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"We're here. And just in time. A moment ago I received a message from Charity warning me that they would start the fake attack on the city, and based on the alarm bells, I think everything is going according to plan," says Gell, stopping abruptly and holding out his hand for me to give him back the token. "Listen. I'm going to help you all the way to my father. But, once there, I can't help you in that fight. You must defeat my father in one-on-one combat for him to accept your superiority and surrender to you. Such is the tradition of the orcs. I know from what Charity told me that you are one of the greatest warriors in your kingdom, if not the greatest, so I don't think you will have any problems. But today we are going to test that strength."

"Ok," I say, getting more and more nervous by the minute as I begin to realize that what we are doing is probably the fruit of many years of work by the orc next to me.

Gell points to one of the buildings in front of us to indicate where his father is, but I don't have to. It is the largest location in this region.

The structure looks like a small, six-story square fortress, with sturdy-looking walls and windows reinforced with metal bars. The place has a single solid steel door and almost looks more like a prison than the command center of a city, but Gell is pointing it out to me, so there's no chance of a mistake.

Now that we have arrived at the government house, which is in the central area of the city, I can better understand the size of the city.

'This place is almost as big as the capital of our kingdom.'

Because of my sudden realization, I can't help but think, 'I hope the plan works. Otherwise, it's going to be a nuisance trying to take this city.'

As the two of us look stealthily towards the entrance, we see that it is guarded by several guards who don't seem to have any intention of moving away from the place they are guarding, despite the fact that alarm bells can already be heard throughout the city. There are two orcs on either side of the gate, and they seem to be heavily equipped with plate armor and spears that, from the color, must be made of mithril.

"Haa. At times like this, it would be nice to have Charity's kitten skills." says Gell teasingly.

"Her name is Deirdre, and she's nobody's property." I say irritably, "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Yes, yes, I know. I was just saying. Do you see now why I told you before that I couldn't be the leader of the resistance? And about what we're supposed to do.... Well, if the guards don't want to move away from the gate, I guess we'll just have to incapacitate them. I'll take the two on the right, and you take the two on the left. But try not to make too much noise, and don't kill them. Remember, we don't want the others to realize we're here."

"Right" I say, and as soon as he hears my reply, the orc flies off into the sky, slowly positioning himself over the two guards he has to take care of.

I, for my part, jump to a street that is out of sight of the guards, and when I see an opportunity, I dash at full speed towards them.

All four see me and automatically go on guard, but at that moment, Gell drops from the sky and, pulling a water whip from each arm in one fluid motion, wraps it around the necks of the two orcs on the right, who fall unconscious from lack of air within a few seconds.

The two remaining orcs are very surprised to see their two companions fall from the attack from above, so much so that they seem to forget for a moment that I was approaching them. When they see that only a few centimeters separate us, they quickly try to defend themselves with their spears but…

'It's too late.'

I dive to the ground between the two of them, dodging their spears, and spinning on myself with a low kick, I knock them down. Before they finish falling to the ground, I catch their heads with my hands and, applying a little force, slam them to the ground, whereupon we knock all four guards unconscious in a few seconds.

"That was nice. Cool moves," says Gell, who is already approaching the door to try to open it, but then clicks his tongue. "It's locked.... I guess it's because of the alarm on the walls."

"So what do we do? Do we break it?" I ask, a little irritated by the calmness of the orc's voice.

"No, that would make too much noise. Besides, this door shouldn't be that easy to break down. Give me a moment," he says, extending a small trickle of water from his finger and bringing it close to the lock. A few seconds later, a click is heard, and Gell opens the door. "Ready? The problem with this part of the plan is that, from now on, they'll sound the alarm as soon as they see us. I'll try to take care of everyone inside except for my father, but if you have to fight, remember not to kill anyone. It is important."

We enter, and as soon as we cross the threshold, Gell bolts, flying forward as he sees two more guards in the small hallway the door leads to.

'His combat style seems to rely mostly on the whips he creates with his water magic, though I've also seen him use fire magic from his feet and palms to explosively accelerate the speed at which he flies, allowing him to move at blinding speed. Hm… This makes him a formidable foe in close-range combat, despite the low physical stamina he must have as someone who specializes in magic, since he compensates for that weakness with his absurd mobility. But… That means he has at least three affinities since the spell he uses to fly must be wind magic. I guess that's one of the characteristics of his singularity.

As we move forward, I ask him about it, and he confirms my suspicions by telling me that he has all the affinities of the basic elements.

'So… four affinities'

Gell guides me through corridors and stairs as we make our way to where he thinks we will find his father. Since entering this place, we have encountered a few other guards. But every time we saw someone, the Archmage took care of them so quickly that I didn't even have time to react.

Suddenly, after defeating three guards in a few seconds by bringing down a large section of roof above them, Gell stops in front of a door and looks at me, "I think this is the place; are you ready?"

"Isn't it a little late for that question?" I ask, amused by the thought of what would happen if I told him I wanted to go back now.

"Hahaha, yeah, that's true. But it doesn't hurt to ask. When we go inside, let me do the talking first," Gell says, and slowly opens the door.

We enter a large windowless room with soaring ceilings, lit by large metal circles hanging from the ceiling with luminous crystal spheres.

In front of us, on either side, are large stone columns that serve as support for the ceiling, and at our feet stretches a red carpet for about 60 meters from the entrance, where we stand, up to a throne, on which is seated in any manner the man who must be Garnuk.

The orc is immense. He is equipped with leather and mithril armor that promotes mobility, a shield of the same metal about 50 centimeters in diameter, and a one-handed orichalcum war ax, which rests leaning against the side of his throne along with his shield.

'I have never seen anyone so exaggeratedly muscular.'

His height, although it's hard to tell since he's seated, must be at least six feet tall. He doesn't have a hair on his head, and the expression on his face, despite being hard to tell because of the distance, looks irritated.

"Look at what we have here," says the giant orc without raising his voice, with a clear and soft voice that sounds strange in such a mass of body, and his words reach our ears perfectly despite the distance.

Suddenly, I can't help but tense up as I realize what we have in front of us.

'Shit'

On either side of Garnuk are 30 orcs with rifles pointed directly at us.