"If this were anywhere else, I wouldn't need to hold back."
Narg avoided another cleave, twisting his body to the side as the destructive attack tore past him and continued toward the ruined structures behind him.
Ariel's eyes widened slightly.
"If you were to battle anywhere else but the clan, you're certain you'd win?"
Narg gave Ariel a strange look.
He wondered why she was asking such a question in the middle of a battle. There was nothing about the situation that made the question particularly relevant, yet Ariel's tone suggested that she was genuinely interested in his answer.
So he responded. Hoping it would be enough to send the fox away, as her presence was a distraction.
"Yes. I'm fully certain I'd win."
His answer was absolute. There was no hesitation in his voice.
Ariel nodded as though that was all the confirmation she needed.
"Okay."
And then she vanished.
Narg blinked.
For a moment, he simply stood there, his attention briefly pulled away from the orc as he stared at the spot where Ariel had been standing.
What the hell did she mean by okay? What was she planning to do with that information?
More importantly...
How the hell did she just disappear?
There had been no visible movement, no flash of mana, and no obvious sign that she had used some elaborate ability. One moment she had been standing there, and the next, she was simply gone.
Narg's eyes narrowed.
It was almost exactly how the chief warped.
That realization made him even more confused.
Does she have a skill like that too?
Another cleave came rushing toward him, forcing Narg to put his thoughts aside and move again.
Narg wasn't willing to tank another attack like that.
He immediately jumped out of the way, twisting his body as the destructive wave passed beneath him.
BOOM!
The slash tore through the first building.
BOOM!
It continued through another, sending chunks of wood and stone flying in every direction.
BOOM!
The attack finally came to a stop when it slammed into the barrier protecting the clan.
Narg landed and clicked his teeth.
"Dammit!"
He couldn't stomach watching everything they had worked on for days being destroyed in mere seconds. Every building that collapsed represented time, effort, and resources that the clan had spent putting the settlement together, and now an enemy could erase all of that with a single swing of an axe.
Worse, there wasn't much Narg could do about it without making the situation even more dangerous.
If he unleashed his full power, the destruction would only increase.
He turned toward the orc, intending to keep his attention on the enemy before another attack could be launched.
But...much to his surprise, the orc was gone.
Narg's eyes widened slightly.
He looked around, scanning the ruined street and the surrounding buildings.
But he found nothing.
The orc he had been fighting only moments ago had completely disappeared.
"What the hell?"
He rose to his feet, his body immediately tensing as he sharpened his senses and scanned the battlefield. Several questions rushed through his mind at once, each one demanding an answer.
Where did the orc go? Had it turned invisible? Was it hiding somewhere, waiting for him to lower his guard so it could launch an ambush?
Or had it simply retreated for some reason?
Narg's eyes moved across the ruined buildings, searching for even the slightest disturbance that could reveal the orc's location.
Where the hell did it go?
He couldn't sense its presence anymore.
Then he heard something hit the ground behind him.
Narg immediately spun around, his body reacting on instinct as dark tendrils gathered around his arm, ready to strike whatever had approached.
But he stopped himself when he realized what had landed behind him.
It was the fox.
"What the... what are you doing?!"
Ariel didn't respond.
Instead, she casually walked toward him before jumping onto his shoulder, settling herself there as though riding on him was the most natural thing in the world.
Then she looked ahead.
"Let's go."
Narg frowned.
He stared at her for a moment, completely confused by the sudden command.
"Go where? What did you..."
His voice trailed off.
They both vanished, leaving the area behind in an instant.
A moment later, they reappeared somewhere else.
Narg was shocked.
He recognized this sensation.
He had experienced it too many times to mistake it for anything else. It was the same ability Eli had used repeatedly, the strange movement technique that allowed him to disappear from one location and reappear somewhere else almost instantly.
Warp.
The fox could use the chief's ability.
Narg stared at Ariel, his expression filled with disbelief.
What sort of creature was this?
Before he could ask, several voices suddenly reached his ears.
"Captain Belmut! What is happening?"
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
Narg turned toward the voices.
The moment he saw what was happening, his jaw dropped.
In front of him, numerous orcs and goblins were gathered in an organized army formation, their ranks prepared for battle as though they had been waiting for the signal to advance.
The goblins were armed and armored, their equipment far more organized than the scattered fighters Narg had seen throughout the invasion. Some of them even sat atop mounts, gripping their weapons while watching the battlefield ahead with varying degrees of anticipation.
The orcs, meanwhile, looked similar to the ones that had invaded the clan.
Narg's eyes narrowed as he took in the sight.
Then he noticed something else.
The orc he had been fighting was there too.
It stood ahead among the gathered forces, staring at the strange situation with the same confusion Narg felt.
Apparently, it hadn't understood what had happened either.
Narg slowly turned toward the fox perched on his shoulder.
"What... what did you... What is this place?"
Ariel didn't even look at Narg.
Her attention remained fixed on the army before them, and a grin slowly spread across her face.
"This is what lies on the other side of the portal the enemies came through."
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