"Reinforcements have arrived! Attack!" shouted a Silver-Tier adventurer captain while brandishing his weapon into the air.
"Don't let the Gold-Tier adventurers shoulder everything! Hold these monsters back! Charge!" another adventurer exclaimed full of spirit.
With war cries echoing and cleaving the air, those Silver-Tier adventurers swept into the gaps of the lines. They immediately halted the Orcs' advance with barrages of attacks and magic fire. Their aggressiveness and numbers instantly took over the front lines, bringing a fresh wave of energy that stabilized the human defensive lines.
While the Gold-Tier adventurers could kill Orcs individually, these dozens of Silver-rank adventurers used an entirely different tactic to cover their weaknesses. They worked in neatly synchronized small squads.
At one point, three Silver adventurers surrounded a rampaging Orc.
The [Tank] in the front raised his round shield, absorbing the smash of a wooden mace until his shoes dragged backward enduring the weight.
Right as the Orc pulled its weapon back for a second swing, a [Mage] in the rear line unleashed [Tier 1 - Ice Bullet].
The ice bullet slammed into the monster's knee. Frost blossoms spread rapidly, freezing the joint, forcefully snatching its mobility.
That loss of balance was executed without a gap. The steel spearhead of an adventurer darted from a blind spot on the right flank, piercing straight through the Orc's neck until it collapsed to the ground.
Without bothering to celebrate that lethal execution, the three-man squad immediately moved to find their next Orc target with extreme efficiency.
"Leave these Orcs to us!" shouted one of the Silver adventurer captains, taking over the rhythm of the battle. "Gold-Tier parties, focus forward!"
"Good work! We leave these monsters to you!" replied one of the Gold-Tier captains loudly. He raised his blood-soaked weapon and immediately signaled the parties around him.
"Do not waste time! Leave these Orcs to them and keep moving forward! We pierce the enemy's main defensive line!"
The assistance from the Silver-Tier parties drastically reduced the pressure on the front lines. Without the slightest hesitation, the Gold-Tier fighters immediately withdrew from the vortex of close-quarters combat with the Orcs, securing their stamina and resuming their pace forward.
However, the true test had only just revealed itself.
THUMP!
THUMP! THUMP!
The ground ahead of them trembled far heavier than before. Dozens of Ogres were sprinting fast. Every step of their massive feet shook the earth, as if creating small-scale earthquakes across the plain.
"GROOOAARRR!" those giants roared in unison, exhaling foul breath that swept through the air.
Hearing those savage roars and feeling those deafening vibrations, the Gold-Tier fighters tightened their grips on their weapons once more. The sound of scraping steel echoed consecutively as they turned their sword blades and lowered their postures to take sturdy stances.
Without the slightest hesitation in their eyes, the adventurers spurred their pace, darting forward to welcome the lethal collision from the Ogres.
Amidst the vortex of that chaos, Lorien Caldwell refused to be held back any longer.
His eyes locked sharply like a predator, focusing solely on one target in the distance: the two-headed Ogre.
"I must move quickly before that creature ruins everything," Lorien murmured coldly. He leaned his body forward and spurred his running speed.
Seeing that movement, three heavily muscled Orcs who recognized the threat immediately stepped forward to block his path. They swung their maces in unison toward Lorien.
Lorien did not slow his pace in the slightest.
He channeled mana into his weapon, triggering the sword blade to emit an eye-blinding light.
[Tier C - Sword Aura].
Lorien swung his sword horizontally in one clean yet lethal motion. A curving wave of energy shot out, cleaving the air at high speed.
Its sharpness swept without mercy; cutting through wooden shields, and cleaving the stomachs of all three Orcs simultaneously without losing its driving force. The three monsters were cut in two and collapsed in pools of blood, opening a wide path for him.
The final obstacle. An Ogre with savagely glowing purple eyes stood sturdily blocking him.
"GROOOAARRR!"
The four-meter-tall giant roared loudly, then slammed its massive mace straight down aiming for Lorien's head.
With astonishing agility, Lorien dodged narrowly to the side. The giant mace shattered the ground where he stood a second ago, sending sharp rock and mud fragments into the air.
Utilizing the shaft of the Ogre's mace lodged in the dirt as his first stepping stone, Lorien moved against gravity.
He leaped up, running along the Ogre's arm acrobatically.
"Gruooh?!" the Ogre panicked.
The giant tried to shake its arm to throw off the crawling human, but Lorien moved too fast.
As soon as he reached the shoulder, his sword flashed.
CRAAASSS!
The sharp blade cut right into the main jugular vein of the Ogre's neck. Hot blood spurted heavily.
The giant lost its footing and fell to its knees enduring the pain. Lorien jumped down. As his two feet landed lightly on the ground, he twisted his hips and delivered one circular slash as the final execution.
His sword blade separated the monster's head from its shoulders incredibly cleanly.
THUMP!
The headless giant body collapsed with a dull thud.
Lorien flicked the blood off his sword in one quick motion.
After Lorien decapitated the purple-eyed Ogre blocking him, heavy footsteps were heard catching up from behind.
Barton pierced through the battlefield's dust cloud with his sturdy tower shield. The massive man laughed excitedly, his voice booming through the noise of the battle.
"Bwahaha! You move too fast, Captain! Leave some fun for us!" Barton exclaimed while planting his stance at Lorien's side.
Behind the giant man, Klei stepped like a soundless shadow. He twirled his daggers and immediately secured the blind spots in the rear area.
"Do not act alone, Captain. You could ruin the formation's rhythm if you push too far ahead," Klei warned with a sharp, flat tone.
Nita and Aeliana immediately took tactical positions in the rear line.
"You aren't hurt, are you?" Nita asked, half-shouting.
Her eyes moved quickly scanning Lorien's posture, ready to cast healing magic on even the slightest sign of a wound.
Beside her, Aeliana gripped her magic staff tightly. Her gaze watched the various battles surrounding her.
"Just a little bit more," Aeliana murmured anxiously.
The Gilded Falcons party had finally reconvened into one intact formation.
Seeing Lorien standing defiantly with a blood-soaked sword, dozens of other Ogres located around the area suddenly roared in anger.
"GROOOAAAARRR!"
The savage giants changed their running directions simultaneously.
THUMP!
THUMP! THUMP!
The ground shook violently as they charged forward, preparing to surround and crush Lorien's small party into meat paste.
Right before the giants' encirclement touched the sides of Lorien's formation, war cries exploded loudly from the left and right flanks.
"Charge! Hold them back!"
Reinforcements arrived at the most crucial moment. After handing over the remnants of the battle against the Orcs to the Silver-rank adventurer lines, four Gold-Tier adventurer parties darted forward catching up to The Gilded Falcons' position.
CRASH!
BOOOM!
They rammed into the flank lines of the Ogres attempting to surround them at full speed.
CLANG!
CRACK! BLAAAARRR!
Swings of steel swords, smashes of giant axes, and magical explosions collided in the air. That barrage of sounds and explosions created a solid and deafening defensive wall, halting the Ogres' advance.
"Leave holding back the rest of these monsters to us, Lorien Caldwell!" shouted one of the Gold-Tier captains, his muscles tensing holding back an Ogre's mace with his great axe.
The Gold-Tier adventurer captain glanced back briefly, smirking amidst the battle.
"Focus your attacks on that two-headed Ogre! This arena belongs to The Gilded Falcons!"
Thanks to the brave interception of those Gold adventurers, a wide and uninterrupted dueling space was successfully created right in the center of the battlefield, leaving Lorien and his party facing directly against the leader of the wave.
Realizing it was now the primary target, the two-headed Ogre halted its steps.
Its long-haired left head began visualizing the arrangement of a magic circle in the air.
The muscles all over the giant's body swelled under the influence of [Tier 2 - Muscle Reinforcement], tearing the remaining filthy cloth clinging to it. Its meat fibers bulged tensely like banyan tree roots wrapping around bones.
Answering its bald head's roar, [Tier C - Tenacity] activated.
The surface of its skin crackled, hardening rapidly until it altered its texture to become as hard as pitch-black coral reef that refused to be pierced by steel.
As a finale, magical energy flowed into its wooden mace through [Tier 3 - Weapon Armament]. That glowing energy shroud transformed the coarse tree trunk into an instrument of murder with multiplied destructive power.
Three layers of reinforcement were perfectly installed. The ground shook violently as the giant charged forward like a collapsing mountain.
"Hold!" Lorien shouted, his voice cleaving the rumble of the two-headed Ogre's steps.
Barton stepped forward. His jaw clenched so tight that the veins in his temples bulged. He secured his stance sturdily and activated [Tier C - Strength Enhancement].
From the rear line, Nita immediately raised her magic staff. "Prepare yourself, Barton!" Nita exclaimed, then swung her staff, enveloping Barton with a layer of protective light from [Tier 2 - Protection].
Under the magical protection and physical enhancement, Barton smirked defiantly toward the charging two-headed Ogre.
"Come here, you deformed monster! Bwahahaha..." Barton provoked with a booming voice.
Hearing that provocation, the Ogre's anger exploded.
"GROOOAAAARRR!"
Both of the monster's heads spewed savage roars simultaneously, creating a hoarse echo that vibrated the chest. The Ogre raised its magic-coated wooden mace high into the air using both of its muscular arms.
With a single intake of breath, the Ogre swung its mace straight down with full force.
The magic-coated mace slammed into Barton's tower shield carrying terrifying destructive power. The air vibrated violently. Barton's shoes tore the earth, forcing him to be dragged backward a span.
The Ogre refused to give pause. The giant hammered its mace down repeatedly without stopping, triggering a barrage of brutal impacts that pressured the formation.
"Bwahaha! Good hits, big monster!" Barton's laugh broke, his voice hoarse enduring the lethal pressure behind his shield, which was beginning to creak.
The sound boomed every time the magic-coated mace clashed with the tower shield.
Both of Barton's arms creaked loudly holding back those absurd impacts. His face flushed crimson. The veins in his neck bulged. Every collision forced him to step back slowly.
"Come again! Is this all your strength?! Bwahahaha!" Barton's laugh rolled out once more defying death, mixed with the groans of his increasingly heavy breath.
He continued to maintain his wide smirk, refusing to submit to the pressure even though his shield vibrated violently until both of his arms went numb.
Seeing Barton increasingly pressured and beginning to run out of energy, Klei darted out from the shadows.
He slid, dodging the enemy's swing range. His daggers spun in the air, emitting lethal flashes of energy as he activated [Tier C - Piercing Blade]. He aimed straight for the Ogre's heel, intending to crumble its stance.
However, the monster's instincts exceeded his expectations.
The bald head of the Ogre glared sharply downwards, recognizing the approaching threat. With terrifying instincts and agility unsuited for its body size, it pivoted its heel a fraction of a second before Klei's dagger plunged in.
Screeeech!
Klei's dagger missed its target. The attack only managed to deliver a shallow scratch upon the Ogre's calf, which had hardened like stone.
The giant snorted. Feeling annoyed, it unleashed a fast and lethal sideways kick.
WUUUSS!
Klei's eyes widened. He had to force his body to leap backward and roll roughly onto the dirt to save himself from that kick.
"Klei, fall back!" Lorien commanded, realizing the monster's skin could not be pierced by ordinary attacks.
At the same time, Nita immediately cast [Tier 2 - Minor Heal].
Green light glowed, flowing healing energy toward Barton's arms, which were beginning to go numb.
"Barton, can you still hold it?!" Nita shouted.
"Bwahaha! Are you underestimating me, Nita?!" Barton's loud laugh rang out. He spat to the side, glaring straight ahead with a wide smirk without flinching in the slightest. "Hits like this aren't even enough to make me sweat!"
Seeing the strength of the two-headed Ogre, Aeliana no longer remained idle in the rear lines.
"I will help," Aeliana said firmly.
She stepped forward. The tip of her staff shone brightly as a magic circle appeared.
A freezing gust of wind from [Tier 2 - Cold Air] swept instantly, piercing the Ogre's skin and freezing its blood flow.
As the monster's movements slowed, Aeliana struck her staff. The ground's surface erupted. Thorny green roots from [Tier 2 - Vine Bind] shot out, tightly wrapping around both of the giant's legs.
Without giving it a pause to rebel, an energy spear [Tier 2 - Magic Javelin] launched cleaving the air, piercing deep into the monster's right shoulder. Fresh blood spurted, soaking the roots.
The pain forced the Ogre to drop its mace to the ground. Right at that moment, Aeliana concluded her attack.
An explosion of fire [Tier 2 - Ignite] erupted right on the Ogre's chest, scorching its layer of hard muscle.
Capitalizing on the momentum created by Aeliana, Lorien darted like an arrow.
He pushed the limits of his body by activating two enhancement skills simultaneously. [Tier C - Strength Enhancement], [Tier C - Speed Enhancement].
Lorien's muscles expanded. Now, with a speed difficult for the eye to follow, he darted forward.
CLANG!
His sword clashed violently against the Ogre's mace, which had just picked its weapon back up. That collision created a small shockwave that blew the dust around their feet.
Sparks flew into the air every time Lorien's sword blade clashed rapidly with the enemy's magic-coated mace. Lorien utilized his agility to parry, deflect the direction of attacks, and slip between the Ogre's lethal swings.
However, unexpectedly, the Ogre snorted roughly.
The Ogre retaliated by spinning its mace in rapid circular motions, demonstrating a combat technique like a veteran fighter, not merely a rampaging wild monster.
Amidst that battle, Barton did not let his captain fight alone.
Utilizing a fraction of a second opening from Lorien's slash that forced the Ogre to raise its mace, Barton moved forward. He channeled his entire body weight, and slammed his tower shield straight into the Ogre's knee.
[Tier C - Heavy Bash].
Crack!
That impact made the Ogre stagger backward.
In the same second, Klei spun his twin daggers.
He leaped from a blind spot behind the two-headed Ogre's back. Relying on his body's agility, Klei rained down a barrage of high-speed thrusts upon the Ogre's stone-skinned back and waist.
Clack! Clack! Craass!
That skin defense began to erode. The Ogre was forced to parry Lorien's sword slashes coming from the front. Meanwhile, its legs had to dodge the smashes of Barton's heavy shield. And its back was relentlessly torn by Klei's daggers.
"GROOOAARR!" the giant roared, filled with frustration. Scratch after scratch began to pierce its hard skin, dripping blood that stained the earth.
This close-quarters combat drained the stamina of the three adventurers. Their breathing was ragged and their chests heaved rapidly.
However, that teamwork successfully locked down the two-headed Ogre's movements.
Realizing that it was beginning to lose against these humans, the bald head of the Ogre suddenly stopped roaring. Its lips actually formed a wide smirk. A smirk that triggered Lorien's instinctual alarms.
Its long-haired left head had just silently completed one final incantation. A red magic circle did not appear in front of its palm as usual, but rather glowed brightly right between its own legs and the three adventurers surrounding it.
The monster cast [Tier 3 - Fireball] from point-blank range. A close-quarters suicide bomb.
"Fall back!" Lorien shouted with wide eyes.
That warning came too late. A deafening explosion of fire erupted instantly, sweeping the area with a hot shockwave.
The explosive force launched Lorien and Barton's bodies into the air. The Ogre itself staggered backward from its own explosion, sacrificing its now-charred body to destroy the human formation that had locked it down.
Barton was thrown and slammed hard against the ground's surface.
His armor blackened in several places due to the high temperature, thin smoke billowing from the crevices of his heated metal.
On the other hand, fortunately for Klei, his reflexes worked faster. In the final second right before the fire exploded, with all his might he managed to leap backward as far as possible.
Klei landed and rolled, successfully getting away from the center of the explosion. He coughed lightly, his body intact, only the hem of his cloak slightly burned.
Lorien stabbed his sword into the dirt to halt his slide. He rose with ragged breath, resting on one knee.
Lorien grimaced in pain, enduring the sting as he saw the skin on his left arm blistered and his cloak burned to a crisp.
"Hold on!" Nita shouted from the rear lines.
Running forward without caring about the risks, Nita planted the base of her cleric staff firmly into the ground. Using her mana, she cast [Tier 3 - Area Heal].
Golden-green light exploded from the tip of her staff, sweeping across a wide radius. The warmth of that magic enveloped their bodies.
Lorien's blistered skin slowly regenerated. Klei's body became lighter and Barton's breathing rhythm returned to normal as the pain across his body receded.
Feeling his body recover, Lorien's eyes glinted sharply. He stared toward the Ogre, which was struggling to stand back upright.
"Playtime is over," Lorien hissed softly.
He lunged forward, piercing the remaining explosion smoke at his peak speed. He did not intend to give the monster a second chance to cast magic.
Gathering all his remaining strength, Lorien used the surface of Barton's tower shield as a stepping stone.
He leaped high. As his body hovered parallel to the two-headed Ogre's necks, Lorien's sword blade glowed brightly.
With one horizontal swing armed with his last remaining energy, Lorien slashed the air before him.
[Tier C - Sword Aura]
A crescent-shaped wave of sword energy shot out from the tip of his blade with lightning speed. Its sharpness cut without resistance, piercing the hard flesh and bone of the giant.
Both of the Ogre's heads were decapitated simultaneously in a single breath, launched into the air with savage expressions frozen before blood spurted heavily like a fountain.
The headless giant body vibrated for a moment, then collapsed hitting the dirt, creating a heavy thud that marked the end of the battle.