Chapter 48: The Raid Has Begun
The awakeners’ group, which now exceeded forty members, followed Elizabeth’s lead. Their eyes occasionally widened in admiration as she subdued every individual orc they came across with ease.
Leonard, however, didn’t share their joy. He threw a glance towards his accumulating corruption.
[Corruption 14%]
The foreign power felt like a leash tied around his throat, waiting for the right moment to end his life prematurely. Should the percentage ever reach one hundred, his body and soul would collapse in on themselves, altering him into a vicious monster.
Until now, there hadn’t been a recorded case of an awakener ever reverting back after turning into a monster.
Even he, who bore a Primordial Bloodline ranked higher than a Divine one, wasn’t about to test his chances.
Slowly, the trees thinned out, and the large party laid their eyes on the orc camp further ahead.
"We are really doing this..." Winston muttered, gripping his shield tighter. Among them, there were few who were willing to take on the role of a tank like him.
He was scared, sure, but the thought of allowing others to die because he couldn’t fulfill his part terrified him far more.
"Better hit them hard from the start!" William declared, hitting his two gauntlets together.
"Just make sure not to charge in mindlessly. My mana doesn’t let me heal forever, okay?" Samantha reminded them.
"The numbers are on our side. As long as we don’t waste time, we should be fine." Harley reasoned.
While everybody was mentally preparing themselves for the raid ahead, Leonard approached Elizabeth. Given that she was arguably the strongest among them, it was vital to get her to cooperate with their plan.
The awakeners were scared of her, so she was isolated from the rest, making it easy for Leonard to approach her.
"It’s you again." She spoke evenly, noticing his presence.
He had been the one to convince her to head to the orc tribe, so she hadn’t forgotten him.
"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you aren’t going to disregard our raid plan and charge in on your own."
"It’s just a few orcs. Nothing to be worried about." She shrugged nonchalantly.
Leonard frowned momentarily.
Considering they were about to rely on her, he shared what he knew about the orcs’ behavior, hoping that she would perceive the danger with more urgency.
"The Orc Shaman has ways to tamper with our corruption and is capable of detecting us from afar..."
Elizabeth lowered her head, contemplating the information.
"If that is the case, why aren’t they deploying their troops to meet us?" She pondered.
"That’s what worries me." He nodded. "It’s one thing if we are facing unintelligent beings, but they are smart and could be plotting a surprise attack. Don’t forget that the Void Believers are the ones who teleported us here. We can’t drop our guard when dealing with their involvement."
Her eyes remained quietly locked on the orc camp ahead.
It was amusing in a way. She knew that he was warning her merely because he wanted to increase his own chances of survival, yet even that faint display of concern was more than what other strangers, and even her own father, had ever given her.
"Alright... I will stick close to the raid. That should be enough, right?" She asked.
For the first time, her head turned entirely in his direction, her eyes piercing into his.
"Yes." Leonard sighed, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders.
Just as he was about to leave, she spoke once more.
"Your name... What is it?"
He blinked slowly, taken aback by the question.
"Leonard." He answered before returning to the others.
"Leonard..." Elizabeth whispered the name to herself, certain that she had heard it somewhere before.
"Ah." Her eyes narrowed in brief surprise as she remembered.
Leonard was the last in the line of succession to the throne left by the former King Gideon.
As a member of the Starlight Household, her father had drilled into her the details of every potential rival.
Since Leonard was the same age as her, he had been expected to become her greatest obstacle. Yet, once it became known that he possessed merely a Common Bloodline, she was told not to worry about him.
"Strange... He seems to be doing quite well for someone with the lowest-ranked Bloodline..." She remarked, glancing at her sleeve.
"What do you make of it, Rimy?"
Instantly, a small blue lizard emerged and stopped at the top of her palm.
[Familiar: Ice Dragon (Hatchling)]
"Kia!"
The little Ice Dragon hatchling squeaked adorably.
"You like him? That’s new... Then what do you think about the upcoming raid?"
"Wuu!"
Rimy exclaimed, her stomach growling.
"You think that if I let you eat that Orc Shaman, you will evolve?"
"Guu! Guu!" Rimy nodded repeatedly.
Elizabeth gently patted the ice dragon before letting her go back into hiding in her sleeve.
Eventually, enough time passed for everyone to recover. Their bodies returned to peak condition, and their mana pools replenished.
Moving as one, the party neared the orc camp, the imposing walls of the tribe finally coming into full view. They were several times taller than a person and encircled the entire settlement, with the only entrance being the front gates that needed to be broken through.
"To think that our entrance exam would consist of raiding a monster’s base... I heard that only happens later in the first year of the academy, after everyone gets familiar with their classes." Winston exclaimed with a pale face.
"Don’t think about unnecessary stuff. Keep your eyes peeled." Leonard patted him on the shoulder.
DUM!
Just then, the powerful beat of a war drum echoed past the orc’s base, announcing an upcoming battle.
DUM! DUM! DUM!
The awakeners felt their heartbeats quicken under the booming rhythm, as if they were marching into war.
With a loud screech, the gates lowered, falling to the ground with a deafening thud.
Rather than the ordinary orcs that they had been expecting, three elites led the way. Exceeding two meters in height, the orcs were clad in heavy metal armor and carried chipped greatswords.
All three of them had heavy brown beards and long hair that reached their shoulders, while their tusks were twice as long as those of normal orcs.
[Level 20 Orc Champion.]