Chapter 11: Day 1

AN

Just a quick note this chapter and the next one switches POV frequently.

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Luke's POV

"There is three more coming from the right!"

"I got them cover me!"

Both Aria and Laurence work in perfect order to bring down the orcs while Fine and I try to catch our breath. This is the eighth time the orcs have tried to scale the walls today, and it is only a little past noon. Each time the orcs have attacked, we have widdled their numbers down with magic and arrows before cutting anyone of them that managed to climb the wall to pieces with swords and spears. But despite the losses they have suffered, we have barely put a dent in their numbers.

"Come on, Luke!" Fina says, pulling me to my feet. "It looks like we have to cut our break short!"

"Right," I nod my head as a large group of orcs climb over the wall.

There is no end to them. I have probable cut down a hundred orcs, and they keep coming. Did I mention this is only a tiny part of the wall I have been talking about? But from what I have heard, other places are suffering just as much as we are against the orc onslaught. If this keeps up, I am seriously worried about our chances of being alive when the reinforcements arrive.

"Take the four on the left," Fina tells me, and I nod again before she goes to deal with five orcs on the right.

I have done this too many times now. In fact, I have done this so many times I do not even need to think to dodge the orcs attacks. They all fight the same way swinging their weapons down from above or across from the side. They are easy to read and do not even need my dodge skill to avoid the strikes. All I have to do is sidestep of duck and counter-attack afterwards, and the orcs go down one after the other. It only takes me thirty seconds to take down my orcs, and I even help Fina take down her last orc too. Orcs aren't that hard to deal with once you know how to kill them.

Seven more quickly appear, and Fina and I take care of them too. But no matter how many orcs we kill, ten more always appear to take their place. Benjamin has been forced to fight up close after running out of arrows, and even Aria fights in close quarters. We do not have enough arrows or magic recovery potions to allow those two to support the rear any longer. We have sent a runner for more supplies, but no one can say when he will come back… or if he managed to find us some supplies. Like I said, we are not the only ones under constant assault from the orcs.

"There is still more coming!"

I can hear a voice cry out as at least twenty more orcs ascend the wall. There really is no end to them. Fina, Laurence and I quickly rush forward alongside several other knights and members of the town guard, bringing half their numbers down quickly but losing guards in the process. It is hard to ignore them. It is a struggle not to feel anything for the dead, but I cannot think about them. If I do, I might end up dying alongside the fallen.

There is still more. Every time we cut an orc down, three more climbs the wall to replace them. It does not matter how many we kill. There is always more replacing them, and soon it is only Fina, Laurence and me still standing. But somehow, we make it through the attack. Slowly but surely, the orc numbers decline, and Fina manages to bring the last of the orcs down.

"That looks like the last of them," Fina says, sounding out of breath. "For now, at least. Start evacuating the wounded and get some rest. It is only a matter of time before they come back."

"I need a bath," Laurence moans, and I cannot argue. We all need one. Everyone is covered in orc blood and guts and smelling terrible. It would be nice if the orcs would give us the time to wash up, but I doubt they would be so kind. "This is no way to treat a high born such as myself."

I take a deep breath and look out at the sea of orcs surrounding the city. Even after every orc, we have killed, there is still enough to cover the horizon. How are we ever going to hold out until the reinforcements arrive? If the orcs do not kill us, then the exhaustion will. I hope our backup will get here soon.

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Elise's POV

"HA!"

I smile as the knight captain's sword is knocked from his body. I see the king looking impressed by me when I look over to where he is watching us from. There is no way he can turn down my request to join the relief force now. Not after I just defeated the man, he called his kingdom's greatest warrior.

Turning to my fellow classmates, I can see none of them wants to join me. Even the geeks that were excited to have one of their fantasies come true by becoming the heroes of a fantasy world do not seem like they want to come with me. I'm on my own. When the king ordered us to evacuate, I was the only one to protest while everyone seemed happy.

"You certainly have grown strong, but I cannot risk losing you," The king tells me. He's an idiot. We were sent here to fight, but he won't let us. "You are not ready. We need you to fight the demon lord, and we cannot risk losing you until you have all grown strong enough to accomplish that task."

"But I need to go," I reply, stepping forward. "I have to."

"You will stay here where it is safe, and that is final,"

The king really is an idiot. He let Luke rush off to battle because that little b… I mean, the knight captain vouched for his strength. But he will not let me go even after I proved myself to be stronger than the kingdom's strongest warrior. It's not fair. I need to go, or Luke could be killed or stolen from me. I will go. Even if I have to go behind the kings back.

"Elise, you should just stay with us,"

I can't. not when Luke is in danger. When I look to see who is approaching me, I find it is one of the worse when it comes to avoiding the battle. She should never have been sent to this world with us in the first place. Ever since she came here, she complained and seemed more interested in bringing fashion to these people than fighting. Having someone earning money for use is not bad, but I wish she would stop interrupting my training to try and rope me into her get rich quick schemes.

"You are already level twelve and far stronger than the rest of us," She smiles. I am only stronger, though, because no one else takes their training seriously. If they did, they wouldn't all be around level six. "Besides, you should level the fighting to the boys and help me."

"I can't," I tell her as I turn away.

I need to get stronger. Strong enough to protect Luke and make sure a certain knight captain will stay away from him.

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Luke's POV

Finally, we can rest. As the sun sets, the orcs seem to back away as well. We can see countless bonfires start amongst their ranks from on top of the walls. In total, they attacked our place on the wall twelve times today, and we somehow managed to hold them back. I had never felt so tired before. Everyone is exhausted as we all collapse against the wall. It has been a very long day.

"Finally," Laurence sighs. "I can finally get this muck off of me and feel like a human again."

"You did well today," Fina tells me as she sits down next to where I collapsed. "I'm a little disappointed that there were no situations where I could look cool and impress you, but I am glad we made it through the day."

"You were impressive," I say. "You killed at least twice as many orcs as the rest of us combined today."

"So, I managed to impress you," Fina smiles, leaning closer to me. "Does that mean you are ready to marry me?"

Is it normal in this world to get married so fast? Why is she leaning her face closer to mine? Is she going to…?

"Captain Fina!"

"Perfect timing," Fina huffs under her breathe as a young boy suddenly appears.

"Captain Fina!" The boy runs straight to us. "Captain Fina. The knight commander wants to see you right away."

"I understand," Fina says, looking grumpy as she gets to her feet. She turns to me before we leave. "We will pick this up when I get back."

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Fina's POV

"You wanted to see me, sir,"

Stepping into the inn that the knight commander has turned into his headquarters, I hope there is a good reason he called for me. Maybe there is because I can see the other captains have been summoned as well. They must have had been attacked just as hard as us today because they look just as tired as I feel.

"Now that everyone is here, I will begin," A large map of the town is laid out on a massive dining table. "We believe the orcs numbers are not as high as we initial thought, and they are using magic to conceal their real strength. We have had reports of orc sorcerers here, here and here…." He points to the map at multiple locations. "But they alone will not be enough to cast a spell so large, so there must be a grand orc sorcerer somewhere. Our best guess is that it is right here where the orc's defences are strongest."

"So, we kill that grand orc sorcerer, and we win, right?"

I doubt victory would be that easy but killing the grand orc sorcerer will be a big blow to their strength. But the orcs won't make something like that easy on us. They may be dumb, but orcs are not stupid enough to leave import assets such as a grand orc sorcerer undefended.

"That is the plan," The knight command nods his head. "At dawn, the first squad will assault and element the position where we believe the grand orc sorcerer is located. The second and third squads will lunch attacks here and here to distract the orc forces and buy the first squad time to complete their mission." Looking at the map, it won't be easy. There are plenty of orc camps in the area, and if things go badly, we would be quickly surrounded. "Once the grand orc sorcerer, I will personally lead a cavalry charge with the fourth, fifth and sixth squads. We will kill as many orcs as possible and cover the first, second and third squads retreat. Are there any questions?" No one says anything. "Then everyone is dismissed except for captain Fina."

"Is something wrong, sir?" I ask as soon as everyone leaves.

"No, but…" He pauses and looks around. "We believe that the orcs might have demons in their ranks. It is unconfirmed, but several farms sheltering in the city said they saw demons working with the orcs. If there are any, you are to retreat at once, promising Luke's survival at all cost. This is a direct order from the king. He may have agreed to let him come, but he still does not want to lose any of the summoned heroes."

"I understand, sir," As if I would let anything happen to my future husband in the first place.

"Good, then you are dismissed," The knight command says. "And do not mention the demons to anyone. We do not want to lower morale."

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Elise's POV

It looks like it worked. No one seems to notice I have disappeared and appears to be chasing after me. I feel bad that I had to steal one of the king's horses, but I had no choice. I have a terrible feeling that something is going to happen. Taking one last look back at where my classmates are, I feel no regret for my actions. I take off wanting to put as much distance between myself and the others before they realise I am gone and send out a search party to try and bring me back. I had to do this. I have to find Luke before it is too late.