Chapter 7 – Mutant Hunt (2)

After the meal, the three orcs set out from Grant’s cabin.

[You have received the blessing of the orc shaman Andara. Physical strength and combat power will be improved for half a day.]

They received a buff from Grant’s wife.

“Please be careful.”

The party was led by Grant and headed further and further away from Orcrox Fortress. The dim forms of other orc farmers could be seen coming and going. They followed after, and saw the houses and fields of other orcs.

“The orcs originally didn’t do farming of any sort,” Grant explained as he waved to the other farmers.

“However, one day, there were orcs that committed to farming. There were many orcs who resisted, but I was impressed by the fact that they were honestly sweating as they harvested the crops.”

“Were you originally a warrior?” Ian asked.

He got that impression when he first saw Grant.

“I was.”

“Ohh… Did Lenox train you?”

“He did. Lenox was frightening and strict, even back then.”

Apparently, Grant was older than he looked, meaning thatLenox was considerably older.

“Shh. Kill off any sounds, we’ll soon be in their area.”

Grant was extremely wary of the wolf chief. Wolves could be seen in the distance, and looked like like they were guarding their territory. Their patrols consisted of a systematic movement that was difficult to expect from animals. Ian gulped as an unknown anxiety welled up inside him.

Even if the numbers were the same, there was a large difference between dealing with rabble and dealing with organized soldiers.

Grom said, “Let’s just run in before they get away.”

Ian shook his head.

“No.”

“They are just wolves.”

“There is something strange, it’s like they’ve been trained.”

“Trained?”

Grom cocked his head in confusion. Grant, who had been listening in on their conversation, nodded and looked at Ian.

“You are a trainee, but you seem to have some combat sense.”

“It’s nothing.”

“They aren’t just wolves, since the wolves led by the leader act as if they’ve been trained. If we just barge in, then numerous wolves will surround us.”

“Then…”

“This is giving me a headache. We can resolve it if we just catch the leader…”

Ian started thinking. In a war, it was common to split up to divide the enemy’s attention. In order to reach the boss, something needed to grab the wolves’ attention.

“Let’s try to attract their attention.”

“How? Do you mean to split up?”

“Rather…”

Ian grinned.

“The enemy of our enemy is our friend. Are there any other predators nearby?”

“Hoh…”

Grant laughed and nodded like he understood Ian’s plan.

“I see. You know how to use your head. Moreover, I even learned something from you.”

“What does that mean?”

Grom was confused because he couldn’t understand the conversation happening before him.

“Let’s use another guy, a guy who was driven away because of the pack of wolves.”

They found an animal other than the wolves. It was stronger than the pack of wolves, but was a good opponent since it was alone. They found a tiger.

“A tiger? We have to deal with a tiger and a pack of wolves?”

Grom was terrified.

“Dealing with one tiger is better than fighting a pack of wolves.”

“What are we going to do after catching the tiger?”

“We’re going to use it to lure out some wolves before entering and hitting the leader.”

They wandered around the forest for a while before finding the target. A tiger was sitting on a rock and yawning. The trio hid themselves in the bushes.

“Stun the tiger.”

“How?”

“Hit its head really well.”

Grant formed a fist.

“……”

Grom shook his head. The tiger felt the three approaching orcs’ presence and rose from its spot. Ian, Grom, Grant, and the tiger. Three versus one.

It was Ian’s first battle in Elder Lord. Ian felt a good sense of tension wrapping around his body. It was the feeling he felt on the battlefield. He felt the muscles of his tough body stir and became confident that he could deal with the tiger.

The tiger roared, its low frequency cry reverberated throughout the earth. Grom’s feet were shocked stiff. The tiger noticed this fact and instantly jumped at Grom. The tiger’s body flying through the air was immensely large, causing even Ian to flinch for a moment.

“Grom! What are you doing?!”

“Ueeh…!”

Grom closed his eyes and waved his axe, the blind attack failing to reach the tiger. The tiger’s paw pushed against Grom’s shoulder as it opened its mouth. Ian calmly struck the tiger, aiming for the mouth, and causing the tiger to fall back, unable to bite Grom.

Its bloodthirsty eyes turned to Ian. At that time, Grant dramatically swung the halberd and struck the tiger’s back. The impact was delivered through the thick skin, shocking the tiger.

“Don’t kill it!”

“Yes!”

Ian ran and hit the tiger’s head with his greatsword as the tiger threw its head back rebelliously. Grom also regained his mind and beat the tiger with the opposite end of the axe. The three orcs started to beat the tiger.

“Yip! Yelp! Yiiip!”

The tiger howled like a dog and crouched down, its eyes filling up with tears. It seemed like its earnest eyes were asking them to stop. Grant faced it and laughed and hit the tiger’s forehead with a fist.

“Yip!”

The tiger was stunned. It was a really brutish sight.

“Hoo, this guy wasn’t such a big deal.”

[You have overpowered the tiger.]

[You have beaten the pitiful tiger that was chased out by the wolves until its fighting spirit rose… You have taken one more step into the world of the orcs.]

[10 achievement points have been acquired.]

[The proficiency of Orc’s Strength (Common) and Greatsword (Common) has increased.]

He checked the message windows. If his proficiency kept rising, then eventually, his skills would be able to enter the Uncommon rank.

“Now, let’s drag this guy over to the wolves.”

The three people carried the stunned tiger on their shoulders. It was like they were recreating the training scenario where soldiers ran carrying logs. They headed back to the wolf territory where the wolves were patrolling in a cyclical route.

It was clearly a systematic method. Ian tensed up again.

They were wolves, but this was the world of Elder Lord, after all. Their abilities were possibly incomparable to those of normal wolves. The organized behavior already indicated that it was somewhat the case.

“I will send this friend in.”

Grant touched the tiger’s head as it lay on the ground to check if the tiger was listening.

“Hey, wake up.”

Grant spoke, but the tiger’s eyes still didn’t react.

“Did you hit it too hard?”

“Is it dead?”

“No, it’s still breathing.”

Grant struck the tiger’s cheek successively with one hand. It was a sight that would normally be impossible to witness happening to a tiger, also known as the king of beasts. Ian thought that the orcs really were an amazing species to achieve this amazing feat.

“Grrowl…huoong…”

The tiger’s eyelids shook. As soon as it opened its eyes, Grant hit its face again, glancing back while the tiger was recovering.

“N-Now!”

“Huaaaat!”

“Uraaaaat!”

They picked up the tiger and threw it into the middle of the pack of wolves. The tiger flew through the air. Still, the tiger had the senses of a cat and landed on its feet.

“Grrung?”

The wolves were amazed to see the angry tiger appearing out of nowhere.

“Grrrr…”

One glanced over before giving a long howl.

“Awoooo….”

“Awooooooo….”

The other wolves came running.

The tiger quickly grasped the situation and confronted the wolf pack. Its fighting spirit wasn’t bad as it glared at the wolves with an arrogant attitude. The wolves were beasts, but the tiger was the king of the beasts. It circled around the wolves, causing them to step back a little bit.

It was a dignity that couldn’t be imagined. The tiger opened its mouth, as if it was mocking them, and roared loudly.

“Kuaaaang!”

The wolves panicked and withdrew, starting to call the other wolves over. Now there were dozens of wolves surrounding the tiger like ants. The wolves threatened the tiger with their numbers, but it didn’t lost its dignity. It truly was the king of the beasts.

Ian was touched.

“That guy, Simba…”

“That guy’s name is Simba? How do you know?”

“It’s just the name I gave him…”

“I see…”

Grant nodded.

“Now that you’ve given him a name, he isn’t just a tiger anymore.”

“……”

“For Simba, we have to hit the leader over there.”

“Let’s meet again, Simba.”

Grom looked at Ian and Grant with a strange expression. As the wolves were distracted, the three orcs moved slowly towards the leader. The roars of the tiger and the wolves’ whining could be heard from behind them.

After moving through the forest, they reached a rocky hillside. There was a wolf on top that was watching the fight between the tiger and the wolves. It had black fur and looked larger than the average wolf.

“It’s that guy.”

“Indeed…”

Something outstanding was felt from him.

“Once we get rid of that guy, peace will return to the farmers.”

“Catching a tiger, and now one wolf…”

Grom firmly held his axe and raised his body. The wolf discovered Grom and bared his teeth. Even though it was a long distance, the sound of the wolf growling rang inside their ears.

The trio walked towards the hill. The wolf didn’t try to escape, instead descending the rocks with leisurely movements. However, he didn’t come down on his own.

“Grrrrung…”

As the wolf snarled, other wolves appeared from behind the rocky hill. There seemed to be around 10 of them. The black wolf led the wolves to surround the three orcs.

“These guys,aren’t they different from the earlier wolves?

These wolves were all bigger, the atmosphere around them was fiercer, and their fangs were all sharper. They were a group of elite wolves. Ian raised his greatsword.

“Watch the wolves.”

The wolves rushed in first.

There was a pincer attack performed on the orcs. The wolves were fast. One of them jumped in front to lure Ian’s big sword, and as he swung it, another wolf pierced the gap in the attack and aimed for his side.

“Ugh!”

Grom and Grant were also struggling. Ian elbowed a wolf in the head while hoping that he could deal with his share quickly.

The pain in his side woke up his sense of realism.

“Pant, pant… Is this really a game?” Ian muttered as he watched the leader wolf’s oppressive face retreating.

The burning pain in his side that he could feel right now was no different from what he felt on the battlefield. His spirit flared up. It was easy to understand why people said that Elder Lord was difficult, and that being an orc was hard. The fighting in Elder Lord was just like fighting in reality.

However, Ian had lived in one of the harshest realities.

He could see Grom rolling on the ground. Ian’s eyes stung at the sight. He wanted to help, but he needed to subdue his own opponents first. He couldn’t afford to be careless.

Ian first stepped forward. The wolves withdrew as Ian’s sword moved forward, sideways, and back while exposing gaps where he could be bitten. The number of wounds on his body increased.

At that moment, one wolf came flying. A wolf that had been sliced by Grant’s halberd bumped into a wolf confronting Ian. As they flinched, there was a gap that Ian inserted his sword in. It pierced the wolf’s belly and penetrated its internal organs.

“Yip, yiip…!”

The wolf cried out as it started trembling. Ian kicked the wolf’s head with his feet and the wolf fainted. Ian pulled out his sword, revealing a blade covered in the wolf’s blood.

“Now it’s your turn.”

Ian laughed. The remaining two wolves frantically rushed at Ian. One bit at Ian’s right arm while the other aimed for his lower body.

Kwaaack.

The wolf used its momentum to try and chew Ian’s right arm off in one go. Ian lost his grip on the greatsword due to the bite.

“This bastard…!”

Ian punched the wolf’s head with his left hand. The wolf’s bite was broken with a loud whine. The other wolf was still hanging onto Ian’s legs, but Ian just continued to punch the first wolf. Eventually, the wolf’s skull caved in.

Ian retrieved the greatsword and slashed at the wolf biting his leg. The wolf whined and retreated. Ian was drunk on the sense of fighting and swung his greatsword indiscriminately. Only the enemy and his sword were visible to him.

In the end, the wolf lost its head to Ian’s sword.

“Pant…pant…”

Ian was also bloody.

Practice and training were vastly different from an actual fight. No matter how much someone trained in martial arts and prepared for battle, the pressure and stamina of an actual fight wasn’t comparable to a spar.

Ian turned his head as his body sagged.

[Congratulations on your first bloody welcome as an orc! You want to fall from exhaustion, but the soul of a warrior has captured your body.]

[The Warrior’s Fighting Spirit (Uncommon) has been used.]

[Orc’s Recovery (Common) has been used.]

Grant was struggling. Ian had dealt with three wolves, but five were currently attached to Grant. Including the dead wolf from earlier, Grant had battled twice as many wolves as Ian.

“Help Grom!” Grant shouted. His voice grew louder as he fought. He looked like a warrior as he brandished his halberd with bloodthirsty eyes.

Ian found Grom. Ian’s eyes widened in shock. Grom was twitching with a wolf biting at his neck.

“Grom…?”

Grom’s eyes grew dim as he lay still like a corpse. Ian’s eyes popped out as he ran forward roaring wildly.

“Grooooom──────!”