"Light is faster than sound; one will look bright until you hear them speak."
Amidst the monster-filled Mount Catan, Marx sneakily managed to avoid any direct conflict between orcs and ogres. It was always a near miss against the rat-riding monsters. Luckily, he was not spotted. He switched from letting Light magic hover over his head to infusing mana into his eyes to activate his magic spell, thus enabling himself to see in the dark, although it was not the best. Still, it helped him avoid having to stand under the peering moonlight and allowed him to blend into the darkness.
"I have been constantly evading the monsters while using my magic. Thankfully, it does not consume that much; otherwise, I'd be out of mana before sunrise."
He had found a cave where he could rest. Before going in, he checked if it was occupied by anyone, but no signs of anyone going in or out had been seen, therefore allowing him to relax a little.
"It won't hurt to be careful," he calmly said, setting a small barrier at the entrance which would notify him when a living thing entered the cave.
Deep within the cave, he sat down, undoing the spell cast on his eyes to create proper illumination.
"For now, this will do. I know I can't stay here until the raid team arrives."
Marx understood it very well. He had to eat, drink, and replenish his energy and mana if he wanted to survive. Moreover, he had to meet with the others.
"That is, if they are still alive..." He sighed and brushed the thought off. "I just hope everyone's fine, especially the sisters."
Every adventurer knows the orcs and ogres very well. They are known for being brutal and merciless toward male humans. As for the women, they are held captive and forced to mate and birth the monsters' offspring. It was reported that a rapid growth in the monster population had been discovered, and a large group of slave women were rescued after being forced to birth over a hundred offspring each. But that would take almost a hundred years to accomplish, right? In natural circumstances and processes, yes. However, with the help of female monsters in the orcs' and ogres' races, female humans can labor in just two months. The growth rate drastically increased due to the egg cells of the female monsters.
What they would do is let the female monsters orgasm. Then, they would collect the creamy climax of the female orcs and ogres to inject it into the female humans' wombs using tiny, hollowed bamboo. Everything was done primitively.
Marx's body relaxed as he leaned against the cold wall of the cave. His tired body craved rest, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Hours passed inside the quiet, dim cave. A foot crossed the barrier set by Marx, which should have triggered the clergyman's senses. It didn't. Marx remained asleep despite the presence approaching from outside. Thud, thud, thud echoed the footsteps without a care for the surroundings. The steps came closer and closer until a cold hand reached Marx's shoulder. The cool sensation immediately brought Marx back to reality, waking him up with blurry eyes.
He gasped, caught off-guard by his own carelessness. He instantly backed off until he rubbed his eyes and saw who it was.
"Hey, it's me," said the man in front of Marx. The latter was still dazed, so he gave him some time to gather himself. "I saw you a while ago and followed you."
"Left? How long have I been out?"
Since Marx was deep inside the cave with only his magic as his source of light, he did not know that the sun had already risen.
"About two hours," Left replied.
Marx's eyes observed how Left was covered in blood, yet there was no visible wound, so he assumed the source was external.
"Were you guarding the outside and fighting monsters?"
Left nodded. "There were a few. Nothing to be worried about. Anyway, we must move. This cave will be swarmed with monsters soon."
An orc had slipped past Left. It was only natural for the orc to retreat and call for reinforcements to eliminate the threat to their plans.
"Okay."
Greeted by the warm sunlight directly coming from the huge sun in the distant sky, Marx covered his eyes. When he adjusted, he saw the bodies of orcs, ogres, and rats lying dead on the ground. Blood filled shallow potholes in the earth.
"You did all this?" Shocked by the number of dead monsters outside the cave, Marx could not hide his disbelief. "Were you fighting for two whole hours?! Their numbers add up to a hundred!"
"It was nothing. They were foolish enough to go one by one."
Even if that were the case, fighting a hundred monsters alone was no easy feat. Marx's opinion of Left changed dramatically. He hadn't expected Left to be this efficient in fighting, although he'd had a hunch regarding Right, since the man was a flexible adventurer who harbored different roles in their group.
"I—if you say so."
Instead of the rooster's common "cock-a-doodle-doo" or crowing, the monster-filled forest of Mount Catan reverberated with the sound of screaming villagers who had been hiding until now.
Cowering in fear as blood seeped from their wounds, the villagers begged for their lives—men and women alike. They were supposedly going out to fetch water and some herbs to treat the wounded, but they were spotted by a group of astounding hunters.
"Take the women back to the camp," ordered a crowned Red Orc. Three more Red Orcs had the same appearance, with stones embedded in their bodies and etched onto their crowns.
His words were obeyed by the lower-rank orcs, who manhandled the women to leave no room for resistance. They carried the women on their shoulders and left the scene while the male humans remained at the Red Orcs' mercy.
"Don't kill us! Please!" begged the elderly, kneeling to the point of groveling on the dirty ground.
Instead of hearing his plea, the elderly man was kicked in the stomach. Badly hurt, he threw up what remained in his stomach along with blood from internal bleeding. The others who were with him could not do a single thing against the Red Orcs. Because the moment they tried, their lives would be gone in an instant.
"Now, now, Tuskaar." A Grey Ogre with an extra arm dismounted his ride. Clad in cloth with shoulder-pad-like armor, along with three others with the same look but different extra limbs, the Grey Ogre presented a different approach to the matter. "Why not give them weapons and see who will remain alive? Let the lone survivor go."
Intrigued by the proposition and wanting to see how the male humans would fight, Tuskaar agreed. "Good thinking, Ogrius! We will do that. Kakaka!"
Hearing everything yet understanding nothing of the monster language, the male humans seemed confused but remained filled with fear for their lives. Then came the weapons they would need to kill each other.
A young male in his twenties picked up a sword and looked at Ogrius, who motioned to him. "Kill." A slit-throat motion was easily understood by the young man.
"H-he is saying we need to kill each other! AHHHH!"
Deep in despair and fear, the young man shouted with pure determination to survive.
"I promise I will avenge you!"
Struck... The sword easily pierced through the chest of his friend, who looked at him with disgust in his eyes. It meant a thousand words without a single spoken sentence.
On the other side of the man who just got stabbed was another man in his thirties, bearded and with a fair build.
"You...! Hael, what have you done?!"
Anger and pure resentment covered the man's face after Hael turned his back against his own just to survive.
"We swore to die if we were captured! That we would not yield to what they want!"
Spit and frustration came out of the man's mouth as he reminded Hael of their sworn bond. However, Hael went against his words and killed both of them with a single strike, not letting the two of them suffer any longer.
"Forgive me," Hael kept saying to himself as he approached the coughing elderly man. "I promise to avenge all of you if I make it out of here alive!"
"You murderer," the elderly man exclaimed, pointing fingers as he clutched his bruised stomach. "You speak of vengeance, living in an ephemeral dream, only to be brought back to reality when they begin killing you! Did you really think that they would let anyone go?! Did you forget how they've slaughtered those who were helpless, even the kids?!"
The elderly man's words went in one ear and out the other. None of it went through Hael's head, as he was keen on surviving and eventually achieving revenge against the monsters.
"I still have a long life ahead of me! I won't let anyone take that from my hands!"
Violently, the sword in his hand swung as the old man was about to curse Hael. The old man's head flew off after being sliced clean. Thud, thud, thud went the head away from the old man's body, rolling and soullessly gazing at the ogres as grins and joy washed over their faces.
Triumphantly, they raised their weapons in the air as they called for the young man, who hadn't even batted an eye upon decapitating an old man. In that very moment, through the gushing of adrenaline and mixed emotions, Hael felt a deep surge of hatred for all monsters—not just toward the orcs and ogres, but also toward all those that continue to kill humans.
"I swear on my life that all of you monsters will cease to exist!"