CHAPTER 73: ATTACK ON THE ORCS

"We have to head back now!" Akhil’s voice was sharp with immediate urgency as he spun around to leave the warehouse.

His chest tightened, processing the Titan’s final words. His mind spiralled into a storm. ’Was this all a diversion? He wanted us to leave the Orc settlement exposed?’ Akhil couldn’t fully grasp the Titan of Discord’s ultimate goal.

But he quickly shoved the internal questions aside as Langdon’s words pulled him back to the present.

"What happened?" Langdon asked, moving quickly toward him.

Akhil glanced at him, dragging a breath to calm his nerves. "This was all a setup."

"A setup? How so?" Langdon pressed.

"I think he arranged some Adventurers to go attack the Orc settlement in our absence." Akhil bit his lip, his hands curling into tight fists.

Seth, who had overheard, furrowed his brows.

"I doubt that. I already flagged that original request on the forum, and I sent an announcement to all Guild members. I warned them against going for the quest, stating the Guild won’t reward the mission and any Adventurer who defies this will be punished."

"Could it be he was lying?" Langdon added.

Akhil paused. ’Could he have just been joking to buy time?’ he wondered inwardly. But the unsettling feeling in his gut persisted.

"It might be a lie, but I don’t trust he’d risk that lie for no reason," Akhil said firmly. "I have to get back quickly and confirm for myself that he wasn’t joking."

’Why did I hold back? If I hadn’t, I would have stopped him from causing more trouble,’ Akhil gritted his teeth, thinking back to the fight. He had held back again because his enemy was human.

Langdon broke his thoughts again, asking, "So what do we do with these guys, and the injured Orcs?"

Akhil shifted his gaze to the Adventurers. They were frozen in terror, sweating profusely, realizing these newcomers were far out of their league. Akhil’s anger over the brutality was still fresh, but he knew he couldn’t fully blame them—they were just following a bounty. More importantly, he now had a much more disturbing, immediate crisis to deal with.

"Seth, Langdon," Akhil commanded, his eyes focusing on the two human leaders. "The injured Orcs need immediate transport and medical attention. Take care of them."

Seth finally shed his lazy persona, his eyes sharp. "What about the Adventurers?"

"Restrain them. They are not a priority, but they are evidence," Akhil stated, already turning away. "We are leaving now."

"I’ll leave that to you, Seth. While I can blame them for how they treated the Orcs, I cannot ignore the fact that it was motivated by the rewards, and I also don’t have time for any of this at the moment." Akhil shifted his gaze toward the wounded Orcs.

He worried about how he was supposed to transport them back to the settlement quickly; he couldn’t maintain top speed while carrying several heavily injured bodies.

As though reading his thoughts, Seth quickly offered help. "We can take care of the Orcs and heal them. You go—don’t worry about them," Seth said with a bright, confident smile.

Akhil looked at him. "Thank you," he said calmly, before turning to Langdon. "Can you share the city map with me?"

"Sure," Langdon replied, quickly sharing the Norclin City map to help Akhil reach the transport center faster.

With that settled, Akhil quickly moved out of the warehouse to meet Nibo and Ryan.

"Ryan, we’re heading back to the camp now."

Ryan nodded, a grim expression fixed on his face.

"Nibo, stay back here and support the wounded Orcs along with Seth. We’ll be back after dealing with this mess." Nibo nodded as well, quickly moving toward Seth and Langdon.

Without wasting a moment, Akhil shot into the air, startling even the others nearby. This time, he didn’t hold back using Air Walk. He blurred past the streets, flying toward the teleportation center. He left a vortex of air swirling behind him, causing cold winds to whip past, and several humans looked up in surprise at the sheer speed he was using.

Ryan followed directly behind, tracing the trail of wind left by Akhil.

’I only thought it could be Langdon or Seth, since they both held positions that could easily help them achieve their goal... But I guess I was wrong,’ Akhil thought, his brows knitted tightly together, his fists clenched. ’Who could it be? What other Beta Tester is within our region, and what is their plan?’

Meanwhile, deep within the forest, a large group could be seen riding atop their hoverboards as they made their way toward the Orc camp. Each member of the group wore a mask covering their faces. Aside from that, another noticeable distinction about this group was the numerous guns they carried.

"Remember, the boss said no one should link this back to us. So we have to be fast and swift. Don’t waste any time, get what we came for and leave. Kill any Orc that blocks the path," the figure leading the group ordered.

"Can’t we just kill all of them? Why hold back?" one of the masked men asked, laughing maniacally.

"We don’t want their leader coming back to catch any of us. The boss said he’d buy us time... However, we can’t be carefree, but don’t hold back either; kill as many as you can," the leader said firmly. "And don’t forget, we need one Orc. So remember to secure one after this."

"Understood," the group replied in unison as the forest trees blurred behind them, bringing them out into the Orc settlement clearing.

As they came into the open space, an Orc immediately spotted them. The Orcs were on high alert since Akhil and the others left, and Aria had made sure they were constantly on the lookout, ready to confront anyone who tried to make a move.

But even with all their preparations, they didn’t expect to see over sixty masked humans, each carrying heavy assault weapons.

The Orcs were instantly paralyzed with confusion, fear flashing across their faces as the group approached at full speed, halting just outside the settlement perimeter.

"I came here for two things. Tell us where the crystal is, and I promise we’ll leave," the human leader said with a dark grin.

"What crystal?" Aria asked back, her brows furrowed in genuine confusion.

"We don’t have time for this nonsense! You better bring out the crystal or we’ll come get it ourselves," the leader snarled.

"You don’t want to cause any trouble here," Aria said firmly, stepping forward, her sharp blade drawn.

’They shouldn’t be Adventurers. A mission team wouldn’t have this many numbers... This is a diversion,’ Aria realized, gritting her teeth.

A mocking laughter filled the air as the leader stared her cold in the eyes. "Oh, is that so? Like we’d listen to you! Come make us stop." He raised his hands high in the air.

Instantly, a torrent of bullets poured into the Orc settlement like heavy rain.

Aria moved like a flash, her blade blurring as she blocked all the bullets aimed at her. In an instant, she cleared the volley targeted at her, but as she spun to look at the other Orcs, her pupils shrank in horror. They weren’t fast like her. They didn’t have armor or bulletproof defenses. The results were clear and devastating.

The sound of continuous firing slowly began to reduce, and the noise shrank.

The Orcs were already in full panic, running helter-skelter, doing their best to dodge the bullets that were being shot everywhere. The humans swarmed into the settlement, firing at the fleeing Orcs, scattering tents, and destroying their makeshift houses.

The leader let out a dark laugh. "So tell me, dear, what consequences does it look like I’ll be facing now?"

Pain flashed in Aria’s gaze as she saw the carnage the humans were causing throughout the settlement. Hearing the man’s mocking question, she instantly flew into deep, unfettered rage.

She launched herself straight at the leader, slashing at him, but he quickly tilted the hoverboard and flew higher into the air, avoiding her rapid slashes with ease.

"Tch, you’re all so quick to anger. Who said I wanted to fight? I’m only here for two things." He said sarcastically.

"What do you people want?!" Aria burst into a furious shout, her eyes beginning to water. "How many more lives will you take? Have you forgotten that we were all once Humans like you?! Why are you doing this? Just look around you—what do you gain from this destruction?"

"Like you said, ’Were.’ If I’m not mistaken, that should be a past tense," he laughed maniacally, looking down on Aria condescendingly.

"You bastard!" Aria spat, instantly leaping up with all her might, reaching meters high into the air.

The leader’s gaze darkened as she swung her blade toward him. "You should be careful. Besides, I’m not the only one you should be worried about."

Seeing the unnerving calmness on the leader’s face, despite how close she was, Aria knew something was terribly wrong. But before she could react, her instincts screaming a warning—

BOOM!

A loud, explosive sound echoed through the air.