turned into a blur and fiercely met the pillar of light.

Clang!

The pillar of light instantly snapped in two!

The giant sword composed of spiritual energy, 【Giant Slash】, was actually easily shattered.

"Damn it!"

She severed the spiritual energy?!

Previously, when Rod faced Pan Ni, he had managed to cut through her 【Erosion Sphere】.

But that was an externalized, already-formed physical energy sphere; even a highly skilled warrior could achieve that.

But 【Giant Slash】 continuously outputs spiritual energy onto the blade, like a lightsaber.

This can be blocked, but it cannot be split in half!

It would be equivalent to Rod splitting the 【Erosion Sphere】 in two, yet the separated 【Erosion Sphere】 would still exert its erosive effect.

But if the female orc did it, she would simply cut the 【Erosion Sphere】 down and extinguish it in one strike!

Is it an innate spiritual technique of the orcs?

No.

It is likely due to the weapon in her hand.

Rod used 【War Stomp】 to delay the orc's steps,

while retreating backward.

"No tricks!"

Amy, who hadn't regained her footing, fell on her butt and complained angrily.

She loved close-quarters brawling, fist-to-flesh, without using spiritual techniques or tricks.

But Amy was not a fool.

If others used them, Amy would use them too.

She suddenly took a deep breath.

"ROAR!!!"

A thunderous roar suddenly erupted!

The orc's innate spiritual technique—【Furious War Cry】!

A fierce sound wave spread outward from the orc as the center.

Flying stones, soil, and dust together formed a powerful spiritual shock!

Enough to cause everyone present to freeze in place.

Rod froze completely.

But the new effect of the 【Guardian Veil】, 【Shock Mitigation】, quickly took effect, allowing him to recover rapidly from the abnormal status.

Facing the female orc leaping down from mid-air, he used 【Repulsion】 plus 【Steel Vine Assault】 to push his body away quickly.

Boom!!!

The female orc's Mountain-Crushing Strike landed ferociously.

Blasting a huge spider-web crack into the ground!

Rod leaped into the air at this moment.

Heading straight for the opponent's head.

【Aethelorn's Flash】... 【Five Flashes】!

Rod didn't want to use 【Six Flashes】, but 【Six Flashes】 would empty most of the spiritual energy in his body.

The recovery power of 【Tree's Gift】 isn't instant; it requires a process. In this incredibly perilous battle, he must reserve spiritual energy as a backup.

Amy instinctively raised her weapon, blocking two of the strikes.

Three blood trails appeared on her body.

"What monster? Its muscles almost clamped my sword shut?!"

Rod cursed to the sky and rapidly increased the distance.

"Making a fifth-tier human fight a sixth-tier orc? You people must be crazy."

He could hear the You Ying Fa mage over there mocking loudly.

But he no longer had time to pay attention to the battle situation between Tally and Pan Ni.

The female orc's strength far exceeded imagination; without obtaining good special bonuses for 【Tree Armor】, it was extremely difficult to gain an advantage.

Wait.

Isn't that the Giant Ash Tree over there?

Rod's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly shifted his angle to retreat in that direction.

Meanwhile, the injured Amy became even more excited.

She continuously chopped away the steel vines bursting from the earth, her cleaver swinging so densely that nothing could penetrate, seemingly about to break through all obstacles and reach Rod.

Just then, a sharp sound of tearing air came from the sky.

A spiritual arrow landed precisely on her face.

Boom!

The arrow exploded violently.

Blasting the orc away.

Little Little Bangde's 【Explosive Arrow】!

"Good shot!"

Little Little Bangde and Lady Kali had actually been hiding in a secret place all along.

But Rod had asked her not to draw her bow and shoot lightly; a qualified sniper must fire at the critical moment, and most importantly, must not reveal their position.

"Someone else?"

The You Ying Fa mage quickly noticed this; he could easily deal with the ghoulish minions' attack.

He immediately released his mana sense.

But obviously, the opponent's range far exceeded his perception range.

No big problem; he had dealt with this type of opponent before and was confident he could find the direction.

Hiss—

Another spiritual arrow descended from the sky.

Boom!

Amy was blasted away again, looking somewhat furious and desperate.

"Is this the power of the sixth tier? Over there!"

"Go, search in that direction." He summoned three Shadow Hounds and pointed toward the Wind Wall Forest.

Taking advantage of this gap.

Pan Ni's giant ghoul slapped its palm onto his spell shield.

Immediately, several cracks burst open.

Tally suddenly flashed out.

Her magic dagger swung out a wind blade, successfully shattering this layer of spell shield.

With her promotion to the sixth tier, the power of the spiritual wind blades she swung had also reached a new level.

"Annoying!"

The You Ying Fa mage quickly unleashed a 【Shadow Assault】.

Shadows on the ground gathered into sharp shadow spikes, stabbing straight for Tally's heart.

The succubus's arm suddenly lengthened, pushing her to flip over in place, dodging the shadow spikes like a dancer.

She did not draw out the 【Scythe-Claw Reverse Blade】.

The timing was not yet right.

She 【Flashed】 away from her spot again.

Her job now was to delay the mage, preventing him from joining the battle between the master and the orc.

As for Pan Ni.

She was busy summoning ghoul minions and delaying the Brotherhood soldiers in the rear.

There were quite a few Brotherhood members' corpses on the battlefield, and turning them all into ghouls was no simple matter.

While casting, she also sized up the Shadow Mage in the distance.

"Mmph, a mage's meat? Doesn't taste good. I'll just eat the innards."

(End of chapter)