Orobak’s Great Sword was only a meter away from chopping off Lux’s neck when it came to a complete and abrupt stop.
The Orc Chieftain roared in anger as his body moved against his will, changing direction and heading towards Diablo, who was seated on top of his Nightmare.
‘Run!’
Diablo’s single word rang inside Lux’s mind as he looked at his first Named Creature in disbelief. This was the first time that Diablo had said a word, and it told him to run.
That single word contained everything that his Named Creature was trying to convey. It made Lux’s body move subconsciously just by how strong the emotions in that single word were.
“Everyone, run!” Lux shouted. “Tanabur, take Barca and run!”
The Half-Elf immediately summoned his Warg, Jed, and mounted it while carrying Helen in his arms. Colette and the others did the same, summoning their own mounts and following behind Lux, who was already running towards the entrance of the Stronghold.
When Diablo had used Duel [EX] against Orobak, the Skeleton Rider intended for itself to clash with the Orc Chieftain in order to buy some time for the others. This skill would force his target to exchange a blow with him once.
It had a range of three hundred meters and a cooldown of one minute, which was a very powerful skill for forced combat.
Tanabur grabbed Barca’s arm and forcefully hoisted him on the back of his mount. Baronar and Morgazar also followed behind them and ordered their forces to retreat.
Only Lux’s Skeletons, including Ishtar, remained behind as all the Orcs allied with Lux and Barca, rushed out of the stronghold to flee towards the forest. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent s N(o)vl(ꜰ)ire.nt
Although it was a disgraceful behavior, the opponent was simply too strong for them to fight right now.
As Lux was fleeing, he heard Airon’s pained neighs as he and Diablo were blown away by Orobak’s powerful attack.
The Skeleton Rider’s left arm, which was holding a shield, was shattered and his body was on the brink of collapse. Airon wasn’t faring any better.
“I will not allow any of you to escape!” Orobak shouted. “All of you will die here!”
The Orc Chieftain ignored Diablo and sprinted towards the entrance of the Stronghold, where several skeletons were blocking his path.
Orobak didn’t even need to attack them because the Skeletons shattered instantly after trying to stop his ferocious charge.
However, when he was only a dozen meters away from the entrance of the stronghold, a pained expression crossed his face as a Steel Bear Trap closed in on his right foot. Another trap sprung on his left, but that didn’t deter the Orc Chieftain from continuing his charge.
He activated three more traps, totaling of five, which greatly slowed Orobak’s movement.
Ishtar had placed all of her traps near the entrance of the Stronghold as a last ditch effort to stop Orobak from chasing after Lux and the others.
Ishtar had taken her Siege Stance and fired a Knockback Arrow, which forcefully forced Orobak to take a few steps back, canceling the momentum of his charge.
The Skeleton Hunter continued to fire arrow after arrow at the angered Orc Chieftain, while the Skeleton Grand Archers shot their Crippling Volley, in an effort to assist Ishtar in holding Orobak back.
Orobak’s hateful shout reverberated inside the Stronghold as he threw one of the War Axes that was lying on the ground towards Ishtar.
The War Axe flew straight and true, instantly shattering the Skeleton Hunter’s body, killing her completely.
Orobak’s rage didn’t stop there as he threw several more War Axes and decimated the Skeleton Grand Archers that were making his life difficult. When the last Skeleton Archer fell, the Orc Chieftain forcefully removed the steel traps from his feet and threw them aside.
However, before he could even step out of his stronghold, his body once again moved backwards and a hateful shout escaped his lips.
Diablo stood alone because he had already sent Airon back to Lux’s Soul Book to prevent the hard earned Nightmare from dying.
The Skeleton Rider laughed as his jaws rattled, as if mocking the angered Orc Chieftain, who was rushing towards him with his greatsword ready to swing for the kill.
Diablo held his sword with his remaining right hand, as he prepared to parry Orobak’s attack.
Both swords collided, and Diablo’s remaining arm shattered due to the strong impact. However, it didn’t back down and used his Leap Skill to jump over the Orc Chieftain’s head before unleashing his last attack.
Using his leg as a weapon, Diablo descended towards Orobak’s head and then activated his skill, Whirlwind Slash.
“Annoying insect!” Orobak shouted as he raised his greatsword and shattered Diablo’s leg, canceling his attack. The skeletal Rider fell on the ground without either of its legs.
Orobak roared as he stomped on Diablo’s body, shattering it completely and killing the Skeleton Rider once and for all.
He then gazed at the entrance of the Stronghold where his enemies had escaped. The Orc Chieftain knew that it was already too late to run after them, and decided to look at his surroundings.
All of the Orcs under his command were dead. Their blood still dyed the ground with their color, which was continuously turning into red mist and flying in his direction. It was at this moment when Orobak understood.
He might have won the battle, but he had lost the war. He was the reigning Orc Chieftain, but without Orcs to govern, it was only an empty title.
Just like his Stronghold that no longer held any living creature inside it.
—-
Lux and the other Orcs stopped their retreat when they were two miles away from Orobak’s Stronghold.
His Skeletons’ sacrifice had given them enough time to escape the one-sided massacre from the second strongest monster that Lux had seen in Elysium.
“Let’s make camp here,” Lux said after glancing in the direction of Orobak’s Stronghold for a minute. “He will not follow us here.”
Baronar, Tanabur, and Morgazar nodded their heads. They then ordered their subordinates to make camp, so that all of them could rest.
After everyone had settled down, the three Orc Warlords came to find Lux to tell him about an important matter.
“Lux, from this point onwards, none of us will make a move to fight against Orobak,” Baronar said with a firm expression on his face. “This is between Barca, you guys, and Orobak. Whoever won the final battle, would become our Orc Chieftain.”
Tanabur, and Morgazar nodded their heads in agreement. They had already done their part, and the final effort must come from Lux’s and Barca’s side.
“I understand,” Lux replied. “Thank you for everything.”
After saying what they had to say, the three Orc Warlords left to give Lux some time to think about his next course of action.
During Diablo’s final moments, Lux was able to see everything that was happening to his Named Creature. It made him understand just how strong Orobak was.
“In the face of absolute strength, all tricks are meaningless, right?” Lux muttered as he stared in the distance. “Well, we’ll just have to see if he really does have absolute strength.”
Lux narrowed his eyes as a plan formulated inside his head.
Although the Orc Warlords said that they would not participate in the battle against Orobak, the Half-Elf felt that he could use some loopholes in order to make them help him with a few things, giving them a chance to win against the Orc Chieftain, whose strength knew no bounds.