Before long, the battle was over. Bodies were scattered all around the place from the dead 100 orcs from the combined hordes, the Uruk, and 20 orc riders. The stink of blood and smoke mixed in the air, almost realistic enough to make them gag.
Orcs are creatures made to battle, and the sounds along with the remains of a massive war would attract other orcs to the area. There was no time to prepare traps, no ways to maintain the element of surprise, and not to mention that Viktor was currently suffering from the side effect of his divine skill. Seeing no options to help them eke out a win, the group decided to quickly leave the battle site.
Of course, they take the time to gather all of the orcs' weapons with them.
While making sure they stand under the shadows of the trees, Viktor and his companions ran as quickly as they could towards one of the prepared 4 hiding places. This time, they decided to hide in a place furthest away from the orcs' group.
It was close to the gorge, a three hours journey leading to a place a little bit further than the other hiding places. It was right in the corner of the arena map. From here, they could see the boundary in the form of glowing blue-white borders, a marker to indicate the map's end.
The journey was a bit tiring after the grueling battle they endured, but after closing in at the designated hideout, knowing how far the enemies were, they felt much more relaxed, and they cheered for their success.
"Young master, did I do good?" Barry asked. He was responsible for the fire traps in the battle, which work exactly as planned. Viktor looked at the sixteen-year-old trainee, who had not much battle experience before with a smile and nodded.
"Yes, Barry. You did really well. Well done."
The kid was cheering as if his praise was the best thing he had ever heard. From the corner of his eyes, Viktor spotted Kosta pouting a little before approaching him, so he decided to tell the kid the same thing. In response, Kosta gave him the most adorable smile.
He found it funny that the Nenet native kid seems to hang out with Barry too closely, to the point that Kosta didn't just integrate Barry's usual habit, but also he started to call Viktor by the title 'young master'.
To be fair, Viktor doesn't mind one bit. It was nice being treated like a boss once in a while.
Right as he was about to stand up, however, Liza approached him with a cute smile. After traveling with her for almost a month now, he had started to understand what she likes.
Liza has the body of a full grown-up, but due to her isolation, she behaves just like a little 7-year old girl, and she seems to love being cared for just like one.
Viktor put his arm around her head and patted her before saying with a sweet smile. "Thank you too, Liza. You were amazing there. Here, I have something for you? Don't tell the others, okay?"
He looked around, making a show of trying to keep something a secret, and took a piece of expensive chocolate from his ring. Liza's face instantly brightened, and she held the chocolate tightly before hiding it in her clothes.
But after hearing the sweet praise, the girl's face reddened, and she ran towards Eva and enveloped the princess in a tight hug. In response, she patted Liza's head and ruffled her hair affectionately.
Although his praise sounded a bit condescending, the truth was Liza really helped him so much. In hindsight, the girl probably has killed as many orcs as he did in the battles. Considering the fact that there are Uruks in their enemies' ranks, along with the fact they had to fight at the dead of night, everything wouldn't be as easy if it wasn't because of her help.
Now that they have reached the hiding site, Viktor took out the mobile shelter.
The two kids, Barry and Kosta stood up from the rocks they were sitting on and eagerly helped him set it up.
Within an hour, Jessie and the two bodyguards Boris and Torri arrived. They had just finished cleaning up any tracks, ensuring nothing will lead the orcs to their hiding site.
They obscured the group's tracks by disturbing the ground, covering their way with leaves, and even made sure the surroundings looked natural in order to keep their hiding place intact. With Jessie's quick thinking, they used the ingredients in their surroundings to create a cloud of smelly dust that may help to repel the orcs or at least trouble their senses.
At first, Viktor and the rest of the group thought they were smelling some kind of exotic flower. Turns out, the smell is strong enough to disrupt the orcs' senses, leaving them unable to smell anything else for quite a while.
"We certainly will need a lot of it for tomorrow," Jessie said with her usual charming smile but with a serious message that something big will happened tomorrow.
Viktor didn't need to worry about that, since he has the Djinn's sensors to rely on. Instead, he smiled at his group and said.
"No need to worry about that, let's just celebrate our amazing win!"
Once again, Viktor took out some food and drinks for all to enjoy, and this time, with his orders, the two bodyguards were relieved from guard duty.
Happy to have a chance to rest, Boris and Torri's moods brightened, and they quickly entered party mode. The two bodyguards usually looked fierce with their large build and a massive beard, but for today, they looked like two happy dancing bears.
Seeing the sudden party make Jessie who was usually so cheerful shake her head
"Really? A party at a time like this? This is so unusual" Although saying such words, the girl still jumps in and grabs a beer to join the party.
Viktor still thinks a good enjoyable time after a tiring job is always what everyone needed especially after such a victory.
Except for the two bodyguards, everyone here has no experience in battle, to see Barry or Eva to be able to lift up the sword and charge toward a battle was a wonder by itself.
Looking at this group of people he was sort of happy. There are not many of them but he never felt so close to anyone like this.
Seeing the party start to get more rowdy Viktor quickly joined in.
However, the happy night was cut short in an instant with a piece of notification popping up on their bracelets. It was a message broadcasted onto the bracelets of every fighter participating in this challenge.
[The horde has arrived, prepare yourselves, and good luck.]
Right at the moment it appeared, Viktor and his group could feel a rumbling beneath the ground they stood on.
Far away in the far corner of the arena, a giant stone gate fell down to open up. shone with purple light and opened, giving the group a glimpse of shadows, coupled with the echo of war drums that became closer as the seconds passed.
Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum!
Considering the message and the situation, it could only mean the orcs' main group has arrived. There are 1500 orcs in the group, and adding to the previous number of 500, it means there are 4 times more enemies than before.
Even though they loathed it, no one could deny that the party was over.
"Time to get inside the shelter!" Viktor ordered.
Everyone snapped out from their reverie, clean up all the mess, and entered one by one and the lid quickly close covering behind leaves and rocks.
Although it was only a virtual and they were assured that no one will actually die in this place, but still it feels very much real. Other than Eva and Liza, the others could not sleep, all disturbed by the fierce thump of the war drums. They felt like their hearts were close to bursting out from their chest. From the windows, they saw that a few orcs were passing close to the hideout, examining and sniffing the objects around them.
However, before long, the orcs scrunched their huge noses in disgust and quickly left the area like pests sprayed with pesticides. Those watching intently near the windows instantly let out a huge sigh of relief.
In contrast to everyone who was worried, Viktor calmly took out the pile of weapons he managed to obtain and stared at them all with barely restrained glee. He took out all the orc weapons they have gathered, grab one of the weapons that looked like a crude sword with a wooden handle, and thought.
"It is time for some upgrades".
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,
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