Under the soft light of the full moon, a large group of orcs marched through a decadent settlement with much noise along the way. Their boisterous laughter and expectant jeers did not make it seem as if they were heading for battle, it seemed as if they were going out to party. Needless to say, these orcs were the rescued captives.
Ed was currently thinking with a solemn expression, he followed behind the living corpse whose name he never bothered to learn.
'I need a body for Vorgarag' He couldn't delay it. After this altercation, it was unlikely for any tribe in the vicinity of Sanctuary to challenge him. That brought the issue of what would an ideal body for his teacher.
'Let's try to find someone similar' Although Vorgarag was a magician he had a lean body and adept close quarter skills. Finding someone similar was already a tall order. It was especially so due to something that kept nagging at Ed's mind.
Affinity.
Magic affinity. Would it carry over? Well, if he were any example then the answer was a plain and simple no.
That worried Ed as Vorgarag taught by example. Ed's study on arrays would not be hindered. Inscribing boar blood needed no magic, the mana source could be the abundant crystal supply. Everything else would be inhibited, however.
'Hm? Isn't that all I need to know?' Vorgarag's inheritance was large by orc standards but Ed had already learned Vorgarag's collection of spells, and swiftly to boot.
Realistically, he was the freak for accomplishing that within a single day but there was no arguing that Vorgarag's spells were not large in quantity.
Ed no longer bothered to ponder on the matter. He would have plenty of time to pick and choose if he captured all of the enemy orcs while getting what he wanted. He would need to keep a special eye out for shamans though.
"We, are here…" The beaten orc said with a troubled expression and labored breath.
He was troubled. In front of him were some of his comrades, his fellow warriors. But he had betrayed not just them, even God itself. Was he still worthy of eternal salvation? He wanted to tear up but that well had long dried.
"Heretics!" An orc yelled to alert his comrades from atop cobbled steps. Soon the sound of heavy footsteps resonated in the immediate vicinity as orcs exited a plain thatched stone building.
The first thing they noticed was a group of ragtag orcs. They were stripped to their bare necessities. A couple of them held weapons likely stolen from the cathedral's prison. In front of the ragtag group was a tall imposing figure.
The figure had a bloodied axe and fierce eyes, the figure was Ed. Next to the figure was a living corpse. A pale orc tainted red with his own clotted blood. Ears, nose, arms, pieces of their flesh, gone. Most likely than not a husk of their former selves, unrecognizable by any regard.
"Garekk…? What- What happened to you!?" Someone still managed to vaguely recognize the orc, they were a close friend. Once they did, they were both terrified and enraged.
The orcs surrounding him reacted similarly finding the orcs' identity. That heretic was really unhinged!
They were already prepared to fight tooth and nail with the murderer of their chieftess but...! To think someone had the gall to torture their tribesmen so! It was… it was unforgivable!
"You are going to pay, you…! Demon!" To leave such a shell, the orc had to be a demon!
On the other side, the orcs that followed Ed still held smiles of ridicule on their faces as they watched the reactions of their enemy.
"HAHAHA!" One laughed loudly just like Durgash used to.
"You think that's tough? Wait till I'm done with you!" another boastfully declared. Ed couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Ed then took a couple of steps forward to grab the indignant orcs' attention. For some reason, they weren't charging out.
"Surrender, if you surrender I can spare you" Ed said commandingly. His deep and threatening voice made some feel rather pressured but their belief trumped their fear.
"F*ck you!" One yelled furiously as they waved their battle-axe menacingly.
The other similarly cursed him out and showed expressions of deep-seated hatred. Ed smiled, it was the response he was expecting.
Truthfully, he didn't give a damn if they surrendered or not. At most he would capture them later for experiments. Mercy? Mercy was for those deserving of it! Plus, for these blind believers, death could be a type of mercy.
Not only that, but those that attacked Sanctuary needed to face the consequences. Only then could he establish himself as an important figure, an unrivaled leader.
He had to admit, he definitely had the makings of a hypocrite. Did he not muse on whether or not others would form a religion surrounding him? Whether they would exalt him?
'To what extent will a man strive for his goals?' How far would you go to make an image for yourself?
Ed's axe cut through the air as he suddenly swung its blade horizontally. Garekk's head was cleanly lopped of his neck, it flew into the air spurting blood. Everybody froze.
Silence had overwhelmed both sides as they had not expected such a response. Nonetheless, they understood what was happening. Ed was making a declaration, a declaration of war, a declaration of battle.
""WOOOOH!"" ""YEAH!!!"" "ROOOOAR!"
The silence was broken. The orcs behind Ed were roused by the unexpected decapitation. They suddenly had an itching, itching to spill blood. To see heads fly!
They all started to run forward with fervent expressions. They, a mere group of no more than 30 individuals, were running towards a secured building. One being defended by armored and well-equipped adversaries. But they didn't show signs of hesitation.
Faced with the overwhelming enthusiasm, the orcs on the enemy side could no longer hold back.
"ROOOOAR!" Some screamed at the bright moon as if asking it to illuminate their path, to spotlight their bravery! They ran forward to meet their opponents!
Seeing the orcs running past him with thundering steps, Ed had no intention to stay behind. As a matter of fact, he planned on doing the exact opposite.
He stepped forward with one foot and the earth raised to form a pillar. Ed jumped atop it to use as a foothold for his forward leap.
He arced past his allies thanks to his overwhelming leg power and experienced maneuvers. He landed directly in front of the enemies with frightening momentum, his eyes seemed to send a chill down their spines. The ones that could see directly into them felt that they would die!
But… Ed had no intention to stay as he once more took to the sky.
'Let's see what you are defending' For the amount of hatred the orcs had they showed a whole lot of self-control. He wanted to know if they intended to stall for something. Checking on the state of any captives would also be convenient while a lot of the orc forces were being stalled outside.
"He-Hey!" One exclaimed in protest before being met with a hardy punch. It wasn't a normal punch though as his teeth flew out with intense momentum.
"HA!" The orc went in for another swing of their trusty jagged rock. The orcs had no weapons, but nature had plenty of means. The orc who had become distracted was thus pummeled by a sharp rock until one of his comrades dug their axe into their opponent's ribs.
Ed only threw the whole spectacle a brief glance as he landed behind the line of orcs ready to enter the plain building.
He opened a locked door and bolted in. Not even five seconds after, there was an obstacle in his way. Another giant orc, they were like mini-Bluraks.
'Emphasis on mini.' Still, they were larger than Ed himself and made for very annoying enemies. Like minions that you couldn't take down in one hit and served no purpose other than to slow you down.
"I am B-" The strong burly orc even intended to introduce itself in a boasting manner as the previous one had. Their braindead nature had to have been inherited from Blurak itself.
"Save it" But Ed didn't care who the orc was, he immediately lept forward with axe in hand. If there were any orc he was interested it would the person in charge of making their runes. The array expert behind it would make for a nice body candidate.
The orc who was rudely interrupted activated their runes with the intention to fight back but before they had a chance, Ed's axe had already latched into their meaty belly.
"Uuuurgh…." The pain the orc felt was mild but the damage was not as Ed then channeled some of his leftover fire mana through his axe into the orc's intestines.
The smell of burnt meat radiated the area and the runes on the orc's body immediately became obsolete. The boiling blood and fried nerves made it difficult for the dumb orc to feed mana into their runes.
In less than 10 seconds the orc had fallen and just as Ed intended to continue on his journey, he found two more large figures approaching.
'Damn it…' Ed did not believe that they had an infinite amount of such orcs but he also did not want to spend any more time with them.