A thick, rugged pelt draped across his shoulders as he rested his massive arms on the sides of his throne, two enormous tusks jutting from his mouth as he eyed us menacingly.
We expected him to be strong, but his size was unbelievable.
Nothing else we'd seen on this journey compared to his size—except Polly, of course.
But this was not the Land of Giants.
Several orc knights stood before him—larger ones than any we'd faced before—gripping heavy, blunt weapons, their faces a mix of determination and fear.
"You keep stopping all my plans. You come to my land. You break into my castle. Why? Why are you so annoying? What do you want?" the Orc King demanded.
"That crown," Talos said, pointing at it.
The Orc King let out a booming laugh that shook the room, forcing us to catch our balance.
"You will never get this crown! You are just humans! I am an orc. Orc stronger!"
We stared at him—unamused and unfazed.
He frowned, confused. I guess he expected that to intimidate us. Couldn't have been further from the truth.
We just stood there, locking eyes, like an intense staring contest.
Then he understood. Our looks alone told him—we meant business.
"Come here, healer of Talos," he said.
Why me? And it's Velara…
Talos flinched, stepping in front of me protectively. But for some reason, the Orc King didn't scare me.
I could see how small he was behind that enormous frame, and maybe, in calling me out, he saw the opposite in my small one.
I glanced at Talos, telling him all this without a word. He understood, letting me step forward—though he stayed close, ready.
"Do not lie. I will not get angry."
"O… okay?" I said.
"Am I a good king?"
Hmm. Let's see—between refusing to give up the crown, the destruction, the casualties, and stealing Wilderness creatures… yeah, that's a tough one.
"Far from it," I said.
His anger boiled beneath the surface—slow, steady, like a volcano ready to erupt.
"Kill them!" he roared, slamming his foot into the ground. The entire room quaked.
So much for not getting angry.
We regrouped immediately—I cast enhancements across the party.
The orcs froze—torn between fear and obedience—until the king suddenly grabbed one.
"I said, KILL THEM!" He hurled the knight at us. Talos blocked the flying body with his shield, sending him bouncing off and onto the floor.
The rest of them finally charged at us.
Talos stood at the front, taking the brunt of the assault. Alva darted right, firing into the horde, while Uri slipped left, cutting through enemies and dodging their strikes with ease.
I cast a Hex of Slowness on several of the orcs, slowing their movements and making my party's job easier.
As the battle raged on, the Orc King watched from his throne, seething with fury.
Minutes passed, and most of his knights had fallen.
"What is happening?!" he roared.
He turned to a fallen orc beside him and bellowed, "What are you doing?!"
With a violent kick, he sent the knight flying—rolling to his knees, struggling to steady himself.
"Go get the lizards!"
"Y-yes, sir!" the orc stammered, scrambling into the darkness behind the throne.
Moments later came the sound of a mechanism shifting—then another.
From the shadows emerged two massive, four-legged reptiles.
One had light brown hide, with a shell covered with jagged spikes, and a heavy, clubbed tail.
The other had turquoise scales, and three sharp horns jutting from its face—one on the snout and two above its eyes—while a great bony plate extended from its head.
"BRAHH!" they roared as they stopped in front of us.
Those are not lizards!
"Attack!" the Orc King barked.
I quickly cast a Hex of Vulnerability on them both—their bodies flashed dark purple. They'd take more damage now.
If it worked on the dragon, it could work on them.
Finally, enemies we could see.
"Let's split up!" Talos shouted, sprinting across the room.
He and Uri went for the clubbed-tail beast, while Alva and I took the horned one.
The creature charged straight at me, lowering its head and aiming its horns.
I jumped, using a burst of air to thrust myself aside, barely escaping and rolling across the ground.
That was close. I wasn't sure how many more of those I had left in me. Maybe I should have done a Hex of Slowness.
Alva kept firing, searching for a weak spot—until he finally drew its attention.
Meanwhile, Talos and Uri hacked at the other beast, their blows glancing off its armored shell as they dodged its sweeping tail.
As Alva circled around me, chased by the beast, I readied my healing and searched for weak spots.
"Any weak spots, Vel?" he yelled.
Thanks to my Swiftness enhancement, he outsped the beast—but I needed to find one fast.
The top of its body was covered in scales, almost like the dragon's. But underneath—the same weak, soft spot.
"The underside!" I shouted.
"I can't get an angle!" Alva called back.
Then an idea hit me.
"Alva, come to me!"
"Okay!" he said, sprinting my way.
The beast, showing signs of fatigue, slowed before lunging again.
"We're the bait this time!" I said.
"What?!"
The creature roared and charged.
"Be ready to shoot!"
Just before impact, I thrust my hand forward, releasing an air gust that blasted us apart.
We slid apart—me left, him right—as the creature slammed into the spot where we'd just stood.
That was the opening he needed.
As Alva slid, he loosed a flurry of arrows beneath the beast—each one landing clean in its stomach.
The creature bellowed, collapsing to the ground.
As we caught our breath, we turned to see Talos and Uri locked in combat with the other monster.
"The snout, Talos!" Uri yelled.
"Got it!" Talos answered, slamming his halberd against his shield. "Come on!"
The creature lunged, jaws wide, and Talos met it head-on—but the sheer force lifted him off his feet. He held on tightly to its head, straining to keep its jaws shut.
"Uri!" Talos shouted.
Uri darted forward, climbed the beast, and drove his blade straight into its mouth.
The monster thrashed in agony before collapsing.
"Good job, guys!" I said, running over as they regrouped, panting. I quickly healed everyone who needed it.
"No!" the Orc King bellowed, stomping the ground.
"You—go get the rocks!" the Orc King barked, motioning to a nearby knight.
The orc scrambled, scooping up a few small stones from the floor and bringing them over.
"No, you idiot—the other rocks!" the king shouted.
Another orc knight rushed forward, carrying a handful of colorful stones, and handed some to the first knight.
Confused, we watched as they crushed the rocks over the fallen beasts.
Colored fragments fell onto their bodies, fusing with their flesh and flooding them with energy.
The creatures jolted, their forms surging to life—revived and overflowing with power.
The orcs and their rocks definitely need more attention.
"We should've stopped that," Talos said, tightening his grip on his weapons.
The horned creature's body ignited with flames, while the shelled beast crackled with electricity—both radiating a fierce red aura.
Strength enhancements.
So this is how that one was enhanced earlier.
But also the elemental magic…
My forte! Yes!
The Orc King laughed, a deep, rumbling sound. "Now you die! Bye-bye, Talos Party!"
"Split up again!" I called. "Oh, and Talos—your shield can deflect electricity!"
"I thought so, thanks!" he shouted back as they broke off.
"Okay, Alva—same plan as before. Stay close until it charges."
He nodded, drawing his bow, eyes locked on the target.
The beast opened its mouth, and I instantly formed a water barrier just as flames erupted forth.
Thank goodness we fought that dragon—my body was already prepared.
The fire clashed against my barrier, flooding the room with heat and filling the air with thick steam.
When the attack finally ceased, I dropped the barrier. Alva immediately fired at the rider, who this time kept the beast at a careful distance. It made it harder for Alva to spot a clear gap in the orc's armor.
Across the room, Talos deflected a surge of lightning from the other beast's mouth while Uri stayed close behind his shield.
Then our beast's rider crushed another red stone into its scales. I instantly threw the barrier back up, blocking another wave of fire.
Good thing the rock's effect doesn't last long—but we had no idea how many they had. We needed to end this fast.
If only I could move while holding this barrier.
"If it's not coming to us, we'll have to go to it!" I shouted.
Immediately after I said this, the beast kept breathing fire—but instead of charging, it began circling us, trying to wear my barrier down.
I could feel it weakening.
"Alva! Once it stops breathing fire, I'll gather the steam to block its sight—then you have to—"
"Trust my bow. Got it," he said, preparing himself.
When the flames finally ceased, I swept my hand outward, drawing the steam together until it surrounded the creature in a dense fog.
The rest was up to Alva.
He walked toward the cloud, eyes closed, bow drawn—then let loose an arrow.
"Ow!" A sharp cry rang out as the rider fell from the beast.
Then Alva sprinted straight into the steam.
What was he doing?
Seconds later, Alva stepped out of the steam cloud, brushing off his back as the haze cleared behind him.
The beast stumbled and collapsed, revealing several arrows jutting from its underbelly and sides.
I wasn't sure how he'd done it, but relief flooded through me. When he reached me, I grinned and gave him a high-five.
Then we turned to Uri and Talos.
Talos blocked another surge of lightning with his shield while Uri darted around the beast, its focus still fixed on Talos.
But then the creature's clubbed tail whipped around unexpectedly, slamming into Uri mid-dash and hurling him backward.
"Uri, no!" we shouted.
The beast and its rider glanced back, roaring in triumph.
Alva and I started to run over—when Uri, still mid-air, hurled his dagger toward Talos.
Talos dropped his shield, caught the blade, and drove it straight into the monster's snout again and again until it finally collapsed.
Ah, they had planned that! Uri took the hit on purpose. I still needed to make sure he was okay, though.
The rider panicked and bolted.
We celebrated.
The effort they'd poured into those creatures—and the Orc King's confidence in them—made it clear they were his last-resort weapon.
Now all that remained was the king himse—
"No! We do not lose! No!" he thundered, stomping furiously.
"Orc stronger! Orc stronger! ORC STRONGER!"
Each stomp shook the castle—pillars cracked, stones rained from above, the floor splintered beneath our feet.
We lost our balance as the ground began to crumble.
"ORC STRONGER! ORC STRONGER!" he bellowed even louder until the floor gave way completely, and we fell with it.