Chapter 88: Back Again

The ground trembled beneath our feet, and for a moment, no one spoke.

The tension from Beth's argument had vanished, replaced by something much worse.

All eyes were on the massive mound of dirt and stone where the orc lord had been buried.

Dust rose in slow, twisting spirals, and the deep, guttural sound of shifting earth filled the silence.

Then, without any sense of urgency, without struggle or resistance, the orc lord emerged.

At first, his thick, armored hand punched through the dirt, gripping the ground like it was nothing more than loose sand.

Then came his head, his monstrous, tusked face rising from the rubble with a calmness that sent a shiver down my spine.

His red eyes gleamed like molten embers, watching us, not with rage, not with desperation, but with something worse.

Amusement.

It was like he had been waiting.