Vint let out a grunt that Arek took as agreement. The man didn’t sound particularly happy about his situation, but the orc didn’t care. All that mattered was that Malissa survived the day.

He launched forward again, bounding from rooftop to rooftop like the worlds largest, strangest green bunny. As he ran, Arek could practically feel the gaze of the horde latch onto him. His breathing was already ragged and his muscles groaned in protest with every move. He couldn’t afford to fight them with three passengers.

As Arek pulled away from the small town square, the horde grew thicker. If anything, there were even more of the wyrms than there had been before. They were practically stacked on each other’s shoulders.

The sounds of battle still rang out throughout the city, but it had dimmed considerably. Arek wasn’t sure if that was because the guards had been massacred or the wyrms had been temporarily delayed by all the fresh food and corpses littering the outer ring of the city.

He didn’t stop to ponder his questions. Arek continued forward, pushing his body to the very limit. Monsters snapped up at him as he passed overhead, but none managed to land a strike.

When he was a little over halfway back to the guard outpost and Belmont, a shadow passed overhead. Arek threw himself and his passengers forward with a burst of energy, barely landing on his feet as the roof behind them exploded in a shower of splinters.

Arek stumbled, nearly falling over before righting himself and continuing onwards without even chancing a glance behind himself.

“What’s going on?” Vint yelled.

“Wyvern!” Arek called back, hopping from roof to roof in what he desperately hoped was a zig-zag pattern. Hot breath washed over his back through the cracks in his armor as the wyvern let out a furious roar.

Arek felt Ming let go with one hand.The roar turned to a sputtering cough. He felt her bag of food flutter and the load on his back lightened slightly.

“Bullseye,” Ming said, pulling herself back close to Arek’s back. “That maneuver cost me a turkey leg. I’m not sure if it was worth it.”

“Is it dead?” Vint asked. “I’ll not be taken low by some worthless–”

The wyrm let out a roar.

“I don’t think it’s dead,” Ming said helpfully.

Arek didn’t have time to respond. He leapt to the side, barely avoiding the wyvern’s claws as they raked through the building behind him.

“I don’t think you’re going to outrun this,” Ming said, pointing her staff back at the wyvern and firing off a bolt of pure magic. The monster let out a screech of pain from a short distance behind them.

“I can’t fight it without losing control of the magic keeping your friend alive,” Vint said. “But don’t think I’ll go around dying to save her.”

“Shut up,” Arek growled. “Get off my back, both of you. Ming, keep the wyrms on the ground from getting up to you. Vint… hide on the other side of the wall or something. We’re not going to be able to escape before I take care of our scaly friend.”

Ming leapt to the ground. Vint dropped a moment later. Arek nearly turned to check on them, but he stopped at the last moment. If he even caught a glimpse of Vint, it could all be over.

“Follow me! And help me carry Malissa,” Ming said, grabbing Vint and dragging him away. The guandao shimmered to life in Arek’s hands.

He waited as long as he could for the two of them to leave his field of view. A rush of air buffeting against him was the only warning the orc received before the wyrm was upon him. He spun, raising his guandao just in time to catch both of the creature’s front paws – one on each end of the weapon.

The force of the strike pushed Arek back through the roof, tearing apart shingles and sending them cascading down onto the sea of wyrms below them. The wyvern was larger than the ones he’d seen previously. The creature had dull red lines going down its body, and its scales were bronze and gold rather than the dull greyish silver that Arek had come to expect. The beast’s wings were also bigger than he’d expected. The strange wyvern let out a roar and its head snaked forward.

Arek released the guandao with one hand and threw his body into a powerful punch directed at the scaled monster’s nose. It connected with a satisfying thud and the wyvern let out a cry of pain.

“You’re a loud bastard, aren’t you?” Arek snarled, his battle rage taking the reigns of his battered body. He lunged forward, thrusting the guandao towards the monster’s chest.

It flapped back, avoiding the strike and lashing out with its tail. The strike caught Arek in the shoulder and threw him through a wall, shattering the glowing armor instantly. The orc tumbled through someone’s kitchen table and rolled to his feet, his left arm hanging limply at his side.

This monster was significantly stronger than the other wyverns he’d fought. Well, either that or he was just getting weaker. Both were equally likely. Arek gritted his teeth and forced down the pain coursing through his body.

It turned into a dull thrum that blended in with the drum of the blood rage in his ears. He let out a wordless roar, grabbing the guandao with his other hand and charging towards the wyvern.

It flapped back into the air once again. Arek reared back and launched the guandao through the air. The wyvern’s wings buffeted him as it tried to dodge the strike.

The polearm pierced through the creature’s side, drawing another cry of rage from it. Arek extended his hand and the weapon flew back into it.

“You make too much noise. Just shut up!”

Arek hurled the guandao again. This time, the wyvern ducked out of the way, hate filling its dark eyes as it avoided the flying weapon and made a beeline towards the orc.