Mid-air, Zero swung his sword with devastating force, aiming cleanly at the orc king's neck.
But without even raising its large sword to counter, the orc king shot up his hefty arm clad in furry hide and intercepted the sword.
The collision rippled a violent burst of wind between.
Then with great strength, the orc pushed—
BWOOOSH!
Zero came hurtling through the air violently, crashing into the thick wall of fog that was as solid as a stone.
"KKAGH!" He gasped, coughing blood from his mouth.
As he slid down the wall of fog, he planted a leg down for balance, and lowered into a one-legged stance.
His sword stood beside him, tip planted into the ground.
The elite orcs and the king orcs…. the gap between them is massive.
He wiped blood from his mouth.
The other chosen had also gotten into formation after discussing their strategy and started fighting the orc kings in pairs.
Zero's violent crash caught their attention but there was no space for distraction, so they didn't even look.
"Five minutes," Zero whispered, eyes fixated on the orc king that regarded him with contempt, waiting for Zero to make the move.
Zero rose from the ground, his breath a bit heavy.
The clangings and sizzlings of the other chosen fighting the other two orc kings were loud, piercing Zero's ears disturbingly.
But more than this disturbance that irked him, the ticking time unnerved him more.
"I would like to gauge your strength more and pit it against mine to know how far behind I am, but…" he raised his sword and pointed it toward the orc king.
"There's just no time for that."
Drawing in a deep breath through his mouth, he whispered,
"Nerve of the Unwavering."
Instantly, a black, thin strand slithered from the tip of the sword, snaking toward the orc king at high speed.
The strand was darker than shadow, slithering like a pulse of lightning.
The orc king's brows creased, confused what harm a tiny nerve-like thread could cause. But being a veteran, he knew not to underestimate his opponent.
He raised his massive sword, facing the large blade forward and placing it between his upper body and face.
He intended to thwart it aside the moment it reached, but—
Without a sound, the thread pierced through the blade like water, then through the orc's thick armor and straight into its heart to thread around it and bind it.
Shock exploded through the orc king's face, spreading wide.
Only when the thread had reached its destination did it finally straighten, stretching tight like it was being pulled at the other end.
Staring expressionlessly at the orc king, Zero gently tugged his sword backward and—
PLAKK!
The orc king's heart exploded.
BLURKH!
Blood spilled from his mouth, body crashing to one knee on the ground with his weight supported by his sword.
His head was dipped, mouth agape as he let out wet, shallow breaths.
"What's a mighty king without one vital organ?" Zero muttered.
He watched the orc collapse to the ground quietly, the thread fading into nothing.
Ding!
[You have slain a mighty orc king]
[You have leveled up]
[Gold +300]
I had to kill up to 25 elite red orcs just for the first level up. Yet with just one of these, I leveled up instantly.
Zero's face showed amusement.
After the alerts, a larger interface popped up.
[You have cleared the sub quest: Defeat a mighty orc king]
Calmly, Zero went in order. He retrieved the core that was floating above the orc king's corpse then clicked on claim rewards.
—Rewards—
•Throne of the Mighty
•A Warrior's Sword
•Hide of Fallen Allies
•Blood of the Noble [greater grade]
•New Skill: Dominating Presence
•Voice of Commandment
Zero didn't hesitate and clicked the claim section, activating several pop-ups that declared the claims.
Curious about what benefit the Throne of the Mighty brought, Zero checked it first.
______________
—Throne of the Mighty—
A seat befitting a mighty king. While seated, Defense is Absolute. Harm is Null.
Capacity: 1
___________
Next he checked the Hide of Fallen Allies, then the Blood of the Noble.
—Hide of Fallen Allies—
Appearance: Dull red.
Properties: Thick and durable. Can rival light metal armor.
Source: Acquired from an Elite Red Orc King.
Defense: +8
Durability: High
Weight: Medium
Special: +2 resistance to all physical damage, +1 intimidation bonus when worn.
Adaptive flex: Slightly adjusts to the wearer's movement, reducing fatigue.
—Blood of the Noble—
Grade: Greater
Source: Elite Red Orc King
Properties: Upgrades a weapon
Use: Once
______________
As Zero's checked his rewards, the other chosen also defeated the two remaining orc kings. Their bodies were covered in more bruises, the ache in their bones alarming.
"Hagh! I thought I was going to die!"
"I thought of quitting halfway."
They were sitting on the ground, catching their breath. The toll on their body was too heavy.
Behind them were the two orcs, unconscious and near death.
"But we can't waste any more time though. Let's finish them both together," one of them said, forcing himself to rise.
The others also rose, ready to finish off the orcs.
However, one of them hesitated.
"What if the reward isn't shared with all four of us? What if it only goes to two people because that's how it's supposed to be?" One of them, Crow Teeth, said.
Tension filled the air.
"B-But if we finish them off together then.. then—"
"Then what? Are you new to games? After completing the main quest, they didn't even allow us to help the others, and you think they'd share the rewards equally among us?" His tone was agitated.
"Even if we do it together, I'm sure the person whose strike dealt the most impact will receive the reward," he added.
"True… but they prevented us from helping only after clearing the main quest. We were able to during the fight," one said. "But what do you say we do? If that's how it is, it's better we do it together and luck decides who gets the reward."
"Won't that be unfair?"
"So how do we go about it?"
They all looked to him for an answer.
"Well," he averted his eyes. "Sometimes, sacrifices are needed. I say the best two who dealt the most damage during the fight get the rewards."
"Hah?! How can you say that?" One flared up, grabbing Crow's Teeth by the collar.
"What's wrong with what I said?" he snapped.
"How can I agree to do it together and have those who barely contributed get the chance of claiming the reward?"
His eyes burned red, veins crawling along his forehead.
But he didn't look at them.
His gaze flickered... briefly... toward the fallen orc kings.
The other two rushed over to try and break them free.
"Hey, let's not fight now."
But both their heads were so heated that they refused to calm down.
As they argued among themselves, the same blue shimmering particles that had teleported them there, teleported a female Chosen over.
The boys were too engaged in their squabble that they didn't even notice her presence.
Only Zero did.
The female Chosen; Kanonic Haze, glanced at them once, then walked toward one of the fallen orc kings.
The one bearing the spear.
Reaching, she brought out her wooden spear.
Without hesitation, she drove her spear into its heart.
The sight stilled the boys in motion, calming the storm that was brewing.
"How—You—" Crow's Teeth's voice broke.
His eyes locked onto her, not with shock, but something darker.
"Hmm?" Kanonic Haze tilted her head cluelessly.
"He was lying there… begging to be freed from his sufferings, and I did him a favor. Should I not be receiving gratitudes?"
Her tone was sincere, and her eyes were honest, as if she saw no wrong in what she did and truly deserved their gratitude.
In boiling rage, Crow's Teeth launched toward her, but a loud chiming sound tore through the whole space, drawing their attention.
Timer
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