A Soldiers Life - 202 - Terrible Odds (Patreon)

Chapter 202

I stood slowly, releasing my contact with the ground, my armor plates scraping against themselves softly, breaking the silence. The thick muddy water to our right didn’t look out of the ordinary; it was just another small pond muddied from recent rains. The orc was good because I saw no disturbance on the shore. Renna must have sensed my tension because she moved close and grabbed my arm, “Did you see something? Should we turn around?” She wasn’t aware of my earth speak ability but trusted in my scouting ability.

I was torn on whether we should run. If these orcs were waiting for all the young mages, we might get far enough away before they realized we were not coming back. The other possibility was they were just scouts and had stumbled across the Hound trainers.

I needed to keep Renna calm. I announced audibly, “Thought I saw some blue velvet mushrooms. Should have known they were out of season.” In a much softer voice, I asked, “Can your fire spell form turn water into ice?” Her powerful fire spell form pulled heat from an area, and she could then channel that heat in a directional funnel. She was proud of the ability as it could put out large fires quickly.

Renna’s face looked confused, and thankfully, she whispered back. “Yes, but it would take a few minutes.”

“Good. I want you to turn the muddy water to our right to ice, and when I tell you to, I want you to fly straight up and go get the mages.” I produced an apple and started munching on it to act unconcerned as we hadn’t approached the marker flag yet, and I wanted to pretend we were waiting for the others. As I crunched the crisp apple, I could feel the temperature dropping and see frost forming on the pine needles around the pond.

Renna was locked into her efforts as I slowly scanned our surroundings repeatedly. There had to be more than one orc. Not that it would be a bad thing if there were only one. A thin layer of ice formed on the mud, but the surface remained calm. I had to admire the orc’s discipline. He had excellent control over his body not to ripple the water.

Was he really holding his breath? No, a tiny hollow reed was barely sticking out of the surface. Based on the bodies’ positions, I figured the only reason he was in the muddy water was to hold down the corpse of the Hound. I assumed he must have been killed recently, but I couldn’t see any signs of a struggle in the area. He shifted, and the surface ice cracked a little.

The crackling echo sounded much louder to my ears than it actually was. If Renna could get a few inches of ice above the orc, it would be trapped and eliminate one opponent. Seconds turned into minutes, and finally, the orc in the mud realized what was happening. He tried to force himself out of the water. The ice cracked loudly in several places as he pounded on his prison. And then all hell broke loose.

Two orcs thudded to the ground nearby, dropping from the trees. Their clothes had a rippling chameleon effect. Another flash of movement had a pair rushing from the far side of the clearing, well beyond the marked tree. I could clearly see the tattoos covering their faces and necks. Dammit, did that mean all these orcs were their elite warriors? Yet another pair of orcs emerged far to our right, standing up and dropping their own chameleon effect. The array of movement around our position was dizzying—six opponents, not including the orc under the ice.

“Renna, fly!” I screamed as she was frozen in combat shock.

I materialized the black-tipped spear and rushed the two orcs falling from the trees. I choose the spear for its reach rather than pulling my shield and drawing the black blade. I needed to even the odds quickly without using my dimensional space. An arrow skimmed off my armor, having connected at an off-angle. An eighth orc—where the fuck had that come from? How many more orcs were still in hiding somewhere? I was having a really bad day.

I reached my targets and juked to the right, opening the guard of that orc. He looked shocked at the ease with which I parried his blade. He was even more shocked when the black spear easily cut through his thick, soft leather armor. I did not hesitate to leverage the tip up into his sternum, destroying his heart.

I used my leverage to interpose the now-dead orc with my other opponent, clearing him off my spear. Renna squealed from behind me, causing a quick glance to check on her. She had paused her flight twenty feet in the air and had a thick arrow shaft in her hip. She probably hadn’t fled thinking she could help from the air. “Renna, go get help!” I yelled again. “I will be fine!” Okay, maybe that last statement was a lie. My best chance was facing these orcs in pairs, but that hidden archer was going to be a pain in the ass.

The closest orc had dropped his chameleon effect, and he was also marked with the tattoos of the elite warriors. These orcs were dressed in thick, dark leather that didn’t make a sound as they moved. He held two short blades as he scowled in challenge. I wished I had practiced a little more with the spear in my dreamscape against orcs, but lamenting now was pointless. I used my superior reach to cut him deeply above the kneecap. When the injury caused him to stumble forward, I filled his mouth with the spear tip. His eyes were wide in surprise at the speed of my attack.

I yanked hard, freeing the weapon from the back of his skull, and took an arrow in my ass. Fortunately, it hadn’t penetrated far beyond the leather skirt flaps. I gripped the shaft, yanked it out, and spun, sending healing aether to my glutes. Blood briefly trickled down my leg before stopping.

I groaned as a fist broke through the ice, not too far away. He was going to escape his prison. I needed to avoid getting overwhelmed. I rushed the two orcs across coming from the clearing, hoping the frozen pond would slow the other two. Maybe they would even stop to help their comrade. Moving toward the clearing should also make it much harder for the hidden archer to target me based on the arrow’s direction.

As I charged, both orcs skidded to a stop on the pine needles up to receive me. These orcs had bucklers and short blades, and they sneered in challenge. The bastards accelerated, moving slightly faster as they circled me in opposite directions. I used an air shield to prevent the one on my right from his movement. He had a confused expression as he hit the invisible wall and even more so when I drove the spear into his chest. He had enough awareness to grab the spear and roll away in an attempt to disarm me for his companion. I had no choice but to let go of the spear, but by how the orc crumpled, I was sure his spine was severed.

The orc other pressed, seeing I was now weaponless as I wouldn’t have time to recover my spear. My shield appeared on my hand as I blocked his hasty attack. As his mind processed the shield’s sudden appearance, I rotated it, got my forearm through the strap, drew the black blade, and assessed my environment.

Only one of the orcs had stopped to break his companion free of the ice. I could see flitters of movement in the trees as the archer repositioned and moved closer. There was no sign of Renna, which was good. Hopefully, she could get back safely and get the arrow wound treated. Things started to calm as the orc waited for his companions now that I was armed and had killed three of their number. I was still outnumbered five to one once the orc was freed from the pond.

I pulled two sneezing and two blindness pellets to my shield hand as I circled to get the wind at my back and keep all the enemies in front of me. The orcs were extremely wary now, with three of their number dead or dying—the pair in front of me preferring to wait for the archer and their two other companions. When I saw the archer set his feet thirty yards away, I frowned and set an air shield. The arrow bounced harmlessly away.

The orcs started talking rapidly in their language. The language was throaty and had lots of k sounds, but I had no idea what they were saying, and their eyes never left mine. I assumed they were discussing a strategy to kill me. The ice prison orc was vomiting muddy water fifty feet away, and his companion was now racing to join my two opponents. My air shield halted another arrow, and I renewed it. I noticed movement in the distance between the trees. Nine-to-one odds? How was this even fair?

When the third orc reached his companions, forming a line, I made my move. I tossed all four pellets between us as I slid-stepped back, retreating. They reacted as I expected by advancing together. Even if they did not inhale, the spores would affect their vision. One of them barked something in warning, but it was too late.

They were blinking rapidly, and one of them tried to clear his vision with his bracers. I had to wait for the clouds to dissipate or risk being affected myself. Only one of the orcs inhaled as he started sneezing violently, and pale-yellow mucus ran from his wide gray nostrils. Another arrow thudded into my air shield, and the frustrated bowman shouldered his bow, determining it was useless. He raced toward me, drawing his sword to join the others. It was time to act.

I rushed the three hindered orcs as they tried to clear their eyes of the film built up on their corneas. The bleary-eyed orcs tightened their formation. I easily blocked a telegraphed stab and returned my own. My black blade cut deep into the thigh of the one on the far left. The blade felt like it hummed in my grip, and the orc howled in unrestrained pain. Time seemed to pause for a moment as everyone was confused. I had cut the orc, but it barely reached the muscle, yet the orc was having trouble standing and was in obvious immense pain.

The black blade felt alive in my hand from tasting the little bit of orc blood. Maybe this was the blade’s purpose—to kill orcs. I took advantage, getting a minor cut on the hand of the orc on the right. His grip weakened, and his face was twisted in agony as he spat words. I think he was cursing me, but his yellow snot and unfocused eyes ruined the moment’s gravitas.

I wove the black blade around their hindered defenses, scoring quick strikes. The blade only needed to score their flesh, and they felt a more severe wound. The snotty orc on the right fell first as the blade slid along his exposed neck, cutting the carotid artery. His pumping heart sent spurts of blood into the air. When he tried to retrieve a potion while on his knees, I shattered the vial with my sword, sending his fingers and shards flying.

The second of the three fell from a quick stab wound to his throat that he did not see coming. I twisted the blade and pulled it out, noticing the black blade was blood-free. It definitely had thrummed in my grip with every successful strike and taste of orc blood, and the surface seemed to be gaining some luster from the blood it was absorbing, but now was not the time to evaluate the ancient blade. The orc with the torn throat fell to his knees, one hand over the throat while the other hand pawed at his belt. He was also searching for a potion before he succumbed to death. I didn’t let him as I hammered the side of his head with my blade, knocking him out.

The archer had reached us and fearlessly threw himself into the fight, leading his attack with a long blade and trailing a dagger in his offhand. He was the most competent swordsman I had faced, and he pressed me to try and prevent me from killing the third injured orc. I used a few air shields to keep the archer at bay while I hamstrung the lone remaining blinded orc. The blinded orc howled in pain and could no longer stand.

My pounding heart fed my adrenaline through my body. I was doing remarkably considering the odds. As I focused on the fresh opponent, an arrow embedded itself in my chest, causing me to stumble backward a step. The second archer had closed and taken an opportunity to attack me while I was distracted. If I got out of this, I would figure out how to use what I suspected was an aether shield amulet from Traeliorn. I couldn’t track everything in this fight and needed a mulligan card.

The arrow was in just below the left collarbone of my shield arm. It had penetrated halfway into my shoulder and put me at a disadvantage against my closest attacker as I couldn’t use my arm properly. The orc archer threatened me in broken Latin, “Legionnaire, you will die by my blade. Know that your battle prowess…” His head disappeared. I hated to bottom out my aether with three opponents remaining, but this orc had been too good a swordsman for me to fight one-handed.

I staggered behind a tree for cover. I worked out the lesser aether potion under my cuirass. I took it from the elven apprentice summoner, and I drank it, hoping it was still viable. It was bitter, worked much slower, and had much less potency than a dungeon aether potion. But it was all I had. I painfully worked the arrow out of my shoulder. A few inches lower, and it would have scored my heart. I was soon healing the tissue and gathering myself. I had about a quarter of my total aether, enough for a few air shields and some minor healing.

I touched the ground using earth speak, but frowned as they were outside the twenty-foot range. I chance a peak and retreated as an arrow whizzed by where my head had been. The hamstrung orc had been cursing, as it looked like he had tried to drink a healing vial, but it didn’t work. I looked down at the black blade. It had gained a semi-gloss appearance, and the small pitted marks were barely visible along the length. It must be feeding on the orc blood.

I chanced another glance from the other side of the tree. The insidious second archer was kneeling with the sputtering orc by the icy pond. I rushed out to the crippled orc while the archer was distracted. His filmy eyes couldn’t see me clearly, and he was still in obvious pain. He raised a buckler that I swatted aside with the blade and quickly reversed the swing to cut deeply into his exposed neck.

I added an air shield just in time to deflect an arrow. A second arrow thudded just above my knee, barely clipping the bottom of my air shield. She was testing the range of my defenses. The second archer was a female by her curves, as was the nearly drowned orc. I started walking toward the pair. My deliberate walk was because I could not run and establish an air shield if the archer snapped off an arrow. When the archer shoulder the bow to help the other orc run, I sprinted at them.

The archer shoved the smaller female away and pulled a knife to meet my charge. Her dark eyes were hard and determined to protect the other orc. I interposed an air shield when I was close enough, shifted my direction, and beheaded the other orc. The black blade hummed in my grip in appreciation of the offering. The orc archer raged at me, and spittle burst from her in her war cry. It was too bad for her that she was a much better archer than a melee fighter. I disarmed her by removing her hand in short order. She was not as strong-willed as the others and collapsed from the pain, holding her decapitated forearm.

I scanned the woods for movement, slowly relaxing. “Do you speak Telhian?” I asked, planning to question her. I repeated myself a few times, and she clearly didn’t understand me. I raised and lowered my blade, ending her. I was curious why the orcs were here ambushing us, but I didn’t want to wait for the mages to arrive or watch a prisoner.

I stood quietly and waited for the bird song to return, reassuring me that I was alone. Somehow, I had been victorious. It was curious how none of these tattooed orcs displayed the strength and speed of the ones I had observed in the arena. I had things to do before the mages returned. I pulled my collector from my space and got work.