The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Orcs

The group continued deeper into the dungeon, their pace remaining steady as the narrow passage gradually opened into a larger chamber.

Lyra raised her hand, and everyone stopped almost immediately.

Something was moving beyond the darkness.

A low growl echoed through the chamber, followed by the sound of claws scraping against stone.

"Something’s coming," Ron muttered as he drew his sword.

Charlie stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the darkness.

A large shadow emerged from the passage.

Then another.

Three wolves slowly appeared, their bodies considerably larger than the ones they had encountered earlier, with thick muscles visible beneath their fur.

"Three," Lea said.

Lyra looked at them for a moment before giving her orders.

"Charlie, take the one on the left. Abel, the right. I’ll handle the middle."

"What about the rest of us?"

"Cover whoever needs it."

The wolves suddenly charged.

Charlie met the first one head-on, sliding his foot backward as its claws struck his sword. Abel moved at the same time, intercepting the second before it could circle around them.

The third wolf rushed toward Lyra.

She waited until the last possible moment before stepping aside, allowing its claws to pass beside her. Her sword flashed as she turned, cutting across its side.

The wolf stumbled.

"Now."

Ferdin and Beale immediately moved in.

One struck its hind leg while the other followed with a clean slash across its neck.

The monster collapsed.

At almost the same moment, Charlie drove his sword through the first wolf, while Abel finished the second.

"That was quick," Ron said as he approached.

Lyra lowered her sword.

"Don’t relax yet."

She looked toward the passage where the wolves had come from.

"If there were three of them here, there may be more nearby."

As if responding to her words, another growl came from the darkness.

Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons.

Charlie sighed.

"Of course."

Several more pairs of eyes slowly appeared.

This time, there were far more than three.

Lyra’s expression remained calm.

"Formation."

The group immediately spread out.

No one needed to ask what she meant.

The wolves charged together.

Steel collided with claws as the students met them head-on, their formation holding despite the sudden increase in numbers. Whenever one of them was forced backward, another immediately moved into the opening, preventing the monsters from breaking through.

The battle lasted only a few minutes.

When the final wolf fell, the chamber became quiet again.

Abel crouched down and began collecting the cores.

"Six more."

"Good," Lyra said. "Keep moving."

The passage eventually opened into a much larger chamber.

The moment they stepped inside, everyone slowed down.

There were no ordinary dungeon monsters waiting for them this time.

Several large figures stood around the chamber, their rough voices echoing against the stone walls.

Orcs.

There were more than a dozen of them, each carrying crude weapons ranging from heavy axes to enormous clubs. Their bodies were much larger than the wolves they had encountered earlier, and unlike the beasts from the previous floors, these monsters were clearly capable of fighting as a group.

But one figure stood among them that immediately drew everyone’s attention.

An orc commander.

It was considerably larger than the others, wearing pieces of battered metal armor across its chest and shoulders while carrying a massive cleaver-like weapon in one hand.

Charlie slowly raised his sword.

"That’s not something we can deal with casually."

"No," Lyra replied, her eyes fixed on the commander. "Everyone, stay together."

The orcs noticed them.

A moment of silence followed.

Then the commander let out a deafening roar.

The entire group charged.

"Move!"

Lyra’s voice cut through the chamber.

The students scattered just enough to avoid being surrounded.

An orc swung a massive axe toward Lea.

She raised her sword and caught the blow, but the force drove her backward several meters.

"Urgh!"

Abel immediately moved beside her and struck the orc across the arm.

A burst of magic surrounded his blade as it cut through the creature’s flesh.

The orc staggered.

"Lea!"

"I’ve got it!"

She stepped forward and finished the attack, her sword cutting across its chest.

The orc collapsed.

At the same time, two others rushed toward Ron.

He met the first attack with his sword while Beale intercepted the second.

Their blades flashed as they exchanged strikes with the monsters, each movement reinforced by magic.

These weren’t ordinary students fighting ordinary monsters anymore.

Everyone had stopped holding back.

Ares stayed slightly behind the main formation, watching the battlefield while keeping his magic ready.

One of the orcs suddenly broke through the formation and swung its club toward Ferdin.

"Ferdin, move!"

Ferdin turned too late.

The club was already coming down.

Ares immediately extended his hand.

"Strengthen."

A pale light spread across Ferdin’s body.

The impact still forced him backward, but instead of being crushed by the blow, he managed to hold his ground.

Ferdin glanced toward Ares.

"Thanks!"

"Don’t mention it. Finish it!"

Ferdin grinned before rushing forward.

His sword became surrounded by concentrated magic.

"Break!"

The blade struck the orc’s chest with enough force to send it crashing backward.

Ares watched him for a moment.

So this is why I can use support magic.

The Eclipse isn’t limited to simply increasing physical strength or destroying things.

Its nature is much more adaptable than that.

If I control it carefully, I can change its properties and turn it into something closer to healing or reinforcement magic. It isn’t exactly ordinary holy magic, but the result is similar enough.

I already understand the nature of Eclipse.

As long as I know what I want it to do, there’s almost nothing I can’t make it accomplish.

"Over here!"

Ares immediately turned toward Ron.

One of the orcs had managed to wound his arm.

Ares raised his hand.

"Hold still."

A faint light surrounded Ron’s wound.

The bleeding stopped almost immediately, and the injured flesh began recovering.

Ron stared at his arm.

"You can heal too?"

"A little."

Ares lowered his hand.

"Don’t get distracted."

"Right."

Ron immediately turned around and blocked another attack.

The fight continued.

The orcs were powerful enough that even a trained knight would have trouble fighting them alone, and killing one required several coordinated attacks unless the knight was considerably stronger than normal.

But the members of this team were not ordinary knights.

Every one of them had reached the level of a magical swordsman.

Their blades carried magic, their movements were reinforced by physical enhancement, and their coordination had improved considerably since entering the dungeon.

One after another, the orcs began falling.

Then—

BOOM!

A tremendous impact shook the chamber.

Everyone turned.

The orc commander had finally entered the fight.

Its massive weapon struck the floor where Charlie had been standing only a moment earlier.

The stone cracked beneath the impact.

Charlie quickly jumped away.

"That thing’s ridiculous."

The commander pulled its weapon free and charged.

Lyra moved first.

"Don’t let it separate us!"

She rushed toward the commander, her sword covered in concentrated magic.

The commander swung.

Lyra blocked the blow.

The impact pushed her backward.

Before the commander could follow up, Abel attacked from the side.

His sword flashed.

A deep wound appeared across the orc’s side.

The commander barely reacted.

Instead, the flesh around the wound began closing.

Charlie frowned.

"Regeneration?"

"Apparently," Lyra replied.

The commander roared and swung again.

This time, three of them moved together.

Charlie attacked from the front.

Abel struck from the side.

Lea came in from behind.

Their attacks landed almost simultaneously.

The commander staggered.

Lyra stepped forward.

"Now."

Magic gathered around her sword.

She swung.

A concentrated arc of light tore across the chamber and struck the commander directly in the chest.

The orc was pushed backward, its armor splitting apart.

For a moment, everyone thought it had finally been defeated.

Then it stood again.

The wound across its chest slowly began closing.

Ares narrowed his eyes.

"That’s going to be troublesome."

The commander roared and charged again.

Ares immediately raised his hand.

"Enhancement."

A surge of Eclipse energy spread through Lyra’s body.

She felt the sudden increase in strength and immediately understood what he had done.

"Good."

She tightened her grip.

The commander raised its weapon.

Lyra stepped forward.

This time, she didn’t retreat.

The two collided head-on.

The impact shook the entire chamber.

And for the first time since entering the dungeon, the group realized that this hunt was no longer something they could finish casually.

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