Chapter 96

96 Losing everything

Treevor wasn’t distracted for long. The running speed of demihumans was no laughing matter. In a matter of minutes, the invading army had already reached the edge of the camp and a losing battle began.

The ogres were approximately 4 meters tall, but they possessed a racial ability called gigantification, being able to grow up to 10 meters at most and obtaining characteristics from the predominant elements in the area. In the case of the desert, their skin became as hard as rock, their body temperature rose to the point that the skin reddens and smoke rises

They used their powerful bodies to step onto the first defensive line, the alchemical items buried around the camp. Bursts of flame and lightning exploded under their feet, but their own skin was at a high temperature and the lightning did not flow well because of the concentration of earth element in their bodies.

The elven wizards fired spells at the ogres, but their numbers were simply too few to make a difference. The watch guards left their positions and retreated, but the demihumans pursued them furiously.

The ogres were left behind because the earth element slowed them down, but the desert lizardmen and minotaurs took the lead. Minotaurs were the same height as orcs, but their bodies were wider and their horns made them look even bigger.

They looked like bipedal cows, the males being black while the females white.

“ROARRRRR!” The minotaurs roared with everything they had, bringing down their axes or maces against the orcs and watch elves. the guards were outnumbered, but they resisted with all they could. Earthly acacia armor was incredibly tough and allowed the orcs to withstand attacks from enemy minotaurs, while their own weapons inflicted wounds on enemies unimpeded.

The trolls didn’t have any equipment, but relied on their powerful regenerations and their size to crush their enemies. They formed a circular formation, keeping the elven mages at the center so they could cast magic unhindered, as they slowly retreated.

The desert lizardmen ignored them and ran for the camp, but they could only curse and yell at them to focus on them. Their formation was barely holding up to the multiple incoming attacks, they didn’t have room to attract more enemies.

.....

The goblins and kobolds took advantage of the gaps and slipped under the trolls’ legs, focusing on the mages. Both were small sizes between 1 and 1.20 meters, so they went unnoticed by the trolls who were focused on the tall ogres.

Kobolds looked like bipedal jackals, while goblins had green skin, long noses, besides being all bald, regardless of sex. They threw themselves at the mages and used daggers or their claws to cut the elven mages’ throats.

Obviously, the mages cast magic to kill them, but the goblins and kobolds were between them and the orcs, so they were forced to use single-target spells to avoid hurting the orcs between them.

Without the support of the mages, the orcs’ line of defense quickly collapsed. The orc corpses quickly piled up on the ground, but that only made the survivors angrier. For every orc that died, they took 5 minotaurs with them.

The orcs’ racial skill, battle spirit, increased their physical abilities the angrier they got, at the cost of greater mana consumption. There was a limit to how much one could strengthen one’s body with mana without straining one’s body, but the orcs didn’t have that limiter. It was a simple skill, but incredibly powerful.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to turn the situation around. The orcs still died under the avalanche of enemies, the trolls and elves dying soon after. Similar battles were taking place all around the camp.

Grork watched in rage as his relatives were killed. The clan had set up camp around the oasis lake, so their people were scattered and their orders were slow to get across to those on the other side of the lake. Wind mages broadcast their words across the lake and Grork confirmed movements trying to move west, but the enemies were too many, making his movements slow.

A desert lizardmen threw an orc child right in front of him and tried to stab him with a scimitar, but Grork stopped him. In an instant, he appeared behind the desert lizardman and grabbed both the lower and upper jaws with his hands before twisting, ripping off half of the head.

“Get up! Keep running!” Grork yelled at the child, who quickly nodded and fled. Grork looked around and saw that it would be impossible to retreat at this rate. The desert lizardmen that attacked in haste were killed easily, but they bought time for the minotaurs and ogres to arrive. The fight turned into a bloody mess from there.

The clan gave up trying to escape, focusing instead on protecting non-combatants. They formed groups and kept the non-combatants at their center, all the while trying to rally with other groups of survivors, but this proved impossible.

Not only did the minotaurs go out of their way to block their way, but the trolls were too busy trying to block the giant ogres’ way to be of any help. It was at this moment that the goblins and kobolds invaded their formations and killed the non-combatants.

“NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FUCKERS?!” Grork roared, seeing his people killed. There was a clear rule among the demihuman tribes not to attack non-combatants, but these bastards ignored it, as if their only goal was to exterminate them.

“YOU DISGRACED BASTARDS! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!” Grork roared, his muscles swelling as his body grew stronger and continued to improve. He picked up his war ax in one hand and picked up a second, equally large ax in the other hand.

He run between enemies, cutting to pieces anyone who got in his way. His attacks generated shockwaves and the pressure of the wind crushed his enemies even without using skills. Enemy attacks felt like mosquito bites, while Grork reaped lives as easily as a farmer reaped wheat.

An ogre tried to get in his way, but Grork jumped up and sliced him from head to groin, before walking past him without looking back, leaving a trail of corpses behind. Grork tried to draw the enemies’ attention to him, but they just ignored him and focused on killing even more people.

“FUCK! FIGHT ME YOU FUCKERS!” Grork yelled in frustration, his angry voice spreading across the battlefield. The closest demihumans passed out unconscious, blood leaking from their burst eardrums.

He swung both axes vertically, using the aura blade skill for the first time. Two giant mana blades slashed everything in their path for nearly 100 meters, leaving only half-dead bodies behind.

The invaders used defensive skills, but they were cut like paper. The only reason the blades stopped was the skill’s range limit. The goblins and kobolds that survived only because of their short stature cowered in fear for a second, before their eyes focused again and and they resume the attack.

“These guys are not normal. Something is forcing them to attack us.’ Grork thought, seeing small goblins and kobolds run wildly against him, even though he knew they would die. He felt his mana was already half full, but the orcs behind him finally managed to breathe, so he needed to keep the front line and give him time to use potions and recover their mana.

Grork positioned himself firmly, but a pillar of light descended from the sky, hitting the center of the camp. Grork tried to look back to check the damage done, but as if that were a sign, the invading demihumans roared in rage and charged with renewed fury.

Grork had no choice but to focus on the enemies in front of him and hope for the best.

*********

“What... what happened?” Treevor wondered, feeling his vision adjust. They ran as fast as they could towards their house, Selena immediately killing anyone who got in their way.

His grandfather Trevor had rounded up several survivors and they quickly rejoined them, his mother putting him in the midst of the non-combatants and joining the fight. Treevor had never witnessed such a bloody fight and was scared to death, so he stayed where he felt safe.

The pillar of light hit them squarely, killing all non-combatants in an instant. Treevor would have met the same fate if his right side hadn’t throbbed the instant the pillar appeared, its amber eye glowing and covering his body with energy. His energy signature temporarily changed to that of the pillar, escaping almost unharmed.

Unlike core mana, the amber energy of all yggdrasil branches shared the same energy signature.

His vision was compromised and he fell to the ground dizzy. The pillar of light transformed into countless arrows of light as it fell to the ground, striking the hearts of all surviving demihumans and elves. All Treevor saw when his eyesight returned to normal were dead bodies and his own family who had escaped unscathed for some reason.

“What was this?” his grandfather Trevor asked, touching his own body here and there to make sure he was still alive. It only took a second for him to grasp the gravity of the situation and run to pull Treevor close before he rejoined everyone.

“It’s been a while, old man. I came here to wash away my former humiliation with your blood, just as I promised.” A spiteful voice came from above, causing Trevor to narrow his eyes as he lifted his head.