Swoosh!
I leaned backwards and watched Ûtá's strike fly over me—just inches away from my nose. I jerked back up and quickly turned to meet his dagger with my Rai'ki!
Peng!
Sparks escaped our clash as we both reached for each other with our free hands. Ûtá grabbed me by the collar of my jacket while I grabbed his neck.
Simultaneously, we pulled each other in for a headbutt—smashing into each other's skulls with a loud bang!
For a moment, my vision turned white and I staggered back. A static sound rang in my ears and my vision cleared a bit, revealing Ûtá charging towards me with his bone dagger raised.
'How is he able to recover so fast when we both have a similar strength stat?!'
My brain was disoriented, but centuries of experience allowed me to act decisively even in this condition.
[Door Skill Activated!]
Two spatial gates yanked open. One beneath me and one above the enemy.
I fell in before his attack could reach me and fell out of the second gate, swinging ruthlessly. My intention was to stab his skull, but my spatial gate placement was a bit off due to my disorientation.
Instead of slashing open his skull, Rai'ki stabbed into his right shoulder. Using my weight from the fall, I was able to tear through his shoulder, splitting his skin and muscles open, down to his back!
Gaaaaaaaah!
Ûtá's pained cry was music to my ears as blood squirted out of his wounds!
He quickly turned while brandishing his dagger, attempting to decapitate me, but I had seen this before. I skillfully ducked under his attack and used the opportunity to slash his belly open before rolling away!
Thud!
Springing back to my feet, I watched Ûtá stagger with his left hand covering his bleeding belly while he reeled backward.
His weapon fell to the ground while his right arm swung loosely. It twitched from the pain as green blood flowed down.
'NOW IS MY CHANCE!'
Without hesitation, I lunged forward. With a heavy stomp on the ground, I sprang into the air just as Ûtá once did and drove Rai'ki into his skull.
My weight pulled the towering orc down with a loud thud as he fell, both arms spread apart.
Bam!
The fall was loud and heavy, raising dust. Ûtá lay there, his eyes left wide open with a mixture of shock and pain in them.
Huff!
I exhaled loudly as I rose to my feet, standing over the defeated enemy. I staggered back a few steps until I was a distance away from the orc's corpse, then fell onto my butt.
Seated on the ground, my chest heaved back and forth while I greedily drew in as much oxygen as possible.
I'd always wondered how humanity could lose territories to monsters and beasts of other races—especially with how advanced our technology is. Now I got the answer.
Humans were arguably the weakest race in the universe. Even with similar strength and speed stats, I struggled to stand toe-to-toe with this orc. If it weren't for my centuries' worth of experience, I would have died here—even with the help of my [Might of Man] and [Door] talents.
"I can't believe I struggled against this monster, even with the perks my territory gives," I mumbled between labored breaths.
And the worst part of it all was that this orc was just one of the numerous orc soldiers—it was nowhere near the level of the orc I saw in the news.
How the hell would humanity deal with that orc?
At that moment, I heard heavy approaching footsteps and the sound of something huge being dragged. I looked towards the broken wall of the territory only to see Lord Ravus dragging the corpse of the Skarnak like it weighed nothing.
Ding!
[Skarnak Killed]
[+5 Universal Fragment]
I glanced at the notification, not sure whether to be happy or sad.
"Dump it over there," I pointed towards the castle entrance before laying on my back.
I glanced toward my stat points and frowned at what I saw.
[Health Points:] 64/90
[Lesser Thrall: Lord Ravus]
[Time Left: 1:50]
The battle lasted nearly two minutes. It was short but intense, and I lost a lot of health points. Once I leave my territory, I'd end up losing the 20 health point bonus I gained by staying here—pushing my health down to 44 points.
Meaning I'd be closer to death than ever while trying to survive the orc horde taking over Louisiana.
My gaze followed Lord Ravus as he dragged the body toward the castle entrance. If only he still had his sanity and memories, I would've found a way to get my injuries treated in this world.
"I can't keep wasting time here... I have to leave soon," I muttered as I rose to my feet and glanced over my shoulder.
I turned my attention to Lord Ravus. I was about to tell him to return to his wife after tossing the orc's corpse with that of the Skarnak, but then a thought crossed my mind that made me shiver.
'I received a notification and rewards for the death of the Skarnak. But I haven't heard anything from the system after killing Ûtá,' I mumbled, eyes widening with a mixture of realization and fear.
My gaze lingered on the lower corner of my vision, where a message was boldly written in capital letters:
[INTRUDERS ALERT!]
[AN ORC WRANGLER HAS INFILTRATED YOUR TERRITORY. DEAL WITH IT!]
Buzz!
I shivered as all the hairs on my body stood up. Slowly, I looked over my shoulder—only to realize the orc that once lay dead was standing on his feet.
Ghastly green fumes escaped from all openings in Ûtá's body, burning bright like fiery green flames. His muscles were bulging, and his veins pulsed with eerie green light—like a beating heart.
My eyes narrowed as I turned to face the enemy. I watched as he casually reached for Rai'ki and pulled it out of his skull, tossing it aside like some kind of scrap metal.
But that was not all.
"His wounds… they're healing…" I gasped in disbelief.
[ORC WRANGLER HAS USED BERSERK SKILL.]
[PREPARE YOURSELF!]