In the dark night, The Orc Elite suddenly lifted his head, lookig into the distance. The Scouts stationed all around also looked in the same direction, their ears turning there as well.

"Horses. Someone is coming!" one of the Orc Scouts suddenly announced.

The captured warriors noticed the change and struggled to look in the same direction too, though they were unable to see or hear anything.

"Gag them up! We should avoid another fight if at all possible," the Orc Elite said after hearing the sound of horse hooves coming closer. Now the humans could already hear it too and they became excited.

'Horses! We are safe! This must be a powerful group of warriors!' Just as the man opened his mouth to shout, a stinky rag was forced inside and a rope was tied around his head, forcing him to almost choke on it. He could barely breathe, let alone shout for help.

Every warrior present had the same fate, they were tied up and gagged before they even knew what was happening.

The sound of horse riders was coming closer and closer, it sounded as if they were just tens of meters away! But then, under the watchful eyes of the Orcs, they slowly became quieter, disappearing into the distance.

'No! This can't be! Come back, please!' A man struggled desperately, but he was tightly tied and laying on the ground. He couldn't do a thing!

'I must do something, I can't let it end like this!' He struggled to move his hands even though the rough rope cut into his skin, and forcefully managed to touch one of his pouches on his belt. With the tips of his fingers, he gripped the neck of a bottle and pulled it out. It was the Bottled Thunder! It was one he pre-mixed as the fight started but didn't have the opportunity to use.

He steeled his mind and gripped the bottle, trying to smash it on the ground. He was prepared to die from the moment they were captured by Orcs. And if his sacrifice could take a few of them down, he was more than happy to do it.

'Oh, no!' The dirt under him was soft, and the dead leaves and fresh grass covered the forest floor, there was nothing hard to bang the bottle against!

"Mhmm!" The man became desperate as the sounds of horses became quieter by the second.

An Orc Scout saw him struggling on the floor and sneered, "Heh! Shut up!" He kicked the man in the stomach, forcing him to drop the bottle.

"Haha, what's this? A potion?" The beast picked up the bottle and opened it, taking a sniff. "Bleagh! What is this stench! You filthy humans, always carrying around poisons! Cowardly trash, haha!"

The Orc Scout then tossed the bottle with all his strength, and would you know, it hit a tree!

Yes, in the middle of a forest it hit a tree, what about it?

Boom!

A powerful explosion sounded out in the night, alerting every living being in a few-kilometer radius.

"What have you done?!" The Orc Elite suddenly roared and clawed at the Orc Scout.

The humanoid beast tried to defend itself, "Ah! It wasn't me! It was this human, he tricked me!"

"Roar!" The Elite roared in rage, but his worst fears came true! They were discovered!

"Over there! The explosion came from over there!" Shouts and lights suddenly started coming closer, and the sounds of horse hooves striking the ground sounded even louder than before. They were approaching quickly!

Suddenly a bright light shone through the darkness, illuminating the group of Orcs and wounded humans.

"It's Orcs! Ready your spells and prepare for battle!" The shout came from the man in the front. He was clad in blue armor, though it was not shiny as the rest of his entourage, but instead full of scratches and hit marks, a mark of his previous battles.

The twenty horse riders of the Phoenix Knights surrounded the Orcs and unloaded their spells without a second thought. Although they didn't specifically target the captured humans, they didn't hesitate to attack should they be used as a shield.

"Damn humans, curse you!" The Orc Elite roared and took his sword, swinging it aggressively in the moonlight.

The warriors, of course, didn't understand a single word, they just considered it as growls of a monster.

Tabbris Northendark, clad in his Mithril armor, led his warriors with determination and vigor. As their first action, they all attacked with magic from afar, breaking the ranks of Orcs that tried to gather into a defensive formation. There were twenty Phoenix Knights against ten Orcs, but they didn't hold the surprise advantage for long.

The Orc gang was made from a mix of Warriors and Scouts, combining strength and speed in equal portions, with the Orc Warrior Elite as their leader.

Tabbris frowned at the sight of the bloodthirsty monster. Based on size alone, he was in the middle of Silver Ranks! He couldn't fight it head-on.

"Take care of the rest, I'll deal with the big guy!" Tabbris shouted and turned his horse towards his opponent. He immediately took his enchanted Mithril sword and put on the helmet. He was not messing around this time.

"Hmph!" The Orc Elite snorted loudly and spat on the floor, "It's just a bunch of small children, I was worried for nothing!" He grinned, showing his sharp white fangs, "Good! I was just wondering where to get more food! Gahahaha!"

The Orc Elite lifted his meat cleaver and suddenly sprinted forward, his metal armor loudly rattling on his body. A bloodthirsty expression formed on his face as he jumped up, bringing the meat cleaver high above his head, putting his entire body weight behind the strike.

"Damn it!" Tabbris immediately noticed what the Orc tried to do, and jumped off his horse just in time. A split-second later, the meat cleaver came crashing down and decapitated the horse while also taking a part of the right shoulder with it.

"My steed!"

Tabbris shuddered at the sight and laded on the ground with a roll. His brave stead was killed in an instant!

'What power! I can't fight that!' The thought went through his head, but there was no time to rest. The Elite already turned around, aiming for him.

Bang!

The meat cleaver split the ground where Tabbris stood just a moment before, sending dirt and stones flying in all directions.