"Don't panic, we have trained for this!" Arron Aust shouted with an authoritative voice, trying to get the fear and panic of his peers under control.

His words fell on more than one pair of deaf ears.

"Don't panic?! We're all going to die! I should have never accepted this mission!" the man that soiled himself cried hysterically. He was now in full panic mode and nearly ran away in fright.

Luckily a few others held him down, otherwise, he would probably get himself killed in a few seconds. At least while they were still all together they had a chance to fight their way to freedom.

Boom!

Another bird was blasted to pieces by a Shaman's Fireball. The rest quickly flew further away, staying out of its attacking range.

"Hey! You, fuck face! Stop killing my friends, I'll mess you up!" Ron bellowed.

The Shaman simply sneered in return and cast a Fireball at him.

"Damn it! Ice Shield!" Tabbris quickly formed a thin barrier to intercept the projectile, draining his waterskin in the process.

They didn't take much water with them since this was supposed to be a stealth mission. A wagon with barrels would have slowed them down too much.

Boom!

And now that his shield broke in the explosion, he didn't have any left. He could still use Earth magic, for defense, but he wasn't as proficient in it. The rest could also use a few spells, but that would be far from enough.

Arron's expression darkened and he cursed under his breath. They had to react quickly, so he once again changed his weapon.

He stabbed the lance into the ground and took the bow, aiming at the Shaman. He was first in terms of strength among the group, barely above Tabbris. But that was only because he was a few years older than him. Tabris was still the strongest warrior of the young generation.

A normal human could never hope to pull back his bow. Just going halfway required more than half a ton of upper body strength. The body was made of extremely rigid wood and the string was made of sinew from a high Silver Ranked beast.

Only something like that could hold the immense forces of the weapon at bay. And Arron pulled this bow in a near half-moon as he aimed.

The wood creaked, his back muscles moving like steel cables under his skin, and his hand was shaking from stress. He closed one eye and held his breath.

Tang!

The arrow was released, and the string snapped back, slicing through the air. It was a sure-kill shot. Not even a fully armored Orc could block it, much less an unguarded Orc Shaman.

The arrow would pierce its skull in the blink of an eye, bringing the long-range attackers down by one.

Or… at least that's how it was supposed to be.

The Ogre moved before the arrow was even released and blocked the strike at the last second. There was a small puff of blood where the arrow hit, but the Ogre was simply too big for it to make any difference.

"Gahaha!" The Shaman Burst into mocking laughter and tossed out another Fireball while the Ogre plucked the arrow, like taking a toothpick out of its hand.

"Shoot them!" Arron called and gripped four arrows in his hand. It was a special grip made for fast shooting. It allowed for speed but sacrificed power. However, this didn't matter now. They didn't have the luxury of time.

Tang!

Tang!

Tang!

Three arrows were fired one after the other in quick succession, the first one colliding with the Fireball, the second two aiming at two random Orcs. They did little to slow the beasts.

The rest of the group also used whatever they had, be it bows, crossbows, personal spells, or even spell scrolls. They used it all, regardless of price or usefulness.

Bo-bo-boom! Ka-ka-ka!

Rumble! Crack!

Even a few Wind spells came to light in the chaos, lifting up the dirt and dust.

Woosh! Snap!

As the dust settled, a Shaman collapsed to the ground, having multiple stone and ice spikes sticking out of its body. A few Orc Warriors suffered a similar fate, however, the destruction was quite concentrated.

The Ogre was still standing, guarding the one remaining Shaman and beating its chest in rage. Many dozen Orc Warriors took that as a cue and roared, rushing into battle immediately after.

"Aaaah!"

"Quickly, protect the young masters!"

The rest of the people that followed the three heirs of the Guardians quickly formed a tight circle and prepared to fight.

They took their swords and gripped their shields, preparing for a clash. The horses on which they rode were nervously moving around, giving them a hard time.

Roar!

The first Orc jumped forward with a battleaxe in its raised hand and attacked. Such a weapon was made for two hands in human standard, but it was being comfortably wielded by a single monster's hand.

Neigh!

The horse got spooked and rose on its two hind legs and kicked with the front ones. The rider lost balance from the sudden movement and fell down. His luck was good! Just half a second later the horse was cleaved cleanly in two, guts and blood spilling on the forest floor.

The sight alone was nauseating.

The man became pale at the thought of being crushed like that himself. He knew he could never hope to compete with such strength, and yet he gritted his teeth and stood up, preparing to fight.

"No, noooo! Let me go! I don't want to die here!" Screams of the broken man came from behind and with a sudden burst of strength, he managed to free himself and stumble out of the encirclement.

After falling on his face due to fear-induced clumsiness, he scrambled back up and sprinted towards an opening in the line of Orcs.

"No, come back! Don't do it!"

But the shouts of his comrades fell on deaf ears. The only thing he could see was the small opening that was quickly closing by muscular bodies. Just a few more steps and he would be free! Just a few more…

Bam!

A punch in the face stopped him dead in his tracks. An Orc Warrior laughed and dragged his limp body, lifting him up by the hair with a single hand.

Cough!

The man woke up from the pain, blood pouring from his shattered nose and mouth, forcing him to cough out broken teeth. The last thing he saw was a grinning face of a monster opening its mouth wide.

Only gurgling sounds escaped his throat as blood filled his lungs the moment his neck was crushed by the powerful jaws.

After drinking a few mouthfuls of fresh blood, the man's drained corpse was tossed aside, and the Orc licked his lips looking at the rest, hungry for more.

The appetizer was done, now it was time for the main course!