A heavy silence fell over the battlefield.
No one moved. No one spoke.
The ground trembled beneath my feet with each step the orc lord took, a slow and deliberate rhythm that sent shivers down my spine.
It wasn’t charging like the mindless goblins or roaring like the lesser orcs we had fought.
No, this was different.
It moved with terrifying patience, each footfall a calculated declaration of its presence.
The closer it got, the more I felt it, a suffocating pressure in the air, thick like a storm rolling in.
My fingers tightened around my weapon, but deep down, an unsettling realization gnawed at me.
We had faced orcs before.
Brutal, savage creatures that fought with raw strength and primal instinct.
But this one?
This was something else entirely.
That’s why he is called The Orc Lord.
The Orc Lord finally stopped.
It stood just a few feet from the barrier, its massive form looming over us like a living mountain of muscle and steel.
Its armor was unlike anything I had ever seen, a dark metallic plating that looked almost fused to its skin, jagged and layered in a way that made it seem impenetrable.
The weapon in its grasp, a monstrous cleaver, nearly as tall as I was, rested against the ground, leaving deep cracks in the stone beneath it.
I swallowed hard.
It wasn’t doing anything.
It just stood there, staring.
Through the translucent glow of the barrier, its piercing, blood-red eyes locked onto us, unblinking and unreadable.
There was no rage, no blind bloodlust, only something far more terrifying.
Amusement.
A slow, dreadful smirk curled on its lips, as if it found this entire situation entertaining.
As if it already knew how this would end.
My heart pounded in my chest.
Was it testing us?
Was it waiting?
The wind howled through the broken battlefield, carrying the scent of blood and smoke.
The tension in the air was thick enough to choke on.
Around me, the soldiers shifted uneasily, gripping their weapons tighter, exchanging nervous glances.
No one spoke, but we were all thinking the same thing.
What now?
The orc lord stood there, just beyond the barrier, its massive cleaver resting against the ground.
It hadn’t attacked.
It hadn’t roared in fury like the lesser orcs.
It just stood there, watching.
Some of us stood frozen, weapons clenched more tightly, waiting for whatever would come next.
Others, however, were less concerned.
"He can’t get through," one soldier muttered, breaking the silence.
His voice was tense, but there was a hint of relief in it.
Another beside him nodded.
"Yeah... it’s just standing there. If it could do anything, it would have done it by now."
A few of the awakened nearby lowered their guard slightly, their stances relaxing.
Some even let out tired laughs, trying to shake off the fear that had gripped them moments before.
"That barrier’s held against worse," one of them said confidently. "No way it’s going down now."
I watched them carefully, my grip still firm around my weapon.
Unlike them, I didn’t feel safe.
Not for a second.
The orc lord wasn’t just standing there out of hesitation or weakness.
No.
That thing... it knew something we didn’t.
Edward stood a few steps away, arms crossed, his sharp eyes locked onto the beast outside the barrier.
He hadn’t moved a muscle since the orc lord arrived, but I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was.
"You really think it’s powerless?" I asked, my voice low.
One of the soldiers beside me shrugged.
"We’re still standing, aren’t we? That thing’s strong, sure, but this isn’t some weak wooden fence. It’s a reinforced barrier made by high-ranking awakened. No way an orc, even one that big, is breaking through."
I glanced at the barrier.
It still hummed with energy, shimmering faintly under the moonlight.
But something about the way the orc lord looked at it made my stomach twist.
It wasn’t frustrated.
It wasn’t pacing like a caged beast looking for an opening.
It was waiting.
Some of the awakened, the more experienced ones, hadn’t let their guard down.
They were still preparing, reinforcing their abilities, positioning themselves strategically.
I saw a few mages whispering incantations under their breath, hands glowing with energy, ready to react at a moment’s notice.
Then there were the others, those who had convinced themselves they were safe.
One of them, a young soldier, even laughed, nudging his friend.
"Honestly, I was scared for nothing. Thought we were dead for sure when that thing showed up."
I clenched my jaw.
They didn’t get it.
They didn’t understand what kind of enemy we were dealing with.
The orc lord stood there, towering over everything like a god looking down on insects.
His massive form was bathed in the pale moonlight, his thick armor glinting ominously.
And yet...
he wasn’t even taking this seriously.
His posture was slouched, his expression half-lidded as if this whole situation bored him.
He exuded an air of absolute arrogance, as if we weren’t even worth the effort.
Some of the soldiers around me stiffened, shifting uncomfortably.
The ones who had been so confident in the barrier’s strength a moment ago now looked unsure.
But they still held on to their belief, after all, the barrier had protected them before.
It had never failed.
The orc lord let out a slow exhale, almost like a sigh, and lazily raised his club.
The sheer size of it was absurd, it was more of a slab of iron than a weapon, its surface covered in cracks and dried blood from past battles.
I swallowed hard.
Was he...
Was he about to-?
With a flick of his wrist, he swung it back as if preparing to swat away a mere fly, his movements slow, effortless.
Then, with the same laziness, he casually flung the club forward, hurling it straight at the barrier.
The world seemed to slow.
I barely had time to register before the club struck.
A deafening explosion erupted as the impact tore through the air.
The moment the club made contact with the barrier, a blinding shockwave spread across its shimmering surface.
The protective dome, the one thing keeping us safe, cracked.
And then-
It shattered.