Chapter 7: Mutant Hunt (2)

The three orcs finished their meals and departed from Grant’s log cabin.

[You have received a blessing from orc sorcerer Andara. Your physical abilities and strength will be enhanced for half a day.]

Grant’s wife cast a buff on them.

Then she said, “Be careful.”

With Grant leading the way, the party headed toward a place farther from Orcrox Fortress and soon arrived at a road the orc farmers had created. As they went down the road, they saw various orc houses and fields.

“Orcs used to avoid farming,” said Grant while waving at another farmer. “But suddenly, orcs began to embrace farming. Many initially thought being a farmer wasn’t orc-like, but I was inspired by farming because it is honest labor. You reap as much as you sweat.”

“Were you originally a warrior?” asked Yi-An.

Grant gave Yi-An the impression that he had been a warrior at some point in life.

“Used to be.”

“Ohh... Were you trained by Lenox?”

“Yeah, Lenox was scary and strict back then too.”

Yi-An thought,

‘

Grant looks older, but Lenox used to be his instructor. I guess Lenox must be quite old.

’

“Shhhh... Be quiet. We are nearing its territory.” Grant was on high alert.

From afar, the party saw wolves strolling about. The wolves seemed to be guarding their territory. They were moving in a systematic arrangement that couldn’t be seen in normal animals.

Yi-An gulped. An ominous feeling crept up inside him.

Even if it was the same troop, the difference between facing organized soldiers and a disorderly mess was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Grom said, “Let’s go for them right now. Let’s beat them up.”

Yi-An shook his head. “No, we cannot.”

“They are just wolves.”

“Something’s amiss. They seem trained.”

“Trained?” Grom tilted his head.

Grant, who had been listening to their conversation, looked at Yi-An and nodded. “You are only an apprentice, but you have a good intuition for battle.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“They are unlike regular wolves. The wolves that the mutant leads are trained. If we attack them without a plan, we will soon be surrounded by wolves.”

“Then...”

“It’s a hassle. If we’re able to catch the leader, the problem would be solved...”

Yi-An contemplated some strategies. One war strategy featured the troops splitting into two to distract the enemy. The party needed something else to divert the wolves’ attention so that they could get to the pack leader.

“Let’s try luring him.”

“How? Are you suggesting we split up?”

“Rather than that...” Yi-An grinned. “The enemy’s opponent is our ally. Are there any other predators in the area?”

“Ohh...” Grant smiled and pointed at his head as if he had an epiphany. “I see, you have to use your head. I learned a lesson.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Grom tilted his head. He couldn’t follow their conversation.

“We need to use something else. We need a predator who was pushed out of its territory because of the wolves.”

They racked their brains to come up with an animal that was stronger than a wolf, that was not a part of a pack, and that they could confront head-on.

It was a tiger.

“A tiger? We are going to catch a tiger to attack a wolf?” Grom gasped.

“It’s better to face one tiger than a pack of wolves.”

“What will we do after catching the tiger?”

“We will use him to lure the wolves, infiltrate the pack, and then tackle the leader.”

They wandered through the forest for a bit and found their target.

There was a tiger yawning as it flopped down on a rock. The party moved closer and hid in some nearby bushes.

“Let’s make the tiger pass out.”

“How?”

“By hitting it straight in the head,” said Grant as he clenched his fist.

“...” Grom shook his head.

The three orcs approached the tiger. Sensing this, the tiger rose from its spot. The orcs and the tiger entered a confrontation; it was three versus one.

This was Yi-An’s first battle in

Elder Lord

. A pleasant feeling of tension filled his body. It was a sensation that he used to experience on the battlefield in real life. He gained a surge of confidence as he became fully aware of his sturdy physique and throbbing muscles. Yi-An was certain that he could beat a tiger.

The tiger growled. The beast’s low-pitched roar rang across the terrain.

After Grom heard it, his legs froze. The tiger sensed his fear and leaped toward him. As the tiger hovered in midair, they realized it was much larger than they had expected. Even Yi-An flinched at this sight.

“Grom! What are you doing?”

“Uhhhh...!”

Grom clenched his eyes shut and swung his axe. However, a blind attack wouldn’t reach the tiger. The tiger pushed Grom’s shoulders down with its front paws and opened its mouth wide.

Yi-An calmly struck the tiger while aiming for its mouth. Failing to bite off Grom's head, the tiger tilted its head back. Its blood-thirsty eyes now stared at Yi-An instead.

At that moment, Grant swung his halberd and struck the tiger’s back. The tiger whimpered as the blade penetrated its thick coat.

“Don’t kill it!”

“Yes, sir!”

Yi-An ran at the tiger and hit the tiger in the head. However, the tiger resisted and threw its head backward.

In the meantime, Grom had gotten back on his feet, and he began to pummel the tiger with the butt of his axe.

The three orcs beat up the tiger.

The tiger howled and cowered like a dog. Its eyes welled with tears; it seemed to be beseeching them to stop hitting it. Grant smiled as he gazed into the tiger's teary eyes and then rammed his fist into the tiger’s forehead.

The tiger fainted. It was a primal and brutal scene.

“Whew, this guy didn’t amount to much,” said Grant.

[You subdued the once-renowned tiger.]

[Beating up a poor tiger that was chased away by the wolves... you have taken a step further into the ruthless world of orcs.]

[You have gained 10 achievement points.]

[Orc’s Strength (Common) and Greatsword Technique (Common) have increased in proficiency.]

Yi-An saw the message windows. If the proficiency of his skills continued to increase, they would level up to the Uncommon tier.

“Now, let’s drag him.”

As the three of them carried the unconscious tiger on their shoulder, they looked like soldiers carrying logs during training.

Soon after, they reached the wolf zone. The wolves were walking back and forth in a pattern like they were patrolling the area. It was human-like systematic behavior. Seeing that, Yi-An tensed up again.

Although the wolves here looked like regular wolves, this was the world of

Elder Lord

. They could have abilities incomparable to those of a regular wolf; their behavior seemed to imply this.

“We will send this kid over there.” Grant tapped the tiger a few times.

They lifted up the tiger as if they were tossing it into the air.

“Hey, wake up.” Grant tried to awaken the tiger, but the animal’s eyes were still rolled back.

“Did we hit it too hard?”

“Is it dead?”

“No, it’s still breathing.”

Grant repeatedly slapped the tiger with one hand. It would have been impossible to handle a tiger, the king of beasts, like this with the body of a human. Even if other people didn’t think so, Yi-An certainly thought being an orc was awesome.

“Grrrr...”

The tiger’s eyelids quivered. As they slowly opened, the tiger recognized Grant’s face and began whimpering. Grant glanced at the two to intervene before the tiger started moving again.

“Hey, now!”

They threw the tiger into the center of the wolves’ formation. The tiger rolled in midair, but it still landed on its feet with ease due to its cat instincts.

The wolves jerked in surprise at the tiger’s sudden appearance.

“Gggrrrrrrrrrrr...”

One wolf began howling.

“Awwooooooo....”

“Awooooooooooo...”

The other wolves joined the chorus of howls one after another.

At this point, the tiger finally came to its senses and assessed the situation. It decided to oppose the wolves.

The orcs didn’t expect much from the tiger.

However, the tiger puffed up its chest in an arrogant posture and glared at the wolves. The orcs couldn’t believe that it was the same tiger from before. Wolves were predators, but the king of predators was the tiger.

When the tiger strutted forward and scanned the wolf pack, the wolves retreated. The tiger exhibited a sense of dignity that hadn’t been imaginable in its former self. It growled at the wolves as if it was laughing at them.

Then the tiger unleashed a roar, “Raaaaaaaaah!”

The wolves took a step back in fear. Concerned about their odds of survival, they called for reinforcements, and their companions surrounded the tiger like a swarm of ants.

Although the wolves tried to intimidate the tiger with their large number, the tiger did not lose its composure. It was truly the king of beasts.

Yi-An was moved. “Simba, that guy...”

“His name is Simba? How do you know?”

“I just named him...”

“I see...” Grant nodded. “Since we have named him, he is no longer just a tiger.”

“...” Grom remained silent.

“Let’s strike the leader of the pack for Simba!”

“Let’s meet again, Simba.”

Grom made a weird expression as he observed Yi-An and Grant.

Thanks to the diversion, the three orcs were able to discreetly head toward where the leader dwelled. They heard the whimpers of the wolves and the roar of the tiger behind them as they passed through the forest and reached a low, rocky hill. At the top of the hill, there was a lone wolf watching the wolves and the tiger’s fight with its tail raised. The black-furred lone wolf was almost twice the size of a regular wolf, but it looked agile.

“That’s the one.”

“Indeed...”

They could sense something was different about this wolf just from its appearance.

“Let’s get rid of it and restore the farmers’ peace.”

“We even caught a tiger. One wolf shouldn’t be a problem.”

Grom confidently gripped his axe and got up.

Sensing that, the wolf bared its teeth at Grom. Its growls rang through the party’s ears despite the distance.

Grant, Yi-An, and Grom proceeded toward the hill together. Nevertheless, the wolf did not fear them and ran down the hill with great agility. It was quite a sight.

“

Groooowwwwl...

”

As the black wolf growled, other wolves crawled out from the corners of the hill. There seemed to be at least ten of them.

With the black wolf leading the way, the wolf pack and the three orcs entered a confrontation.

“These guys are different from the wolves earlier.”

These wolves were all huge. Their fangs were sharp, and their fighting spirits blazed. They were the chosen ones of the wolf pack.

Yi-An grasped his greatsword and said, “Still, they are just wolves.”

The wolves lunged at the orcs, with two or three of them attacking one orc together. These wolves were fast. One of them distracted Yi-An by jumping in front of him as another wolf bit his side.

“Arrgghh!”

Yi-An and Grom were struggling.

Compelled to quickly finish his battle, Yi-An used his elbow to strike the head of the wolf that bit him. The searing pain of his bitten side heightened the realism of the game.

“How can a game feel so real?” muttered Yi-An while panting.

He stared at the ferocious face of the wolf that had a piece of his flesh in its mouth. The burning pain in his side was similar to the pain he had experienced on the battlefield, and it awakened his senses.

Yi-An could understand why people said that

Elder Lord

was difficult and that playing an orc was especially difficult. The battles in

Elder Lord

were

real

, and Yi-An was the kind of man who faced harsh truths head-on rather than deny reality.

Upon noticing that Grom was struggling and rolling around on the ground, Yi-An’s expression darkened. He wanted to help Grom, but he had to deal with his own opponent first. If he acted hastily, it wouldn’t amount to anything.

Yi-An moved forward, and the wolves retreated. Rather than facing Yi-An head-on, they moved next to him or behind him and bit him wherever they saw an opening. Consequently, Yi-An’s wounds continued to increase in number.

Then, a wolf flew over. The wolf, which was covered in blood due to having been struck by Grant’s halberd, collided with the wolf Yi-An was facing. While the wolves were startled by the collision, Yi-An closed in on them and drove his greatsword into the wolf that was covered in blood, piercing right through its stomach and intestines.

The wolf trembled and spasmed. Yi-An kicked the shaking wolf in the head, and it collapsed on the ground. He pulled out his sword, which was now dripping with wolf blood.

“It’s your turn next.” Yi-An grinned.

The wolves were furious and charged madly at Yi-An. One wolf bit Yi-An’s right arm, and another bit his leg... hard. The wolf biting into his right arm put all of its strength into its jaws, clearly intent on severing the arm. Due to the pain, Yi-An almost let go of his greatsword.

“This punk...!”

Yi-An punched the head of the wolf on his right arm with his left hand. The wolf yelped in pain but refused to let go. The other wolf also kept its hold on Yi-An’s leg.

Nevertheless, Yi-An continued hitting the wolf biting his arm. Moments later, the wolf’s skull caved in, and the wolf collapsed to the ground.

Next, Yi-An raised his greatsword and slashed at the wolf biting his leg. The wolf whimpered and retreated.

Yi-An felt the adrenaline rush he used to experience in real life battles, and he kept swinging his greatsword with no regard for what was around him. All he saw now were his enemies and his sword. The wolf eventually lost its head to Yi-An’s bloodthirst.

Yi-An was out of breath and covered in blood. Practice and actual fighting were different. The pressure and exhaustion from a fight were completely unlike what was felt during practice, regardless of how much a technique was practiced at the training grounds.

Yi-An turned his head as he tried to straighten his fatigued body.

[Your first bloody battle as an orc! The warrior’s soul endures and makes you hang on even as you crawl on the ground from exhaustion.]

[Warrior’s Fighting Spirit (Uncommon) has been triggered.]

[Orc’s Recovery (Common) has been triggered.]

Grant was struggling. Yi-An had three wolves going at him, but Grant was stuck with five. Including the wolf that Yi-An had slaughtered earlier, Grant faced twice the number of wolves that Yi-An had.

“Help, Grom!” screamed Grant.

His voice reverberated throughout the battlefield as he swung his halberd with bloodshot eyes that evoked memories of his warrior days.

Yi-An’s gaze searched for Grom, and his eyes widened when he found his friend.

Grom was spasming. His neck was in a wolf’s mouth.

“Grom...?”

Grom’s eyes grew dim as he dropped to the ground like a corpse.

The shock made Yi-An’s eyes lose focus. He ran toward his comrade while letting out a desperate roar.

“GROOOOOOOOOOM!!!”