Chapter 446: Invasion [12]
The orc crashed onto the ground, its axe slipping from its hand and flying several meters away before striking the side of another building with a loud metallic clang.
For a moment, it remained down.
Then it slowly pushed itself back to its feet, its expression twisting with anger as it realized the barrier was still standing between it and its prey.
It clenched both fists.
Then it charged forward and began hammering its fists against the shimmering energy barrier.
BOOM!
Another punch followed.
BOOM!
The barrier rippled with each impact, its surface briefly distorting under the force before settling back into place.
But it didn’t break.
The orc continued punching, growing increasingly frustrated as every strike failed to produce anything beyond another ripple of light.
Realizing that his fists weren’t doing anything, the orc decided it would be better to use its weapon instead. It stepped away from the barrier and hurried back toward the axe it had dropped earlier, its movements still carrying the same aggressive determination as before.
Flogga noticed immediately.
She turned toward Maya.
"Talia, get me the flask of acid."
Maya hesitated for a moment, still shaken by what she had just witnessed. The sight of an orc powerful enough to smash through buildings was enough to make her hesitate, but she quickly nodded and retreated deeper into the workshop to retrieve what Flogga had asked for.
By then, the orc had reached its weapon.
It bent down, grabbed the axe firmly in one hand, and began making its way back toward the workshop, its heavy footsteps growing louder with every passing second.
A moment later, Maya returned.
In her hands was a small, transparent, circular flask containing a thick purple liquid that shifted slightly whenever she moved.
Locke, who was still hiding farther inside the workshop, cautiously lifted his head to look at them.
He had no idea what the two female goblins were planning, but judging by the calm expression on Granny Flogga’s face, whatever it was, she clearly wasn’t worried.
The orc approached the barrier again, axe raised in preparation for another attack.
Flogga waited.
She didn’t throw the flask immediately.
She waited until the orc was close enough that she couldn’t miss.
Then, with a quick movement of her arm, she hurled the flask directly at it.
The small container flew through the air and struck the orc squarely in the face.
Flogga’s aim was perfect.
"Aargh!"
The orc screamed as the liquid splashed across its face, and almost immediately, smoke began rising from its skin. The highly corrosive acid spread across its face, eating through flesh with frightening speed as the orc desperately tried to wipe it away.
But that only made things worse.
The acid clung to its skin, burning through whatever it touched without slowing down. The orc clawed at its own face, desperately trying to remove the substance, but every attempt only spread the corrosive liquid across a wider area.
Its screams echoed through the settlement.
It was like watching a horror show unfold right before their eyes.
Except this wasn’t a show.
It was real.
Locke immediately turned his head away from the grotesque sight, unable to stomach what he was seeing. Maya covered her mouth, her face visibly twisted with disgust as she tried not to look.
Flogga, on the other hand, simply watched.
There was even a hint of amusement in her expression as she observed the effect of the potion she had prepared herself.
The orc continued struggling for nearly a minute before its movements gradually became weaker.
Then the screaming stopped.
Silence settled over the area.
The orc collapsed to the ground and lay completely still, its face horribly damaged by the corrosive liquid.
Flogga and Maya both let out a breath of relief, believing for a moment that the danger had passed.
But then two more orcs appeared, drawn toward the workshop by the screams of their fallen kin. The sight of the two massive creatures approaching caused the tension to return immediately, and Maya instinctively stiffened.
Flogga, however, remained completely unmoved.
"Bring more. Hurry."
Maya immediately turned and hurried back into the workshop.
The two orcs let out guttural roars before charging toward the barrier, their heavy footsteps shaking the ground as they closed the distance.
But just as they approached, something suddenly blitzed past them.
One of the orcs jerked backward as something struck across its face with incredible speed.
"Aargh!"
It staggered, raising both hands to its face as blood began running between its fingers. Whatever had struck it had damaged both eyes, leaving it completely blind.
The orc swung its arms wildly, trying to locate whatever had attacked it, but there was nothing it could see.
Then it felt something land heavily on its shoulder.
Before it could react, a small figure wrapped both legs tightly around its neck, using its body to cling to the orc’s back.
The orc reached up, trying to grab whatever had climbed onto it.
But before its hands could find the attacker, something sharp was suddenly driven into its ear.
Flogga blinked in surprise when she saw what had happened.
It was Thok.
The orc’s knees buckled beneath it, and a moment later, its massive body collapsed heavily onto the ground. It didn’t move again.
Thok withdrew his blade from the orc’s ear and casually swatted the blood from it before turning his attention toward the second orc, which had finally noticed what had happened.
"Filthy goblin! I’ll kill you for that!"
The orc raised its axe and moved forward, preparing to swing at Thok, but before it could bring the weapon down, another flask suddenly struck it in the back.
CRACK!
The container shattered on impact, spilling its contents across the orc’s back.
At first, the orc ignored it.
It barely seemed to notice the liquid running down its body as it continued toward Thok, its attention fixed entirely on the goblin in front of it.
Then the burning began.
The corrosive liquid ate into its skin, producing smoke as the flesh beneath it began to blister and burn.
"Aaargh!"
The orc screamed and immediately dropped its axe, reaching frantically behind itself in an attempt to wipe the liquid away. But the more it rubbed at its back, the more it spread the acid across its skin.
Another...