22: Fire and Thunder

The steel longsword pierced through the body of an Evil Beastman, and blood spurted out.

The Evil Orc Commander ignored the longsword embedded in his body, instead choosing to swing his massive axe in a desperate attempt to take Renn down with him.

Sensing the killing intent from the axe above, Renn shifted his body slightly to evade the blade's edge. He turned his longsword from a thrust into a sweep, aiming to cleave the Evil Orc Commander in two.

"You?"

The Evil Orc Commander was confused. His opponent hadn't pulled away; although the human's head had dodged the giant axe with a slight turn, his body was still right there.

"Are you trying to take me down with you by tanking my axe with your body?"

After this thought flashed through his mind, the Evil Orc Commander felt no fear. Instead, he grew increasingly excited. Being able to fight and kill such a powerful human made his battle intent surge.

"Blood for the blood god, souls for the throne!"

"Great Father God, I offer this battle to you with my life!"

In the blink of an eye, several thoughts flashed through their minds, and both weapons struck their targets.

The Evil Orc Commander was split in two by the longsword, while his massive axe also landed on Renn's body.

The powerful force knocked Renn back several meters, but he stubbornly withstood the impact and immediately charged forward again to decapitate the Evil Orc Commander.

The already heavily wounded Evil Orc Commander had no strength left to resist and was easily beheaded by Renn.

Having completely dealt with the target, Renn breathed a sigh of relief.

"Enchanted armor is indeed useful!"

Looking at the deep axe mark now marring his previously brand-new rage bear armor, Renn felt a bit of heartache.

"I wonder if it can be repaired when I get back. It would be great if I had a few more sets of this stuff."

The powerful enchanted armor had blocked the Evil Orc Commander's fatal blow, allowing Renn to land his strike and decide the outcome.

"Lord Lord, is the battle over?"

Ross and the others nearby looked at Renn in astonishment. The battle had happened too fast; they hadn't even reacted before they saw Renn take the Evil Beastman's head.

"Yes. Let's go and hunt down the remaining Fel Orcs."

Recalling his horse, Renn led his squad to find the group of Fel Orcs they had distanced themselves from earlier.

Without the high-end combat power of a Silver Rank commander, Renn was confident he could slowly wear down those hundreds of Fel Orcs.

"The Lord is so strong, too strong!"

Ross, Alger, and the others looked at each other, their admiration for Renn growing even deeper.

While Renn led his squad to hunt the Fel Orcs, new visitors arrived near the Evil Beastman camp in the Black Forest.

Two figures cloaked in long robes stood silently atop an ancient tree, observing every move in the camp.

"Grandfather, that Human Lord eliminated four hundred Fel Orcs and lured away another four or five hundred. Now there are fewer than five hundred left in the camp."

The shorter cloaked figure spoke softly, "Grandfather, can that lord deal with those Fel Orcs?"

"Of course he can, my little Cecilia."

"Most of the Fel Orcs who went out are just Evil Beastman War Slaves, and their leader is only an Evil Orc Commander who just recently promoted. Those brainless fools are no match for that little Baron."

"I didn't expect to encounter such a genius in this desolate place. That little Baron's talent is one of the best even in the Golden Plains. It's a pity his background isn't great, otherwise his strength would be even higher."

The taller cloaked figure spoke slowly. Strangely, the sound of their conversation seemed trapped in place and couldn't spread; the surroundings remained quiet.

"Then, Grandfather, shall we continue to wait for that lord to return?"

"No, little Cecilia. Nobles are not to be trusted; we don't need to have contact with them."

"These nobles are either fools obsessed with pleasure or madmen who love violence. Some are even more detestable, being treacherous scoundrels."

Little Cecilia murmured, "But I feel like that lord isn't that bad!"

Recalling the Baron she had observed not long ago, little Cecilia had a good impression of him and didn't think he was as bad as her grandfather said.

"Perhaps he is a good man; there are a very few noble souls among the aristocracy. But that has nothing to do with us, little Cecilia."

"Prepare yourself. I will use a magic scroll to destroy the Evil Beastman camp. Once we have that evil god statue, we'll leave this place."

"Okay, I understand, Grandfather!" Little Cecilia pushed aside her thoughts and began to prepare seriously.

Looking at his granddaughter preparing so diligently, Kapdo felt both gratification and heartache.

If it weren't for him, his precious granddaughter should be studying magic at the best Mage Academy in the kingdom right now, instead of suffering with him in this remote and dangerous Black Forest.

"It's all Grandfather's fault. I will definitely make it up to you later, my little Cecilia."

Kapdo pulled a magic scroll from his robes, channeled mana into it, and then threw it toward the Evil Beastman camp.

"Burn them to ashes!"

"Crimson Flame Storm!"

The thrown magic scroll exploded in mid-air, and a powerful, violent fire appeared out of nowhere, sweeping toward the Evil Beastman camp.

Cecilia took out her staff and used her mana to guide the surging flames, preventing them from scattering and instead focusing them all on the camp.

"Well done, little Cecilia. Your mana control has improved again. Even in the Holy White Tower, few Bronze Mages have such strong mana control."

Kapdo praised his precious granddaughter's excellent performance without hesitation, though his internal emotions were quite complex.

Cecilia didn't respond to her grandfather's praise, concentrating intently on her mana output, though the slight upward curve of her lips betrayed her feelings.

The erupting flames instantly ignited hundreds of Fel Orcs. The Evil Beastman War Slaves resting in the camp were turned into living torches before they could even react.

Screams of agony accompanied the smell of roasted meat as it spread through the forest.

"What's happening?"

"Where did such a strong magic attack come from?"

"Has a human Archmage arrived?"

The Evil Beastman Warlord Broken Fang saw the sudden fire and immediately sensed the powerful magical energy within it; it was not something he could handle.

Broken Fang grabbed the statue beside him and immediately ran toward the edge of the camp.

"Where is that Evil Beastman Warlord? Trap it, don't let it escape."

As soon as Broken Fang's tall figure moved, Kapdo spotted him. He then took out his own staff and joined Cecilia in controlling the direction of the Crimson Flame Storm.

"Damn it!"

"Get away from me!"

"Where is my guard? Block this cursed fire for me!"

Broken Fang roared as he ran, but unfortunately, the elite guards he usually relied on could no longer answer him.

After changing directions several times without escaping the surrounding flames, Broken Fang's ferocity was triggered.

"Father God protect me, the Blood Moon is eternal!"

A brilliant blood-red light enveloped Broken Fang, shielding him from the surrounding high temperatures.

"Where are they? Where are they hiding?"

Broken Fang searched for the two people casting spells from the shadows.

Observing Broken Fang from a distance, Kapdo saw the shining blood light and, without hesitation, pulled out another magic scroll.

"Shatter it, Wrath of Thunder!"

With a thunderous boom, a blinding bolt of lightning struck Broken Fang violently.

The blood light shattered, and mangled flesh flew everywhere.