The moment Alice's light engulfed the chamber, agonized screams tore through the air.
Lining the perimeter of the circular room stood creatures even taller than hobgoblins, their hulking forms reaching nearly two and a half meters in height.
Their bulging eyes gleamed with a hollow, vacant emptiness, and thick strands of black slime dripped ceaselessly from mouths lined with protruding lower fangs.
Orcs.
They should have been formidable creatures, with bodies packed with dense muscle, yet these were gaunt and wasted, as though they hadn't eaten in months.
"Ugh… these are already in a very advanced stage of corruption," Ethan muttered, "Doran, get the men ready. No one is to die today!"
His voice had barely faded when one of the creatures lunged, hurling itself at him in a desperate charge.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
