21: Chase under the cover of night

Over a dozen Evil Beastman Warriors fell once more, and even more Evil Beastman War Slaves were shot down.

Looking at the results of the second wave, Renn was somewhat dissatisfied.

The first wave of attacks had killed core combatants like the Evil Beastman Warriors, but the second wave was far less effective; killing a few Evil Beastman War Slaves didn't have much impact on the overall battle.

"If only it were daytime!" Renn thought helplessly, looking at the heavy darkness surrounding him.

Fighting at night still hindered the squad's performance too much, but a battle could never go exactly according to plan.

Fortunately, things weren't too bad; the Fel Orcs had been running for half the night, and their stamina had dropped significantly, making it a good time for Renn to strike.

"Continue. Aim for the Evil Beastman Warriors and kill them with everything you've got."

Taking advantage of the chaos in the Evil Beastman ranks earlier, Renn had decisively ordered an attack, and focusing their fire on the Evil Beastman Warriors had yielded significant results.

"Damned humans!"

The Evil Orc Commander's eyes bulged with rage, his blood-red eyes exceptionally conspicuous in the dark night.

After enduring two rounds of attacks, it finally discovered who the enemy attacking it was.

It was exactly the "stupid humans" it had looked down upon.

"Charge! Tear them apart! Tear every single one of them to pieces for me!"

"Blood for the blood god!"

The Evil Orc Commander roared as he charged toward Renn and the others.

"Watch the distance! Pull back!"

Renn, who was continuously shooting from the perimeter, immediately reacted when he saw the Fel Orcs beginning their counterattack.

He pulled his specially-made longbow into a full moon, the Essence-steel Long Arrow glinting faintly in the night.

"Strike!"

A flash of silver-white light streaked through the night sky as the Essence-steel Long Arrow flew straight toward the Evil Orc Commander.

The charging Evil Orc Commander raised the great axe in his hands without warning to block his front.

With a loud bang, the Essence-steel Long Arrow was blocked by the great axe, and a spark flew from the violent collision of steel.

"Human Lord?"

Feeling the immense force in its hands and the residual ripples of Silver Battle Qi, the Evil Orc Commander looked in the direction the arrow had come from.

"Hahahaha!"

"Found you!"

The Evil Orc Commander excitedly charged toward Renn's position.

"As expected, a regular longbow still lacks power."

Renn wasn't surprised to see that the arrow hadn't achieved its goal.

Although the longbow in his hand was specially made by the Border Defense Army craftsmen and the arrows were also specially-made Essence-steel Long Arrows, neither was Enchanted Equipment.

For a race born for battle like the Fel Orcs, their combat awareness becomes astoundingly strong once they reach the Silver Rank; it wasn't easy to cause damage relying on ordinary long-range attacks.

Thus, from the beginning, Renn hadn't made the Evil Orc Commander his primary target, instead focusing on killing the Evil Beastman Warriors below the Silver Rank.

The Evil Orc Commander ran at full speed, quickly closing the distance to Renn.

"Let's go!"

Without a second thought, Renn led the squad in a rapid retreat.

The rumbling of horse hooves echoed in the dark night.

Seeing that he was about to reach his target only for Renn to turn and flee made the Evil Orc Commander seethe with rage.

"Don't run, you cowardly human scum."

"None of you run!"

The Evil Orc Commander quickened his pace again, a faint blood mist dissipating from around his body.

"He's chasing quite closely!"

Feeling the fluctuations of the Evil Orc Commander's aura behind him, Renn slightly increased his horse's speed.

"But his speed is still a bit lacking; I need to push him a little harder!"

"Ross, you guys fire a few arrows too!"

As soon as Renn finished speaking, Ross and the others drew their bows and fired arrows at the Evil Orc Commander.

Unsurprisingly, the attacks didn't have much effect.

Most of the arrows were blocked by the Evil Orc Commander. Two arrows did hit, but the tips got stuck in his skin without causing any actual damage.

Facing the humans' weak counterattacks, the blood mist on the Evil Orc Commander thickened significantly, and his speed surged once more.

"I'm going to swallow you alive!"

"Human runts!"

The accelerating Evil Orc Commander soon widened the gap between himself and the main force behind him, pursuing Renn across the wilderness alone.

Renn led the squad ahead, occasionally returning fire to harass him as they ran, while the Evil Orc Commander pursued them relentlessly from behind.

It wasn't until the horizon began to pale and the aura of the Evil Orc Commander behind them started to wane that Renn felt the time was right.

"That's about enough!"

"It's time to deal with that idiot behind us."

Renn stopped and dismounted, drawing his longsword to stand ready.

"Wait for an opportunity. Keep an eye on the Evil Beastman troop behind us; leave him to me."

Ross nodded, and the group turned their horses in unison. In an instant, the squad completed their transition into a battle formation.

Against a Silver Rank Evil Beastman, only Renn among those present had the strength to fight; the rest, even Ross, couldn't face it head-on.

Looking at the warhorses retreating into the distance, Renn thought of Little White, who was left back at Red River Fortress.

Ordinary warhorses couldn't withstand the aura of a Silver Rank Evil Beastman, so Renn couldn't fight while mounted and had to engage in foot combat.

"If only Little White could advance to a Magic Wolf; having a Magic Wolf mount would make fighting much more convenient."

Renn hadn't brought Little White along this time. Little White's current strength was too weak; bringing him along wouldn't help and would instead require Renn's attention, so Renn had left him behind.

However, Renn now wanted Little White to advance to a Magic Wolf more than ever.

Just as Renn finished his deployment, the Evil Orc Commander arrived.

"Finally stopped running, human runt."

The Evil Orc Commander finally saw his prey. A night of pursuit had drained his energy severely, and the blood mist on his body was so thin it was about to disappear.

But upon seeing Renn not far ahead, his fighting spirit remained high.

"Die, human!"

The Evil Beastman swung his great axe and charged at Renn; after a night of pursuit, he felt he already understood the strength of the human before him.

In his eyes, except for Renn, the other humans were insignificant and could be ignored, and even Renn's strength was far inferior to his own.

"I'm going to crush your bones, Human Lord."

The Evil Orc Commander's face was hideous as he roared incessantly. As the distance closed, Renn could even smell the stench wafting toward him, making him frown.

With a loud bang, the broad Essence-steel Longsword and the blood-stained great axe collided.

Renn flipped his wrist to parry the giant axe, and the longsword in his hand stabbed toward the Evil Orc Commander's lower back at an extremely tricky angle.

Silver-white Battle Qi exploded instantly, the dazzling silver light completely dispersing the blood mist around the Evil Orc Commander.

"What!"

Feeling the immense force transmitted through his hands, the Evil Orc Commander found it unbelievable.

His sure-kill strike had been easily parried by the human's sword, and he could barely keep his grip on the giant axe.

"How can he be so strong?"

The recently promoted Evil Orc Commander naturally wouldn't understand that his opponent was someone who, not long ago, could have taken down an Evil Beastman Warlord with him.

Renn's strength was only a step away from the Silver Mid-rank. After fully recovering from his injuries, Renn felt it wouldn't be long before he could break through.

At the same time, because his souls had merged, Renn's spiritual power had doubled, elevating his control over his body to a new level. All his combat skills were a cut above those of the original Renn, allowing him to react instinctively during battle.

Previously, because he wasn't certain he could kill the Evil Orc Commander within the Evil Beastman army, Renn had initially feigned weakness to lure him away from the troop.

It turned out the Evil Orc Commander was very cooperative; everything went exactly as Renn had anticipated, and now was the time to reap the rewards.