Orc Hero Story - Discovery Chronicles (Orc Eroica)

Chapter 16.4: Elves In Trouble

So, uh… I’ve injured my wrist.

No, not by translating.

No, not through an accident.

You guys remember a couple chapters back when I mentioned I play Path of Exile? Yeah…shit was bound to happen eventually. PoE players, IYKYK… Welp, lesson learned I guess. Next time I won’t grind so hard, no matter how much I want to complete those challenges. I’ll be taking a couple of days off to recover. Won’t be too long.

Anyways, here we go!

“Gyeeehehehehehe, graaaahACkhe… this farce has gone on long enough!”

Once again, she had been careless.

She had taken her eyes off her opponent in the midst of battle.

And now, one of her people laid dead.

“A-a-a…Aconite, you… you’re okay, right? Hey, get up! Aconite! Answer me! You wouldn’t die in a place like this, right?! Hey!”

Thunder Sonia pleaded.

But no one answered.

“Oi, Aconite, you dumbass! Get up! You’re getting married, you idiot! You’re going to marry that Beastkin princess, aren’t you!? Remember how you’ve always loved animals as a kid?! …Wait, no, that’s not right. Oh, I shouldn’t say that. It’s racist to call Beastkin animals, isn’t it… Oi, oi! Aconite! Answer me!”

But once again, no one answered.

The young Elf didn’t move even a finger.

History repeated itself once again.

As strong as she is, Sonia was often distracted during battle, too caught up in her thoughts.

As a result, she made mistakes – mistakes that cost lives.

But it wasn’t entirely her fault, was it?

Aconite should have listened. He shouldn’t have argued like an idiot.

He should have listened to his aunt and retreated as quickly as possible.

Yet, even so, her heart was already full of grief.

“I…I absolutely…”

And so, the Elf Hero flipped her switch.

No matter how easygoing she might seem at times, she was most definitely a warrior.

A veteran of a thousand battles.

She went back.

Back to the bloodthirsty warmonger she had to be during the war.

The Elf Hero that burnt down everything in her path.

“I absolutely will never forgive you, you fucker! I’ll burn your fucking corpse! I’ll turn you into ash so thin even that fucking Lich won’t be able to put you back together! Forget being a Zombie; there won’t even be enough of you left to be a Wraith!”

The Archmage held up her staff.

She was furious, but through sheer force of will, she kept her mind clear and calm.

Nothing would change if she succumbed to her anger, after all.

Her magic was still useless, and she had no way to counter the undead pair’s defenses.

At the very least, she needed to buy enough time for Calendula or herself to escape – ideally both.

If the Elf Hero and an eminent Lieutenant General just up and died like this during a zombie cleanup effort gone wrong, the future of the Elves would become uncertain.

The Orcs, who have been holding back, might rise and strike again in an attempt to claim back their previous land.

Or perhaps the Humans, though allies on paper, might take the opportunity to expand their territory.

War would begin once more.

A war that would almost certainly spell certain doom for the Elves.

If one of them was going to die, the other had to survive and hide that fact.

But how…

“EVERY, SINGLE, ONE OF YOU! I’ll kill all of you! All the Elves! ALL OF YOU!”

General Baraben’s shout echoed through the forest.

Strangely enough, his words reflected Sonia’s feelings, in a way.

She wasn’t going to let even a single zombie escape.

It was a shame she didn’t have the power to do so right now.

“Shut up, you noisy corpse! Stay in the dirt and be quiet like a proper dead man!”

And that’s when it happened.

Just as she was preparing her next spell, something suddenly floated between Sonia and the undead General.

It was quick, jittery, bright, and ephemeral.

The flying… thing headed over on top of Aconite’s listless body and began a strange dance.

A triple axel, followed by a double toe loop.

Then, what seemed like dandruff began to scatter on top of the young Elf.

Its moves looked goofy and awkward – a feeble attempt at gracefulness.

But both parties couldn’t help but be fascinated by the sight.

Neither understood what was going on.

But that wasn’t what was important.

Both Thunder Sonia and General Baraben were concerned about something else.

Someone, or something was approaching them.

A presence was rapidly closing distance, the cacophony of destruction it brough in its wake growing ever louder.

Zombies flew and trees fell as it walked.

A small, dense, terrifying mass of concentrated violence.

And then…

It slowly revealed itself, steadily walking out from the forest’s shadows.

Into the light.

“…”

It was an Orc.

A green Orc.

He was rather small for his kind, but his body was covered in scarred, dense muscles.

He had hawk-like eyes and dark blue, nearly purple hair. He held a massive blade in his right hand.

A plain, regular, run-of-the-mill, green Orc.

But Sonia knew.

She knew that this Orc was more fearsome than anyone else on this world.

“Bash…”

And she understood.

Why was this man, the Orc Hero, here right now?

Why had he come to Siwanasi Forest?

Why did he say that night that he would be back for her?

“Oh! Hero Bash! How long has it been? It is good to see you alive and well!”

Baraben shouted in delight.

He spread out his arms, welcoming the Hero.

“With you here, we are a hundred strong! Let us fight together as we once did! Let us destroy these hateful Elves once and for all and reclaim what is ours! Let us take back Siwanasi!”

The Elven Archmage despaired.

She understood now.

She understood why the Orc Hero had come to Siwanasi.

Yes, this man had come to reclaim the Orc’s lost land.

He wanted to defeat her, the Elf Hero, to crush the Elves’ morale and throw the continent into another war.

She had no strength left to even think about beating Bash.

And with General Baraben and Gunda Guza in the vicinity, even escape had become impossible.

“…General Baraben?”

Bash looked around, his eyes full of suspicion.

Then, the flying object came over to him.

It was a Faerie, her body emitting the typical faint Faeric glow.

It gently floated up and whispered something into the Orc Hero’s ear.

The Orc nodded as he listened, turned over towards Sonia, and gave her a wide grin.

But to the Elven Archmage, that smile was a death sentence.

“Kuh…fine then! Come at me! It won’t make a difference! I am the Elven Archmage, Thunder Sonia, and I won’t give up until I’m dead and gone!”

Sonia held up and readied her staff, ready to fight until her last breath.

She remembered the Nightmare of Siwanasi Forest.

That battle…

It was the most humiliating and painful battle she had ever fought in her 1200-year long life.

A battle where she could not win nor escape.

A battle that she could never see herself winning, even if they were to do things over once again.

“Umu.”

Bash slowly walked towards Thunder Sonia.

But she knew.

He might be moving slowly now, but he could become an unstoppable blur of violence on a dime.

It was impossible to even hit the Orc Hero unless she baited him in, dodged his attack by the slimmest of margins, and exploited the fraction of a second he needed to pull back his sword.

Could she do it?

It was possible – Sonia had successfully struck him multiple times during their first encounter. But even with that, she had ended up being the one lying on the ground by the end.

But that was when it was only the two of them.

This time, Bash had backup. The undead pair would most likely coordinate their moves to match with the Orc Hero’s attack.

She needed to both withstand his relentless assault, all the while suppressing Baraben and Gunda Guza.

Could she do it?

No, it was impossible.

But she had to try.

If not, the flames of war will spread once again.

Would the Humans and Beastkin ally with them this time?

The Dwarves would definitely not. Their disdain for the Elves was only matched by their love for smacking metal.

And even the Humans might not join hands with them. Instead, seeing the Elves weakened, they might succumb to their greed and invade.

Not to mention those who were defeated in the last war – there was no way they would stay idle.

The Succubae, Faeries, and Lizardfolk would undoubtedly side with the Orcs.

Maybe she could run…

No, that wasn’t an option.

She had to do something about this, here and now.

She was Thunder Sonia. The Thunder Sonia, Elf Hero, and Archmage.

If she couldn’t, what was she even alive for?

Somehow, someway …….

“Haa…haa…”

Thunder Sonia’s heart was about to beat out of her chest.

She was feeling light-headed and almost fainted due to the pressure.

Even so, she began infusing her staff with magic.

Her breath was ragged, and her arms felt heavy.

Thunder Sonia’s heart pulsed as if it was about to break.

It’s a good idea to have a good idea of what you’re looking for.

Bash was now right in front of her.

He raised his greatsword, tip pointed to the sky…

And spun back, holding it threateningly towards General Baraben.

“I won’t let them touch even a hair of yours, starting now. Stay here and watch. Just leave it to me.”

“Wha…?”

Sonia froze, her staff still primed and ready.

What did he just say?

“UOOOOHHH! BASH! You’re siding with the Elves?!”

“Guuauahahhh!! Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?”

Baraben and Gunda Guza bellowed in protest.

A betrayal.

It should have been impossible for the Orc Hero to point his blade towards his own people, let alone side with the hated Elves against them.

But these zombies weren’t aware.

They didn’t know the war was over now.

And the Orcs were living according to new rules.

“By the edict of the Orc King, invading the lands of other species is forbidden.”

“You, you, you… YOU BASTARD!”

Baraben barked back.

“Nemesis?! Since when did he change so much!? Since when did he disagree with me?!”

“Guaarrh! Where is your Orcish pride, Hero!? Orcs that don’t fight? Are you even still an Orc?!”

Baraben roared.

Gunda Guza howled.

But their cried did nothing but fill Bash’s body with further resolve and strength.

“General Baraben. I have great respect for you, but you are no longer an Orc. You are a zombie. Do not speak on our behalf.”

“Grrr….GUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!”

The undead General was furious.

As he rushed towards Bash, weapon high in the air, he let out a yell that seemed to come from the abyss itself.

He was twice the Hero’s size and swung a warhammer large enough to make Bash’s already big sword looked like a toothpick.

And he was closing in quickly.

“Come.”

The battle between the Orc Hero and the Orc General had begun.

MOTHER

FUCKING

HYPE

Whew, what a place to take a short break, right guys? I definitely didn’t power through my pain to purposefully leave you all hanging at the most exciting part of this volume. Nope. Definitely not.