Chapter 10 - The Orc
Once we reached the orc, we stood before the colossal monster. I didn't notice his monstrous form under the moonlight earlier, but his gigantic shape became apparent when I could see it clearly. He was standing over ten feet tall with enormous muscles bulging out of his entire body, covered from head to toe with thick brown leather armor that hid his green skin beneath. His jawline was squared and strong; his mouth opened wide with teeth protruding. Large tusks jutted from either side of his mouth, curving slightly outward.
His ears twitched in response to our movements. As we entered the clearing of his campsite, he turned his gaze away from me. The others followed closely after me.
"Are you the rumoured savior?" he asked suddenly, speaking with an incredibly gruff voice.
"Uh. Yep?"
The orc's voice thundered as he spoke. "Then come forward. I, Krugbu, challenge you to a duel!"
A murmur rippled through the group behind me. Most seemed confused by the challenge. Others were scared and concerned. A few muttered questions and comments under their breath, questioning why an orc would want such a thing or suggesting we refuse outright.
"Okay, then if I win, you'll leave this town alone."
"Hahahaha," he roared and laughed loudly, stepping forward toward where I stood. "I never cared about this town to begin with. It's full of weaklings, unworthy of fighting me."
"Oh. You're just here to fight?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow as I asked him.
"Of course. I've heard about your strength. And well, I wouldn't mind killing someone to feel stronger myself," Krugbu growled, baring his pointed teeth. "But, let's fight like fair people. No weapons, no magic, only your body."
"Alright! That works fine for me."
He was surprisingly open and forthright with his intentions, especially for an orc. No trickery or plots involved, not even a hidden plan—nothing, which meant I couldn't sense his hostility toward me. All he cared about was challenging someone he viewed as his equal.
I stepped closer to him, grinning slightly and folding my arms across my chest. I wasn't even shaking. My heart stayed still despite knowing that this powerful warrior could break my former body in half like a twig. But in my current body, I felt so unbelievably light. Any fear or worries I felt had completely left me as he loomed ahead with nothing else occupying his mind except for me.
"Get ready..." the orc grumbled. His massive body began expanding further, growing to nearly double its original size as the veins on its neck grew more pronounced than usual, the muscles under the skin rippling beneath them. The wind blew past us as I got even closer.
I slammed my foot into the ground hard enough for dirt to spray upwards and flew right toward him. He didn't seem to expect such a charge as he threw out a haymaker at me with all his might. My arm raised up quickly and blocked it successfully, then I ducked under a counterstrike aimed at my skull and rolled on my right shoulder until my torso slammed onto his gigantic abdomen. He was pushed back slightly and grunted in surprise, stumbling over slightly before getting into stance.
In response to his attack, I jumped forward with an uppercut, knocking his head backward. As I did so, I landed another blow against the center of his body, causing him to gasp painfully and wheeze. The force behind it caused me to slide a bit along the ground and even sent tremors throughout the air itself. Krugbu grimaced after he recovered. Blood dripped out of his mouth onto the dirt below, making crimson patterns on the dirt.
It wasn't like he was slow. No, in fact, his movements were incredibly agile for someone of his size. But being in this goddess' body, every attack he threw felt sluggish, like throwing stones underwater, slow and predictable. Each hit missed or bounced harmlessly off my skin and muscles, and I could predict every move he made before it landed on me. He threw strikes at me constantly in an attempt to overwhelm my defense, yet his hits felt feeble in comparison to me. I guess I could thank Aria for granting me this invincible body.
"Grrr! You're stronger than I thought, little girl. But don't expect this will be enough to finish me!"
"Heh! No kidding!" I roared.
With that, I grabbed hold of his burly right arm with both hands. With ease, I lifted the hulking beast high above my head and swung him down hard against the ground. The impact shattered the ground as well as several trees in the process, sending massive roots flying everywhere. Debris rained all over me. An avalanche of dust blew into my eyes, obscuring everything from view, save for Krugbu lying motionlessly within the rubble.
"Ugh, I'm all dirty again. Not after taking a bath," I mumbled.
Slowly, I approached where he lay and leaned toward him. "I win!" I declared confidently as I stood beside him with my hands resting proudly on my waist. "Yahoo!! That was so easy!" I hollered happily, waving my hands to everyone in front of me as their shocked faces looked back at me, gaping their mouths wide open. They gazed silently, unsure what else could be said about such an overwhelming victory.
All of a sudden, the orcs hand grabbed my leg, squeezing tightly and halting me.
"Good fight," he complimented, laughing. I looked down at him, confused, as he gazed back.
He let go and allowed himself to fall backward onto the grassy floor and sighed loudly, "What an amazing power, young girl. No one has beaten me in a physical fight before... Until now..."
I extended my right hand out toward him, and he took it firmly. Pulling him upward, the orc's heavy weight made him groan loudly, struggling against gravity while standing up. Once he stood upright, he wiped away the dust covering his muscular frame before turning around toward the rest of his group, all still staring dumbfounded at what unfolded before their eyes. "Say, young girl. Will you leave this village someday?"
"Probably, yes." I answered, scratching my cheek as I looked up at the monster. Why was he asking me a question like that anyway?
He immediately kneeled down and bent his head. "Then I, Krugbu, and the rest of my tribe shall protect this village with our lives and follow your will. You defeated me in battle without any magic. And you are not corrupted with evil powers like many demon lords are. As long as the promise between you and I is fulfilled, I pledge loyalty to the mighty Ishtar."
"Hahaha," I burst out laughing. "What are you, a knight? So faithful..."
He raised his head at me and frowned, clearly puzzled by the remark but still not questioning it. "That I am. Our tribe has fought a decades to stay pure and true, yet many succumbed to their evil desires. And because of that, we've searched for a worthy master for so long."
"Cool!" I beamed at his words. I thought these guys were supposed to be the bad guys, but maybe not. How sweet. "Does that mean that you will not try to kill and eat any humans anymore?"
He paused and pondered my question for a while, seemingly weighing it up, "As long as you will it, we shall not do such despicable acts anymore."
"Okay. Sounds great." I giggled, placing my palm atop his head, and rubbed his scalp slowly with my fingers. His hair was so rough that it felt almost spiky but surprisingly soft at the same time, not bristly or sharp at all. It kind of reminded me of the thick coat, although slightly smoother to the touch than its equivalent texture.
With that, I turned to the crowd again. "Alright, we're done? Okay, go home, everyone! Go sleep! Or go back to the festival. Too bad we had this weirdo intrude, but he's on our side now."
A huge wave of noise followed my words, cheering loudly, and I was pleased to hear most of the men and women shouting with approval. Most of them clapped, and some even chanted my name over and over.
Torina excitedly rushed toward me, pulling me into a hug, and clung to me. "Woooooo!! That was amazing, Ishtar! So cool!!" she yelled enthusiastically. "From now on, I'll follow you too, wherever you go!"
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Seeing a lot more stories with honorable Orcs probably for the better. They were originally written to represent corruption of elven beauty and nobility but in any race, both can turn to pride and arrogance so being able to grow and improve and strive for redemption should be something to strive for.
Yup, I wanted to break some stereotypes, starting off easy with orcs.
He was standing over ten feet tall
His massive body began expanding further, growing to nearly double its original size
With that, I grabbed hold of his burly shoulders with both hands. With ease
So, Ishtar can grab and throw someone that is twenty feet tall by their shoulders that is a really impressive feet, how long is her reach?
It's a bit weirdly written which is my bad, but I meant that his muscles grew and not his height lol.
@squidball Okay that sounds more reasonable also could you imagine the pain of all of your bones suddenly doubling in size?
@squidball well that still doesn't really work, assuming that Ishtar is 6ft tall the orc shoulders would be about 9ft above ground or 3 feet above ishtars head so she would need to have arms atleast 3 1/2ft long which according to some googling would be exceptionally long just to reach them. And this is ignoring just how broad shouldered a 10ft tall are with magically doubled size is going to be. And for her to then actually lift him into the air would probably put her arm length at about 5ft or close dragging on the floor if she slouched slightly
@squidball This can only work if the orc is already on the ground and only if she lifts and swings him so fast that the body doesnt have time to sag. (You might aswell skip the lifting up part in this case since shed just be tossing him in this case...) Jumping up to grab the shoulder also wouldnt work since theres no force working downwards on her other than her weight+gravity. I doubt shes heavy enough that the orc would not be able to just keep standing whe she holds onto his shoulders...
It would be much easier if she just grabbed his arm and did the hulk move with him that way... She would have a longer lever (i.e. his arm) that way and a hulk move is just as funny as her lifting him up to "throw" him.
@uxel Yeo im changing it to arm