DriftingLeaf

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Amarach forest, Redwater settlement.

A heated battle opposing an army of orcs and a group of warriors was underway. On this beautiful morning, the calm settlement was suddenly plunged into chaos when out of nowhere an army of more than a hundred orcs invaded their home. In normal circumstances, such an army would have been enough to destroy the little settlement before their victims could even understand what fell upon them.

However, this time the orcs were unable to do so. Thanks to the prompt reaction of the settlement’s warriors, the advantageous situation of the settlement, and the newfound power of their leader, they were able to hold on despite fighting against such an overwhelming army.

Still, anyone with a bit of experience would be able to tell that they would soon be unable to hold on.

“Hehe, how long would you be able to keep running, gru-gru,” said the orc’s chief as Celia narrowly dodged a swing of his hammer.

 “Long enough for you to regret ever coming here,” Celia said with a small smile.

“Hehe, let's see if you can keep that confidence once I press you under me,” he replied as he eyed the alluring body of Celia with a lecherous expression on his face. He was sure they were going to win this fight so, while surprising, the little bit of resistance they were facing was far from being a concern for him.

The only thing that could have upset his plan was the beast the shaman talked about. Still, it wasn't even here. So, nothing could stop him.

“Unfortunately, you will never know,” Celia said with a broad smile spreading her lips. At that moment, she was even more enchanting than before, but the chief could hardly pay attention to this as he felt a dreadful aura fall upon the battlefield.

“Is that what gives you so much confidence?” the orc’s chief asked as he turned his gaze toward the source of said aura.

"Yes," she said, turning toward the newcomer too.

It was a little black cat. At first glance, the cat looks really unimpressive and for a moment he almost doubted whether that aura really belonged to the beast in front of him. After all, in his simple mind, strength was synonymous with size. So, the stronger an entity was, the bigger it would be.

However, it didn’t take long before his doubts were completely cleared. As he was looking at the cat, he suddenly dashed forward, he moved so fast that he turned into a blur. In the blink of an eye, the cat crossed the distance separating him from the battlefield and instantly appeared beside the Worgen.

Then, before anyone could react, he went on the rampage. As if a deadly flower was blooming, dozens of shadow spikes rose from the ground, skewering and killing all the orcs in his close vicinity.

In front of such a display, the orc’s chief didn’t feel fear. Instead, he felt incredibly thrilled, and his warrior’s blood boiled. He was feeling intense anticipation at the thought of fighting against that beast.

“Don’t do anything foolish.” The stern voice of the shaman sounded as he was about to rush toward Leo.

“You will be able to fight him all you want soon. If you go now, chances are that you would die without being able to do anything.” The shaman warned him as he saw the chief unwilling expression.

As he heard those words, the chief was naturally displeased. It was normal since the shaman was doubting his strength as a proud orc’s champion. Still, in the end, he listened to the shaman. After all, he owed him a great part of his current accomplishment. Besides, although he was a muscle head he wouldn’t dare to underestimate a beast that could kill all the other kings by himself.

Meanwhile, Leo, whose anger subsided a little after killing those orcs, was looking around himself with a disgruntled expression on his face.

‘What a waste,’ he thought, watching the dead orcs around him. Since he already settled his mind with the griffin evolution, it would have been better if he could kill them with a wind skill. However, his mastery over wind power was too weak and this was an emergency. He couldn’t afford to be picky about which skill he would use as he needed to be efficient. Thus, he had no choice but to use the shadow spikes to quickly deal with them.

‘Guess, it was worth it,’ he thought, glancing at the three warriors who were catching their breaths. Who knows what may have happened if he came a few minutes later?

‘Well, I guess I would have to look for some wind related skills in the store,’ he mumbled as he decided to acquire a few wind skills before continuing the fight.

“Phew, thank you, Leo. Luckily, you came back in time.” As he was about to proceed with his thoughts, Celia stopped beside him and thanked him with a relieved smile on her face.

“No, I am sorry.” Leo shook his head lightly as he didn’t think he deserved to be thanked. In the first place, this situation wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t gone out on his own.

“Don’t be. None could have guessed that we would be invaded so suddenly. Besides, you can’t be guarding us all the time.”

“Alright,” he said, unwilling to dwell more on this. “Can you do something for those guys,” he said, glancing at Sheila and co. He remembered that there were some potions in Blake’s ring. Using them should help improve their state.

“Yes, I have some health potions, but I can’t do anything about their stamina. I am afraid they wouldn’t be able to help us after this,” she said as a few vials appeared in her palm.

“No, we are fine, we can still help,” Tiran said as he heard Celia's words. He was unwilling to sit by and watch his home being defended by someone else.

“Give them this,” Leo said as a bunch of stamina potions appeared in front of him. He had no use for those things and since they wanted to help, he saw no reason to not give them the opportunity to.

‘Anyway, I could need their help,’ he thought, turning his attention toward the remaining army of orcs. Even after his short rampage, there were still a lot of those guys and all of them were rank D. It would be somewhat troublesome to fight them all and two rank C by himself while keeping the settlement’s inhabitants safe.

‘It was really a smart move to bring the fight on my home field. Now, I won’t be able to go all out as I would need to be mindful of my surroundings,’ he thought as his gaze met the shaman’s. He wondered if this was part of his plan or if he was overthinking.

“I still can’t believe that it is really you. You are the little rat that escaped two days ago, gru-gru,” the shaman said. Now that he saw Leo in person, he was able to confirm that he was really the shadow cat that defied him a few days ago. Though the air surrounding him was completely different, he wouldn’t forget those eyes. The fury brewing within them was the same.

“I can’t believe that you actually dared to come before me by yourself. Are you that eager to die?” Leo questioned. He was genuinely curious about what gave the shaman and his following the guts to attack him. it was clear that they knew about his powers. None wouldn’t after last night's event. Still, they dared to come all the way here to attack him.

“Do you really think you are invincible? Just because you beat those foolish beasts, gru-gru?”

“I don’t know if I am invincible. But I am sure as hell that you can’t beat me,” Leo said. After all, he defeated a full rank C party yesterday and he was a lot stronger than that time. It would take more than two rank C and a bunch of rank D to beat him.

“You will see,” the shaman said, infuriated by Leo’s indifference. With a wave of his hand, his army, which hadn’t moved since Leo’s appearance, became extremely rowdy. All the remaining orcs save the chief, the shaman and another orc standing with the shaman underwent a drastic change. Their green skin started glowing a deep shape of red looking as if they were drenched with blood. They grew a few inches taller, and their muscles expanded making them look even more savage and dangerous than they already were.

 In an instant, all those orcs reached the peak of rank D, and coupled with the thick bloodlust surrounding them, they filled the settlement with a suffocating and seemingly unstoppable momentum.

“Is this the card that gave him confidence?” Leo wondered with a small frown. Even he couldn’t help but flinch at the sight of almost a hundred of frenzied peak rank D charging toward.

Though, he wasn’t more impressed than that. While he was chatting with the shaman, he took the opportunity to complete his preparation. He wasn’t the kind to chit-chat with someone he was about to kill. He was just buying some time for himself and his allies.

 Now that he was ready, it was time to end this joke.